I'll admit it...I'm a sucker for things in the entertainment world that are so bad they are actually, well, entertaining. It's the train wreck effect I guess. You want to look away, but you just can't. Something keeps you glued to the screen or the page - bonding you with the love/hate horrors that are appallingly bad and yet strangely good attempts at some form of art.

The latest for me is the phenom named Sanjaya Malakar. The fauxhawk sporting smoldering eyed American Idol contestant has brought more excitement to the show than it has had in years. There are myspace folks who are on hunger strikes for him to get kicked off, and millions of others who have worn their little fingers out by voting for him week in and week out. Love Sanjaya or hate him, it's hard to look away - right?

But my all-time favorite form of train wreck art is bad writing and poetry. Why? Because writing and poetry are such amazing ways to express feelings and thoughts - so when they are poorly composed, it sticks out like a pimple on the face of life. For example, one of the key skills in writing is the use of good metaphors/analogies/similes. Good ones inspire the imagination, and bad ones mystify the mind (or turn the stomach). Let me share a few of my favorite 'train wreck' *examples to see if you agree.

He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze.

Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

Every minute without you feels like 60 seconds.

Her parting words lingered heavily inside me like last night's Taco Bell.

Speaking of poetry, did you know that you are actually a poem yourself? It's absolutely true. You are a living, breathing, work of art that each and every day appears in front of the world as a masterpiece or a train wreck...and it's completely your choice. Here's how God's word describes what I'm talking about:

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10)

The word 'masterpiece' used here is the Greek 'poema'...sound like any word you know? Of course it does - it is where we get our word 'poem'. In other words, every Christian is a living poem, adding new lines to the story every day!

So how do our lives end up being masterpieces instead of train wrecks? Easy - Paul tells us in the rest of the verse we looked at:

He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Eph 2:10)

Think about it - long before you were even a sparkle in your parents' eyes, you were a complete story in your Father's mind. Before the earth began He already had pulled out the heavenly paper and wrote your name at the top - and a smile came across Jesus' face as He envisioned what your life would look like if you decided to live out the 'good things he planned for us long ago'.

In other words, when you trusted Christ, God gave you a pen and the freedom to 'write' your life poem however you choose...but here's the great part. He also gave you a pattern to follow so your life will be a complete masterpiece. He offers to help you design your living story so that when you get to heaven, you'll look up at God's refrigerator and right there above the living water dispenser will be your 'poema' with a smiley face and big gold star for all to see.

I don't know about you, but that's what I want for my life. That's why each day I try to write good poetry into my life by asking myself how Jesus would handle situations and looking for ways to touch other people's live with the love of God and the gospel of Christ. It helps me to remember that each day, the lines are already there for me...I just need to fill them in.

And when I don't, my life takes on a train wreck quality that looks like a soggy rat making its way through a dark and stormy night.

So if that sounds familiar, remember that you are not some random being who is the product of random chance. You are a masterpiece...God's living poem...His work of art.

Ready to get writing? Me too!