If Tacos Had Wings

Just kidding. I don't think I could keep that going for too long. The amount of scribbles and corrections alone would drive me insane. Sure, it might be "creative," but it's nonetheless inefficient.

Not that this blog has anything to do with efficiency. 

And by "thinks" I mean "things," of course (unless you wanna substitute it as a new way to say "ideas").


Obviously lines have no effect on proper spelling whatsoever.


Alright, done handwriting for now. Thank you Mr. Laptop computer with high-speed internet WiFi connection.


Like many people who reflect on how far technology has brought us just this past century, I find myself exclaiming...to myself...something along the lines of, "How did we ever live without (blank)!"


Imagine: no airlines, no cars, no international highway system, no microwave, no indoor plumbing, no electricity, no penicillin, and God forbid no computers or Facebook.

Yes, there's a brick on my face

This, however, isn't going to be some repeated diatribe over how spoiled we've become. Someone's already done that for me.

So, my hat goes off to you, Technology. 

Anyway.

What I really wanted to focus on were the lines. In the first picture, I've got a clean sheet of paper I can do anything with. I can fold it, scribble on it, or try to write my blog introduction. However, trying to keep things straight, neat, tidy, whatever you wanna call it, is near impossible (for me, anyway).

But with lined notebook paper it's a breeze. I don't really have to think about keeping my sentences straight. I've got something to follow.

Point? Simple enough. The necessity of Rules. But I never was fond of rules growing up. They always seemed to restrict my freedom in doing what I wanted.

That, of course, never really stopped me from doing what I wanted anyway. I remember this one time I was playing with some small holes in the wall. My mother told me to stop, and I, being the all-knowing two year old that I was, didn't and promptly got zapped.

Lesson learned.

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." -2 Timothy 3:16, 17

It's easy to be convinced that the Bible was given to keep us Christians from "having fun." That, or to keep us close minded, ignorant, and just plain backwards. I've heard the accusatory statement that goes something like, "Why would I follow a religion that's based on just a book?"

Well, why would you follow anything that's based on just a book?

The entire point of religion period is that it never is based on just a book, or books, or rules, or any other straw-man argument put forth. Faith, any faith, is so much more than just anything.

That, of course, doesn't mean I don't seek to expand my knowledge and learn other things outside my faith, but that's a discussion for another time.

Even for those who claim to be without faith (who adhere to ideas which come from books as well), it's more than just the decision to one day not believe.

It's the cumulative experiences of an entire group of people throughout history. And to those people, the relationship they've had with their creator(s) (or founder(s) if you prefer).

We're more alike than we realize. Believers, non-believers, undeciders, I-Just-Don't-Give-A-Crap-ers, we all believe our situations and bucket-loads of experience warrant justification of why we see the world the way we do. We have the lines we've decided to follow, and we have the freedom to break out of them whenever we choose (unless you're in prison, metaphorical or otherwise. A little bit more difficult there). Sometimes in small ways (coloring outside the lines). Sometimes in very big, world changing ways (Martin Luther's 95 Theses).

This entry may have felt sparse of support, disjointed, or maybe it doesn't make much sense at all. There are a lot of ideas here that would drive this post into oblivion. Many I've already posted about, but at the end of the day, the point is, we all need and even want the lines, even if we don't recognize the prearranged structure of our very existence.

But the nice thing is, is that even though I was taught to color inside the lines, some of the most amazing, adventurous things happen when I don't.