Naming objects.

I'm usually not one for naming objects, but sometimes I do. And when I do, it's always after mythological figures that represent said thing. Here's what I've got so far:

Prometheus ("forethought") - my laptop.
Apollo - my external drive.
Theia (Titan of sight and the shining light of the clear blue sky) - my camera.
Hyperion (Titan of Light) - my SD card.
Metis (Titan of good counsel, advise, planning, cunning, craftiness and wisdom) - my smartphone.

And then, just today, I'm deciding to name my car 'Vulcan' (god of the forge, fire, and blacksmiths).

Perhaps using mythical figures is strange, but so is naming inanimate objects.

Coffee (and other bitter things).

I like drinking coffee black. I went a week or two without access to any sugar and creme and grew to like it, so that's what I usually go for.

Black coffee is bitter. Brewed correctly, I think it's delicious, but it's still bitter, and as such, it's really easy for it to go bad. Use just a little too much coffee grounds and it's like you're drinking brown colored water. Use too much and it's unbearable.

On one particular occasion, I had gotten a cup of coffee from Starbucks and I started drinking it as I walked back to my dorm. You can guess where this is going - it was horrible coffee. I should've just thrown the entire cup away, but I didn't. I had a caffeine addiction, and worse, I had a headache. Also, I just liked having my coffee - it was cold out, and the coffee was warm in my hands. It still smelled wonderful. It was every indication of a good thing.

So, I walked along, coffee in hand, happy as could be until my headache would pulse a little harder. I'd have forgotten that I didn't really want to drink this particular brew of coffee and take another sip in hopes of consuming enough caffeine for the headache to subside. And then I would taste it and remember the four times that had already happened that night. I'd kick myself for being so stupid and then kept on walking, still keeping the coffee.

That happened over and over again until I finally threw the cup away. I'd forget it was bad, take a sip, regret it, and not throw away the cup.

Now, I'm not trying to use this as an analogy for any one thing, because I think this can apply to many, many things. Don't we all have things we go back to, even when they know they'll hurt us?

New blog.

I'm starting a photo blog. You should check it out.

http://bradnemitz.web.unc.edu/

(P.S. This one is sticking around. It's my thought/idea/emotion/writing blog. This new one is for my picture a day project.)

What do you want?

I've got a friend who I've talked to about some deep issues over the past year, and something I recently realized is that he always asks the same question: "What do you want?"

That could come off self-centered or materialistic, but that's not the heart of it. The heart is that I, and everyone else really, need goals.

In the midst of emotional pain or stress or the general craziness of life, it's easy to lose sight of what you're after. It's good to evaluate what you want.

I've had a thought that's tried to blossom into an idea for a while now. I have a heart for the homeless, and I've always wondered two things: "How did you get here?" and "Where are you going next?"

The second question here takes the prominence. Essentially, what are your goals? Do you expect to be homeless for the rest of your life? Do you want a simple job? Do you intend to get back to family somewhere else? What are your aspirations? What gives you joy? What are you passionate about?

I'm certain that the homeless have some goals. And if they don't, then they should. They should dream just as big as any of us do.

The point where this thought turns into an idea is when I consider what could I do about that. More importantly: Is there an organization that tries to help the homeless achieve their goals and if not, could I start one? Wouldn't that be amazing? Maybe someone just needs financial advice so they can handle money better. If we knew that, couldn't we get someone to help? Maybe they have skills in some area and just need steady income so they can get a place to stay. Couldn't a school with as much heart for social justice and connections around the world help find this guy a job so he can get back on his feet?

I think the programs out there to help provide food and shelter on a daily basis are great programs. I just think we can dream bigger and do more than that.

Hello World!

If you've read my blog for a while, you may have just noticed that you didn't have to log in - it's no longer private.

I'm not intending to promote this any more or try to get lots of readers - I just hope people who stumble upon it enjoy reading it some and now people actually can stumble upon it.

If you've enjoyed reading this, feel free to pass it along to whoever. Hopefully somewhere between my analogies, rants, stories, and thoughts on life you've gotten something out of this.

(P.S. I just realized that I've now had this blog for just over a year. So, I've retroactively going to say making this blog public was it's one-year celebration.)

God as a crutch.

A friend once told me that they don't like programs like x3 Watch (a program to help guys resist temptations on the internet) because it's a crutch. And, with a crutch, you'll never learn how to be able to handle it yourself.

I think a lot of people feel the same way about bowling. If you always use the bumpers, then you'll never actually learn how to bowl.

But, the point here isn't either of those. It's God.

Many Christians do the exact same thing with God. We treat him as a crutch that we don't want to have to use. The true nature of our hearts is that we want to be independent and self-sufficient, but we realize that there are things in life we can't do on our own, so we grudgingly ask God for help, hoping that one day we won't have to.


I would like to propose a change of mentality. What if, instead of viewing God as a crutch, we saw him as an exoskeleton?

(If you don't know what an exoskeleton is, look here: http://goo.gl/ciKSm)

From what I know, there are two varieties of exoskeletons: those meant to help people in wheelchairs be able to walk, and the military, iron man suit variety. I think both are valid replacements for 'crutch'.

Why? Well, let's take the variety meant to help people walk. Do you think those people with real exoskeletons are going to be embarrased by them? Do you think they'll be wishing all day they could take it off? I don't think so. If I had been in a wheelchair for years and finally had the ability to walk, I'd be ecstatic! I think anyone would be. And isn't that a better representation of how we should view depending on God?

Now, for the military variety, think about this: when someone with such a suit lifts a car (I don't know if that's possible, but let's assume that it is), who are the people watching going to give the credit to? Are they going to say, "Man, that guy is so strong!"? Nope. They're going to know it's the suit. I would stand there amazed at the suit's power.

I think that when Christians depend on God, it does that same thing. It redirects the credit to where it's deserved. It gives us freedom to do things that we wouldn't ever be capable of doing on our own. The best part is that it won't even cost you a couple thousand dollars - it's completely free.

It's not weak to depend on God. It's what we're meant for.