What Inspires You?

So the other day in a meeting we were asked "what inspires you?" I didn't know the answer. At least not the root of it. I like stories. Especially when they're well told. I derive a lot of inspiration from them. I specifically mentioned Rudy, which is close to being the most inspirational movie of all time.
The more I thought about it, the more that I realized that I like people who beat the odds. I've always described myself as a punk. If somebody says something can't be done, then I like to try to find a way to do it. I like doing things when they're improbable. When the odds are stacked against me. When I don't have all the resources. When all it takes is a lot of work and discipline. That's what inspires me. JM

Inspiration

I think you can learn something from every experience you have. Or, better said, I think you SHOULD learn something from every experience you have. A lot of times I'll show up for something and think I know exactly how things are going to go. I prejudge the experience based on what has happened before. Whether it be talking to a certain kind of person, going to an event, speaking for a certain kind of program, I have certain expectations.
Those expectations can rob me of education, though if I don't always look to learn from every experience.
One time I was watching stupid dating show on MTV where a girl goes in and chooses a date based on only seeing 3 prospective daters rooms. The show is nearly the stupidest thing I've ever seen on TV (I saw an episode of that My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad show once, which was way worse). So this girl is in this dude's house and she sees a picture of a hand drawn-ghost with an M on it. The guys are watching her go through the rooms and he explains to the other guys that it's the ghost of mediocrity and how they try to make sure that they always live life to the full instead of settling for mediocrity.
I loved it. Not the show, but that 8 second clip. Hence, the genesis of this blog's name.
Always be looking to learn from every experience you have.

Information Vs. Inspiration

A lot of people in youth ministry are talking about what needs to be done to stop graduation high schoolers from leaving the church. Usually the focus is on information: We're not teaching enough apologetics so when students leave for college they feel that Christianity won't stand up to scrutiny.
I don't think that's the problem. The problem isn't information. The problem is inspiration. Kids don't care. They don't see Christ as being relevant in their lives. They're not inspired or awed by Jesus. That's the problem.
We shouldn't be wondering how we can give kids more information, we should be wondering how we can inspire more students to fall in love with Jesus. JM