1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,720 Let me shift a few things here. 2 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:14,800 I was told by a good friend, Chris, here 3 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:20,000 that I needed more stickers to show where I work 4 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:22,920 and went to school and love. 5 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:24,280 It's a little confusing to get. 6 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:24,780 Yeah. 7 00:00:24,780 --> 00:00:25,280 Yeah. 8 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:26,280 So you missed me. 9 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:32,920 Yeah. 10 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:36,120 I want to thank Pastor Greg and the church 11 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:40,880 for allowing me the opportunity to speak to you guys today. 12 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:43,440 It is truly an honor to be able to do so. 13 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:51,040 Well, exactly a week ago, we as a world 14 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,800 experienced the yearly phenomenon called the New Year. 15 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:57,840 Our calendars show that just over 2,000 of these 16 00:00:57,840 --> 00:00:58,800 we have celebrated. 17 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:01,520 But of course, history, science, literature, 18 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:03,840 and your run of the mill paleontologist 19 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,080 will tell you that perhaps a few billion of these years 20 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:08,600 have come and gone. 21 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,360 Another annual celebration that comes along with the New Year 22 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:13,600 or at least annual ritual is the quest 23 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:17,520 to begin anew in some way, to resolve to become something 24 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:21,000 more or less, to pursue something greater, 25 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,360 to pursue to become something greater 26 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:26,920 than what had previously been practiced. 27 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:29,400 Whether it is to become healthier or read more books 28 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:31,840 or get better sleep or manage your money better, 29 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:34,120 we often use the New Year as a springboard 30 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:37,280 to achieve newness in some way. 31 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:39,840 For some, a resolution for the New Year 32 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:42,560 comes in the form of either establishing or renewing 33 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:43,880 their faith. 34 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:47,280 Perhaps we return to a church or practice we used to experience 35 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,960 or we take up an offer from a friend or family member 36 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:53,520 to attend a church they've been talking years about that they 37 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:56,080 said would both be uplifting and fulfilling in all 38 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:58,560 of the most important ways. 39 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:00,520 The one thing about resolutions, though, 40 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:02,760 in order for goals to be reached, 41 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,760 there has to be action taken, a series of acts, 42 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,200 sustainable acts, over a significant period of time. 43 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:11,000 Oftentimes, months, even years must 44 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:16,040 be spent to achieve our desires, whatever the original goal was. 45 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,160 I'm 52 years old. 46 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:20,520 And 30 years ago, I was visiting my cousin's church 47 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:22,680 on the south side of Chicago. 48 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:24,320 I went because she loved her church, 49 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:27,480 and she had been asking me to visit for quite some time. 50 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:30,520 It was a large, beautiful, and predominantly black church 51 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:32,720 that had all the bells and whistles. 52 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,320 Large congregation, charismatic pastor, 53 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:39,360 an elaborate choir and band, way too many deacons, 54 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:43,440 and women in every row of the pews wearing hats. 55 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:47,440 On this day, there happened to be a call to the congregation 56 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:49,200 for those who desire to be baptized 57 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:51,040 in the name of the Lord. 58 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:53,560 While I sat and watched others rise, 59 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,120 suddenly a warm, compelling sensation completely 60 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:58,160 took over my body and mind. 61 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:01,960 And I stood up to be counted among God's children. 62 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:03,720 Here at the house, when we quote the Bible, 63 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:06,040 we like to show respect by standing, 64 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:07,320 if you're willing and able. 65 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,800 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 17 says, 66 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:21,080 therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 67 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:25,080 The old has passed away, behold, the new has come. 68 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:26,000 You may be seated. 69 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,400 When my baptism was done some time later, 70 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,840 I walked out of the church anew. 71 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,200 But I remember feeling no different than I had prior 72 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:39,920 to entering the church. 73 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:41,840 I still felt hungry, and I still had 74 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,040 to get on the bus to get home. 75 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:46,360 I don't know what I expected, but I 76 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:48,360 thought there would be something like perhaps maybe 77 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:51,400 a visible glow surrounding me, or maybe I would float 78 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:53,920 over the ground instead of walk, or if anything, 79 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:55,880 electricity would spark from my fingertips, 80 00:03:55,880 --> 00:04:00,160 occasionally perhaps conveying a new power of some kind. 81 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:03,240 Supposedly, I was new in the world, born again, 82 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,000 and I was waiting for evidence of said newness. 83 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:06,840 Come on, super speed. 84 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,800 What I found over time, however, was an ever-present perception 85 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:14,720 of appreciation. 86 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,200 And what I mean by over time was years. 87 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:19,560 I started looking at my life and my experiences 88 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,080 and marveling at the wonders I had encountered. 89 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:23,580 I thought about my youth growing up 90 00:04:23,580 --> 00:04:26,120 in a single-parent home in a challenging neighborhood 91 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,360 and enjoying the memories of my mother's love, 92 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,720 the success I had in school, the joy I 93 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,160 had playing basketball in both high school and in college, 94 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:34,960 though my dribbling, shooting, and defense 95 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:39,560 were average at best, if not downright mediocre. 96 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:41,760 I noticed I could still laugh at hilarious things that 97 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:44,560 happened years before, and I could be moved emotionally 98 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:47,120 by music and movies, even if I hadn't heard or watched them 99 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:49,880 in a while, just by their memory alone. 100 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,200 Everybody wants to rule the world by tears for fears. 101 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:56,440 To this day, stirs delightful nostalgia in my youth 102 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:58,160 every time I hear it. 103 00:04:58,160 --> 00:04:59,480 And recently, I'm pretty sure I'll 104 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:02,160 be laughing at this for the rest of my life, 105 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:05,280 I could be stirred by something my wife said, 106 00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:09,080 where she's an alum of Michigan State. 107 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,000 So of course, she's not a fan of anything Michigan, 108 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:13,360 University of Michigan. 109 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:15,800 So of course, they're also in the national championship game, 110 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:17,840 which happens on Monday. 111 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:20,840 So while watching one of the games this year, she said, 112 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:24,040 and I quote, Michigan's offense is so boring, 113 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,000 it's like watching basketball play with only five centers. 114 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:27,500 I saw. 115 00:05:27,500 --> 00:05:29,960 Oh, ho, ho, ho. 116 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:32,460 Ow. 117 00:05:32,460 --> 00:05:32,960 It's true. 118 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:38,920 But that was an opposite. 119 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:43,120 At that time, again, being a new, 120 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,400 I began to appreciate my friends and family a lot, 121 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:48,440 more than I had prior to. 122 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:52,000 Cherishing the love they had all showered upon me 123 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:55,520 over the rest of my lifetime, I realized 124 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:57,520 that what I had experienced possibly was not 125 00:05:57,520 --> 00:05:59,240 experienced by everyone. 126 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:01,920 How many hugs and pats on the back and words of encouragement 127 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:03,520 had I experienced? 128 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:05,560 How many miracles had I witnessed? 129 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:07,240 A blackboard from the South Side of Chicago 130 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:10,040 being given opportunities to excel and achieve, 131 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:12,120 knowing and believing so many of my culture 132 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:16,200 were not to be as fortunate, even in my own family. 133 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:20,280 How blessed I had been treated to how blessed I had been, 134 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:23,400 had to be in order to be treated so well. 135 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:25,720 To sum it all up, I've been on a journey 136 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,080 to appreciate all of my experiences, 137 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:30,000 all of what I had seen and enjoyed, 138 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:31,840 but also what I survived. 139 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:34,760 For no life exists without peril and pain. 140 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:39,480 No life goes without tears shed and skin torn. 141 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:43,680 Nose broken, jaw broken, and if I put the microphone down 142 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:46,200 by my knees and my ankles, you would hear rice crispies 143 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:46,760 and milk. 144 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:55,160 Despite, yes, snap crackle pop, yes. 145 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:57,840 Despite any pain, loss, or disappointment 146 00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:00,120 I had experienced over the course of my life, 147 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,680 I believe knowing of God's existence and presence 148 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:05,680 allowed me to actually be more rational. 149 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:07,600 For some, believing in an almighty power 150 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,440 is irrational or super fantastic. 151 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:13,080 But for me, it has allowed me to see what the world is 152 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:14,720 in all of its facets. 153 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:19,400 Sad, exciting, painful, dangerous, loving, 154 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:21,440 and extremely mundane. 155 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:22,720 Think about this. 156 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:25,120 Most of our waking moments are uneventful. 157 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:26,640 We brush our teeth every day. 158 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:28,640 We make a sandwich of some kind. 159 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:30,960 We sit at a desk at school or at work. 160 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:32,240 We watch TV. 161 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:33,600 We look at our emails. 162 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:35,720 And every now and then, we help somebody do something 163 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,320 real simple like put on a shirt. 164 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:40,000 None of that is exciting or causes 165 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:41,520 a rise in your heart rate. 166 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:43,680 Most of us aren't professional athletes performing 167 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,640 in front of millions or ER nurses in a major city 168 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,120 or construction workers who stand on a scaffold. 169 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,600 What we do daily, for the most part, is quite manageable. 170 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:54,360 My rationale gave me the opportunity 171 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:59,920 to find peace and beauty in all things, especially sandwiches. 172 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:01,400 From that time in my early 20s, I 173 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,400 began to notice little beautiful things all around me. 174 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:06,400 A father lovingly holding their children's hands 175 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,440 on the street, hardened athletes consoling each other 176 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:12,640 in difficult moments, the cheerful sounds of birds, 177 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:15,760 even the pleasant hum of a train somewhere in the distance. 178 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:17,840 And then there are the extremely beautiful moments 179 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:21,040 we all have that leave scars or beauty marks, perhaps, 180 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:21,560 on the soul. 181 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:29,040 I was once on a truck in Southeast Iowa visiting family. 182 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:31,340 I was with Uncle Jimmy, a farmer. 183 00:08:31,340 --> 00:08:33,680 And we were driving to his mother's house about a mile 184 00:08:33,680 --> 00:08:35,960 and a half down the road. 185 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:39,720 We were on a gravel road and we were surrounded by farmland. 186 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:41,720 For miles in any direction, all you saw 187 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,280 was earth and its natural splendor. 188 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:46,120 On this short trip, Jimmy noticed 189 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:47,720 out in the middle of a green pasture 190 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:51,160 to the west a very large black bull. 191 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:53,080 The property we were driving by was Jimmy's, 192 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:54,600 about 300 acres worth. 193 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,640 And all of his livestock was on the other side of a fence 194 00:08:57,640 --> 00:08:59,080 about half a mile away. 195 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,960 So he knew it wasn't his. 196 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:04,520 I think that's the Johnson's bull, he said, 197 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:06,600 although I'm uncertain about the name of the family. 198 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:08,480 And he got out of his truck. 199 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:11,520 With the sun beginning to set directly in the location 200 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:14,440 we were looking, Uncle Jimmy opened a gate 201 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:16,520 to a barbed wire fence and started 202 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:22,880 to trot towards the bull running and yelling and waving his hands. 203 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,880 The animal gets startled, then turns away 204 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:28,600 and runs in the direction towards some tall timber 205 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:32,280 to the north, possibly where it had wandered out from. 206 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:35,000 And that wasn't the most amazing part. 207 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:38,600 With the sun, a stunning orange setting directly 208 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:40,800 at where we were looking, you didn't 209 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:42,800 have to squint at the sun. 210 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:46,480 Through the trees came three people on horseback, 211 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:49,560 straight out of a lonesome dove movie. 212 00:09:49,560 --> 00:09:52,000 Jimmy waved at the riders. 213 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:56,480 The riders waved back at him and the bull trotted right past them 214 00:09:56,480 --> 00:10:00,320 into the timber as they all disappeared. 215 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:03,640 Jimmy then walked back through the pasture, 216 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:06,560 opened the gate, closed it, got into the car, 217 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:08,240 and we proceeded to drive. 218 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:11,540 My jaw, the entire drive, actually his mother's house, 219 00:10:11,540 --> 00:10:13,920 was right around here in the middle of my chest. 220 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:19,640 At the time watching him chase a bull, 221 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:22,080 I watched a human chase a bull. 222 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:24,520 That was arguably at the time the most beautiful moment 223 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:27,160 I had ever experienced. 224 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:30,360 And it was my rationale, my understanding of God's love, 225 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:33,920 my knowing what the world was with all of its flaws, 226 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,160 corruptions, and blemishes that allowed me 227 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:38,240 to experience such amazement. 228 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:39,640 If I could give you time, could you 229 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:41,560 imagine a moment in your life? 230 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:43,320 If not several, you were fortunate enough 231 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:45,680 to be part of something that was awe-inspiring, 232 00:10:45,680 --> 00:10:49,640 if not completely spiritual, and maybe even heart-rending. 233 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,080 Could you not be moved emotionally and appreciatively 234 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:53,800 at those thoughts where perhaps it 235 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:56,400 would be difficult for you to speak at the moment? 236 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:58,680 Or maybe you'd be so moved that you 237 00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:02,040 want to tell every single person about that moment in your life, 238 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:05,520 perhaps where it might have left a mark on your soul. 239 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:08,480 I know the world is harsh, and evidence of that harshness 240 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:10,000 is ever present. 241 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:12,100 When we watch the news, the first seven segments 242 00:11:12,100 --> 00:11:14,000 usually supply these subjects not necessarily 243 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:17,600 in this order, car accidents, political scandal or intrigue, 244 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:22,200 fire, death, war, governmental discord, illness. 245 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:23,780 If we spend too much time on the internet, 246 00:11:23,780 --> 00:11:26,160 we can find so many examples of the world's pain 247 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:28,840 just by listening to all the doomsayers, skeptics, 248 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:32,480 and bullies, and or watching the videos they promote. 249 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:34,880 And then there are the numerous historical examples 250 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:37,540 of leaders and important people, many of whom 251 00:11:37,540 --> 00:11:40,120 being devoutly religious, causing the greatest 252 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:43,720 atrocities, war, slavery, prejudice. 253 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:46,240 So much is their impact that many of those who would possibly 254 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:50,720 seek God's love and hope would abstain because the examples 255 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:53,160 displayed by those we are supposed to follow, 256 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,960 those that are supposed to show us God's love and mercy, 257 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,640 have done so many terrible things. 258 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,400 Back in 2008, I had the pleasure of attending 259 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:04,960 the presidential inauguration in Washington, DC. 260 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:07,080 And as I was walking the street and enjoying the city 261 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:08,800 and the mood, there was a religious group 262 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:11,380 standing by the road trying to get people to come over to them 263 00:12:11,380 --> 00:12:14,440 and hear God's word about, trying 264 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,640 to help folks figure out what God's path was 265 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:19,600 and purpose would be for them. 266 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:22,040 The problem I had with this group, as did many others, 267 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:25,600 was the gigantic sign they held aloft behind them that said, 268 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:30,520 you're going to hell, in big bold letters and in all caps. 269 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:32,640 Also, there was one guy with a bullhorn 270 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:37,100 shouting and pointing directly at people saying the same thing. 271 00:12:37,100 --> 00:12:39,200 It took much strength from me not to go over there 272 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:41,320 and yank the bullhorn from his hand 273 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:44,660 and tell them that they were the example of why 274 00:12:44,660 --> 00:12:47,080 many people avoid religion in pursuit of God 275 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:49,080 as intolerance and labeling often 276 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:52,640 appear within the verbiage of devout Christians and others. 277 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:54,840 We must be careful in our relations 278 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:57,000 so that we may provide them opportunities 279 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:00,800 to be and feel new in God's love so that they may know 280 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:03,960 of his wonder and his fulfillment. 281 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:06,440 All of this pain I have witnessed and learned about 282 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:09,200 and will continue to do so because we are not 283 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:10,400 perfect as people. 284 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:12,200 And our individual experiences will shape 285 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:14,000 how we view the world. 286 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,240 But I will say there is so much evidence of love and beauty 287 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,920 and grace and opportunity and hope in everything, everywhere, 288 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:22,160 all at once. 289 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:23,320 See what I did there? 290 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:24,560 See how's the movie reference? 291 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:25,060 OK. 292 00:13:27,560 --> 00:13:29,400 I think it is important for each of us 293 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:31,400 to become anew, not just in baptism, 294 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:36,240 but also in how we see our own lives and the world as it is. 295 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,040 Can we seek out the beauty presented to us 296 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:42,680 and appreciate what we have despite our own shortcomings 297 00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:44,600 and those of the world? 298 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:46,440 Life is what we have. 299 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:48,120 For however long we have it. 300 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,840 And to go through our days loving and listening, feeling 301 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:55,400 and dreaming, seeing and appreciating 302 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:57,560 is the best formula for me to understand 303 00:13:57,560 --> 00:13:59,840 God's love and purpose for my life 304 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:03,080 and possibly for all those who believe in him. 305 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:07,600 Try your best to appreciate all there is, for all there is 306 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:16,800 is all we have.