Grey Poupon

Remember those Grey Poupon commercials? If you don't, Grey Poupon is a brown, fancy mustard. The commercials would have someone in a limo or some really expensive car pull up to another very expensive car, and roll down the window. The obviously very rich and proper woman in the first car would lean over and say, "Excuse me, do you have any Grey Poupon?" The other driver would smile, reach his hand out the window and her a jar of fancy mustard.

What made these commercials silly is that you don't typically think of mustard as being for the rich and fancy. For most of us, mustard is a bit more uncivilized. Stay with me here, because I am going somewhere with this. I think most of us have some sort of disdain for the overly rich people that would pull up and ask for Grey Poupon. You know, the stuck up, arrogant, "only the fancy mustard will do" type of people. Why then, is our Christianity that way?

What happened to our ancient faith? The kind of faith that was full of passion and with a touch of a wild side.

It reminds me of the movie "The Chronicles of Riddick." In this movie, Riddick is an escaped convict, who flees to a very remote planet to protect the ones he cares about. No one wants him around. He's too wild. He's too uncivilized for us proper folks. Well, that is until an army of evil comes to destroy everything. Then, when times are dangerous, they suddenly want him around to help defeat the enemy, which of course he does.

Funny how people don't want "crazy" Christians in their churches. The kind that shout to the Lord (like a certain popular worship song says, but no one really listens to), raise their hands, and are fearless about pointing out when something isn't quite right. The ones who realize that they themselves are escaped convicts from the prison of sin, and who want to break as many prisoners out of their own sinful jail as they can. Those types aren't civilized enough in most Christian churches. They are looked down upon because the church is supposed to be that safe place, that comfortable place. Until times are dangerous. Then all of a sudden these crazy, uncivilized, passion-types are wanted.

Be warned all you Christians out there. These are, in fact, dangerous times. The enemy wants you destroyed. You need someone like a Riddick, who will not be so civilized. In fact, you might want to consider BECOMMING someone like that. Someone that will be barbaric, with a faith that will cause you to run at the enemy fearlessly, like William Wallace. You remember him. Braveheart? Yes, barbarians like that are needed to defeat the enemy.

Sit in your little church pew where it's comfortable if you want to, making sure you don't get too crazy. Or, you can get a little crazy in your goals, a little passionate in your worship, and fight for your King.

The Happy List (part 1)

Many of those who know me, know that I have compiled a little list of things that you can do to cheer yourself up...to make yourself happy. These are small, silly things that seem really, really goofy. They aren't meant to entertain others. They are meant to entertain yourself. Some people will think you are crazy if you do some of these things, but they will at least put a little grin on YOUR face. I won't supply the entire list at once. I'll give you all a few at a time, since so many have asked for me to publish it. Here are a couple... (you may have seen me do some of these)


1. When entering a room, hold your arms out wide as if to say, "I have arrived!" or "Tada!"
Making a grand entrance will get you some strange looks, but sometimes people will actually cheer for you.
2. Whenever you move your arms or hands, make kung fu noises.
3. Narrate your every move as if you are in a novel, referring to yourself in the third person. For example: "Slowly, Darin reaches out his hand to deposit the money in the soda machine. As the Dr. Pepper falls, his heart leaps with joy! Again, his hand reaches out for that cold, lovely, beverage..."

Now, you don't want to do these ALL the time...well, maybe the first one. Just do the other two every once in a while. When you need a little silliness to pick you up.

They need to meet Jesus

Ever day, I come into contact with youth who are so lost.
They are desperate for affection, trust, truth.
Some are desperate for an adventure.
They don't want their lives to be ordinary.
The more they try to be extraordinary, it seems that everyone in authority around them wants to stop it, be normal.

They need to meet Jesus.
He has an adventure for them. A life that is extraordinary.
If only I could tell them…if only they would listen.

Many of them act like they don't care about anything.
But I know that isn't true… I can see it their expressions…
They are drowning… down in their very souls…
Struggling to stay afloat… to breathe…

For them, their life is like a prison…
They are trying so hard to break free.
To be heard… to matter to someone…

They need to meet Jesus.

Something Inside

Something inside of us longs for more
Mundane is not good enough
Something in all of us knows there is more
Some of us are afraid of what that could be...
For if there really is more to life than the here and now,
Surely you have ask yourself, did I live right?
Did I go the right way?
Am I a good enough person?

Fear sets in when you are not sure
Fear that whatever it is that is beyond this life
Will not be pleased with you
When it comes time to pay the piper

So then, many look to
Philosophy
Science
Methodology
Religion
Is there anyone who really knows for sure?

The truth of that matter is
The truth isn't what YOU invent
If that were true, none of us would long for more
None of us would be afraid of what might come after this…

But we do long for more

And so we search for the truth of the matter
The truth of what that "something inside"
Actually is

There are some of us
There are some of us who know
There are some of us who know the Truth
The truth about what our deepest souls long for
For we have something inside that satisfies to the bone

It is not
Philosophy
Science
Methodology
Not even religion
I am one that really knows for sure

Let me introduce you to my friend - Jesus

You may have heard of him
You may not have said yes to him yet
But he pursues you ever still
To satisfy your deepest needs
Because something inside of us longs for more...