Getting Back to Living...

this is more of a rant blog today. but i guess one that is a hopeful rant in the end, if that's possible. :)

i'm just so tired of people caving to challenge...choosing the small life as opposed to rising to meet what comes. i'm tired of the pride. i'm tired of the isolation. and i'm so, so, so tired of the "doomsdayers".

and i'm not an expert on economics. and i'm certainly not belittling the struggles that we all face.

but, we need to return to living according to what's really important...

not based on fear...facts are facts. that's for sure. however, most media in this nation is totally on a hype-fest...we never hear the whole story...they spin stuff all over the place...and by the way, promoting fear jacks up ratings...duh! the bummer is...people flared up on fear tend to make really stupid choices...things that tend to build more consequences than solutions. personal experience is my proof on that. no, i'd like to start hearing some news casts that offer the facts but show some ways that people are actually DOING something about it. instead they rally the finger pointers...and we again begin the cycle of distraction from actually solving problems.

not beyond our means...the "jones's" are idiots. we don't need a jet ski just because they have one.

not for ourselves...i hate to say it but our prosperity as a nation was never meant for ourselves. we were supposed to take care of each other and even go beyond our borders. what would happen if we started to live like brothers and sisters again rather than serving our own stomachs...well, and our other parts? :) we've gotten so lost in "entitlement" that we've forgotten about our neighbors. we've become a country that is trapped in adolescence...making everything all about 'me'. it's time to mature...time to grown up.

not independent of each other...we weren't designed to be isolated from each other. we were made to be dependent...relational. we were meant to need the whole. oh my gosh, i'm not talking about being a communist! i'm talking about being true communities again. my mom told me this story about my grandpa back in the depression. he lived simply and worked hard. and when people around him started to lose their farms, he would buy them out so they could continue to live and farm there. after many years, the families would eventually move on...leaving my grandpa with tons of land...which the local town so happened to need. and that money just continues to help others. we need to commence symbiosis...

it's just that...we aren't our "provider". living in such a way makes us into "feeders", "hoarders", "takers"...AND..."victims" of the whims of selfishness. we were meant to recognize that god is our "provider"...to trust him! we were meant to be good stewards of his bountiful provisions...having dominion and responsibility and all that...but all the while remembering, honoring, and worshiping the source of it all.

what if there is more hope out there than we see on tv? what if we could return to the way of the heart...live from there...even financially? could we repent from the mistakes we've made in our own attempts to be "god" and begin to learn his ways for personal management? what if we could trust that god would meet our true and real needs...apart from what we think they are or should be?

and the watch him do his thing!!!!

because here's the thing...one of my favorite stories about jesus...talk about rising to meet the challenge! in the midst of great trouble he says...probably shouts!..."i will NOT be storm-tossed! no, instead, i will say, 'god, put your glory on display!'"

i'm interested in returning to that way!...and won't be doomsdayer anymore!