I am stink'n Tired!

After many a phone call last night (the longest being my mother for around 1 hour) and many changes to my pack I finally went to sleep at approx. 6 am. I hate alarm clocks! More specifically, I hate phones that have the alarm clock function. Even more specifically, I hate phones with the alarm clock function which ring at 8:05 am and confuse the crap out of you because you can't figure out why the alarm keeps going off when you just turned it off 30 seconds ago and you never come to fully realize that the alarm is indeed not going off but rather someone is calling you, a someone who is about to receive an angered, confused answer from someone who doesn't want to be awake or confused.

I say stupid stuff in the morning. I make run-on sentences too.

As I prepare to enter the freezing Himalayas I leace you with this stupid question.

If you shot a penguine, say, in the face...would it bleed blue?

This is not a trick question! This is just the poopy sentences that come into your head when you are awake after 1 hour of sleep in Hong Kong where for most of the night you were snuff'n fumes because of the poo-lution that was seeping through the open windows along with the noise of all ages accumulated into one single sound. I digress

Himalayas here I come!

Thought of the Day- 14 February 2007

Business Cards

I am leaving for Mainland China tomorrow. Faith. We are going to attempt to get a train, one that will take us on a 26 hour ride (you hear that Bryce? A whole day in a train!), from one of the busiest cities in China, during Chinese New Year! Good Luck Me.

We are going to go to Lijiang where some of my favorite people in the world live and maybe catch a ride up into the border towns of Tibet. Our guide of choice? Lonely Planet, of course! Only problem is I forgot my LP at home so I had to buy another one. Price? Around 35-40 dollars...ughghghg! That is like 3 days in China!

Of course I just can't go into a store and buy what I went in to buy, so I purchased two other books (a bit less of a price than LP) on advertising and business tips. One of the books is quite funny and has some good advice that I am going implement right now. The book illustrates the importance of seeing yourself as you want others to see you. The author gives an example through business cards.

Here is "that-guys" card

Bob Jones

Gas Pump Attendant

~

Now, the other guys

Bob Jones

Gas Distributor and Technician

~

Bob Jones #2 sounds like the real deal!

Another Example:

Jim Johnson

Architect

~

Jim B. Johnson

Architect(s)

Using this format let me present my business card.

~

Brandon Kightlinger

Broke College Student, Professional Dreamer, Girl Scare-er,

Excessive Sweater, Raptor Toe Extraordinaire

~

Brandon T. Kightlinger

World Leader and Dreamer

Founder and President of Inhale International Inc.

~

I like #2 a little better!

~

I will try to update a couple of times while in Mainland.

Please be praying that we have safe travels and that we can gain access to Tibet. Thanks

~

More than Business

Thought of the Day- 13 February 2007

Valentines Day...

We're not going to talk about Valentine's Day, okay! We are going to talk about failure.

First, computer failure. I am currently in the computer lab at school because the Internet on my computer is not working (hence, no blog yesterday). This makes for an interesting scenario because all the screen tabs are in Chinese! Speaking of Chinese

Second, I bombed my Mandarin test today! Holy Smokes it was bad. Failure! Speaking of Failure

I don't really care about failure anymore. It doesn't scare me. It does however, make me really mad! I am a mature man practically ready to be completely independent...except for the you-have-to-buy-your-own-crap clause that comes with independence, of course. I mean, there comes a point in life when you pick your battles. You deem what you will invest your life in, what classes you will take seriously, which girls you are gonna let walk all over you because they're hot, etc. You are all smart people; you know what I am talking about.

When failure really hurts though is when you fail at something you are willing to invest your life in. That is why today's Mandarin test hurt so bad. Granted, I didn't really study (I have alot of excuses though...don't judge me!), but I still could have done better than what I did. It was all Chinese to me! Seriously though, I really want to learn Chinese! I don't completely know what my future holds but I know that the Chinese people will be a part of it. I know that I have brothers and sisters in China that I have never been able to talk to because we speak different languages. I want to learn from them. I want to hear their stories. On top of this though...I want to understand what they are teaching and their stories!

Failure Stinks!

Redemption is approaching though....can I get a "Mid-term" anybody!?

Chinese Class, Valentines Day, Flower Market...Life goes on

For those of you who don't have a Valentine,

"Will you be my Valentine?"

Thought of the Day- 11 February 2007

Minority Report
by: Jay-Z

This is a song I heard the other day and I must say it is really good. Here are the verses.

*Note: There are some explicit words in this song. I have highlighted these in red and have placed an alternative word next to them in [] so that, if reading to children, you can "Disney" it down for them. Seek Justice!

(Verse 1 Jay-Z)
people was poor before the hurricane came
but the down pour poured is like when mary j. sang
every day it rains, so every day the pain
but ignored them, and showed em the risk was to blame
for life is a chain, cause and effected
niggas [people] off the chain because they affected
it's a dirty game so whatever is effective
from weed to selling kane, gotta put that in effect
wouldn't you loot, if you didn't have the loot?
baby needed food and you stuck on the roof
helicopter swooped down just to get a scoop
through his telescopic lens but he didn't scoop you
the next five days, no help ensued
they called you a refugee because you seek refuge
the commander-in-chief just flew by
did he stop? no, he had a couple seats
just proved jet blue he's not
jet flew by the spot
what if he ran out of jet fuel and just dropped
hu,that woulda been something to watch
helicopters doing fly-bys to take a couple of shots
couple of portraits then ignored 'em
he'd be just another bush surrounded by a couple orchids
poor kids just 'cause they were poor kids
left 'em on they porches same old story in new orleans
silly rappers, because we got a couple porches
mtv stopped by to film our fortresses
we forget the unfortunate
sure i ponied up a mill, but i didn't give my time
so in reality i didn't give a dime, or a damn [darn]
i just put my monies in the hands of the same people that left my people stranded
nothin' but a bandit left them folks abandoned
damn [Man], that money that we gave was just a band-aid
can't say we better off than we was before
in synopsis this is my minority report
can't say we better off than we was before
in synopsis this is my minority report

(Verse 2 - ne-yo)
so many times i'm, covering my eyes
peeking through my fingers
tryin' to hide my, frustration at the way that we treat
(seems like we don't even care)
turn on the tv, seein' the pain
sayin' such a shame then tryin' to go on with my life
of that, i too, am guilty
(seems like we don't even care)
so we send a lil' money, tell 'em it's alright
to be able to sleep at night
you will pay that price
while some of these folks' lost their whole life
(seems like we don't even care)
now it wasn't on the nightly news no more
suddenly it didn't matter to you no more
in the end almost nothing changed
what the hell [heck], what was that for?
(seems like we don't even care)

No matter the political stance you hold or your opinion of the President...look at the deeper message of this song. What are we doing to seek justice? Injustice is everywhere. People are dying everywhere. You are needed everywhere! Why not act where you are? I am not talking about your money, although it is important, I am talking about you!

Your life is a treasure...give it away.

Thought of the Day- 10 February 2007

4 Hours

I went to a chinese church with a local girl from HKBU today. I was really suprised because it was all teenagers and college students...their adult church meets at another location on Sunday mornings. It was all in Cantonese (that is not english!) except for two of the worship songs which were in english. Knees to the ground, hands lifted high, cries unto God, a beautiful thing!

I had a revelation today....languages are amazing! After they got through the english songs they played Hillsongs' Worthy is the Lamb in Mandarine. It was during this time of mandarine language song that I found God worthy worship. While the church sung unto God in mandarine I joined the chorus in heavenly bliss, in English. At that moment the nations came to peace, the peoples found their purpose, and our God smiled. A beautiful song!

Revelation 7:9
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from ever nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb....

A beautiful thing

A beautiful song

A beautiful sight

A Beautiful Church

No my Love! The Honor is all mine!

Thought of the Day- 9 February 2007

Love

So I am totally on this love kick! My whole life I have heard people say that they have "fallen into love" and that they "love pizza". Personally nothing good has ever come about from me falling, and come on, pizza isn't that good! In fact, I fell off a 50 ft cliff before and all it got me was a demolished, grotesque knee and a sweet scar....not a babe! In fact (again), it wasn't until recently that I found out that "all the girls liked me" in 5th grade, the year I fell off the cliff. If I would have known that I would haved milked that injury for all it was worth...Brandon would have been getting some kisses for sure!

Moving along.

In all honesty and seriousness, I am pursuing love. What does it mean to love? What does it "feel" like to love someone. How do you know if you genuinely love someone or if you are just saying you do? How can I live a life focused on love? Why do we tell people we love them?...shouldn't we be asking them if we love them?

So my mom sent me this excerpt from a book today and I think that every Christian should have the opportunity to read it. I hope you like it.

The Language of Love
by: Graham Cooke

Jesus Christ: Treasure hunter

Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke to the treasure God had deposited in people. He even blessed the spiritual treasure people themselves did not realize they had. Jesus once met a crooked tax collector named Zacchaeus. Not once did Jesus reveal the man's sin. All He did was bless him and honor him. Humbled, Zacchaeus knew what to do: "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold" (Luke 19:8) The man simply stopped cheating others, signed away half of his possessions and made a contract with heaven to restore what he had previously stolen. "I robbed you of a hundred dollars; here's four hundred back" That is God at work in one of His special treasures.

God has placed His fingerprint in the people around us, and we need to speak to that spiritual treasure. In Johns gospel we read that the disciple Philip brought his brother, Nathanael, to meet Jesus. Nathanael was at first skeptical: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" he asked. But when he finally met Jesus, the Lord spoke to the treasure in him: "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!" Jesus said, noting prophetically that He had seen Nathanael sitting under a fig tree earlier that day(John 1: 46-47). "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" exclaimed Nathanael(John1:49), who then left everything behind and became a disciple. Jesus had spotted the treasure deposited in Nathanael's life and had spoken to it. The result? Nathanael became a pillar of the early church.

Jesus knew that whatever He spoke to would create greater value in people. Humanity always speaks to the earthen vessel, noting every crack, flaw, and warp: " If you put this right, and change that, then we'll let you in and accept you." God is not remotely like that. He speaks to the treasure in a person and releases it from captivity of the flesh. He extracts the precious from the worthless. We often try to do the opposite - take out the trash and see what is left. When we speak to the treasure in people, it moves to the surface of their lives, from the hidden to the obvious. And the rubbish always comes with it. When people see their own worth, they get rid of their own carnality...God knows there is treasure in all of us, and He wants to bring it to the surface. Do not let your view of the worthless obscure that which is precious about a person. We have to change the way we think of and behave around other people. We must realize that our real enemies are the devil and his demons...

*Note: If there were any spelling errors in this...my mom isn't the best typer (runs in the family) so have mercy. This was a long stink'n excerpt!

More love to Come!

Geezers-Thoughts from Yesterdays wrapped up today.

I have found that every time I have "come to the point" it is as if I was climbing a high dive to only take the plunge into an empty pool.

The scary thing about having "arrived" is that we turn the journey, the race, our life through eternity into a set of destinations. We are taking our eyes off the source of our lives and are placing them on a "spiritual goal" or arrival point. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with setting goals and monitoring one's spirual growth through a scriptural lens. The problem comes when we set our eyes on those around us instead of on Jesus, and when we see our arriving as a resting point or end. This is where we are failing so terribly! We compare ourselves to our friends, our parents, and even our leaders. We have settled. We have created a spiritual hierarchy in which we hope to someday ascend to the top. What is the problem with this? We are not supposed to be striving to be like our friends, our parents, our pastors, Billy Graham, etc....they are not the mark! Jesus is the mark! A Christlike life is our aim.

If we would truly take this call to be Christlike it would mess up everything! We would find the platforms empty and the ladder torn down. Why? Because the greatest would be in the dirt, they would be dirty, they would be with those who do not even claim Jesus as Lord. We would not settle! And we would serve.

The other day I was talking to someone about this Christian hierarchy. Here is what they had to say (paraphrased)

"You know something that really bothers me? What really bothers me is when pastors, after a service, beg for people to help 'we need people to help this coming workday...please stay after and help us tear down...etc.' and then after the service they leave! As if noone else there has anything to do!"

Christian Hierarchy. What ever happened to the greatest will be the servant? What ever happened to approachable pastors? What ever happened to the body of believers that realized that each member had something different to contribute to the body for its benefit? What ever happened to people having freedom to be themselves? What happened to joy? What happened to forgiveness? What happened to holiness? What ever happened to 'go into all the world'? Whatever happened to people who didn't care what anyone else thought, all they wanted was Jesus? Where have all the spiritual Mothers and fathers gone? And in the words of the Blackeyed Peas..."Where is the love?"

I started off todays post by stating that every time I feel like I have arrived it is as if I am climbing a high dive and will soon be plunging into an empty pool. I feel that statement defines most people's arrival. At first we recognize the sin in our lives, the things that make us stumble (i.e. music, movies, goals), and we get them out of our lives. But then we arrive! We feel as if we have come to the point that those things no longer bother or affect us and so we start to once again consume them. Let me make this statement-

Christian maturity does not mean that you can "handle" things! Christian maturity is shown when you realize that you cannot handle things and will never be able to, because it is sin. You then keep it removed from your life. It is not an issue of arriving! Spiritual maturity is seeing Jesus and seeing yourself in light of Him!

Paul "the master thealogian"-formerly known as Saul -sees things a little different than we do. Paul did not see himself as this man who was ascending the platforms to holiness, in fact that more and more he saw Jesus the less and less and he became in his own eyes.

Paul starts out by addressing himself as "The least of the Apostles"
In a later letter he refers to himself as "the least of the saints"
and in an even later letter he refers to himself as "the chief of sinners"!

Where have we gone wrong that we desire to be seen as holy in the eyes of men and are thus deceiving ourselves as to how we appear in the eyes of God. We are truly becoming an old church not a mature one. For an old church will soon die but a mature church brings forth life! Perhaps that is why it is estimated that the Western church is losing 7,000 people a day while the African church is gaining over 20,0000.

Old vs. Mature

This was a compilation of many different thoughts and truths I have been thinking about. Hey! scrammbled eggs are good for you too!