Today Could Be Your Last

   So in wake of recent events in Colorado I decided to write a blog. I wanna start off by saying the fact that this is even a topic about which I can write sickens me. (Warning- This blog will describe the graphic events that  took place in Aurora Colorado.)

    Late Thursday night into early Friday morning a Gunman entered theater 9 of Century theater in Aurora, Colorado. The midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises had brought out hundreds upon hundreds of people to the theater that night. The man came into the theater through the exit around 12:30 AM tossing two canisters of tear gas into the crowded room, followed by  a shot gun burst to the ceiling before opening fire on the crowd. The man was wearing body armor, a gas mask, and riot gear. After emptying the shot gun into the crowd, he pulled out an assault rifle and without hesitation started firing. Victims said that he had no specific targets ,but was just spraying bullets into the chaos that had now began in the theater. After the gun jammed he left it behind and headed to his car parked in the parking lot, this is where police surrounded the gunman and took him into custody without any further issues. But this isnt where the trouble he caused ends. Around 12:00 AM  in his apartment he had rigged music with pre-recorded gunshots in the backround, to blare through the apartment building, this most likely to attract attention to the heavily booby-trapped apartment where , as of writing this, police still have not been able to enter due to the extreme danger that is within the rooms. There were 73 casualties from the shooting, with 12 confirmed dead and many still in critical condition. Upon arrest he told police, "I am the Joker"...
      Where do I begin.... This angers me to a point that very few things in life can. Where does anyone get off thinking that they can change the course of hundreds of lives and have no consequences. This man, whom I refer to as a man only in the lowest sense, had no right to do what he did, yet he did it anyway. No one has found motive but there was always a sense of fame that would come along with this type of tragedy. So In attempt to keep the light off of the coward who committed this crime I have not , and will not, use his name in this blog.
     Ive been watching and reading endless reports on this horrible scene and I cant help but think, that this could have been me. I was in a theater watching the movie,in Ontario, Ohio as this was taking place in Aurora. I remember waking up yesterday and reading the stories and thinking that not once did fear of a gunman in the theater ever cross my mind, and how lucky I truly was to be able to not live with that fear. I feel great sorrow for those who were sitting in a theater much like I was, but didnt go home with great memories of a movie with friends, but instead with fear and pain, and others who would never make it home at all.
     This honestly is just a reminder that every day your on this earth, it could be your last. That not one of us is guaranteed a "tomorrow" . July 20th in Aurora Colorado 12 lives were ended along with hundreds of thousands of others altered forever, but lets find hope in the fact that this event is isolated and that we live in a nation that is so safe, and so protected that a shooting such as this is a rare event. That we live in a country where we dont have to be afraid to walk the streets or see a movie. Dont be afraid, because fear is all this gunman hoped to infuse into the world, but be mindful that everyday is precious, and every life is even much more precious than that. Thanks for reading..
-Colton Lewis

The Stereotypical Christian

   There is a fine line between a Christian and life, and to walk that line is exactly where you should be , now I may have lost some of you right there but Ill get back to that later. But lately Ive been thinking a lot about what separates Christians from other people and other religions , good and bad, and how it looks from the inside/outside.
   Christianity from an outside perspective to someone who doesnt believe in God looks pretty insane, I mean think about it people living their lives all for a God who may or may not exist, praying to him, going to church, worshiping, ect. I mean really it looks insane , But from the inside its completely a different point of view, you cant see how crazy you  look because you're so into it you dont even care . But in a lot of cases it causes a very limited outer view, many times Christians can become so inwardly focused that they dont even   think about how others are watching and how they could be influenced by how you act.
    Some things that are stereotypical of Christians is an" Im always right" attitude, and honestly I cant disagree here. Is every Christian a "single thought process" type person? absolutely not , but it is a lot higher percentage than Id like to admit. Its sad to see the contradictions of Christians who condemn others for their religious views and tell them to come to church right after. Its completely wrong in that sense, who are you to point out the faults in someone elses life choices , you can offer a guidance without offering a single "right" solution. There's a difference between agreeing and accepting.
     Another thing people say Christians do is that Christians become a "clique" . Now this happens a lot too, not all in a bad sense because fellowship is very important, However, there is totally a line to not be crossed in this area. You can have many close Christian friends, but when you require someone to be Christian just to get a second of your time, then you are doing this all wrong. You need to walk on the line of Christianity and life, if you fall to either one side or the other you arent accomplishing anything. Because its only when you can reach into one side and reflect the other that you gain the ability to show others who Christ truly is.
   This blog was kinda all over the place but it was just something on my mind, I feel that Christianity is falling into a not so popular light with the world , and some may say "of course because people dont accept God" while I can see that it isn't all of the issue, Christianity is picking up stereotypes that are less than flattering and I for one would like to change that.