"Troubles" By Stephen Green II

They say troubles come in 3’s;

I say that troubles grow on trees.

Smoke billows around weeping willows

And all is silent upon the tear-stained pillows.

In a young man’s room where shadows promise comfort,

The loneliness of the Middle dampens every effort

To be more than just a byproduct of lust and desire;

To be more than a pawn’s head placed upon a crooked spire. 

They say troubles come in 3’s

I say that troubles grow on trees.

Shelters are prisons and forts are cages;

Punishments plus smiles are offered as wages.

Insensitively screaming “You think you got the stuff?!”

To the boy that dared to say “Dad,that’s enough.”

Other-worldly strength hidden behind weakness.

The strength of a man behind involuntary meekness. 

They say troubles comes in 3’s

I say troubles grow on trees. 

Yet there is hope amidst the strain 

And priceless is the gain

When one survives the storm

And goes against the norm.

A Christian most suceeds

When troubles grow on trees.

Heroes and Heroines: The Role-models That Shape Us

We have thousand of of stories of heroes and heroines. I believe that a lot of these stories of heroes, along with their antagonists affect the way we look at the world we live in and change how we function. I think that we might be, sadly, implanting false concepts into the minds of our children.

Everyone loves Superman. The shining beacon of perfection for all humanity right? Superman stands above all the other characters in Metropolis in that he is the only one who always thinks of others and he alone protects the whole of metropolis...and the world. With a few punch and couple shots of laser-eye power, the big, blue boy-scout overcomes villain after villain.

So...the only purely amazing and moral human is...well, an alien? I guess that's also why there are so many evil people and so few good ones. Is this being translated into the minds of our kids that there is more evil than good and if good is to prevail it needs to come in the form of something alien to ourselves and is buffer
than the Governator and flies fast enough to out run a bullet and maybe even turn back time? Well...coming from a Christian perspective of the world...goodness comes from God and sometimes He seems alien enough, but strength of a single "human" isn't what will overcome evil.

Let's look at Wonder Woman. The woman carved from stone to be a daughter for Hades and...whatever her name was. Again, we find ourselves with a leader and guardian that is very...alien. Additionally, it seems that a woman can only be heroic is they dress like they just came out of a strip club. Can't they beat their enemies without trying to distract them with their own lust and raging hormones? That's fighting dirty! Most Heroines seem to have the mindset that they can't fight unless that show a little cleavage and/or mid-drift. Sorry sweetheart, looking good is not an essential part fighting crime and overcoming evil. This sets an unhealthy mindset into our daughters...and quite frankly our boys as well. Personally, if I had a daughter I wouldn't want her to grow up thinking that the only way she can lead and change the world is to run around in her panties and a tank top! A little more leg doesn't increase your chances of saving the day. Sorry, Zatana.

I think there needs to be more stories like that of Batman, an ordinary man that, through discipline and willpower, overcame his limitations and became the humble hero that made the hard self-sacrificing decisions and used his whit and passion to drive himself to being a force to be reckoned with. Additionally, the story of Batman tells of a need for community. Bruce Wayne cannot single-handedly defeat evil. He needs the faithful, loving care of Alfred and the companionship of others to reach his goal. He leads and he disciples.

The X-Men and the Avengers series also show the need for community and relationship that is vital for living in the real world. We need community to overcome our weaknesses and to form our special gifts and talents. This is reality. Even the Lone Ranger wasn't all that "Lone".

We need more stories that display truth and teach our kids that you don't need super powers of some bizarre origin (like a father that happens to be the Greek god of water) to be able to slay dragons and topple regimes. However, we need the beautiful stories of meta humans and Avatars that spark imagination and creativity in the minds of our children...and even in the minds of adults.

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

People Watching

I rarely engage in the task of "people watching". In some way I think that I have missed out on life, and even disrespected humanity, in refraining from yielding my attention to them. There is so much to see and learn; there is terrible beauty and appealing deformity among our fellow humans that we can miss if we aren't looking close enough.

Those who watch me might see that my refrain is based in the fear of what a person might think if I happen to be looking in their direction at the time they look at me. This is a foolish reason to not enjoy and learn from others or to observe them. At this very moment I'm sitting in a coffee shop surround by students studying for tests and classes, additionally there is a couple out on a date getting to know each other better by indulging in topics of music, family, background, etc. It is fascinating to hear and to see the diversity that can be found in the middle of a little coffee shop on the edge of downtown Knox.

I have found yet another reason to put aside my fears and my insecurities; that is to see God's creation and enjoy it as a fellow human being, engaging in community and life. This is a desire of God.

People are hideous; people are beautiful. They are "Shattered Light".

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

It All Good!

It's a "Good" Life. That was the title of one of the most bone chilling episodes of The Twilight Zone that I ever watched. If you haven't seen it then stop reading right now and look it up! You can find it on YouTube.

Ok, welcome back! Ok so Anthony is the very substance of a parents nightmares. A being able to create of destroy at desire and unteachable. What do people do in reaction to him? They blur their thoughts and do what they can not to think and they go through every day saying "Isn't it 'good'?" when it is clearly NOT good.

I was sitting with a friend of mine in the middle of Duncan Donuts while she did some business over Skype. While I was waiting I pulled out my Kobo and began reading my way through the Didache (the earliest written book on the teachings of the Apostle's outside the New Testament). One of the primary statements that stood out was the authors statement of "accept all things that happen as good for nothing happens unless God allows it". That is a hard pill to swallow...

How do we say that all things are "good"? Is it not obvious that there is in fact evil in the world and that evil things happen? Of course there is. When I read the command for declaring all things "good", I found myself thinking back to Anthony. How many Christians live as if God is like that demonic little 6-year-old who could read minds? Going around saying that everything is "all good" or that they are "too blessed to be depressed" despite the agonizing weight of struggle and stress that is currently weighing upon their minds? Is the author stating that we should numb ourselves to the darkness of the world or that we should "fake it till we make it"? I don't think that this is the case.

The command to accept all that happens as "good" under the understanding that nothing happens without God is not denying that there is evil or that evil things occur.  I think that there is significance to the command and it is not just going through life lying about one's circumstance. Instead we recognize that God is not a puppet master or just dishing out blessings or wrath for the sake of dishing out blessings or wrath! There is purpose in what happens.

Additionally, I do not believe that God is causing all things that happen to happen. He allowed for sin to come into the World and to reek havoc, but it is not the same as causing bad things to occur. God does, however, use evil and tragedy to to display His glory and to do great things! We do not numb ourselves to the pain and the reality of evil around us, but instead we take joy in the awesome power of God and rest in the knowledge that He is love; that He sees us and knows all that was, is, and will be. We look to the future with faith, hope, and trust in God that He will always act according to His nature, His superior knowledge, and His flawless logic.

For those who have been redeemed and are now a part of the Church, should we not expect good things from the God we love and serve? The One who has us call Him Father and King? Indeed. Additionally, He has proven Himself to be good. He is not just the "most good", be He is the very definition of what "good" is.

God is good, not because He does "good things", but instead what God does is "good" because God did them. Unlike little Anthony, God is love and He is full of compassion, understanding, and is without the flaws of a sinful, human soul. We can rejoice that we do not serve a tyrant that oppresses, but instead we serve a King who serves and leads His creation with grace, mercy, justice, and understanding.

Peace be with you,

Stephen