Live to Rise: How We Can BE AVENGERS!

Movies can inspire us, Music can motive us and for those who have seen the new release of THE AVENGERS, you already feel the energy and power that movie had over you as you walked out of the theater. Maybe you just simply enjoyed feeling like a 7 year old again running around in your UNDERROOS, however there is something more that sparks the fire to make a difference where we are.

You may be thinking “Ace you’re an idiot. It’s just a movie” well may be I am, but I’m a man that looks for inspiration or is blessed enough for God to place it around me and earlier this week someone came into my life that inspires me like I’ve never felt before so I’m running with it and feasting on a way to change the world around me so I no longer am defined by anything or anyone who chooses to hold me back.

Looking beyond the movie and what underlining message it stands for, it’s like a song in that I can’t tell you what it means because it means something different to all of us. So all I can do is reflect on what challenges came as I sat enthralled for over 2 hours. As I sat with my daughters, Lennon on the right of me and McCartney in my lap(she’s afraid of HULK so being in Daddy’s arms felt safest. ☺), our eyes were wide open form the opening scene and what felt like we never blink.

The bottom line of this is that we all have a “Loki” in our lives. Whether it’s an addiction we have to over come, a relationship that needs ending or bully that wont leave you alone, a “Loki”, like in THE AVENGERS is the villain in the story of our life that keeps showing back up to pen us to the busted pavement with our body, heart and soul bruised and bleeding. The hardest part in facing the “Loki” in your life is that it may be you. Insecurities, jealousy, blinded judgment are all things that we see in the mirror that we often times allow to define us. When is the time going to come that we RISE and be the AVENGER in our lives that helps change the world.

The lessons learned and the champions that brew inside of us can be found in a movie like THE AVENGERS. There are just a few things we need in order to pull this off and defeat our “Loki”.

1. Choose a Weapon: We have certain gifts that we are blessed with and talents that many believe come from God. I happen to be one of those believers and draw strength from that daily. In choosing a weapon, much like a superhero, they are all gifted with something that makes them strong enough to defend the “Loki’s”. What is your superpower?

2. Tame The Rage: When “Loki” rears his head, its easy to let it wear us down and cause us to rage with fears, doubt and protected hearts so that we cannot do what we need to do to get away from them. Like the HULK, taming the rage is about channeling it for focus not for allowing it vent out of control and cause even more destruction.

3. Put on the Armor: The highest profile of THE AVENGERS is IRONMAN. His genius and armor make him powerful in defeating the enemies he faces and for those who hold their faith close, it is putting on the Armor of God that makes it possible to win and be as resilient as God intended.

4. Bring Your Shield: CAPTAIN AMERICA’s shield is as much a weapon as it is a protector. To defeat the “Loki”, we need a shield/protector to watch out for us. Maybe it’s a prayer you say, a friend that you call or even just the ability to walk away from a situation that will only draw the worse out of you if you allow it to take over your life.

5. Keep Your Wits: One of the lead characters of THE AVENGERS you never actually see but hear. The wit from each character and the moments of sarcasm help to lighten the mood and show us the example of when going through the “Loki” that we have to keep our wits in check too. It helps with healing to laugh, it covers the scars when we make jokes about things that are trying to keep us down. Not to say a “Loki” isn’t serious business, but to quote SEAL, “We’re never going to survive unless we get a little bit crazy.”

6. Strength From Within: We have an inner strength that we often don’t believe exist which means we hardly ever tap into to. Finding the strength seems impossible because the “Loki” is taking over so much of our life that we can’t manage it. The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. A “Loki” can pull us down but I found that inner strength does start with prayer (because even if you don’t believe in God, ask Him for help and He will reveal Himself and Show off) but this also ties into the final point.

7. Support of a Team: The inner strength that allows you to believe you can defeat the “Loki” in your life often starts with talking to people, seeing a movie, hearing a song or reading a book about those who have overcome the VERY thing you need to triumph over.

Now like every great movie, the credits role and the theme song drives home the feeling of accomplishment giving us a feeling that we can do anything. “Eye of The Tiger” inspired us after ROCKY 3 and John Williams theme music at the end of STAR WARS & SUPERMAN series, THE AVENGERS does the same with Soundgarden’s “Live To Rise”. As you put on your armor, choose your weapon, pick up your shield and your wit, tame your anger and rally your team, feast on the thought as you brave your own personal “Loki”, remember, “Like the sun we will live to rise Like the sun we will live to die and ignite again”.