A lesson about life...

So, today I FINALLY got to see the movie, "The Bucket List." And, let me state upfront that if you haven't seen the movie, you need to! Is it an award winner? Nope, but it is one I plan to go buy tomorrow. It has really grabbed me...and made me think.

Two questions brought out in the movie were "Do you have joy in your life?" and "Do you bring joy to others?"

And that caught me.

It reminded me of a worship set at IHOP that I attended back in March. Cory Asbury came out to lead worship, and he carried the JOY of the Lord. I mean, you can see JOY on him. Is he perfect? nope. But, you could tell he was/is happy. I remember asking the Lord if I was that happy. I don't think I was...I'm not really sure to be really honest with you. I mean, I wasn't depressed, but I will admit, I had lost something.

This whole Crohn's stuff has been teaching me things left and right that I don't think I can explain in words completely. I imagine anyone who goes through health challenges learns more than they expect. I dunno.

So, that leads me back to that worship set. I remember laughing to the point I couldn't stop in that set. And, everyone in the room was doing the same thing. We were laughing, singing, snapping, it was incredible. A night I will never forget.

And, I have found myself taking time to enjoy those sort of things. I mean, perhaps that's a normal thing for Cory's team to do, but for me, that night, it was a first.

And over the past few months, I have found myself laughing and really enjoying things in a new way. I now sing a little "ba doo ba doo ba doo" in the halls at school. Granted, it's not loud, as singing isn't one of my gifts, but people have been catching on.

I hear my students now do the song when I'm around. Even Zachery today was singing it, and I thought to myself, "He's enjoying this."

So, does that mean I'm bringing joy to others? Gosh I hope so. I hope and pray each day that I am bringing others up and not pulling them down. I now make kids laugh in the cafeteria and find it being one of the highlights of my day. Seeing a kid smile melts my heart. And I can only imagine how God enjoys that.

And all this has made me wonder what else I can do to get the most out of life. The theme of the movie was that these two guys are going to die in a year and so they want to do all those things that they had always wanted to do. It has made me ponder. What would I put on my list? Here's what I've come up with so far.

1. See the Ocean. I would like to stand on a beach and just stand in awe of the ocean...what a vast thing our Lord has created.

2. See "Mystere" in Vegas again. This is a show that my Dad and I saw years ago on our first trip to Vegas, and it still remains something special to me.

3. See Ms. H. in Texas. A few years back I agreed to go see her, and backed out. Now she's living in a house in Texas with a pool. I'd like to go see that.

4. Spend a week this Summer at Camp Barnabas. I know, this one I will probably do this Summer, but I will say that after you spend one week out there and see life through the camper's eyes, and serve them, life is not the same.

5. Spend more time at IHOP-KC. I realize this seems weird, as I will be spending eternity in Heaven, but I am changed everytime I visit there.

6. Laugh more with my students. Sometimes I get very frustrated in the classroom, and found myself realizing I need to enjoy more and bring more laughter and love into their lives.

7. Continue to not let the little stuff get to me. My newest phrase has become "Somehow I think our lives will go on." I see SO MANY people get all bent out of shape over little, silly stuff and they're missing the point of life.

While I realize there are only 7 things on my list, I know there will be more to come in the days to come. There are others that I could put, but they're things I can't control, such a getting married, etc. So for now, those will go in my "Dreams" list.

Who knows? Maybe one day I will actually post that.

For now, I recommend you rent the movie and start looking around for the little things in life.

Life is TOO SHORT to miss all the GOOD STUFF in life.

Later!