Mere Words Are Not Enough

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Sometimes words are not enough.

So desperate are we to be understood,

So dependent on identity…

It feels like without it, we are nothing.

Sometimes words are not enough.

Offering condolence feels so cliché.

Encouraging might appear condescending.

Our words are likely some overdone chatter.

Sometimes words are not enough.

Contributing to the think tank…

It’s a race to offer the best, the most valuable idea.

Someone is always left feeling like an idiot.

But maybe sometimes MERE words are not enough.

What if expression is exhibited without an audience?

What if kindness and sympathy were unique to the giver?

What if ideas contributed to the collective art and philosophy of God’s image?

Might then our words be enough? Might then we consider ourselves independent of the opinion of others?

Your Daily Dose of Perspective – September 7, 2015

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chess-316657_1280Your Daily Dose of Perspective

@LandonMetts

Did You Knowafghanistan-79493_1280

  • Almost half the world — over 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.
  • 1.1 billion people — a quarter of humanity — live without electricity.
  • 4 billion people live outside the protection of law.

(compassion.com)

Paradigm Shift

Starting each day can be quite a task! Within seconds of opening our eyes our minds are flooded tasks, responsibilities, hopes, and fears. Some of us might rush to the bathroom, flip on the light switch, and hop in the shower as quickly as possible. Others may methodically file into our daily routines, making coffee and catching up on the morning news. Before we know it, we are inching our way towards mid-day completely immersed with sensory overload and minds working a million miles an hour. The lifeline of our smart phones serve as the very necessary distraction from the mundane as we trudge on fiercely battling mediocrity and purposeless with every every fiber of our being. But for many of us, this is the norm. This is the way the world works: fast and filled with choices galore. And yet, in truth, its really not the norm, at least for the world. The majority did not wake up feeling safe in their homes. A quarter of humanity do not have any aspect of refrigeration as part of their lives. No ice. No cold water dispensers. The majority of the world do not think as we do in our regular day to day because they lack the choices, the means, and the privilege.

hands-543593_1280Challenge

What if we could start today taking pause to reflect on these blessings? What if we could trek on life’s journey recognizing the vast amount of choices, conveniences, and privileges that afford us the time to take on more options and choices that most people in the world cannot? Maybe we might take the needed pause and reflect on God’s providence. Maybe we would pray for opportunities to help those around us in need whether it be materially and/or emotionally. Jesus set the bar in the story of the Good Samaritan:

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.  He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.  And the next day he took out two denariiand gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’  Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” Luke 10:30–37 ESV

Let us start today recognizing God’s blessings and seek out ways to show the love of Jesus and the greatest gift there is, the gift of salvation. No blessing is greater than this and nothing reflects the love that God has for His people better.

Faith Has Friends

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Faith was never intended to stand alone. In today’s culture we often hear in Christian and Secular rhetoric the phrase, “Have Faith!” And yet the Bible teaches that faith alone does not cut it. James tells us that faith without works is dead (James 2:13) and more specifically that a person is justified not by faith alone (James 2:24). Faith is no doubt instrumental in our ability to exist in the hope of our salvation through Jesus Christ. However, faith can be so much more than the whimsical emotion accompanying belief. Faith has friends. Faith has fortified compatriots. Peter encourages us, in escaping the corruption of our sinful desires, to:

amazing-736875_1280“…make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8)

What valuable teaching for us! The danger and often disaster of pursuing faith alone is the foundationless emotional dependency that is so “wishy-washy” in our lives. How can we grow in our sanctification when we anchor ourselves to our faith alone? No, it was not intended to be this way. 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Both Paul and Peter knew that faith is necessary, but it is also just one element in our journey to indulging in and reflecting the love of God. So let us look at these valuable attributes that we are to aspire for in addition to our foundation of faith:

lake-801871_1280Virtue – The attribute of goodness. It is the quintessential effort of aspiring to think and act righteously.

Knowledge – The prize of discovery. This knowledge is acquired from the Holy Spirit as He teaches us through the Bible, prayer, people, and circumstances.

Self-Control – The fortitude of conviction. It is obtained by the recognition that all of our needs are satisfied through Jesus.

Steadfastness – The ability to persevere. Steadfastness exists with peace only when hope is on the forefront of our minds.

Godliness – The purity of our adoption. Because we are only clean by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our godliness exists as we point to Him.

Brotherly Affection – The fellowship of grateful co-heirs. Our ability to look on another and envision them with the grace and love that the Lord sees when He looks upon us.

Love – The greatest of aspirations. To live apart from fear. To live apart from hate. To live, aspiring that in every moment we are grateful for all that God the Father has created, thankful for our salvation through Jesus Christ, and honored that the Holy Spirit is within us, guiding us to become more like Christ.

These seven attributes that we are to aspire for in addition to faith give us a concrete lesson plan for our lives. Thus, when we face the “wishy-washy” nature of our emotions and wonder where the solid ground is, we can look at 2 Peter 1:5-8 and know that faith has friends and we would do well to aspire for them.

“Anxiousness & Fear” – excerpt from Pursuing Wisdom: Unmasking Theology

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Anxiousness is “characterized by extreme uneasiness of mind or brooding fear about some contingency: worried” (Merriam-Webster). It is not surprising that this is in direct connection to the fears coming from our ultimate need. Is it not obvious that there would naturally be a sense of fear a lone creation, in the absence of his or her Creator, would feel? But just to make sure we are on the same page about this leery nature induced by fear, let us also look at the definition of fear.

Fear is “to be afraid or apprehensive” (Merriam-Webster).This emotion is induced by an imminent danger the creation is subject to in light of being unplugged from the Source. The creation cannot sustain itself eternally. Therefore, whether or not the conscious mind allows itself to be aware of the existence of God doesn’t change the fact that God exists and furthermore everything in us and around us is disconnected from him and cries out with urgency due to impending doom.

We must be careful not to miss the important difference between anxiousness and fear. While fear is clearly the emotion of that natural danger we reviewed earlier, anxiousness is “characterized by extreme uneasiness of mind.” It would be very easy to simply write this off as another description of emotion. However, utilizing our progressive understanding of our reasoning we can clearly see that while fear is the emotion, anxiousness is the result of human reasoning being applied to the emotion.

When we are anxious or worried, it is not simply an emotion. Anxiousness would be the precursor to the rise of the prevention need we learned of in the first chapter. We know that appealing to the human nature in I Must Resolve is obviously not-God. However, fear is the effect of noticing the disconnection and instability we have on our own. It is then that the choice is made about where we go in order to resolve it. Therefore, if part of wisdom is reason applied to revelation, then anxiousness would simply be human reasoning applied to fear. It is in this stasis that modes dominate and conquer the human psyche.

There are only two ways to remove anxiousness. The I Must Resolve way cultivates modes to the point that the reality of our disconnection is denied and replaced with modes suggesting dominance over emotion. The submissive God Will Resolve way removes anxiousness by casting our cares upon the Lord (I Peter 5:7) and, in faith, gaining a “peace that transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:6-7).

The only reason I am going into this much detail about a subject catered to in the first chapter is because I feel it is important for us to understand, as Christians, that our human nature will cry out against our attempts to push through mere feelings in pursuit of our need of discovery. It is only natural that we will face a rebellion from our human state as we seek with the fullness of our faith to grow closer to God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Our desire for wisdom will create a sense of turmoil within us.

With the revelation of modes and the exposure of insecurity, it is so easy for us to cater to feelings. Furthermore, with the aid of human reasoning (mode) we could easily disassociate ourselves from introspection. But let us not be like Logos was originally whereby we would merely attempt to manipulate the indicators of our deficiencies. Let us run with earnest in the effort of exposing all that hinders us from having a deeper relationship with our Lord. Let us trust with the God Will Resolve mentality, which is only natural to the new creation and those reborn who follow Christ, that the Holy Spirit will reveal to us our purpose and direction.

Meet Actor – Ken Dohse

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Check out this phenomenal Atlanta-based Actor, Screenwriter, and Acting Coach. He just happens to be my brother-in-law.

MV5BMzAyMzA3NDM1M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzQ4NDA1MjE@._V1_SY317_CR20,0,214,317_AL_Ken Dohse – Actor

Latest Projects – The Reins Maker, Mission Improbable, Selma, Resurrection (TV Series)

Life Quote – “An attitude of gratitude will give one a higher altitude for a greater longitude”

My Impression – Of course, I am biased since he is family. However, I think it also gives me an unique insight into his character. In prep and on set, Ken has been highly regarded by big names in the industry to be one of the most pleasant, flexible, and kind-hearted individuals in the business. He is tenacious at researching for organic character development and he is committed to giving 150% to every role he is a part of. He is an encouragement to countless people and he is a rising star that will surely be counted as one of the up and coming in Atlanta. In his roles, you can look forward to seeing his excellent use of varying facial expressions, poised determination, and tempered vocal tone.

Check out his IMDB link

IMDB BIO – With nearly 30 years of acting industry experience, Ken Dohse’s credits include stage plays, musicals, small-screen, television commercials, television programs, web-series and feature films. He began his acting career in his high-school theatre in Salem, Wisconsin, a small town nestled in the woods just an hour north of Chicago. It was there he was cast as Charlie Brown in “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”, Ivan Ilyitch Cherdyakov in “The Good Doctor” by Neil Simon, and Manuelo Costazuella in “The Female Version of the Odd Couple” and sang and danced for three years in show choir. After high school, he studied acting and modeling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois. After auditioning for a role on NBC’s Unsolved Mysteries in 1988, he was cast and thus the acting bug stuck! However, knowing the importance of a college education, Ken studied theatre and communications at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he starred in plays and musicals such as “The Mousetrap”, “Arsenic and Old Lace”, “The Makado”, and “Taming of the Shrew”, to name a few. He graduated in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in Communications and minors in English, Drama, and Bible. After graduation, Ken found his bride-to-be in Atlanta, GA on a random business trip. In early 1994 he moved to marry his bride, Christina. Together they worked in their church theatre. Ken directed, acted and wrote scripts for worship and large scale musicals. In 1999, he was offered a position in Jacksonville, FL, where over the next 9 years, he directed, produced, wrote and acted in over 27 large-scale musicals and plays such as “Alone on the Altar”, “The Christ, The Cross and The Crown”, “On A Hill Too Far Away”, I’ll Be Home For Christmas”, “Bless This House” along with others also televised in the local Jacksonville market. Also, in Jacksonville, Ken auditioned for AMTC (Actors Models and Talent for Christ) and took two years of acting classes in Orlando, FL and in Jacksonville, FL. A local talent agency in Jacksonville signed Ken and he is now a working and booking stage, television and film Actor, landing roles in “The Jesus Film”, “Mercy”, “Finding Forgiveness”, and “Near Dead”, an offshoot of “The Walking Dead”, as well as “Evergreen, Love Your Lawn”, a television commercial in the Orlando Market. Ken studied film acting under Film and Television Actress, Cindy Hogan, who is one of his mentors. Not even in Atlanta a year yet, Ken is the Lead Instructor with the International Performing Arts Academy in Atlanta. He teaches actors ages 8-50. Ken’s other Atlanta regional credits include, “Hometown Bank” television commercial in Alabama, “Passing”, a short film of the life of a Dahlonega gold miner in the 1850’s, “Muse” a play produced by 7 Eight Theatre Company based in Atlanta, a background actor on “Being Mary Jane” on the BET Channel, “The Haves and Have Nots” as well as had the opportunity to work twice on the feature film, “Selma” allowing him to work with the talent and graciousness of Oprah Winfrey, Martin Sheen, and Cuba Gooding, Jr. Ken wrapped the feature film, “Love Waits” in Tennessee playing the role of “Pastor Perkins”. Ken is cast in the feature film in production entitled “Dancer”. In addition, Ken has been cast as Eli Burton in “The Colors of Emily”, filmed in southern Indiana in 2014. 2015 is already ramping up with four feature films, “Kate’s Walk” as Eli Burton (sequel to “The Colors of Emily”), “The Cardinal Rule” as Antony, and two more announced castings but not yet made public. Ken just wrapped season 2 of “Resurrection” on ABC as a Returned Man in the town of Arcadia, episodes 203, 205, 209, 211 and 213.

Welcome To My Revamped Website

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LandonM_042 RET-2Thank you for visiting my site. Please feel free to peruse and see my latest projects. I am an Actor and Christian Writer living in Atlanta, GA and I am invigorated, encouraged, and inspired by so many people that pursue their passions and genuinely seek to grow in truth and positivity. Reach out if you have a page or an interest that you would like me to check out and comment on. Thanks!

Landon Metts

Susan’s Song

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In Memory of my dear wife’s mother, Susan Simmone, who departed from us to be with Jesus on February 6, 2015

Susan’s Song

Be not there a sullen cryDSC01584
Despairing now for me.
Many wonder why,
Afraid of passing by,
And yet the time is nigh,
For precious memories.

In youth I played and grew
Ne’er missing childhood joy.
Each day was bright and true,
Regrets were but a few,
For my heart was made anew,
By my Savior Jesus Christ.

I lived and laughed with you.002Baby Daphne & Mom
We sang, we worked, we cried.
Ever mindful to imbue,
A love, which was the glue,
Our friendship always knew,
That no one could deride.

T’was then He granted me,
My precious little girl.
And I was blessed to see,
Her grow and love so deeply.
I am so proud of my Daphne,
More than anything in the world.

So be not there a sullen cry
Despairing now for me.
I do not wonder why,
Eternity is mine,
And yet the time is nigh,
For precious memories.

 

Timid Heart

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Oh my timid heart,
Tis passion you command.
For better or for worse,
My attention you demand.
For reason governs logic
Guiding A to B to C,
But a tug of the nostalgic
Will bend reason to its knee.
And so my timid heart
Forget not what you are.
Though you incur the hurts,
You also set the bar
For how long you shall endure
The intensity of offense,
You have power to move on
From the pains you can diminish.
So look to the horizon.
You were never meant to be
Confined, stalled, or stagnant
Go forth, my heart, run free.

A Child’s Hope

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She came into my arms,
Eyes red and full of tears.
I queried with alarm,
Oblivious to the harm
Inflicted by her peers.
They wouldn’t play with her.
She was crushed and quite dejected.
My heart began to stir
For what I once endured
When young and first rejected.
But how could I reply
Except by warm embrace?
I couldn’t tell her why.
Her age was merely five
And words had seemed a waste.
She wiped her face and ran away
At once, without a care.
Determined, she returned to play,
Forgetting their maligning way,
Choosing hope and not despair.