Saturday, May 19, 2012

How G.I.Joe Helped Me Become A Writer


The year was nineteen seventy-eight, and I was the tender age of eight years old. Sitting at my desk in that second grade classroom full of boys and girls who were my classmates, we waited for class to start.  

Mrs. Smart, my favorite teacher, and one of the greatest ladies I have ever met to this day, rose from her chair and walked over to the chalk board saying, "Children, today we are going to write a story."  Then she picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote on the black board, "If I could be any toy, I would be...", then turning to face us she instructed us to write this sentence on the top of our papers, and then finish the thought. There were groans from around the room as  my classmates murmured about our assignment, but not from me.  

School was never much fun for me, as I never really got into math, science or even gym for that matter.  But when it came to reading, and writing, these things seemed to make sense to me where everything else didn't.  So, grasping my number two pencil and running my small hands over the piece of paper a couple of times to smooth it down, I began to work.  In my childish handwriting I wrote, "If I could be any toy, I would be..." and then I sat back in my wooden school chair and began to seriously think about which toy I would choose.

I loved toys, (still do actually) and had quite a few of them as a child.  Living in the suburbs, my two brothers and I never lacked for things to entertain us.  Actually one of my favorite activities as a child was spending hours in my bedroom, making up adventures with all of my toys.  So you see I had a great frame of reference when it came to this writing assignment.  As I sat there thinking about which of my toys I liked the most, and would possibly want to be, it hit me.  I would be a G.I. Joe!  I had a bunch of these, and they were like my best friends.  There was always a world that needed saving, and my G.I. Joes were just the guys to do it.

Once I had made the decision about which toy I would most like to be, I got to work writing.  This is what I wrote on that day:

If I could be any toy, I would be a G.I. Joe.  Because the little boy who had me would love me and play with me and drag me through the dirt, and make me fight off the bad guys in this world.  The little boy who had me would spend a bunch of time with me, because I am the best toy ever.

I finished my writing assignment and turned in my paper, filled with the satisfaction of a job well done. It felt almost as if there was something inside of me which had come alive as I penned those words.  The reason is because what I had written that day had not come out of my head, but had come directly from my heart. This was the first time I had created something in this way, and it felt good. 

My second grade writing assignment had given me the opportunity to share just a little bit of who I was as a person, and while I couldn't have expressed to anyone at that time what writing meant to me, now forty years later I can.  Why do you think that I can do that now, when I couldn't have done it back then?  Well, that is because now I have come to realize that I am a writer, and as a writer that's what I do, share a little bit of whom I am.  Plus I'm entering a contest found at http://youareawriter.com and blogging is the avenue I have chosen in which to enter the contest.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Why Didn't I Listen?

I'm pretty sure that we all have asked that question of ourselves at one point in our life or another, I know that I have on numerous occasions.  I was thinking about all of the kids who are graduating this year, and the fact that my daughter is now a senior and the possibilities of her leaving the nest soon, when I was hit with this thought of whether I've instructed her as well as I should have or not.  And as my thoughts went here, I began to remember things that I was told when I was her age. Those thoughts were muddied and took me a few moments to actually remember them because they were from so long ago.


I remembered a man coming to my high school and talking about saving for retirement, and how that we could have a pretty good sum of money if we would just set aside $10 a week.  Well, I didn't take his advice, and now that I'm approaching 50 I wish I would have.  Why didn't I listen?  For those of you who perhaps didn't know, if you started saving $10 a week when you're 20, then by the time you're the age in the left hand column below, you will have saved the amount in the right hand column.  


AgeCapitalInterestTotal
25$2,600$170$2,770
30$5,200$700$5,900
35$7,800$1,640$9,440
40$10,400$3.050$13,450
45$13,000$4.980$17,980
50$15,600$7,510$23,110
55$18,200$10,710$28,910
60$20,800$14,680$35,480
I remember thinking at that time, who's got $10 to set aside?  I've got things to buy and places to go, I can't do without $10 a week.  Of course back then gas was like .55 cents a gallon, and a pack of smokes was like .90 cents.  (Yes I was a smoker back in the day.)  The thing is, I didn't listen, and today I don't have any money in savings.  Why do you think there are so many older people in the work force today?  It's not all because they lost their life savings due to investment fraud.  A lot of them didn't plan ahead, and this is what they are forced to do now.
Proverbs 1:8 says, "Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching."  God tells us what to do, but I know that so many of us kind of only half way listened when our parents spoke to us, and then we only heard the parts that we wanted to hear, didn't we?  I know that for me, I didn't always listen.  And I'm like that with God too I think.  I hear Him, when I want to, but when I want to go my own way, I do.  And then when I end up in a place that I don't like, I wonder, "Why didn't I listen?"  Some days I'm just not as grown up as I'd like to think I am.
It's kind of like when you're talking to someone on the phone, and you know that they aren't really listening, how does that make you feel?  I know that if I'm talking to someone, and I realize that they're not really paying attention to what I'm saying, or listening to me, I'll just say, "Hey, gotta go!"  and get off of the phone.  I figure if I'm not worth their time, then why waste it on them.  I wonder if God ever feels that way? Thankfully He said in Scripture, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  (Hebrews 13:5b)
I know that I need to listen more.  I heard it said one time that God gave us two ears and one mouth because we need to listen twice as much as we need to talk.  I am thankful that my Father God listens to me when I talk to Him, but I'm much more thankful that He forgives me quickly when I don't listen, then He guides me in the way that I should go.  And one thing I love about God, is that He will redeem the time that we've wasted.  It's just that's not the best will that God has for us.  He would much rather we listen and learn and live in His perfect will for us.  So listen up kids, if you haven't been paying as close attention to those adults around you, now's the time.  Listen to what they tell you, and to what God tells you, that way you won't have to ask yourself at 50, "Why didn't I listen?"  Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

Saturday, May 5, 2012

What's The Deal With Super Heroes?

I'll admit it, I am a geek from way back. I liked comics long before it was cool to do so. Many, many years before the television show "The Big Bang Theory" ever made it popular. I was the butt of many jokes growing up, and have spent way too much money on those colored filled pages. Yet there has always been something about them that just made me love them, and I know that I will until the day that I die and go to be with the Lord.

Last night I went to watch the latest installment in the Marvel movie company's line up of super hero movies; The Avengers.  For those of you who don't know, the Avengers is a team of super heroes made up of characters who for the past several years we have been getting acquainted with each summer by watching movies about their personal stories, something for which I am very grateful to say the least.  It's nice to let my inner geek loose during the summer and enjoy watching the comic book pages come to life in a way in which I never dreamed possible way back in the day.

This morning as I was drinking my coffee and wondering exactly when I would be able to go see this movie again, I began to question what it is that I like about these stories so much?  I mean what is the appeal of super heroes for me?  Could it be the fact that in each of these characters I see something about my own life? It's the human condition that I relate to. (And yes, I realize that Thor isn't human, but he shares in the conflict of emotions for which humans do.)   It's also being called up into a story which is larger than your own personal little story that draws me in, because if I am truthful, that is what I long to be a part of as well.

After all, if you take away the fantastical part of the super hero equation, what do you end up with?  People who face challenges just like us and have problems too. Granted, those problems usually involve world domination or destruction, but then doesn't ours as well?  Whenever I face a challenge in my life, I know that it feels as if my world is going to be destroyed.  I mean the problems that I face always seem to be insurmountable and catastrophic to me, don't yours?  While watching these stories, I see the possibilities, and what could be if I am willing to face the challenges also with a fierce determination, and stick with it and see it through to completion.

None of us were promised sunshine and roses in life, challenges do come.  This is something that I believe everyone understands. And if you don't, then you need to. Life can be rough at times and if you don't understand that, you will wonder why your life isn't as good as the next guy's.  Yet it's not focusing on how rough life can be that is the important thing here, because if you do that, then you end up being one of those Debbie-downers who no one likes to be around.

No, don't focus on the challenges, we need to focus on the solutions to those challenges.  And that is where super heroes have it figured out I believe.  What makes them super is not their powers, not at all.  What makes them super is that they have the ability to see the challenge and then they have the fortitude to face it head on regardless of what happens to them personally.  And if that is the definition of a super hero, then don't we all have the ability to be super heroes?  I think so.

Don't run from the challenges that show up in your life, face them head on with the knowledge that you can and will overcome the obstacles, and you will be amazed as you leap over buildings and take out the things that try to destroy your world. Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!