Discomfort

Recently for a class, I gave my perceived life passion a “name” or maybe just put it in words.

“Making people uncomfortable, with the goal of becoming comfortable.”

I have so many stories that I want to share here, and such a long post that I could write. 

I want to keep it short and simple:

I find a natural comfort and talent in helping people overcome some of their greatest fears. To do this, they must first become uncomfortable. With coaching and gentle encouragement, this sense of discomfort can quickly change to comfort, and this give me great joy.

This is all I am going to say for now, but I, as always, welcome your comments and stories.

Tyler

some thoughts from a college kid!

To start this off, let me just say that being involved in college is amazing! But, you must not neglect yourself, and must not let things become more important than your time along with just you and God.

I must say that I have met many new people, and have opened my eyes to so many different situations through my involvement in college. However, at the beginning of the semester, I began to neglect my 'me' time, my time with God, time to reflect on the decisions that I made that day, and just time to stop and realize what happened that day.

I then did exactly what I thought that I needed to do - I sat aside time each evening to reflect and to pray. This however, is not what I needed.

Yes, I was praying. Yes, I was reflecting. But I was forgetting one very important thing that God calls us to do. Listening. I was praying all the time, telling God this and that, and thanking Him for what happened that day, but I still felt like something was missing...

I was not listening to what God had to say and was trying to tell me. When I sat down and listened, I was able to do what I thought I had been doing all along. I began to follow a command we are given in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)  - "Pray continually."

Now, to pray continuously, we must listen to what God is saying, not just ask for Him to do something, but listen to what He is telling US to do!

Listening to God will help guide us through difficult situations and lead us to making the right choices. So when the going gets tough or when things just start to get really busy, slow down and take time to listen to what God has to say. You may not always want to do what you are told due to fear of failure or fear of rejection, but God has a reason, and it is all part of his plan for your life.

Well, I spent more time on that than I expected...

The next thing that I want to touch on is a completely different topic: Diversity Awareness. Something that until recently I completely disregarded.

Diversity is something that should be respected and never looked down upon. I am not perfect, and my traditions are not either. Therefore, I do not have the authority to tell you that your ways are wrong or inappropriate.

I have begun to look at situations with an open mind and trying to see them through another persons eyes. I may not always agree with what you are doing or have done, but I will respect your decision. It is your life, and yes, I would like every person to see things the way I do, but I know that this does not happen.  I will always respect your right to make a decision, now, I may not support your decision, but I will respect you and not look down on you for the decision that was made.

This is something that I could only wish for everyone to do. I believe that respect for differing opinions is a key factor to gaining respect for yourself and gaining insight into others ideas and perspectives. If everybody could respect a decision, they could then take time to understand your reasoning for doing what you did.

Perspective. The number one cause of disrespect and disagreement between parties. Once people take time to view situations through other peoples perspectives, they can begin to respect the persons decision. This will then allow for more friendships among differing people, something we can never have too much of.

I wrote all of this very quickly, and hope that it makes sense! When I have something that I want to say, I get it out!

Feedback is welcomed and greatly appreciated!

"......."

Recently on facebook I have been compiling some quotes, and each of them mean something different to me, but all still have a great effect. They make me think about their true meaning.

Well, let me put a few out here and tell you exactly what I think they mean. This doesn’t mean that this is the only meaning; it is just what I take from them. Feel free to leave your comments on what exactly you think of them.

- “You need to be able to tell people when they are full of crap. If that doesn’t happen, you start churning out something that doesn’t offend someone, but also doesn’t make anyone fall in love.”

           

            This one to me makes me think of life in general. You cannot go around living a false life just to please somebody else’s ideas. When the time comes, you MUST be able to tell somebody that what they are asking of you can simply not be done. If you cannot do this, then you cannot excel to your highest potential.

-“If you want to get someone’s attention, it’s silly to do exactly the same thing as everyone else.”

           

            Many people go on day-to-day trying to be noticed by someone, but do nothing to make themselves stand out from the rest of the crowd. Each and every person is their own unique self, and must do their own things in order to be successful. Take a look at all of the world’s most successful leaders, and notice that every single one of them had to do something to surpass others. Fortune and fame did not simply track them down, the path to success is long and hard, but can easily be followed with a little perseverance.

-“Strong opinions aren’t free. You’ll turn some people off. They’ll accuse you of being arrogant and aloof. That’s life. For everyone who loves you, there will be others who hate you. If no one’s upset by what you are saying, you’re probably not pushing hard enough.

           

            This statement here applies to situations that involve change. When any person, business, or organization comes to a time where they know that change is necessary, there will ALWAYS be hard feelings. People do not like change. They like for things to stay the same as they have always been. This is because people are afraid of what others may think when their change does not go as planned. There will always be a generation who is for change, but there will also be one who is wholeheartedly against it. If one generation does not make a necessary change, the next one will.

-“Change without vision is chaos.”

           

             I have recently had to deal with a situation involving this very statement. A change was trying to be made in a very short time frame that would have a lasting long-term effect.  It was later realized that the ideals presented in the argument were not given a vision, as they did not know what they wanted this situation to become, past the immediate future. So all in all, if you don’t know where you want something to go, then don’t change it. Wait until you know what you want.

Always look deeper into things than your peers do. This will set you well on your way to being a successful individual that can accomplish any and all of your dreams. No matter what people say, know how it applies to your life, and how it can help you to be the one to break out above the crowd.

2010, a New Year With a New Outlook

I look back on the last few years of the past decade and see many mistakes as well as many triumphs. When I think about the decisions that I made, I also think about the outcome that they presented. I recognize many times that I have succeeded in the past 5 years, but more importantly, I want to think about the bad choices, the ones that still linger and cause me to second guess my self.

I challenge everyone that reads this post to think of the following:

• In the last decade (or 5 years if you are younger) what are some things that you did that you are proud of? Think of these things and write them down, put them in a safe place and look at them again in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 years. What have you done now that tops these things
• Make a list of all of the bad choices that you made. Take one that bothers you most and think it out. Why did you make that choice? What can you do now to prevent that from happening again? Put these answers in a safe place and come back to them when you struggle with the same problems again.
• After you do the two things above. Forget the past. It is likely that things happened that you would rather not remember. The loss of a good friend, a divorce, or the passing of a loved one. Forget these. Start new in a new year and a new decade.

I know that I made some horrible decisions in my past, but now I am going to put those behind me because there is nothing that I can do about them now. I will try my best not to make the same mistakes again, and to above all, put God first and follow the plan that he has for my life.

Legend

Quick question to think about:

What makes a legend? What somebody did while they were alive? Or how they are remembered once they are gone?

I will post more about this soon.

My Blog Has Forgotten Me

Wow, it seems that the hustle and bustle of this first semester of school has caused my blog to disown me. I will definitely have some more time to post here in the upcoming couple of months. So I hope everybody will check back soon!

HHHEEEELLLLLOOOOO

Hello all, decided I shouldn't take another month long break from the blog again!

So here is a life update.

A few weeks ago, Me, Austin, Becky, and Ashley decided to work on the playground where the church did some mission work. We spent $50 and put up some new swings, fixed a suspension bridge, and and a few other minor things. I hope the kids like it!

I went to Brenner's Childrens Hospital on Monday for my hearing and the news was less than helpful. The doctor looked at me as serious as day and said "We have no clue what caused your hearing loss, and it may or may not get better." The he got up and walked out of the room . . . . Less than encouraging.

LAst thing here is kinda big, and kinda vague. If you know me well enough you can ask some details, otherwise-sorry. Today a certain person said some certain things that made me very uncomfortable. Really really wish that I could witness to this person, but right now, I can not seem to get up the courage to do so.

Ask.

I have also decided to make a conscious effort at becoming healthier. Me as well as a few other friends are riding everywhere from 25-100 miles a week on our bikes. I am hitting the gym a few times a week, and skipping meals and substituting protein shakes instead. Hopefully this will all pay off.

Other than that and working at subway, my life is pretty much boring. Somebody should talk to me :)

Tyler

You don't have a universe

I am sure that everyone who is reading this has heard of the OnePrayer series where churches from around the world can listen to the same messages together through the use of technology. If you haven't, here is a little clip. (If you are reading this within the first few hours after I posted, the video may not be processed by youtube completely yet.)

Well, this week we had a special guest on screen from Simi Valley, California. Francis Chan. With Chan, we explored the topic of God is . . .Strength. Chan made very good points and used many tangible illustrations, but one thing stands out from that message, a quote by an age old pastor, J. Vernon McGhee.

"This is God's universe, and God does things his way. You may have a better way, but you don't have a universe."

I don't know about you, but that says something to me. I guess the point is, if you think that you can do something better than God, go make your own universe then give him a shout. You may think twice then!

Anyways, thanks for reading and peace out.

Tyler

Wow!

Ok, so last Thursday I felt a little pressure in my left ear, having interned with the local ENT, I thought I should have it checked out, so I scheduled an appointment. I expected that the tympanometer would show that there was a lack of motility of the ear drum and that there was some fluid behind it. Boy was I wrong! I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Sensorineural Hearing Loss. The suspected that it was caused by a virus but are not sure. I wasn't too worried since he told me that the steroids he put me on would most like bring back at least 70% of it. I went back to him on Friday after my MRI expecting the audiogram to show that the hearing was coming back. Wrong again. There was a 10 dB drop from the 15 dB loss that was exhibited last week.

Good news is that the MRI indicated no tumor in the brain, and ruled out Acoustic Neuroma. But, since the hearing unexpectedly got worse even tho I was on the steroids and antibiotic, I have to go to the Otolaryngology specialist at the Brenner's Children's Hospital in Winston Salem.

I really hope that this clears up and gets better, but who really knows? I think that no matter what, I can adapt to it and that it will not have a profound effect on me. Hopefully!

On a completely different note, GOV. SCHOOL IS OVER! I made it through exams without too much brain death! Now I can relax and concentrate on some more important things, like my Harlem Renaissance in english. UGH.

Oh well, enough rambling for now. Peace out.

Tyler

Life Update

So, in the past few months, the Governors School has seriously caused a bad BAD case of senioritis to set in early. I haven’t done anything productive recently. Now it’s exam time and I am afraid that I am going to feel my lack of preparation. But the one thing that I have acknowledged, is that it is my fault. I can not blame this on my teachers, and can’t ask God why he didn't bring me through. I slacked, now I am going to have to pay. My pastor post on his blog a few months back, something that I just kind of glanced over until just recently and this was the fact that you have to learn how to learn. Here is a little excerpt from that post:

During my senior year, one of my wise professors made the statement that “when you start a job, you won’t use 90% of what we have taught you. But we have taught you how to learn, and how to learn quickly.”

I think that I have just tried to breeze through the past couple of months and have not really been trying to learn to learn - If that makes any sense . . . . But I will be glad when the summer starts and I have time to clear my mind and really get some things taken care of. God has put some heavy things on my heart that I have been trying to avoid, and I know that eventually I am going to have to face them. It is truly going to be a relief to get them cleared up and have some time to do something FUN! Now I have to try to study for some final exams next week, so until next time, adios.

Scars, videos, friends, and other random stuff.

Ok, so you all read my post last week about helping a friend, right?

Well, good news, everything has been going great with everything that we have been helping each other with! I do want to throw out there that I started out just holding him accountable for things, but in the past week, that has escalated to both of us holding each other accountable. We have both opened up to some problems that we know that we have and do not want to hide them. We want them fixed.

Ok, here is the reason that I am blogging tonight. At youth tonight we watched a video from lifechurch.tv and had a discussion afterwards . . . everything is I guess routine youth until this . . . . the discussion afterwards talked about some things that people should do if they know that they have a problem. The things that were suggested be done are things that my bud and I started last week. I guess that I decided to go tonight for a reason. I really needed to stay home and do homework, but I decided against and went.

Tonight’s discussion reminded me of one of the messages at Resurrection this year. Justin Lookadoo mentioned that if you are fully aware that you have a problem, you can NOT ask for someone to just pray for you and not know what they are praying about. You MUST have someone that you can tell and someone who you can confide in. He also talked about the process of getting a scar. You may have some things in your past that do not bring out your best features, but once you resolve your problems sure you will have scars, but you can then relate to other people with the same problem and help them through the same way that you were helped through it.

Well, now that my random babbling is over I will get to my main point, Tell someone if you have a problem. Tell somebody that you can trust and things will get better. A good friend is all that a person ever needs!

Number 1!

Hola blogger amigos! Como estas?

Not gonna lie, my Spanish skills are awful so enough of that! So in case anyone was wondering, I have been extremely busy the past couple of weeks and have really not had any time to sit down and write (which I love to do). So I am sitting on a school bus heading to Ashland, VA for the state Science Olympiad tournament at Randolph Macon.

Introduction aside, I just wanted to talk about something great that has happened just recently. I have a really close friend that has been struggling somewhat with his spiritual life and he has confide in me to help in keeping him on track and holding him accountable to his quest to become closer to God. I will just start off my saying that I love this guy like a brother and wouldn’t want that to change for anything. 

Ok, so we have class together everyday, I am a junior and he is a senior, and I just sit back and do my work like always but, I have started paying a little more attention to his actions and interactions with others. Now instead of walking up to him in the middle of the class and telling him “hey man, I heard that word you just said, you should be ashamed of yourself...,” I get online and chat with him every night. We discuss everyday things as well as some things that he might want to change to portray himself as a more Christlike person and to not let his mind stray from the true goal that he is trying to achieve, growing closer and making God his #1 friend. The biggest problem that I have noticed that we have addressed is the desire to fit in. I personally have never really been in the “in crowd,” but I am fine with this, I am my own person and am happy with this. However my bro here has a desire to fit in which does not always bring out the best qualities in him. We have addressed this issue together and discussed ways to change it, and I am already seeing a change for the better!

I really love sitting and talking to him because not only do I get to help him, but it reminds me daily that I too need to stay a fully devoted follower of Christ. I truly encourage everybody that really wants to accomplish something to confide in a friend that you can trust will keep you on the right track, as this motivation can be the driving force that keeps you moving in the right direction. Friends can be a blessing and can help you get through each day even during you most trying times. . . . Got Friends?

Hey if you are reading this bro, just know that I love ya man and hope that we can work through this together and achieve you ultimate goal!

some more randomness

How are all of my blog buds doing?

Hopefully everyone is doing well.

I just wanted ti ket everyone know what is goin on in my life and catch up on some blogging.

Ok, to start off, right now the MACC season is going great, with the Science team ranked at 1st with 6 wins and 0 losses. As it looks right now, with only 2 matches left, I think that we will do good for the season! 

I decided to take this weekend off from everything, and I mean EVERYTHING! I have sat at home the whole weekend and done absolutely nothing, and it has been absolutely amazing! Everybody should just take a day or two off from their lives and sit around at just have fun. I have played games on my computer, which I have not done since school started, and played some guitar hero! So needless to say it was a great day. Now after I ate lunch I decided that I would come home and take a nap, so I did! The good thing about not having any place that you have to be, and knowing that you don't have to go to school the next day, you really can think. Now, do not think too hard or too deep, because this can be dangerous. When really and truly pondering a matter, think beyond the level that you usually would, BUT not so hard that your mind starts making things up (which it will do!). 

That last thought aside, let's make this next point simple. End the DRAMA! I have had some unnecessary drama at school lately with some things that were going on, and I have talked through some things with some of my really close friends about trivial matters that are causing hardships in their lives. Just please. Stop. End the drama. 

If you have ever read my blog before, you will realize that this next item is a recurring topic. Friends. Talk with them. Laugh with them. Cry with them. You are friends with people for a reason: you need them and they need you. DO NOT bottle up thoughts, anger and other emotions, and let them affect your life, talk to a friend you can trust, whether it be a fellow class mate, a friend a few years older than you, or a parent 20 years older than you. Just talk to somebody and they will listen.

Be a positive influence. I realized over the last couple of months that many more younger kids that I realized look up to me. I don't want to sound conceited, but for some reason, younger kids cling to me. I have always loved being around these little guys, but sometimes I have caught myself acting like I don't see them or didn't hear them when they were around. Not good. If you know that you have a little kid around that looks up to you, even if you are a little busy, talk to them, chase 'em around a little bit, and let them know that they are loved. This can change a person's life. Trust me.

Ok, so that was my endless rambling for the night. Will post again soon!

Hmmmmm . . .

It's late, so some of this may be a little jumbled, but here goes.

So, I have definitely had to make some very hard decisions over the last week or so, and these tough decisions have made me think, which is sometimes dangerous, about how I see other people. 

I have found that when looking at other people, I always tend to see them the way that others see them, and not looking at them through unbiased eyes.  I have really struggled with, but semi succeeded with the fact that I don't need to view people as being out to get me, or directing all negative comments at me.  It is the tendency of the human mind when in an excited state to over think comments and turn them all into negative and demeaning comments toward themselves. This can be a good thing in a high risk situation, but also can be a bad thing in a casual setting when the person is upset.

I guess that what I am getting at, is that if you are upset or mad at something / somebody, don't get angry at the person, yet address the problem and try to resolve it in a friendly and Christ like way. Also, know that you can not always be expected to handle tough situations alone.  TALK TO PEOPLE!  You have friends and they do want to help you.  Just ask.

I am speaking this from experience, and hope that everyone takes this advice to heart.  Thanks to all of my friends and adults who helped me with my decision this past week.  I love you all, and don't think that I could have made the good choice that I did with out you.

I heard a great speaker say onetime, that you may not know why God put you through what he did, but you will eventually, God will use your scars from your not so pleasant times to help others, and to better yourself

Tyler

Random thoughts from me.

So I heard someone speak today, and the message really said something to me. The speaker said that if you do not forgive others of their sins against you, then why for should God forgive you of your sins? Whoa! hold up a minute. So does this mean that if I am holding a grudge, then this applies to me? Yup. So I think that I am going to make an honest effort now to try and make right things with some of my friends that I have not really been close with.

SO I think that this sounds like one of my plan’s that I stick with for a couple of weeks, then my passion to do this will fade away . . . . this is another problem that I see, I always seem to be gung ho about something for a while . . . .then it’s back to the same ol’ stuff. This is a problem that everyone has. If you do not have people to support you, then you will not be able to dredge along your path, which brings me to another point. Friends. I have said a lot about how much I love my friends, and how helpful they can be. I know, that no matter what the issue, time of day, or anything else, that I can confide in a good friend that will help me through. Just recently I had a talk with a friend and we both shared some personal things that well, nobody else knows . . . . friend . . . you know who you are . . . .THANKS!

So my ADD kicked in and got me off track, so here goes back to where I was. There are a couple of people that I have a strong dislike for that I need to forgive. This goes right back to where I was before, can I really stick with a plan long enough to let go of these hard feelings, and step closer to God? Truthfully, probably not. But am I going to try? Heck Yea! I don’t know how everything will play out, but God has a plan, and I’m just going to listen.