My resolutions this year are different than last year. While I do have some specific, personal things I want to accomplish in the next 12 months (getting back to my running regime, never using the words ‘epic’ and ‘fail’ again…), they’re pretty insignificant in the larger scheme of things. So here are my top 5: 

5. Look closely. Life happens all around. I have friends who have travelled the world and  don’t have much to report. I also have other friends who can walk down the street and see the whole world. I want to be the latter. 

4. Listen intently. We all have amazing stories to tell. Stories of love and tragedy. Of heartbreak and redemption. Of grace and growth. God is in the process of redeeming all of creation, but sometimes noise drowns out the tale. In 2011, I will listen more intently to Christ’s story in and around me. 

3. Tell boldly. What good is a story without an audience? What good is tragedy if the triumph is never told? I want to 'tell better'–not in a preacher-on-a-street-corner-kind-of-way, but like a painter who can't help but paint. I want to creatively use every color, every hue, every nuance to tell the story so that it resonates with us and accurately reflects the love God has shown.

2. Love completely. When I die, the only things that will eternally matter are my relationships–with Christ and with His Bride. If I speak with the tongues of men and angels but don’t have love……if I feed the poor and don’t  have love….if I have faith that moves mountains or knowledge that understands crazy, theological secrets, and don’t have love…then what good is it?

1. Spend 2011 awake and wondering. Life gets hectic and it’s easy to autopilot through each day without engaging in the wonder of life and creation. Recreation is re-creation. Wonder begets wonder. Like Neo taking the red pill, I want to see how far the rabbit hole goes…

What about you? What are you striving towards in 2011? Did you make any resolutions? I'd love for you to share…perhaps together we can spur each other on towards living 2011on purpose. 

Coming in here and praying and praising

Lifting up holy hands, bending holy knees, 

while looking at my holy watch…

But I wonder if this is what I really worship

If you want to see my worship

Don't stand next to me here in this place

Don't look at my words and my prayers

And all of my learned motions that come 

Not from my heart, but from what I have seen others do

Don't look at the way I speak, parrot like, the words I hear others say

If you want to know what I really worship

Walk with me

Follow me

Live with me

Crawl into my head and see where my thoughts go

Go through the days and weeks of my life with me

And see what I worship not by what I say

But by how I live.

You wanna know what I worship?

I worship food

In ways that are far from natural

I think about it most of the day

Chicken, pizza, cheeseburgers, steak and cheese sandwiches, 

Hot wings, lasagna, shrimp tacos from Chuy's, mustard on everything, fast food, good food, greasy spoon food, barbeque Dungeoness crab from Joe's Crab Shack, Chic-fil-a waffle fries, Venti No-whip mocha from Starbucks

Mmmm…Starbucks

O great god of coffee, I bow to your caffeinated greatness

You wanna know what I worship?

I worship gadgets

If it blinks and has an Apple logo I will sing its praise

I will bring it offerings of money and time

O Lord Laptop, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all your 15 inch display 

Your wireless net, your cd-rom for burning

I love your power for all the games I play

Then sings my soul, my laptop, god to thee

How Great thou art, How great thou art

You wanna know what I worship?

I worship other people

I may not walk up to you and bow to you

I don't sacrifice live chickens at your feet

But I do worship you

Putting my feelings of self-worth, 

of security, 

of am I good enough,

of am I smart enough, skinny enough, cool enough

In your hands

Spending most of my time trying to find new ways for you to like me

New ways to make sure that you don't leave me

Run from me

Find someone cooler

New ways to make sure you don't… 

Find someone more fun.

You wanna know what I worship?

When you push past everything else

When you stop believing the lies 

that even I believe

When you tear off the curtain and show the wizard

For who he really is

When you add up all of the 

Time spent 

And thoughts spent

And emotions spent

And energy spent

And talents spent

You find the throne of my worship

And on the throne

Sits me

You wanna know what I worship?

I worship me 

and I don't want to do it anymore. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

What is it about creative ventures that makes us nervous about each other’s mental health? Those who inhabit the far end of the creative spectrum are often known for their unstable, capricious moodiness that often leads to depression, manic tendencies, and even suicide. The question Gilbert raises is: as a ‘creative’, are you OK with that? If you create (songs, poetry, art, fashion, design, or ANYTHING), you’ll relate to the capriciousness of creativity and the oftentimes fleeting and frustrating process of creativity…and you’ll identify with her story I have no idea of Gilbert’s religious belief system, but her time in the video is spent trying to convince at least some of her audience that the creative process is fueled by some kind of ‘divine’ or ‘spiritual’ force that can inhabit and direct us as we create something.

It’s not a new concept, and certainly WAY too long to encompass on a blog like this one, but many great works of art (songs, paintings, etc.) have been documented as having been created effortlessly…as if the Spirit simply flowed through the artist. The result has been everything from a ‘classic’ work of art to a significant worship song to a watershed writing which helped change the course of history.

Do you resonate with the story of poet Ruth Stone at 10:20 in the video? Or is that too irrational? Too far out of our civility? What do you think? Have you ever brushed up against something like that? How do you explain it?

And if you’re not familiar with TEDblog (Technology, Entertainment, Design), spend a little time there and become inspired and refueled.

And follow TEDtalks on Twitter.

“Grande. Non-fat. Decaf. Americano.”

Seriously?
Everything in his life is probably decaf.
    Diet.
        Low-cal.
            Non-fat.
Why is he even here? What does he want from You?
Sterile water with the false pretense of power?
Hot water and steam that lacks any real punch?
Impotent.

Finally its my turn.
“Venti. Tripleshot. Soy. Latte.”

Seriously.
What I want from You
What I need from You
Is not decaf.
What I want from You 
Is Love that has more than just the appearance of power
More than some look-alike coolness to help me fit in.
I need real power.
Today I don’t care about cool.
Today I care about punch.
I care about Potency.

Your love, O Lord, is never decaffeinated.
    Never low-cal.
        Never diet.
Your grace doesn’t come in a non-fat version.
It only comes full-strength.
And after last night, I need something like that.
Full strength, kicking and punching my soul back to You.
A double-shot of confusing grace, please.
A triple-shot of Your love to get me back on my feet.

I’ve tried the decaf version before.
Hot water and steam that doesn’t even look like You.
Or taste like You.
Or give me that burn in my soul that You do.
Religion without the Punch won’t do anymore.
It doesn’t do a thing for me.
I hate decaf.

It hits a little too close to home. But that’s a good thing, right?

Apple Pie

Sin’s tentacles reaching from Eden’s site
Calling me to take another bite
“That’s right. You know you deserve it.”

And so I capitulate to this hate
See Adam, I can relate
I take the bait. Oh no— the hook is set.

And I thrash and fight against the line
As Satan drags me through the brine
“I’m fine,” I tell concerned onlookers.

But I’m not.

See what looked like delicious apple pie
Has left me high and dry
I don’t know why I take another bite when I’m already choking

Oh, I could blame it all on you, Man
You did the dirty, set up my pension plan
I am after all just receiving daily installments.

But then that wouldn’t be quite so fair
Cuz I have this feeling deep down that if I’d been there
I’d have done the same thing.

Someone peel me another apple, I’m hungry.