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I don’t watch much television, and I’m embarrassed to say how early I usually go to bed, so I didn’t find out about the death of Osama bin Laden until early Monday morning. I’ll be honest: my first thought was…

What took so long? I guess I’m used to the movies, where bad guys can’t hide anywhere without being found. Didn’t you watch the movie “Heat”?

Then, when I saw everyone rejoicing over the news of a dead man, I heard the following words and paused:

“I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from wicked ways so they may live” Ezekiel 33:11

But the dude was evil, right?

“Moral character makes for smooth traveling; an evil life is a hard life.” Proverbs 11:5

“Good people celebrate when justice triumphs, but for the workers of evil it’s a bad day.” Proverbs 21:15

I don’t know. It seems there’s a scripture verse to support any feelings you have on the matter. If you don’t celebrate, your patriotism is questioned. If you celebrate, in some people’s eyes your morality grows a shadow.

Then, a response from Pastor Michael Slaughter:

“I am glad that Osama bin Ladin’s personal voice for the mandate of hate has been silenced but I am also reminded of the biblical mandate for our attitude of response:”Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice” (Proverbs 24:17)” Thinking of those families who lost people as a result of this man’s hate today (troops and 9/11 victims).

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King David had an arch rival. His name was Saul. Some will claim that Saul was God’s anointed and you can’t compare him to Osama bin Laden, but Saul had a nasty  track record. He tried to kill David numerous times and the Bible points out that the Spirit of God departed from Saul. In a fit of rage, Saul instructed someone to kill 83 priests of God in cold blood.

Sounds like Saul went over to the dark side.

Yet multiple times, when given the chance, David turned down the opportunity to kill this man. Why?

I think it’s because David knew he would be king. He trusted the promise that God had made to him and knew his purpose. The timing of vengeance was not important to him, nor did he believe it was his to control, even when given the opportunity.

On Monday I wondered: was all of our celebrating over the death of one man just a sign that as a nation (and unlike David) we have lost our identity? If we had a strong sense of national purpose, wouldn’t this just be one blip on the screen as we moved forward in other worthy pursuits?

Could it be that we are looking for purpose, so we grasp at any victory, even the destruction of an old man living in a self-imposed prison suffering along on dialysis?

I don’t know the answers to these questions. I know one thing – it’s improbable that any of us know exactly what God thinks about the death of Osama bin Laden. Which is why this week has taken on a somber tone for me, as I remember those whose lives have been so terribly affected by this man, now dead, and I seek after God to better know His purposes here on earth.

What was your take?

Last week Caleb Wilde was kind enough to write a guest post for me: The Dark Chapters – How Being a Funeral Director is Like Writing. Today I’m returning the favor over at his blog but pulling the old switcharoo with the topic. The link for my guest post is right here: How Writing is Like Being a Funeral Director.

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If you are a blogger, make sure to head on over to yesterday’s post and share your own most-read post from April. I’ll announce my favorites on Monday – fame and glory is at stake, so don’t miss out. If you’re a blog-reader, you’ll want to look through the comments section and check out the gems that have already been suggested.

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Incidentally, if this is your first time here, you can check out the story of how my business failed and my wife and I moved our family of six into my parents basement so that I could pursue my dream of writing full time. That story starts here: Falling Through.

There’s also two of my most read posts of all time: “Confessions From the Guy Standing at the Back of the Church” or “The Opposite of Love is not Hate”

It’s that time again! Share your most read blog post of April in the comments section below. Next Monday, after reading through all of them, I’ll share my favorites. If at least 50 people share their most-read blog posts in the comments section below, I’ll hand out a $50 Borders gift card to the winner (so help spread the word on Twitter and Facebook)!

For the best of March, click HERE.

For the best of February, go HERE.

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Don’t forget to check out Rachel Held Evans “Restore Unity” event taking place this week. You can follow the events on Twitter (#RestoreUnity) or check out the roundup from day one HERE. I’ll be posting my own “Restore Unity” blog on Wednesday – stay tuned.

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“In art we are once again able to do all the things we have forgotten; we are able to walk on water; we speak to the angels who call us; we move, unfettered, among the stars. We write, we make music, we draw pictures, because we are listening for meaning…” (Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water)

Check out yesterday’s post, “The Art is Walking On the Water.”

Happy Monday!

“In art we are once again able to do all the things we have forgotten; we are able to walk on water; we speak to the angels who call us; we move, unfettered, among the stars. We write, we make music, we draw pictures, because we are listening for meaning…” (Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water)

One of my greatest desires as a child? Flying. I wanted to fly. Not in an airplane, not with something attached to my body – just a pure, unadulterated, spread-your-arms-wide kind of flying. In my dreams I leaped from my bedroom window and soared above the trees. Those were disappointing mornings, waking up to my pillow and the book I fell asleep reading.

And gravity.

I also believed in gnomes, mostly because of the field trip we took in third grade to a place in the woods where someone had set up a very convincing gnome village. My parents probably worried that I was developing some sort of early-onset twitching disease – I kept jerking my head around, trying to catch a gnome while it spied on me unawares.

But as I grew older, I realized these dreams were not going to happen. They didn’t exist, couldn’t exist. I would not spread my arms and fly. So often this is the way it goes, isn’t it? The older we get, the more impossibilities we discover, the less likely we are to believe that the things we want most can ever come true.

We start to shelve things like “living a life of purpose” and “achieving my goals” alongside our childhood dreams of flying. Our adult dreams of peace and joy and experiencing love start to seem just as unattainable as finding a little person who lives in the air ducts of our house.

This is why art is so important: it reminds us how to imagine, how to believe, how to walk on water. Paintings remind us of the possibility of hope and beauty. Good writing reflects our innermost selves, connecting us with the world. Dance, theatre, sculpture…all are physical representations of unseen truth, reminders that the visible is not everything.

Suddenly child-like dreams of a world without extreme poverty seem possible again, or a world where Christians and Muslims can be friends. We can imagine countries torn by hundreds of years of war finding peace.

Maybe we even spot a gnome or two.

“At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water.” Matthew 14:25

Recently a friend of mine, Andi, lost her mom to cancer. Recently she posted on her blog:

She is wearing a white baseball cap, a green shirt, and that denim skirt she wore a lot when I was in high school. In her right hand is a tub of vanilla yogurt; in her left, a bowl, blue I think. She is smiling as she walks toward me. I smile back.

Then, I wake up to remember my mom will never walk toward me again. I am already crying.

I turn on my phone to get the time and a text from Hannah comes in. She says, “Going to the Relay for Life luminera ceremony to honor your mom. We’re thinking about you.”

I hear Mom’s cat crying in the hallway. Dad says, “She’s looking for Ruth.”

Maybe she was really here.

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It is difficult these days to find a family who has not been affected by cancer. Andi and a team of friends are contributing to the American Cancer Society in the hope that someday that will not be the case.

Check out Andi’s blog HERE

To find out more about Andi’s goal to raise $3000 for the American Cancer Society, go HERE

Picture a boy sneaking under his bed so that he can read late at night without his parents knowing. He holds a flashlight close to the page, and his lips move as he reads the words not quite silently. Suddenly the boy is not under the bed – he is in Narnia or Sugar Creek or Bayport.

That boy was me. So when I realized “The NeverEnding Story” was about a boy who actually is part of the book he is reading, I was hooked instantly.

Here are five writing secrets from one of my favorite childhood movies:

1 – A writer can never lose their hopes or dreams. You may get rejection after rejection from agents, publishers and even friends who don’t understand your work.

G’mork: Foolish boy. Don’t you know anything about Fantasia? It’s the world of human fantasy. Every part, every creature of it, is a piece of the dreams and hopes of mankind. Therefore, it has no boundaries.
Atreyu: But why is Fantasia dying, then?
G’mork: Because people have begun to lose their hopes and forget their dreams. So the Nothing grows stronger.

So long as you don’t lose your hope or give up on your dreams, the Nothing is held at bay.

2 – Luck is real:

Falcor: Never give up and good luck will find you.

The thing about good luck, though, is that it tends to happen to people who keep trying. It’s impossible to get lucky if you quit.

3 – In the next quote, Bastian says something that reflects the way most of us feel:

The Childlike Empress: Bastian. Why don’t you do what you dream, Bastian?
Bastian: But I can’t, I have to keep my feet on the ground!

I can’t try something new, I have responsibilities! I can’t take a risk, I might fail! I can’t try something big – other people will think I’m crazy!

Why don’t you do what you dream?

4) Once you decide to dream, don’t be discouraged by the darkness that occasionally comes:

Bastian: Why is it so dark?
The Childlike Empress: In the beginning, it is always dark.

When you first start out, there’s a lot of uncertainty, a lot of doubt, a lot of darkness. The good thing about that is, your pole star will be easier to spot.

5 – Don’t wither in the face of your doubts. Punch them in the nose:

Mr. Koreander: Whoa whoa whoa, who were you running from?
Bastian: Just some kids from school.
Mr. Koreander: Why?
Bastian: They wanted to throw me in the garbage.
Mr. Koreander: Why don’t you give them a good punch in the nose, hm?

Any writing secrets you learned from “The NeverEnding Story”? Do you believe in luck? What do you do with self-doubt?

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Similar posts include:

Five Writing Secrets I Learned From “The Princess Bride”

Five Writing Secrets I Learned From “Dumb and Dumber”

Five Writing Secrets I Learned From “Airplane”