The beauty of the world lay at our feet. These gifts from God given to us, even as we are so undeserving. Too often we overlook the blessings provided each moment, for we are too concerned with our own personal agenda. We fill our minds with personal desires and we strive for interpersonal acceptance.

When our emotions run high, we react in ways of selfishness and far too often qualify our relationships based upon conditions of mutual respect and courtesy. It’s interesting to see the variations in how we react to changing situations. Overwhelmingly so, the reactions are devastating and the impacts can be life changing with consequences that have greater influence than we could ever imagine.

Recently, I have been the victim of what has become the norm in social “justice.” Studies show that gender influences the method in which we choose to deal with what we feel as unfair treatment. Through our relationships, we as human beings utilize every day encounters to categorize those in our life. Some are considered best friends, others are friends, and others are mere acquaintances with some benefit to associate. As we spend more time with each other, we develop patterns of engagement that more clearly defines how “close” we want to get to one another. That close-ness is the foundation of how we categorize people in our life. As we feel we are unfairly treated, we begin to separate ourselves from those whom we feel have committed the offense towards us. Trends indicate that it is this point in which gender decides which branch of the relationship path we travel down.

In my situation, I have committed an offense towards a female. The offense is irrelevant to this discussion but the reaction is not. Studies indicate and have predicted quite clearly how the situation would be handled by this female. Males often confront one another and come to a determination of how they will define their relationship in the future, but females often use relationships as a weapon to harm and further diminish another. In this particular case, the female demonstrated the studies results impeccably. Females often use the opportunity to convince/guilt other mutual friends into believing that the individual committing the offense is a horrible person, untrustworthy, and uses their bond to cause other friends to decide between people. It is through this method that the female obtains a sense of power and control over the situation which helps to overcome the sense of defeat provided by the offense.

Though this may seem a bit one-sided, I can only speak of my recent experience. By no means do I intend to generalize about all females or make females appear cruel. I do however want to use this as an opportunity to express the importance of our words and the influence we have over the world in which we live.

God commands us to love one another and to speak the truth. Though we often fail to accomplish this challenging goal, God constantly calls us back to him and the commands he gives us. In this particular example, I committed an offense by using a strong hand (verbally) towards another whom I believed was opening the door to leading others astray. Though the truth could have been spoken, I was not loving her as God commands me to do. As such, her reaction was not of love, nor truth. Thus, the vicious cycle has begun.

The key point in this example is not that I failed, nor that she failed but more-so that the viciousness has propagated throughout an entire social network. It has caused turmoil and influenced others to fail as well. By committing the offense of slander and by not loving and speaking the truth, she has demonstrated to those who look to her for guidance that said activities are acceptable. By pressuring others to choose between people, she has planted a seed that whom you talk to/associate with defines who you are. More-so, each individual whom re-iterates her words in an attempt to comfort her and are therefore demonstrating the same things provides for the multiplication of such wickedness.

Now think of what the impacts would have been if only she had engaged in the same conversation with someone who believed in Truth and Love. Someone confident in their faith and in the Lord. Though running the risk of being cast aside the same as I, the reward is the cessation of a vicious cycle that can greatly hinder so many other people’s faith in the commandments of our God. Not to mention the resetting of both of our switches, that we may not live for ourselves but for our God and the propagation of Truth and Love towards all our brethren.

It is amazing to see the impacts one God-filled heart can have on the struggles of so many around them. It is also disheartening to see how one failure in the Lord can lead to the eternal separation of God. I continue to learn each day and I continue to fail in new ways. I know, however, that Jesus Christ as my saviour fills my heart and I shall forever be saved. I struggle each day to tune into the Holy Spirit in my life, but I pray each day that I may be used as a tool for your salvation.

This morning I attended church at Clear Creek Community Church. I sat in a row with many of the usual characters whom I affiliate myself with and praised the good Lord whom I believe in. I listened as the sermon was given but couldn’t help but be distracted.

A group of five personnel occupied the row in front of us. Though they did not all seem to be related, they behaved in a manner that certainly caught my attention. As we praised the Lord with songs of worship I saw streams of tears flowing down their faces. We opened with prayers and thanksgiving for the lives we have been blessed with and prayers of focus on those in need. We continued to sing songs of worship and tears seemed to flow endlessly from three of the five.

I could see these five band together with arms and share each others pain and suffering through their eye contact. I could detect through their reactions to certain portions of the sermon how they’re lives have been devastated by Hurricane Ike. I could hear them lift their voices to the Lord in a plea for comfort and I could see the strain of their voices as they fought back the overwhelming emotions they were feeling.

Most of all, I could see their faith. I could see their dedication to the Lord. I could feel the sadness in their hearts be calmed by the words we sang. Then it happened. In the moment of our service where the offering was gathered, a time when I feel it is for those who have not suffered devastation from this storm, this family opened their purses and reached into their wallets to drop money into the little black bag as it passed by. I was taken back. I was caught off guard by this act of faith by this particular family.

In a moment, my perception of faith and dedication had changed. In a moment, I observed a deeper sense of entrusting our lives to the Lord. I sat there in my seat and sang a song of Grace and Peace while holding back the urge to reach out to this stranger sitting in front of me. I do not know why but after the service I approached this man and his wife and mother in law to offer my assistance. I reached out and shook his hand and expressed how much I prayed for him and his family and was shocked again by the story of how much he and his family had lost. It was then that I expressed my admiration for the act he had just performed and resolved to entrust my life to the Lord in as much a manner as he and his family had.

It is moments like these that I am silenced. Times when I look around me and I wonder how much more I could be doing in this world and how much I get caught up in the “comforts” of the world around me. I see the people around me and the priorities they set and I evaluate my own priorities and then struggle to re-prioritize while helping those around me see the bigger picture. I pray that God give me the words to share with those in my life, that they may see what it is God shows me. How do we help others re-prioritize without giving the impression that we are judging them? I pray that God will teach me and that I will be an example for them as this man was an example for me.

As the sun sets on this storm torn town, a picturesque glow fills the sky above. Traveling from one friend’s house to another, I’m taken back by the enormous amounts of damage and destruction that surrounds me.

From houses completely destroyed in Seabrook and Kemah to flooded restaurants filled with tradition, it is difficult to understand the pain and sorrow felt by those who’ve lost everything. Across town, there are neighborhoods spared from tidal surges and flooding streets. These neighborhoods did not make it through Hurricane Ike unscathed though. From street to street, trees lie across yards and on top of some houses. Roofs are speckled with missing shingles and barren plywood atop beautiful homes. Some comment that these people were lucky, but seeing the stress and worry upon their faces gives a hint to another perspective. Some homes with only enough damage to make it unworthy of an insurance claim leave the entire burden of repair upon the owner who has no money to pay for such unexpected strain.

Many people are still in the dark as power slowly returns one subdivision at a time. Others sit in the dim light of their homes wondering how they’re going to eat. Hurricane Ike devastated a major metropolis on the northern Texas Gulf coast.

I sit here upon my couch, power restored and this internet connection to entertain myself. I’ve wandered around my apartment complex looking for laundry facilities so that I can be prepared for work tomorrow only to find numerous machines inoperable. The tree limbs have been removed, the water levels returned to normal, and restaurants open for business. Yet this area remains a ghost town. People shocked by the storm ask why. Some using it as an excuse to renew their life and take a “fresh start.” I’ve observed many sitting upon stone staring into the sky as if paralyzed by the events that have transpired over the past 5 days. I am energized.

In the face of mass destruction and the evident pain and sorrow that surrounds me, I observe neighbors who have never met one another aide each other in this time of need. I’ve experienced brothers banding together to help one another regain confidence and composure in a time of utter destruction. Pictures of vast losses around town are overshadowed by acts of kindness and compassion. Those without homes are on the front lines aiding those in need and place others before themselves.

I thank God for the opportunity to experience the unconditional love that surrounds me. A time when our community recognizes that we are one and can accomplish so much more together than individually. A time of individuals who normally take care of “Number One” taking care of others before themselves. An opportunity to experience life with others who care about life and the hearts of others over material goods. I thank God for this cultural cleansing.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll hear stories of further death and destruction from Hurricane Ike. I pray that we all come together to support each other in whatever way we can. I pray that each and every one of us take the opportunity to thank God for every blessing in our lives and share those blessings with our neighbors. I pray that God continue to protect us as we rebuild our communities and that God provide us the insight and vision to use this disaster as an opportunity for a community-wide “fresh start.”

If you would like to register for assistance or if you can help in any way through donations or volunteering please visit Ike Assist.

Life:….I once began defining what it means to live…..and how that looks from my vantage point….of course, I was interupted by a storm and so it’s actually kind of odd that I decided to post this here now…..in the middle of a storm-filled day…

Simply put, life is a gift from God. What we do in life is determined through a series of decisions and in some cases (such as my personal engineering/mathematical enhanced mind) via calculations of very complex formulae that attempt to encompass all the possible permutations with the enormous number of variables we encounter each day. The funny (in the sense of interesting/odd and not really funny - laugh) part of all of this is that we develop these methods of evaluation and issue decision making authority to ourselves as independent beings. We do so with the perception that by allowing ourselves the ability to “decide” and make a “choice” we have control over our “fate.”

I guess to some extent this may be true. The thing I have always struggled with is that I was GOOD at making informed and “correct” decisions….for myself. I was even good at giving advice to others and was often relied upon for advice on life…love….and well…an occasional math problem. Being “good” at evaluating the world around me and making the most “appropriate” decision at the time was handy. It allowed me the ability to place myself in the best position for safe and secure advancement. Advancement in my career, advancement in my relationships, and advancement in my ability to….advance. What it also did was allow me to become so self-absorbed in my own capability that I would not…and sadly COULD NOT look outside of my own “noggin” to solve a problem or resolve a situation.

Today…and in all reality a few weeks ago….I’ve decided that I was no longer going to place myself above the world. It’s odd because I used to take offense to the statement that people would make about me…..that I “was too good for everyone else”….and yet here I am today stating the same thing that I apparently couldn’t have been doing because, well I didn’t think so. I write this post today to declare to the world, all my friends, family, and those complete strangers whom I encounter each day that I am here to serve my good Lord: God.

That’s it….Life: a gift from God…….and everything we do…..each and every moment of every day….should be done to glorify the gift of grace from a loving God. I am loved by God…I am a son of God….and I will strive through each breath to live a life of God.

God Bless!

Jason Lang…..now there is a guy who has some exciting and most entertaining of stories….not to mention his innate ability to simply make me go….”huh?!”

Well, it’s been quite some time since I’ve blogged, which I attribute to the lack of internet connection at my home and therefore lack of ability to connect to this outlet……anyway, I’ve decided that Mr. Lang’s existence is important enough for a post but his visitation to the wonderful state of Texas and specifically the Nelson abode warrants an interim post….meaning right now…:)

So…..I just wanted to say that since Mr. Lang arrived in Houston, he has been busy with the many peeps here…..he did take some time to hang out with me at the Houston Roller Derby…..let me just say…what an awesome opportunity to do something rather random and enjoy it with amazing friends….we then travelled around downtown houston admiring the buildings and lights of a night city…..ended up at a place called Frank’s….a pizza joint….where I ordered a bacon cheeseburger….imagine that….:)

Ended off the evening with some martinis at some place I do not recall and taking a nap…only to awaken the next morning for a raring extravaganza at work….

Tonight…a new night….:)