Dallas Willard And Techno Line Dancing

We are doing a series right now by Dallas Willard called "Renovation of the heart." We are about 6 weeks in, but last week we had a few excercises we were supposed to do. One was to notice when we were feeling particular emotions such as love, joy, and peace, and to notice what was going on in our social interactions, thoughts, and behavior to bring about these emotions.

Think about it - what makes you happy? The answer to this question is going to be something right? I'm happy when I win a soccer game, when the bears win (Which they have been doing alot!!) or when I have a nice conversation with another person. But am I joyful as a result of this? No...Happiness is temporary, joy is long-lasting. I get joy from worshipping God...yes...but the key, according to Willard, is to ask God to condition us to be the type of person who naturally experiences these positive emotions and who naturally things, wills, behaves, and interacts in ways that produce them.

THERE IT IS. Conditioning!

It sounds so simple but is complicated. I think about the times I try to be Christ-like..and I stop myself right there. I already pointed out the issue at hand: I try to be Christlike. We aren't meant to try to be Christ-like, we're supposed to be it! Christ-likeness Isn't the same as bein Christ...it IS possible. And in order to BE Christ-like, we have to condition ourselves to be so. This means discipline...weather that is 30 minutes of prayer before we eat anything, or 20 minutes in the Word before we leave our room in the morning, or spending a certain amount of money every day on something that we get no benefit from but others do. Things such as this, done often enough, will become a part of our everyday routines. We will learn to become christlike instead of trying to become Christ-like.

Im tired, because last night we went out. My friends Steph and Caryn (thank ya'll by the ways =)) were teaching me line dances. I went into the techno room and was doing them, all by myself in the dance floor, because it was still early and not many people were there. So there I am, the DD, line dancing to Techno music, when 3 girls i know that i hadnt seen in a while walk in...I'd love to know what was going through their minds...It was a fun time. Around 12 i found myself sitting on the leather couch in the "salsa" room half asleep, only to discover naked women on a black and white TV screen behind the bar...it was surreal. I closed my eyes and tried not to let my virgin eyes be corrupted. Okay, maybe i just looked the other way.

The snow was nice...but not driving home last night! But we made it safe. MONDAYS STINK! Everybody have a good week

And yes, I was "that guy" line dancing at Youth Group at church this morning, and trying to teach the kids how to do it...