How We Live
Over the past few months, I've found myself coming across songs new to me that I keep playing over and over again. That's something that I tend to do - find a song I like and keep playing it over. At one point, this was "I'm Blue" by Eiffel 65 and more recently it was songs from La La Land. Now though, the song "How You Live" by Point of Grace has been at the top of the list.
The song "How You Live" is about, well, the importance of how we live. A lot of the lyrics talk about doing small things like using good dishes, seeing our folks more than just Thanksgiving and Christmas, or going to ball games. As someone who's a fan of the small things in life, it probably comes as no surprise that I enjoy this song. The chorus talks about take chance, a sentiment the legendary teacher Ms. Frizzle would love. Her catchphrase, of course, was "Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy". The chorus then goes on to say that when we look back on where we've been, we're not going to regret taking those chances (and inevitably making those mistakes). The last part of the chorus says that it's not about what we do or who we know, but it's about how we live.
The way that we live matters. There are times in our lives where we may be alive, but are not truly living. These past two weeks, I've found myself feeling that way at times, that I'm alive but not truly living. Just about everyone can probably relate to that, going through seasons where one feels like one's "going through the motions" and not truly living. And that can be hard to deal with or get out off. The important thing to remember is that we live our lives to our fullest and not let time or life pass us by. And that starts with how we live.
This week, one of the daily verses on my Bible app was from 1 Corinthians 13. Now, 1 Corinthians 13 is famously known as the Love chapter, where Paul writes about what love is (patient, kind, and so on). However, the specific verse was before Paul talks about what love is and more about why love is important. 1 Corinthians 13:2 says "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing" (NIV). In the verses before and after that, Paul mentions that he could give away all of his possessions or speak in the voices of men and angels, but that if he didn't have love, none of it would matter.
Those first few verses have resonated with me because it applies to our own lives. We could be the best at our profession, do and say all of the right things, or be the most generous person out there, but if we don't have love, none of it matters. This also resonates with me in part of that song, that it's not about what we do, but about how we live. If we live without love, we're nothing. That's a pretty convicting thing to think about. That said, when we consider that God is love and that we are nothing without God, it does make sense to say that without love, we are nothing.
Last week, former U.S. President George H.W. Bush passed away. In the midst of tributes and eulogies for him, one thing that stood out to me was how people focused less on his politics and more on his character and the man that he was. There's a quote from Maya Angelou that mentions people will always remember how you made them feel. We may not always remember what someone did or said, but we'll remember how they made us feel.
In our lives, the most important titles we'll hold will come from God, from family, from our friends. Our family and friends are the ones who we can have the biggest impact on - and in addition to God, they are the ones that will have the biggest impact on our lives. That said, title such as doctor or teacher are pretty important ones in themselves, as they make a direct impact on others' lives themselves. How we live and treat others - especially those close to us - matters.
When it does come to how we live, there is one thing that we shouldn't lose sight of: having fun. I think sometimes people get so caught up in the busyness of life that they sometimes forget to have fun. This also applies to taking chances. When life presents you with opportunities, take them. Windows of opportunity have a way of closing faster than you think. When I fondly look back on last year, I think about some of the chances I took, chances that started with moving to Houston or going to a new church. Or when I think about having fun, I think about going to Comicpalooza or to Idaho. Those are the types of things I'm going to remember 10 years from now. It's also something for me to keep in mind as I look to planning future trips down the road (here's a looking at you, Alaska).
At the end of the day though, what matters less is the specific things that we do and more how we're living. I've found that at the end of the day, whatever you do is what you make of it - and that includes taking trips. That's why it is important that we have fun along the way. It's what can make the most minute of tasks the most enjoyable or what can turn TJ Maxx from an off-price retailer to an inside joke with friends. That's how we live.
To close, I'm reminded by a Grantland Rice poem. In his poem "Alumnus Football", he closes by saying that when "the One Great Scorer comes," it's not about whether we won or lost, but about "How You Played the Game". In life, like sports, sometimes we spend so much getting caught up in details like winning/losing or what we did that we forget that what ultimately matters is how we played the game and how we lived. Now if you'll excuse, I'm headed to YouTube to listen to a certain Point of Grace song a few times over. That's just how I live.
The song "How You Live" is about, well, the importance of how we live. A lot of the lyrics talk about doing small things like using good dishes, seeing our folks more than just Thanksgiving and Christmas, or going to ball games. As someone who's a fan of the small things in life, it probably comes as no surprise that I enjoy this song. The chorus talks about take chance, a sentiment the legendary teacher Ms. Frizzle would love. Her catchphrase, of course, was "Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy". The chorus then goes on to say that when we look back on where we've been, we're not going to regret taking those chances (and inevitably making those mistakes). The last part of the chorus says that it's not about what we do or who we know, but it's about how we live.
The way that we live matters. There are times in our lives where we may be alive, but are not truly living. These past two weeks, I've found myself feeling that way at times, that I'm alive but not truly living. Just about everyone can probably relate to that, going through seasons where one feels like one's "going through the motions" and not truly living. And that can be hard to deal with or get out off. The important thing to remember is that we live our lives to our fullest and not let time or life pass us by. And that starts with how we live.
This week, one of the daily verses on my Bible app was from 1 Corinthians 13. Now, 1 Corinthians 13 is famously known as the Love chapter, where Paul writes about what love is (patient, kind, and so on). However, the specific verse was before Paul talks about what love is and more about why love is important. 1 Corinthians 13:2 says "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing" (NIV). In the verses before and after that, Paul mentions that he could give away all of his possessions or speak in the voices of men and angels, but that if he didn't have love, none of it would matter.
Those first few verses have resonated with me because it applies to our own lives. We could be the best at our profession, do and say all of the right things, or be the most generous person out there, but if we don't have love, none of it matters. This also resonates with me in part of that song, that it's not about what we do, but about how we live. If we live without love, we're nothing. That's a pretty convicting thing to think about. That said, when we consider that God is love and that we are nothing without God, it does make sense to say that without love, we are nothing.
Last week, former U.S. President George H.W. Bush passed away. In the midst of tributes and eulogies for him, one thing that stood out to me was how people focused less on his politics and more on his character and the man that he was. There's a quote from Maya Angelou that mentions people will always remember how you made them feel. We may not always remember what someone did or said, but we'll remember how they made us feel.
In our lives, the most important titles we'll hold will come from God, from family, from our friends. Our family and friends are the ones who we can have the biggest impact on - and in addition to God, they are the ones that will have the biggest impact on our lives. That said, title such as doctor or teacher are pretty important ones in themselves, as they make a direct impact on others' lives themselves. How we live and treat others - especially those close to us - matters.
When it does come to how we live, there is one thing that we shouldn't lose sight of: having fun. I think sometimes people get so caught up in the busyness of life that they sometimes forget to have fun. This also applies to taking chances. When life presents you with opportunities, take them. Windows of opportunity have a way of closing faster than you think. When I fondly look back on last year, I think about some of the chances I took, chances that started with moving to Houston or going to a new church. Or when I think about having fun, I think about going to Comicpalooza or to Idaho. Those are the types of things I'm going to remember 10 years from now. It's also something for me to keep in mind as I look to planning future trips down the road (here's a looking at you, Alaska).
At the end of the day though, what matters less is the specific things that we do and more how we're living. I've found that at the end of the day, whatever you do is what you make of it - and that includes taking trips. That's why it is important that we have fun along the way. It's what can make the most minute of tasks the most enjoyable or what can turn TJ Maxx from an off-price retailer to an inside joke with friends. That's how we live.
To close, I'm reminded by a Grantland Rice poem. In his poem "Alumnus Football", he closes by saying that when "the One Great Scorer comes," it's not about whether we won or lost, but about "How You Played the Game". In life, like sports, sometimes we spend so much getting caught up in details like winning/losing or what we did that we forget that what ultimately matters is how we played the game and how we lived. Now if you'll excuse, I'm headed to YouTube to listen to a certain Point of Grace song a few times over. That's just how I live.
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