The Fifth Idea: The Parable of the House

There once was a man who wanted to buy a house. So, this man made a list of all the things he wanted in a house. He made a list of wants, needs, and then he made a budget.
On a certain day the man went out to look at houses. As he looked he walked through many halls, rooms, doors, pantries, garages, and beautiful backyards, but nothing he saw in his budget made him feel as though he would be completely happy. None of them fulfilled his needs and wants good enough to call the house a home. Then, he came upon 1110 Mountain street. It was the perfect size, the perfect space, the perfect floor plan, and the imperfect price.
As soon as he heard the cost he drew back. It was far out of his budget. If he wanted to buy this house he would have to work for at least another two months for the down payment. He decided to contact the owner of the house to see what he could do.
When they met he inquired how long the house had been on the market, and the owner replied a little over two weeks. This time frame was not enough to tell the man whether or not there would be other people that would buy the house in the time he was working, but he didn't dare ask the owner if other people were interested in the house as well. He was trying his best to be aloof to see if he could get the price lower. The man liked the house, but it was a lot to sacrifice to get the promise of being able to buy it when he was ready.
The owner informed the man that in three weeks the house would be pulled off the market for remodeling, but that the sign would remain in the yard. He also informed the buyer that if someone was interested in the house and could provide the owner with a contract and promise to buy that as soon as the remodeling was over he would sell it. The man weighed his options. If he promised the man now that he would buy the house then he wouldn't be able to get the price any lower, but if he could work and wait until the remodeling was complete he could pay when he believed he would be ready and move in right away. There was also the problem that someone else would be interested in the home as well and make an offer better and more solid than his.
So, what will he do? Will he simply wait? Will he make his promise to buy? Will he lose his house? We don't know.


This parable has no ending right now. It has yet to be made, but you can imagine the many ways it could end. In each ending a different lesson can be learned, and in each ending the fate of the seller and the buyer change. In some endings the seller is satisfied and has a good promise his house will be sold, and in others the seller must wait without promise or security that his house will be sold. In some endings the buyer will acquire his house, and in others it will be lost.
Because this is a parable I'll let you discover everything you could learn, but I will say this: With all things in life, we don't have it until we have it. Waiting is good, but don't wait too long to do or get the things you want. No matter what everyone else does or what anyone else says, you should do what's best for you. And if you want to wait think about what it is you are sacrificing and weigh that. Remember, sacrifice is giving up something good for something better, but if you give up the good thing and never get the better then all you've done is give up.

The Fourth Idea: "Be strong and of good courage."

As we read through the bible a sentence often shows up in Joshua as the Lord speaks with his servant about how to bring his people into the land he promised them. "Be strong and of good courage." Courage is of course, a great value to have and it often goes along with strength. So this apparent admonition to be courageous and strong is just that. Or could there possibly be more to one sentence than we have let ourselves become used to seeing?

If you look at the wording of the sentence you discover very important things. (Note: No word in the correctly translated Bible should be overlooked. Every word is there for a reason!)
The first word we encounter in this phrase is "be". The word "be" here can, and in my opinion, does imply that the following words are to become part of who you are. 'Being' means it is ingrained into every fiber of your character.
The word that immediately follows "be" is "strong". There's not much to say for this word that probably hasn't already been said. I can say though that strength is as good a spiritual quality as it is mental or physical, even more so than the latter. Not to forget though, the kind of strength the Lord is commanding Joshua (and in turn, us) to have encompasses all 3, but when thinking of how we are to "be strong" the Lord was probably referring to a more constant state if strength. That is, the strength of our spirit and mind. When we are spiritually and mentally strong we are prepared for any challenges and can face the ones that come.
Next is the word "And". We all probably know what the word "and" means, but keep in mind that this is combining two ideas. We must "Be strong" and "Of good courage." This means that we must be both.
With this in mind, we will move on to the next word. "Of" is a word that has a similar meaning with "Be" it means that that is what makes up who we are. When we are "Of" a certain nature it means that all of our actions flow from that nature. The definition of the word is 'expressing the relationship between a part and a whole'. Meaning, when we are 'of' something, it is a part of us, it makes up who we are.
Now lets see the kind of people Heavenly Father wants us to be. The next word is "Good." "Good" morally defined is "That which is morally right; righteous." Which here is very self explanatory. Now let's see it in relation to the last word.
"Courage" means we have the strength to do things that we are afraid of. It does not mean we are devoid of fear, but that we face the things we fear. Now what about the relationship between "Good" and "Courage"? What if the Lord was not only telling us to face our fears, but to face them in a good way.
How many of us face out fears, but choose to face the wrong fears, the wrong way, or with the wrong priorities? When we choose to face the challenges of life God wants us to be "Of good courage." He wants us to face our fears and trials the way Christ would. Think about the brilliant, perfect example of courage is Christ. He did the right thing, in the right way, always. The reason Christ had the power to be who he is and live the way he did is because he had the constant support and confidence of our Heavenly Father.
To put it into our newly discovered translation: We must be living in such a way that strength and courage are ingrained so fervently in our souls that the choices we make are made the way Christ would make them, with confidence in our Father in Heaven and in His power.

My dear friends: Be strong, and of good courage.

The Third Idea: Digging Through a Mountain

I'd like you all for a moment to imagine that you are standing in front of a mountain. Its tall, but you could climb it if you wanted, but who knows how many miles it is across in either direction. Trees cover the face of the mountain and streams and lakes decorate various areas. Its beautiful indeed. You could probably stay on this mountain forever, just having fun and doing what you want, but something is compelling you otherwise. Its probably the shovel in your hand. 

For some strange reason, you must be intending to dig through this mountain. 

What sane person digs through a mountain?!

Well, what if this mountain has gold? Diamonds? Rubies? Emeralds? Sapphires? The list is as endless as the mountain itself. The treasures within the mountain upon which you stand are relatively limitless, but it seems to you that you are only one of the people that knows about it. Of course, the only problem is that in order to get to the treasures you have to dig all the way to the center of the mountain and in order to obtain all of those treasures there must be another person with you. And some of those treasures can only be obtained when a man and a woman work together to obtain them. 

There are lots of people on this mountain, some with radio sets, some with hiking boots, some are headed back down the mountain, most of the people on the mountain seem to be there only to enjoy the fun for a moment and then as time passes sink back down the mountain to do whatever they think may please them, and yet as you look you can see that a few of the people on the mountain are holding, yes that right, shovels.  As you look closer you notice that all the people on this side of the mountain are the same gender as you. It seems that one half of the mountain can only hold girls, and the other only boys. There is nowhere to meet except the middle of the mountain, whether to climb to the top and meet there, or to do as you know you should. Dig to the middle, because it won't matter if you meet them at the top, you won't gain anything that way. The mountain and all its treasures will still be beneath you and you will be no happier than when you started.

When you came to this mountain you knew that on the other side you had a friend who knew about the treasures that run deep in the veins of the rock. Well there you go! You think. All you must do is dig to the middle of the mountain and meet your friend there, then you can attain all the treasures promised when you reach your goal. 

You have many friends on the other side of the mountain, of course, and many of them want to dig to the center as you, but you are certain that they will not dig to the same spot as you. If you want to get to the center of the mountain you must dig with someone who will meet you in the middle. In faith in your friend you begin to dig where it feels right.  

Digging a mountain is hard. Its dark, and cold sometimes. In the darkness of the cave you are digging its easy to doubt yourself. Should you really be digging here? What if your friend doesn't dig to the same spot? What if your friend digs too slow and doesn't put in as much effort as you? What if you get to the middle and they aren't there? What if you wait for hours and hours upon months and months and they never come? What if all this digging was a waste? What if you have to go back on all your hard work and start a new tunnel to meet someone else? 

Yes in the darkness of your tunnel the voices of doubt can be heard loud and clear. Honestly you don't even know how long it will take you to dig through this mountain. You don't know a lot of things, but since you started you have decided to finish. Every once in a while you shout with all your might to your friend who you hope to meet in hopes that they will hear you and continue to dig as you are, and sometimes, you hear them shout back.

So you dig. You dig with all your might and heart. And while you dig you hear the voice of the owner of the mountain, he's telling you to dig on. The owner of the mountain sees everything. He knows who's digging where and if they'll meet. He can see you grow in strength and faith as you dig your tunnel. He made the mountain this way. The owner of the mountain can see you fall, he can see you try, and he wants you to get up and continue. That way, when you meet your friend in the middle of his mountain you are both worthy of those treasures he promised you.
Everyone will have a different experience digging their tunnels. Some may know exactly who they are digging to meet, some may not have a clue but dig and hope that somewhere along the way they are guided to that person, some may change the course of their tunnel as they dig, and others may stay on a straight course the entire time. Either way, where you go and how you get there is really up to you, but faith and trust in the owner of the mountain will lead you where its best to go and on the path that will help you the most.

Guys, there are many treasures that await us as we dig our way through the mountain. If we only meet at the top we wont ever get those treasures we could have obtained. The mountain is meant to be dug, not just observed, or played on, or hiked. Those treasures are for you! Go get them! No matter how long or dark the tunnel may seem, it will all be worth it if you can continue to dig.

The second idea: A downhill run

We've all had those moments running down a hill. We start out slow and steady, but somehow our legs get ahead of themselves and carry us farther and faster than we originally anticipated. Sometimes we have the strength and ability to continue running with the momentum until we reach the bottom, safe and sound. While other times the speed at which we are running is too much for the rest of our bodies to balance and we fall. We may get a small scrape, or maybe even break a bone. In any case, when someone runs down the hill its something they can't lightly stop.
Now when we run down a hill we have more control over ourselves than probably those watching us. We move our legs, we control our arms, and we are responsible for the outcome. Just as we cannot receive assistance from the outside, when we see someone start their downhill run we too cannot assist. When we see a child start his or her downhill run there isn't much we can do about it. We know we want them to get to the bottom because that is the destination, but we cannot help them get there safely because they've already started.
So it is with out choices. Often when we make a choice that has a big impact on our future it is like starting down the hill. Once we've made that choice going back on it is not an easy thing in most cases, and trying to stop in our downhill run will most likely result in a fall. We have to follow our choice to the end, and whether we trip and fall depends on the choice we made when we started down. We chose the path to take down the hill. We chose where we would end up when you got to the bottom. And even then, when we run so fast down a long hill our directions may unknowingly change and gravity will take us to a different place than we had anticipated, but we must get to the bottom nonetheless.
There will be holes in our hills. On top of our already difficult run there will be objects placed along the way. We may stumble at times, we may even fall, and at that point it is up to us to get up and keep running. Then, when we see those obstacles again on our next downhill run we know how to avoid them, we can identify them, and in the end those obstacles have trained us. Our downhill runs will not be easy, just as a muscle is not strengthened without first feeling the pains of growth. But through that pain, we will grow. We will become better.
There are many people who love us watching us start down the hill. They see the bottom as we do, they know we will get there, but they don't  know if we will end up hurting ourselves along the way. They can cheer from the sidelines and encourage us to keep going. Their love and support will often help us to keep going when we feel as though we may not have the energy to finish. And with all their love and support, most often times once we start going they cannot carry us to the end.
On the other side, away from those who truly love us, there will be those that stand and mock as you run. They will tell you to give up, or that you could never have made it in the first place, that you were destined to fall as soon as you began. Those voices will always be there, some of those voices may even come from ourselves. So often our enemies come directly from within us. Our doubts, our fears, and our worries will cause us to second guess ourselves in the most critical moments. Those are the voices most difficult to overcome.
There is a destination and we will make it to that destination. If we get up when we fall, if we run when we are weak, if we stand when we finish we will make it. We can finish strong and understand the purpose of our obstacles. When we look back at that hill the distance will seem small, the potholes funny, and the doubts will fly because we made it to the bottom. That choice that we made will have come to its conclusion and we will stand strong ready to look ahead to the next choice we make, ready to again run downhill.

The first idea

What is an exceptional idea? To be precise it would be an idea that is 'to a greater degree than normal, unusual' as defined by who knows what. So what are my exceptional ideas? What are the ideas that are greater, or more unusual than the rest of the ideas? My exceptional ideas are to be woven in and throughout all of blog posts and they are ideas that I will not lightly disclose, for what is an exceptional idea if not discovered by everyone that comes upon it? As it is, without coming upon things you could never really discover them.
.
So I'll let you discover the idea.
Until then, I will tell you that I have had a whirlwind of a life these past few years. This past one in particular. I was born and raised on the West coast, and then as of last October suddenly, and quite honestly not welcomed readily, dropped into the middle of who knows where doing who knows what on the other side of the country in an otherwise completely inconsequential to my life place that I before had little to no affiliations with.
And that ladies and gentlemen, is North Carolina.
I tend to pride myself on being a rather reasonable person. I do my best to be logical, but also spiritual when it comes to where I am and what I'm doing. So naturally I followed my parents and their inspiration from God and moved here. But I will tell you one thing: I have never in my life been so confused, upset, lonely, angry, or detached as I was in those first few months of being here.
I cannot tell you how often in the beginning I should have prayed and asked why. Not "Why is this awful thing happening?", but "Why am I here? What is it you need me to do?" Those first few months would have been devoid of so much more heartache and sadness if I had done as Christ would have and immediately gone to my Father in Heaven and asked Him for what purpose I was sent here.
There is a purpose. A very big one. I myself have yet to discover the magnitude of the change this move has brought to not only myself and my family, but to the lives of every single person I meet here. I will not in this mortal frame ever be able to comprehend the impact I will have here. And its taken me some time to understand that.
There are many questions we need to ask. Questions mean curiosity, they mean a search for answers. When we ask a sincere question with good intent we open our hearts to learn. Questions are to be asked selflessly. We cannot seek knowledge, truth and enlightenment which will lead us to change if we are to stubborn to listen and obey when we get the answer. There are questions that every person reading this right now needs to ask.  They need to ask themselves, and they need to ask God. Looking for the question is the first step to finding happiness where you stand right now.
Too often will we miss those opportunities for our growth and benefit if we fail to ask the questions. So ask away ladies and gentlemen.
Ask away.