Living Hazzardously

Little pieces of our journey with Jesus

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A Valentines day Story

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It was cloudy that night. The young cowboy with chisled features was in no mood to chat. He just traveled a million miles over the ocean by way of street car. He spent his last penny on a shave and hair cut. The face of this cowboy said it all as he strolled into town for the first time after his heart was broken by the girl of his dreams. He didnt know his life was about to get a lot more complicated, the last hing this old cowpoke needed was to find love, in the town where romance had failed him…

I dug into the history of Valentine’s day a bit while thinking about what I should write about. I found a dark wormhole… I won’t get into the dark sides of this “romantic holiday”. Instead I will do a quick summary and bring it back together in the end with a beautiful true story. 

Valentine’s Day originated: 

  1. Ancient Roman rituals
    1. Lupercalia
    2. Matchmaking
  2. Christian Martyr named Valentine (or Valentinus)
    1. Secret Marriages
    2. The First “Valentine”
    3. Establishment of “Valentines Day” in 5th century, by  Pope Gelasius
  3. Slow Shift to “Romance” in the Middle Ages
    1. Poet Geoffrey Chaucer ca 1382 poem “Parliament of Fowls”, where he described birds choosing their mates on St. Valentine’s Day.
    2.  A ca 1415 poem written by Charles, Duke of Orléans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London.
  4. Modern Global celebration of romance
    1. In the 18th century, friends and lovers in Great Britain exchanged small tokens and handwritten notes. 
    2.  In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began mass-producing elaborate lace-trimmed cards in the U.S..
  5. Mass Production & Global Industry
    1. Today, over 145 million cards are exchanged annually in the U.S. alone. 
    2. Cupid

But is love romance? Is romance Love? Is romance important? Is love important? Should we care? Is Charlie a helpless romantic or an overanalytical stick in the mud? 

Romance: An intense, emotional & temporary feeling driven by passion, attraction, and ego.  Romance focuses on excitement and fantasies.

Love: A steady, selfless, and lasting commitment. Love focuses on connection, security and relationship.

Romance can exist without love. Love can exist without romance. 

Romance and Love are in many ways linked only because they get confused on where one ends and the other starts. Many times romance can lead to love, but romance can not sustain relationships, the purpose of romance is attraction (or is the purpose of attraction,  romance?)…Either way, it’s the laws of attraction that fuel romance.. but… Love? That’s a mystery… True love is defined as “self sacrificial offering and freely putting another’s needs, above your own needs, to the sole benefit of another”

Self Sacrifice? For another?  Is that even reasonable?… The bible says this: A man must “love” his wife, as Jesus loves the church (the church is the people , not the organization or the building) and GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR her…. So, Love is to give up self to the point of death (as Jesus did), for the sole benefit of another!!! WHAT ABOUT ME?? The Bible also said “Love your neighbor as yourself”.  Doesn’t that mean that self must come first so that I can love my neighbor?? Well, if you love your neighbor as much as you love yourself, doesn’t that mean you should both have the same food? Clothing? Warmth? Vacations? Cars? … Everyone having the same thing is Socialism, right?… No comrade, that’s not socialism. To give what you have to those in need, it’s called love…. Notice the command is not  “Force those that have more than others to give to others until you think it’s fair!” the command is inward, not outward, so this command is to your heart, to my heart, to measure self, not others… 

Ok, enough with this definition stuff, right?!!

Love, the love God gives us is self sacrificial, undeserved, unearned, we can no more deserve this love, nor can anyone do anything to stop God from loving us. God said: we can love because he (Jesus) first loved us… He loved us before we could love Him or others. We did nothing to earn this love, in fact, we have earned rath, punishment & JUSTICE! Because we disobeyed the law of God, Yet he loved us so much, that he gave us a way to be reconciled to Himself for eternity. God Gave his son as “payment” for what we have done, to be punished for our wrong doings. If we try to pay for our own wrong doings, we would spend forever in Hell (Yes, there is a real place called “Hell” and it is for those who reject God, so they can spend eternity exactly where they want, away, apart, separated from GOD”, it’s not beautiful, but God will give you what you want) 

The Story of God’s love for you and me is amazing. Do you know the reason God loves you? It’s easy, he Created you and gave you a reason to live. Do you know God? I hope so, because I know God, and He Loves me personally. He Wants you to know him.

God Bless, C.

Victor not Victim

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Jess and I headed out the ⅛ mile driveway, Al slipped into the morning routine and started “bopping his head” to the sounds in his headphones, Groot settled down in the back of the car in his normal fashion… we turn right, accelerate, brake, accelerate, brake then turn left. As we turn left we brace for the impact with the “barrier”… we collide, head on! Three days a week or more, same drill. We don’t feel the barrier physically, but more like the music dies in Al’s headphones, the little “spinner” on the phones start to dance the standard processes and we are no longer connected with the world. 

Somedays I feel like we are living in the movie “Maze Runner”…

The gates open, we are well prepared, and we start running the maze of roads, mapping out until…   We can no longer map anything. Returning home before the gates close, locking us out in the maze overnight. We made it and there is no need to face the real terrors and fears of the world. 

I love living in a world where I can escape the constant “connection”… The monitoring. The always “knowing” phone. Listening, adjusting, changing my personal algorytm… Our advertisements! What Jess and I had just been talking about “the dogs need their shots” turns into getting ads about spending our money on the “best care for your fur babies”. If you are like me, I find great JOY in the quiet things, the calm of the trees, standing alone in the forest. The flowing waters that gurgle against the battle of cold snow and forming ice… robbing momentum from the waters relentless desire to reach the ocean. The waters never stop and reflect on how they are are “VICTIMS” of circumstance. The waters never call for the government to provide de-icing chemicals… its almost like the waters know they shoud never quit, never give up, victory is coming.

Even the distant buzz of the loggers working to provide the ever thirsty lumber mill industry with exactly what they need to continue the quest of construction. After hundreds of years, and still making timber into sticks, trees into pulp.

I seek victory! I seldom have a victim mentality but so often, I find myself in the constant battle of explaining “victims are self made”… I’m not saying that every situation doesn’t produce a victim, but if you wake up, and don’t make your bed, don’t watch the sun rise, dont find joy…. Well, its that much harder to find victory in the remaining hours of life. I don’t believe I am controlled by my emotions but rather God has given me the power to control my emotions. And if I have power to control my emotions, then it must be a decision to wake up knowing once again, I am the “victor”… so I choose to be victorious, even if all I do is make my bed, drink my coffee and see the sun rise from obscurity to magnificence. I can be a Victor in something, so can you!

I wake up, enjoy a half hour of calm, wait for the coffee to brew, sit down and listen to the sounds of my heart beat, the creaks of the house, the breathing of my dogs and the cool wind beating against the eves…. At ¼ past the hour, I rise to my feet and retrieve my loving bride, make the bed, start turning on the lights and settle back down for a bit of screentime while it’s still calm… 

The day starts to break again…

It’s not always easy to have a victor’s mentality, it’s not always easy to remember God’s goodness, its not always easy to remember I deserve so much less… Some days I struggle, and to be honest, I struggle much more often than I should. But knowing God chose me, and that I am not able to bring anything to God that is worthy of his goodness, well, that reminds me… I am wonderfully and fearfully made in the image of my GOD….. when I remember the fathers voice, I again turn to the victory, I put off the victim and realize everything good in my life is not my own doing but rather the gift of the one who is always providing those things I need. 

Victory is a decision to see the gifts I have been given, victimhood is oppression to “always feeling like I deserve better”… that destroys my joy…. Holding on to the good things, letting go of the bad things, choosing to be a VICTOR is choosing freedom and finding joy. 

Good Bless C.

The Electrician who Preaches

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We started attending Deer River Bible Church a while back. Pastor Steve and I started talking every week and we immediately discovered “we had a lot in common”. Jess and I scheduled a meeting with Pastor Steve so we could talk doctrine and verify how well our beliefs line up with DRBC. All went well. It just felt like we were home. As we continue to get to know DRBC, we share the story of Sam’s Place with everyone that gets caught in the coat room with us.

For the Community “Thanksgiving Meal” Steve asked us to share about Sam’s place. We had about 15 minutes of “Q&A format”. We are always eager and willing to meet a new microphone, especially when it comes to talking about Sam’s Place

Even though Pastor Steve was a licensed master electrician, I decided we could overlook that shortcoming and we would continue to become friends. (its kinda a tradesmans joke, I always think its funny)

Pastor Steve eventually asked if we would like to be interviewed for his new YouTube channel ps66.16, and so here we are, MOVIE STARS AT LAST!!

Although Jess and I have a combined story reaching only a few hundred hours, we talked for just under an hour. Pastor Steve now has his first YouTube video uploaded. I am honored to be part of glorifying our Lord. I am honored to meet this Pastor, connect with him on our shared passions and become part of the family at DRBC. Please watch this video. Although our story does have more detail than a video can present in under an hour, it gets some of the big points covered. We poured out our lives as we walked into Sam’s Palce and the front doors of Deer River Bible Church.

Steves YouTube channel and our Blog Post have the same basic goal, glorifying GOD and giving him honor and praise. 

Here is a Link, Please subscribe to Pastor Steves YouTube channel and as always, PLEASE subscribe to our blog https://livinghazzardously.com/

Thanks and God bless you all, C.