Blue Diamonds:Rules or Guidelines

Standing at the top of the ski slope, you look ahead and see a clear path down the mountain. To each side, posted on trees are blue diamond markers. These are warnings to let you know the safe area to travel.

mvi_1657 (take a second to watch video)

For most skiers, the wide parts of the path are easy. Most aren’t afraid to fly down the mountain in the open spots because the trails are groomed and you can see others have passed this way before.

But what happens when the path becomes narrow? What do you do when the diamonds turn to red warnings that tell you  few go this direction and to do so means greater risk? What do you do when tree’s and other obstacles get in the way? Many of us retreat and stay on the safe paths.

I find our faith walk is a lot like that mountain and those diamonds. We are taught to spend so much time looking for the blue diamonds and the more traveled trail that we avoid the narrow spots. We see the blue diamonds, not as guideposts where decisions are made but hard and fast rules to keep us safe. (Religion-verses Relationship)

Sometimes safe is smart. But sometimes it’s simply a way to keep from growing.

I’m not suggesting we all slap on a pair of ski’s and fly down the hill paying no attention to the warnings. What I am suggesting is that we stop being afraid of the narrow path, the path less traveled and the red diamonds. The key to skiing on the edge is spending so much time with the expert (God) so you know when to stay inside the lines and when to take a chance in the wilderness area and you find life is a lot more fun.

Movie Clip Rick’s Death Scene

Here’s a few clips from the scene when I’m dead. I can’t show you the other stuff until the movie comes out. Thanks Kevin for Shooting me.

This is a picture of two of the tarts from the movie. The girl with the dark hair, Jill Rabe, is the daughter of my dentist when I was a kid. Small world huh. The movie is about three different groups of people. The Tarts and a politician (no, I don’t play the politician), two fools which are clowns and two G-Men. I’m one of the G-Men. They are all looking for something but no one knows what it is that they are looking for. We all end up on this roof top in Salem in a gun battle. I almost survive but the Tart on my left (Jill) is to cunning and ….we’ll you’ll have to see the movie.
I’ll post more stuff from the movie later. And don’t worry no one would ever dream of using this photo against me.

Mr Formerly

The question spilled off the tongue of the woman like it had so many other tongues so many times before but this time it sounded different to the man sitting across the table. He’d heard this question so many times before and his answer was packaged, prepared and required no thought.
“What are you doing now?”
But this time something in his brain kicked in as if a light had come on and the waves in which he’d floated on for so many months, had finally calmed enough for him to see the difference.
He was Mr. Formerly.
As his thoughts poured over what was, what is and what is to come a spark missing for so long began to see a grand designed forming in the fact that he was becoming Mr. Formerly.
His life was becoming less about what he was and more about what he was becoming.
The man was formerly a Television News Anchor, formerly a guy who went to a building to find God, formerly a politician, and formerly a man looking to be useful to God.
His carefully prepared statement when asked: “What are you doing now?” no longer worked.
Now the answer had become something like this.

“I spend more time taking in great big giant breaths of air. My mind takes time to think of what words mean rather than what someone meant by their words. Coffee tastes better and a conversation with a friend takes longer. Friends are no longer people I understand but people willing to share depth in exchange for surface talk. A career is something I think little of rather than possessing my secret thoughts of being seen as relevant or important. I see how much my son’s have grown up and how little time they spend at home and understand that soon they won’t live here anymore. I see their future success in terms of relationships and standing up for people rather than what they take in college or who they become to the world. My wife is more beautiful than I remember. She stands closer to me than I thought she would. Confusion is something we both deal with and our understanding of God is so different and that’s okay.
In the book of Isaiah 42:9 it says; Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare.
In Isaiah 43:18 it says; do not remember the former things nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing.
In Revelations 21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.
I used to try to figure out “The New Thing.” I don’t do that anymore which may mean I’m closer than I think.

Turn Around Youth

Young people need to know that they have value and purpose. Students need to reach a point in their lives where they realize it’s up t them to turn their lives around. There’s a program in Lane County that honors this difficult step. It’s one of my favorite events to emcee and this year we thought we’d share the story with you.

The Legend of Zig Zag Trail

There’s a legend of Zig Zag Trail that says those who enter this forest may never come out alive. My family went on an innocent hike and soon after entering the trail discovered the secret that has haunted this trail for centuries. Only one survived the trip. Only the one who could keep the ancient secret. Disclaimer: my wife wants me to tell all of her relatives we are just kidding…….I have no comment. Have fun and smile.

Abandon: Alone on Main Street.

He stands in the middle of Main Street in a little place called Oakland, Oregon. A few souls are out and about on a Friday Morning. A retired cop-slash-lawn maintenance guy is already trimming and edging lawns so he can get off early for the long Memorial Weekend.

Along Main Street storekeepers put out the large “Open” signs, desperate to lure business from those curious enough to take the “Oakland Exit” and stop by for a look. Life isn’t easy on Main Street anymore. It used to be folks took the time to drive two miles off I-5 to see this one of a kind place that seems to be locked in time.

A kid on a Unicycle rides by. The only thing that proves he’s not from the 1920’s is the helmet he wears on his head for protection. Fifty years ago, his grand dad wouldn’t have known what a helmet was let alone could believe it would be the law to wear one.

As I stand alone in the middle of the street admiring the architecture and the old buildings a word swirls in my head. It’s a word God keeps bringing to my consciousness like a tide that ebbs and flows over the beach. It’s a word I thought I understood but realize its definition must become a way of life, not simply words in a dictionary or something that happened to me.

As a read the definition of Abandon something inside stirs with excitement to reveal a new man emerging inside this spirit of mine. This word that God keeps placing in my life through His word, the writings of others and the example in my life, is so powerful I can hardly sit still and write about it. As I read the definition of abandon I find myself rising to the surface. Abandon is one willing to leave, forsake and desert all that you are or have known. To abandon means to surrender one’s feelings or impulses to make room for God to do the unnatural or create something new. To abandon is a willingness to give up, to willfully violate one’s obligations and be open to the possibilities. And best of all, abandon creates unrestrained freedom of activity.

As I stand on Main Street in Oakland, Oregon the emptiness brings no fear but creates a warmth and peace. As I look at the empty buildings and deserted sidewalks I hear God whisper in my ear “Rick, put away the open sign, you are no longer open to try and lure business. It is I who will bring business into your life.” For so long fear of abandoning my life has guided my every move. Now the word alone describes who I’m becoming and who I want to be.