A time for God? Always.

Moments before I fell asleep last night, I checked Twitter one last time to find a breaking news report of a major earthquake in Japan. There were no details yet, but it was still a frightening report.

And moments after I woke up this morning, I checked Twitter to see what the world had to say last night. The majority of the messages were kind words and prayers for the people of Japan and all those affected by the earthquake and subsequent tsunamis. But there were a few messages that provided a different response to this great natural disaster.

Several people were saying that now is the time to find God because with all of the death and destruction in recent years, the end times are surely near.

As I read these messages, I couldn't help but wonder the same thing myself, but I was also filled with sadness. Does Christianity teach us to find God in the possible waning minutes of our lives? Shouldn't we strive for a Christian life because we are alive and not because we might die soon?

We are all going to die at some point; that is a fact. To place an emphasis on finding Jesus after an earthquake or a flood is a viewpoint that has strayed from the path that I think we are supposed to follow.

Yes, I would love for everyone to believe in the God that I believe in. I would love for the entire world to believe that Jesus loves everyone. I would love for the world to believe...

But we live in a world that believes many different things.

If you aren't drawn to Christianity, be Jewish or Muslim or Buddhist. If organized religion isn't your cup of tea, believe in something, something good hopefully; believe in the possibility of a peaceful world with opportunities for all.

Life is a journey up an enormous mountain. Amongst the countless paths up the mountain, we might stumble, but there is always an outstretched arm waiting to pick us back up so that we may keep climbing.

We're in this together. I'll see you at the top, if not somewhere along the way...

I'm kicking my ash.

The seasons are changing. The seasonal calendar is about to turn to Spring. The baseball calendar is about to begin. And the Christian calendar has just turned to the season of Lent.

With Lent comes sacrifice. From Ash Wednesday until Easter, for 40 days, many around the world give up certain things. Some give up Facebook and others chocolate.

I have never given anything up for Lent. Presbyterians observe Lent and all of it's special days, but there is no emphasis put on the personal sacrifice like there is by other denominations and groups.

This year, unlike any other year, I am not giving anything up. I am, however, taking on a new challenge. Over the course of the next 40 days, I will do at least 2,500 push-ups and 4,000 crunches, and walk or run at least 100 miles.

This may not seem like an enormous goal for some and it might seem impossible to others. To me, it seems just right. Enough time and effort will have to be put into this to make it a significant task, but it is time that I normally spend watching television and effort that is wasted on thinking about tasks I never accomplish, much like this one.

I once heard one of my favorite sports writers say he never talks about potential projects because if they don't happen, people are constantly asking about them and he has to go through the story of what went wrong. Using that same theory, I'm blogging about this so people might ask me about it down the road.

I've learned I don't have much problem letting myself down, but very rarely am I willing to allow myself to let someone else down. So, hopefully, towards the end of this project, one of you will ask me how I'm doing and I will have good news to report.

And if I don't? I'll have one hell of an excuse.

Happy Wednesday,

Moles