Re: Waste of time?

Video games do get a lot of flack for being the thing most associated with immature men. Granted, for that "30 year old in his mom's basement," if it were not video games, it would be something else that was an equal waste of time. The problem is not the video games.
If we all made lists of those activities that we considered a waste of time, they might all be activities that we ourselves did not participate in. It's easy for me to say that video games have no productive value, because I don't know much about them and don't have much room to stand on. At the same time, I might get defensive if my enjoyment of coffee and bicycles were deemed wasteful.
If all things are created for our enjoyment (within the boundaries God put in place and in moderation) then can anything be called a waste of time? Is there any definition or standard? I would argue that the standard is God's character. When ___ behavior does not reflect His character or cause us to ponder Him, then I might go so far as to say that it is a waste of time.
For believers, I think it is our duty to "spur up one another" in activities that edify the body or edify my personal involvment in the body. I think if i were to ask myself how some of my behaviors are edifying, I might have little to say about their productive value.
And just to throw a low blow out there to stay on topic, I have seen very little productive and edifying value to video games, and have heard poor defences for their value.
Also, responding to a discussion that originated from Twitter in this form is probably a waste of time as well :)

I Got Hit By A Car!!

Probably most people who operate within the Gregorian calendar have their own version of a sort of New Years resolution, or goal, or something like that. Personally, I’ve always liked the idea but I’ve never felt like I ever made “good” resolutions at the beginning of the year. Most of that is due to the lack of thought that went into making the plan in the first place. This year- I want to learn to appreciate more. I want to be blown away in wonder.

 Just speaking from opinion, life may be the most under-appreciated things in the world. I realized this personally this past week when I had an accident on my bike. I was riding in downtown Jackson, parallel with traffic, when a car to my left made a right turn at an intersection directly into me. At the time, I was probably pedaling at about 15-18 mph and the impact made me roll over his hood and slide on the pavement for about 6 feet.

I stood up, looked around, picked up my bike, looked around some more, and walked it over to the sidewalk. People were staring. I made a quick vital check of myself. I knew I hadn’t hit my head, and I was standing upright so that was a plus. Other than that I couldn’t feel anything wrong other than the abnormal amounts of adrenaline in my system. The man rushed out of his car and came over to me. His face and expression was in panic. He checked to see if I was alright. All I could do was smile in a half laugh and tell him that as far as I could tell everything was fine. I introduced myself and he told me his name was Al. Sharp dresser and really nice guy.

We talked for a little while and I reassured him that I was ok and my bike was ok. I really couldn’t think of any words of lecture. What could I say? Other than a couple of raspberries, I was fine. What blew me away was the fact that standing in front of me was a man that cared. He as well had no lecture for me. He didn’t say anything about how bicyclists shouldn’t be on the road or take different routes or whatever. He was being a genuine person caring for another person. Part of me wanted to sit down with him and share some coffee and just hang out. My friend Corey told me that if drivers and cyclists were to get angry and start lecturing each other it’s not going to bring us any closer together. We all need the road, therefore we all need to get along as we use it.

In some ways, I’ve already learned to enjoy and appreciate the life I have been given, but I can’t always say the same for the life of others. Learning to appreciate and value the life that the Creator gave to others is going to take way more than a year but I’m planning to be a little more intentional about it.

Bikes and Family

"I want a bike." I hear that every once in a while when I tell people about all the adventures I have as I ride around Jackson on my single gear Motobecane.
A few months ago, I was able to visit my family north of Lansing where I grew up, and shared with my family how much I enjoy riding and told stories of my interactions with people in the community as I ride through town. My Mom sighed as she stared towards the ceiling, "I want a bike."
She has pretty much always loved riding bikes, but for some reason, she hadn't had a bike for quite some time. I figured that I could probably work something out. I talked with Corey at the Armory Bike Union in Jackson, and told him that I planned to fix up a bike for my mom for her birthday at the beginning of October. He said that it was fine and since I had been a semi regular volunteer, I was able to use whatever I needed to fix up a beautiful blue five speed Schwinn. It took a few weeks of cleaning, greasing, true-ing, and adjusting, but after it was all done, it turned out to be a pretty awesome bike. One I was happy to present to my Mom for her birthday. She was pretty excited. She immediately wanted to take it out for a ride even though it was already after dark and rode around for quite a while. The next week my Dad texted me and told me that he saw her out riding about four miles from the house. She's having adventures of her own now.

This past weekend, two of my younger brothers were able to spend a couple days with me in the "Prison City". I talked to Corey again and asked if I could borrow a couple of bikes for them to ride around Jackson with me. My brothers each picked out a bike and spent the next several hours riding around town and visiting some of the local treasures. Together, we had a total blast riding around town and simply just hanging out. Saturday, we rode back to the Armory Bike Union and I showed them around the shop and together we worked on repairing a children's bike.
I'm realizing that bike culture, at least in Jackson, doesn't have to exclusively revolve around bicycles. Instead, bike culture is all about people and connecting with them through not just the bikes themselves, but riding them, repairing them, and connecting with each other around them. I'm extremely grateful to the ABU for what they're doing in Jackson, and for generously giving my family and myself adventures that we can share with each other.

On Two Wheels

Pretty much everywhere I go in Jackson, I take a bike there. It adds quite a different dynamic to life. Wherever I'm going I'm learning to plan out the trip, choose the route I'm going to take, and plan for other emergencies (i.e. cars) that aren't very aware that I'm there.

When I get there, I'm finding that I appreciate being there more. It's a huge excitement to me to arrive at my destinations, even if it's just a coffee run. Most of all, I'm loving the interactions I have with people as I'm riding through town. Most people that I run into (not literally of course) on the street simply love to talk. It cracks me up sometimes how conversations get started with random people. There's an older couple I met at Jackson Coffee Company who jokingly threatened to steal my bike and I see them every once in a while and I get to share with them more about God's peace.
I got to pray with this lady who is a greeter at Walmart after we were talking about how she has a bunch of fluid going into her thigh.

   I got hugged and jabbed in the ribs repeatedly by this homeless woman that I shared coffee with. She called me her "sugar daddy" and told me we were going to get married after she made me fried chicken. Later that same day I saw her again and this time, she was furious because she believed that someone stole her money that she was going to buy "cigarettes" with. I prayed with her and asked God to show her His peace.
   Peace, I prayed for. Most of the time, that's all I can think to pray for. Peace that transcends all our understanding. Peace that overwhelms us when our emotions take the controls. Peace that remains constant because of the blood that was shed to reconcile us.
   I don't think I'm there yet, but I'm learning to get the perspective that wherever I am, I am a minister of the gospel. If I believe in it's Truth, that just needs to be who I become. All other aspects of my life need to revolve around the fact that this is who Christ is making me into - His instrument to proclaim His message of reconciliation. For now, I'm trying to do that while I ride around on my two wheels in this concrete jungle, but one day I hope to be in some place that's too far away to ride a bike to, and share God's good news with people there.
I would love to share more with YOU about what other things are happening with me in Jackson. Once in a while, I write actual letters (like the ones on paper that come in the mail) and if you would like to correspond that way, email your address to me: codynolans@gmail.com
"The Lord bless you and keep you.. and give you peace." Numbers 6

Back From The Dead

In case you were wondering, the absence of updates to this "blog" has been deliberate. Around October last year I started noticing that everything I was posting (on the blog and on Facebook) was only just to see what kind of response I would get from people. I decided to take a break from posting and blogging for a while until I could figure out what was worth putting up on the internet (which is already cluttered (in my opinion (which you can take or leave)) with information that really isn't worth reading) for all to see.



So anyway... as a way of transitioning on to news that may be of interest to you, I very recently moved to an apartment in downtown Jackson. It's about a ten minute bike ride from just about everything downtown.
After I graduated from New Tribes Bible Institute, I really thought I needed to stay in the area for at least another year to stay involved in the ministries that I had been plugging into while I was attending school.
I had proposed an internship idea to the school which would be primarily connecting New Tribes students with ministries and community service projects around town so that they could have more opportunities for evangelism and discipleship. Unfortunately, the staff at school are up past their eyebrows with teaching and other programs that they would not be available to oversee a new program like this.


So, now the plan is to stay in town and do it anyway. I'm planning to hang out with students, maybe once a week, and I may have the occasional opportunity to speak in chapel and present what opportunities are available around town.
That will be it for now. Be checking back frequently as there will be lots more to come. Peace!

Not The Only One

This morning I rode my bike through the snow and 4 degree air. It was a pretty brisk ride but I stayed "warm enough" regardless. I have to tell you if you don't already know this, that it was incredible. The snowy floor glowed all around me. These tiny little ice crystals reflected light from the sun with just the right facet and just the right angle to meet my eye, if only for a split second. Then another, among thousands, would take it's place.

I wasn't the only one to see this either. There were also others that I had seen walking along the trail. I saw two or three walking along, tethered to some breed of dog. I always freak out whenever I ride past a dog, thinking it's going to start chasing me. (I hate being chased by creatures who don't have a reason to.) One man muttered as I passed him, "I wouldn't ride a bike in this ___." I laughed, because I was. I would.
Mine weren't the only tracks in the snow. I saw the after marks of several other wheeled vehicles of some sort. Hundreds of footprints and even lots of tracks left by others creatures. I was not the only one who had experienced the morning light and air and yet I enjoyed it perhaps differently than others. 

Don't mistake what I say here. I don't particularly "like" the snow and frigid air. In truth I kinda dislike it a bit, but at the same time I enjoy and appreciate the beauty very much. It brings me to a place of awe and fear.
I wasn't the only one there this morning. I wasn't the only one to experience all this, and I was quite okay with that. If it's something that glorious, and that inspiring, it needs to be shared. It was created to be shared. And then collectively, those who shared in this morning can praise the God who made this morning.
Part of me wanted to ask everyone I passed what they thought about all this. Part of me wanted to point out to them, "Look! You're inhaling oxygen right now and then exhaling a cloud right back out. And you can see it!" But I didn't.

I think it's neat that the world enjoys seeing men like Ted Williams emerge back out of the ashes. The picture of redemption is still sought after by some. But he's not the only who can experience redemption. He's not the only one who can receive the second chance through grace. He's not the only one who already has, but right now he is probably enjoying redemption from a whole different way than others.This is real for him.
Redemption is real folks, and it is to be enjoyed. We can do this together. Collectively. As you enjoy your redemption, ask your neighbor if he is too. Then together praise God who redeems.

A prayer for spring

I've realized how easy it is to keep a blog updated when there's nothing going on. Maybe that's why there's an abundance of blogs that are uninteresting (i.e. this one). Life has a way of continuing it's rhythms and cycles as it has always done, so in that way it is predictable, but it's rhythms are still surprising.
This fall completed my junior semester at New Tribes Bible Institute. The last four months have been a whiz that was packed to the gills with classes, homework, church ministry, and a job. I would love to unpack and describe all four of these elements that have been the major part of my life over the last few months but that would take a good chunk of time and much of it would be quite irrelevant to you. I would much rather just answer questions about anything that may be of slight interest.
One thing that has been of great importance to me, and I continue to hold on to this truth, that God is still God. This semester brought on many different challenges and difficulties which took me to a sort of breaking point in some regards. I found that regardless of my situation, God was no less Himself than He ever was. His character did not diminish when mine did.
This semester was quite a challenge as I struggled to find a balance between work and classes and everything else. I figured that more nights were spent sitting at my desk than in my bed in my dorm. In the midst of this, God continued to reveal more of Himself with just as much consistency as ever. He never ceased to be Himself, not even for a fraction of a moment.
I ask for your prayers as I continue on with school in a couple weeks. I'm looking forward to how God will reveal more of Himself as He opens my eyes to His word. I'm praying that my thinking will be transformed by His. I desire to be all about what He's about.