it's summer when you want it to be

i know my last few posts have been pretty stinking serious, so i plan to break that string today.

we are in the midst of a ridiculously long stretch of days of bone chilling weather. and all i read on people's facebook announcements is that they are 'tired of winter' or wanting 'warm weather and green grass.' i can understand everyone's pain but. . . . .

GET OVER IT!!!

you live in minnesota, deal with it. and besides, it is only as cold as you allow it to be. to some it may already feel like summer, and i have a video to prove it to you:



so enjoy the weather, enjoy your friends, and you too can wear swimming wear on a frozen lake!

vulnerable bunkers

so for all you war buffs out there, tell me where the weakest part of a bunker is. anyone? well most people would say the entrance/doorway or maybe even the loopholes from which they fire the guns. would it go against your understanding if i said it was neither? how about if i said the weakness of the pillbox was not anything in its structure or makeup.

confused? good.

the weakness of the bunker, every time is what lies inside the bunker.

the occupant.

before bunker-busting bombs appeared, the only way to take a bunker was to either outflank it, draw out those in the bunker, or make a successful surprise attack. either way, most of the time it was not the bunker that failed, it was the occupants of the bunker that does.

it is amazing how people can resemble bunkers. we find a prominent, cautious line where we long for no one to cross and set up shop. we camouflage it so well and with every year of occupancy, we thicken the walls in order to make it infallible. for some of us, we even have the landscape made out so perfectly, the enemy (or in this case other people) would never know it is even there.

well if that is the case, call me commander-in-chief harwood.

i spent the weekend with some amazing people. people who truly care and feel pain for others. we went there together to gain focus, gain vision, but mostly from my perspective, to meet, hang out, and gain new friends. i don't think any of us had a clue what was going to happen.

we ended up sharing more than any of us were prepared for. we are doing something called post secret, where by the objective, you mail in some secret that you carry with you, anonymously, in a small effort to heal and/or grow from it. well for ours, we decided to share together.

i still find myself sitting in that brown leather chair in shock, half from what was being shared around me, the other half not believing what i was about to say, something i have never told anyone, ever.

we failed our bunkers.

we walked out, stared at each other outside of our well fortified positions, vulnerable, weak, small, powerless, but most of all, human. it was an amazing site for my eyes. when you are used to looking at the world through a little slot, it is amazing what beauty you see for the the first time when you step outside your concrete shelter, almost like you seeing life for the first time.

i encourage you to find someone who you confide in and do not be ashamed of your past or what has shaped you to this point in your life, embrace it, because it is you. not because you deserved it, nor because it is your fault, but because it is your story. God cares for your entirety; mistakes, pains, joys, highs, lows, tears, smiles and even your baggage. it is so freeing and gives you the opportunity for God to fill the void you've been hiding the whole time.

helpful materials:
"name" nooma 18 by rob bell (video 1, video 2); Jacob vs. God; "Dangerous Prayer: Being Vulnerable to God"

wake me when its 70

whining is fun, especially when it annoys people.

believe me, try it.

there will be very few things in this world that will give you pleasure more than that. i don't know what exactly it is, riling up anger in someone that wasn't there, or maybe it is color. you know, watching their face turn a different shade of red. pretty cool. 'kaleidescope of complaining.'

so yeah. . (-40) . . . AGAIN! ok, i am actually tired of talking about weather by now. so lets change the subject to something more interesting that will keep me up.

risk.

no not the game you crazy losers. and yes i am a loser too, actually more than a normal risk player, just ask my bro nate, he'll fill you in. anyway. . . . . i was thinking of the kind that has more effect on actual life.

what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you here the word 'risk'? do you think stock market winnings, gambling on the bowl game, speaking your mind when everything tells you not to, or is it just trying something new. risk can be traumatic, exciting, life changing, or can seize every joint in your body.

there are usually two different types of people, those that thrive in that moment and opportunity, and those who are scared to death to vault into the abyss of uncertainty and/or loss. we are all wired differently, so differnetly that it can even be outside of our understanding as to why another person would act differently within the same environment and circumstances.

last night i ended up watching Antoine Fisher, an amazing movie, mostly b/c it is a true story written by the very man (if you haven't, WATCH IT!). its story is unsettling, challenging, and hopeful. but many times during it, i saw things i wanted to go after and pursue, mainly b/c i had no liability, no risk in trying to achieve those goals. as soon as the reality sets in, the stuttering begins. prolonging decisions, procrastinating in action, but yet all the time longing for the change.

but sometimes it is worth loosing everything, risking everything, even your very life, reputation, or public opinion. stephen shocks my world. he is a man who shows what real risk is all about. learn about who he was, highly respected, a man in leadership, but yet chose risk truth in the midst of death. i'm worrying about women, graduate work, money and the risks that come along with them, what risk is there in that? temporary, insignificant, fleeting come to mind. thank you stephen.