Quick Read 1: Who Do You Play For?

One of my favorite moments from any movie comes from Disney's "Miracle," the movie about the US men's hockey team. 

Now, I do love sports, but I really don't like hockey, so there must be something else to this movie. There is. 

In my favorite scene, the coach is having all the players skate a whole bunch as punishment (it looked hard, but I'm from Texas and we don't ice skate so I don't know). Anyway, the reason the coach was punishing them was for failing to play together. 

See, the members of the U.S. hockey team were the best players from the best colleges, so there were some natural rivalries. Coach would ask his players, "What's your name, and who do you play for?" Time after time, the player would answer with their name and "Boston College" or "Minnesota" and immediately be punished by the coach. 

The best moment happens as one player figures it out and says, "Mike Eruzione. I play for the United States of America!" 

That's what it was all about. The coach just wanted them to play as a team, but first they had to realize what team they were on! Sometimes we struggle with this, there are different churches and schools we attend or club teams we play for, but is that the REAL team we're on? 

Nope. We're hand picked by Jesus Christ to come and play for God's team. He wants YOU to play for Him, and work together with other Christians. That can't happen if we hang on to our differences and fail to recognize the end goal: spreading God's word and His love. 

"May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God."

(Romans 15:5-7 ESV)

Delicious Cobb Salad

I'll be honest. 

Not now, but eventually.

 I don't really know what Cobb Salad is, I assume it has something to do with lettuce and corn. 

What's important is that it's food, I think. I've never eaten a Cobb salad but judging from Google images, it looks pretty neat. Cobb salad is healthy, you can tell that it's healthy because it's got "salad" at the end and all salad is healthy. 

Why are we talking about food? 

Because I'm hungry, duh. 

Anywho, I recognize that everyone comes from a different background, but let's all take a trip back in time to our respective childhoods. Don't like time travel? Pardon me. Don't like your childhood? Imagine someone else's. Don't like questions? Don't, you know, be so weird. 

Alright then, let's remember dinner time. 

*This is the part where you remember it and you're like, "Oh Brussel sprouts... So Brussel-y, so sprouty..."* 

As a kid, little baby Levi, I always knew what was for dinner. I always knew the main course, the sides, the drinks we were going to have. I loved dinner because dinner was always the best meal. There was a good reason for this: my mom made dinner, we typically made our own lunch. Mom was a great cook, still is, but she really made dinner a great experience. Pot roast, king ranch chicken casserole, home made enchiladas, pizza, stir fry, INFINITY CHEESE LASAGNA... It was the best. 

But here's the thing: most everything she cooked was pretty dang nutritious. She was big on vegetables, studied the food guide pyramid, did just about everything to make sure we, her kids, were eating healthy. That's pretty impressive. 

But, here's another thing: despite her or my dad's instruction on what to eat and how much, we could always screw it up and make it unhealthy. See, stir fry is healthy if you eat the right sized portion; if you go overboard, that's a lot of sodium and that's unhealthy. (And that's a run-on sentence). The key is portion control, staying in the parameters of what is recommended. 

Okay, that's a looooong intro to basically say this: consume healthy. Healthily? Healthfully? Whatever. 

It's very simple, but also very easy to mess up. You KNOW going into dinner that eating five pounds worth of melted cheesy goodness is a very bad thing, but, gosh darn it, it just tastes so good. You know you shouldn't drink like any egg nog ever, but you do because it tastes like Christmas. Don't judge me. 

So, look at it this way. Your life, and everyone else's life for that matter, is a table set with a multitude of different plates to eat off of. I suppose you could say that it's all part of one big plate, but I like to compartmentalize things, and that's what I'll do. 

Free time for me is possibly my most unhealthy plate. I know that it needs to be filled with healthy things like reading the Bible, praying, or just resting, but often times I fill it with video games, movies, writing dumb little paragraphs on blogs, twitter, or anything else that's really worthless. When I'm at work, I know that my time is best spent doing what my boss asks, being attentive to customers and letting them talk to me, but sometimes I spend it being snarky, making up excuses, or just being negative. With everything I do, there are more than a few healthy things I can fill my plate with, as well as more than a few unhealthy things. It's up to me to decide what to fill my plate with. Ultimately, my decisions on what I consume will determine how healthy I am. 

Which brings me back to a prior point about my mom: she always made it possible for us to be healthy. And, try as she may, there was no way to force us into a balanced diet. The same applies with our Heavenly Father. Now, He gives us every opportunity to fill our plates with healthy things, it just takes realizing the importance of being Healthy in Him. Not like, "do the right thing and you won't get sick and you'll be rich," more like, "do what you can to honor the God who made everything possible." 

Mouth Stuff:

“Don’t you realize that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated? But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a man." (Matthew 15:17, 18 HCSB)

But He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4 HCSB)

So, what do your plates look like? Do you need to go on a diet, so to speak? I do. 

Be healthy, my friends. 

-Levi

The Most Perfect Plan

Story time!! 

Whoa, that was exciting, right? Exactly, man, it's like "woo!" ya know? Like, "dang, I just looked at 43 pictures of kittens in a variety of baskets" kind of exciting. Okay, now that you're prepared, let's boogie. 

*proceeds to boogie without regard for humanity or surrounding*

I do have a bit of a story to tell, but it kind of has to involve a ton of other people. I've had a super hard time puttin this into words, but that's okay because there may not be very many people who read this anyway (#sadtweet). 

So, Sunday, May the 25th, I proposed to my girlfriend Brianne. She said "yes!" kind of. She really was crying a lot, but she shook her head up and down, so I think that's a yes. Afterwards, we had a semi-surprise engagement party for her/us. And guess what? 

*you guess what, do it now* 

That's right, it was a day that I've relived every day since(that's only been a week, but still). It was one of those moments that, as it happens, you recognize the potential effect that it'll have on your life before anything even comes to fruition. As I knelt down to ask her the question, I knew she was gonna say yes, I knew the people watching me make the biggest life decision yet were going to be happy for us, I knew we were going to get married in about a year, and I knew that God was going to guide us every step of the way. 

The moment was perfect; better than I could have imagined. But, I didn't know how I was going to get to the moment. All I knew going into the service that Sunday night at 6 was that I was going to play piano, sing a song, sit down, and wait until the right time. I had planned this out several weeks in advance: I was going to propose at the end of the service and then we were going to have a surprise party after, with the great help of Mary, Jaime and Jessica Hall, and Sherry Woods. I would have known everything and the exact agenda of the service if not for one hiccup: Teddy Turrentine. 

See, when I brought up the idea to Teddy  on our trip to El Salvador, he thought it was a great idea and told me to let him know when. I did. May 18th came around, I asked Brianne's father permission to ask her to marry me, he said, "get off my lawn and go home," and then I cried. 

Kidding, but you believed it. 

Anyway, Mr. Woods said yes and I immediately emailed Teddy, "we're on for next week!" To which he replied, "ok sounds good." 

No, no... 

"So, what's the plan teddy? I was thinking we could do such and such and Kyle and Kenneth could do a song as I propose what do you think?" 

"Leave the planning to me, I've got it covered." 

Okay so this is the point where I'm like, "Oh, that Teddy, always a-jokin!" 

Then comes Monday... Wednesday... Friday... I still don't know the plan and I'm getting engaged in 2 days... Saturday I see him at a wedding:

"Hey man, what's the plan? I'M GOING TO DIE!" 

(Btw, I'm pretty cool under pressure.) 

He smiles.. "Don't you worry your little head, I've got this. Trust me." 

HA! HO HO HA HA!! 

On the way back home from the wedding, I was considerably nervous. We had a service that night and it was wonderful. The next morning I woke up and went to and Teddy asked me to have the band ready to play a couple of songs. I replied like a normal adult would, "Oh sure just do a couple songs on the night I'm proposing? No problem sure that's cool!!" 

Still had no idea how it was all going down. 

I practice for that service with the ring in my pocket, hid it behind the pulpit and waited for the service. Agonizing. 

Then, Teddy delivered the best sermon on marriage I've heard. Then, Teddy called up couples one by one and had them tell of their engagements. Then, Teddy called us up and said, "Levi, the floor is yours."  

It was perfect. Looking back, it was THE ONLY way it could've happened. It was the fulfillment of every feeling and emotion in the last four years of our relationship. 

So, what's the moral here? That I get what I want and everything always works out? NOPE.  

I get to marry Bri, she gets to marry me, and we share this incredible experience, for sure. But it also taught me a valuable lesson: God's plan is greater. 

Just because I knew what the end goal was doesn't mean I knew how it was going to happen. I knew when, where, why, what, and who, but I didn't know the how. I feel like that's where a lot of us are in our walk with God, with our direction in life, even. We maybe know what we want to do with ourselves, we see the end goal coming into focus more and more, but for the life of us we can't figure out how in the world it'll happen. I've had this talk over and over and over again: "I know what I want to do, but I don't know how to skip all this junk and just get there already!"

I'm that way. Frustrated, confused, impatient, etc... Pretty dumb haha. 

I don't know, what will happen in the coming years, but I know where I'll end up and that's serving God. I'm doing my best at that right now, but I know it'll grow if I continue in faith. Just like Teddy perfectly illustrated for me, though, it's better to trust that God has a perfect plan and keep quiet, than say you trust Him but demand the blueprint anyway. What kind of faith is that? It's not. Thank God that He looks out for us anyway. Thank God that He still gives immeasurably more despite us. 

And thank God I get to marry Brianne Woods. 

What It Do, The Weather?

"How's it going clouds? What's up, the sun? Hangin in there, wind currents? Stay flexin, rain!" 

..look at me like it's weird to talk to the weather. 

Now look at me like you're betting, against all odds, that I have an actual point. 

C'mon... 

There we go. 

Do you guys (and girls and women and men and children that can read) hate the weather? Yeah, I knew it. Wanna know a secret? Well, that's too bad because it's a secret and I'm never gonna tell you. But, do you wanna know something else? Okay! 

I hate the weather, too! I think it's pretty dumb. No matter where I've lived, it's always been one thing: hot. Or cold sometimes. And it never rains. But sometimes it rains too much. And gosh I can't wait for it to get cold so I can have a break from all this SWEATY ARMPIT ACTION. But, then again, if it doesn't quit being so cold, I AM LITERALLY GOING TO LIGHT MYSELF ON FIRE! 

That's how it goes, right? "Can't wait to get through this season, I'm ready for a change!" 

That's all we ever want: something different. 

And it's probably even for a good reason. I mean, we all spend lots of time in our cars. Sometimes we don't have A/C in the summer and have to drive with the windows down and show up to work all sweaty. Sometimes our heater doesn't work in the winter and we have to wear 15 layers in the car. No matter what the circumstance is, unless it's 72 degrees with a slight breeze, moderate cloud cover and no rain, we can't be satisfied. Even then, we may throw on a cardigan because, OMG this cardigan is so cute. 

The underlying (even overlying) theme is a simple one, and even an old one: we all go through seasons in our life. There are several ways to look at that fact, but I'll focus on two. 

"Which two? I wanna know tell me!!!" 

K.

So, with the weather having a direct influence on all of our lives at the same time, you'd figure we'd all recognize it. The severity with which we feel the rain, snow, heat affect us ought to cause an empathetic reaction within us for our fellow man (woman, child, etc.). But it doesn't. Maybe it can't? I don't know. Weather isn't the same everywhere. Do you realize that while it's about 4000 degrees fehreinheit in Mobile, AL, it's 64 and rainy in Spokane, and winter or something on the other side of the world? That's nuts!

The weather isn't the same for everyone. It doesn't affect us the same either. Some people have specific allergies because of the weather, others are fine. Some people get really frizzy hair sometimes, which I think is hilarious but they hate it I guess. What the weather does is causes us to look intrinsically and say, "you know what, this really sucks. This is the worst. I. Hate. This. Weather." This situation, this financial crisis, this argument, this goal in life we didn't reach for whatever reason and we are THE ONLY ONES GOING THROUGH IT. Nobody else can feel the heat, the rain, the cold, except us. It's all about us. 

That's an easy thing to read and say, "Well yeah I'll just start counting myself lucky cause other people go through tougher stuff" NO. 

Don't do that. Don't just think you can write it off and push through alone. You know how people survive hurricanes, wildfires, sharknados? They talk to and listen to people who've been through them! That's smart. That's one of the great things about a body of believers: they're supposed to help. I don't have a million people I can turn to who I know will help me, but I have a group of friends that I trust, and I have a fiancée (bit of a humble brag) who can talk to me, and I have The Word I can turn to. 

Jesus is the greatest weather man, "I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world." -John 16:33

Now, the second way we can look at this is with regards to everyone around us. Each person, if we're using the handy-dandy weather illustration, carries their own atmosphere, their own climate, their own problems. And let's say we're believers. "We're believers." Good. Now, knowing what we know about Christ, about His overcoming of the world, about the body of the church and their ability to comfort, we ought to know that we should make a pretty pretty good umbrella. 

"Hey, I'm not an umbrella!" 

But you can be. You can be THE BEST umbrella. Or fortified structure, or bathtub, or, like, water or whatever keeps people safe from fire, idk fire is scary. The point is that we can be of great help to someone who needs it. 

"What's up, moon? How's it going, pollen? Great to see you, tropical depression!" 

-Levi 

ALL CAPS

Welp, here we are folks! 

Where? 

Well, wherever. Whatever. It doesn't actually matter a whole lot, does it? It does not. If you're there, and I'm here, and maybe someone else is another place, we're still all here. 

Whaaaaaaaat? 

Okay okay I'll get to the point. That all was superfluous to a point, but the fact of the matter is that we are living, breathing, thinking, and now reading, people. And that is incredible. I don't want to get too excited, but then again, yes I do. 

In fact, I want to get WAY TOO EXCITED. Because, as it occurs, there's actually no way I could ever even be excited enough. I'll explain, but first: an anecdote. 

ANECDOTE: 

So, this weekend was a good one. In very certain terms, it was one of my favorite weekends I've had. You see, I was given a gift. And, while that already seems neat, and it is, it was an incredibly great gift. This gift was SO GOOD that I didn't even know how to react to it. My best friend, girlfriend, better half, whatever you wanna call her, I call her Bri, bought me a piano. "WOW, A PIANO!" Is the appropriate reaction. But, like I said, I was dumbfounded. I was more like, "Whoa... Thanks. Thank you. I like it a lot." 

Seriously? 

.... That's it?

........... Like, really?

Yep. 

So, it took me these few days of thinking and playing the piano to really realize, "Wow, she bought me a piano." 

"WOW, I have a piano now!"

"HEY COOL THERES A PIANO IN MA HOUSE AN ITS MIIIIIINNNNEEEE!"

You know, things like that.

The point is, it took me a while, and probably much longer than it should have, to realize the greatness of the gift that I'd received. It was only after I used it that I really discovered how much I appreciated it, how much I loved it. The connection I'm trying to make here is a simple one: Your life is the piano, bro. 

Now, I'll be the very first to admit that I seldom go about my day marveling at how lucky I am to be living, because sometimes things don't work out the way  I want them to. It's tough cookies, but you know what? It's still cookies, and cookies are good. But shouldn't I be so grateful to be here? Where? HERE! And so, through the process of living and using my life, I can see and discover for myself exactly why I should be excited, overjoyed, overwhelmed, and in a euphoric state of happiness. It's because this life is a gift, and a very practical one at that. Don't try to understand it, don't acknowledge that there could be any sort of reason for an ever-loving, ever-capable, creative Father would up and say, "You know what, that guy gets to be alive and experience all the nice things I've made." <— that's CRAZY. And just like I'm quite certain that I don't deserve the piano Bri bought me, it's not some sort of "good boyfriend award," and it's probably a good thing those don't exist because I'd never win one, I'm also quite certain that I don't deserve this life. 

And just like I've warmed my way into a party-like attitude of gratification and appreciation of the piano, so should I be completely hurtling myself towards an all-out, passionate, consumed existence living for THE GOD who created me and  gave me this life. 

WHAT?!?!?? 

We should all be living an ALL CAPS life, completely detached and unaware of any inhibiting factors, devoid of doubt, free of fear, rescued from rhyme and reason of the world, and running to God at breakneck speed.