140 Words Or Less

The phrase “peace on earth” is used a lot during the Christmas season.  Like John Lennon dreaming of the day when “War is Over” or Bing Crosby  longing for the respite of a “White Christmas”, the season stirs in us a desire for a respite from the craziness of life.  This year, the longing for “peace” rings especially true as 2011 was undoubtedly the craziest, most unexpected year of our lives.   Many times I wished  for “peace”, a moment when everything would slow down and life would start unfolding according to plan.  It hasn’t happened yet  but I am reminded that Jesus, the prophesied “Prince of Peace”, was born in the chaos of a barn, to stressed out parents in a world of political upheaval.  Peace, it seems, is not a respite from circumstances, but a comfort within them.   Word Count: 139 Words

The first time I heard "The Adventure" was while riding in a friend's car in 2006.  Back then we used these things called "cd's" which were kind of like thin plastic donuts that played music when attacked by a laser.  I’ve listened to this song hundreds of times since that day but it wasn’t until this morning that I realized that Tom Delonge had somehow written more than just a great rock anthem.  Whether he intended to or not, the guy who streaked butt naked through the "All The Small Things Video" and titled an album "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket" somehow managed to write perhaps the best worship song of the last five years.  

“Last Friday Night” by Katy Perry may be the quintessential Top 40 radio song.  A gem of a pop song, it describes a wild night of ecstasy, inevitably summed up by a Facebook post along the lines of “OMG! BEST NIGHT EVER!!!!!”.  This is the fantasy of pop music; the right recipe of drinks, beats and hookups will produce a transcendent moment that makes life worthwhile.  Eventually Monday arrives and reveals that Friday was merely an escape, changing little and leaving us craving the arrival of the next life-altering moment.  Friday, it turns out, was nothing but an artificial emotional experience constructed out of hype, music,  diluted judgement, raging hormones and the anonymity of a crowd.  The appeal to impressionable young people hungry for meaning in their lives is obvious.  Any resemblance to a church youth convention is purely coincidental.   Word Count: 140 words

Yesterday,  in another example of the many Christians who try to live like Jesus while supporting violence,  Republican Presidential Nominee Candidate Herman Cain said,"I like my guns and Bible. Ain't gonna give 'em up!"   The use of military force and right to bear arms seem like wisdom in our western world because we are constantly told how many enemies we need protection from.  The problem is that Jesus told us to love our enemies, not shoot them.  Genuine love turns enemies into neighbors. In Psalm 23, God serves the writer a meal in the company of his enemies, which sounds more like a block party then a shootout.  Mr Cain can keep his guns, but if he better understood his Bible, he’d realize that there is no one to shoot at.  Our enemies are of our own making.  Word Count: 139 Words

My youngest daughter is interfering with my attempts at blogging by climbing my lap like Mount Everest.  I recently started a new job and, having never been in furniture sales, I wondered if I would be any good at it.  Would I have what it takes to be successful?  Thankfully, my first customer was an easy sale and for one night, I came through.  Despite that success, I can’t shake that feeling of self-doubt; am I good enough or am I just faking it?  Since August, I’ve lost a job, found a new one and moved to Ottawa, all with a new baby arriving in January.  My family is trusting that I know what I’m doing.     My daughter reaches her destination, looks into my eyes and says “I’m your Lexi baby, right?”.  At least she believes in me.    Word Count: 139 words

Sometimes a particular song seems to provide the perfect soundtrack to a particular day.  Since I'm making this blog up as I go along, I've made the executive decision that when that happens, I'll share the song here so it can take up your day too.  As I was commuting to work this morning through a parking lot of traffic, in the pouring rain, this song came on (I swear this blog isn't going to devolve into an "I Have a Man-Crush on Jon Foreman" fansite).  I couldn't have been further from the pacific ocean that inspires this track but the tension of being a soul trapped within water and skin is universally human.  "I know that there's a meaning to it all/A little resurrection every time I fall".  I may need to hear that tomorrow too. Word Count: 139

My blackberry has not been working all day.  I wanted to tweet my displeasure about the situation or post a witty Facebook status of complaint, but as I said, MY BLACKBERRY IS NOT WORKING!.  Worse, if I wanted to contact my beautiful wife, I would be forced to pick up the phone and speak to her in person.  I would send Blackberry a strongly worded email detailing my frustrations but as I said, MY BLACKBERRY IS NOT WORKING!!!!!  My irritation with Blackberry reminded me of Louis CK’s rant about ungratefulness.  A friend of mine worked in Africa during the seventies, where receiving mail from Canada took months.  My grandmother waited for food drops in bombed out Holland during WWII.  Thirteen million people are starving right now because of the East Africa famine.  As I said, my Blackberry is not working. Word Count: 140

I once paid money to shake Jon Foreman’s hand.  I’d have enjoyed the experience more if I wasn’t wrestling the possibility that this might be a sexless form of prostitution.  I’d wager money it’s hard play the same songs night after night, posing for countless photo’s and acting interested in the lives of people you’ve just met.  Jon’s eyes looked tired and I wondered if this is where the rockstar illusion dies, playing to an underwhelming crowd in a hotel ballroom in Northern Ontario.  Then the music started and Jon sang every single word like the room was burning.  I imagine it’s easy to get trapped in the illusion of “rockstardom”, to lose your passion in a system that prioritizes profits over people, but Jon had the song and the song was true and the truth will set you free.    Word Count: 140

It’s election night in Ontario and based on the differing expert predictions filling newspapers and crowding my satellite feed, it sounds like anything could happen.  Dan Gardner, in his book “Future Babble”, writes that though our world is filled with experts predicting the future, their accuracy level is so low that you would produce better results with a monkey and a dartboard. Yet we crave the counsel of these flawed experts because we fear the unknown.  Tragedy may strike, the economy may collapse, the doctor may deliver bad news.  We fear that which we can’t control and tomorrow remains stubbornly independent.  However, the  reason we fear tomorrow is the same reason we should embrace it.  If anything can happen tomorrow, then tomorrow doesn’t have to be like today.  When tomorrow becomes today, you could choose to make it better.   Word Count: 139

Meredith Gray is my least favorite television character.  I’ve always enjoyed Gray’s Anatomy in a “it’s trashy and emotionally manipulative but fun” sort of way but I think “Bailey’s Anatomy” would be a superior show. Meredith is nearly always cast as the self-pitying, self-justifying victim of circumstances despite her terrible life choices. In recent episodes, Meredith has knowingly destroyed a clinical trial, stolen a baby, betrayed her husband and sullied the admittedly questionably reputation of Seattle Grace.  When she was justifiably fired, she unrepentantly moped around the hospital complaining of unfair treatment until someone felt sorry for her and took the fall for her idiocy.  This blatant unfairness pissed me off until I remembered that someone also graciously took my place when I was unrepentant and self-justified. By despising Meredith, I am really only despising myself.            Word Count: 139

There’s a saying that if you can’t communicate an idea on the back of a napkin, it isn’t finished.  Anyone who’s heard me speak publicly or read one of my posts at www.pspt.ca knows that I must have some very large napkins.  Twitter has helped me in this regard because a good Tweet needs to clearly make its point in a memorable and witty fashion within the 140 character limit.  Obviously 140 characters won’t cut it for a blog, but what about 140 words?  That’s the challenge I’m giving myself as I use this blog not just as an outlet for my thoughts but as a means to shape myself into a more effective communicator.  Can I be interesting and memorable while tackling topics such as culture, sports, God, parenting and life in 140 words or less? We’ll see.  Today’s Word Count: 139