Ode to my heroes
[2005-12-20] - [10:14 p.m.]
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In the shower this morning for some reason I started thinking about my heroes. Jesus was of course an obvious choice but not just b/c He is the Savior of my soul and God Almighty but b/c of the way He lived on Earth. I think we too often forget that Jesus was human. Yes He was God but the Bible is clear that He was tempted like we are yet He never gave in. I am impressed at His tenderness, His grace, His strength, His patience, so on and so on. All reflections of the Father but in human form facing a human existence, that is amazing to me. Then the second is my June. She is the epitome of grace not just the forgiving, loving, understanding others grace but also the quiet inner strength kind that endures all with class. She is the one that God really taught me grace through. Her faith impresses me so much too. My faith flutters depending on how much I'm praying, reading, listening, etc. but not June's she could be away from everything Christian for months and still know all is ok. She has settled so many issues I am still working on. My dad is next. I realized as I thought about my dad and his great character that he has always been the second man, yet seems to carry no bitterness over it. You see my dad is 9 years older than his middle brother and 18 years older than his baby brother. Yes my freaky grandparents had a baby every nine years and get this always in August. Makes you wonder about what was going on in November, huh? Well, December for Scooter, the middle one he was a pre-me. Which is who my dad had to play second to a lot growing up b/c everyone thought b/c he was born sick that he was going to stay that way and he pretty much has- some real I am sure but some probably brought on by the fact everyone said he was always going to be sick. Then my dad and mom were getting married and my dad was going off to the army while his baby brother was only 2 years old so they really helped raise him. Then I came along and became my mother's sole focus of attention- both good and bad. I am sure a lesser man would have been jealous, bitter, and resentful towards me and my mother, eventhough I never really asked for this kind of attention and have grown to hate it actually. Instead my dad has continued to love without reserve my mother and myself-selflessly, tirelessly, abundantly, etc. Then, as you can probably tell by now, Johnny Cash has become one of my heroes, mainly b/c of his honesty in music, personality, and relationships. Also I think it is b/c he never really sees himself as a hero or a villian just Johnny Cash. To be so honest near the end of his life to record the statement in the liner notes of "My Mother's Hymm Book" that he is just a C- Christian. After all the faith he has demonstrated over his life to just say in those simple word, "hey, I'm just JR and I don't have it all figured out either but I know the ONE who does". I also admire his and his June's relationship. I know it started out of some bad circumstances and probably had a lot of bumps along the way but 35 years together in the entertainment world is like 100 in normal life. No one ever speaks of them without talking of their great love, I want that for me and my June. Another person I realized along the day comes in for kind the same reasons as Cash, it is Rob Bell. Rob is a pastor, speaker, author, video producer, and generational shaper. He takes so many Biblical truths and makes them so practical without being religious, hokey, closed-minded, or judgemental. The first time I heard him speak and he was so open to talk about his failures under the pressures of ministry and the fact that he had a therapist made me love him instantly. He is the one I turn to when I can't seem to find a voice to speak into my life. I've been trying desperately to read C.S. Lewis' "The Four Loves" off a recommendation June got from someone here but I find it so hard(I'm not smart enough to comprehend it I fear). June loved it and I feel guilty b/c she bought it for me and I so badly want to read it but it has been a challenge. BUT today I picked up the copy of "Velvet Elvis" from Rob Bell that I bought the other night and it was just so easy to read it is an amazing book. Of course it speaks right to what I love, despite the fact that I am a 1000 miles away from ministry and 100's of miles away from my Bible belt fundamentalist upbringing, the reformation of the Church/Christianity for the emerging generation. I still find within myself a great desire to see Christianity be represented and taught relevantly to people. Jesus and His way/s are relevant to today it is just most churches think they cornerd the last baston of truth and the last way to represent that truth to the world. These churches, as Rob explains so well in the book, build walls of doctrines with no flexiblity until the walls almost become more important than God. Ahhh go read the book I can't explain it all here, besides that is plagarism. Anyway an ode to my heroes!

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