Define Normal

The Philippines

2010-11-29T12:18:00.000-08:00

How is it that God can work His wonders all around the world? Does God ever dazzle you? (Dazzle is such a strange word.) I mean really, truly and completely floored by God? Or do you just not think about Him enough to count? I am pondering this in my mind as I try and open up my recent memories of all that God has done in my life in the past few weeks. But, truly God amazes me. It is a wonder how He is able to be so personal with everyone at the same time. He is able to know all the struggles and joys of everyone’s journey. My sphere and little corner of the world hardly even shows the glamour of God and I have seen him do many amazing things right here in my local lifestyle. Yet, my God moves all around the world. I saw Him work his miracles all over the Philippines as I traveled there with Dr. Stan Fleming and the team. 

            Pastor Peter Mayam, an apostle over 20+ churches in the Philippines is my hero. I have never watched a man of God that carried himself with such peace. He trusts God, with everything, and despite the fact that he was orphaned as a child, despite that the fact that his brother is in critical condition in an American hospital, thousands of miles away, He still chooses to serve God. He still chooses to advance the kingdom and help other Pastor’s in their desperate need. After returning to the states I received an email that said this, 

"Greetings and blessings to you and your family! In behalf of my family and the few pastors and churches of Lifeway Bible Church which the Lord has called me to oversee, please allow me to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING AND BRINGING THE TEAM FOR MINISTRY HERE IN OUR REGION AND TO THE PASTORS AND CHURCHES WE ARE MINISTERING TO. I personally had a fresh encounter with God and am encouraged with the little things we are doing to help build and extend the kingdom of God in our area of calling and ministry. My cellphone is overloaded with text messages of pastors from La Union and Solano and La Trinidad, expressing their deep appreciation and thanking me for bringing you and the team for the seminars…”

I am so grateful that God used me and the team to help encourage many churches and Pastors overseas. It is such a blessing. I was blessed to even know that I am serving alongside such great Christians.  

While there I was also able to speak at a youth conference, “Encountering God” and I was so blessed to see many youth leaders touched and restored to the vision God had for them and their ministry. 

But what did I learn over there?

Well one I am so grateful for my Pastors and Mentors. I had a small taste of their daily life. I am so amazed how they are able to keep themselves completely filed with the Spirit so they can lead others. Even after praying for few people I felt empty and tired. I am so grateful for Pastor Ken Wilde, Mark Francey, and Shane Grove. They do this on a daily basis and still must find time to fill themselves with the presence of Jesus. We should never doubt how hard these people work, and we should certainly be compelled to pray for them. 

There is one thing that stuck out in my life that has forever changed my view of life. I know now that you can learn all you want, about anything, but until you go out and do it I think you don’t really believe it at all. In fact beliefs and ideas take action. If you have a vision you can’t just sit all day visualizing, no, you will never get there. All we do takes action. Jesus demands it. So many Christians sit around knowing that God will provide. And yes that is true. And yes we must have faith, but faith is useless if you are not stepping out of the boat, or casting your nets. We sometimes make the excuse of faith for our laziness, And that is just arrogance at its finest level. When you step out it puts a demand on the anointing. Really what it boils down to is a willing heart. When you are willing God is willing to pour out upon you. There are many willing people but there are few that ever step out and commit. And commitment is everything. 

But I love how the demand for the anointing increases when we actually practice the word. I love it! I really do. And God is doing even greater things that go far beyond a trip overseas. If we could only see the spiritual world!

            I also learned that I love the simplicity of toilet paper, and that even one ply, sand paper is a blessing from the Lord. I love the open market over there too. It was the coolest place I have ever been to; So loud, so full, so crazy, yet so orderly. Everyone seemed like they knew exactly what they were doing, and it was like that all over Baugio. 

For more pictures & videos you can visit my facebook. Also feel free to check out www.gatebreakers.com for video and missions information.  

Fall Fest

2010-10-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Fall Fest this weekend at Capital Christian Center! Tons of Candy! Tons of Games! Tons of Kids! Tons of Fun! Starts at 5:00pm-8pm this Halloween!

http://capitalchristian.com/

Thanks!

2010-10-05T10:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Words can not even describe how much it blessed me to get your donations. God has been faithful to me as I get closer and closer to my departure. I am so pleased to announce that I was able to pay off all fees regarding my travel. Thank you so much for sowing a seed into my life. I know that you will be blessed. I can only say good things about you knowing that part of the reason I was able to go on this trip was because of some of God’s amazing servants.

I will be trying to blog while I am on the trip to keep anyone who wants to know what's happening, updated. Also you might be able to catch up on events through facebook and twitter. I would also ask that you keep the team in your prayers as we travel abroad and minister the gospel. I have been given the opportunity to preach at a Youth conference as well as share my testimony and possibly preach in a church on a Sunday morning. Please pray that I will be lead by the Holy Spirit and have discernment.

Once again thank you so much for your help! I am so grateful!

Sincerely,

Mark Alexander Jones

Fundrasing!

2010-07-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,

As you know I am currently planning on going to the Philippines this November, 7th-18th, and I will be there doing some amazing things that I am so excited about. I know for a fact that God has some awesome things planned.
Just in case you wanted to know I currently have three different fundraisers currently helping me raise funds for the trip. Here are some ways you can help.

Date to Deploy: Want to spend some extra time with your spouse but need a babysitter? I would be more than glad to help out. I currently work with kids seven days a week through Boise Parks and Rec and gcKids at Capital Christian Center.

Relax to Run: Take a break form the sun and sweat and allow me to do that yard work that bugs you. I'm more than happy to mow lawns. It's practicality my nature.

NEW FUNDRAISER!
Shop For A Cause: Thanks to Macy's and their new campaign Gate Breakers is able to raise money to go towards the trip this November. The way it works is that cards are sold to people ($5 each) and allow them to go into Macy's on October 16, and shop with special discounts.

The Sleep to Send Campaign has ended.

Some Exciting News!!!

2010-07-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

By the grace and favor of God I write to you today. The last year has been the best year of my life (so far) and I do not say that lightly. I have encountered God, personally. No longer is it a religion, or a thing my parents taught me, but it is a personal relationship that has changed my life. I feel like Moses. He was a Hebrew that found out he was Hebrew that was told about God, but it probably did not mean anything to Him until he encountered him on the mountain.

In the last 10 months I have been heavily involved in Generation Church in Boise, Idaho as well as working with gcKids , the children’s ministry at Capital Christian Center. I also just finished my first year of interns where I learned basic doctrine, surveyed the Old and New Testament, and traveled. In May I went to Washington D.C. to the National Prayer Center, to pray with senators and congressman around the nation. God has been good to me!

I have now been given the opportunity to travel to Baugio in the Philippines with Dr. Stan Fleming’s ministry Gate Breakers. I was absolutely thrilled when it presented itself, and after seeking the Lord I feel like it is a God given open door for me to walk through. I will be there in November for 10-12 days prior to thanksgiving on an outreach ministering to youth, pastors, and many others.

With humility I ask for any donations to help with the cause. The trip costs around $2,500. I am currently in need of around $1,900. Yet, I am willing to do any work for you around the house and other odd jobs. I am handy with yard work and children. I would be grateful and honored to have you help.

Stay informed: Be sure to check out my blog for more information. I will post everything about the trip after it is over. http://alexdefinenormal.blogspot.com/

Tweet! Tweet!: Follow me on twitter to get fast and easy updates on the trip and other things I am doing this year. Twitter Name: MarkAlexanderJ

Gate Breakers: Please take the time to see the kind of work this ministry does around the world. They are affecting people everywhere! http://www.gatebreakers.com/index.php

THE SQUAT CLAP

2010-07-18T13:49:00.001-07:00

http://www.facebook.com/pages/THE-SQUAT-CLAP/139375076087850?v=photos&ref=ts#!/pages/THE-SQUAT-CLAP/139375076087850?ref=ts

2010-07-09T18:01:00.001-07:00

GC has Talent

2010-07-09T17:53:00.001-07:00

Check out how a GC'er and future intern is influencing her world!

http://www.idahopress.com/news/article_a22215ca-8801-11df-8efc-001cc4c03286.html

Mr. Jones Goes to Washington Part I

2010-05-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

…With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. –Abe Lincoln (16th President of the United States, 2nd inaugural address Saturday March 4, 1865)

Part I- Who’s Leading, Who’s praying?

I don’t really want to ask the question that I find to be to cliché in a Christian culture fighting to put God back in America, but there is nothing really more truthful than this satisfying remark that could easily be labeled as a “right wing argument,” “What would Lincoln do if he saw the state America was in today?” I have no idea what he would say. But what I do know is (based on the above quote) he would not take a political stance. He would not get fired up and yell at a party for their ideals. No. He would simply pray to God. Lincoln understood that all people, regardless of religion, were praying to a god, and that during the civil war “Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God…” But could both sides win? No. Clearly the north won and slavery was abolished and the Union stayed in unity. “…The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.” Astonishing. We may not be in a civil war, but we are in a political one. America has become the Union of Separation. People either identify themselves with a Right wing Republican or a liberal democrat, and as Lincoln said, read the same Bible and pray to the same God. We know full that our prayers can be answered. But too many Christians stand and scream at the top of their lungs that God would vote republican, when in reality God is not a politician, he is the Almighty creator, and according to him it is the “King that answers to him”
Proverbs 21:1- The Kings heart is in the hand if the LORD, Like the rivers of water: He turns it wherever he wishes.

More than anything I am tired of “Christians” hurling stupid remarks about our nation’s president as if God does not hear them. I am tired of men and women of God who slander our leaders, and don’t take the time of day to pray for them. So the question should really be, would Lincoln be ashamed of our nation’s leaders? Or would he be ashamed of America’s people? I say people. I say God’s people.
Recently on facebook there was a fan group that said, “God you took my favorite actress, Farah Fawcett, you took my favorite actor Patrick Swayze, you took my favorite singer Michael Jackson, by the way my favorite president in Barack Obama.” When I first saw this I swore. I really did. And I had to repent. How dare any of us join a filthy, dirty, ugly, betraying, horrible, slandering, God hating, country hating, hypocritical, group such as this! I was even more appalled to see people from my church joining this group. If you joined SHAME ON YOU! I was angry, furious, and embarrassed.
Furthermore it is time that Americans stop having to identify, as if by force, with a political party. Anytime some small remark is made, whether it be right or left, the whole world freaks out. Washington has become a political stand out. Even worse, the church has become a political war-zone. We care more about our identity in a elephant or donkey than we do the Almighty God! Republicans did not form this nation! Democrats had nothing to do with it! It was men of God, seeking God, and obeying God. The hand of God was our fashion not a political remark on some overdrawn issue.

While in D.C. I saw some of the most incredible things! I was moved to tears by almost everything. The magnitude of this nation is incredible. Our freedom is amazing. And I am grateful for every man and woman that serve as a voice in our Republic. The time and effort that they put in is astonishing and they all need our prayers. We need to be grateful for what we have. Furthermore seeing the monuments of war, and the sacrifices that men have made for this nation is a solemn thing. This nation is more than a “melting pot” it is a nation founded on God and on the backs of men who were willing to lay everything down.

Part II- The Supreme Court (Coming Soon)

Amazing Artist!

2010-05-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

Be sure to check him out on myspace and iTunes. Very talented. Local. Has been to GCD! Amazing guy!

Mr. Jones Goes to Washington

2010-05-12T22:07:00.001-07:00

Planning on blogging on my adventures real soon. Stay Tuned!

$35,000 Price Tags, Regret, and then some

2010-04-12T20:27:00.001-07:00

Let me tell you that I am not qualified to even write a book like this. I would not dare in all my wildest dreams try to. But I am writing it anyway. Just like everyone in the world (any human) I feel the need to voice what my insides scream. Have you ever been at that strange point in time where you just wanted to talk? If you say that you have not, you are either a liar, or you are too scared to admit that you are living a normal life. Odd.

Yet, I must be honest with anyone who speaks with me or reads this book, I am a genius. I only say that because at one time or another I came to the conclusion that I did not have everything figured out and nor do I have to. Thinking this deeply puts a hard notch in the brain. Actually I think this book is more of a memoir, which I write a lot of. I need help.

If I were to tell anyone anything about me, it would be that I love God with all my heart. I do, I really do. I would go so far to say that He is all that matters in life. There is really nothing else that compares to him. Nothing is sufficient enough to fill the void in my life that I was born with. But by accepting, in the most humble way mind you, that God loves me and that he sent His son to die for me, has changed my perspectives on every hard situation.

How simple life is, and somehow we complicate it. It’s almost as if God is existing and we just get in his way of his plan for the globe. We set plans and agendas not knowing that God’s is so much bigger. So big that we dwell in it, all of us! And so many moments of my life have been focused on this. I remind myself as much as I can, that time is only my enemy. I appreciate it for my own gain, but it is not convenient when God is on the line.

I just want to smash something!!

Oh.

And in this large quantity of odd ended, flabbergasted, un-even jargon I must tell a story.

Attempting to focus blame when you are in the complete and utter wrong is suicidal. Here is the proof.

I recently, well on a regular basis, find my self in a spot of trouble because of a sticky situation. It’s not that I am a bad kid, it’s just that life happens and like anyone I am bound to do something ridiculous and not called for along the way.

I was at a friends house… (wait this just starts bad)… and we were swimming in his pool, which was fine because summer days pack unwanted heat!!! However, I still wish that is how the lovely story ended. Sometimes, and since I can only say this with a smile, I am glad that my friends make mistakes, because as much as we all hate making them, we somehow, in God’s grand design learn a great deal from them. “You make all things work together for my good!”

Moving on…

Well we were swimming. It was hot out; A dire heat that strained every bit of energy from the unexplainable sources. Yuck!

But you know, as anyone does, that a group of five guys, and five guys only, can be on the slight side of destructive. Somehow in the midst of our fun, we decided that throwing, tossing, chucking, or a combination of all, metal objects into a vinyl pool. Yes! You heard it.

It started out as child’s play, a chair here an oversized fichus tree, a random assortment of books, things on fire, but… how can you top off all the destructiveness a man singly handedly holds in his pubescent mind? You see, it ended with the most unlikely object imaginable, a cymbal. Now a parent, or any normal person, and even I question the logic in my thinking. Why on earth would anyone throw a metal object with the word “LETHAL” written all over it into a precious $35,000 pool?

That unfortunately will never be answered. Only an idiot would accomplish this, and that is exactly what we did.

As the cymbal sank into the depth of a six foot price tag, little did we know that it would slice the tender bottom of the pool and cost us the frustration of dealing with a very angry mother, well three to be exact, plus the money, and the battle with the right way to repair it.

Regardless, never throw a cymbal in a pool. It is just a bad idea.

SMALL GROUP! BOWLING!

2010-04-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

Meet at Meridian Lanes at 6pm with 10 dollars and your a game. Its gonna be sweet!

Eyes off the Prize

2010-03-08T11:21:00.001-08:00

A few summers ago (not exactly sure since the humidity of the Missouri air erased my memory.) I spent the fourth of July on my deceased Great Grandmother’s farm, whom I respectfully called “Cow Grandma” from the youngest age I have been. It was an unforgettable trip. It was the first summer that I had my license. I had driven with my father asleep and my iPod on shuffle through Nebraska, Kansas and the lovely state of Iowa. But my story is not about that, no not at all. There is not much interesting about the open road. Unless we debate about why there are millions of construction sites, always unattended, and yet your forced to go another 40 miles under the speed limit for the safety of the these ghostly union workers. No it truly takes place on the farm, and the adventures that I shared with my brother.

My great Uncles, whom I love and adore with my heart, are rednecks. Without hesitation they relieved the doldrums of the day for me and my brother with two ATV’s that were covered in a camp like print with AK-47’s and 7 feet machetes strapped to the sides. As we started them up we took them onto the empty country road that spanned the state and rode to the pasture that was nearby to test our masculine aura. Once on the pasture we road through the mud around the pond multiple times causing pits of dirty water to flood through the tender earth.

After some time, we began to find new paths that were more daring and expressible to my growing and engaged testosterone levels. As I sped up so did my brother and we taunted each other. I finally decided to take another path, hoping to cut him off. But I was pushing 60 with little room to go. As I came across my brother’s path I stared at him rather than in front of me where there was a pond and a log with the ability to knock me clean off the seat. Before I knew it I was flying through the air, screaming a profane word, and landing in the hot steamy pond with the ATV rolling behind me and eventually sinking in the mud. All this could have been prevented if I was just looking at the path ahead of me.

So many times we do this in our life’s. We get so caught up in a moment, or we look back on our past, or we get distracted by those around us that we forget to look forward and Focus on God. We set goals that can be achieved, but unless we have our eyes in the right place we will never reach them. We do all that we can, and struggle even, to do all we are called to do in our own strength when God is waiting for the moment we just rely on him. Somehow we have allowed the thought that we found God, and that we found salvation when in reality it was him who reviled himself to us, and that it’s his love that sustains the relationship. If was based on our faithfulness than we would be hopeless and the point of Christ would have been left pointless.

The lesson I have learned this year is to just trust him. He is able. He is after all God of the universe. Although I fall short, daily even, I know that God is faithful. Even when I am faithful I can never amount to who God is. I keep reminding myself to keep my eyes on Jesus, and not focus on anything else. If I focus on finding and searching things out for my own sake, I take my trust from God and end up putting it in something that is faithless and will end up disappointing me. Anyway, it’s just something to think about.

NERF GUN FIGHT

2010-03-08T11:19:00.000-08:00

Small group guys don't forget we are meeting at 6pm at Settlers Park for a NERF GUN FIGHT.

What to bring:
1. Nerf Gun
2. A Friend
3. Your Favorite Snack

See you tonight!

82 Oscars! Academy Does it Right!

2010-03-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

What can I say? The Oscars did not fail to surprise me, but pleased me once more. Although the stupidity of letting 10 films be nominated for Best Picture is erroneous, I have to say that I was still happy. To see Actress Sandra Bullock win an award is amazing. Her climb from B Movies is outstanding, and not to mention her unshaken performance and humility. I adore Merryl Streep. 16 nominations is a record that even the future generation of actresses will never accomplish. Jeff Bridges deserved the award. I was glad to see that the Academy did not get political and choose Freeman for his portrayal as Nelson Mandela.

Furthermore it was like a joyous praise to see James Cameron fail. Titanic was not that good, and nor was Avatar. To see Kathryn Biggalow win was a well deserved snub to his face and a beauty. I am pleasd. Thank you Academy for being sensible!

List of Loves

2010-03-05T09:25:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer! The list that follows theses words or warning is by no means a matter of offense. If you are not on the list, it doesn't not show the reflection of your personality or my “like” or even dislike” for your persona. They are also in not particular order of importance in my life as well. Thank You!

List of Loves By Mark Alexander Jones

1. God (That’s a given) 2. The Bible (Not to sound typical.) 3. (Is not anything to do with Christian Culture) 4. Theatre 5. Correlation with 4, William Shakespeare. 6. Music 7. Film 8. Walt Disney 9. Pastor Shane Grove 10 . Pronto Pups 11. Titus Cornforth 12. Oreos 13. “Erroneous” 14. The Academy Awards 15. Mile marker 4… yeah 16. Cookies 17. Awkward Situations 18. Speaking my mind 19. Atticus Finch 20. Pens 21. Writing 22. Joel Foust 23. Pictures 24. Rain 25. Travel 26. Clichés
27. White People 28. Jake Lee (He’s white!) 28. Books 29. Reading Books 30. Laughing loudly 31. Laughing out loud when I remember something that happened a long time ago. 32. Family 33. Cornish College 34. Seattle 35. Neil Simon 36. Grandparents. 37. Friends 38. Twix 39. Bare-naked Ladies (The band!) 40. Laying down 41. Getting out of bed 42. Praying 43. Ranting 44. Morons 45. Kids 46. Staples 47. Apple Products 48. Complications 49. Sean Penn 50. Pastor Ken Wilde 51. My uncles 52. My father 53. Plays 54. Fantasy 55. Reality 56. Getting stabbed 57. Myself 58. Serving others 59. Merits Café 60. Sleep 61. This list 62. Markets 63. Savers 64. Thrift Stores
65. Old clothing 66. Leisure Suits 67. Water 68. Friends that I talk to about random stuff that somehow relates to their day, even though I should never tell them those things, I still and they still enjoy it. 69. Night Drives 70. Stormy Weather 71. Sunny days 72. Dramatic 73. Being goofy 74. Being loud 75. Drinking… the holy spirit. 76. Being serious (psh) 77. Talking 78. Listening 79. Walking 80. Tall Buildings 81. The Smell of books 82. My present 83. My future. 84. My past 85. People Watching 86-100. Not sure yet? The New # 1 is my MOTHER WHOM I LOVE AND ADORE.

Pete Petersen

2010-03-01T12:21:00.000-08:00

http://www.beatbutch.com/

I met this man at Merrits Cafe one night and he gave me pure joy.

SMOOTHIE NIGHT

2010-03-01T11:53:00.001-08:00

Elliot's House! Small Group Directions. We are going to have smoothies! It's going to be insane. Don't miss out.
View Larger Map

gc*B Theatrics

2010-02-08T12:25:00.000-08:00

check out our facebook group and join today. you don't want to miss out on some exciting news!

2010-02-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

We Forgot

2010-02-04T08:24:00.000-08:00

The stench I carried in from my work outside reeked from compost and I hated how it filled my house. With every step I soiled my carpet and sunk the recycled biodegradables into the oxygen slowly creeping from my lungs. Dirt. I did not like dirt. However, it was my job and there was nothing that I could do about it.
I tried my best to keep the dirt off of my shoes and clothes and skin but that is nearly impossible. I kept a knife in my pocket that I would use to scrape off the three pounds that I acquired on my boots. After that I would walk around the house to the well-worn hose and wash them off with cold water, which I assume did not help the health of my feet.
People ask me if you’re so negative about your job, than why do you do it? I usually tell them that I am only doing it because I have no other reason to do anything else. Which is partly true. I guess I could leave whenever I wanted. Throw the shovel on the ground, pull my caked work gloves off, remove my hat and walk off as if I never was there. Yet I am trapped. Trapped from the world and from the life I see on the streets, trapped from freedom, trapped from health, trapped! Trapped! Caught in the net of deception I suppose. I am tired of being content.

If you have ever had a story like that then you know how it feels to be in this position. You usually think that the world is against you, and that if you ever left you would be thought of as odd because you are no longer happy with what you are doing. In any arena of life this story rings bells. Contentment only works, however, in the right circumstances.
As humans we over complicate what is simple, and we try desperately to work our situations out with out ever consulting the right kind of wisdom, or even God himself. (Our closest friends are just as dumb as us and should not be taken as wise.) God waits for us to come to him, because he knows that he is able to take care of us. Yet- we act like he can’t, and as if OUR problem is too big for him, too deep, to wide and so on. This pit occurs all the time! (We tend to do it with every situation.)
Job 5: 8-12 says,
But as for me, I would seek God,
And to God I would commit my cause—
Who does great things, and unsearchable
Marvelous things without number.
He gives rain on the earth,
And sends waters on the fields.
He sets on high those who are lowly,
And those who mourn are lifted to safety.
He frustrates the devices of the crafty,
So that they cannot carry out their plans.

This scripture pretty much says that if God is able to take care of the earth and everything in it, I am sure he can take care of you and your problem. He can start and stop ANYTHING that he wants.
So when do we get it into are minds that we are okay living in whatever sin we are in? Or whatever season we are in? Did you know that it is a sin to not trust God? We live life trapped because we forget what God has already done for us.
Has he not called us to be fruitful, and abundant? Has he not given us hope and joy? Has he not given all of him so that we may live life to the full? Has he not defeated pride? Has he not triumphed the grave? If your answer is yes than why are you complaining?
We must remember what God has done in our lives! We did not get ourselves to where we are today. It was not by my strength. If you can argue what you did all by yourself than show me the scars from the cross.
The Israelites were commanded to remember God, and all that HE had done for them. Exodus chapter 6-8 is a beautiful passage of relying on God as your source and not yourself. After all what does faith in yourself profit?
Exodus 8:2 says,
And You shall remember that the Lord your God
Led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness to humble you and to test you, to know what was in your heart,
Whether you would keep his commandments or not.

See how even in the desert God is with us, that He led us through the days of our lives that were not up to the standard we have fixed. We must remember God in all that he does for us. It is because of his grace that we got as far as we did! Trust that God has a plan for your life! Trust that he is able to fix your issues! Trust that he will deliver you! Trust that no matter what time it may take there is an end! The second we think that we did it on our own, that we got out of bondage on our own is the second that we become prideful. It was Jesus who died on the cross not us. Arrogance is not good for God. He uses our seasons to break our pride and so that we may rely on him and not forget. He cannot use unbroken people, much like you can’t ride an unbroken horse. If God does not break us, we might as well stay in Egypt!

Stay Tuned for Part II

Uncomfortable Calling

2010-01-16T10:12:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the book of Jonah teaches more on the picture of Christ and the failure of religious Christians than any other Major or Minor Prophet combined. Even Christ compared himself to Jonah, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matt. 13:40.) What’s even more astonishing is that Jonah himself is the church of today, which ironically sits on the seat of judgment, although they should not be there altogether. Jonah teaches us not only of Messianic prophecy, but also of our role as Christians.
Historically the book of Jonah is a mystery and a hoax to many. But as anything in the Bible, there is hardly ever a time where another document does not support it. What seems hard for many to wrap their minds around is the simple story of the fish, which in reality has little to do with the story itself, other than the fact it’s God’s instrument to change Jonah’s heart. “There is not the slightest reason to stumble over the miraculous and to brand it as legend or myth…They are no more incredible than the dividing of the Red Sea, the cloudy and fiery pillar, manna from heaven, water out of the flint, or the resurrection of Christ.” (Unger, 601) The debate over if Jonah was swallowed by the “fish” is pointless compared to what the story actually tells. Most historians state that Jonah himself wrote the book, which is the most likely. Although it is written in third person, we see that the book of Exodus, written by Moses, is also written in third. Therefore destroying any argument that Jonah is a Jewish fable to warn against the gentiles.
Written in the 8th Century B.C. the book of Jonah takes place during the rule of Uzziah (Judah) and Jeroboam II (Israel). II Kings mentions Jonah as a prophet during the rule of Jeroboam II. (II Kings 14:25) This would have taken place on the cusp of Babylonian captivity. While king, Jeroboam instituted pagan gods and the worshiping of calf and ironically brings Jonah and even Amos into the picture to bring redemption to Israel, just as he would with the Assyrian Empire.
The Assyrian Empire was birthed from Nimrod in Genesis 10 from the family of Noah, Nineveh being the capital city after Sennachrib took the throne. During the time of Jonah the Assyrian empire along with its sister nation of Babylon were on the rise. The empires wreaked havoc on the Hebrew nations constantly, making a Nineveh a gentile city, and a despised neighbor to the Israelites. The city was also rich and full of fortifications placed by Sennachrib in the 8th Century B.C. “Sennachrib built a massive wall forty to fifty feet high which extended two and a half miles along the Tigris, and eight miles around the inner city. (Unger, 796.)
Jonah being the main character of the story is important because truly it is his testimony and rebellion against God that shapes it, not necessarily the rebellion of the Assyrians. In other words it’s Jonah’s lesson learned that gives the plot luster. Jonah is essentially God’s instrument, and seemingly prideful and arrogant. His persistence on not going to Nineveh is strong even after he has actually gone. Jonah knows the mercy of God like any other that has been immersed in it before, and he knows that despite all the sins of Nineveh, God can and will save them. Jonah’s carnal nature and hatred toward the city seems to block the purpose of God. Regardless it later being a mute point how God transforms and does whatever he wants.
Predictably another main character we see in the story is God. Without much introduction or historical context, God is who he is. He is the first and the last and so on. In reality it is God who moves this story, who moves Jonah, and who in the end wins, and manages to teach a lesson. Contrasting from Genesis 18, where God plans to destroy Sodom, here we see the merciful side of God. He desires the salvation of Nineveh. It’s a beautiful picture that aligns itself with the rich Messianic prophecy that lies within Jonah. God desires all men to be saved, even our enemies. “But we know that the law is good if it is used lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for the righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for the sinners…” (I Timothy 1:8-9a). Where God once had cursed a city for its lawlessness, he now reaches down with grace. This however does not change God, it merely shows that God is bigger and always desires salvation and correction.
The people of Nineveh are also characters in the book. Known to be ruthless and pagans and rebellious against God, they were the enemies of Israel. Ironically God desired their souls. In one instant God used Jonah to completely change the entire city. “Then God saw their works that they turned from their evil way and God relented from the disaster that he said he would bring upon them, and He did not do it.” (Jonah 3:10.)
It could also be mentioned that the merchants that traveled with Jonah are also main characters. They find themselves in a fight for their lives and are saved in the process. “So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from it’s raging. Then the men feared the Lord and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.” (Jonah 1:15-16.)
Aside from the Historical background of the story lays the plot in which God removes Jonah from his comfort zone and places him exactly where he wants him. Yet the book also serves as a warning to all Christians, that God is bigger than we want him to be, and that His love and His judgment are up to Him and completely out of our carnal control. First we see Jonah given the command from God to go to the city of Nineveh to speak the name for the Lord, in which Jonah disobeys and flees to Trashish on the complete opposite side from his original calling. Once at sea Jonah is thrown into a storm where the mariners he’s sailing with friend odd and fearful, forcing them to cast lots. “Come let us cast lots that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us.” (Jonah 1:7) Yet—the hand of the Lord was on Jonah and he was thrown into the sea after ordering the men to do so. Jonah then about to drown is swallowed by a fish where he spends three days in prayer to the Lord as he seeks mercy and forgiveness. He then is brought to dry land and told once more to go to Nineveh and to preach the word of the Lord. After doing so the entire city is saved and Jonah is mad due to the fact that his enemy has been shown the mercy of God. Jonah waits on the mountain adjacent to the city waiting for His judgment to come upon the city only to find that God has mercy and that God still cares about the people of city even against Jonah’s despise. The story ends somberly with a rhetorical question that should haunt every Christian.
Looking at the religious scene today there is a lot of mixture of the world in the church. The spiritual Jerusalem in some ways has become more like the world as it adopts Post-Modernism, and the thought that all ways are fine as long as you personally are okay with it. This is a dangerous perspective adopted by young generations as they escape to the church to cultivate an experience rather than a disciplined relationship with Christ. Quite frankly the book of Jonah is the complete opposite if this. It is proof that God is our creator and reason for life and not our best friend. Even to those like Jonah who are quick and ready for His service. God’s eternal plan and judgment is out of our grip and should be lest we be irresponsible with something we can hardly comprehend.
Essentially the book of Jonah needs to be read with the attitude that God did come for all, that God’s will is inescapable, and that we are transparently not on the same flow that God is. It reminds us that God can use whoever he wants to glorify his name, and that all he is looking for is obedience, and someone to worship him.
In application the book completely transform all religious thinking. The question at the end of Jonah is the last anyone should want to hear from God. “And Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?” (Jonah 4:11.) Too many times Christians camp out on the lie that they are the only ones that deserve God, which in reality is an ugly deception. Who are we to say that we deserve God? We are after all people of Nineveh, sinners and destroyers. It is because of his grace that we even got to where we are today, not because of anything we did. It shows that God loves all men and wants all men to know him, regardless if it were through the salvation of Nineveh or the destruction of Sodom. In essence it is all about Him and never about us.
Furthermore the beauty that we can go nowhere from God, and that he can use our mistakes is evident in the text. Jonah flees from the will of God and yet is carried back to it by a fish. Along his running he ends up saving men to God through his mistake. It beautifully describes His grace and that we are nowhere without Him. Not only that but it transcends our ability of thinking that we are okay on our own. God’s will is always better than anything we can conjure.
In the past I remember seeing the story of Jonah simply as God using our disobedience. But it is more than that. I love this book because it is a warning to all Christians, that God really does not need us, he just needs your obedience. Although it shows his grace, it shows that God wants someone to serve him, and in this case he sought the people of Nineveh to glorify him. Had it not been for Jonah’s turn of heart they would have not been saved, but in reality it all points back to God, which is why the story is so rich. It is not about a fish and a storm, it is about God and who he really is. It is about how we idolize comfort in him when it really is about our uncomforted spirit in glorifying him; It is about our obedience to do something we don’t want to do to see God lifted up, even if it means preaching salvation to an enemy nation.
Jonah is simply a man not scared of the will of God, but of his grace, he allowed his personal judgment to seat itself in front of God’s command, and yet Christ likens himself to Jonah. I can only imagine Christ on the cross, knowing that we would still all betray him and that we would all fall short, much like Jonah as he sat on the mountain, and yet God desired us to be saved. Jonah is the clear picture of Christ in the Minor Prophets; the book is a warning to Christians that we must love all men as Christ loved us, and that we must see God as our savior and not our friend.

Works Cited
Extreme Teen Study Bible NKJV. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1999. Print.

Unger, Merrill F. "Jonah." Unger's Bible Dictionary. Third Edtion. Paperback ed. 1983. Print.

Unger, Merrill F. "Nineveh." Unger's Bible Dictionary. Third Edtion. Paperback ed. 1983. Print.

Who do you fear?

2009-12-14T20:16:00.001-08:00

For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord and He ponders all his paths. His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin. He shall die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. (Proverbs 5:21-23)

I climbed the arched bars on the playground in the fifth grade almost everyday, at every recess. Each rung held a special place to everyone, but sitting on the very top was where everyone really wanted to be. You could see the whole world from there. I would find myself to the top and would sit there and think. I was new to the school, I didn’t know anyone, and it was just best to keep it that way. (I thought by talking to myself by the way.)

One day I decided that it was not enough to just sit on the top but it would be better to stand. (There were two of these bars, but one was bigger, of course I chose the big one.) There I was, at what seemed a stifling height from the chips of well-worn bark below. I started by sitting and manifested to kneel. As soon as I gained the courage I slowly crept my wobbly legs from the kneel to a stand, unsuccessfully. The next thing I felt was the thud against the hard ground and the inability to breathe. No, I am not one who is a fan of getting the wind knocked out of me. I don’t think about it, I never look forward to it, and unfortunately I can hardly ever see it coming.

I lay there struggling to breathe for the short thirty seconds that seemed like a lifetime wondering why I even got the idea to stand up in the first place. After that I never did it again. Oh sure I climbed the jungle gym every now and then, but I never stood on it for the rest of my life. And even if I wanted to I couldn’t, because they took the thing out a few years back. I wonder why?

The point of this tale is to not diminish my will to “try, try, again,” But to show what fear kept me from doing. It’s funny how this one small thing in my life kept me from ever attempting it again. A six-foot jungle gym was like a gigantic elephant in the room. Even if I had the idea to try it again, I would remember the rolling on the ground, out of breath Alex who failed the first time.

It’s sad that we can make such miniscule things in our life keep us from doing simple day-to-day things, or achieving our dreams, and yet we don’t have the mindset that we should fear God. We worry that we will fail in a success, rather than what we will look like on judgment day. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather be in fear of God than a tiny playground. The fear of the Lord is a guard in life that can not be taken lightly but must be applied daily. Ironically to fear God is to build yourself even stronger. “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, And his children have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to turn one away from the snares of death.” (Proverbs 14:26-27.)

Too many times we fear man, and not God. We fear being caught by man in our carnal nature, doing something wrong, but don’t even realize that God is there with us, even when our family or friends aren’t. We do everything in our power to hide from men, yet don’t acknowledge that God sees all things. (Proverbs 15:3) Why do we fear man and not God? Because man is visible. We must desire the fear of the Lord. We inherit the fear of man.

Keeping the Simple simple

2009-12-02T22:45:00.000-08:00

There is no doubt that life is the type of thing that will always surprise you. Just when you think you have the solution to a problem, for instance the enigma of losing the remote, the answer come flying at you, whizzing past your head and brain activity, causing you to therefore see the unexpected. The remote is in your hand. It was not under the couch, or in the couch, or in the pantry, or in the trash, although I am sure that these incidents have occurred. No. The answer to life’s puzzles, which go beyond the simple quest to find the “zapper” are often right in front of us. It’s to bad we search to hard when life, in reality, is simple.

To be honest, if we lived in reality the world as we know it would not exist. Our little “dream” that we pattern to is not even a touch of what is real. Reality is simply defined by God, and by the Word of God, which is God. (John 1:1) Reality is God. If we lived in reality we would not need to give to the widow and the orphan, because the widow and the orphan would not exist. Sin would not either. Who knows where we would be. But since the fall of man we have turned everything to a helter-sketler, Picasso like scope. The God view now seems twisted and upside down. The dysfunction is functional and the functional is dysfunction, putting the validity of God at the bottom of all thought; A scary place to be no doubt, yet as it was said before answers are simply simple.

Interestingly enough simplicity has now found itself in everything. Spiritually perhaps, but even in the visible world it has taken over: Designs for clothes, rooms, homes, colors, ads, products, labels, magazines and so on. Don’t tell me you have not noticed. People want something clean and to the point, with no funny business and doctored speeches. This comes to everything including the church and what God is speaking. What I love about this is that God never really complicated things. He never beat around the bush. He spoke plain and simple, and if people were dumb enough to catch his drift than it was, in my opinion sad. Jesus himself was simple. He was who he was and he brought it to the table, which consequently is God’s table.

It’s funny how we use that expression with such vain attitudes. “How do you feel about Rodger?” “Oh, well he is fine, you know he brings a lot to the table.” It makes no sense. First of all this table would have to be huge, and second of all it would not matter if he did bring anything to the table. (But I really don’t know where I was going with that.)

What I love about the Word is that it does not try and prove the existence of God, but it just simply declares it. There is no scientific chart to map out any sort of random timeline of God. He was just there. It was as simple as that.

Since God is so simple he makes it simple for us. We don’t really take the time to think how simple it is due to our inept way of complicating everything, despite our hunger for the “simple life.” God asks for us to rely on him in all seasons. The command not difficult, it in bold letters, sometimes red, and yet we find it so hard to truly rely on him. A moment comes and goes, things go from good to bad, from bad to worse, and you find yourself in a pit of sin because you fill the void with all the carnal desires known to man, when in reality the remote was with you the whole time. It was not where you thought it would be. We must be dependent on God. Independence only comes from the dependence on God. Without it we over complicate creation itself.

2009-10-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

I would like to start out by saying that this movie was not for kids, and although many thought it was, it was not, then again parents should get the hint from Jonze's earlier films like Being John Malcovich, were not for kids either, and that the book was published in the 1960's. That does not mean anything really, but to be honest I do not see a lot of parents reading it to their kids these days.

But the movie is flawless. Unless you are old and you can't stand the sight of artistic vision and the embellishment of a classic story, than it is not for you. But this movie is a beautiful story that even expresses the sad fears that exist in one small child and entire generation.

All the monsters that Max meets are just representations of the monsters that live in him. He is scared of abandonment, people, love, divorce, etc. This movie is a happy yet tragic tale of a young child searching for answers. And yet the beauty of it is beyond my dreams.

What Defines Us?

2009-10-10T09:33:00.001-07:00

Lets go back to what I titled this blog after. Normal. I have spent the last year thinking about this word. Normal…. I posted many articles in the school paper about the definition of normal. I came to the conclusion that everyone has a normal, but that there really is only one normal, and that is what God says it is. We can argue and think all we want on what is normal, what is okay, or in a sense justified, but the plain truth is, if it does not line up with him, it is abnormal, and plainly sin.

What is shocking to me, Jesus was the only normal person to grace this planet. It is without a doubt that he was. He lived the life that man was meant to live from the start. He lived in complete submission to the father. After all it was he who said, “Your will be done.” Jesus lived a life of holiness, and purity, and he did not defile himself. Yes he was tempted, but he did not give into it.

We see the same story in the book of genesis, man is tempted, and yet he submits to sin. Why does this happen? BECAUSE WE ARE NOT NORMAL. God’s intent was for us to stay in the lines that he had created, and yet we crossed them, forcing God to take something natural and sacrifice it for our abnormal behavior.

What is even more shocking is that we as humans have become so accustomed to normality that we have literally accepted sin as normal. This is scary. If we become so drowned in the fact that, “everyone does it,” than we are accepting sin as normal, and rebelling against God. We are saying yes to something that God does not see as natural. This is seen in same sex marriage. Or to be more exact homosexuality.(To clarify, I do not hate them, and I have many friends that are, but I do not agree with them, we need to pray for them.) The world no longer views having a sexual relationship with the same gender as sin, in fact it has become so common. People have forgotten that it is a plan of the devil. Satan wants to destroy the very fabric of our existence. The firs thing God established was marriage and the family. Satan knows that if he can get that everything after that will fall apart.

But we have become so passive, that many Christians are accepting same sex couples as God created relationships. The real point is, homosexuality is real, and it is a real temptation. Many men and women deal with it, but just like we view killing, or fornication, it is sin. It’s rebellion. And it is not the only abnormality that is being accepted.

We are in a dangerous state, if we think we can define what is normal. That job is only left up to God.

Dangers of Church Life

2009-10-03T01:08:00.001-07:00

I wish that people could see how stupid I can be sometimes, then again… I will leave it at that.

As I wake up in the morning, there are three things that I realize, my room is a mess, I am tired, and God is still God. As I have gone into this year, I have been sucked into a pathway of eternal purpose that even the greatest dreamers and visionaries could think of. This has been a crazy, most annoying, yet stretching and fulfilling, and blessed year of my life.

To be frank, and that is not my name, I do not have it all figured out. There I said it!!!! That feels so much better. But there was a time, not really a time, but just recently where I did. Let me warn you now this is the most dangerous person to be in the world. Once you set yourself there, you become the most empty, selfish, and insecure jerk that ever “graced” the planet. It would be easy for me to say that I have not been there, but the truth is always better to tell, and it is always harder to spit out no matter what you are talking about.

As an elementary student, younger in fact, I accepted the fact that I need a savior in my life. I drew the line, that I am not good on my own, and that by grace I can be more, that God can use me, but most importantly, it is Him who it is all about. I grew up in the church, and I love it. I am proud that my parents obeyed and raised children the biblical way, and built a family that is rock solid on truth. But like all things there are dangers.

Growing up in the church was fun. I knew everybody, I was safe, I was promised watermelon at the 4^th of July BBQ, I was insured in the hug of a pastor or friend, and I was given access to areas and information that no one else knew about. There is much that comes out of growing up in the church, but there are many things that must be identified in these kids, much like me, so that the church does not become a place to go, but a place to be. There is a difference, If you are going somewhere, it means that you “go” out of necessity, for comfort of yourself, and that you may look good. But being, dwelling, is a state where you are there, weekly, daily perhaps, but it is not out of duty, but out of passion and love. To be at the church is to extend God’s kingdom outside the four walls of the church. To go to church is simply to follow a pattern that has been laid out for years by thousands of lukewarm Christians, much like myself for what seemed to long.

What I find odd is that God used me even through my apathy. I was baptized, received the Holy Spirit, and my prayer language, all through the same church. I am proud of that. And I am glad that from a young age that I felt like I had ownership in something of the kingdom. Yet this is where the rub lies. As I began to grow in Christ, I became more prideful. Now I am not saying that pride comes from being a Christian, but there can be a pride that is in the things of God, and even here humility must be demonstrated. As I grew I witnessed the changes in the church, I latched to things, and the church, as I said before was a place to go for my own personal comfort. At this point in my life I was not yet able to notice the seed planted right there that led to so much more than church, but true, undeniable sin.

See, when you latch to something there is much danger. God has built things in this universe to change, sometimes it is in a pattern, and other times it just happens whenever it feels like it. How do I know this? Look at creation… (Seasons, weather, land, water, animals.) We even as humans experience physical change, and lo and behold the church does as well. Ministries come and go, members and pastors, ideas, messages, kids, and so on. The list is endless. Yet here as a Christian a problem lies in us, and not the church, which I, and so many others have blamed. When the church decides to do something different, for instance hire new staff, or paint the colors of the wall from purple to yellow, or whatever, there is bound to be someone getting upset. Now is this the churches fault. No! It lies clearly with the person who is finding the House of God to be a place of comfort, when in reality the body of Christ is never about the comfort of ourselves, it is not about the type of music, or how many flowers are in the front. The house of God is a place of hurt, anguish, agony, and sacrifice. Just because we ended old testament principals, does not mean that they exist. They do, but in a different form.

Here is where the problem hurt me— It was about me in church, and because of that no matter what happened, if I did not like it, it was there fault, after all they should have been thinking of me and how I would feel when they did whatever. Now you must understand, I was a freshman in High School when the true seed was planted. It has taken me four years to get there and back again! Once I became latched and desired so badly many things not happening, I broke. I became bitter, and I did not like the church. I lost trust in my pastors, my parents, my friends, and I wanted nothing to do with them. If they were going to “forget me” I was surely going to forget them. I found myself then not plugged it, no longer serving, and hanging with the wrong group of people, doing the wrong stuff, and so on. (All the while, I am still telling people that I am a Christian and proclaiming him) Ouch!

Finally God stopped me in my tracks and put an end to my foolishness. I remember last spring break was a time in my life where I was picked out of my sin and placed on the threshing floor of rebuke. A few nights before the break I prayed to God, I laid in my bed crying, sobbing, “God I do not know who I am anymore, show me who I am.” I then fell asleep, woke up the next day and forgot about my prayer, and continued an ignorant life. As the first day of Spring Break rolled around I found myself in a foolish pickle. That Friday night, the Lord convicted me, and I disobeyed still. As I smoked my whatever numbered cigarette, and cussed, and spat like a madman, and sat around with my friends, laughing, God was watching. I will never forget my attitude. I was aiming for nothing. I had truly fallen to the level, where I no longer saw my worth in Christ or anything of God.

The next day my wonderful, Christ Like, and saints of parents, confronted me on my behavior. I was changed. And in instant light and exposing of my sins, God pulled me out and I became free, and it took me so long to realize where this all came from. How did I get to the point from growing up in a church, where my parents worked, and pastured, and counseled, and lead at, a church where I served and worked and gave to, How did I loose that passion, because I saw the church in the perspective that it was all for me. This one little seed, destroyed four years of growth in my life. And was it not for the grace of God, I would not be where I am today. In fact I have no clue where I would be.

But the grace of God was sufficient, the friends that I was hanging out with, came to church, they too had their lives changed, one of them who has completely changed and is no serving in the House of God today. God used my sin to change. But that is not the point of the story. This is not a message on grace, but a warning. Stay in the House of God with this mindset, it is all about him and His kingdom, and not your comfort. Do not grow apathetic like me and let it pass by. It will destroy you, and it may not be the same, but you will find yourself going to church after church after church, because you have not shifted the blame onto yourself.

I firmly believe that God got me where I am right now because of the following lessons that he taught me.

1. DO NOT BECOME ACCOSTUMED- you must treat church like it is the most special thing on the planet. Do not get used to anything. Allow yourself to see it His way.

2. DON’T FIND A COMFORT ZONE- you must never be comfortable with spiritual life in the church. Do not talk to the same people, serve, talk to others, love on others, pray, get involved.

3. TRUST THE ATHOURITY OF YOUR LEADERS- if your pastor says you are doing something, no questions ask, you are doing it. Unless it CLEARLY goes against the word of God, you must submit and obey.

That is all that I really need to share with you. Know this, God is still teaching me this, and this process will continue. We must always remind ourselves that God is in control and that we are not.

2009-10-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

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A Study on Hamlet and Holden

2009-09-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

Im being a advocate for "The Bard" decided I would post a paper that I wrote. I really do not care if it bores you, or if you are interested. It is on here, and there is nothing you can do about it. ---'

All That is rotten in Denmark, or in Pencey

For centuries the human race has been obsessed with madness and its affects on humans. The classic story of one man’s tragic flaw being madness has been used a countless amount of times in literature and entertainment. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye both focus on the aftermath of a death that results in madness for both characters, which eventually leads to the death of Hamlet and the institutionalizing of Holden Caulfield. And yet in their tragedy they are also pessimists, negative about their society and the happenings around them. Both stories describe what sort of madness existed in the contrasting time periods of the Renaissance and the 1950s. For instance the suspicions in Ghosts could have been a reason for Shakespeare’s reasoning in Hamlet’s craziness, and the era of conformity that Holden deals with, along with the death of his brother Allie are deciding factors in Holden’s crazy pessimistic rants.

During the 1600’s a time of discovery, and the Renaissance, many people were fascinated with mental disorders and the supernatural, thus explaining the use of Hamlet’s “antic disposition,” (Hamlet III.iv.190). and the appearance of his father’s ghost. In fact people during the renaissance flocked to asylums to see the patients. “So fascinated were Londoners by the insane that they would go to Bedlam to ogle the fewer than thirty inmates who occupied the hospital,” (Moss and George 139). The use of the father’s ghost to explain Hamlet’s madness is not out of the ordinary for the time period. “This is the very coinage of your brain: this bodiless creation ecstasy is very cunning in,” states Gertrude. (III.iii.153-154.) From this passage it is evident that only Hamlet can see his fathers Ghost, let alone speak to it or hear it. This being the case the question had been raised many times if Hamlet was either pretending to be mad or if he really was mad entirely. Suspicions of ghost in the Elizabethan were very high. “…The debate about ghosts and apparitions grew…Hamlet, like Shakespeare and his contemporaries, may have been unsure if the ghost was real or a figment of his imagination,” (Moss, George 142). Hamlet’s madness, which if acted, would have been put under two different categories in the era it was written. “…the violent madman, and the raving ones who talked nonsensically, the way prince Hamlet does.” (Moss, George 139).

Holden’s state of madness, is however, not influenced by the supernatural, but more by the society around him. To describe Holden’s insanity form a ghost would be far from the norm in the easy going conformed 1950s. In a time where homes were prefabricated, men went to work and women stayed home; to be different from anyone was odd. Holden sees society as “phony” and refuses to conform to the American public as it is. Holden is, “Alienated from friends and teachers, unable to face his parents and disillusioned with society in general,” (Moss, George 73). Even the way Holden wears his hunting hat, with the flaps turned upward, is a sign that he wants to be his own person. The pressure to conform came mostly from the ever so popular prep schools of the time. Holden hated Pency Prep because it was always filled with “Godam phonies.” J.D. Salinger’s own experience in Military School is said to be written into the piece of work. “In real life prep-school students followed a rigorous schedule, with prescribe times for eating, studying, attending class or chapel, playing sports, and going to bed…separating themselves into cliques or groups of their own,” (Moss, George 74). Because of the tight and rigorous course of prep schools Holden’s mental attitude is brought down in his pressure to stay away from conforming, which eventually weighs on his mind. “For Holden the conformity demanded at Pencey may have set the stage and even arranged the props…” (Pinsker, 49).

Although the book never specifies what Holden ends up being, whether crazy or mentally ill, readers do see Holden’s struggle. “Readers of his story realize that he is more emotionally unstable than anything else. Holden in fed up with what he perceives as a world of sham,” (Moss, George 77). Just like the time of Hamlet’s mental breakout people were just as fascinated and even more fascinated with trying to fix it. Holden’s case of not wanting to conform to the world was actually a common mindset. “His inability to adjust and conform to societal expectations is constructed as something of a mental illness, a perception typical of post war society,” (Moss, George 77). During the 1950’s treatment from psychologists came wifely accepted. It was seen as “ a way of changing or modifying human behavior,” (Moss, George 77). And just like in all areas of the 1950’s from entertainment to sexual behavior, psychology was fixed on making people conform. “It was the job of psychologists to help readjust such nonconformists to non societal norms,” (Moss, George 77). Things like homosexuality, something that Holden deals with when he visits his professor were seen as rebellion to the society.

Although both Hamlet and Holden are never really truly stated or even openly admitted to being crazy by the authors, it is no doubt that, even if pretending to be mad, the death of a close relative caused much of their twisted logic and irrational behavior. Hamlet is constantly seen thinking and talking, telling himself things that keep him from ever acting. “Hamlet represents the type of man whose power of direct action is paralyzed by an excessive development of his intellect,” (Bloom, 41). After discovering that his father was murdered by his uncle he discovers Claudius praying, a perfect and opportune moment to take revenge. However, Hamlet then delivers a speech that stops him from what he wants to do the most. “Now might I do it Pat, now he is praying. And now I’ll do’t. And so he goes to heaven; and so I am revenged. That would be scanned; A villain kills my father and for that I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven,” (Act III, Scene III). Instead of taking the perfect moment to make revenge he thinks about the actual process of killing his uncle saying that if I kill him now he will go to heaven. “Hamlet is able to do anything—accept take vengeance on the man who did away with his father and took that father’s place with his mother, the man who shows him the repressed wishes of his own childhood realized,” (Bloom, 41.) Yet, when Hamlet does not think he ends up killing the wrong man, Polonius. “How now? A rat! Dead for a ducat, dead,” (Hamlet. III.iv.27). If it was not for the murder of his father, perhaps Hamlet would have gone on to take the throne. Yet the death of his father is what ultimately brings Hamlet to his demise as Hamlet never acts until he myself is poisoned to die.

The thought of vengeance had also become a dying idea in the Elizabethan Era. At the close of the Medieval ages a more humanistic approach on living became England’s new philosophy. “...Hamlet conveys a growing pacifist sentiment that denounces killing in general…the English were beginning to regard killing—even lawless murder—as a less heroic action than had the people of the middle ages.” (Moss and George 142). Despite the fact Hamlet may think to much, it could just be due to the fact Hamlet has also adopted the popular belief of the renaissance. And yet Hamlet still battles with if he should take revenge or not which builds his turmoil. “Why what an ass am I…prompted in my revenge by heaven and hell, must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words…” (Hamlet II.ii.593-597). Along with Hamlet’s want for revenge there had to come a realization that it was truly what he wanted. Hamlet even detests the idea that he has to do it. “The time is out of joint. O, cursed spite, that I was ever born to set it right!” (Hamlet I.v.207-208). Hamlet’s doubt in himself to even think about making revenge causes his delay and outright true madness. “In order to perform revenge with conviction, you must believe in the justice of your own cause. The revenge seeker will not believe in his own cause unless he believes in the guilt of his intended victim.” (Bloom, 169). For Hamlet even to consider taking revenge he had to stop doubting what he thought and admit that he truly saw his father’s ghost and not be skeptical like the rest of the Elizabethan age.

The death of Allie, Holden’s brother has a relative affect on Holden. Thus proving that death affecting the tragic hero never really changes. Ironically it appears as if Holden notices how much he thinks about his deseeded brother. Although he acknowledges missing him, he never really acknowledges it as a problem. Holden’s dependent thoughts on Allie digress to a moment in which Holden writes an English paper for his roommate Stradlater. Holden writes about his younger brother’s baseball glove, and even if it was a brilliant memory on paper, it does not follow the prompt. “For Chrissake, Holden this ia about a goddam baseball glove…You don’t do one damn thing the way your supposed to….” (Salinger, 53). Holden’s inability to conform to even a simple prompt for an English assignment is based on his brother’s death which raises the question if that is why he does not conform to society as well. Besides the essay, the novel tells of Holden’s reaction to Allie’s death as well. Holden talks about his rampage in breaking windows in his garage with his hand. All Allie is to Holden in a grasping tool. Something that Holden can remember in all the “phony” society. “Allie is associated with the theme of death, but his role is not that simple. He also represents hope and the gifted innocence of childhood, which is tenuous and sometimes short lived,” (Cliff Notes, Wiley Publishing).

Furthermore the tragic heroes do not only rely on death as a main factor in their demise but the role of negative thinking also comes into play. Hamlet and Holden alike are constantly making statements that defy any hope within them. Hamlet states that God should lift the ban on suicide, “…Oh that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into a dew, or that the everlasting had not fixed his cannon ‘gaisnt self slaughter.” (Hamlet I.ii.131-134). Hamlet even wears black to his own mother’s wedding because he is still in mourning for his father’s recent death. “Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off and let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark…” (Hamlet I.ii.69-70). Elizabethans even believed that grief could cause death and mental disorders, and that it was a mental disorder in and of itself. “ …Doctors, preachers, and dramatists spoke about grief and insanity in their works. These shapers of public opinion warned especially against excessive grief, which, they believed, could drive people into distraction…” (Moss, George139). Holden opens his story by saying, “…If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like…” (Salinger,1). Literature and Times, describes Holden as “the novel’s cynical protagonist…” (Moss and George, 76). Tied into the historical context of the work, negativity was once again seen as another reason for psychologists to do their work. Robert Lindner stated, “The goal of therapy should not be conforming the patient to sick society but working to transform the negative protest and rebellion of the patient into positive expression of the rebellious urge…” (Moss and George 78). Therefore it soon was seen as the person’s negative attitude that should be changed to conform them to society. Nonetheless the negative attitudes of Hamlet and Holden are like bricks to their own life trap.

Much of the famous used tragic hero is all based on his or her tragic flaw and in ability to fix it or even better fix it when it is too late. Both Hamlet and Holden are faced with the pressures of society, both of which cause them to conform to something they see as not real or fake. As for Hamlet he is in inner turmoil as to take revenge on his uncle for killing his father for the throne. Holden’s first cause of madness comes from the pressure of not wanting to conform and stay innocent; whether that be at his prep school or in Manhattan, he refuses to be like everyone else, just look at his hat. The next dilemma for the both of them is that they clearly are influenced by the deaths of a close relative. Hamlet losing his father is the first motive in his journey for revenge. Hamlet is talking to a ghost, one that could highly be doubted of either existing or not existing, especially in the Elizabethan era. Holden constantly holds on to the memory of Allie, his dead brother as a grip of innocence. His tangent on the baseball glove proves that Holden grasping his brother so tightly causes his him to refuse society and see it as “phony.” Hamlet’s constant state of mind and thinking causes him to dig into a “madness” as well. When given the opportune moments to act on his fathers behalf he talks himself out of it, and when he does not to think he does the irrational by killing Polonius. Both characters constantly speak negatively and never say anything good to help their situation. Furthermore both time periods attempted to fix grief and a negative out look on the world in order to help or even conform the “mentally ill” to the society. The creation of Hamlet and Holden Caulfield hold the true essence of the struggle for revenge and the difference between what is real and not real. Without denial “All the is rotten in Denmark, or in Pencey,” (Pinsker, 49). truly has value in today’s society.

A Family Calling

2009-09-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

Hello World! I am in a way of odd and senseless matter. But ignore me.
My new thought is this, and it truly is amazing.
God loves the family. Now I know this sounds a little old for me, "Alex you are talking about family?" But yes I am. I am passionate about it.
Here is the deal, and this is something I plan on continuing to write about. First of all God instituted the family. It is the first human structure besides marriage that we see in the Bible.
Without the family, the basic idea of society fails. Wow!
But let's not be drastic here. I am blunt but this is soft. I like it.
But really what I see God telling me is to recognize the gifts that God has put in each of your family members. This really opens doors. Understand that God has put children, parents, brothers, and sisters in the family to build upon a foundation that God has already built.
We see this in Matthew. Mary has just been notified that she is pregnant with the Savior of the world this is DEEP stuff.
Now here she comes to tell her fiance, whom she has not has sex with, and tells him, "Hey honey I am pregnant." Now Joseph being like a lot of men most likely freaked out. I am not saying that he exploded on her, he just melted. But once he saw the destiny in her life, his entire perspective changed. He began to help her. Not only that, but the Bible indicates that he "did not know her" until Christ was born. It's not about the fact that he was married, and sacrificed his wedding night, but it is about the fact that he was so passionate about seeing his wife's destiny fulfilled that he would give up something of himself.
It is so important that we do not get stagnant, and refuse to help those in our relationships and their walk in Christ.

2009-08-10T23:40:00.000-07:00

Today, my car went to be with the Lord. It passed on Glennwood, and was declared dead in the parking lot of El Gallo de Grio.

Although the car was rough around the edges. (No back taillight, no back, windshield, broken glove compartment, missing hub-cap, and no back lights in the speedometer.) She was a wonderful car. She transported many friends. And she made it thru the winter with a flat tire. She was amazing. i will miss her.

And now I need a car.

Jamison

2009-07-26T17:00:00.001-07:00

Bear With ME

2009-07-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

Just so the world can know.

I feel quite insane today. Not in a bad way, nor am I confessing negative things or any of that. Wow! Many words for no reason.

But this is quite senseless...

Okay my point is this.

Have you ever wondered this...

God is sitting up there in heaven, like he does most the time, and he is fuming.

(Now I know that God is love but bear with me)

Today God is not happy, the world just reeks of sin. It's a mess! All this garbage. Gross.

So God get mad and he is just about to smite the earth in fury, when Jesus, "God's Son" comes along and yells, "Dad! No! Don't do it! Remember I died for them!"

Just a thought....

Oh I am ever so hungry. (Chicken Tonight)

Define ME

2009-07-26T14:55:00.001-07:00

Somewhere in the universe there is a novel thick enough to cover a life span on earth with my name as the title. I honestly believe it. And I know that as much I try to believe that I am the author of that book, I am not. its kinda like when you wake up from a dream right before it ends and you try and write the perfect ending in your head. But as I said I am not the author of my book. However, there is one thing I can control. i can choose what pages to turn and not turn, what pages to read and not read. In that is the beauty of allowing such things exist. I may not be able to shape my fate, but I can shape my destiny as much as I want. To be honest if you want to hear my life story you won't find it here. I would rather write it on something more worthy. For instance if I decided to write everything about me on this small corner of the universe, it would work, but it would not achieve any purpose! Now if I wrote down everything I knew in a small leather journal and buried it a thousand miles from any community or culture and told you to find it, my story would be far more valuable. So here is what I try and call he short version, or the preview. (If you want to know more, get to know me.) I am a man after God's heart. I honestly love God and all he provides. I am a firm believer that there is only one way to heaven, which is truthfully, through the blood of Jesus Christ. After God comes everything else. (Which can be a struggle to balance!) I love theatre and live art. And when I say I love it I don't just say it because...I say it because there is nothing I want to do more. I could act for the rest of my life and be proud of it. But I am not defined by it an more would I want to be. Like I said God is much bigger than any of my interests. I also love to write. (As you can clearly see.) I love english and french, and words. I love when it rains, I love Seattle, New York, Paris, and, London. I enjoy reading The Catcher in the Rye...multiple times. I love watching football and going to games, I love eating my favorite foods. But that is all you can know. I can promise that there is more to my story. If you want to know more you are welcome, but I can promise you I am hardly thru chapter five of my life story

Define Language

2009-07-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

We as people hold the most powerful tool on the planet; our tongues. This is a strength that lies within everyone, that some hardly even take time to use or even recognize. My introduction may seem like the start of a funny teenage joke, however, it’s not a joke about kissing and far from that, it is a serious truth.

We are all in a fault because of what we say. So many times in my life I have said something that I wished I could have taken back. Our own tongue has the power to shape our minds, lives, and even our own body. What you think and feel in your heart comes first from the mouth. This is not a matter of the popular belief that if you keep thinking about something good that it will happen to you, like in the book, The Secret. But it is an amount of truth in that your tongue can shape you.

Take for instance the classic “I’m fat.” If you tell yourself you’re fat, your mind will believe it, and if your mind believes it, it attaches to your heart, and your heart is all you can live by.

But it is not just negative remarks to yourself, but to others as well. Our tongues have the power to lift someone up and edify or completely destroy and ridicule them. So many times have I hurt someone, whether I was around or not. But the real point is that we as humans use our tongues for the wrong remarks. It is time that we work stop slandering each other, stop making fun of each other, gossiping, hurting, and use our tongues for their real purpose to encourage and praise.

Ladies and Gentleman the matter is simple, if you have nothing good to say, don’t say anything at all.

Define Sex

2009-07-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

I recently had the pleasure of discussing teen romance with my younger brother. I found it delightful when he responded to the topic with this beautiful sentence.

“You’re fifteen, you don’t know what you’re doing with your life, and you will not be with this girl forever!” Truer words were never spoken.

We are emotional basket cases. Everything is a big deal. Everything is dramatic. Everything is against us and so if our lives do not go well for five minutes we act like God hates us. Since we cannot control our own emotions and feelings why then do we surrender them to the opposite sex at such a young age?

I am not saying that dating is entirely wrong. It is an adventure perhaps. You can learn from it and it makes you grow in a positive mature way. However, it is the fundamental practices of our generation that ruin it.

First of all teens, myself included, have no concept of what true love is. We think it is something that just comes and goes. We treat it like a frivolous feeling that can be blown in the wind like the leaves of fall. No! Love is unconditional! If you truly love the person you are dating in such an awkward time of your life than you love them everyday no matter what. Circumstances should not change the way you treat someone.

And because we treat love so poorly more problems arise. Teens tend to rush everything. We all just want to grow up and be our own person. But we fail to acknowledge our own mistakes. Teen dating should be a process of checks and balances there should never be a moment that causes you to compromise who you are and your convictions. You should not have to make the smallest insignificant changes to your opinions just to make a person love you. Changing who you are for someone else is wrong.

Furthermore, wiser choices should be made. Sex before marriage is wrong. Having sex with a girl or guy that you have not made a life-long commitment to is throwing everything away. Most teens blow gaskets when people talk about marriage being forever. What they fail to see is matrimony is an eternal promise that deserves more respect. And if you think you have drama now, then I would say keep away from the bedroom. Sex is not something that can just be taken lightly. I find it hard to understand why a teen who violently changes moods as often as they change socks would lay their entire future down for that minute of pleasure. We waste the most valuable things in life. Why make virginity one of them?

Teen love has guidelines that should be followed. I can personally take a girl to a movie and take her home without worrying about how physical we are because I understand the principals.

Practicing unsafe teen dating and pleasures is practicing for divorce. Ladies and Gents this is not normal.