"Why are Christians so..."

People are seeking purpose and truth, but are often met with resistance, hypocrisy, and Christians who are unlike Christ.  In current news, this video reminds me of the pastor who advocated the rounding up of homosexuals, and sending them to concentration camps (0:24 - 1:01). Definitely not demonstrative of the redemptive love of Jesus.

The song/video is a tragic reminder, and as well, an important warning.

"...life that sizzles and pops..."

"I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud.

And I don’t want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes.

I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down,

and I want every day to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift."

— Shauna Niequist

nemo: yolo

I don't know why, I'm just feeling very anti-YOLO. So here's another picture. This time from Finding Nemo. This scene just made my day when I was little. ^_^

http://lifeofshrimpy.blogspot.com/2012/05/excuses-for-stupid.html

wonder.

Tuesday Tunes: Chasing the Sun

joyful

YOLO

Tuesday Tunes: ThePianoGuys

Excuses for Stupid

 YOLO   \ yoh-low \ , phrase;

   meaning: You Only Live Once

While it is true that you only have one life on this earth, actions you take have lasting consequence.

YOLO should mean “make it count,” not “I only have one life, so I get to do whatever I want.”  Often we see people doing ridiculous things, and then justifying their actions later with YOLO. This student threw his sandwich across the classroom (1). Others have tweeted about more dangerous actions, such as “Switching seats while the car is goin 100+ #YOLO” (2)

YOLO is used as license – as justification to do dangerous, reckless things. The fact that we only live once should cause us to evaluate life, and make sure our actions are worthwhile – not to adopt a devil-may-care attitude.

Robyn Dexter (editor, Illinois University newspaper), (3) “There’s nothing wrong with taking risks in life and trying new things. I’m totally for that. But there’s a fine line between living your life to the fullest and making spur-of-the-moment, completely irrational decisions.”

When applied as a justification for brash decisions, and an excuse for their consequences, YOLO does nothing but harm. This seemingly innocuous phrase puts people in danger, and creates hazards for those around them.

I find the phrase “Carpe Diem” to be a more positive version of YOLO. While YOLO tends to embody an attitude of teen-defiance, Carpe Diem captures the noble ideal of making life count.

Drake writes in “The Motto” (4): “You only live once: that’s the motto ***** YOLO / We bout it every day, every day, every day / Like we sittin’ on the bench, ***** we don’t really play / Every day, every day, **** what anybody say.”

The character of John Keating (Robin Williams) explained in the “Dead Poets Society” (5):  “Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.”

The original reference to “Carpe Diem” was a Latin poem by Horace (6) which stated, “Whether Jupiter has allotted to you many more winters or this final one which even now wears out the Tyrrhenian sea on the rocks placed opposite – be wise, strain the wine, and scale back your long hopes to a short period. While we speak, envious time will have already fled. Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future.”

Again in the words of Robyn Dexter, ““YOLO” has become an excuse to do stupid things. … What if we were to turn the “YOLO” concept around and actually take it seriously? How about this: “Decided to study abroad in Africa in the fall because I realized my life is too sheltered, and I want to be a more well-rounded person. #YOLO” No way could I judge someone if they said that. But if you’re telling me you’re getting high before class and “YOLO” is your excuse, I have no pity for you. … Like I said, we’re not cats. We don’t have nine lives.

We have one and only one, so make the most of it.”

In the end.