Random Ramblings

Well, today I don't really have anything inspiring or intellectual to write about, so I decided to just post some assorted anecdotes about my life these days, along with some abstract questions. Let's start with what I did tonight. It is Friday night, a night that is commonly one spent hanging out with friends and/or partying it up, as it is the end of a work week. But I did none of this. Being the cool guy that I am, with nothing else to do, I went out and bought myself a computer game for my brand spanking new laptop. Now this was not just any old game. The game that I meticulously selected was none other than Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006 (Nippard, I know you're jealous!), which is pretty much the best game ever. As an unapologetic golfaholic, this was the highlight of my day. Call me a nerd, but I'm quite alright with that. Moving on...

And now I will discuss a topic that has been on my mind every day for the past week and a half or so, with that topic being the NHL Playoffs, and in particular, the Edmonton Oilers, who are currently knotted at two games apiece with the OLD Red Wings of Detroit. All I can say is, for a team that was supposed to be swept by the "best" team in the league, the Oilers are doing mighty fine. For those of you Vancouver and Toronto fans out there, I have one word for you: "FORE!" And for you Flames fans, GO DUCKS! And now for a random thought from the mind of Tyler Fehr.

Many of you may have heard the term before, but has anyone ever actually paused to consider the meaning of the term "beefcake"? Usually it is used to describe a person who is not lacking in the muscle department, but I have a different theory. I think of it as a cake, made of steak! What could possibly be better?! Except if it was garnished with bacon. Maybe this is a creation for my college days, when I get tired of Kraft Dinner.

That last thing I wish to inform you of is that I have tickets to the Our Lady Peace show in Edmonton this Tuesday! It should be a good time of hanging out with some close friends, eating some delicious food, and most importantly, not being at work for two days! Anyways, those are just a few of the thoughts running through my mind these days. Hopefully next time I will actually have something of significance to blog about. For those of you who actually read this far, I will reward your diligence with some invaluable advice pertaining to the complicated art of the pick-up line. Here is one that I have personally tried and tested: "Do you have any cold sores?" after s/he replies no, ask: "Would you like some?" If this little gem of a line doesn't work for you, try showering! Until next time, GO OILERS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Cure For What Worries You

Lately, I have felt kind of like a scientist who has just reached an incredible break through, although what I have discovered is nothing new; in fact, it is much, much older than you or I, although maybe not quite as old as Chris Chelios, the dirty defenceman for the Red Wings (I am a little bitter over the Oilers loss tonight in double overtime!). While I may not have cured the common cold, discovered amoeboid life forms living on the frozen wastelands of Pluto, or even learned the art of walking, I have discovered a truth that has a significant role in my life. You see, I have discovered a cure for worry. For those of you uneducated in the area of children's stories, the picture is of Mr. Worry, a character from a series of books that I greatly enjoyed as a young child.

For those of you who have known me for quite some time, you have probably realized by now that I am a classic worrier, and always worry about every little detail in any given situation, as I like to have some control and structure in my life. This is something that has annoyed me to no end, yet until recently, I had found no way of banishing worry to, say, the damp and dank shadows of Mirkwood (for those of you J.R.R. Tolkien fans), or some other distant place. But over the past couple of months, my life has been increasingly more worry-free, and I only realized the reason for this in the past week or so.

It all has to do with placing your complete trust in God, and surrendering your life into His hands for His purposes. While I am often still guilty of trying to do things my own way, I am learning to trust God more and more instead of my own abilities. And, to my great delight, I have found that when you give up control, it is almost impossible to worry about the future, or anything for that matter, because you are not in control anymore and can do nothing to change things. When Jesus said, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34), I had always thought that, at least in my own life, this was an impossible task. And when we are relying on our own abilities, this is an impossible task. We will constantly be asking ourselves "What if I'm not good enough?" or "What I make a complete fool of myself?" or "What if...(fill in the blanks with any situation/question)". When we rely on ourselves, of course we will worry, cause in theory whether we are a raving success or a dismal failure depends on our actions. Yet when we place complete trust in God, we can take comfort in the fact that he has a plan for our life, and that it is the best plan. Nothing we can do of our own strength could ever add anything to God's great plan, so why worry about it? In Proverbs it says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." What a comforting thought that is!

So if you are like me and find yourself constantly worrying about everything and anything, try giving up control to God, and see what happens. I am by no means saying this is an easy or pain-free process, but it is a rewarding one. It is a process that takes a lot of time, so don't give up. But with an all-powerful God in complete control, what is there that we could possible worry about?

What is love?

Contrary to the title, today's blog has absolutely nothing to do with the comedic movie "A Night At The Roxbury", and the theme song from the movie sharing the title of my blog. I would, however, like to share a little insight that I have gained into love, and not in a Dear Abbey sort of way. I will start by quoting 1 Corinthians 13, one of the better known passages of scripture.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbol. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophecy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."

These are truly great words, full of power and conviction. I have heard this passage used to describe how we are to love our family, our friends, our boyfriend/girlfriend, and husband/wife. It is also a description of God's great love for us. But there is one category of people left out from our common interpretations of this passage. How many times have you heard this passage used as an example of how we are to treat our enemies, or those people who just rub us the wrong way? Lately I have been examining this passage in my devotions, and this is the realization that hit me.

Up until recently, whenever I would read this passage, it would make me feel good about myself, as I used it as kind of a check list to determine whether I was demonstrating love in my life. As I would check off the items one by one, it would fuel my pride as a Christian, making me feel somewhat superior. But when I read it in the light of how we are to treat our enemies, all of this false confidence came crashing down. Let me explain. You see, I feel that I have always been fairly good at loving those who will love me back, which is only natural. I personally do not really have any enemies per se, but there are people, or have been people, especially at work, that get on my nerves for various reasons. I had always told myself that I showed love to them simply because I treated them slightly better than everyone else did, but I have come to realize that this just isn't good enough. While I may not have said or did anything directly to their face, when the everyone else would slander them or gossip about them, I am sorry to say that I jumped right in without hesitation, even though in my heart I knew it to be wrong. Jesus says, "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:46-48) These are some pretty strong words, yet ones that I know without a doubt to be true. We are called to be so much more than the world's standard of "goodness". We are called to treat our enemies as if they were our best friend, and by doing so, more than likely they will cease to be our enemies. Paul says that if we do not have love, no matter how much good we may do, in the end it all amounts to "jack squat!" (to quote Matt Foley, motivational speaker) We may share the gospel, but if our actions do not back up the words that come out of our mouths, what power is there?

This is something that has really convicted me as of late, and something that, with God's help, I am trying to improve upon. I know that I will fail time and time again, but I know that God won't give up on me. Well, that's all I've got for now. Have a good one!