I ch-ch-choose You

I love The Simpsons. I especially love the Ralph Wiggumisms.

One of my favorite moments is when he gives a valentine to Lisa: "Heh, it says Ch..Ch..Choose me.. and it has a picture of a train on it.. heh"




















You gotta love the simplicity.

On my way over to Lincoln this weekend, I had a lot of time to think, and I found a strange combination of truths in little Ralph Wiggum's valentine message and in a Rob Bell sermon. A pastor and a cartoon both touched on a similar point in very different ways.

In an effort to focus, I listened to a few Rob Bell sermons on my trip. I wasn't in the mood for something simple, so I found myself in the middle of a mind-blowing series called Ten Words, a study on the Ten Commandments. It's ginormous, and worthy of a lot of reflection, and as usual, the truth poked and prodded it's way into my soul's deepest fleshy parts.

Gripping the steering wheel, letting Rob's words wash over me, I realized that God is all about choices, and I'm trapped between two worlds.

(Actually, I'm trapped between a ton, but for the sake of today's reflecting, take exhibits A & B.)

A is the part of me that exists outwardly - very engaged in the moment, eager to absorb culture, life, friends and every tangible detail that surrounds me. Whenever I'm occupied and my mind isn't left to wander, this is the space I very comfortably occupy.

B is mutable mush inside my head. It's lightning fast, endlessly urgent and insatiably future-thinking. It inspires and gives life, and oppositely can defeat a dream just as quickly as it flickers across my cortex.

Since these two urges are naturally bipolar (present and future, equally urgent) and cause me to feel pulled in opposite directions, I was left wondering how to bridge the gap. How could I do it?

Amidst the stormy green skies and pounding rain, Rob's voice was pounding out like something Moses would have said. "We have to choose who and what we will follow."

Choose to place God first - multiple times a day, an hour, a minute, whatever it takes.
Choose to shut out the what-ifs and dwell on the what-ares.
Choose to be grateful for the immediate blessings and those coming down the pipeline right now.

Or in simple Wiggum-speak - I just have to ch-ch-choose.

I'm trying this out, and it's helping blend some of the future stuff inside my head with how I engage people presently, because choosing slows me down, makes me thankful, keeps me present, and gives me some solidity.

So, today, I ch-ch-choose to be unbelievably grateful and thankful. Here's my start.

I'm grateful for my Mom. We had a great time for Easter and I love her. Just as she is, and as she will keep being. She's fantastic.

I love stormy weather and I drove through a scary section of it on Saturday. It was like a scene from Twister, and I prayed through the whole thing. It was so cool.

I'm glad that God wants me to be here working out good and bad stuff. I'm blessed to be on earth today.

I'm blessed because of Africa. It's changing my life in a permanent way. I am almost there. I feel like I can smell the chipati and see the people and taste the air. It will be like heaven.

My wish for you all today is this: Don't wake up in the middle of something you haven't chosen. Be blessed, be loved, and choose today.

Today's Soundtrack: It's Your World (Pop's Reprise) - Common - Be
*Check out the lyrics in the last section - it'll inspire you to be something great.