Holy smokes, I can’t believe I started blogging a year ago!  When I first started I was using a service other than WordPress.com and it just wasn’t cutting it.  Eventually I moved, but my old blog host didn’t have a compatible exporting tool for WordPress so I lost a bunch of my old stuff.  I was able to save some of it though, so to celebrate the one year anniversary of starting my blog I’m re-posting my first post below.  Enjoy!

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I was in 7th grade when “The Karate Kid” came out in theaters (aaahh the eighties).  Since my last name (Danielson) was nearly identical to the main character’s nick name (Daniel-sahn), I immediately knew I was in trouble.  How could I not be? I was overweight, loved comic books and was really quiet…I was a bully’s dream.

Suddenly every afternoon I was faced with “tough guys” who would say things like, “C-mon Daniel-sahn. Show me your stuff. Fight me Karate Kid!” Then I’d get my butt kicked.

The irony is that I was usually a good 5 to 7 inches taller than the bullies.  I would go to bed at night wondering, “Why didn’t I fight back? I’m bigger than these guys. If I tried, I could probably crush them.”  But I didn’t fight back.  By the way, you couldn’t pay me enough to re-live Jr. High!

Anyway, one of the most important lessons I learned during those years was that of meekness.  I had been told in church that Jesus was meek and that meekness is not weakness, but “power under control.”  When I got into High School God really got ahold of my life and I decided to try my best to honor Jesus.

But once again the bullies struck and I decided to fight back.  I really knocked around a kid named Eric when he tried to choke me in the locker room.  I also hit a kid named Michael in the face with my backpack when he tripped me.  These two guys stopped picking on me immediately, but my victory felt empty because I knew that I would never get to have a significant conversation with either of them.

Now all these years later I’m still trying hard to live a life of character and integrity.  Daniel-sahn’s teacher, Mr. Miagi, would say, “Focus Power Daniel-sahn.”  I’ve learned alot about controling my anger and focusing my power.  When I feel victimized or enraged rather than simply reacting, I try to stop and ask myself this question: “What power do I have in this situation and how can that power be focused or directed to make a great difference for God and His purposes?”  Every time I ask this question I realize the irony….I have no real power. God is the only one with real power.  So I seek to focus His power for His purposes.

How has God empowered you?  How can you use that strength or those abilities to affect people positively for Christ?