Why I Procrastinate

Too Old For These Tees

It was a moment that I had not expected. Moments come up on you so very fast that you sometimes forget that life is but a series of moments, each one carrying us to the next. It can become like a well-oiled machine. You predict so many of the moments, and they happen so fast and in order and the right way that things should, that you barely notice them going by.
But this is a moment that I remember, well the exact moment that it happened.

Back story....
I love puns. Really I do. I once sent in a list of ten puns to a joke contest hoping to take the prize, that maybe one of my puns would win! I did have ten in after all, the chances were good that one of them would win! But sadly, no pun in ten did.


I'll give the rest of you a chance to read that again....I'll wait for you in the next paragraph.

Anyone who knows me has probably seen me in one of my various Joke shirts. I've got my favourites, and some that I just have. What a Joke-Tee is a shirt that has writing on it, telling a joke perhaps, or funny picture.

Example: In Sink With Nature - with a picture of a guy in kitchen sink with a squirrel. If you say squirrel like Verucca Salt in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, this sounds a lot funnier.

You've all seen my Atari shirt, my More Cowbell, my pink shirt that says "Keep Laughing, this is your girlfriends shirt"....which is funny for two reasons, because my father in law is the one who gave it to me. I've got a shirt that says "How do you keep an idiot busy? See other side" on both sides. An "I'm with Stupid" and an arrow pointing up shirt.

And then there's what I still think of as my holy grail of Joke-Tees.....Save The Humans.

A big cartoon of a whale, and a speech bubble saying "Save The Humans".

So there you go, I love them. I really do, I think they're fun.

And then the moment happened.

Saturday afternoon, date day with Angela. Consisted of shopping & Starbucks. Not even really being too aware of it, I grabbed a Joke-Tee. This one being my Atari shirt. Just the logo here, no real joke, but I guess "vintage" shirts I kind of classify in the same category.

At some point, I glanced myself in the mirror, and I saw myself wearing the shirt.

And then I thought....I'm 27.

Twenty-Seven. I'm almost thirty. And then I further thought....I've got six months to go before I'm safely out of the "Forever Twenty-Seven" club. For those of you who don't know, the "Forever Twenty-Seven" club is made up of famous people who all died when they were twenty-seven. Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, James Dean, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison.

And it hit me. They all died at twenty seven...if I'm at an age where I could in fact die...yes I know that could happen at any age, but whatever...then I could be towards the end of my life. And I'm wearing these Joke-Tees?

Then there was the moment....do I have to grow up now? Am I too old for these Tee's? Should I be wearing golf-shirts to match my mini-van? Do I have to get serious now?
Again, anyone who knows me will know that I will never "grow up". Life is fun for me, it really is. But there was a few hours where I genuinely felt too old for those t-shirts. Too old for some of the things I do for fun....video games, air guitar, playing music ridiculously loud, watching Disney movies, listening to Adventures In Odyssey over and over again, reading Harry Potter, and going out to buy a shirt that says "Wyld Stallyns". I need to go buy the Volvo, trade in for some C.S. Lewis (no not those sissy lion stories) and complain about both the volume of the music and how the quality was so much better back in my day.

There's no real resolution here. It was only a few hours long, but I don't think I'll ever be too old for those shirts. As Angela said, that's what I do. It's part of who I am. If I were to do those thigs...Volvo, complaining about stuff, being way too serious for my own good, then I really think that people would think that there is something wrong...something very wrong.

Too old to wear these Tee's?

Save The Humans





BONUS....for those who still didn't get it, "no pun in ten did"...."no pun intended"

Back to the beginning...

Do you remember when being a Christian was exciting?
When it was just overwhelming at times, the new feeling of it all.
If you aren't a Christian and you're reading this, perhaps I can explain....perhaps not, but I'll try. As near as I can explain it, becoming a Christian is like finally realising what has been missing in your life this whole time, that that hole in your life (the God-shaped hole as it has often been called) is finally full & taken care of. The world seems fresh to you, you see everything and everyone differently. Your perspective on what you do, read, watch, think and say changes. You feel....alive, as if you're taking the very first precious breath of air that you've ever taken. That it's the sunrise of the first day of your life, and that the world is stretched out before you, and everything is possible.
Now, during that early stage of my "new life", I became quite zealous in my belief. It meant so much to me, it felt real. It still does, but it was a different kind of real. I felt connected to my saviour & Lord. It was during this time that I was quite unaware of how I was ostracizing others. My fervour and passion for living the Christian life left me in a place where I shunned the world....and everyone in it, including the ones I loved.
But I digress, I'm heading down a different road that I don't want to go down. It was a great time, but the passion, though true and heart-felt, was perhaps misplaced. I was called to love the Lord my God, which I did, but also to love my neighbour as myself. That part I perhaps didn't make good on.

Part of why I'm writing this, is I'm wondering if there's a way to balance the two. Can I get back to that passion for God, now that I've become somewhat cynical about typical Christian behaviour. How we treat others speaks volumes about how our faith is. So if we show our love greatly to others, that should reflect how much we love our God right? But can I have those Abba Father moments when I used to sing praises and felt such closeness? When I didn't care about what others felt? How can I enjoy that closeness now? Where can I meet God now that I feel unfed in the church? It's hard, really hard. It wasn't always hard. The newfound love of being a new Christian is what I want, but I want the wisdom I now have to practice it. Am I too far gone to go back? It's like comparing childhood to adulthood. The wonder and trust in a child's eyes, with the wisdom and knowledge and practicallity of age.

Can I get there?

I hope so.

The Brick Testament

Check this out folks.

Something I came accross thanks to my friends @ Etcetera. My wife picked me up a copy of their book Stories From Genesis and I noticed an interesting picture in there! Pertains to the flood story, and just see if you can see something interesting in there

Cheers

What If...

What if you didn't go to work today?
What if you slept in?
What if you didn't shower & get ready?
What if the day went by without you?
What if no one noticed?
What if you didn't notice?
What if you felt sick?
What if you were sick?
What if you weren't?
What if you went to the doctor?
What if you didn't?
What if he told you you had six months to live?
What if you didn't know that?
What if you did something about it?
What if you couldn't?
What if you tried anyways?
What if you just gave up?
What if you changed everything, and still didn't live?
What if you changed everything and did live?
What if you fixed all your bad relationships?
What if you left them as they were?
What if you said you were sorry more?
What if you said "I love you" more?
What if you meant it?
What if the grass didn't get cut today?
What if you played with the kids instead?
What if you went for a picnic?
What if you kissed your wife with no expectations?
What if just held hands?
What if you just gave her a hug?
What if "the guys" found out?
What if mattered?
What if for once you did something for someone else?
What if it made a difference for them?
What if what you did was just what they needed?
What if you never found out?
What if you hadn't said it?
What if you hadn't done it?
What if you'd left it all alone?
What if you'd waited for someone else to do it?
What if you stayed in bed?
What if you didn't wake up?

What if you didn't wake up?
What if you didn't...wake...up?
What if...
What if...
What if...


What would you do?

Is That You Jesus?

I was in the hustle & bustle of the Christmas season, waiting in line for a red light. More specifically the green light....even the traffic signals are festive. Christmas tunes have been playing in my car since November 28th. The Christmas season for me began on the 28th at 6:18pm when 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' came on the radio....that's my offical start each year. I make a big deal to wish people 'Merry Christmas' not season's greetings, or happy holidays, or even Ramahaunakwanzmas to be sure that I definitely do not offend. It's a very special time of year for me. I do believe that the emphasis of Christmas and what Christ did for us is being lost. It's sad I know, and we're all responsible. We focus on his birth, but not on his death and why he was born to begin with.
So the soap box is laid, the declarations are made, and the music is played. Why then would I turn my eye the other way when a man walked by my car at that red light with a sign that said 'Please. On the street. Have nothing. Anything will help.'
Why did I choose at that moment to check for something in my glove box. I saw him, he saw me. He knows I saw him. My window is slightly open due to our uncharacteristically warm temperatures, and the Christmas songs about spreading love and cheer are booming from the radio. Not the typical music you'd hear from a 26 year old males car, so it'd be the one fellow who'd roll down his window and give some change. I keep change in my car regularly. Sometimes I just want a Starbucks for crying out loud. I knew it was there. I was saving it. A toonie stared up at me. Two bucks. I was saving it though....I wanted a coke at school tomorrow...that's a buck seventy five. If I gave homeless Joe the toonie, I'd have to break a fiver to get a drink.
I knew it was wrong.
He passed my car. In the rear-view mirror, I saw a hand reach out the window and hand him some change.
My heart dropped.
The radio sang on....'...from now on our troubles will be out of sight.'
That wasn't the song. I don't remember the song....but I remember the drop in my gut.
Was that you Jesus?
Were you hungry?
Were you naked?
Were you thirst?
Did I feed you? Clothe you? Offer you a drink?

I went out later, but Jesus was gone.
I couldn't find him to give him a drink.
I'm sorry Jesus...
I'm sorry.

Just A Link Folks

Just a link for my photo guys, nothing too fancy