Superheroes to Super Revelation

So, I know that in my last post I said something about starting a series about superheroes, and there truly is so much I could do with that metaphor. I mean, when you think about any superhero team, it becomes evident that each has different gifts and powers. This is reflected in our own lives through bringing together our different abilities, experiences, talents, and positions in order to accomplish our ultimate goal: growing toward Christ and helping others to do the same. This brings about the second idea. The powers and abilities of the heroes we see in movies is similar to the talents we possess. In addition to our talents, we also have the power of prayer and the Spirit of Christ within us. This power is grown through spiritual disciplines: prayer, focus on the word, fasting, etc. much like the determination and will-power of many superheroes that we see as they train to become stronger. Lastly, they use their powers, will-power, and teams in order to protect their city, the world, or even the universe. This is similar to the way that we are able to protect our friends' and families' lives as well as those of people we've never met all around the world through prayer and acting like-Christ.

All of these things are essential to our walk with Christ, and they are cool to point out from a Superhero perspective. But as you can see, really it only took me a paragraph to write about it. I mean, I could have definitely fluffed it out, but I feel like the above paragraph hit most of the major points. The reason that I kicked off this "series" in the last blog is because I wanted something to talk about: something I would be able to talk about. The problem is that I've been focused on writing about thins that I already knew about. I mean, that's what seems natural. I have a blog, so shouldn't I be helping you guys understand life in some way? (As if I have any better understanding of life than you. Ha!)

When, in reality, this blog was originally to record my journey and not to teach anybody anything. The hope was that you would be able to learn from what I learned. I'm supposed to be seeking God with all that I am for a year so that I learn how to seek Him and learn how to grow. That way, even after this year is done, I will have the skills necessary to continue to grow in amazing ways. Then, I can share what I learn from my experience so that others can learn, too. The problem is that lately, I haven't been learning anything.

Why is that, you may ask. Well, concerned reader, that is a beautifully wonderful question with quite a depressing answer. The biggest reason that I'm not learning anything is because I'm not seeking anything to be taught. What does that mean? It means that instead of seeking God in this time I have set aside to do so, I've allowed myself to get distracted by the normalcy of life.

So, last night I was up until almost 4:00 reading books and studying life so that I can gain a deeper understanding. (I totally got one of those burst of passion.) I'm loving being back to learning and growing deeper in my relationship with Christ, but it took all of those things that I mentioned about heroes. I needed to build up my willpower, use my talents, and depend on those around me (especially the ultimate source of power). So, I have no idea what will come next, but I'm excited to let God be the Lord of my life and follow wherever he leads.

Hopefully the ride will be fun for you as well,
Best of luck in the real world and GOD BLESS,
-XTopher

Christopher Hanson: HERO in the making

So by now I'm sure you've all experienced your fair share of Halloween festivities. Whether you went to a dance, dressed up and hung out with friends, or just stayed at home and handed out candy, in some way or another, I'm sure you saw plenty of people dressed up as all sorts of different things. There were monsters and princesses, Jedi and cartoon characters, and my personal favorite: superheroes. 

For those who don't know, I'm a huge superhero nerd. Maybe not at the comic book guru level, but I do know enough to hold my weight in a conversation about something more in depth than the most recent movie. And, of course, I keep up to date on tv shows like Arrow and Flash. While I do enjoy these shows because there are superheroes and superpowers and complicated plots involved, I think that one of the big reasons that I enjoy them is in the way that they inspire me to use my powers. 

I mean, no, I don't have superpowers in the typical sense of the word; I can't fly, lift buildings, or turn invisible. However, I do have talents and the power to make a difference. I can choose how I use my talents, with whom I spend my time, and where I spend my money. Along with getting to choose what things I support, I also get to choose how I react to life. I get to decide whether I'm going to be a positive influence in this world or a negative one. In essence, I have the option between becoming the hero or the villain. 

In addition to that dramatic parallel between superpowers and myself, there are lots of different ways that superheroes reflect my life as a man-in-the-making and as a child of God. Superheroes have purpose, they have a team, they have their gear, and their city, and many other things that really fill me with a fresh passion for how I'm supposed to be living life! Okay, so I'm a little nerdy, but superheroes really click with me and hopefully they will with you, too even if you don't like superheroes (though I don't know how you wouldn't be able to). Anyways, these similarities are the things I'm going to be exploring and writing about for the next couple of posts. I'm hoping that they're able to give you as much insight and inspiration as they're giving me! 

As always,

Best of luck in the real world and God Bless,

~χTopher

I'm Baaaaack

Hey Friends,

First of all, major apologies for the duration of my abrupt and unexplained absence. Life has been extremely busy between moving, opera, classes, midterms, etc. In other words, my life has been crazy booked.

Second off, an update.

• My family and I have successfully moved in to our new house in the city. It will definitely take some time getting used to, but luckily I've had the chance to spend some time there this past weekend for Fall Break. Even though it's not where I grew up, it IS where my family is, and that's what's important. 
• The opera went very well and it was really cool to get to play with professional musicians. It really gave me a more mature perspective to music. Not only did I get to play with professional musicians in the opera, but there was also a touring musician that came through our town, and I got to play with him for a midweek service on campus. That was a really fantastic time and I'm beginning to take my music career a lot more seriously. Even if it doesn't become my career, music IS a part of who I am. Whether I continue playing in churches, with professional musicians, or just as a hobby, I'm excited to continue with it. This Just In: The band I play with for midweek service on campus has been invited to be the guest band at a weekend youth retreat! I'm pretty stoked!
• Midterms kind of suck. Just in case you didn't know, they suck. 
• Fall break was awesome. I volunteered a lot, which I love doing!
• I'm going to the Dominican Republic in May. Still pretty stoked about that.
• God is good. (in case you forgot)

It's been a while since I actually woke up with a sense of purpose, but today was one of those days. I finally woke up feeling like I was born to make a difference in the world. Maybe because I was able to catch the pilot episode of Supergirl on CBS and her inner struggle with becoming the hero inspired me? I don't know. More on that later.

Anyways, I'm feeling pretty great today and the only thing that I really changed was that I woke up and said "God, today is yours". Then, I did the unbelievable for me - I surrendered. Instead of just mouthing words and going on with my day as usual. I totally surrendered my day to Christ. Already, it's feeling great and I've only been awake for like an hour! 

I've done this kind of thing before and it's been an amazing experience; it's how I started this year journey. But, I hadn't done this in a while. Why is that? I'm not entirely sure. I know that we experience ups and downs in life and I can't completely tell you why they affect us so much. What I do know is that the reason that I was inspired to surrender this day to Christ is because of what a friend said to me last night.

My friend was talking about how they gave their day to Christ and EVERYTHING went right. In addition to a great and productive day, they experienced amazing growth. It's like giving their day to Christ moved everything together in just the right way so that their entire life began to re-center itself. Talking with them and realizing how excited they were reminded me of the experiences that I have had with the same kind of thing, and I realized how much I missed that feeling. I'm not 100% sure as to why I stopped doing it, but I'm definitely going to start working on getting back into this, and - with God's help - I know I can do it. I know that you can, too. "All" it takes is complete surrender. Trust those of us that have experienced it, it's worth it.

Best of luck in the real world and God bless,

-XTopher

"For I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength" Phil 4:13

"All things work together for the good of those who love Him" Rom 8:28

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord..." Jer 29:11