A Few Brilliant Ideas...

So, I failed the blog challenge, but I was not alone in this endeavor and where I failed, others succeeded. A congratulations to all those who persevered in their writing and content creation. I'm so proud of you guys. And to all my friends who persevered, even if only for a few days, thank you for your desire to create. I have been blessed, encouraged, excited, sorrowful, and laughing while reading your posts. I've gone back and read some of them more than once. God has and will continue to use your gifts. Keep on doin' what you're doin'. Don't let the absence of the Blog Challenge keep you from writing. I also wanted to point out of my friends who completed the equivalent of the Blog Challenge without even anyone knowing, Mr. Dan Lee. You can see his drawings for this month over on his Facebook page.

NOW. ON TO OUR VICTORS.

My life appears to be interesting enough that I can just blog about things that happened to me today. WOOO.


Every Wednesday night I got out to do evangelism on Drexel's campus with other people from DSC. Tonight we're looking for people hanging around outside. We spot a group and start heading over. As we're walking over to talk to a group of complete strangers, like we're never met them before, and we're going to ask them to talk to us about their religious beliefs. MEANWHILE my friend is breathing outward heavily. I look over at him and he says, "It's a habit, I make noises like wind."
"What."
"I make noises like wind."
Oh, I heard him the first time. I was just uhh.. What is going on right now. Then later, we're walking back to the dorm, and he starts mumbling "nom nom nom" out of nowhere. I don't even.

So after that I came back home to find Shark Tank on. New flash, my dad is obsessed with reality television. This confuses me, like a lot. I can barely stand reality television, meanwhile my dad is watching people buy homes in Alaska and stuff. I don't understand the appeal of reality TV. Like not even a little bit. I'd much rather watch something with a real plot. If I want to watch unscripted silliness, that's why youtube exists. I can kind of see the challenge ones, but like shopping and people just doing their jobs... Dunno, not that interesting to me.

IN OTHER NEWS:

JAMES KIRK IS NICHOLAS DEVEREAUX FROM PRINCESS DIARIES 2. I'm watching it right now and I'm freaking out, which would be hilarious for everyone else. I just... Chris Pine <3 Apparently it was one of his first roles, which just makes me any happier. He's so good as Kirk in Star Trek. seignewirgjewrgijwgoj.

Also, there's a pun at the end of the second movie right after Mia is named queen.

"And if I may just say Princess Mia, YOU RULE!"

BA DUMP PSHHHHH. I'm really just giddy on happy-endingness right now. That's pretty much all that's going on here. giiiiidddy. Alright, enough ranting we're clearly on day 11 of the blog challenge. Enjoy my life y'all.

So, it feels like a lot more than 5 days has gone by, yet time defies this assumption. I accidentally prematurely posted something on my blog wemusttellthem.blogspot.com. You should check that out.

Pendulum

Air rushes through hair.
Mountains cave.
Oceans sink.
The sun burns.

In a quiet room in a house in Concord,
sits a grand father clock that has knowingly conquered.

Air rushes through hair.
Farms are cropped,
Forests chopped,
and rainbows glaze over.

The clock smiles, in the way that he always does,
keeping track of the time, in the house full of schemas.

Hours are made timeless.
Activity consumes in-activity.
Gravity falls.
And we forget.

The pendulum inside the clock swings back and forth,
and as it watches the people, it find a secret.
These people with plans and ideas and thoughts,
have no concept of time, which they practically wrought.
Without a watch on their wrist, or a clock in their home,
and even then dust grows thick as it feels its gears groan.
yet this is the way that the people must be,
unaware that they're free, self-enslaved with the key.
Giving themselves up, hiding time where they can no longer see.


So the grandfather clock pulled down deep in his gears,
and with a deep crack, Mr. Time disappeared.

Does anyone remember the 90's TV show Teletubbies? Probably wins my own personal award for the creepiest 90's TV show, which is quite an impressive feat, considering other shows like The Comfy Couch. Here are of the few things you've always known about Teletubbies but never said out loud:


1. Noo Noo is a serial killer


5. Dipsy has mad dance skills.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E9Z0-ppTl0#t=557
This is totally why he was always my favorite. GO DIPSY, SHAKE THAT THANG.

6. The practical ramifications of having a television in your stomach are completely ignored
These creatures have television inside of their stomachs. Why do they even move? I mean with Netflix, they would never even have to move, and if they get hungry, they can change the channel to the food channel. Problem solved. There are so many creative things you do with a television stomach.

7. The sun is a baby.

Why? No one knows. I just... someone had to be on drugs to even think of this.

8. The pinwheel drug dispenser

I have a theory that this pinwheel dispenses drugs to the inhabitants of this place, leading to hallucinations such a baby-faced suns and creepy vacuum cleaners. Then their antennas capture the drugs, which are then in turn converted into TV power.

9. The show's British accents make it worth watching
Let's be honest, we really only enjoyed this show because, British people. I mean really, how can you resist the silky narrator voice? Plus, the little British children. Ahhh.

10. NBC/Comcast is EVERYWHERE...

I forgot to add Will to the list, that has been updated. You can find his blog at: http://contemplativewhimsy.blogspot.com/. Due to my failure to remember to list his name, I gave him the very special title of Patrick Star, who is very near and dear to my heart. Also, I accept Simeon's Subchallenge. It is was a hard day one, we lost quite a few: Tirzah, Nathan, Aaron, Na'chelle, Nick. That brings our number down from 18 to 13. However, in Nick and Nathan's defense, they did tell me they planned on posting semi-regularly these next couple weeks. Allen Lai has a questionable post dated February 2nd, but I'll let it slide, because it was there when I checked at 12:30 and it's the first day. The rest of you however... Bom voyage. 

I talk to people a lot. You probably do too. This a good thing.

I can often predict what my friend and family members will say because I've spent a lot of time talking to them. I've also spent a lot of timing listening. That's how friendships are built, this communication back and forth, verbal or otherwise. People could rock climb every day, side by side, but if they never talk, they don't know each other. They're not friends.

Friends talk. Friends listen. Friends communicate.

I have a friend named Valerie Niemann who I used to go running with my freshman year of college. We talked a lot about all kinds of things and after a while she said to me, 'Stevie you're not listening to me.' At the time it was meant more jokingly, but as the joke was repeated, I became aware of how serious this really was. My statement always started, "No, I'm listening, but what the point I'm trying to make is..." Too many but's. I don't always listen. Worse, I don't always hear, or take the time to understand what people are trying to tell me. And listening is so fundamental to a good friendship. I'm super thankful for that lesson that Val taught me. So if you're reading this, thanks Val. God used you to show me how little I really did listen.

There's a repeated statement by Jesus in the book of Mark, "He who has ears let him hear." Which means some of have ears, but we're not hearing.

As I've learned how important listening is, and how vital it is to my friendships, God has taught me some of the differences between a true friendship.

Listening is certainly part of it, but there's a particular type of listening that I want to examine that defines a deeper level of friendship.

Each person is divided into two segments: the person they are and the person they want to become.

Simply put, a friend is a person who knows who you want to be, not just who you are.

It's hard for me to demonstrate what this looks like without a specific example, but the details of describing who someone I know wants to be is a very personal thing. I wouldn't feel right in explaining this without specific permission, so I'll use a dummy-case to prove my point.

I have a friend named Jake. Jake loves to play the piano, he works for Irregular Mechanics, he spends a lot of time with his girlfriend Jessie, he is emotionally unstable, and he really likes pretzels.

That's great, I know who Jake is. This might let me buy things for Jake when he's feeling down. It helps me talk to Jake because I know where he works, and so I can start conversation about his work. I even know that Jake may flip out on me because he's emotionally unstable, so I'm totally prepared for that moment.

Yet, is knowing who Jake is enough to help me care for Jake the way a real friend would?

Maybe, but I don't think so.

Knowing that Jake dreams of being a professional writer, that he wants to be the type of guy that his girlfriend can lean on for support, knowing that Jake wants to see himself grow up and stand for what he thinks is right. Without these, instead of helping Jake be who he wants to be, at best I'm doing damage control. At worst, I could actually be encouraging him away from his dreams, crushing his hopes.

We've all had that person, who doesn't really know how important something is to us, and yet tells us that we're not very good at something. It hurts, and you begin to wonder whether that person is truly your friend. Sometimes they're loving you by telling you the truth, but in many cases they say what they say out of ignorance. There are cases where the most loving thing you can do for a person is to speak unwanted to truth in their lives. But in order to do it with wisdom, you have to know who that person wants to be. Sometimes people want to be things they shouldn't, but as a true friend it becomes your responsibility to help them avoid those things, rather than get them.


I talk a lot, and I've been learning how to listen. I want to know who you want to be, friends. I want to tell you who I want to be. Together, maybe we can help each other become those people, or stop each other from becoming the people we ought not be.

Christian, together, maybe we can become a little bit more like Christ, because that's ultimately who we want to be like, but we're complex creatures with many troubles and needs, and it's beautiful.

Let's be friends, shall we?