ADVENTURE TIME

Around my house things are changing. We have quickly moved away from all things baby and have arrived at the point of a little boy. Over the past few months, my son has become engrossed with all things hero. Star Wars, Batman, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Spider Man, Superman, basically if it looks like it could save the day, he loves it. Ben loves to fight by holding up his fists and saying, "I fight!" His room is Avengers, his pajamas are Batman and Superman, and his bath towel is Star Wars.

From a very early age, Ben has loved adventure. Sticks are swords, guns, lightsabers, or any other form of weapon. My hope is that as Ben gets older, he will not "grow out" of his adventurous nature. By that I don't mean at 25 he is sitting around in Captain American underoos with a Thor beer helmet on eating cereal out of a Hulk bowl. What I mean is that I hope Ben never loses his sense of adventure. Do I want him cliffdiving? Not especially. Do I want him basejumping? Not really.

Adventure for me is a very real idea. Books contain loads of adventure and I feel like God has talented many people to write adventures in stories that would never get to occur outside the pages of a book. Also take into consideration that I am a 25-year old 5th grade Science teacher who works with middle school guys. Maybe not the highest marker of an adventurous life, maybe books contain alot of adventure for me. But that doesn't mean I can't live an adventure. For me, an adventure is anything that is out of an ordinary routine. When I break out of the everyday cycle and venture into the unknown, then I have adventured.

Is an adventure just about adrenaline? Is it just about the rush? Because I see loads of adventure when I look at the Bible. You want action? It's there. Read just about any story with Elijah or Elisha. Delve into the stories of David and Joseph, Moses and Jacob. Those men had adventures. But then I ask myself, how can I have an adventure like that today? There are no giants to slay, no Pharoahs to dethrone, no angels to wrestle.

Yet God calls each and every one of us into an adventure. Specific to who we are, where we are, and most likely unique to us. Many would not consider teaching an adventure, and while most would consider working with middle schoolers an adventure, it's not something they would willingly take on. But God has called me to this specific place, in this specific time, to go on adventures in my life. Whether it's answering some of my student's questions at school, or hanging out with middle schoolers, or doing something new with my family, these are my adventures. Will they go into a book? Will my life become a movie? No, but still I take up the adventure that has been given to me, rushing headlong into the fray that is my life, sword and shield or not, it is mine.

LOVE IS THE ONLY CURE FOR DEATH

This feels like I am walking into a room that is familiar, but lined with dust. I haven't written in a while, due mainly to life just being life. Tonight was date night though. It's the rare time that I can go out in public with my wife and not be on patrol. We were in Belk at one point and I looked around me in wonder thinking, "It's weird not having to chase Ben around." I missed the little guy dearly and we always wind up talking about him at some point, guess that is just part of being a parent.

Sara and I went to eat and then to a movie, Warm Bodies. If you like zombies, it's for you. If you like romances, it's for you. If you don't like either, it's still for you. I've been on a kick recently of trying to find the meaning in things. I downloaded an app on my phone called Cultiword, which teaches you new words and their definitions through a process. Pretty neat if you like to know the meaning of big words and be able to use them colloquially (see what I did there, new word).

Warm Bodies isn't exactly the typical romantic story. Well, when you think about what's cool today, I guess it is pretty typical. Zombie/human love will probably be on the rise now. Anyway, there was a theme to this movie that went beyond zombies or "corpses" and their relationships. It was an idea. An idea that is common to the Christian faith, but is not commonly spoken about.

We focus on the negatives. You don't go to church, you don't listen to K-love, you don't look like me, you don't have a pulse (movie reference). And we in turn begin to look like bigots, racists, close-minded, hateful, arrogant, loveless people.

I'm not a free love guy, so don't think that I advocate acceptance without change. Christ calls me to change daily. It may be a small change, but it's a change nonetheless.

In the movie, a change begins to happen in R, the lead corpse. Without giving too much away, in the end, love turns him human, cures him. This is the type of story I've been waiting on for a while. A movie with a plot line where Love resurrects us from death.

Hmmm... Where have I heard that before?

In ancient Egypt, God spoke in the culture. On Mars Hill, God spoke through the culture to the people. Why can't we accept that God might be speaking to this culture, in this time, in this way, about His love that brings people from the grave, back to life?

It's a powerful message, simple yet profound. But this message will go unnoticed. This message will fall to the wayside and be dismissed as we look to this culture and say, "No, we don't accept you. No nothing you do or say is right." I think God, in His infinite wisdom, took aspects of the culture of the day, and revealed Himself in them.

The message is there folks, start a discussion, spread the word, let others know about the cure.