Pick up that Tonka truck. Now throw it across the room because you just spotted a Bernstein Bears book. Crawl over to the book. Flip through it in 20 seconds. Now slide it across the floor so it hits one of your less-favorite stuffed animals. Then get up and waddle over to your blocks. Stack a few of those up and then throw them into the air. This is the life of a little kid, who, in the span of 30 minutes, can make a perfectly clean playroom look like a toy battlefield.

It seems to me that in a lot of ways, we never grow up. As we grow up, our toys change. From blocks to clothes. From stuffed animals to entertainment devices. But our lives get more complex. Hobbies, interests, and causes come across our horizon. They’re inspected but frequently discarded in short order as either uninteresting (which is probably fine) or because more and more items come across our path preventing us from really sinking ourselves into those thing that DO interest us (which is probably NOT fine).

Like the people on the conveyor belt in Wall-E, it seems like we’re shuffled through life from one thing to another. And then 5 years go by and we get sad, asking, “What’s happening with my life?” But we know the truth. Little is happening with our life. Life happens to us. For the fortunate few that have rock solid attention spans, they make something of their lives and we’re left wondering why that can’t be us. But in many ways, the comparison is moot. As a dude in St. Louis recently said, “Some of us are born on third base but think we’ve hit a triple.” For some, their God-given abilities allow them to be excellent. They certainly work hard to be successful, but lamenting we’re not them is unhelpful.

How to Beat a Short Attention Span
Our aim should be to stop the conveyor belt or make adjustments while it’s still moving. When the next hobby, interest, or cause comes across your path, stop your life for a little bit and examine it – for longer than a little kid. Start slow. Get online and read some articles about the topic. Search YouTube for videos. Search a Twitter keyword and see what other people also interested in that thing have to say. Follow the links they post. Research the best books; buy them and read them. And then, and this is the important thing…put that hobby/interest/cause down beside you ON THE CONVEYOR BELT!!

Let that interest or cause travel life WITH you through your day! Create events in your calendar every day that remind you to spend time in pursuit of that thing until it’s a habit. For me, it’s Haiti. I’ve re-arranged my life not to forget Haiti. I wrote a computer program that automatically searches Twitter for news articles/photos/videos so I can quickly scroll through the article’s headline and know if I want to read it (or if I’ve ALREADY read it so I don’t waste time going there again). I have a time set aside to learn Creole (spoken in Haiti) and also a time to read about the country. I’ve started talking with other people interested in Haiti. And I listen to a radio station over the internet broadcast from Port-au-Prince to get used to hearing Creole. So even though I’m still on life’s conveyor belt, not only is Haiti next to me, but it’s becoming PART of me. And I haven’t even been there yet. The point is to be creative in how something can be a part of your life!

Obla-di Blah blah blah
Now, it’s true. Life must go on. You have responsibilities. But God has responsibilities for YOU. And ME. There are things He wants us to do in our life. Primarily, He wants us to love Him and love our neighbors. Are the things traveling with you on the conveyor belt helping you do those things? If not, do what Hebrews 12 encourages, “cast off everything that hinders…” I can’t tell you what in your life is a hindrance, but you know. You have a feeling in your heart that you really shouldn’t do something. It’s not that the thing is WRONG. It’s just not RIGHT. You feel there are other ways you could spend your time. You MUST listen to that voice. That voice is trying to guide you to your role in the kingdom of God!

The irony of this post is that life will happen to us immediately after reading/writing it. You’ll be inclined to forget this in a matter of moments. Whether it DESERVES to be remembered is up to you. But, if you like it, put this little post nugget in your mind. Because, literally, my brothers and sisters, this world is FULL of hurting people. People who need not only material goods but they need to hear about the hope of Jesus and the life to come and how He can be everything for them – even in their suffering!

The One
Some 12 years ago, a movie was released that rocked our country. In “The Matrix,” Keanu Reeves played a character name Neo whose life seemed out of control. Things happened to him almost against his will. He was on the conveyor belt. Until one day, things changed with one word. The world needs us. So much. Please don’t tire of people telling you that. Don’t say it’s the same old line. People need you and me. It may not be a million people. It may be 10. But you can ROCK those people’s worlds. It just takes a simple, firm word: I will not be scared. I will not be distracted. I will not have a short attention span. When it seems like you can’t stop life, think of Neo. People need you!

YouTube won’t let me embed it, so please watch the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4FUPSGiy8Y

I did something two days ago I never thought I’d do. I prayed for Osama bin Laden.

It happened while I was out on a run. I was thinking about how US forces have been unable to capture Bin Laden. And I wondered if it isn’t a testimony to Bin Laden’s hiding skills or the talent of our soldiers but that God, for some reason, doesn’t want him to be found yet.

Bin Laden has been the instigator for terrible things. And a part of me would just like to see him dead. But then I thought about Saul (who later became Paul). He murdered people for a living. After standing in approval of Stephen’s death, “Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison” (Acts 8:3). As the apostles and believers continued in their work, Saul’s rampage also continued. “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” (Acts 9:1).

A realization grabbed my heart. Saul was the 1st century church’s Osama bin Laden. But Saul was rescued from his life of hatred and murder. And I don’t see why Bin Laden couldn’t be either.

It is often the extreme cases that teach us what we really believe about something. In principle, a man can be against adultery. But when a beautiful woman tries to seduce him, what does he REALLY believe? How will he choose?

We can say that God is capable of touching anyone – that He can save anyone from their sin. But do we believe it? Even for Osama bin Laden? Did Jesus die for Osama bin Laden? Does forgiveness have any bounds? Does it transcend nationalism? It does. It would be to God’s glory to rescue Osama from the sin he’s been living in. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have to answer for his sins to an international court. But that courtroom is but a child’s playground compared to the eternal judgment of God. May Jesus somehow speak to Bin Laden the same way He did to Paul!

“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting…I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.” (Acts 26:14,16).

Today, I prayed for Osama bin Laden.

At about 5am this morning in Haiti it rained. My friend, Holly Frew, is on the ground there and tweeted this:

Last night when it was raining I could hear children crying & people chanting “I may be afraid but I have Jesus”. Heart-wrenching.

Here’s the reality. At least 700,000 people in Haiti are without homes. Rene Preval, Haiti’s president, called for 200,000 8-person tents to be made available by the international community. That hasn’t happened so far. Holly has reported that she’s been witnessing protests on the ground of the Haitian people crying out for tents. This photo she took is among the most poignant I’ve seen. Notice the sign. Notice also the great coincidence/irony of the guy’s shirt – Uncle Sam saying, “I Want You.”

We’ve asked the question: what can I do to help the people of Haiti? Many of us gave donations right away. There’s another movement that has captured my heart.

Atlanta pastor, Shaun King, has been coordinating Haiti assistance through Twitter since the earthquake happened. Two of my friends (Jeremy Cowart and Holly Frew) have worked directly with Shaun in going to Haiti and assisting on the ground. In short, he is the real deal.

He’s started a movement called A Home In Haiti. In short, you buy a tent and have it shipped to his church’s Atlanta offices. They have arranged to have the tents shipped to and distributed in Haiti.

Why Is This So Important?
Besides the fact that many families are sleeping under makeshift tents of bed sheets and sticks, the rainy season is coming. Haiti has two rainy seasons and the first one begins right around this time of year.

I did some research this morning. Seattle just had its rainiest three months. That data, from the National Weather Service, is listed (averages from 1971-present). This first rainy season for Haiti (March, April, May) is also listed. There’s more rain in Haiti! Almost twice as much by May!

Imagine you and your family (pretend you have a family if you don’t) living under downpours you can’t take shelter from. Would you want someone a couple thousand miles away to have bought you a tent? If regular people like you and me don’t do something, there will be too many tragic stories. This chart I made shows the rain is on the way.

WHAT TO DO
First, if you’re a blogger, I don’t want you to retweet this blog post. I want you to write your own post. I’ll explain.

This morning, Shaun posted stats about the campaign.

We have had 25,589 hits @ http://aHomeInHaiti.org & over 4,000 tweets, but only 28 tents have been purchased & $220 raised.

That means about 1 in 1000 people who visited the site bought a tent.

In my opinion, the problem is that the appeal isn’t personal enough. You can dare someone to buy a tent, but it needs to be very personal for most people (including me).

Here’s my appeal:

I bought a tent this morning. It cost me $225.

I don’t say this to brag. I want you to know I took action. I’m asking you to buy one also. If you’re like me, there’s a voice somewhere in your heart that just said, “I don’t know. That’s a lot of money.” You have this heavy kind of skeptical feeling. I had it, too. But I bought a tent because I know that Shaun has secured transportation TO Haiti and distribution ON THE GROUND in Haiti. They just need lots of regular people like you and me to buy tents!

Since this morning, more people are participating. All of this is very legit! The current stats:

If you decide to buy a tent and you’re a blogger, I ask you to write a post similar to this one and appeal to YOUR blog readers to buy a tent. I don’t want this retweeted because they know YOU and not me. It means more if you buy a tent, tell them, and ask them to do the same. If you DON’T have a blog, feel free to retweet this and tell people you support the cause.

Don’t go into debt to buy a tent. Money, for me, isn’t something I can spend at will. Times are kind of tight. But trust the Lord will provide for your needs as you provide a roof over the heads of people who have only the sky as their current ceiling – a roof that will soon drop rain in significant downpours. Talk to God and tell Him you trust Him to replace the money you’re spending on this.

I haven’t written on this blog for some time and just wanted to say that, regardless of whether or not you can afford a tent, I love all of you reading this!

Give a Haitian family back some hope. The total goal is 200,000 tents. But really, it’s one tent. From you and from me. We couldn’t stop the earthquake, but we can stop more heartache. Get into this action, bros and sisters!

Click here to buy a tent.

Tags: ahomeinhaiti, earthquake, Haiti, home, homes, king, shaun, tents

Counting calories is a bunch of crap. Some might say it’s for the birds. But birds can’t count. That I know of.

Not Just At Starbucks
I found that once I turned 25, my weight was something I had to manage. Up until that point, I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted in whatever quantity I desired and I’d always weigh about 175. It’s different now. I still eat whatever I want, but I have to work to keep my weight in the “normal” range. I’m a Taco Bell fiend and my Taco Bell obsession is costly – in time and sweat. Every week, I have to run miles and miles to ensure my stomach doesn’t take the shape of a Mexican Pizza. If you ever see me running through Nashville, it’s not because I like it. It’s because the Nachos Bell Grande has 1,300 calories in it. Grande calories = grande miles.

Nice Try, Buddy!
I decided to start tweeting about every trip I make to Taco Bell in an effort to shame myself into quitting. So far it hasn’t worked. In fact, other people, after reading my tweets, have been seduced into a 4th Meal and making a run for the border. They then post tweets blaming me for derailing their healthy eating habits.

I should protest Taco Bell. They have some of the worst commercials known to man. They use grade-D meat in their “food” (that’s made-up – don’t quote me on that). I think Fancy Feast cat food has higher quality meat (that’s also a lie). Point is, my poor eating decisions are starting to eat away at ME. I have this nagging feeling inside me that I need to stop. Although, that feeling could be the jalepeno sauce on the chicken quesadilla. I can’t be sure.

A number of times in the past month, I’ve said, “Ok, this is my last trip to Taco Bell. I’m starting my new workout program tomorrow.” How many diets never see “tomorrow?” The cycle must be broken. I’m breaking it. I’m done with Taco Bell.

I’m writing this tonight to my friends that I’ve unduly influenced with my Taco Bell habits. My ways are changing. I’ll be eating cauliflower, broccoli, and red peppers from now on. Follow my example!

But just real quick, I need to make a run to Taco Bell. My diet starts tomorrow.