Walking, Talking

Have you ever made a decision?
Have you ever chose to create an incision on your heart that was so focused it demanded a new start?
I've made many. Time and time again, as if a reboot of the soul would change my flesh and be good enough for a complete refresh.
Like when your computer freezes -
Off. Wait. On.
Treating it like on of those long sneezes.
But the things in life that demand a new beginning often have little to do with losing or winning.
A complete 180 is needed sure, but the desire for instantaneous change is like a lure and passes in a blur.
True dedication and rebirth mandate a daily choice to speak in an honest voice and to act according to that conviction.
The first step is a change in direction.
But every step after proves to you and to the watching eyes of the world that you're not simply waiting to be hurled back into what you've decided to abandon.
If what I truly want to land on is God's peace and His purpose for my life,
My conviction needs to weather the inevitable strife.
Walking this path will draw many laughs and scoffing, the air may become thick with unkowning, and I may find myself caughing.
But the best things in life are never instantaneous.
Washington, Roosevelt, Luther, Lincoln, Lee, Reagan:
They knew this kind of thinking is erroneous. 
Sometimes I have to "act as if" until it becomes true.
I have to play the part while my heart restarts and becomes accustomed to this new beat.
It may seem simple, but on the outside all tremendous feats do.
History is shaped by the few who choose momentary daily discomfort over a lifetime of abandoned dreams and security.
Reputation and ego has nothing to do with it
Becoming who I am meant to be and being free of the shackles of empty pleasures and draining desires of my flesh is the true goal.
It's a cleansing of my soul.
And it makes my ehart full.
It wakes me from the lull of everyday life.
So I choose to become a better version of myself.
I put the distractions on the shelf.
And I walk.
One foot in front of the other.
It's the wisdom of my father, mother, sister, and brother-in-law.
I remain flawed.
But seeking Christ fills those gaps and helps me avoid the deadly traps.
Walking, talking.
Thinking, dreaming.
Turning, learning.
Sleeping, waking.
Being, Praying.

Rescuing the Damsel in Distress

What has become of my generation?

Guys treating ladies like trash, girls showing themselves off like trophies to be won. It makes me sick to my stomach.

I take one class at a public high school. Walking down the halls on any given day, I'm astounded at what I see. Gentleman! What kind of monsters have we become? Ladies! Where did the innocence go? The insecurity flows like an ocean tide, filling up the entire building until all that is left and felt is a current of emotions, chief of which is lust.

Oh man! My heart just weeps! So many girls without fathers, without someone who has actually loved them in their life. Looking for a guy to fill them up and make them feel wanted. A guy to just hold them and accept them for who they are. A guy to hold their hand, loan them their sweatshirt, kiss them on the nose. These girls, looking for a love to just BE with them instead get-

Guys! You make me ashamed to walk in the midst of a crowd of females at a school. Where did the expectations of being a "tough guy" come from? Where did the arrogance and fake self-assurance come from? You think you're so cool? You think you're so tough? Try being a gentleman, even for a second. You go to parties, drink, do drugs-all just to show off how cool you are. Try taking the harder road for even one day!

Honestly, I'm pretty disgusted at this whole Twilight thing. It's not the books that kill me. It's not the storyline or the characters or the premise. I get the whole vampire thing. I even get making that in to a romantic story. Here's what I don't get: WHY DOES OUR SOCIETY INSIST ON FOCUSING ON INSECURITY? Can't you see? Don't you understand? Are you so blinded?

JESUS LOVES YOU!!!

Girl's, you don't need to be filled with a guy. You don't need a boyfriend. You need Papa's love. And He is so here to give it to you.

Guys, you don't need to filled up by chicks, porn, or partying. Papa loves you the way He made you: a warrior and lover for Him.


We are the Damsel in Distress, and God is our rescuer. We are the bride, and He is the Bridegroom. God loves us, cares for us, seeks us, woos us, fights for us, defends us. He is here for us in EVERY fashion and in EVERY conceivable way.

I'm speaking to my generation.
Papa loves us so much. He hugs us in His warmth and joy, and has created us to love each other. Why do you resist such great love? Why do you try to find this love in the wrong way? It's all right here, right in front of us.
God is rescuing us, the Damsel.

But then again, who am I to talk? Who am I to judge? I'm just as sick as the rest of my generation- hypocritical, distracted, and seeking the Love of the Creator. Jesus, would you heal my heart?

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Let those words of the Psalmist ring true in my life.

Papa! Hear the cry of my heart! Don't you see what my generation is going through? Don't you see the broken households, the unloved, the depressed? Lord, save us. But, even more importantly, Love us; for what is salvation without Your Love?


A groan from the heart of Colin

Men at the Cross

At the Men at the Cross event in Nampa. POWERFUL beginning night. Michael W. Smith, Joe White. Papa is here too, wrapping many hurt men in His arms. The Ground is Shaking, people are being real. 1800 men crying is a sight to behold.
Follow along at http://Twitter.com/ColinMansfield
If you're a tweep already, search for the hashtag #MATC and follow in real time.

Finally, get another view from http://DennisMansfield.com my dad's blog.

Colin

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A Walk With a Fisherman

Listen to this, leave a comment with what you think.

Digressions of a Thoughtful Mind

After some prodding from me, my co-philosopher and great friend Justin Gaupp recently started a blog.
I think he describes it best:

So, I posted on facebook that I was in a thoughtful mood today. My good friend Colin Mansfield left a comment suggesting that I take advantage of my current disposition and start a blog. Therefore, I wrapped my opinions in a sheet, tied them to a walking stick, and hopped on the bandwagon that is blogging.

A few opening discaimers: These are my opinions, not some sort of thesis paper. I use big words. I do not think in neat little categorical boxes, so my posts may not be as organized as you'd like. I can be very cynical. I'm far too lazy to post blogs on any semblance of a regular basis. I tend to ramble. And most importantly, I believe the Christian Bible to be true and have a relationship with the God thereof. If any of that bothers you, reserve the right to close this browser window at any time. But if you have an open mind, please read on.

He goes on to tackle a rather deep topic, and one which has been thought on and disputed over probably since the idea's been around. "What's the point of avoiding sin in a sinful world?"
And then something awesome happened. Right as I expected to get some kind of logical thinking, formulaic reasoning, or linear processing, something appeared which I really didn't expect. Justin opened his heart, and poured out the insides for all to see.

Trying to avoid sin in a sinful world is like walking on the beach and trying not to get sand on your shoes. If you're quite careful, you'll have less sand than if you were running like mad down the beach, but there's no way you'll have spotless shoes.

But if we're going to get dirty anyways, why bother trying to stay clean? As one song goes "If we're all going to hell, we may as well go out in style." Makes sense to me. Unless one considers a different approach. Instead of making the goal to avoid sin, what if our goal was to love God? I propose that instead of running from darkness, we should be running towards the light! God created us for the purpose of having relationship with him. So if we fulfill our original purpose then we wouldn't need to try to find meaning in life through sex, drugs, money, et cetera.

Isn't that a beautiful way to put it- a great metaphor to roll it together?
And I couldn't agree more. Loving Jesus is really what it all comes down to. Good works and religion can never stand up to pure relationship- how much more the relationship with our Creator?

Head over to Justin's blog and check it out. Word is, he's even got a new post up.

Colin

Can Satan receive salvation?

My good friend and co-philosopher Justin "Gunther" Gaupp posed this question on facebook just to see what varying points of views exist, and in general what people think. Although the answer in no way matters, and there may never be a way to find out (in this life) Justin and I now pose the same question on my blog. Please, no yes/no answers. We really want to know what you think and why. Feel free to use multiple paragraphs :)

Can Satan receive salvation from his sin and return to be with God?

Although we know Satan will not be redeemed (Rev.) what is your opinion on the theoretical, hypothetical possibility?

Changing politics, 5 minutes at a time

Screenr. If you tweet, you should check it out.

Watch this video my dad and I made:

Connecting Beauty, Music, and 500 days

A while ago I wrote about some of the closest people I am connected with. I want to expand on that a little bit, but in a different way.

Beauty has a way of grabbing my attention. A recent memory that sticks out in my mind happened just a few weeks ago. I was driving home to Idaho from California. My dad was asleep in the back (he had been the main pilot all morning) and I had taken over the wheel in his stead. In the passenger seat sat my girlfriend, Kona. We kept each other entertained by playing various types of music and having even more various conversations. At one point in our discussions I looked over to my left for a split second. What I saw completely and utterly consumed me. A small mountain stood about 4 football fields away, and above this mountain were broken clouds; like shattered glass the sun peaked through and was reflected off of the clouds onto the face of the mountain resulting in one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. My attention was completely taken over by this magnificent light show. Coupled with the most amazing girl in the world sitting by me and talking, this memory sticks out in my brain as being one of sheer beauty. Beauty has a way of grabbing my attention.

So does music. My favorite songs are ones which can only be described as epic. Two bands which write epics extremely well, in my opinion, are Anberlin and Mae. I'm gonna talk about Mae, but please do look up Fin and Miserable Visu by Anberlin.
One of my favorite songs by Mae is called "The Fisherman's Song". To me it so accurately portrays the heart of the writer, and I love the message. On top of that, the lyrics are written in story form which help me connect immensely. Listen here.
I am an incredibly visual person, and yet I couldn't imagine life without music. As I write this I'm listening to my "Sit Down and Relax" playlist on Pandora. I've found it a great way to connect with myself today.

I was apprehensive about going to see "500 Days of Summer" with my parents and our close friends tonight. I didn't really know what to expect, but I figured a free movie is always worth it. I suppose I was right. That being said, I would gladly pay extra to see this masterpiece. It really connected with where my mind has been the last few weeks; connections.

People. Music. Situations. Friends. Jobs. Movies. Life.

Thinking about all the connections baffles me. It's not really a matter of fate or predestination to me (the way I figure it, God knows everything no matter what I believe.) Really, to me what it comes down to is whether or not I want to acknowledge the connections. Fate? Chance? Phooey. If life were a slot machine I would hate to pull that lever. It's like people are totally willing to acknowledge all the Cherries or BARS lining up perfectly but refuse to instead see the beautiful constelation of life that all our intercrossing lines make.
Life is actually a whole lot safer to look at as a slot machine. Pull the lever; you win some, you lose some. Often it's a whole lot harder to take those losses as building blocks, or at the very least see that they've made me who I am today.

500 Days of Summer emphasized this point for me. No matter what I tell myself, life really holds no accidents. The movie is artsy, beautiful, saddening, vulgar (at times), and flat-out well written. Unlike many chick flicks, this story follows the guy. Also unlike many chick flicks, it holds no happy Hollywood ending. The trailer boasts "this is a story of boy meets girl," and also includes "you should know upfront, that this is not a love story." That's why I don't believe 500 Days of Summer is a chick flick at all. It's too big for that label. It's an epic.


But don't take my word for it. Watch the trailer. Then, go watch the movie.


Colin