Too many of us don’t view life in a positive way as often as we should. Sometimes we view it as a list of never-ending goals and accomplishments that we feel will bring us happiness and fulfillment. I am guilty of this. It’s one of my biggest weaknesses and worst bad habits. Especially since I am still in a transitional period within my life. I think to myself “When I finally get a decent job, then I’ll be happy.” But when I really look back on my life I’ve always viewed things this way in some form or another.
First I was being anxious to get out of high school in order to experience the freedom of being a college student away from home for the very first time. Then I eventually became tired of spending 4 1/2 years being a college student and wanted to make my way in the world. It was even present after I graduated. I wanted desperately to move out and find a job. I rushed my most serious romantic relationship at the time instead of enjoying every moment with a woman I loved deeply. Her and I shared many happy memories. But we could’ve shared so many more had I not panicked. I should’ve just slowed my mind down, relaxed, and realized that being with her showed me glimpses of what true happiness in a romantic relationship looked like.
Why do some people feel that reaching a certain goal or destination constitutes happiness? I’ve never understood that, even though I still find myself thinking this way. It does nothing but rob us of our peace of mind. And it doesn’t let us focus on the joys that the current moment could bring, if we only slow down and take them in. I’m sure there are many people who go through life like this, which is very sad. They search for true fulfillment and happiness, and never find it. While completely missing that it’s right in front of their nose!
One person who doesn’t live life like this, is my good friend Slade (I talk about him in an earlier blog post, “The Importance of Family and Friends Pt. 2”). He truly seems to be enjoying his life. Some people, like my sister Christy are very goal-oriented and driven. What I always like to call a Type A personality. Slade seems to be the true definition of a Type B personality. He still works very hard at what he does, but he tries to be more relaxed and in the moment. After all, moments are all we really have in life, right? If we don’t learn to enjoy them while they’re here, we can never get them back.
Slade doesn’t seem to let his job search and other life circumstances bother him like I often do. He works hard at the search, and then allows himself time to socialize with friends, or time to enjoy his hobbies like watching sports, Korean dramas or anime shows. He truly is a Type B personality: productive, yet not rushing life and being present in each moment.
I know I want to be a Type B personality. I love it when I can slow my mind down and fully immerse myself in whatever I am doing at that particular moment of my life. But I often find myself ashamed of being more laid back, and so I feel like I have to measure my worth by the amount of tasks I get done, or by the amount of goals I accomplish. And if I don’t accomplish every one of my goals for the day, it bugs me. It sometimes makes me feel as though I’ve wasted my time. I beat myself up royally.
Slade has figured out a new philosophy for his life that I am inspired by, and that I greatly admire him for: “Try to enjoy your life as much as you can. Appreciate your past but don’t dwell on the bad stuff. Live in the now, but prepare for the future.”
He’s in the exact same position I’m in. Single, living alone and looking for work. But yet he seems truly happy. He’s living his best life. I’m still struggling to do that. I need to follow his lead and learn to do the same. And that starts with being happy with what I currently have, and by realizing all I’ve accomplished in life.
Slade has always been a great listener as a friend. He’s listened to me in both my best and worst times. But he’s never struck me as one to give advice that hits me so profoundly. That’s not taking anything away from him. He’s just never really been one of the advice givers I go to in my life. I vent and talk to him when I want someone to commiserate or celebrate with me. But I usually go to my parents, or two other close friends, Tony and Alex when I want advice. But when advice like what I learned last night DOES come from Slade, I listen.
We all could use moments where advice comes to us from places where we least expect it. And we could all learn to try to live our best lives from seeing close friends living their best lives. Instead of being envious, whenever we see people truly living life to the fullest, we should think “Okay. How can I get there? They’re where I want to be. They know or realize something that I don’t. What can I learn?” I learned from Slade last night. Thank you, old friend. Love you 🙂
I leave you with this question: What are some of the best pieces of advice on life that friends have ever given you? I really am interested in hearing what people have to say. We could all learn from each other!
We may not always see it. I know I often don’t. It’s easy to get caught up in going through the motions with life when we’re not present in each moment, or when you have a stressful day. But God Himself is everywhere we look. I know I noticed Him in nature today through the trees, birds, sunlight and warmer temperatures. I see Him in the simple fact that I have my own apartment and food to eat, and clean water to shower with every day. And He is there when I pray or read Scripture.
But aside from the most basic blessings such as these, God is also heavily involved in each of our lives. Especially with the people He puts into them. My best friend Tony is very wise, and when I was having an especially rough day recently, I think God spoke through him. I was feeling abandoned by God, and like He didn’t love me. I felt He had turned away from me. And I couldn’t blame Him for doing that, for I am a sinful man.
But in the midst of my low moments and emotional anguish, Tony said something I will never forget: “The people in our lives are the vessels of God’s love, even when we don’t see Him or feel Him.” And instantly, it felt like a HUGE weight was lifted off my shoulders. And it made sense to me too. God does not turn away from those who love Him, no matter how sinful or messed up we are, if we honestly try to find Him in our days. He is like the North Star. He never moves. He never loses faithfulness toward us (even though to me it sometimes feels like it. But it’s my fault. I sometimes grumble about God working too slow in my life), and He sustains us and protects us.
Yes. God is there even in the darkest times.
Read that again and let it sink in. God is there even in the midst of our tragedies. I often used to question how God could allow such things to happen. I still do. I don’t know if I’ll ever figure out that part of things. But knowing what I know now from my friend Tony, and applying it, my eyes are opened just a little bit more. While I will never fully understand why God allows tragedies happen, such as the deaths of 24 people from tornadoes in Tennessee, or the many random earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires and other natural disasters, Tony’s comment brings light to everything. If the people in our lives are the vessels of God’s love and how He reaches us, the people who respond to these natural disasters, and who donate to relief efforts are an extension of His love as well.
He is there in my own dark times, too. In my own life, after each death in the family I’ve experienced, there has always been an outpouring of love and support. Sometimes from people I didn’t even know previously! From the death of my Grandpa Don, to my cousin Keegan, and to my Grandma Barb, the love shown to me and everyone else who has mourned, has been nothing short of amazing!
While I still do not understand death, and likely won’t until my own death comes one day, I do believe that God lifts us up in His love through the love of others like that in times of tragedy. Yes it is very easy to think God is cruel for letting death and tragedy happen. I’ve done it. I’ve been angry at Him, and said, thought and done things I’m not proud of. But that was out of my clouded judgment and human pain. But now being in a good state of mind, I recognize that God is love. Whether it is directly from Him, or others in our lives.
He is also there in our happiest times!
What makes you happy and brings you joy? I know for me, it’s talking regularly with family and friends, spending time at Mom and Dad’s house with them and the animals every other weekend or so, and watching sports whenever I can. Joy is also insane laughing fits with Tony. Something always gets us going, and we laugh so hard we have tears in our eyes! I’m surprised I haven’t turned blue, keeled over and died yet!
What if I told you all of the things that bring you joy are a manifestation of God as well? All of your hobbies, and jobs (if you enjoy them) are God reaching out to you in a way that you understand. I’ve always enjoyed writing and journaling like this. And there have been quite a few times where I learn something new simply from working through my thoughts with writing that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise. I truly believe that is God teaching me something. I also feel God close by when I’m sitting outside when it’s warm, and when I enjoy nature as well. And when I find joy or excitement from sports, I think that is also a gift from God as well. Although it would be nice experiencing just a tiny bit more joy as a Cleveland Browns fan on Sundays 😉
But “The Man Upstairs” is always there for us. Even if we don’t always understand Him, if we look deep enough and allow our hearts and minds to be open to Him, we’ll see God more clearly. For He is absolutely everywhere. In everything good, and in every person on earth whenever they live selflessly for others.
So I leave you with this one question: Where do you find God? I’m interested in hearing what everyone has to say!
Do you ever find your mind wandering to when you were younger or a child? I find myself doing that often. Sometimes to wish I could go back and relive those old memories. And other times I like thinking about those days because they still bring me happiness and make me smile to this day.
Few things bring me more happiness or nostalgia than thinking about when I used to be a big NASCAR fan as a little boy to my teenage years. And that was because of two reasons: My dad, and a driver named Ricky Rudd. To me, it was about more than just enjoying the excitement of watching race cars hurtle around the track at 200 miles an hour. My happiness came from quality father and son bonding time starting from when I was about five years old. But we also loved supporting Ricky Rudd.
Becoming a fan
I haven’t been even remotely into NASCAR since Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired. There just don’t seem to be many big personalities in the sport anymore. But it was the exact opposite when I rooted for Ricky Rudd every Sunday afternoon as a boy. My childhood in the 1990’s saw many larger than life drivers. There was The Intimidator, Dale Earnhardt Sr. in his classic black #3 car, Rusty Wallace in the blue #2 Miller Lite Car, Mark Martin in the Valvoline #6, and some young phenom by the name of Jeff Gordon in his DuPont #24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
But I became a Ricky Rudd fan when I first saw his #10 Tide Ford Thunderbird. I loved the way the car looked. The orange, white and yellow was a cool paint scheme! But the sentimental value for me came when I saw, on the back of his car, Whirlpool was one of his biggest sponsors! My father, Larry was working for Whirlpool at the time. So not only did I connect Ricky Rudd and the Tide car with the joy of watching races, it was just cool seeing the Whirlpool in huge letters near the rear spoiler and thinking, “Hey! Dad works here! I’ve gotta support Ricky Rudd now. He’s my driver!” Watching him race in the now legendary #10 reminded me of my dad and made me happy. Simple as that!
Ricky Rudd’s classic #10 Tide Ford Thunderbird
Ricky Rudd: The driver
Ricky didn’t always race in the classic #10 though. After the 1999 season, he switched over to the black and red #28 Havoline Ford Taurus when he signed on to drive for Robert Yates Racing. Oh no. A young boy’s fanhood crisis: Do I stick with Tide and whoever their new driver was? Or do I follow Ricky to his next stop? I chose to follow Ricky because by this time I had learned, and come to respect who he was as a driver and competitor: He was the model of consistency, tough as nails, and he didn’t back down from anyone. Even the legendary Intimidator himself, Dale Earnhardt, who was notorious for a short temper, couldn’t scare Ricky Rudd. Rumor has it that Ricky had a temper that could rival Dale’s! But I also respect Ricky because even though he was a fiery, aggressive driver who did what it took to win or do consistently well, he was also a gentleman. He was classy, and friendly with interviewers and fans. Some of these younger drivers in today’s NASCAR circuit could learn a few things from a legend on how to carry themselves. Who isn’t inspired by someone who is tough, aggressive, constantly striving to do their best, and who treats people with respect?
Best memories of my Rudd fandom: 1997 Brickyard 400
My past is littered with happy sports memories. Everything from watching my first Ohio State football game with my dad when I was five years old and learning the game from him, to watching the Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA Championship, and everything in between. Following Ricky Rudd was no exception. The first favorite memory from being a Rudd fan that sticks out in my mind was when Ricky won the 1997 Brickyard 400. Even though he was a model of consistent excellence, 1997 overall was a bad season for Ricky Rudd, since he finished 17th in the points standings that year. Uncharted territory for someone who was consistently used to at least finishing in the Top 10 most years. I remember thinking as a kid, “Man, he’s been struggling this year. It would be awesome to see him win at least one race.” Well, on that hot and humid day in August of 1997, he FINALLY found Victory Lane!
It may have been an early memory from my childhood. But as a six year old boy, I remember two things: Being nervous as hell that Ricky would run out of gas at the end, and celebrating and going crazy with Mom and Dad. I hope our celebrating didn’t wake up Christy since she was still a baby at the time. But we were living in a house trailer at the time. And I remember pacing back and forth from the living room to my bedroom until the last few laps. I couldn’t watch my favorite driver stumble at the end. Not when he’d been having an awful season up to that point. That would just about break my heart! But the pacing back and forth turned to running back and forth after Ricky took the checkered flag! If there was ever pure, unadulterated, childhood joy, that was it!
Blisters and Burns: Gutting it out at Martinsville
My next favorite memory as a Rudd fan came the following year, 1998. But instead of remembering how happy I was, this time I remember being inspired by how tough Ricky was, and scared for his health. Folks, I bet most people do not see NASCAR drivers as athletes. When you think of an athlete, you probably think of football players, basketball players, and baseball players. But Ricky showed his toughness during the 1998 Martinsville race.
Inside a car during a race, temperatures reach at least 150 degrees. At least. That’s why drivers have a hose connected to the back of their helmet that’s constantly circulating cold air to keep them cool. Well, imagine that cooling hose malfunctioning at the beginning of the race. And having to race 200 laps with no protection from the heat. That was the reality for Ricky Rudd that day. His cooling equipment in his helmet malfunctioned at the very start of the race, and he gutted it out.
On top of that, he also dealt with his seat becoming unbearably hot. The metal surrounding the seat was so hot that it blistered his back and most of his body. Once his crew chief found out about this, he repeatedly asked Ricky at every pit stop whether or not he wanted to quit and have someone finish the race for him. But he did not quit. And as good fortune would have it, he had the best car on the racetrack that day, and made it to Victory Lane…where he was helped out of the car, and did the post-race interview lying down. On his severely blistered back and wearing an oxygen mask. Ricky Rudd is the toughest race car driver I’ve ever seen, and it’s not even close. My goodness!
A Boyhood Dream: Behind the Wheel of the Beast (Twice!)
You’d think I’d have enough fun watching my favorite NASCAR driver at home right? Well, what if I told you I not only got to sit in a race car not once, but twice? Yep. I got to sit behind the wheel of those monsters! As a boy, I got to sit in one of the #10 cars, as well as the black and red #28 Havoline car. Unfortunately I don’t remember what the inside of the #10 looked like, and I could swear to this day that the #10 that I got to sit in was a showroom car, rather than a real race car. Dad tells me he remembers hoisting me up into it. But I remember someone opening a door and sitting me down in it. Who knows? All I know is I DO remember wearing my Ricky Rudd gear from head to toe.
Imagine a nervous and excited little boy with bleach blond hair, wearing a Ricky Rudd Tide hat and Ricky Rudd Tide shirt. Hell, imagine the kid even wearing Ricky Rudd Tide shorts. (Yes, there were even NASCAR-themed shorts back in the day). That was me. I was decked out in so much orange, yellow and white, that someone could’ve put a headset on me at the time, and I would’ve looked like a little Crew Chief.
But I got to sit in a showroom model of one of the #10 Tide cars, which was awesome! I was an equal mix of extremely happy and extremely nervous that day though. I don’t remember where Dad and I were, but because he worked at Whirlpool at the time, we went to an event where the car I got to sit in was being showed off. And Ricky Rudd himself was also supposed to meet fans that day. I remember being so nervous when I heard he might actually be there, that I was on the verge of tears. I was also afraid of embarrassing myself in front of him by crying. Crying in front of one of my childhood heroes? That wouldn’t be good. Unfortunately, I think something came up in Ricky’s schedule that day, and I never got to meet him in person. But I still remember attending that show with Dad, and getting to sit in that car. I’ll carry the memories of that day with me forever.
Sometime later Ricky Rudd had moved on from running his own racing team, Rudd Performance Motorsports, to driving the #28 Havoline Ford Taurus for Robert Yates. And wouldn’t you know, as luck would have it, Dad and I attended another one of these events where NASCAR race cars were being showed off for fans. This time however, I distinctly remember being hoisted into the car, and told to watch my head as I slid into the driver’s seat. But once I was in there it sunk in. Here I was. A kid. In the driver’s seat of a real, live, race car! I just remember how huge everything felt surrounding me. I looked out the windshield at everybody, and then at all the gauges and switches. And wishing I could fire that thing up! 800+ horses of pure American muscle. She was beautiful!
Did I actually get to sit in this thing?!
Future NASCAR Hall of Famer?
After driving the #10 and #28 cars, Ricky Rudd continued racing for quite a while. First in the red and white #21 Motorcraft Ford for Wood Brothers Racing, and then in the #88 Snickers car, again for Robert Yates, until his retirement in 2007 at the age of 51. He’s currently enjoying his retirement somewhere in his home state of Virginia, and I hope he, his wife Linda and their son Landon are doing well.
I have always respected Ricky Rudd for his toughness, consistent excellence, and never backing down from a challenge. But never did I think I may live to see the day that my favorite driver may just be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame! Here’s the link!
He’s been up for induction since 2017. He may not have seven championships like Dale Earnhardt, or 200 wins like Richard Petty. But his career still is incredibly impressive! Some of his stats:
906 career starts from 1975-2007, second only to Richard Petty. This earned him the nickname “The Iron Man.”
16 straight seasons with at least one win.
1977 Rookie of the Year
23 career wins
374 Top 10 Finishes
194 Top 5 Finishes
Named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.
I hope Ricky Rudd one day makes it into the NASCAR Hall of Fame alongside Dale Earnhardt Sr., Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace and others. If he does, I’ll be celebrating right along with him! Watching him race all those years ago as a kid meant a lot to me. It was more than just watching a skilled race car driver hurtle around the track. Watching Ricky Rudd race reminded me of my dad. Both in that Whirlpool was a sponsor, and that many a Sunday afternoon was spent watching him race with my family. He’s my first sports hero. A man who busted his butt to be the best, who never took any disrespect from anyone, and who treated others with the respect they were due. Thanks for everything, Champ!
I believe that God is continually at work on me. Even when I don’t see it or feel it. One of the areas where I feel like He’s working on me, is simply trusting Him. Especially when I am STILL looking for consistent, full-time work. But what does having faith in God really mean? It might look different to different people. For some, trusting in God means completely and entirely believing that He will provide. Even when they do nothing to facilitate it.
Perhaps I need to have greater faith in God, and I am trying. But the rational, logical part of my mind bristles at people who trust in blind faith without working hard themselves. True, we do get lucky sometimes and have things go our way in the form of blessings. But not working hard to earn the life we want, and expecting God to constantly provide for us does not make sense to me. Plus it seems arrogant of people and insulting to God. Some people seem to treat Him like a “wish machine.” I have been guilty of doing this, but I am trying to get better at not doing it.
My personal beliefs on how faith works
This is my own personal perspective: I believe that while yes, we should have faith in God to bring us through tragedies and rough spots in life, He has also given us a brain and a body to figure out solutions to our problems. This is how I view both life and scientific discovery. God reveals solutions to us in time, but we need to work toward whatever those are. We need to be like Hansel and Gretel and follow where the trail of breadcrumbs leads us. God lays down breadcrumbs to many solutions in our own lives, and in general. And when he doesn’t? That’s where faith and patience should come come into play.
There have been many times where I have been stuck with seemingly no way out or forward. Through recovery after two surgeries on my legs, several times in my undergraduate years at Kent State, several times in graduate school at the University of Findlay, moving out of my parents’ house, and now trying to find work. And I recognize that God has brought me through those times. Either by lending me a hand by placing someone in my life to help me, or carrying me through completely.
A book titled How Being Consistent Changed Everything has really forced me to look at where I stand in my faith in God. I received that book when I was an intern at WXML Radio in Upper Sandusky, Ohio in the Summer of 2013. But I hadn’t read much of it until recently. Perhaps that’s because I really wasn’t sure of my beliefs on life, and I wanted to figure out what those were at a basic level, and then tackle bigger things like this. And while the people at the radio station were very nice and helpful, I was also very leery about evangelical Christianity. In some ways, I still am put off by how certain people approach me or their beliefs. God walks with all of us, and everyone’s path to Him is different. Being preached at always rubs me the wrong way. But I digress.
At the time, I was simply focused on getting done with the internship, learning a few skills, helping take the load off of the other employees at the station, and going back to Kent to party with my buddies that fall. I’m sure many young men in their early twenties think like that. But when I left my internship to head back to school, a very nice man named Jason DeZurik gave me that book in order to be encouraging. I still appreciate the gesture to this day. I don’t know what he is doing now. But at the time, he was an evangelical pastor who stopped by for a visit at WXML to promote a new radio show he was hosting.
Fast forward to now, in March of 2020, and I am searching. Searching for my life’s purpose. Searching for a job. Searching for love and companionship. And searching for my true faith and what that looks like. And so I brought Jason’s book along when I moved out. I thought it would be good for me and help strengthen my faith, and it has. He is genuinely encouraging and I love that. But it has also rubbed me the wrong way in some ways too.
My thoughts on the book so far
Jason recounts several stories where he, his wife and their six children are seemingly left with nothing to do but pray to God for deliverance from their problems. And lo and behold, every time they pray, someone provides milk, produce, other food, or money. While the stories he tells about a neighbor providing milk or other food from time to time are heartwarming and genuinely make me smile, I’ve gotten to the part of the book where he talks routinely about complete strangers providing him money. And I don’t care for it, to put it mildly. A thousand here for a car repair. A thousand there for his wife’s sixth pregnancy. And perhaps many other examples I’ll come across as I eventually finish the book. But those examples with money reek of something called the “Prosperity Gospel.” And it’s something I’ve always despised.
The Prosperity Gospel
For those who don’t know, the prosperity gospel basically means that the more someone is blessed with money, the more God looks favorably upon them, and that money or other worldly successes, is a result of strong faith. I call bullshit on that. Some of the poorest people in the world have strong faith and are blessed by God. Two examples I can think of off the top of my head are the first Christians (the disciples and followers who physically were in the company of Jesus), and Saint Teresa of Calcutta. Jesus also teaches us that money means nothing compared to faith in God when He tells the story of the rich man and the beggar named Lazarus. Lazarus ends up in Heaven with Abraham while the rich man suffers for eternity in Hell. You can read that parable here.
While I am sure Jason DeZurik and his family are good people, I know they’re not perfect. Just like the rest of us. Perhaps believing in these kinds of things is one of his flaws? Who knows?
I just take issue with his stories regarding complete strangers, or even people he might know, providing him decent-sized sums of money. And I especially have an ax to grind when he says that God “put it on their heart” to give the money to him. Something about that just seems phony, dishonest and wrong to me. I also don’t believe he’s telling the truth when he presents these kinds of stories. Did God really bless him with the money needed for his family’s medical bills and car repairs? I don’t know if God works like that. With the frequency at which these “minor miracles” happen, you’d think he was especially singled out by God! Perhaps he was and is. I just know for me, faith and money do not mix. Period.
I will continue reading Jason’s book. Perhaps by the end, my mood and thoughts will change. And if they don’t, I want to understand why they are that way. Whether it’s something I need to change in how I see God and the world. Or whether Jason truly is wrong for thinking that God works like this, with discernment coming through the Bible and what Jesus says on the subject. It’ll be interesting moving forward!
Every so often, I find that I have nagging questions in my mind that I just have to answer. Otherwise they’ll continue to bug me and nag at me until I find an answer that makes sense to me. I’m having one of those days again today.
This all started a little bit ago when I was watching a new TV series called Hunters starring Logan Lerman, Al Pacino and others. It’s a fictional series set in 1977 New York, and features Jewish “Nazi hunters” who hunt down undercover Nazis that escaped to the United States after World War II. The show itself is really cool so far! Love the action and pacing. Plus Al Pacino is an absolute badass in his role as the head Nazi hunter.
But once I allowed my mind to wander a little bit, I began to ask myself one question: Why are the Jewish people so hated by the rest of the world? They’ve been the most persecuted group or nation in the history of the world and it’s not even close. From constant oppression by several ruling classes thousands of years ago, to the Holocaust in World War II, to the issues between Israel and Palestine today, Jews have seemingly dealt with trouble since their beginning, simply because they are who they are.
But that still didn’t make sense to me. Why would people hate a group for no reason other than for their mere existence? But I started reading articles to get a different perspective and try to get to the bottom of things. This one really seemed to open my eyes.
I agree with the article in that the Jews are hated and persecuted for one major reason: The world hates God and having to live morally. The world doesn’t like having to answer to anyone. God first spoke to the Hebrews, the forerunners of the Jewish people, about how to live a moral life that pleases God through the Ten Commandments delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai. After that, God came down to earth in the form of Jesus Christ to actively show humanity how we should live.
How did humanity react? In both cases, these messages of living a life that was pleasing to God were ridiculed, hated, and rejected by many. The Jews were persecuted for their message, and Jesus was crucified for His, with many Christians being persecuted for it throughout the centuries as well. The persecution of people of both faiths is ongoing to this day.
What about hate for other groups?
After examining my own thoughts on why humanity reacts so negatively to both Jewish and Christian messages, I had another thought: Why does the world hate other minorities? I let my mind go. The persecuted minorities I think of are the LGBTQ community, and the black and brown communities. While I think society has come a long way in being accepting and understanding toward these communities, there is always room to grow and learn.
My arrival at the second reason why there are persecuted minorities, isn’t from any kind of research or reading, but rather from my own personal experience: People fear, ridicule, or hate what they do not understand. I do not understand why humanity has a tendency to do this. But many people fear or hate ways of thinking different from their own. And they also fear, ridicule, or downright hate people different from them.
I do not know how we will fix either of the above problems. We certainly cannot legislate away human hatred or evil. That’s a problem we have to look into the mirror to fix. It’s a human heart problem. I suppose the closest humanity can come to fixing either issue, is to study them as if you were in the shoes of the persecuted minority, or perhaps engaging in a constructive, educational conversation with someone who identifies as a member of any of these communities, and try to gain their perspective on things. For learning is a lifelong process. And if we aren’t learning, broadening our minds, and pushing ourselves beyond what we already know, what are we doing?
I have always prided myself on trying to see opposing viewpoints. Whether I agree with them or not. Credit that to three things: being raised in a loving household with wonderful parents and an awesome sister, attending college, and naturally growing up and maturing.
While I have my own inherent biases (as does everyone on earth), I realize not everyone will see things similar to the the way I do. And that absolutely no one will see things exactly as I do, because they aren’t me. But I try to see everyone’s point of view. This is especially true when it comes to politics. Even though I am personally a right-leaning independent who was raised in a Conservative household with Christian values, attending a heavily Liberal-leaning college in Kent State University has shifted me more to the center.
But one thing I think we all can agree on, whether we lean left, right or are in the middle, is that we should always pursue the truth. Not what we want to see, but what is. But in today’s echo chamber created by CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and ridiculous conflict and fighting on social media, that seems impossible.
I stumbled across a video a few days ago that may have been the truth. Or at least a part of it. The right-leaning guerrilla journalist group Project Veritas secretly filmed ABC News correspondent David Wright openly admitting to several deceptive journalistic practices, such as intentionally misinforming voters at the behest of his boss, choosing certain stories that matter to ABC’s ratings rather than genuinely informing people on issues that matter, and stirring up outrage.
While Project Veritas is a right-leaning journalistic group, and some of their practices may be questionable (such as the hidden camera and microphone used to record Wright), I applaud Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe and his team for trying to get to the bottom of things and finding the truth through their chosen view. All that’s missing is a left-leaning group interested in working with Project Veritas to dig up the truth when it comes to Fox News, Breitbart and others. I am positive those on the right are guilty of the same things David Wright and ABC News are guilty of.
If Project Veritas and a left-leaning group interested in the same goals could come together, and work together to open everyone’s eyes to the truth outside of the echo chamber, objective journalism may one day make a comeback. But as long as there are backroom deals, money, and a political agenda involved when it comes to news, objective journalism is dead. It does not exist. Gone are the days of Walter Cronkite simply laying out facts and letting us decide things for ourselves.
In addition to the undercover video, I also have a link to one of my favorite documentaries, Shadows of Liberty. I discovered this documentary in June 2018, and ever since, I have tried my best to keep my eyes open whenever I watch one of the big media channels. Shadows of Liberty takes an unbiased look at how the media has been manipulated since the birth of our country. The media is no longer a vehicle for disseminating objective journalism. It’s a machine. A machine fueled by money, ratings, a political narrative, and our outrage over things that mostly don’t matter.
This machine doesn’t give a damn about what you or I think or truly want to know. All it’s interested in is turning everyone against each other. After all, if we’re at each other’s throats, it’s impossible for us to be angry at this machine. Even though it is one of the true enemies of the American people.
No matter where you may lean on the political spectrum, always be a critical thinker. When someone gives you a piece of news or information, resist the urge to become angry or emotional in any way. At least before you evaluate the information. Avoid articles that have a noticeable political slant or emotional language without facts from verified sources to back them up. When extreme claims are made about a subject or person (such as President Trump), avoid the urge to go along with your friends, and do your own detective work before making your decision on what to believe.
I recently found a website I am still researching called allsides.com, but I like the setup thus far. The site presents current media topics of the day. But unlike many news sites, there is an indicator whether a certain story has a left-leaning slant, right leaning slant, or is in the middle politically. Feel free to check it out for yourself here.
Sir Francis Bacon was right when he said knowledge is power. Those in positions of power count on an ignorant population. If we’re armed with knowledge and the truth, they can’t pull the wool over our eyes. And that scares them like you would not believe.
Hi everybody! I know I’ve been MIA for over a week since my last post. Chalk that one up to recovering from a NASTY case of the flu. The sneezing, coughing, fever, and everything else definitely sucks. But the worst part, at least to me, is having absolutely no energy to do anything. Other than sleep and try to recover. But compared to 2-3 days ago, I feel so much more healthy, and well-rested. And happy. I had gotten away from reading my devotional and Scripture, but today’s passage in the devotional gave me some encouragement and hope to look at my life in a different way.
I’m not going to lie. I have been struggling in my faith a lot over the last 2-3 weeks or so. I will always believe in God. I know He is there. But when I do not know where He is trying to take me, I don’t always see Him as the kind, all-good God that I know Him to be. I start seeing Him in a cynical, darker light unfortunately. As if I am forced to go somewhere I do not want to go. Or as if I am forced to suffer and try to be patient at a certain point in life until He conveniently decides my trials in that part of life are over. There are times He has frustrated me and angered me.
When I opened the devotional to today’s reading though, that mindset was shattered by one saying, and I am paraphrasing “Rejoice in the Lord, even when you don’t feel any joy.” That resonated with me. Perhaps it’s because I often feel like in order to be happy or truly rejoice in God, I need to be having one of those days where I am stronger in my faith. When the exact opposite is actually true.
When we look at the obstacle or trial in front of us in a negative way, it’s very easy for us to get discouraged, cynical, mock God, and give up. I’ve done it. Whereas if we look at any obstacle in front of us as God’s way of building us up by testing us, it actually strengthens our faith in Him. It gives us an extra reserve of patience, strength, and enables us to say, “Okay God, you’ve brought me through my past trials even when I didn’t think I’d make it. Give me the strength to make it through this current one.”
I don’t always look at all the trials God has brought me through. But He has brought me through many. Two surgeries. Fitting in as a kid, teenager, college student, and man with Cerebral Palsy. Two college degrees. Deaths of family members over the years. Missing an ex girlfriend something fierce, and learning to be happy with singleness after being in a committed long-term relationship. Now my biggest hurdle still lies in front of me: Finding a job that makes me truly happy. I had been looking at this hurdle all wrong. I looked at it as a place where I am stuck. Where there seems to be no end in sight to the search.
But when I consider who told us to “Rejoice in the Lord always,” I realize my problems and trials are minuscule. Saint Paul himself tells us to rejoice in God always. Even in our trials. If he could still rejoice in God in spite of being thrown in prison, beaten severely, mocked for his faith, starved, and eventually martyred, I can rejoice in God in spite of still being where I am in life. I have no excuse for not having faith if Paul had faith.
I also found when I look at my trials as obstacles to be conquered with hard work on my part, and with God’s help, rather than as immovable roadblocks, I am also happier with my life in general. I don’t know why this is, but I love the newfound feeling of peace and certainty it brings! I know I did not live almost 29 years to stay stuck where I am. I certainly will eventually find a job that fits my skill set, and that allows me to serve other people with the gifts God gave me. Until then, God is teaching me to rely on Him and be patient.
And in the same way, when you struggle in whatever trials life is throwing at you, God is asking you to turn to Him. Besides, who else, and what else do you have when your own skills and breaks run out? Humans are funny creatures. We always like to think we can control everything, and plan everything out. But that often blows up in our faces.
So I’ll end with Saint Paul’s words. “Rejoice in the Lord always.” He only wants the best for you, and loves you more than anyone possibly could. And the life He gave you wasn’t always supposed to be easy. But it IS supposed to be worth it. Every trial in your path is meant to strengthen you, and give you opportunities to find God, return to Him, and glorify Him.
Finally. It’s over. The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump is over. The United States Senate voted to acquit President Trump on Article I: Abuse of Power by a 52-48 vote. They voted for acquittal as well on Article II: Obstruction of Congress by a 53-47 vote. Neither article came close to the two-thirds majority (67 of 100 senators) needed to convict and remove President Trump from office. But regardless, history was made. Unfortunately it was bad history.
For only the third time in United States history, a sitting President has gone through an impeachment trial. Andrew Johnson was the first President to be impeached and put on trial. That happened in the 1860’s after the Civil War. Next, Bill Clinton was tried for the Monica Lewinsky scandal from 1998 to 1999. And today marks the end of Donald Trump’s trial. 20 days of media sensationalism are finally over.
Even though I know the political rhetoric is nowhere near close to dying down, it’s a relief to finally be done with that chapter of history. Simply put, it was the most partisan thing I have ever seen other than the election season of 2016. This whole thing was a farce. From the speed at which the proceedings were conducted, to the timing of it in relation to the 2020 Election coming up in November, to the lack of professionalism displayed during it, I haven’t seen anything like it.
Before I dive into my thoughts at length on the acquittal, I want to say two things: Washington does not know what they are teaching us, nor how they are rubbing off on us when they bicker and fight like they have over the last three years. And they did not know or understand the gravity of what they undertook with regards to impeachment.
This country is terribly divided. Starting with Washington. The divisiveness was bad in January 2017, and it’s progressively gotten worse as time has gone on. And what the politicians fight over has spilled down to us. Their feuds have become our feuds with our neighbors and families. Their hostility toward each other has become our hostility toward everyone with an opposing viewpoint. Their stupidity has unfortunately become our stupidity.
If they showed a good example of how to work with each other, it would set a good example for how the rest of us should get along. They lead and guide this nation by doing more than just passing and enacting laws. They lead by example. Somewhere, that responsibility was forgotten or discarded. And as we’ve seen, the example they’ve set flat out sucks. In times of divisiveness, there should be leaders in charge who understand the situation, and who act in the best interest of America and her people, rather than in the best interest of their party.
Neither Donald Trump, nor many of the senators and representatives in Congress, are worthy of the offices to which they have been elected. They are not worthy of sharing the same place in history as noble and good leaders such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and John Adams. Both Democrats and Republicans disgrace themselves, the legacy of this great nation, and they disgrace us, the American People.
I know I would never want to be a politician. Politics is a nasty business, and I would probably be assassinated or blacklisted for being a good man by calling out the corruption and fixing it where I find it. But at times like this, I get fired up enough to consider learning the ins and outs of politics so I could possibly run for political office one day. Washington needs good people. So many are corrupted. Am I perfect? Absolutely not. But I feel like Washington needs people like me. Patriots who deeply love America, her history, her civic processes, and helping people who are struggling. I don’t see many of them. Uncle Sam is crying. And the Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves.
Speed of the impeachment trial
My first issue with the impeachment trial was with how quickly it was conducted. The trial itself lasted 20 days. From January 16th to February 5th. If we wanted to go back to when impeachment was voted on, right around Christmastime, the whole thing lasted roughly six weeks. For comparison, the impeachment trials of Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson lasted two and three months, respectively. The speed of this thing was a problem to me. Especially if the gravity of the situation was truly considered.
An impeachment and trial are so rare. In nearly 244 years of American history, there have only been the three impeachment trials I mentioned. You would think in cases like that, the weight of the situation would be apparent to everyone. Enough for them to consider first, if impeachment is warranted, and if it is, to take their time in working through everything.
But from the outset, it was apparent to me that the trial was rushed. 20 days is not enough time to decide if the leader of the free world should be removed from his post or acquitted. I was expecting everything to take at least 4-6 months before we got to today. Something this serious warrants much more time than just under three weeks. To make sure the right thing is done, and to respect the sacred civic processes handed down to us by our Founding Fathers. Which brings me to my next question.
How did we get here?
We will never truly know if the push for impeachment led by Adam Schiff, a Representative from California, and Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, was tied to trying to influence the 2020 Presidential Election. But to me, the timing is too fishy to be coincidental.
I am an Independent who leans right, but I am no fan of Donald Trump. The man is not worthy of the office which he currently occupies. But neither are all of the senators and representatives who have tried to find any way to bring him down since Summer 2015. They are not worthy of being the leaders of our nation, either. But we’ve unfortunately been stupid enough to vote them in.
Donald Trump’s rise in American politics, from billionaire businessman to the President of the United States has shown me two things: That the Democratic and Republican parties are both in denial about who is to blame, and that a sizable number of Americans are angry with career politicians.
It is indeed interesting to go back and watch old videos of media personalities and political pundits laughing at and dismissing Donald Trump as a legitimate presidential candidate. The progression is entertaining and revealing to say the least. First, people laughed at and dismissed him. Then when he started picking up steam, they became more and more nervous, but still denied that he could win. On November 8th, 2016 after Donald Trump won the Presidency, this nervous and smug denial morphed into a full-blown meltdown and panic. After the panic died down and reality set in, we saw the final stages, which many politicians and talking heads are still stuck in today: anger, and blaming everyone and everything for Trump being President. Except themselves.
Who is truly to blame?
Many of the people who voted for Trump are labeled as condoning racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia simply because they voted for him. Are some who voted for Trump bad people? Absolutely. But there are bad people everywhere on the political spectrum. I’ve seen militant, hateful right wingers. And I’ve seen smug, arrogant and hateful lefties. But lumping entire groups together and blaming them is an excuse. An excuse to avoid looking at the real issues, and solving the real problems at hand. It’s a childish cop out.
The true blame for Trump’s presidency lies not with voters. It lies with both political parties for not taking him seriously while he was running for President in 2015 and 2016. If the leaders of both parties would’ve addressed voters who were considering voting for Donald Trump, they likely would’ve heard how dissatisfied people were with the current political climate, and adjusted accordingly. Or paid the price.
Unfortunately, both Democrats and Republicans in Washington paid the price with his election in 2016. And they will continue to pay it until they see how upset average Americans are, and work with them to understand why they’re upset. Once they realize this, there will be quality candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties who truly revere and adhere to our government processes as they were laid out after we won the war for our independence.
And when there are quality candidates, there will be leaders who encourage unity among all Americans by their example. This will hopefully put an end to, or at least greatly decrease the amount of name calling and fighting among American citizens when it comes to politics. Then we will see this great nation rise above the current circus that is going on in Washington.
And we will get along with, and learn to love our neighbors. Fellow Americans who love this country like we do. And it won’t matter that they have different ways of going about improving it. We’ll know how to communicate, and how to treat each other with decency and respect, because we will see our leaders treating each other that way.
But until our leaders recognize and admit that Donald Trump is a symptom of their own folly, complacency and arrogance, they will continue to struggle and fail. They don’t know best. We do. The American People have known how to govern themselves since July 4th, 1776. Compared to our government, we will always know what’s best. Forevermore.
I am often restless. Often never fully happy with where I currently am in my life. I have plenty more happy, and good days than bad ones, but it often feels like a little something is missing.
I think this is because I often feel pressure by society to be at a certain place at a certain time. Since I am a man in his late 20’s, society tells me I should be married with children, steady job to support a family, everything. But I have none of those things right now. And it’s often a source of deep angst and anxiety. I often fear being a lonely, old man because these things are happening for me later than most of my peers.
But I’m trying to realize something: If I am always focused on where society tells me I should be, I will absolutely NEVER be happy with where I currently am. Even when I do land a great job, find a wonderful woman or have beautiful babies, I will never be happy if I keep my old mindset. There is nothing good with constantly wanting more and being unhappy when you don’t have it. The only way to win this game? To not play.
God gave me a new mindset yesterday and today. He helped me recognize my blessings. I am alive and healthy. I have a loving family. My own place to live. A continuously growing social circle. A growing faith in God that is more noticeable because I am living alone and have to be more focused on seeking Him in different ways. I’m adjusting to living by myself and am learning to enjoy my own company. I am slowly becoming happy with where my life is at.
I know what you’re thinking. What’s so hard about recognizing the good things in life? Shouldn’t you do that every day? Yes, I should. But it’s not always as easy as it sounds. Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me, the negative self-talk gets to me, and I feel bad for seemingly being behind everyone else.
But I had a peaceful sleep last night. I woke up, thanked God, asked Him to forgive me of my sins, and prayed that He would forgive others who hurt me and bless them. I actively wished for their happiness instead of hoping they would “get theirs.” That last part isn’t always easy to do. But when I did, it took a burden off my shoulders. That’s what Jesus means in the Lord’s Prayer when He says the line “And forgive us our trespasses. As we forgive those who trespass against us.” God forgives us of our sins against Him if we sincerely forgive other people who have harmed us.
After that, it was like I felt a great sense of peace wash over me, and remain with me today. And I realized what a gift it is to be able to visit my parents and spend time with them. Or what a good gift it was to spend time with my sister, Christy yesterday. She picked me up from my apartment and took me out to eat at Olive Garden before we went home to see our parents. That was really cool!
With a grateful heart, and faith in God, we can recognize the simple things like spending time with one’s sibling or parents as gifts. And the worries of daily life melt away. I don’t worry about where I should be, and instead I focus on where I am. Today, I am spending time with my family 🙂
And I also recognize that I am forgiven of my sins, and loved by Jesus more than I can possibly imagine. I feel Him close by. He loves me, and I am washed clean by His sacrifice on the Cross. God loves us more than we could ever know. And He is always willing to show us our blessings, relieve us of our burdens, and wipe every tear from our eyes. All we need to do is let Him 🙂
Have you ever had your beliefs seriously challenged or changed? If you haven’t, you’re not growing or living. And if you haven’t allowed yourself to be seriously challenged at least once in your life, you’re missing out. There is a certain skill to allowing yourself to seriously hear different viewpoints, while still keeping your faith and beliefs. I’m beginning to think many people don’t know how to do it.
I am not wiser than most. And I am still very young. At almost 29 years old, I have learned a few things, while still realizing I have a LONG way to go to being truly wise and understanding. I’ve been in a couple big discussions/mental sparring matches with Fundamentalist Christians over the last couple days, and they have definitely given me something to chew on.
When you hear the words “Fundamentalist Christian” what do you think of? For me, it carries an overwhelmingly negative connotation. I think of people who are aggressive and hostile, preach fire and brimstone sermons, and who condemn those who do not take every aspect of the Bible literally.
For the most part, I avoid these people. But every now and again, I get bugged by something and have to speak out. Or as Pop likes to say, I get a burr up my ass. In this case, I was bothered by a friend who is an EXTREMELY outspoken Fundamentalist Christian posting about how he preached to two Muslim women about how Jesus is God. I respect my friend, but I have also seen how he preaches. Any way other than his way does not register with him. He doesn’t seem like an angry person, but he could rub a lot of people the wrong way. Apparently he did that with these two Muslim women so much, that they became angry with him and told him to fuck off. He reacted to this hostility by thinking they hated the truth. When I clearly saw it as they were probably upset with him for how he approached them. Plus they were probably defensive of their own faith, too.
I do not know Islam as well as Christianity. But Muslims do not see Jesus as the Son of God. They view Him as Isa (His name in Arabic), the second greatest prophet and messenger in their faith behind Muhammad. They also do not believe Jesus was crucified. They believe he was taken up to Heaven without suffering because, according to them, God would not allow a beloved servant to suffer such a horrible death.
But I digress. Everyone gets defensive when their faith/beliefs are challenged. I certainly have. It doesn’t feel good. But I believe people should recognize that being challenged is good. After all, if someone seriously challenging your faith completely destroys it, was it a real faith to begin with? Dogmatic faith to me is not faith at all. It’s rigid and dead. It is simply parroting what we’ve been taught or learned without truly examining it, which requires questioning. Living faith is going through these periods of questioning, and figuring out what makes sense and what doesn’t, and coming out stronger afterward and knowing what you believe in and why. Why are so many people afraid of questioning their beliefs? I don’t get it. I think it’s because so many are deathly afraid to be wrong on ANYTHING.
My belief on creation
Another thing I am interested in either changing or reaffirming for myself is my belief in how the world came to be. I find myself neither on the purely scientific side where the atheists are, nor do I find myself completely on the side of Fundamentalist Christians who follow young earth creationism. I find myself in the middle. I don’t know where I picked up my belief on this, but I believe a few things about the creation of the world:
The universe and the world was indeed created by God. Everything did not just come out of nothing. God is the only being or thing of any kind who never had a beginning, and who never has an end.
The seven day creation story isn’t meant to be taken literally. Science has proven that the Big Bang led to the creation of our universe. But here’s where I differ from both the atheists and Fundamentalist Christians: Perhaps we can look at big scientific events as pieces of the creation story. For example, God said “Let there be light.” That could’ve been the Big Bang, since it was an unimaginably HUGE explosion that no doubt generated untold amounts of light and other things that led to our creation. Or when Genesis says that God created the heavens and the earth and the seas, one could look at the creation of the stars, asteroid bombardment of the very early Earth, and comets helping to form oceans as pieces of the creation story. And intelligent design does not disprove creation. On the contrary, intelligent provides proof of God’s handiwork. I am a big believer in this theory. Everything on earth is all made in a certain way, and for a certain purpose. From the smallest cell or atom, to the blue whale. Who do you suppose did that? This is no accident. After all, it would take more faith to take the atheist stance that things “just happened” as a happy accident, than to take the stance that some higher power created everything.
The seven days of creation in the Bible could mean billions of years. Could God have created the earth in seven 24-hour days? Sure. Nothing is impossible for God. But I still don’t know how to reconcile that with what I learned growing up in science class. Plus time to God is nothing, while to us, our lives flash by in a blink. 75-80 years if we’re lucky.
Science and faith support one another in the creation story. They’re not at odds. The illusion that they are is unfortunately a byproduct of arrogant atheists and arrogant Christians having to be right over the years, because they’re afraid to be wrong. Science and faith work together. God instills faith in us to turn to Him when we don’t understand something. But he also gives us a mind and brain to figure things out that He reveals to us. Purely believing on blind faith without questioning is a form of arrogance, and a disguise for fear. Some are scared of being wrong if they question themselves. Just as purely believing in human reason is absurd and just as arrogant. We are extremely flawed, and nowhere near close to perfect. Plus perhaps some in the atheist community are scared to concede anything to the opposing side for the exact same reason: They’re afraid to be wrong about anything. And they’ll look foolish. Or so they believe. After all, they can’t have those who believe in the “invisible man in the sky” proving them wrong, can they? 😉
Do we resist God?
During my search, I also attended my first Bible study in a long while. I initially did it to just get out of my apartment, so I didn’t go crazy. But after studying Matthew 3 in the Bible (Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist), we somehow worked our way to beliefs in creationism.
While I don’t necessarily know if I completely agree with Jake, the guy who led the Bible study on this next point, I do see where he comes from. He believes that so many aren’t willing to believe in a literal creation story, because they do not want to obey or follow God. His line of thinking goes like this: If there is a God -> there is a Divine will for how things are supposed to be -> if God wills things to be a certain way, He wills a plan for us to follow -> if He wills a plan for us to follow, then it is in our best interest to follow Him and that will, and not our own way. And we resist this because we don’t want to take any accountability for our actions and answer to God. He definitely has a valid point. But at the same time, who is to say God’s will isn’t for us to question things to learn more and grow closer to Him, or grow deeper in knowledge and faith this way? After all, we can’t contain God or box him in anywhere. He is too big for even the smartest person alive to come close to even remotely comprehending Him. We do not have all the answers.
Genesis: Paradise Lost
I am very interested in a fairly recent documentary/movie called Genesis: Paradise Lost. It was released in late 2017, and basically aims to prove how evolution is a lie, and how the young earth creationist theory is correct, which states that the Earth is not 4.6 billion years old, but rather only 6,000 years old.
While I do not believe the Earth is 6,000 years old, I have never really allowed myself to listen to that theory. I didn’t feel I needed to. But I pride myself in listening to all kinds of different viewpoints and trying to find some common ground in all of them or most of them. So I rented this movie and am going to watch it soon. While a movie will not completely reshape or reaffirm what I know, it will definitely allow me to find out where I am in the whole creation debate. I’ll just be happy to explain my beliefs better, defend them with reason, and back them with Scripture and faith when need be.
Always challenge yourselves, folks. There is nothing wrong with doing so. After all, if we don’t challenge ourselves in any way, we don’t grow.
Luke's Thoughts 