Faithful World

I recently listened to a talk on the faithfulness of God. Let’s just say it sums up everything that I’ve been working through and developing theologically, in terms of humanity’s purpose on earth and the connection it has to the Bible. 

NT Wright spoke at Mars Hill Church in Michigan back in November, and I was there to witness the earth-shattering beauty that was painted before me. Everything clicked; that man has some fantastically established ideals. Let me share with you the basics of his message* and the implications it holds for mankind and its flourishing commission. 

A new look at things

The reason I brought you here today is to see a few pictures that I've taken recently now that I'm back home, and not on campus. Let me know what you think!

More to come soon! Thanks for following me and my journey. I appreciate it. 

Just Perfect

I'm just going to go out and say it: 

I'm thankful for my life, those who are in it with me, and everything else about my life at the current moment.

I'm sorry––now that the cliché and obligatory Thanksgiving comment is out of the way, let me tell you why it is amazing the way my life is working out and how lucky I am to be the one living it. 

My parents have worked so hard for me and my brother. They have worked their careers with the sole goal of sending me and my brother to college so that we can be successful adults with steady careers. I do not always appreciate what an impact their efforts have on my life as it is now. 

This week I have seen how despite distance, relationships, college, and stress, I have remained close with my greatest high school friends––friends that have been here through everything, putting up with my drama, annoyances, and humor. I am a lucky guy to have as many funny, similarly interested, and genuine friends as I do. They have had many opportunities to jump ship and upgrade friend models, yet they still keep me around; I think I will keep them around too. 

My University is the best "God-thing" that has happened in my life in a long while. I have had my eye on Taylor since about early Junior year, seeing it as a solid, realistic option for me to get a great, edifying education in preparation for medical school. I was able to get some helpful scholarship money, and I was admitted to the Honors Guild. Taking that for granted would be a foolish mistake.  

I also saw God's hand shut the door of a college that I was considering at the same as Taylor, not only showing me that I couldn't be admitted to this school due to an application process error, but that I shouldn't be admitted there. I wasn't meant for that school. 

I love everything about my school. I have really grown to appreciate the positive, genuine environment there. It is easy to grow spiritually, to be involved, and to build my basis of knowledge. I am learning more about God on a practical level, and more than I knew I wanted to know on an academic level. I am understanding the principles of science and biology through many different lenses, allowing me to be diverse, cultured, and adaptable in this modern world. I am also growing in other non-vocational ways, broadening my interests and talents, becoming more of a Renaissance Man. 

Now wait, cut the crap. 

This sounds like a college admissions website pitch. 

But that's the point.

I really do feel all of this. I am learning so much about the world and philosophy and everything good that God made. I feel so at home there with all of the interesting and great people. God has put me in this perfect, admissions-website-pitch life. 

How can I repay him? 

Redeeming and application.

Using the life I am building through God's provision, I can build a base of knowledge, connections, and experience to do more for God in the future. I can flourish, redeeming the culture around me in my sphere of influence. "Do the next right thing," to quote one of my philosophy professors. I can take my experience and apply it to bigger purposes. 

I look forward to working. I am thankful for the provisions before me. I hope you see the value behind God's hand. I am realizing it more each day, trying never to take it for granted.  

Now, I ask you: What are you doing with your provisions? Your life circumstances are as they are for good reason. There is much to be thankful for. I hope you have lived your Thanksgiving day with that in mind, not the volume of turkey you can afford to eat so that you can eat two slices of pie. 

Come Far With Me

I bring you, tonight, one of my favorite poems. See and taste that Frost is good. 

"A Line-Storm Song" – Robert Frost

The line-storm clouds fly tattered and swift, 

The road is forlorn all day, 

Where a myriad snowy quartz stones lift, 

And the hoof-prints vanish away. 

The roadside flowers, too wet for the bee,

Expend their bloom in vain. 

Come over the hills and far with me, 

And be my love in the rain. 

The birds have less to say for themselves 

In the wood-world’s torn despair

Than now these numberless years the elves, 

Although they are no less there: 

All song of the woods is crushed like some 

Wild, easily shattered rose. 

Come, be my love in the wet woods; come,

Where the boughs rain when it blows. 

There is the gale to urge behind 

And bruit our singing down, 

And the shallow waters aflutter with wind 

From which to gather your gown.

What matter if we go clear to the west, 

And come not through dry-shod? 

For wilding brooch shall wet your breast 

The rain-fresh goldenrod. 

Oh, never this whelming east wind swells

But it seems like the sea’s return 

To the ancient lands where it left the shells 

Before the age of the fern; 

And it seems like the time when after doubt 

Our love came back amain.

Oh, come forth into the storm and rout 

And be my love in the rain.

Melancholic Appreciation –– Something Good For You

There's something about a melancholy mood. 

Half of the time when in the midst of a forlorn emotional state, I want to escape. 

Half the time I seek out tasks and environments to dunk me further into my melancholy. 

Seeking out melancholy is just fine. 

In this life, there are positive times, and there are negative times. A time of melancholy might be called a negative time, but it doesn't have to be. 

I find that I do my best introspective thinking when I am submerged in my own "negative" emotions. Practically, I am doing just fine; I'm just a little down. 

My appreciation of art, of music, of creativity are all heightened in these times. 

God and I commune regularly as I rest in my melancholy. I find that reading the Bible, seeing the art and philosophy within the book of Psalms or Proverbs hits just the right note within me. 

My response? Encouragement? Excitement?

Surely not. 

I am content to explore the depths of my emotions and thoughts of the higher things. 

Explore with me the beauty of art through the lens of melancholy; take hold of your own melancholy. 

Earlier this year, I put together a small poetry collection of poems best enjoyed while in a lugubrious emotional state. It features a few notable poems by Longfellow, Whitman, and Hawthorne (as well as others that are not mentioned). 

I wish to share them with you. Take the time to relax, clear your mind, and seek to interact with your deepest self. Imagine a place of pure peace and solitude. Imagine a soft rain fall and channel the feeling you have after having had a long, gratifying day of work.

In fact, place yourself in Longfellow's shoes as he is in his poem "The Day is Done."

The day is done, and the darkness Falls from the wings of Night,As a feather is wafted downward From an eagle in his flight.

I see the lights of the village Gleam through the rain and the mist,And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me That my soul cannot resist:

A feeling of sadness and longing, That is not akin to pain,And resembles sorrow only As the mist resembles the rain.

Come, read to me some poem, Some simple and heartfelt lay,That shall soothe this restless feeling, And banish the thoughts of day.

Not from the grand old masters, Not from the bards sublime,Whose distant footsteps echo Through the corridors of Time.

For, like strains of martial music, Their mighty thoughts suggestLife's endless toil and endeavor; And to-night I long for rest.

Read from some humbler poet, Whose songs gushed from his heart,As showers from the clouds of summer, Or tears from the eyelids start;

Who, through long days of labor, And nights devoid of ease,Still heard in his soul the music Of wonderful melodies.

Such songs have power to quiet The restless pulse of care,And come like the benediction That follows after prayer.

Then read from the treasured volume The poem of thy choice,And lend to the rhyme of the poet The beauty of thy voice.

And the night shall be filled with music, And the cares, that infest the day,Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, And as silently steal away.

Now, I hope you took the time to read that. Longfellow is good for the soul. 

I will also share two more poems and leave you to think. I am going to do my own meditation and appreciation of these works. 

This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou lovest best, Night, sleep, death and the stars. – "A Clear Midnight," Walt Whitman. 

Lastly, 

The ocean has its silent caves,
Deep, quiet and alone;
Though there be fury on the waves,
Beneath them there is none.
The awful spirits of the deep
Hold their communion there;
And there are those for whom we weep,
The young, the bright, the fair.

Calmly the wearied seamen rest
Beneath their own blue sea.
The ocean solitudes are blest,
For there is purity.
The earth has guilt, the earth has care,
Unquiet are its graves;
But peaceful sleep is ever there,
Beneath the dark blue waves.
"The Ocean," Nathaniel Hawthorne

One Thousand Words

I believe that pictures and photography are beautiful things. Art tells a message; it impacts the consumer. It delights. I love everything about the art of photography––the skill, the techniques, the efforts involved, the creativity, the options. I am impacted by the art as I attempt to capture it, myself. It is said you can say a thousand words in a picture. 

I believe that you can say much more than that. I believe there is an emotion and an energy that is communicated that is much stronger, much deeper than words. Here, I share three thousand words. I hope you enjoy them. 

Here are some pictures that I took with my Nikon in Ohio. I really enjoy photography, and I hope to share more with you as I get the chance to. I edit with LightRoom. 

This is on the exterior wall of my favorite small coffee shop in Ohio. 

An alley down the street from the coffee shop...

I love collecting vinyl records, and this is from when I visited my favorite store in the area. 

Sundry Satisfactions

Comfortable. Satisfied. Encouraged. Thankful.

I am all of these and more. There are specific things in my life that make me happy, daily.

I want to lend a glance at these sundry satisfying things in my life.

To start, an honest, stout cup of coffee is required. I always start my day with coffee––black, like oil. I love it recently roasted, freshly ground, and perfectly steeped in a French press.

Coffee is special to me; it is not just an energizing drink. I appreciate the process of making coffee. The smell; the warmth; the taste––marked by fruits, nuts, earth tones, and the perfect bite; I love the radiating rush as it warms my insides and invigorates my brain.

To me, coffee is a special art form.

Music, oh, music… That is a loaded issue. I am unable to be brief on my preferences and appreciation of music. I’ll just say that music compliments every aspect of my emotions, encouraging them, rebuking them, and highlighting them. I am always listening to music.

Frank Sinatra. John Mayer. Mumford & Sons. The Avett Brothers. The Beatles. Lydia. Manchester Orchestra. Ben Howard. Sea Wolf. The Lumineers. Louis Armstrong. Nat King Cole. Jack Johnson. The Postelles. I digress.

I must also add that I prefer music on vinyl record. There is something about the mood when putting on a dusty record––old or new––and sitting down, listening to the needle bump over the grooves the recording studio pressed into it. The sound does add more parts to it that are not always noticed in a digital recording. There is an apparent emotion to vinyl records that never ceases to make my heart encouraged and happy.

Seeing nature at work, moving and growing, without thought given to man makes me happy. I feel insignificant, but I feel connected. I feel like I do not have any control over the movements of nature, but I feel that I belong within it. Seeing a bright royal blue sky in the morning makes me smile. I take my energy from weather, from nature.

Quite in contrast, my favorite activity has happened in Snow Shoe, West Virginia every January for the past three years. Snow shell on, ski boots clipped, ski goggles down, I clip into my skis, and off I go.

Skiing is euphoric.

The frozen air stings my face. I fly down the slopes, carving a path as I slice into the mountain’s powder. Honestly, words fail me. There’s not quite anything like skiing.

One of my deepest loves is the arts.

Books––I quote Longfellow: “The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, and all the sweet serenity of books.”

I love reading. Sherlock Holmes, Les Misérables, The Book Thief, Rebecca, The Count of Monte Cristo. I love so many books.

I love the thrill of the plot and character development. I love analyzing the work of the author––his or her message and the way in which they deployed that message. I love looking at the elements of each piece of literature. A good poem analysis and close reading makes for a great afternoon for me. I could talk about books and criticism for hours, honestly. I have many times.

The same is applicable to movies, videography, and photography. All are different variations of art. If videography and photography were not so difficult to make viable careers out of, I would pursue them professionally. I love them. I have a secret love for the short film. I love movies in general, and everything that goes into them. My favorites are too many movies to list. I can hold a long conversation about what makes a good movie (to me) and what I love about any particular movie.

Art––movies, music, photography, literature––all make me who I am. So much of how I am living today and how I think is anchored in the arts. Art makes me alive, and satisfied, and motivated.

I love many things. I am thankful. I am the result of many things and their influence on me. I am impacted. I am satisfied. 

Living Creature

Nature is a creature on its own.

It is a home, yes, but it breathes as a whole creature breathes. It lives, self-sustaining. There is a palpable energy. It flows out of the Earth.

Here, on a beautiful day, I feel the presence of Nature––this energy.

I hear the groans as the sun pushes up over the zenith. The cold breeze wafts over my cheeks; the afternoon sun then toasts my cheeks––refreshing libation provided constantly by the environment around me.

The swing of Nature is a comforting rock. I find the inspiration I seek in my life in Nature’s routine. I see optimism in Nature.

Nature is inherently wild, raw. Upon observation, though, a feeling of positivity and reassurance is found. Things of the human world are geocentric: Creations are built to compliment the provisions of nature or to utilize them. Nature is seen as a positive, good thing. Man looks to Nature as the ideal; Man yields to Nature.

Man also yields to the idea of a deity.

Nature is often mistaken for the deity; it is easy to see why.  

The beauty and perfection of Nature––especially the Nature I see around my area––is undeniable. Nature is a direct link to God. I always feel, hear, see Nature’s power and energy on days like today: The sky, blue as the deepest oceans, glows overwhelmingly overhead. The largest blanket ever made, so dark, but so vibrant. I feel content in this living blanket.

The routine and image of Nature lend a feeling of optimism to me through their observation. I feel motivated and satisfied.

Nature is God’s gift to man––a living, growing home, an encouraging home. As I grow in my academics, I aim to grow closer to this living creature, this Nature. 

Truly Flourishing

Life is hard and often frustrating. People are frustrating.

Life, though, is really worth living.

In one of my classes, we are spending a lot of time talking about flourishing. I love it. I get it. I wish I could say I have mastered it.

Flourishing, specifically, Human Flourishing is what you might call a life well lived. Flourishing is developing substantive relationships with nature, other people, ourselves, and God.

There is inherent holiness in everything. The concept of “secular” is a bad joke. Religious people often shy away from things secular. Having a “holier than thou” attitude towards “secular” things will only lead to discrimination and disrespect. The proper, flourishing attitude is to seek out a redeeming relationship with the other, the “secular.”

People take the “us vs. them” perspective and fail to understand flourishing because they have been given a shallow view of the Gospel. They fail to see that true human flourishing means loving everyone and seeing the holy evidences of God in every part of creation.

That’s right.

Every part of creation is holy.

“…miraculous is not extraordinary, but the common mode of existence.” – Wendell Berry, in Christianity and the Survival of Creation.

Try looking at the other people of the world with that perspective at heart. See if you are not able to work with people, accept people, love people on a better, more comfortable level with that viewpoint.

I wish I could say that I am.

The goal of religious people is not to spread the word and proselytize every “secular” person they encounter; people should focus on creating a flourishing relationship with each person, recognizing the good in each people.

Monsieur Madeline said in Les Misérables, “My friends, remember this, that there are no bad herbs, and no bad men, there are only bad cultivators.” (by Victor Hugo)

Spread your religious seed by showing unbiased love. Set a good example that will cause people to question their own values. That is how you spread the word.

I am not perfect. I do not think anyone is perfect.

I think about that a little too much sometimes. I am working to look at others as I would like to be looked at, myself. I am focusing on establishing solid, loving relationships with others. I like this life of flourishing; it really is worth living.

True Human Flourishing––I think I’ll try it.