I am the current event.

What is the sin that all Christians are ultimately afraid of?

More often than not, the sin is the abortion of a baby is the sin that most people within the Church think will ruin a life. It may be homosexuality or some other sexual desire. It may be greed, envy or even gluttony.

Though all these are presumed to be sins, in which some cases they are very much so, I feel the problem lies much deeper. It lies deeper than any pro choice sticker on a car. It resides lower than any sexual desire. The sin that too many people is the sin of complacency.

For too long, those within the church have been complacent with their present state of being and for too long they have been ignoring the call that God has placed on their hearts.

“Forget your old ways and remember mine!” the great God says. “My joy will be your strength!” His commandments or even desires for us will not be our strength. No. Our strength lies in the Joy of our Lord. A complacent mind dries the well and turns hearts into stone. The desire to stay where you are at in life and in your relationship distances you and quenches. the fire that so strongly desires to burn for the Living God.

Abba, I have lived a life of complacency for too long. I have been alright with where I am at. Challenge me in this world and in my relationship with you. Give the heart that desires you and you alone, and not the knowledge of this world. Amen and amen.

Henri Nouwen has always been, in my mind, one of the better writers regarding the spiritual mysticism in Christianity.  I have a book of his that I try to read daily, and more often than not I fail at that task.

Today I read something wonderful.  Henri discusses what he feels his mission here on earth his.

“I think of it as a mission into time, a mission that is very exhilarating and even exciting, mostly because the One who sent me on the mission is waiting for me to come home and tell the story of what I have learned.”

Seldom do I acknowledge what I am learning in life.  I would say that during any given month, I set a few days aside to really reflect on what I have learned regarding life lessons.  As I read this excerpt from Nouwen, I thought about what life would be like if we began everyday expecting to learn something new from the Lord of all and finished the day by not only reflecting on what we have learned but thanking our Father in heaven for revealing His truth to us.

Abba, help me to realize that I don’t know everything.  Help me realize that I am on a mission that is also the experience of a lifetime.  Let me experience and trust in you and your word today. Amen and amen.

I got a haircut the other day. I vowed a long while ago that I personally would never pay for my own haircut.  Since my head looked homeless, my mother decided to pay for it.

We were eating at the Chipotle off El Toro.  I made the rash decision to get the haircut at Sportclips.  Let me tell you about my time there.

The frequent customer at Sportclips is one who:

1) love sports, fine smelling shampoos and overrated back massages

2) thinks women are good only for haircuts and shampooing hair

3) love sports, fine smelling shampoos and overrated back massages

In other words: a stereotypical man.

I usually get a haircut a the Haircutters and occasionally my garage, so the idea that I was in a new place scared me.  Don’t let Sportclips fool you… everything everywhere is sports.

Because it was my first time there, they offered to “upgrade” me from just a normal haircut, to the MVP.  So, instead of paying 30 dollars for the MVP, I only had to pay 24 dollars. The MVP included not just a haircut, but a massaging shampoo “treatment” (I will use the word ‘treatment’ very loosely) and a back  “massage” (same reason).

My hairdresser had a very stripper-esque name.  Alina, or Alinia… or Sparkles.  She brought me to the last chair in the room and Amanda followed.  (I think if Amanda had not been there, I would the situation would have been even more uncomfortable.)  I was asked what type of haircut I wanted.  I told her.  She began cutting… very slowly.

10 minutes later, she asked me if the length of my hair was ok, as she held up the little patch of hair from head she had been working on all that time.

30 minutes later, she finally finished cutting.

She asked me to walk back to get a massaging shampoo.  I wanted to say no, but I figured I wasn’t paying for it, so it wouldn’t hurt.  Usually when I get my hair shampooed, it is very quick and comfortable.  This new and improved shampoo took twice as long, and the seat I sat in was so awkward.

She put shampoo on my head and began shampooing.  I’ll give her this: She tried really hard to massage my scalp.  But I could not get past the fact that she was terrible at it.  She asked often, “is this good” and “is the pressure alright?”  I was expecting her to begin a lapdance while holding clippers and some scissors.

To top it all off, she put a warm towel on my face for a few minutes and left the room. I was expecting them to take a polaroid of me as a joke, because there is no way that anyone can take this seriously.  And last but not least was my back massage.  I sat back down in my haircutting chair, and she took out a cheap looking massage tool.  I laughed.

“Is the pressure good?”

I couldn’t believe that people actually go in to Sportclips for the “special treatment.”  As for me, I’m going to stick with free haircuts in my garage.