I know I haven’t written anything on here for a super long time, but here goes…

These are two devotions I recently wrote for my professional writing class. The 2nd one is actually getting published in March. Tell me what you think!

Proverbs 3: 5-6                                                                                              

The Right Path

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: “Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:6 (NLT)

 A few years ago, my dad and I went backpacking in Utah. We walked several miles each day, following the path, trusting that it would take us to where we wanted to go. At times the path would fork off in another direction, and we would have to decide which one to follow. My dad always picked the right one. He knew which one we were supposed to take in order to reach our destination. I followed my dad with complete trust, knowing that he was taking me the right way. 

It’s the same in our walk with God. When we follow God with wholehearted devotion, He leads our life in the correct direction. If we come to a fork in the road, we depend on Him for guidance to show us which way to go. As long as we take the time to stop and listen to God and spend time in His Word, He will grant us the wisdom to make the right decision.

John 15: 12-14

No Greater Love

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 (NIV)

On a Memorial Day weekend a few years ago, a man named James Reddick took his sons, ages 11 and 12, on a hike up Mount Rainier. Out of nowhere a blizzard blew down upon them, burying them in blinding snow. Thinking quickly, Reddick shoveled out a trench for his sons to crawl into. He then crawled inside, too, and put a rain slicker over the opening. The winds were so severe, however, they kept blowing the rain slicker away from the opening. Finally, in an act of total love and sacrifice, Reddick went outside the trench, put the slicker over the opening, and then used his own body weight to hold it in place so that his sons would be protected. Within minutes, Reddick froze to death, but his body weight kept the rain slicker in place. The next day, rescue crews found the two boys and brought them safely down the mountain, along with Reddick’s lifeless body.

James Reddick’s love for his boys was complete, just as Christ’s sacrificial love for us was complete. Let us live our lives in a way that honors so great a sacrifice.

Last week I was feeling inspired and blogged about our calling. This week I’m feeling selfish so I want to talk about my calling. 

Friday was orientation at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. My mom and I drove eight and a half hours to get there and let me tell you, it was worth it. 

After showing up at Taylor at eight in the morning, I was soon reunited with my friends that I hadn’t seen for a year, one of those people being my future roommate. We got to talking and he told me about what he was majoring in. Daniel (that’s my roommate’s name) is majoring in professional writing. He told me all about the program and what it entailed. It sounded perfect. In the professional writing program, you learn many different aspects of writing from screenplays to fiction to writing short reviews. And the best part is this: you get published from your first semester on. 

Now, when I first heard this, I thought it was too good to be true. But Dan assured me that it was the truth. So I decided to investigate. When I arrived at Taylor, my major was English. I thought that this would get me a good start on becoming a writer, but when Dan told me about the professional writing major, I immediately changed my mind.  This seemed like the perfect thing for me. Ever since I was old enough to put words together logically, I was writing stories. And the opportunity to be published as a first year college student seemed like a dream come true. 

This seemed like a sign from God saying “Jonathan, DO THIS!” The only way I can describe it is that I believe I found my calling. God showed me an open door and a career in writing that would actually get me somewhere. 

Later that day, my mom and I met with the professional writing professor. My first impression of him was that he was in your face, up front, eccentric, and personal. He also seemed genuine and I could tell that he was very passionate about what he was doing and he bragged about his current students almost non-stop. He was very convincing and he made me want to be one of the students he bragged about someday.  

My point of all of this is that God works in our lives. It is now very evident to me that God is working in my life and he is showing me where to go with my future. Since arriving back home after orientation, I now have this sense of peace and confidence about this fall. I know that what I am going to be studying, writing, and learning is exactly what I should be doing and I know that God will be glorified through His plan for my life.  And I can’t wait to get started!

Maybe God hasn’t revealed to you your calling yet. Maybe you don’t know what to do with your life. My advice for you is to keep your eyes and ears open. Sooner or later, you will find out what God wants you to do. Examine your talents and your passions. Examine your life and your hopes and dreams. And maybe, just maybe, an opportunity to fulfill your dreams will finally arrive. It can happen. How can I be so sure, you ask? Because it happened to me, that’s why!

I recently went to Summit Ministries in Colorado for a 2 week worldview training course. Out of the 72 hours of classes that I had to endure through every single day, one of the classes was titled Finding Your True Calling. This was one of the most interesting lectures of my time there and I must say that I learned quite a bit about myself from this. 

Ever since I was little, I wrote stories. As I grew older, I matured and so did my writing. During the lecture, the speaker challenged us to evaluate our life and see what we liked to do. The goal of it was to make sure that everyone knew what they wanted to do with their life. For me the answer was obvious: I wanted to write for a living.

The speaker went on to say that we should do whatever we find pleasure in doing. I thought this was great advice because it seems like a lot of the people I know don’t have a purpose for their life. They don’t know what they are going to major in or what they want to do when they get out of college. The speaker challenged us to not be like this. He challenged us to have a plan. 

This seemed like great advice….to everyone who didn’t know what to do with their life. I, on the other hand, had a plan. I wanted to become a journalist for a newspaper or magazine and a writer. Like I said before, writing has always been my passion. That is what I want todo with my life. I had a plan. 

So for my advice for you is to find your calling. Find what you are good at and what you enjoy doing. Find the purpose for why God put you here on this Earth and live it out. Oh,  and have fun doing it!

So…I have a new hero as of tonight. And his name is Sam Hausler (yes, that is my brother). The reason why he just became my hero tonight is because of the change that is so evident in his life. This change occurred because of a Christian camp called Hidden Acres. Sam is a counselor at Hidden Acres this summer, and I can honestly say that it has radically messed up in his life in an amazingly good way! 

Sam admitted to me that before he arrived at Hidden Acres, he was just going through the motions of the Christian life. And I could tell. He was angry and bitter a lot of the time, but I knew that deep down, he was a nice guy. After the first 2 weeks of counseling at the camp, it is crystal clear that he is now on fire for God.

He is my new hero because his revolution has challenged me. I must admit, I haven’t been reading my Bible very often lately and I have been ignoring my daily devotions. In short, I haven’t been growing or learning. Sure, I have been reading Christian books, going to church on Sundays, and attending small group every other Wednesday, but I haven’t been living my faith 24/7 like I should be. Needless to say, Sam has inspired me to do better. He asked me if I had been reading my Bible daily, and I confessed to him that I hadn’t. I felt like a bad person. I know I should do better than that, and I should also be setting an example for my younger brother, but instead it feels like he is setting an example for me.

Because of his newfound desire, he has encouraged me to stop slacking off. Even though it feels as though my life is flying by super fast, with hardly any time to stop and think, I need to find time to be alone with God. I need to be renewed. 

So as of tonight, I’m starting up again. No more putting God’s Word underneath all of my other books. No more excuses. Thanks to Sam Hausler, I’m back on track. Thanks, bro.

BRUNDON FIELDS AND THE MYSTERY OF THE RUBBER DUCKY

(PART TWO)

By Jonathan Hausler

The whole day at school, I studied everyone around me. I studied how they looked at me. I studied their body language when they were around me. I was trying to see if everyone stiffened when I was near them or betrayed some type of nervousness when they saw me. No such luck.

Since my appointment at three was in the boy’s bathroom, I suspected that the thief was most likely a guy, although you could never be too sure. Maybe this “Green” person wanted me to think that, but it was really a female all along. Whoever this mysterious person was, I knew that I would eventually get to the bottom of this troublesome event. I was Brundon Fields, after all. 

My last class of the day was Algebra. I will tell you one thing about Algebra: math and detectives do not mix. There is a good reason why the legendary Sherlock Holmes sat at home all day long: because he failed school. The only thing tolerable about Algebra class was the teacher, Mr. Reeds. He was by far the coolest teacher ever and he was also the youngest. He knew how to make everyone laugh and he even made me feel included in the class discussions. 

Even though he was friendly in class, Mr. Reeds was very strict when it came to homework. During class, when we are grading the homework together, he will walk around the classroom, checking everyone’s work. It is safe to say that Mr. Reeds does not appreciate cheaters or slackers.

Time always went by quickly in Algebra class even though I was failing the class. I was shocked when I heard the three o clock bell ring. Class was over already?
I sighed. It was time for my meeting with Green.  

As I walked to the boy’s bathroom by the gym, I started to feel a bit queasy about this whole thing. Maybe it was a trap. Maybe my rubber ducky wouldn’t be there.

Pushing all of these unpleasant thoughts from my mind, I slowly opened the door to the bathroom, trying to make a stealthy entrance. Despite my attempt to stay quiet, the bathroom door banged shut behind me. So much for stealth.

I cautiously took a few steps forward, listening for any movement in the stalls in front of me. I heard nothing and saw no feet in any of the stalls. Maybe I had beat Green here. 

My next move was to check all of the stalls, just to make sure. There was always the possibility that Green had just left the rubber ducky on one of the toilets. Stall numbers one and two were empty. There was only one stall left. My rubber ducky had to be in there. 

I gently eased open the door to the last stall. At first glance, I saw no rubber ducky in sight. That’s when I noticed the sign on the back of the toilet seat. It boasted a large arrow pointing down and two words that said: DOWN HERE. My rubber ducky had to be in the toilet. 

I ran over to the toilet. I couldn’t wait to get my rubber ducky back! But I forgot one thing: the solution to all of my problems is never this easy. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late. 

Right as I gazed into the clear toilet water, I felt someone rush up behind me. My head was suddenly shoved down, right into the lovely water. I was ashamed of myself. I had let down my guard and was now paying dearly for it. Whoever invented swirlies had way too much time on his hands. 

After what seemed like forever, my poor head was thrust out of the toilet and into the bathroom wall. As you can imagine, a killer headache throbbed through my brain. I felt dizzy and lightheaded, as though I had just gotten off the Silly Silo at Fun Land. 

This whole time, I hadn’t gotten a glimpse of this Green fellow. Turning around to see who was so viciously attacking me, I caught sight of the evil doer who had abducted my adorable rubber ducky. The first thing that caught my attention was his green mask. So this is why he called himself Green. How original. 

Besides the mask, nothing else stuck out. He wore a plain green shirt (of course) and had on some faded American Eagle jeans. He looked completely unfamiliar to me. But there was one good thing that came out of this: I now knew that my nemesis was a male. 

I slowly backed to the opposite corner of the stall from green. I tried not to sway or fall down from the dizziness that I felt. Green just stared at me, as though expecting me to do something. I did the exact opposite. I stood still, hoping that this was all a dream and I would wake up and see my rubber ducky back in its regular spot. But, unfortunately, this was no dream. I had pinched myself just to make sure. 

The creepy part about this whole thing was that the person that hid behind the green mask never spoke, as if he was afraid that I would recognize his voice. Hmm…interesting thought. I stored that in the back of my head for later. 

My thoughts drifted to motives. Why would this masked figure steal my rubber ducky? He must know how much my rubber ducky meant to me. Why would he go to such great lengths to remain anonymous? I must know him and must have been in contact with him sometime in the past. What did he want from me? I had nothing to give him. What had I done to deserve this? Although I didn’t have any friends, I didn’t have any enemies either. 

I was completely and entirely confused. This mystery might just be my hardest case to date. Granted, I hadn’t had many cases before this one. Most of the mysteries that I encountered had to do with missing candy and homework. But this case was different and definitely a lot weirder than anything I had ever experienced before. 

Even more weird was what Green did next. Producing an envelope from one of his front pockets, he tossed it straight at me and then walked out of the stall. He must have more important things to do than steal rubber ducks and beat up nerds like me. 

Thankfully, the dizziness had faded away. My headache was still present, but despite the pain I concentrated fully on opening the mysterious envelope that Green had so graciously given me. Here is what it said:

Brundon Fields,

By now you have been given this letter by one of my henchmen. I am sorry to tell you that I have lied to you. I still have your rubber ducky in my possession. I plan on giving it back to you on one condition: you promise to help me. It’s your choice. If you don’t care about your rubber ducky, then throw this letter away and forget this ever happened. But if you want your rubber ducky back, you will meet me outside of the school’s front doors at 10:00 p.m. sharp. Don’t be late.

Green

I cared about my rubber ducky. I didn’t care if it was another trap. I absolutely needed my rubber ducky back! I would do almost anything for my precious duck. 

The part about the henchmen especially caught my attention. I guess I hadn’t met the real Green after all. No matter, I would just see him tonight because I planned on attending another appointment. This time, I would keep my wits about me. I hadn’t acquired these awesome detective skills for nothing! I was being put to the test with this rubber ducky mystery and there was no way I would fail. Brundon Fields would solve this case. Brundon Fields would get his rubber ducky back. And to do that, I would have to confront Green for real. 

END OF PART TWO

This is the first part in a ten part series that I wrote this Spring. It’s silly and serious, but I hope you like it!

BRUNDON FIELDS AND THE MYSTERY OF THE RUBBER DUCKY

(PART ONE)

By Jonathan Hausler

It all started when I lost my rubber ducky. Yes, I still have a rubber ducky. Yes, I still take baths with it. Yes, I am weird like that. Usually I blame these disappearances on myself, because I am constantly losing things. But this time, it was different. My rubber ducky always sat in the same spot on the side of my bath tub. I never move it. 

So when I woke up on Monday morning and walked into the bathroom to take my morning bath, I was astonished to find that my rubber ducky was missing. It felt like a part of me had died. How could I take a bath without my rubber ducky beside me? 

With tears in my eyes, I took a bath all alone, with my little playmate no where in sight. It was the most depressing bath I had ever taken. 

I was determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. Whoever had stolen my precious little duck would pay dearly. I, detective Brundon Fields, would find my beloved rubber ducky. 

My first suspect was Mom. As I had gotten older, she had tried several times to take my ducky. I had caught her every time. But maybe this time she had gotten lucky…

After I was all clean and dry, I confronted my mother in the kitchen. 

“Mom, have you seen my rubber ducky anywhere?” 

She shook her head. “No, I haven’t seen it. Why? Is it missing?”

I nodded. “It’s gone.”

“Aw, honey, I’m sure it will turn up somewhere.”

As much as I hated to admit it, Mom was telling the truth. I knew this because she was a horrible liar and she could never keep a secret if you asked the right questions. When you live with someone for all of your sixteen years of life, you get to know almost everything about them.

First suspect: innocent. 

Defeated, I walked back into my room and crashed onto my bed. I let my thoughts take over, trying to figure out some logical explanation for how this could’ve happened. I looked over at the clock on my nightstand to see how much time I had before I needed to leave for school. That’s when I saw the yellow piece of paper. It was lying right beside my clock, looking as though it had always been there. But it hadn’t. I didn’t see it there when I woke up this morning. 

I reached over and grabbed the paper, curious as to what it said. Maybe it had to do with my missing rubber ducky…

What I read shocked me:

Brundon Fields,

If you want to see your rubber ducky ever again, meet me in the boy’s bathroom by the gym at 3:00.

Yours Truly,

Green

The letter was typed, erasing the possibility of tracking the handwriting. Whoever this person was, he or she was very, very good. 

This mystery just kept getting more and more complex. How could someone have stolen my rubber ducky and then left a note without me noticing? I was Brundon Fields! I notice everything! 

Still holding the letter, I got off my bed and walked over to my backpack. It was time for school. Whatever this school day held for me, I knew one thing for sure: I had a bathroom appointment at three o clock, to get my rubber ducky back once and for all. 

END OF PART ONE

So…Instead of actually blogging, I’m going to start sharing some short stories that I have written. This is for a couple reasons: I’m lazy and don’t know what else to blog about, and I also think this would be a good way to share some of my more creative writing to others. So I will be posting some of my stories soon, hope you enjoy!

This past Spring Break, I flew to Michigan to visit my awesome cousins, and they introduced me to so many cool things that I felt overwhelmed and spoiled at the same time. But I have to say, the coolest thing that they told me about was this new fad that they called Hipster.

For those of you who don’t know what a Hipster is, here is a brief definition from Urban Dictionary: “Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses. Both hipster men and women sport similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of messy shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. Such styles are often associated with the work of creative stylists at urban salons, and are usually too “edgy” for the culturally-sheltered mainstream consumer.”

Get the picture? Do you now understand what a Hipster is and looks like? Good I’m glad. 

The reason I bring up Hipsters is because they are so unique and special. They rebel against the culture’s and defy the guidelines of fashion. Here is another tidbit about Hipsters non-conformity from Urban Dictionary: “Hipsters shun mainstream societal conventions that apply to dating preferences and traditional “rules” of physical attraction. It is part of the hipster central dogma not to be influenced by mainsream advertising and media, which tends to only promote ethnocentric ideals of beauty”. 

You see, in a way, Hipsters are like Christians. They are not supposed to conform to this world. Instead, they are unique and set apart, thriving in their function. God calls Christians to be in the world, but not of the world. He wants us to not be influenced by the world, but to live in the world. Just like Hipsters, who are not swayed by the social culture and fashion world, Christians must not be swayed by the temptations of this world either. 

Hipsters are cool, Hipsters are hip. I wish i was a Hipster. 

Hopes and Dreams

Hopes and Dreams. We all have them. We all aspire to be someone, to be rich and famous and have a big house and a fancy car. A job that pays a lot of money seems to be a common need and the latest gadgets are also popular wants. 

We all want what is best for ourselves, and sometimes we overlook everyone around us. Sometimes our big dreams of becoming the next millionaire consume us so much that we forget our friends who are struggling to pay their bills every month. In other words: we are only caring about ourselves. 

My word for thought this time is to look outside of yourself. Take a look at the bigger picture. I want you to begin to realize how small and meaningless your life looks compared to the rest of the world. You are just one out of more than six billion people living on this planet. Yet you have the audacity to think that you can become successful and become famous? 

You need to realize that it’s not all about you. There are other people living and struggling just like you, and it is part of your duty as a human being to interact with them. Jesus said that the greatest Commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. When I say neighbor, I don’t just mean the people that live next door to you. I’m talking about everyone in this world that we have to live in harmony with. Loving your neighbor as yourself means putting away your wants and needs, your hopes and dreams, and serving others. It means placing others before yourself and letting them get the better end of the deal. 

Now I know this doesn’t sound very appealing. But believe me, it is satisfying in the end. To me, there is something so gratifying about being humble and knowing that you just helped someone in need. You gave up your seat so that an old woman could sit down. You let your younger brother have the last bagel because you love him. Things like these exemplify what Jesus was trying to emphasize to us when he called this the greatest Commandment. 

Some of you may be thinking, but what about my hopes and dreams? Do I have to put others before those, too? This is an extremely difficult question to answer, but I think in some situations, the answer may be “yes”. Sometimes sick family members have to have higher priority over your job or school. Sometimes God closes a dream opportunity to tell you that you need to be helping others instead or doing something else for His glory. Other times, the answer can be “no”. Maybe our ambitions coincide with God’s plan for our life and suddenly our dreams of becoming a famous writer are fulfilled and we have success. Whatever the case, know that God does have a plan for your life, and He will work it out, whether it’s the plan you want or not. 

I’m not telling you to give up your hopes and dreams, but I just want you to take some of the focus off of yourself and become more aware of the people around you. Someone could be hurting on the inside and you wouldn’t even know because you are way too busy making everything right for you. So take time out of your selfish schedule and make time for your friends, family, and co-workers. Connect with them. Love them. And most importantly, be humble and put them before yourself.