Had a chance to stay at the W Hotel in Victory Park for the VERY first time. I always wanted to stay in this hotel for one night!
I wanted to do this and take the time to experience this moment on my own and reflect on the many things that are happening in my life.
With that, here are some pictures!
Enjoy!
Drawn by Kendall Lyons (c) Cartoon Daily News
One of the harshest lessons I learned as a teenager is that sometimes you have to go it alone.
I was usually the one kid who would volunteer first because the other kids were “too cool” to do the job, whether it was in my youth group at church or in class at school. Trust me, I wasn’t trying to come off as THAT kid who was trying to impress anyone. I just hated dead air, silence and slow response time. I was pretty impatient!
Sometimes, in the face of career paths, family matters and even lifestyle, it’s no one else but God and you facing today and tomorrow. And to be honest, that’s all you need anyway! And if you think about it, if you absolutely can’t do one simple task without somebody, then I would suggest taking a serious, long evaluation of yourself and the matter at hand.
We all need help from time to time! By no means am I advocating the notion of “every man and woman for himself.” But if you are depending on a human being so heavily to be your guide it says more about your spiritual capacity as well as level of self-esteem and confidence then it does about the other guy.
In the book that I’m writing, I make the point that being different does mean that you have to go it alone. Then suddenly, you’ll blow up in popularity and prosperity, and THEN all of a sudden, people will start noticing you and will want to go with you.
Beware of THAT! Because people will try to leech off of your energy, your creativity, your success and your drive. Why, because they don’t have the courage or the audacity to go on their own and make something of themselves!
You can’t afford that! You don’t have to accept it! You certainly don’t have to go with it or settle!
Perhaps the reason you haven’t got to where you are in life is because you are afraid of walking alone and in that alone time you know very well what will come out: Thoughts you couldn’t bear to wrestle with, issues that you couldn’t face and talks with God that will HAVE to happen in the midst of seemingly annoying silence and loneliness.
The topic of “idol’s” came up earlier this week in time of reflecting and praying.
I recall a Christian art and creativity blogger writing about the fact that we face the threat of turning our very passions into idols if not careful. Jonathan Malm wrote about this issue on his site!
Jonathan had a very powerful point here. If your priorities are totally off, you could find yourself worshipping the art instead of the creator. It’s one of those things where I had to check myself to make sure that my preaching and blogging was about the God who created the artists who created the art, rather than the art itself! Thankfully, I’m right with God in that area and the issue is non-existent!
Handling ones priorities effectively is so key for me, that not studying the Bible is right up there with not eating breakfast in the morning….its just asking for trouble. I’m in a place and position in life to where I MUST be on my “A” game and that means giving you, the reader, and anyone out there for that matter online and offline something that you guys can hang on too for the week.
I thought about that as I was sitting in my living room on Wednesday night…TV off….room well lit….just thinking: “its one thing to have cartoons, its another if cartoons have you!”
Trust me, I know a few folks out there who eat, sleep and breathe an identity that’s not there’s, but the identity of a character from their favorite series, movie or animated series, and its the fact I know those individuals that make me preach so hard about the fact that they do NOT have to keep that identity anymore (but that’s for a whole other article in itself). In one sermon, I made a point that while I’m a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog and am still into playing the games, I am well aware that my days of “pretending” to be the characters have come to an end. I don’t have to adopt the identity of Sonic, because my new identity is in Christ! Remind me to write about this topic in detail again!!!!
It is this very discussion and emphasis on the topic of “idols” that brought me to a serious look at my priorities on a daily basis.
Earlier today, a thought on Faith came to me after reading Hebrews 11:1 and Hebrews 11:3.
Faith is like a newscast, you see a finished and yet unfinished product when it’s on the air, but something behind the scenes thats “unseen” is happening in order for that newscast to hapen! God is awesome like that!
I thought about that for a while and realized this important factor, and the Word of God actually confirms this point, that I must still work and prepare even as I have Faith to see what is not even in front of me yet.
As of late, I have been really thinking and praying and working to determine the first big actions as I go forward and prepare for a huge move that’s about to take place. What is that “huge move,” I am not too sure, but I am preparing myself.
Something great can and will happen in your life, but, you gotta work for it! Get your money right. Get your priorities right! Get your relationships right! Get your relationship with God right! Get your habits in check!
Reluctant Kid by Kendall Lyons (c) Cartoon Daily News, 2012
In Elementary and Jr. High school, I tried as hard as I possibly could to stay off the radar of other kids and adults.
I remember those mornings me and my classmates would pile into that portable classroom. We would take our seats. I would sit in the back…not to cause trouble, but to stay out of trouble.
The teacher would start her lecture. Great, awesome, I would be glad that she kept talking. The longer she talked, the longer I could daydream or just play elevator music inside my head.
Suddenly, the teacher would turn towards the class. She would begin scanning the room.
I would sink into my chair.
“Please, Not Me…Please, Not Me…Please, Not Me,” I would think inmy head, almost shouting it to myself! There I was, gritting my teeth, sweating and almost twitchy.
“Kendall?”
And…she calls me! She WOULD call me when I really didn’t want to answer the question. She WOULD call me, knowing that the rest of my classmates would have something to say about my nasally sound of speaking…my odd way of speaking…or even the simple fact that my first words with the attempt of answering the question would be “well…uh!?”
Once, I said to one of my teachers, “I would like to take a pass on that!”
Needless to say, that didn’t go well!
I didn’t respond like this because I wasn’t paying attention! It was not that I was completely lacking motivation on the subject matter! It certainly was not because of anything I had against the teacher!
I just didn’t want it to be ME! In essence, the issue altogether was ME!
I didn’t want to be noticed. I wanted to stay under the radar. I didn’t want the attention nor was I interested in being in the hot seat only to feel humiliated and miserable. I didn’t want to get picked on, talked about, laughed at or worse! What a way for a kid to start a Tuesday morning, right!?
Then again, adults do this too.
With their dreams, their hopes, their ideas and plans, people out there are saying, “Please, Not Me!?” They are shaking in fear. They are sweating. They are gritting their teeth. They are worried. They are sinking into their chairs like 10 year olds instead of having the faith of one.
I now sit in the classroom of life, as a 27 year old with the faith of a kid, flailing my arms and yelling, “oooh, pick me, pick me,” for the teacher of wisdom, calling and purpose to ask me to answer the question with the answer that’s already obvious!
Kendall Lyons: Youth Minister, Writer, Cartoonist, Speaker
