Last Man Standing

I saw this picture while aimlessly scrolling through the feed of Google +.  I saw the random bird, then I saw the caption, then I saw the other Birds.  Many of you probably had the same experience.
     Most of you, like me, will think this picture is cool.
     Many of you will think that you would like to be that one bird.
    Some of you may re-post it, like I did.
    And almost all of you, like me, will just keep on scrolling aimlessly.
This is how life is.  We wander through it and see an interesting thing, or something inspirering.  We will say the world needs more of that!  We will share that, then keep going aimlessly.

I want to end the Aimlessness.  

So I decided to blog about it.

I am going to tell you all about this picture and how we as Christians should see this bird as what we should be.
Think about this for just a moment

  Can we change the world if we act like part of it? 

If we stand with the crowd, even if we don't agree with the crowd.  How will anyone know?
How can people see Christ in us, if they don't even see us?

Look at that group of birds.  They are all doing different things.  Some are bending over, some are turned, some are standing straight up.  People are like this too, they are each different, and have different beliefs.  But know one really know that by just looking.

But that one bird, people look at it.  They inspect it.  I sat there and stared at it.  Not really knowing that I was doing it.
Why?
Because it stands out! And when someone stands out, they are under a lot of scrutiny.

That is probably one of the reasons why we avoid standing out.

"We can change the world from behind the scenes." 

"Other people can do the standing out part." 

"It is lonely out there." 

"I don't want people to hate me." 

"I don't want to be noticed."  


These are all arguments I used with myself.  Being somewhat normal, I bet you have too.

Now this is how I refuted them to myself.

1.  Yes, some can be behind the scenes, but if everyone is pulling curtains, who is on the stage?  If everyone is managing props, then who is delivering the messages?  Imagine if all the pastors decided to be behind the scenes? There would be no churches?

2.  Piggy-backing on the previous one, What if everybody thought that?  What if everyone was waiting for someone else to stand out?  We would get NOWHERE!!! What if Paul had decided that he didn't want to teach?  Or David thought someone else could take down Goliath? Or Noah chose not to build the Ark, I bet that stood out!  We all think that these people were ready for these things.  But I know I would never be ready to take on a Giant with just a rock.  The CHOSE to stand out.  They didn't let someone else do it.  Because they were the only one who could.

3. Loneliness has always been one of my problems.  Especially since I moved. Back where I used to live, it was easy, because all of my friends had the same beliefs, moral, and values.  But here, I hang out with non-Christians, and other Christians that do not have the same mind-set at me.  It got hard. Fast.
In fact, I almost stopped public school to go back to homeschooling.  Why?  Because it was easier.  I didn't have to worry about standing out, or dealing with difficult people.  But here, think about this one.

Jesus was lonely.  He was probably one of the Loneliest people.  

He was WAY different from everyone.  Yes, he had his disciples, but he was always leading them.  Yes, he had God, but he had to have longed for Human companionship as well.
Leading is lonely.  Being in front is lonely.  Being different is lonely.
I am not making you feel better am I?
Well, if there are enough people being different.  At least you can be lonely together.  (bad pun, I know)
But just because you are different doesn't mean you can't make friends with the people who aren't.  Jesus befriended taxpayers.

4.  Yup. I hear this one a lot as well.  The world is really big with everybody liking each other.  Everyone getting along.  I mean the have bumper stickers that say COEXIST.  If it is on a bumper sticker, we gotta do it right?
Being different will ruffle feathers, Why? Because we are changing things. Don't let this deter you.  Someone out there will always have feelings of malice towards you, whether it is because you are different, too normal, you have brown hair, you like math,  Someone out there won't like you, Why? Because that is the way of the world.  (not saying I agree with it, but I know it is true).
People will hate you for it.  But God will Love you.   I know he loves you anyway, and he always will.  But, such actions are pleasing to him.  God's people will love you.  Win some loose some....

5. I know the feeling of wanting to shrink into the shadows.  Heck, Batman does it.  But, there is no way, someone can follow God truly, and not stand out.

 If you follow God with all your heart, you will stand out! 

If you don't think you are standing out, maybe you should reevaluate where you stand with God.  Just because you haven't Murdered anyone, doesn't mean you are doing everything right  

So, now I have told you all about standing out.  Yippy.  How many of you will keep scrolling.  Go one life and nothing changes?  

Well, now it is time to put it into practice.  

We are called to be different.  

There is NO way around.  No way to argue against it. (Trust me, I've tried).  This is how it is.  This is how it needs to be. 

It is hard.  It is going to be VERY hard.  Most of the time I do not know if I am doing it right.  

So I pledge that we all promise to help each other stay different.  To remind people, who is noticed more.  

If you agree with this, Say 'I pledge' or something likewise in the comments.  

The Only way we can change the world is if we are not of it.  It is time to change the world.  

Tori, 

Over and Out 

One Hot Night

So, some of you might know that my UBS was corrupted.  ( I lost all of my pointless dabblings :'( ) and Well, I was pretty upset.  Being me, I didn't have very much of it backed up.  That included the 20 some pages of the novel I am working on.  But because of my Amazing brother, much of what I lost had been recovered.  I have even found loads of my test from Biology.  So as I was going through the heaps of renamed files I ran into this narrative I wrote for English Freshman year.  Yes, I know some of the sentences are badly done (like this one) but  I was a freshie.  I thought the lesson of the past might, in someways apply to the present.  So Challenge Accepted technology stuff.   

One Hot Night

            Who would have ever thought that I would be standing outside in twenty degrees weather not wanting warmth, or in other words, fire?   Normally my family calls me a firebug; I guess that means someone who enjoys playing with fire.  But on this cold night, I wanted nothing more than the fire to disappear. 

It was after a hectic Monday at the Link.  My mom had surgery on her hands earlier that day, and she couldn’t use them at all.  It was a good thing my dad was home or we would’ve never gotten through dinner.  After the chaotic meal, I decided to unwind by watching a missed episode of Criminal Minds.  All the children were in bed and the house was quiet, or at least as quiet as our house gets.   Leaning back in the plushy computer chair, I prepared myself for a night of doing absolutely nothing of importance.  Soon, I became totally engrossed in solving the mystery and was all but oblivious to life around me. 

So little did I know that while I was helping master-mind cops catch a serial killer, my dad was solving the mystery of a super hot ceiling.  My eldest sister’s room had been smelling funny for a few days.  None of us thought much of it since we have an old house with a fireplace and, well, it’s Kayla’s room.  But luckily my dad looked into it farther and found that Kayla’s ceiling was almost too hot to touch.  Now, a strange smell is one thing, but a scalding hot ceiling is weird, even for Kayla. 

            After a final few minutes of peace, I was jerked from my fantasy and told to start putting coats and hats on half-asleep children.  The word ‘fire’ kept being thrown around like a baseball during a game.  Everyone was scrambling to get out of the house.  Personally, I was confused.  Just a few moments ago the house was calm, and all was well.  Now it was like trying to play football in the dark; there was a lot of running into things and quite a bit of shouting. 

As a grumpy David was thrust into my arms and a blanket chucked at my face, I overheard my mom trying to call the fire department.  Notice I said trying; my brother soon had to take over talking because my mom couldn’t even remember the color of our house, let alone the address.  This is what anesthesia and surgery does to her. 

            After what seemed like a lifetime, all nine of us kids were piling outside trying to keep the four younger ones from waking the whole neighborhood. It was a pretty vain attempt because if the crying kids didn’t do it, the five fire trucks might.   They soon came wailing down the street with enough noise to wake the dead.

 Freezing in the chilly November air, we shoved all the kids into the bus, which is actually a twelve passenger van, and tried to get them to fall asleep in their car seats.  Soon they calmed down and some fell asleep.  Alli and I tried our best to cover them up with the mismatched coats and blankets we had grabbed in our mad dash. 

After everything had settled down, Joe and I, being entirely insane, left the meager warmth of the bus to stand outside and watch firemen poke holes through Kayla’s ceiling.  It was a blessing and a curse that I had left all my blinds open so we could see right into the house, and straight to the action.  I guess now it was really starting to sink in that we had a fire in the house.  Before, it all seemed surreal.  But with my parents down the driveway talking to the multiple firemen and the smell of smoke in the air, the truth was undeniable.  Standing in silence, I watched my own story unfold before me. 

            Joe looked over at me and obviously trying to lighten the mood said, “Tori, have you been playing with matches again?”

            “Nope,” I replied, keeping up the charade.  “But…I was rubbing some sticks together earlier.  That must have done it!”

            We laughed and went back to watching the hole in Kayla’s ceiling grow, as if we were watching an exciting movie.  As the silence grew, I heard one of my sisters saying, “I hope my room isn’t dirty. That would be embarrassing.” 

            “I don’t think the firemen are really going to care about the state of your room ,” I said over my shoulder.  Secretly, I hoped this was true, because, as usual, my room was a mess. 

            “Darn! Why did I wear these pajamas? On the one night I decide to wear these pajamas, this happened.”

            I glance over at the car and shook my head. 

            “I think we will have a little more to worry about than your pajamas, Alli.” 

            I watched mom and dad talking with the firemen and the hole in the ceiling growing bigger, and I knew that it was going to get worse before it got better.  But what can be said when life takes a sudden turn but ‘Challenge Accepted’?  

A Place To Go

Well, this is a subject that has been on my heart for a long time.  I would like to know if I am crazy, so please share if you agree and comment if you don't (or do).  But, really, if you feel that a message needs to get out, I don't care if you copy this and pass it on as your own...(somebody asked me that :P)

    Well on to deeper things.  People in this day and age are always looking for that one thing, that one place they can belong.  Where they are accepted for who they are and where they come from.  Where they can be real.  A place to go when they are hurting and when they are joyous.  I want so badly to tell them, that this place exist.  I want so badly to tell them that this wondrous place is called Church.  But that isn't true.

Wow I know, I probably just offended  about a billion people.  And I am one of them.  This is an insult to me, because I am part of the Church.  

But, look at us.   Really look at us.  We are supposed to be the body of Christ, and still there is amenity between the denominations.   I am not saying that we should agree on EVERYTHING, but we all believe the same core beliefs.  This doesn't make them different species.  I myself have been to many different denominations, all of them are the body of Christ, Brothers and sisters in God.

   We are supposed to be the love of Christ, yet we turn people away
.  
"Gay people can't come in this church."  "You are the wrong color."  "I don't like that person."  

How many times have I heard this.  How many times have I thought something like this.  We are the Church.  We are supposed to LOVE everyone.  I am not saying we have to agree with everyone, but, we are commanded to love the world.  No matter what they look like, who they hang out with, what they have done, what they say.

Is it any wonder why people berate the church.  You wonder why we are called hypocrites.  I know, I am one of you.  I am probably more guilty than you.

But the worst part is that we turn a blind eye.  How many people have stopped reading this because it is offensive?  We don't even realize that we ignore this.

"We can only do so much."  "Someone else can do it."  "I am only a person, I can't love everybody."  

These thing I say to myself all the time.  God is with us, there is nothing we cannot do.    We seem to forget that.  

This doesn't just make me angry (for I am ranting which tells you that much) But  it fills me with sorrow.

We are told to bring those to church.  But how can we reach people, change people.  If we don't even come ourselves.   Now I am not just saying the building, but our souls.

What do we bring to church? 

Our stolid faces, good manners, dry eyes, still feet, stiller hearts? 

We tell people that the church is a place to be loved for who they are.  We aren't ourselves at church.

We tell people that church is a place where they are judged only by God.  Yet, we leave all our 'baggage' at home.

We tell people that this is a place of comfort, yet we seek none there.

We tell people that church is a place to bring their broken lives to God, yet ours lay at home in a box.

We tell people this is a place of worship, yet we sing with only our mouths.

I know I didn't really believe it either till I read it someplace else.

But, how many times have I asked the question "are you alright." And had wanted only a "yes"  How many times have I given that answer.

How many times have I judged someone.

How many times have I not asked someone to church because I didn't 'Like them."

How many times have I put on a front and come to Church, taking none of my problems with me?

how many times have I stood in the worship crowd, and sang only with my mouth.

How would I have looked at a person if they started dancing in church?  But isn't that worship.

Why are we afraid to be real at Church?  

I don't know, only that I must stop pretending.  I cannot tell people these thing about church, and not do them.  You may not see these things.  But you should trust every person at your church.  You should be able to trust every Christian.  

Church is a place for the broken, why do you think I am there?

It is the place to go, when no one else wants you.  Yet people are afraid to come.  If you don't want to come to church, tell us why in the comments.  

Let us show them that Church is a real place with real broken people.  You know, I had a friend once who didn't want to come to church until she had her life together.  Isn't that sad.  People think they have to get better to come to church.  But church is a place for the broken.  

No one will know that unless we show them that we are broken too, take off our mask and show the world that we are not perfect and that is why we need a savior.  

Come, spread the word of a real church.


Tori, over and out.