Saturday, September 30, 2006

hellish irony

Here is a really good MR. BOFFO:

It's like "Pig Heaven" for people who are always
looking for something to complain about . . .

The "bright side" of hell?

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Monday, September 25, 2006

September 24, 1998

Eight years ago my son Wes was born. I was going to do a big long post that described the day of his birth and what a joy that was, but I decided against that. It turns out that Wes has begun to dabble in poetry. I couldn't be prouder. In honor of his eighth birthday, I thought I would post one of his three original poems:

CRAZY SISTERS

I have crazy sisters
that yell, scream, and fight.
They never stop screaming.
If they hear this poem
they might just scream some
more.

--Wes Lynd

Happy birthday my little poet son!

Love,

Dad

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Friday, September 22, 2006

Temporal Pains

I need to be too much
that I cannot see
I long to become a man
the kind I've never known
I cry out to the masses
they do not answer
I lift my burden
then the weight crushes me
Stuck in this body
can a man thrive
as he goeth alone?

--Shenandoah Lynd

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Trespass Nullification

ROMANS 5

Grace reigns
love abounds
against all odds
a pardon
for the likes of me.

Your peace
does not fail
to bring
hope
for this redeemed one.

Through one man
reconciliation
pouring out
abundant
provision for all.

Justification
Perservance
Character
Hope
Righteousness

These are the lyrics
of the new song
sung by me
saved
an unlikely one.

Standing in your
presence
on faith alone
surprised
by joy.

I am fully
surrendered
sometimes suffering
always
rejoicing.

--Shenandoah Lynd

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Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Who Are You?

I am in the process of rereading one of my favorite books, Neil T. Anderson's "Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of your Identity in Christ." It is the perhaps the most pivotal book I have read since becoming a Christian in 1991. I've read it a bunch of times and I always learn from it.

Today I just wanted to share what I feel is perhaps the most fundamental paragraph of the book; at least it is something that strikes me as the single-most paramount issue in actually living in a Christ-like manner. You might want to read the paragraph below a couple times and really understand what Neil Anderson is saying. I will leave you with his words and spare you from any commentary following the Anderson quote. Suffice it to say that I think this is absolutely HUGE. If you ever want to dialogue more on the topic of our identity in Christ, I'd love to do so.

Here it is:

Understanding your identity in Christ is essential for living the Christian life. People cannot consistently behave in ways that are inconsistent with the way they perceive themselves. You don't change yourself by your perception. You change your perception of yourself by believing the truth. If you perceive yourself wrongly, you will live wrongly because what you are believing is not true. If you think you are a no-good bum, you will probably live like a no-good bum. If, however, you see yourself as a child of God who is spiritually alive in Christ, you will begin to live accordingly. Next to a knowledge of God, a knowledge of who you are is by far the most important truth you can possess.

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Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Growing

This morning I was reading a piece of scripture that I've actually read quite a bit. It's one of my favorites, but today it hit me in such a profound way that I want to write about it. It's 2 Peter 1:3-11.

I feel so much hope as I type this because I really feel a lot of clarity right now. It feels a lot like I "get it" now and things are on the total correct course in my soul.

Peter starts out in verses 3-4 telling us that God's divine power has given us everything we need in life. It's like that U2 line, "What you don't have you don't need it now." The reality is that I have everything I need. What blows my mind is that it says we are actual participants in the divine nature. Thus, we have total power, divine power to overcome our selfish desires. This is great hope for someone like me because so-called "self-control" has never resulted in much for me. It's time I move past "self-control" and into being controlled by the same divine power that raised Christ from the dead. Where self-control fails, the Christ-controlled are led to victory.

Verses 5-7 make me realize that I actually have to make an effort to have progress in my spiritual walk. I know that sounds silly to say, "I actually have to make an effort" and your response might be "duh!" However, I think there have been many times in my life where I say I want to be more "Christ-like" but I'm actually not doing anything about it. There's a word for that: stagnation. Fortunately, I am not in a stagnating period as I type this.

It makes total sense to me that Peter seems to say it all stems from faith and then there seems to be a natural flow of character traits that can be produced if we put in the effort. The word "effort" is there. The dictionary defines effort as "the use of physical or mental energy to achieve something." I think this stuff needs to be practiced in the same way that playing the guitar needs to be practiced. It would be laughable to think that I would be a better guitar player without practice. I'm not going to just wish to play guitar and then wake up one day a guitar player. Likewise, I'm not going to just magically be more loving. I need to use my physical and mental energy to become so. Here is what needs to be practiced and, as Peter says, added to my faith:

faith-->goodness-->
goodness-->knowledge-->
knowledge-->self-control-->
self-control-->perseverance-->
perseverance-->godliness-->
godliness-->brotherly kindness-->
brotherly kindness-->love-->

I don't have the words to go into just how much this flow makes sense to me. But, it does. For example, I add self-control (refraining from a specific sin for example) to my knowledge (for instance Bible reading). However, at that point, I'd better add perseverance or I'm going to become very impatient and I'm likely to go back to my old destructive patterns. If I stay steadfast in these difficult choices I have made, I begin to see godliness develop. I also understand that we do not work on these one at a time in isolation; instead, we work on them all together.

Without those qualities, Peter says in verses 8-9, we are totally ineffective Christians. It makes me think that these traits are like dashboard indicator lights that signal to us a major problem: you have forgotten what Christ did for you on the cross! Thus, am I lacking in brotherly kindness? If so, I can trace it back to forgetting the very root of my faith. Of course, as it always does, it comes down to love. After all, Jesus himself said that the one way people will know if we're disciples is our love for one another (John 13:35).

Peter wraps-up this chunk of his writing in verses 10-11 and encourages us to be all the more certain of our calling. He says if we do these things we will never fail. How simple really. Today I cannot be content with faith as my "faith" is not just a belief in some "religious facts" as much as it is actual partisipation in the divine. Real faith must result in action. A good question on any given day would be: What am I doing today to practice these qualities that Peter writes about? A good prayer on any given day would be: God help me to grow and give me the wisdom to be utterly unwilling to stagnate.

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Monday, September 04, 2006

Daddy's Boy

Man child
you make me young
Boy man
you are my song
Infant giant
you wake my slumber
Toddler friend
you take me places
Wonder son
you rock my spirit
God's gift
you make me whole

--Shenandoah Lynd

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Burned Innocent

They cried about evil
screamed about magic
Innocent people died
beauty burned at the stake

--Shenandoah Lynd (2/19/85)

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Soul Seduction

My heart beats without end
for your beauty so far beyond measure

Your touch is heart melting
stripping me down to my soul

This sensation is boundless
this feeling, eternal

--Shenandoah Lynd

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Saturday, September 02, 2006

Poetry Review

I've recently had a couple encouraging people say something about my poetry. Therefore, I thought I would give anybody interested a chance to read what I've posted of my personal poetry thus far on my blog. Here's all of it:

Year Before Me
Ann Marie
Driving Lessons
Reflection
Life Flight
Defenseless Pray
Transposed
Happy Pill
Cantankerous
On Mother's Day With Love
I Will Never /Broken Vow
Jacaranda Kiss
Breaking Free
Carousel
Third Option
haikus
Awake 'Till Dawn
Listen Up
Soul Stockade

If you feel so inspired, let me know which one is your favorite.

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