My "Don't Want" List.

So many of us have a "Want List". I want ___ for my birthday. I want ___ for Christmas. I want to be ___ when grow up. I want one of those (cars, houses, shirts, etc and etc)." Now don't get me wrong, I'm not condemning a want list; in fact, I have one of my own (though many material items are not as important to me as they used to be). The list I want to share is a list of don't wants, a list of things and ideas that will benefit me as a person and benefit others as well, a list not just focused on me and things I think will make me happy.

Here's the list, if you have some of your own please tell me and add them as comments. If you have questions, please ask. I encourage each of you to think about this and then create a list of your own don't wants and strive to live that way. Post your list as a comment or email it to me when you finish - joshua.hershberger@gmail.com.

• I don’t want to become so consumed with growing a church that I forget to minister to those God puts in my life.
• I don’t want my personal spiritual walk to be so stagnant that I don’t experience daily spiritual attacks.
• I don’t want to be "so in tune with God" that I can’t hear Him speaking through others.
• I don’t want "achievements" in life (i.e. my college degree) to limit my opportunities and goals in life.
• I don’t want to spend so much time ministering and planning that I don’t take time to pray.
• I don’t want to read so much “essential Christian literature” that I don’t have time to read the Bible.
• I don't want to just live life one day at a time, I want to learn life one day at a time.
• I don’t want (and can't) win the world for Jesus until I am first won over for Jesus.

I'll add to this as I think to, or as you create lists and I notice goals I want to incorporate into my life.

Vote Change and Country First 2008

This video does not promote a candidate specifically, but the choice is
obvious.

This election is crucial. This time we don't just have candidates that are different in thoughts and beliefs, but have candidates that are fundamentally different in thought and belief systems. We see more than just democratic and liberal views from Senator Barrack Hussein Obama, we see extremist views accompanied by eloquent words. While I am not a person to give a litmus test to a candidate, I feel this video focuses on some very important issues. I disagree with Sen. Obama on issues from how to restore this economy to his tax policies that will deceptively oppress ALL Americans, I disagree with his foreign policy and stance on family issues; and if I was a soldier, I would have no doubt that Senator John Sidney McCain III would make the best military leader because of his experience and vested interest in America's future. I make no qualm about it, I may have the right to a secret ballet, but I am proud to vote Country First - McCain/Palin 2008.

(Update 11/13/08 - this video was removed from the web so it can no longer appear on my blog. I voted McCain/Palin as I promised, but will support and respect our new leader, Barrack Obama.)

The perfect question to provoke thought just got better.

I like shock value and treasure honesty. I like things that make you stop and go, "Oh, life has a point and purpose and am I trying so hard to live I forget about it?" Since I like this, I enjoy being able to provoke thought within others and cause them to think beyond themselves. Recently, I have out of the blue been asking people, "What is the most important thing in your life?" This was my 'one phrase way' of getting people to really think and share about things deeper and significant in life.

When answered honestly, myself included, the answer generally comes with some self-questioning like, "Should this really be what is most important?" Within my Christian circle especially, the answer is always along the lines of "God", or "My relationship with God" or "Sharing my faith with others" etc. etc. I have even heard, "You mean, after God" implying that God is the obvious answer and in an unintentional way, discrediting the question.

God being number one is great and many people really believe that this is the most important thing in their lives, but I would like everyone to start asking themselves another question. "If my life was studied, what would appear to be the most important thing in my life?" A personal example is I really believe and can say with full integrity that my relationship with Jesus Christ is the most important thing in my life; but I need to ask myself what about my life really demonstrates and illustrates my answer - what proof and evidence do I have. If you review my daily routine and look over my life, I fear that maybe the conclusion isn't the same as what comes out my mouth. Once I have reached this level of honesty I need to ask, "What changes do I need to make to put what I need to be number one, actually number one?"

I challenge you to ask yourself the above questions and strive daily to live a life of integrity. This includes being honest to yourself because it's easiest to believe lies we create or want to be true.


"If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" - many people

A "Top 10" you will never see on Letterman... guaranteed.

I received this email today and after verifying the facts, I felt this was something we need to know and think about. After reading the facts, please refer to the related article for I which I have provided a link.

Top people you won't see endorsing the publicity of this information.

WHAT THE TOP TEN CITIES WITH THE HIGHEST POVERTY RATE HAVE IN COMMON...

Detroit , MI (1st on the poverty rate list) Democratic Mayor since 1961;

Buffalo, NY (2nd) Democratic Mayor since 1954;

Cincinnati , OH (3rd)...Democratic Mayor since 1984;

Cleveland , OH (4th)...Democratic Mayor since 1989;

Miami , FL (5th) has never had a Republican mayor;

St. Louis , MO (6th)....Democratic Mayor since 1949;

El Paso , TX (7th) has never had a Republican mayor;

Milwaukee , WI (8th)...Democratic Mayor since 1908;

Philadelphia , PA (9th)...Democratic Mayor since 1952;

Newark , NJ (10th)...Democratic Mayor since 1907.


It seems it is the disadvantaged who habitually elect Democrats --- yet are still disadvantaged.

Einstein once said, 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.'

For a great article related to this post, click here.

When a life dedicated to escaping greed is a failure.

It has been a good while since I blogged. This is partly because I was gone and living in the hills of Honduras on mission. A mission about connecting with the people we lived with and sharing the news of Jesus Christ. Another reason I have been on this hiatus is because I haven't had any revelations or thoughts worth blogging about; not even a pointless story to share. And to be honest, the last few weeks have been a time of rest and relaxation that was needed after being on the go for a year now; however, now my time of rest has concluded because it started to turn into laziness and idleness which is not the rest I seek. And now to the topic of my blog.

I watched a movie a few nights ago. This wasn't just any movie to watch in a mindless sense of having nothing else to do, the movie was based on a true story over the post-college life of a man named, Christopher McCandless. Christopher, who we come to know as "Alexander Supertramp", was a revolutionary thinker, a man who sought truth and wholeness in life, a man that we all can and should learn from. This wasn't and will not turn into a film review, but will simply consist of a few thoughts that I have been inspired with since watching Christopher's journey.

While many people choose not to live this way, it seems so popular and edgy these days to "become your own person", "do it your way", be "independent". A popular thing to do is "discover yourself" and people view it as noble to say "Screw you!" to society as we know it, drop what we have, abandon material wealth, and discover truth. Christopher tried to do this, he could have gone to Harvard Law and graduate debt free, but he left all he knew, his family, his money, anything he couldn't fit in a backpack. Most shocking of all, he left his identity and birthed a new person set to do thing his way and to discover truth in a journey dubbed, "Into the Wild".

My thoughts:

With all Christopher did and as noble as it was to leave behind wealth and a bright future by worldly standards, I believe Christopher became the person in society he was trying to avoid. At the root of materialism and greed is "self", and as Christopher abandoned his family and tried to become one with nature and make the road his home, he embraced the culture of "self". While noble and exciting, Christopher understood just before he died, "Happiness is only real when shared".

As a Christian, I also need to base the success and failure of a life on whether or not a person served Christ, and not on whether or not they became fiercely independent. While a post modern thinker could watch this movie and be in awe of this person who discovered great truth and became their own person, living and embodying adventure and passionately seeking truth; the fact remains that unless I missed something major or a person has a skewed opinion of what is to be a Christian, Christopher never engaged in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That is to say, his soul now exists with that of any other greedy member of society that sought only to live in the largest house, drive the best of flagship cars, and have the most "stuff" - devoid of Christ and His marvelous grace. It's not nice to say and we dance around saying a soul is in Hell because it seems all too harsh; however, it's true - and isn't that what we seek. I hate to say it, but while we may learn a lot from Christopher and while he may have lived the adventure of adventures, I believe his life was a failure.

So what life lesson can these insights teach us and what positives can we take from Christopher's view on life? I believe we must live a life that is different from what society says, we need to embrace the blessings the Lord has given, but at the same time understand how unfulfilling and futile chasing materialism really is. Whether a person is living for materialism can really only be determined by that individual, but it is everywhere and is part of culture, every culture, just in different ways. We must live our lives to first honor Christ and second help others reach the same point. We must also believe and obey the greatest commandments as stated by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-39. First to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." And second to "Love your neighbor as yourself."

If we do this, we cannot fail to fulfill our purpose on earth and bear fruit for the Kingdom at the same time we discover that true happiness must be shared with others.

"... nothing is easier than saying words and nothing more difficult than living them day after day."

The title of this blog is not my own, rather that of the author I mention below.

I always enjoy reading Ken Abell's perspectives that can be found in his writings, but this article was especially an enjoyable and meaningful read to me. I don't know anything about being married and do not claim to hold a vast knowledge base on love; however, I have a feeling Ken knows a thing or two and hit it right on the head in this article titled, "Love is a neverending story".

If this possum was playing dead, it's now trying to eat it's way out of a trash bag.

As I began to ascend the bank behind the push mower, thankfully self-propelled, I heard a loud "POP". "What happened?", I asked myself; though I knew I was asking myself this question just to postpone the horrific news I knew I was about to discover. I turned around to see a garbage truck fleeing the scene and ten feet behind, the entrails of a large possum strewn about the road. The large possum was still present as well, but the furry body was no longer the swarming point of the Musca domestica (common housefly), they had moved to the exposed intestines.

Upon arrival that morning to cut the lawn at my father's office, I had noticed a presumably dead possum on the road. I had no desire to touch it then even though it showed only minor signs of outward trauma. After this incident (I can't guarantee accident know what I would have done as the truck driver) I thought, "I feel bad for whoever has to clean that up." Well, guess what I was asked to do next? Yep - you probably guessed it unless you're a moron. I'd like to give a special thanks to garbage bags, flat shovels, and Kidron Auction for the livestock dump area in which this possum joined several small goats. Also, I'd like to thank a bluegrass band called, "The Possum Boys" for selling me a shirt back in November 2007 - this gave me appropriate attire to wear this evening and I truly feel part of the group.