Webster's Dictionary defines depression as sadness; gloom; dejection. Another way to define it is a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawl; sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason.
Well I do have an objective reason to be depressed. Actually I have two of them. First, the obvious one is that my Kansas Jayhawks were upset in the NCAA basketball tournament by Northern Iowa University. To make matters worse, I have about 20 people text me about the game while I am full of sadness; gloom; and dejection. These are some of my closest friends. I'm reminded of Job in the Old Testament. His entire world had crashed down on him, and he had three friends named Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite. These three men had good intentions to comfort their friend, but they did more harm than good. God eventually rebukes them for their stupid words of discouragement. So If you were one of the people who made fun of me because Kansas lost, watch out because God is probably mad. The second objective reason for me to be depressed is because as soon as I get home for SPRING break, it snows 6 inches. I am so tired of winter and coldness. I'm just depressed.
And to make matters worse, I'm getting older. I had my 22nd birthday this past Thursday. Now don't get me wrong. I was able to hang out with friends, and David Heffren even bought me dinner. I also had another friend, Jake Wiemelt, buy my lunch at Chick-Fil-A. It was awesome to be around people you love, but unfortunately, I heard a song yesterday that brought everything back to earth. Five for Fighting has a song called "100 Years," and in the song there is a line that goes:
I am 22 for a moment...
The song keeps going on and the singer just keeps talking about how he gets older and older. He says things like,
Another blink of an eye
67 is gone
The sun is getting high
We're moving on...
I'm 99 for a moment
Dying for just another moment.
Basically, life goes by quick and you keep getting older until you die. Here in about 2 months, I will be off my parents insurance...not cool. I'll have to start paying for all of my own stuff and cooking my own food. My Jayhawks lose to a Missouri Valley League team, and I'm supposed to be getting a tan outside instead of frostbite.
As I was complaining to my mom about the Jayhawks loosing and it snowing during my spring break she said, "Charlie-Bear (thats my nickname she gave me a long time ago), soon fans of 63 other teams will be feeling the same way you feel right now, and spring will be here to stay." My momma has always seen the good in things, and I admire that about her. Sometimes it is just so hard to see the light in times of darkness.
I know all of these things I'm complaining about really aren't that bad. If i put all my stock in a dumb sport team, I would say that I have greatly misplaced all of my priorities. If i get upset about how I leave Joplin, Mo when its 70 degrees and open my car door in Topeka, KS and it is 40 degrees, then I just need to move to Southern California. I guess what I'm trying to say is that our "dark" time maybe aren't so dark. I'm graduating in May, and God has allowed me to do a year-long internship in Indiana. I am so excited! The snow is already kind of melting, so by Tuesday or Wednesday, everything will be back to normal. And I don't know if there is anything good about the Jayhawks loosing, but at least I won't be stressed out not knowing if we are going to win a national championship? Yea, I really can't see the good in that one. But here is my advice to you, be like Momma Landis not like Charlie Landis.
Go Baylor.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
More than a Waffle House
Its time for a game! Word association. Ready? Waffle House. What is the first word that comes to mind. It the word that just jets out of your mouth probably isn't "clean." Most likely it wasn't "perfect" either. The word that I think of first when it comes to Waffle House is "dirty!" I still enjoy the waffles though. It is just kind of a grungy place. I mean it is hard to keep a place clean that is open 24 hours a day, but the atmosphere in Waffle House is not the most appetizing.
Last night I went to Waffle House with a couple of friends. It was a fun time, and we ate waffles! Our waitress was named Rene, and she was trying to memorize Romans 6:15-18 for a bible study she attends. In that passage Paul is instructing Christians not to become slaves to their sin, and Rene said she was memorizing it because she wasn't doing the right things when it came to her body. She was just being real and honest. She acknowledges that she doesn't have the cleanest life.
I have come to the conclusion that Life isn't clean. The more I think I am getting somewhere the more I realize I am going no where. When I finally feel like I have my life in control and living the life God wants me to live, I come to understand I still have a long way to go. I am the farthest thing from perfect. This isn't some new revelation. Just something I have been reminded of while reading Leviticus.
Leviticus is like an instruction manual for the Israelites and their interactions with God. Moses gives the rules for different kind of offerings and sacrifices the people should adhere to when it comes to their worship of God. Something that really just stuck out to me was God's strict restrictions for cleanliness. He wants his people to be a clean, pure people. Here is a list of things that God talks about when dealing with the Israelites spiritual and physical purity:
- What they are eating
- Childbirth
- Skin diseases (serious and not-so-serious)
- Clothing
- Houses
- Bodily Charges (eeww!)
Many of these things seem kind of pointless. For instance, who cares if you eat an animal has a partially split hoof and doesn't chew the cud? Why is it a big deal if a person eats a winged insect that walks along the ground but doesn't have joined legs? Or why does a woman have to purify herself for 66 days after giving birth to a girl? All of the rules God gives to Moses seem a little bit OCD. God cares an awful lot about the small things, but why? I think the answer is found in Leviticus 10:10 which says
You must distinguish between what is sacred and what is common, between what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean.
This is the definition of holiness! We are supposed to be clean and sacred. We are not to be common and ordinary. When Paul writes to one of the most disturbed churches in the first century when it came spiritual pride, sexual sin, and worship, he begins the letter, "To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be HOLY..." As people and children of God, we are to be a holy priesthood. We can see in Leviticus God's will to make us Holy in every aspect of our lives. He wants to make us more than a Waffle House. If someone were to play the word association game with your name what would be the first word that would come to their minds? Would it be dirty and unclean? Or would it be Holy and clean? Don't be a Waffle House!
Last night I went to Waffle House with a couple of friends. It was a fun time, and we ate waffles! Our waitress was named Rene, and she was trying to memorize Romans 6:15-18 for a bible study she attends. In that passage Paul is instructing Christians not to become slaves to their sin, and Rene said she was memorizing it because she wasn't doing the right things when it came to her body. She was just being real and honest. She acknowledges that she doesn't have the cleanest life.
I have come to the conclusion that Life isn't clean. The more I think I am getting somewhere the more I realize I am going no where. When I finally feel like I have my life in control and living the life God wants me to live, I come to understand I still have a long way to go. I am the farthest thing from perfect. This isn't some new revelation. Just something I have been reminded of while reading Leviticus.
Leviticus is like an instruction manual for the Israelites and their interactions with God. Moses gives the rules for different kind of offerings and sacrifices the people should adhere to when it comes to their worship of God. Something that really just stuck out to me was God's strict restrictions for cleanliness. He wants his people to be a clean, pure people. Here is a list of things that God talks about when dealing with the Israelites spiritual and physical purity:
- What they are eating
- Childbirth
- Skin diseases (serious and not-so-serious)
- Clothing
- Houses
- Bodily Charges (eeww!)
Many of these things seem kind of pointless. For instance, who cares if you eat an animal has a partially split hoof and doesn't chew the cud? Why is it a big deal if a person eats a winged insect that walks along the ground but doesn't have joined legs? Or why does a woman have to purify herself for 66 days after giving birth to a girl? All of the rules God gives to Moses seem a little bit OCD. God cares an awful lot about the small things, but why? I think the answer is found in Leviticus 10:10 which says
You must distinguish between what is sacred and what is common, between what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean.
This is the definition of holiness! We are supposed to be clean and sacred. We are not to be common and ordinary. When Paul writes to one of the most disturbed churches in the first century when it came spiritual pride, sexual sin, and worship, he begins the letter, "To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be HOLY..." As people and children of God, we are to be a holy priesthood. We can see in Leviticus God's will to make us Holy in every aspect of our lives. He wants to make us more than a Waffle House. If someone were to play the word association game with your name what would be the first word that would come to their minds? Would it be dirty and unclean? Or would it be Holy and clean? Don't be a Waffle House!
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