Another on Perspective. Man, I will tell you what. Life is so crazy. It baffles me how much things can get thrown so far out of whack at times. By that, I don’t necessarily mean BAD, but I specifically mean the area of perspective. This has been a huge concept for me lately as a number of you probably already know. Perspective. You know, it’s just a word that gets thrown around a lot, but lately it’s been so real to me. The crazy thing is that I know there’ll probably be times in my life when even more of that concept of perspective is revealed to me.

To specify, here’s the deal. I’m Jeff Carl. I love music. I love writing. I love learning. I could keep describing myself but that’s dumb, so my point is that up until this point, Jeff Carl has been defined... not only in the minds of others but in my mind as well. Sometimes, I get so caught up in the present and what the world predicts me to be, and I get lost. I so often lose sight of what really matters in this world. Sometimes it’s not even that I lose sight of it, but I forget what life means altogether. That’s such a crazy concept. It’s like, I wonder sometimes why I feel so confused inside, so aimless, so directionless and empty. The answer is so incredibly simple. It’s because I’ve lost my perspective.

As a Christian, we all have one true goal in life: to glorify God in all that we say, think, and do. I know that sounds basic and simple, but that’s a very on-the-surface sentence. It’s simple, yet isn’t it crazy how, at times, we lose that? For example, when it comes to music, which is my (by far) most intense outlet of all for my inner emotions, I lose sight of the beyond-the-music factor which only leads to the following occurrence: blank stares at the piano keys, empty/no lyrics, incongruence, sloppiness, frustration, confusion, etc.... Yet, once I gain the right perspective on the song, all the sudden it comes alive. I can FEEL the song. That’s what it’s all about, because perspective effects EVERY single aspect of our life.

Today was day 1 of Sharathon. Already, there have been some incredible stories from listeners who have been immensely touched in some way, shape, or form by the “spiritual fingers” of Family Life Ministries. I listened in on some of the moments, and there are some POWERFUL situations out there. It was kind of a slap in the face for me, because I know that it’s been awhile since I’ve had one of those powerful stories. I just needed to be reminded of what the focus of this all is. Life is SO worth living, but not alone and not for the glory of Self.

Once again, it’s not that I’m learning this and am automatically going to be 100% strong in my faith or anything. Of course, I’ll stumble. I’ve learned to deal with the fact that I’m a rogue, dumb, hopeless human being who is far from perfection. YET, I will ever strive to live a better day, be a better Christian, and hold on to the right perspective. I have to, otherwise, my every day will be left at a dead end of confusion, emptiness, and disappointment, and I can’t do that.

Evan and I were talking today about how ability alone is worthless. Likewise, passion alone is worthless. However, when ability and passion are combined, that’s when things start happening. Now, with all these thoughts mentioned above, I will proceed ONE step further. Passion and ability mixed with a right perspective... now THAT’S unstoppable. The world needs that. It’s up to us.  ¶ 12:48:00 AM