It’s pretty fun if you say it fast
Per your suggestions in the last post:
High School Musical 2 Dance Schematics:
Also, Disney is airing a special “Dance Along” version on Sept. 8 with 11 minutes of unaired footage and special, step-by-step instructions with Zac, Vanessa and friends. Find out more at the official website.
Wrestling links: Here. Here. And Here.
For Sean:
Bring it on people. Bring. It. On.
Have a good Friday and Labor Day weekend. Speaking of which, what are your Labor Day plans?
As you can likely tell, I’ve gone back to the old Todd Blog look. I liked the other theme as it was very clean, but it lacked that certain Toddness that I feel this theme captures.
I’m working on some new headers and trying to figure out how to make the sidebars a little cleaner, so expect some minor alts over the course of the next few days.
What would you like to see on the ToddBlog?
Sometimes (today is one such day) my creativity hits rock bottom and I stare blankly at my screen awaiting my muse.
As any writer will tell you, that “technique” rarely, if ever, works. Inspiration doesn’t come from a lack of action, but rather from the rolling up of one’s sleeves and pushing through, even when the ideas seem to have abandoned you.
However, there are sources that can fuel a creative spark. Wikipedia, for example, has a lovely random article feature. It’s often fun to go there, click on random article and write about whatever pops up. Today, unfortunately, this exercise proved to be unfruitful — my topics were Gernrode, Germany, the Philosophy of Chemistry and Tehillat HaShem.
The other technique I use is stream of consciousness writing. Often I end up throwing the paper away as nothing on the page is worth ever looking at again (before you disagree, I write things like “I need to go to the grocery store” or “My car is low on gas,” so yes, I believe it is safe to discard them), but at least I start writing. Today, not even to-do items crept into my mind.
My third and final alternative today was to open up iTunes and hope to get inspired by a song. And there it was. Just the inspiration I needed. And now I share it with you:
Sufjan Stevens’ classic hit, “Out Of Egypt, Into The Great Laugh Of Mankind, And I Shake The Dirt From My Sandals As I Run” provided the spark for my daily writing.
Thank you Sufjan.
So, how do you break through the brain slumps?
I sometimes wonder about the effectiveness of drama in presenting a powerful message. It can easily come across as cheesy or trite. The video below is certainly cheesy, but it is also incredibly powerful. Check it out and let me know what you think. Oh, be sure to pump up your volume.
(h/t: Becky)
Sphere: Related ContentDr. Jules Hilbert: Hell Harold, you could just eat nothing but pancakes if you wanted.
Harold Crick: What is wrong with you? Hey, I don’t want to eat nothing but pancakes, I want to live! I mean, who in their right mind in a choice between pancakes and living chooses pancakes?
Dr. Jules Hilbert: Harold, if you pause to think, you’d realize that that answer is inextricably contingent upon the type of life being led… and, of course, the quality of the pancakes.
Anybody who knows me well likely knows my love for the movie Stranger than Fiction. One of my favorite flicks of all time, Fiction tells the story of Harold Crick, both an IRS auditor and subject of a famous novelist.
Without giving too much of the movie away, (because you simply MUST see it if you haven’t yet) Harold’s life is being narrated by Karen Eiffel, the author of a new novel, who tells him that he is going to die. What follows is a humorous and heart-breaking tale of Harold’s attempt to discover both what is happening and how to stop it.
The thing that I love about this movie is its emphasis on living life and living it to the full. The quote at the beginning of the post is taken from a conversation between Harold and a local English professor after Harold has discovered that he has to die. In the beginning of the film we discover Harold has lived a life of little risk and no excitement. His days are structured, planned and identical. Harold isn’t actually living; he’s going through robotic, automatic motions with no personal connections or sense of purpose.
Do you know people who are living life the same way? There is a high chance you do, even if they don’t look or act like our friend Harold. Perhaps they bounce from one relationship to another searching for love and connection. Or maybe they try to acquire the newest best things to validate their existence. Maybe they support a new cause every two months to give them a sense of purpose or identity. But underneath all their activities there lies a broken, sad, angry soul longing for true intimacy, true validation and true purpose – a soul longing for God.
As followers of God we have an opportunity to make life worth living for these individuals. We have an opportunity to help them experience the love and grace of God right now, while they’re alive, so that they will have a reason to choose life over pancakes, so to speak.
But before we can do that, we must be living. Before we can share the gift of life, we must have accepted it.
So let me ask you, what does living look like for you? When people look at you, how will they be able to tell you’re alive? I’m asking the question, so it’s not boasting for you to share here. I truly want to know.
Have a good rest of your Monday, unless you read this on another day. In that case, have a good that day.
Sphere: Related Content“We must decide where we want our ministry to count – in the momentary applause of popular recognition or in the reproduction of our lives in a few chosen people who will carry on the work after we are gone.” - Robert Coleman
My friend Jana Snyder sent me an article which contained the above quote. Much like the article’s author, I was “stopped in my tracks” as I read it. It served as a well-timed slap in the face.
I have always struggled a bit with pride and this pride extends to the types of ministry that I enjoy partaking in. Public speaking, organizing events, being a youth sponsor and creating meaningful (depending upon whom you ask) times of worship come immediately to mind as ministries that are important and can glorify God, but certainly contain opportunities for me to gain some glory as well.
In ministry areas such as service, visitation and grounds-keeping I’m significantly less inclined to volunteer. “That’s not where my gifts and passions lie,” I tell myself. “You’re much more suited for ‘public’ ministry.” While the first statement may be true, the second is nothing but a lie. I’m suited for ministry in any context, wherever God desires to place me. I’m not commanded to pick and choose where I will serve, I’m called to serve where I am, how I can.
I hope that as I continue to discover new opportunities God has placed before me that I won’t shy away from those that won’t earn me some acknowledgment or appreciation. I hope that I can learn to develop a “kingdom” view that evaluates opportunities based upon their long-term impact rather than whatever short-term benefit I might receive.
Sphere: Related Content
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