Some folks have kindly requested that I post notes from class.
Other folks have asked me to consider writing. I am enjoying catching up on a few things around the house and in the community, but I may add future thoughts to these pages maybe on a weekly basis.
Thanks so much. I learned so much through writing and processing thoughts down on this blog.
Here are the notes...
Spiritual Practices
Lesson 4: Simplicity
March 18, 2012
Salem Presbyterian Church
Lenten “Get Going” Sunday School Series
In The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer writes,
“Every age has its own characteristics. Right now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity, which is in Christ, is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations, and a world of nervous activities, which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart.
“The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all.”
Simplicity
Richard Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth points to these aspects of simplicity as a discipline in his chapter on simplicity as a discipline, he mentions "shunning anything that distracts you from seeking the kingdom of God."
• speak in simple truths that are easy for us to live by
• constantly being better than others.
• temporal, impermanent things
• giving to others out of a place of joy and willingness in our hearts
• sense of gratitude for everything we have.
Mind clutter/ house clutter
Notes based on Charles R. Swindoll’s book – So You Want To Be Like Christ
• We live with far too many things
• Most of us don’t plan for leisure or reflection time
• Most lack joy in important accomplishments – Rich’s reading
• Many of us owe more than we can repay
• Do our modern gadgets really save us time?
The Bible says:
i. “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” Phil. 4:11
ii. “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business”
I Thess. 4:11
iii. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
Sources
Quaker Book of Wisdom: Life Lessons In Simplicity, Service and Common Sense
Robert Lawrence Smith
So You Want to Be Like Christ: Eight Essentials to Get You There
Charles R. Swindoll
Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth
Richard Foster
The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out
Brennan Manning
Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing to Heaven
James Bryan Smith
Homework
Take time to pray, meditate, to be silent and to relax. Use the word “no,” even if you are “multitalented.” And remember “No room, no quiet space, no time for God.” Swindoll
"Our life is frittered away by detail... simplify, simplify."
Henry David Thoreau
"Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of its filling a vacuum, it makes one. If it satisfies one want, it doubles and trebles that want another way. That was a true proverb of the wise man, rely upon it; "Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure, and trouble therewith." Ben Franklin
"We are joined in a responsibility together make this world a good one for all of us. Each of us warms the world or chills it inasmuch as we offer or withhold respect, hospitality, encouragement, love or truth." Rich Mullins
France Fénelon wrote: “Your mind is too much taken up with your circumstances, and this hinders you from understanding the mind of God . . . I think it is such a hindrance to the kind of quiet meditation in which God reveals Himself. You must learn to be humble and simple . . . Be content with leading a simple life.”
"If thou art absolutely obedient to God, then there is no ambiguity in thee and... thou art mere simplicity before God." Soren Kierkegaard
"There is the danger and the temptation to you, of drawing your minds into your business, and clogging them with it; so that ye can hardly do anything to the service of God." George Fox
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." ~Leo Tolstoy
"A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety." Aesop, Fables
“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.” Mother Teresa
"The true way to gain much is never to desire to gain too much. He is not rich that possesses much but he that covets no more; and he is not poor that enjoys little but he that wants too much." Francis Beaumont
"I neglect God and his angels for the noise of a fly, for the rattling of a coach, for the whining of a door." John Donne
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.” C.S. Lewis
"If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first." Mark Twain
“So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear? Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all its righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” Matthew 6:21-23
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Well, here goes...
Our class will be meeting this weekend. Sunday, 9:30 AM.
Send prayers. We'll need it. I'm no public speaker.
But the handouts will be really professional.
The importance is the gathering, the communion of saints.
which leads to this...
Link of the day...
Apostle's Creed - broken down by the scriptures...
http://www.godonthe.net/evidence/apostle.htm
Quote of the day...
Speaking of the orthodoxy..."God and humanity made it; and it made me." G.K. Chesterton
Bible verse of the day...
"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Galatians 3:26-29
Send prayers. We'll need it. I'm no public speaker.
But the handouts will be really professional.
The importance is the gathering, the communion of saints.
which leads to this...
Link of the day...
Apostle's Creed - broken down by the scriptures...
http://www.godonthe.net/evidence/apostle.htm
Quote of the day...
Speaking of the orthodoxy..."God and humanity made it; and it made me." G.K. Chesterton
Bible verse of the day...
"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Galatians 3:26-29
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Day thirty... Just when you think you got it...
Dad's in charge this morning! We won't be late! Let's go! Leaving in 5 minutes!
What do you mean you need to eat breakfast? How does your mother..?
How does she get any of you to school on time?
Teeth brushed, hair combed. It's picture day... No green... you'll fade into the backdrop for the pictures. But we have to wear green! Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day! We'll get pinched.
Ugh. OK. Green underwear. Now, let's go!
Alright. Get in the car. We'll get biscuits on the way.
Like lovely little ones, they listened to their daddy and climbed on in.
Just like that. Believing that I was on top of things, believing I knew what I was doing. I am the dad after all, you know. One drive-thru is too long. The other, nobody liked the food. We pull up to the third stop.
You know what you want? Good! We've still got time to make it on time!
And then, you know what I did?
I reached into my pocket to pull out my...
FRICKENFRACKENSCROOPIOUSPIP! WHERE IS MY DANG-O-DANGO WALLET?
and just like that, I let 30 days of simplicity, 30 days of focusing and finding Christ in my life fall to the side.
Now, I am not a cussing person. At least not on the outside. I've slipped once or twice but most of the time it all goes on inside my head. And today, the kiddos didn't hear anything that they could not share with their friends at school... but they could see it in my face, in the tone of my voice.
I stressed them all out, trying to get them to school, trying to do my best to beat that clock on the wall... but I was bested by my own disorganization.
We got back into the car, drove back to the house, where we found our hero Mommy (Thank You, Ashley) who handed me over her last ten bucks of her spending cash. We dashed back down the driveway, hit the road and headed back for the biscuits. The poor kids still hadn't eaten.
When we got to school, I let the boys out the door and right underneath my son's book bag... I found my wallet.
I let them off at school, drove off waving, trying to smile but after I got past their school I pulled over to the side of the road and just paused and prayed... "God, why do I keep letting this happen?"
Yeah, that's right. This wasn't the first time. Same spot. Just a few months ago.
But actually, this is an amazing improvement over last year.
Last year, we were haunted by a gremlin who kept hiding my wife's car keys in my pockets in the mornings. I would pick up my set, I would remember that. But then I would get to school and Ashley would call and say, "Umm, Chip. Do you have my set of keys in your pocket?" She would be stranded at home and I would find her only copies, right there with me.
You want to know the most frustrating, kick-yourself-in-the-teeth part of it all?
Most days, I ride my bike to school.
So there. 30 days into it. I'm still a wreck. I still don't have it right.
Yesterday, I read something very powerful from Robert Lawrence Smith's A Quaker Book of Wisdom: Life Lessons in Simplicity, Service and Common Sense.
(Yes, reader, I did just hear you chuckle about the Common Sense part.)
You have all taught me the love of God.
Link of the day...
Learn more about Andrew Peterson, his writing and music at http://www.andrew-peterson.com/
Quote of the day...
"If you want to live more, you must master the art of appreciating the little everyday blessings of life. This is not altogether a golden world but there are countless gleams of gold to be discovered in it." --Henry Alfred Porter
Bible verse of the day...
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
What do you mean you need to eat breakfast? How does your mother..?
How does she get any of you to school on time?
Teeth brushed, hair combed. It's picture day... No green... you'll fade into the backdrop for the pictures. But we have to wear green! Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day! We'll get pinched.
Ugh. OK. Green underwear. Now, let's go!
Alright. Get in the car. We'll get biscuits on the way.
Like lovely little ones, they listened to their daddy and climbed on in.
Just like that. Believing that I was on top of things, believing I knew what I was doing. I am the dad after all, you know. One drive-thru is too long. The other, nobody liked the food. We pull up to the third stop.
You know what you want? Good! We've still got time to make it on time!
And then, you know what I did?
I reached into my pocket to pull out my...
FRICKENFRACKENSCROOPIOUSPIP! WHERE IS MY DANG-O-DANGO WALLET?
and just like that, I let 30 days of simplicity, 30 days of focusing and finding Christ in my life fall to the side.
Now, I am not a cussing person. At least not on the outside. I've slipped once or twice but most of the time it all goes on inside my head. And today, the kiddos didn't hear anything that they could not share with their friends at school... but they could see it in my face, in the tone of my voice.
I stressed them all out, trying to get them to school, trying to do my best to beat that clock on the wall... but I was bested by my own disorganization.
We got back into the car, drove back to the house, where we found our hero Mommy (Thank You, Ashley) who handed me over her last ten bucks of her spending cash. We dashed back down the driveway, hit the road and headed back for the biscuits. The poor kids still hadn't eaten.
When we got to school, I let the boys out the door and right underneath my son's book bag... I found my wallet.
I let them off at school, drove off waving, trying to smile but after I got past their school I pulled over to the side of the road and just paused and prayed... "God, why do I keep letting this happen?"
Yeah, that's right. This wasn't the first time. Same spot. Just a few months ago.
But actually, this is an amazing improvement over last year.
Last year, we were haunted by a gremlin who kept hiding my wife's car keys in my pockets in the mornings. I would pick up my set, I would remember that. But then I would get to school and Ashley would call and say, "Umm, Chip. Do you have my set of keys in your pocket?" She would be stranded at home and I would find her only copies, right there with me.
You want to know the most frustrating, kick-yourself-in-the-teeth part of it all?
Most days, I ride my bike to school.
So there. 30 days into it. I'm still a wreck. I still don't have it right.
Yesterday, I read something very powerful from Robert Lawrence Smith's A Quaker Book of Wisdom: Life Lessons in Simplicity, Service and Common Sense.
(Yes, reader, I did just hear you chuckle about the Common Sense part.)
"Living simply is... not about finding a quiet corner where you can contemplate; Living simply is about giving yourself the freedom to pursue that indestructible impulse to do good in the world, to go toward the best."
And that's why I raised my hand and agreed to teach this class. Not because I have simplicity solved. I still don't have the answer to the questions that so many of you have written to me. No, I agreed because this is what I strive for in my life. To do good, to make good and to share good things.
However, after thirty days of searching, I do believe I am closer than ever. I know the sun goes down every day and the sun comes back up. God is still there, giving me another chance. And I will continue to do my part. To write this blog, I sat at my little desk thought and read and cried. I worked through so many times in my life that needed attention. Many times had to leave the spot to get tissues.
This season of Lent, I said I was to say no to sugar. To keep my mind off of those cravings, I replaced the time with focus on the spiritual discipline of simplicity. And in this time, I have learned that it wasn't sugar that was keeping me from God. I think more importantly, it was that I saw I needed to be saying "no" to other things. No, to time wasting gadgets and the distractions of our modern lives. No, to overbooking my life. No, to my own conceit that I could handle any problem on my own.
Most importantly, I learned that my relationships are so much more powerful than I have ever given them credit. The time I spent trying to find my way through the troubles of my childhood, the traumas of middle school and the mysteries of adulthood... all of those paths were made easier by those wonderful folks in my life.
My parents, my aunts and uncles, my cousins, my grand and great grandparents...
My teachers, my pastors, my professors...
Those who shared their talents to the masses through songs and stories...the ones I thought were singing their songs right to me... I was so honored to share their music with you here.
My children, Ashley's family (now may family, as well) and my friends over many miles,
and to my loving wife who always, always cups her hands and bends a knee to help me reach to the next level in life.
You have all taught me the love of God.
Link of the day...
Learn more about Andrew Peterson, his writing and music at http://www.andrew-peterson.com/
Quote of the day...
"If you want to live more, you must master the art of appreciating the little everyday blessings of life. This is not altogether a golden world but there are countless gleams of gold to be discovered in it." --Henry Alfred Porter
Bible verse of the day...
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
Day twenty-nine...Simplicity is longing.
I don't sing in front of anyone... except my kids. And that's just because I made a promise to my wife that I would sing for them at bedtime. She wanted the kids to remember me singing to them the way that her dad and grandfather did.
Unfortunately Kids, Daddy doesn't have the Bing Crosby/ Jackson Browne voice like your grandfathers. Mine is more like the scratchy sting of nettle while being chased by the Queen's lovely swans.
However, I have determined myself to the goal of teaching the Sunday school class the following song by Rich Mullins, If I Stand.
Just remember, the louder you sing along, the less likely you will hear me...
Home has always been an interesting concept for me. Sometimes home has meant comfort and chocolate chip cookies. Sometimes home has been a church home. At other times, home was a collection of gathering places where family and friends gather together. Longing for those times, a nap in our library, the joy of a newly organized closet(how this blog all got started), time with my folks on the road to my grandparents...
And all this talk in church about a heavenly home...
Our "stuff of earth," as Rich Mullins puts it, does often compete with the allegiance to our heavenly Father... There are places on earth that I treasure and look forward to returning to...often. Cowpasture River, the Meher Baba Spiritual Center, SCOTLAND (where we met such lovely and dear friends), the banks of Deltaville (Scallop Bay) and the Appalachian Trail which whispers my name...waiting patiently for me to visit on my days off! I have made connections to these places because I often see them as places of rest. I have felt a longing for these memorable destinations because of experiences which I have had there with my family and friends.
There are many more places I look forward to visiting. This spring, I have set apart some time to take some dear friends on a trip to scatter my birth-father's ashes. His family mentioned that he often requested to be sent down the river when his time had come. I will honor that request with a canoe trip in just a few months. Just have to come up with the rest of the money for my kayak!
Reading Rich Mullin's biographical devotional book, An Arrow Pointing to Heaven (James Bryant Smith) was an incredible journey and a welcomed challenge for me. Rich lived and breathed the gospel. He longed to be like Christ. Constantly. He read more, listened more and lived his life more fully that I believe I have ever allowed myself. In many different writings, he mentioned that he would not be afraid to leave this world. There would be no sorrow for him. With the dedication of the great Sun Ra (Le Sony'r Ra), Rich reached out to his creator.
He also, like Christ, had no home, no family which allowed both of these men the opportunity to live the gospel life more fully. But do I have to lose everything to follow Christ?
I have a family that I adore. I am blessed with a wife who understands and appreciates me. My parents taught me self-sufficiency. I have a few very strong personal friendships which recharge me when I meet these people along the road of life.
At the end of the day, I long to curl up with my little ones, read a little Roald Dahl and snuggle up to my wife with a cup of tea.
A bible verse that speaks to me is John 17:4. Jesus says, at the end of his ministry,
"I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work you have given me to do."
Personally, I see this as Jesus' example to us to live this life to the best of our abilities, whatever happens to come our way. For me, I will strive to be a more tender husband, a better father and an observant friend. I long to be a more professional teacher and a better steward, while I am here on this earth.
More and more simply each day.
I think this is why this particular song reaches to me, If I Stand.
The words...
There's more that rises in the morning
Than the sun
And more that shines in the night
Than just the moon
It's more than just this fire here
That keeps me warm
In a shelter that is larger
Than this room
And there's a loyalty that's deeper
Than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs
That I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes
For the allegiance
I owe only to the giver
Of all good things
CHORUS:
So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't, let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home
There's more that dances on the prairies
Than the wind
More that pulses in the ocean
Than the tide
There's a love that is fiercer
Than the love between friends
More gentle than a mother's
When her baby's at her side
And there's a loyalty that's deeper
Than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs
That I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes
For the allegiance
I owe only to the Giver
Of all good things
CHORUS(2x)
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home
Notice that Rich points to longing for a relationship with God - stronger than those within our families and friends. He reminds us that we should give God that honor, as well. The same way we would welcome our friends into our homes... we should make a space for God... make time within our crazy schedules for time with him in prayer, in praise and in worship.
So, along this path, I am learning to see God in my love for my family and in the way I learn from my children. I have found more reasons to thank God...not just for his creation in the natural world, but also for his leadership in the dark places of life as well. In those welcoming morning smiles, in the gatherings around our table for celebrations and dominoes... Just as I long for these times, I feel compelled to reach further in my life, to serve the God of my creation. I am thankful for his guiding hand, leading me to the wonderful people and places in my life. I am challenged today to depend more on God, to come to him in times of need and in contentment, and to look for him more often in the wonderful people he puts in my path.
Link of the day...
http://www.rvihn.com/ - Roanoke Interfaith Hospitality Network - a temporary home for those trying to build a future
Quote of the day...
“The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing — to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from — my country, the place where I ought to have been born. Do you think it all meant nothing, all the longing? The longing for home? For indeed it now feels not like going, but like going back.” C. S. Lewis - Til We Have Faces
Bible verse of the day...
"For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good." Psalm 107:9
Unfortunately Kids, Daddy doesn't have the Bing Crosby/ Jackson Browne voice like your grandfathers. Mine is more like the scratchy sting of nettle while being chased by the Queen's lovely swans.
However, I have determined myself to the goal of teaching the Sunday school class the following song by Rich Mullins, If I Stand.
Just remember, the louder you sing along, the less likely you will hear me...
Home has always been an interesting concept for me. Sometimes home has meant comfort and chocolate chip cookies. Sometimes home has been a church home. At other times, home was a collection of gathering places where family and friends gather together. Longing for those times, a nap in our library, the joy of a newly organized closet(how this blog all got started), time with my folks on the road to my grandparents...
And all this talk in church about a heavenly home...
Our "stuff of earth," as Rich Mullins puts it, does often compete with the allegiance to our heavenly Father... There are places on earth that I treasure and look forward to returning to...often. Cowpasture River, the Meher Baba Spiritual Center, SCOTLAND (where we met such lovely and dear friends), the banks of Deltaville (Scallop Bay) and the Appalachian Trail which whispers my name...waiting patiently for me to visit on my days off! I have made connections to these places because I often see them as places of rest. I have felt a longing for these memorable destinations because of experiences which I have had there with my family and friends.
There are many more places I look forward to visiting. This spring, I have set apart some time to take some dear friends on a trip to scatter my birth-father's ashes. His family mentioned that he often requested to be sent down the river when his time had come. I will honor that request with a canoe trip in just a few months. Just have to come up with the rest of the money for my kayak!
Reading Rich Mullin's biographical devotional book, An Arrow Pointing to Heaven (James Bryant Smith) was an incredible journey and a welcomed challenge for me. Rich lived and breathed the gospel. He longed to be like Christ. Constantly. He read more, listened more and lived his life more fully that I believe I have ever allowed myself. In many different writings, he mentioned that he would not be afraid to leave this world. There would be no sorrow for him. With the dedication of the great Sun Ra (Le Sony'r Ra), Rich reached out to his creator.
He also, like Christ, had no home, no family which allowed both of these men the opportunity to live the gospel life more fully. But do I have to lose everything to follow Christ?
I have a family that I adore. I am blessed with a wife who understands and appreciates me. My parents taught me self-sufficiency. I have a few very strong personal friendships which recharge me when I meet these people along the road of life.
At the end of the day, I long to curl up with my little ones, read a little Roald Dahl and snuggle up to my wife with a cup of tea.
A bible verse that speaks to me is John 17:4. Jesus says, at the end of his ministry,
"I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work you have given me to do."
Personally, I see this as Jesus' example to us to live this life to the best of our abilities, whatever happens to come our way. For me, I will strive to be a more tender husband, a better father and an observant friend. I long to be a more professional teacher and a better steward, while I am here on this earth.
More and more simply each day.
I think this is why this particular song reaches to me, If I Stand.
The words...
There's more that rises in the morning
Than the sun
And more that shines in the night
Than just the moon
It's more than just this fire here
That keeps me warm
In a shelter that is larger
Than this room
And there's a loyalty that's deeper
Than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs
That I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes
For the allegiance
I owe only to the giver
Of all good things
CHORUS:
So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't, let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home
There's more that dances on the prairies
Than the wind
More that pulses in the ocean
Than the tide
There's a love that is fiercer
Than the love between friends
More gentle than a mother's
When her baby's at her side
And there's a loyalty that's deeper
Than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs
That I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes
For the allegiance
I owe only to the Giver
Of all good things
CHORUS(2x)
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home
Notice that Rich points to longing for a relationship with God - stronger than those within our families and friends. He reminds us that we should give God that honor, as well. The same way we would welcome our friends into our homes... we should make a space for God... make time within our crazy schedules for time with him in prayer, in praise and in worship.
So, along this path, I am learning to see God in my love for my family and in the way I learn from my children. I have found more reasons to thank God...not just for his creation in the natural world, but also for his leadership in the dark places of life as well. In those welcoming morning smiles, in the gatherings around our table for celebrations and dominoes... Just as I long for these times, I feel compelled to reach further in my life, to serve the God of my creation. I am thankful for his guiding hand, leading me to the wonderful people and places in my life. I am challenged today to depend more on God, to come to him in times of need and in contentment, and to look for him more often in the wonderful people he puts in my path.
Link of the day...
http://www.rvihn.com/ - Roanoke Interfaith Hospitality Network - a temporary home for those trying to build a future
Quote of the day...
“The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing — to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from — my country, the place where I ought to have been born. Do you think it all meant nothing, all the longing? The longing for home? For indeed it now feels not like going, but like going back.” C. S. Lewis - Til We Have Faces
Bible verse of the day...
"For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good." Psalm 107:9
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Day twenty-eight... Simplicity is dropping your belongings.
Twice in my life, I have had the almost wretched honor of going through a dead man's wallet. As hard as it may seem to hear, I have found it a comforting experience to discover what a person finds important enough to carry it with them day in-day out.
First, my grandfather - everyone called him Kilroy. He carried Burger King Coupons, pictures of his grandchildren, notes from his children and gobs and gobs of his own handwritten notes detailing projects he was working on. That man was either working... or resting while watching an old war flick or documentary and drinking a Dr. Pepper.
My most recent snoop was going through my birth father's remaining things after he died on December 2nd last year. I was called in as next of kin to help with some remaining questions and settlements and handed an envelope of things that he was carrying with him at the time of his death.
If you read my blog earlier regarding my parents, you know that I mentioned my mom and dad and the importance of me having them in my life. I also mentioned that my birth father had taken off long ago. I had actually only seen him a couple of times in my adult life. The last time I had seen him, we had heard that he was deathly sick and would not likely live much longer. And then in a blink of an eye, three years had passed and I found myself receiving a phone call last December to tell me was gone for good.
When I opened the envelope from the hospital, out dropped my birth father's wallet. It struck me while I was looking through his personal effects, that I will never know him better, never be able to have the complete story... but what I did have was powerful. A stack of receipts to see how he spent his last few days, business cards of folks who I ended up meeting at his funeral (all five of the people called him a best friend) and a plain metal cross with a "cross in my pocket" card.
For several days, I grieved in my own private way, trying to push it all away... hide it under the rocks in my head. Yet, through the encouragement of my tender, lovely wife, I decided to handle the grief differently and I took time to think and process, to think and read... and to think some more.
I also decided to do something else differently. Instead of holding it in, instead of pushing thoughts and worries to the side... my usual form of processing, I reached out. I shared with Ashley and I called a small group of friends and asked them to allow me to share. That was a life-changer for me. I had grieved the loss of this man, but the biggest obstacle would take much longer. Time was needed to mourn the loss of time... the missed opportunities.
While I will never consider this man to be my dad... he was still a person. It turns out, he had in the last few years joined his local church. There he volunteered and helped with the services. I found out that he walked miles and miles to visit his friends in the hospital and tried to attend services at his church whenever possible. At least five people walked up to me to tell me that they considered him their best friend. That's powerful and humbling.
I would never have wished my life to be any different. I adore my parents, my lovely mother and the man who would become my daddy... and still try to honor them to this day.
But at this point, I feel relieved to have been able to process the loss of this man and was able to make some personal changes based on what I learned from his life.
The simple relief that I found in dropping my burdens, sharing my worries and regrets with understanding friends was extremely powerful. Letting go, being open (even though it terrified me) was so refreshing, so healing.
Life is hard. We will have troubles. There is loss in life. Going to my friends and sharing, I believe allowed me a more free and open pathway to also taking those concerns to God. A difficult lesson, indeed as I stared at the contents of the this man's wallet.
For when you can't do it on your own anymore...
Link of the day...
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/roanoke/obituary.aspx?n=ronald-eldridge-donahue&pid=154867110 What do you want to accomplish before you leave this old world?
Quote of the day...
“So go out and live real good and I promise you'll get beat up real bad. But, in a little while after you're dead, you'll be rotted away anyway. It's not gonna matter if you have a few scars. It will matter if you didn't live.” Rich Mullins
Bible verse of the day...
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
First, my grandfather - everyone called him Kilroy. He carried Burger King Coupons, pictures of his grandchildren, notes from his children and gobs and gobs of his own handwritten notes detailing projects he was working on. That man was either working... or resting while watching an old war flick or documentary and drinking a Dr. Pepper.
My most recent snoop was going through my birth father's remaining things after he died on December 2nd last year. I was called in as next of kin to help with some remaining questions and settlements and handed an envelope of things that he was carrying with him at the time of his death.
If you read my blog earlier regarding my parents, you know that I mentioned my mom and dad and the importance of me having them in my life. I also mentioned that my birth father had taken off long ago. I had actually only seen him a couple of times in my adult life. The last time I had seen him, we had heard that he was deathly sick and would not likely live much longer. And then in a blink of an eye, three years had passed and I found myself receiving a phone call last December to tell me was gone for good.
When I opened the envelope from the hospital, out dropped my birth father's wallet. It struck me while I was looking through his personal effects, that I will never know him better, never be able to have the complete story... but what I did have was powerful. A stack of receipts to see how he spent his last few days, business cards of folks who I ended up meeting at his funeral (all five of the people called him a best friend) and a plain metal cross with a "cross in my pocket" card.
For several days, I grieved in my own private way, trying to push it all away... hide it under the rocks in my head. Yet, through the encouragement of my tender, lovely wife, I decided to handle the grief differently and I took time to think and process, to think and read... and to think some more.
I also decided to do something else differently. Instead of holding it in, instead of pushing thoughts and worries to the side... my usual form of processing, I reached out. I shared with Ashley and I called a small group of friends and asked them to allow me to share. That was a life-changer for me. I had grieved the loss of this man, but the biggest obstacle would take much longer. Time was needed to mourn the loss of time... the missed opportunities.
While I will never consider this man to be my dad... he was still a person. It turns out, he had in the last few years joined his local church. There he volunteered and helped with the services. I found out that he walked miles and miles to visit his friends in the hospital and tried to attend services at his church whenever possible. At least five people walked up to me to tell me that they considered him their best friend. That's powerful and humbling.
I would never have wished my life to be any different. I adore my parents, my lovely mother and the man who would become my daddy... and still try to honor them to this day.
But at this point, I feel relieved to have been able to process the loss of this man and was able to make some personal changes based on what I learned from his life.
The simple relief that I found in dropping my burdens, sharing my worries and regrets with understanding friends was extremely powerful. Letting go, being open (even though it terrified me) was so refreshing, so healing.
Life is hard. We will have troubles. There is loss in life. Going to my friends and sharing, I believe allowed me a more free and open pathway to also taking those concerns to God. A difficult lesson, indeed as I stared at the contents of the this man's wallet.
For when you can't do it on your own anymore...
Link of the day...
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/roanoke/obituary.aspx?n=ronald-eldridge-donahue&pid=154867110 What do you want to accomplish before you leave this old world?
Quote of the day...
“So go out and live real good and I promise you'll get beat up real bad. But, in a little while after you're dead, you'll be rotted away anyway. It's not gonna matter if you have a few scars. It will matter if you didn't live.” Rich Mullins
Bible verse of the day...
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Day twenty-seven...Simplicity, but at what cost?
In his book, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, Richard Foster points to many of the good things that technology and quicker delivery options have brought to our lives. And in the years since he published the book, the list has only gotten bigger, faster and better.
However, Foster warns that we should not allow our reliance on such things should be kept in check. He reminds the reader of the importance of remembering that each item we consume has a source. For instance, he points that our morning coffee also has its beginnings in a field somewhere. He pleads with the reader that we, as Christians, should be aware of our social responsibility. Should our cup of coffee bring danger, toils and snares to the fine people who harvest it for us? Knowing where your coffee comes from is easier today, due to more transparent business actions today. I get my details from my favorite green tag store here. I know there is no way to be 100% certain, however I do think we should expect coffee companies to show corporate responsibility.
As I was discussing this a few days ago with my brother-in-law, he pointed out to me that coffee was not to blame for the most of our troubles, but that it was our reliance on computers - personal devices included. He told me about reading the following story of mistreatment, slave-like conditions and unfit working conditions which have been found in over seas factories around the world where our clever little devices, clothing and toys are being produced. Since much of my paper/news reading time has been taken up writing this blog lately, I had not read the recent stories about these horrible conditions...
I would encourage you to visit a few of the stories here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/apple-sweatshop-problem-16-hour-days-70-cents-172800495.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/aug/27/disney-factory-sweatshop-suicide-claims
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-06-02/news/27066047_1_foxconn-minimum-wage-china
There seems to be new information coming in regarding Apple production spots, but still it leads us to a good place for discussion. Those quick and easy choices that we make have grand consequences for many people around the world.
This reminds me of a favorite Amy Grant song I listened to in high school... but I never really paid attention to the lyrics until today...
Consider what you can grow yourself, make for yourself and do without for a time... in an effort to help change the world while working to change ourselves. Or make a greater stance. How can you help? Connect with members of your church, stand up together. Become informed. See the link below to learn more about Unbound.
Simply stated... consider others, those who struggle, those who toil. Consider the nameless in your thoughts and prayers today.
Link of the day...
http://justiceunbound.org/ - The Presbyterian Church USA and a guide for Social Responsibility and Social Justice
Quote of the day...
"We — individual Christians and churches — commit ourselves to a culture of peace and freedom that embraces non-violence, nurtures character, treasures the environment, and builds community, rooted in a spirituality of inner growth with outward action. We make this commitment together — as members of Christ’s body, led by the one Spirit — trusting in the God who makes all things new."
-taken from PC USA's Social Creed for the 21st Century
Bible verse of the day...
"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10
However, Foster warns that we should not allow our reliance on such things should be kept in check. He reminds the reader of the importance of remembering that each item we consume has a source. For instance, he points that our morning coffee also has its beginnings in a field somewhere. He pleads with the reader that we, as Christians, should be aware of our social responsibility. Should our cup of coffee bring danger, toils and snares to the fine people who harvest it for us? Knowing where your coffee comes from is easier today, due to more transparent business actions today. I get my details from my favorite green tag store here. I know there is no way to be 100% certain, however I do think we should expect coffee companies to show corporate responsibility.
As I was discussing this a few days ago with my brother-in-law, he pointed out to me that coffee was not to blame for the most of our troubles, but that it was our reliance on computers - personal devices included. He told me about reading the following story of mistreatment, slave-like conditions and unfit working conditions which have been found in over seas factories around the world where our clever little devices, clothing and toys are being produced. Since much of my paper/news reading time has been taken up writing this blog lately, I had not read the recent stories about these horrible conditions...
I would encourage you to visit a few of the stories here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/apple-sweatshop-problem-16-hour-days-70-cents-172800495.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/aug/27/disney-factory-sweatshop-suicide-claims
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-06-02/news/27066047_1_foxconn-minimum-wage-china
There seems to be new information coming in regarding Apple production spots, but still it leads us to a good place for discussion. Those quick and easy choices that we make have grand consequences for many people around the world.
This reminds me of a favorite Amy Grant song I listened to in high school... but I never really paid attention to the lyrics until today...
Consider what you can grow yourself, make for yourself and do without for a time... in an effort to help change the world while working to change ourselves. Or make a greater stance. How can you help? Connect with members of your church, stand up together. Become informed. See the link below to learn more about Unbound.
Simply stated... consider others, those who struggle, those who toil. Consider the nameless in your thoughts and prayers today.
Link of the day...
http://justiceunbound.org/ - The Presbyterian Church USA and a guide for Social Responsibility and Social Justice
Quote of the day...
"We — individual Christians and churches — commit ourselves to a culture of peace and freedom that embraces non-violence, nurtures character, treasures the environment, and builds community, rooted in a spirituality of inner growth with outward action. We make this commitment together — as members of Christ’s body, led by the one Spirit — trusting in the God who makes all things new."
-taken from PC USA's Social Creed for the 21st Century
Bible verse of the day...
"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10
Monday, March 12, 2012
Day twenty-six... simple praises.
Today, I was given the wonderful opportunity to sit with a group of folks at the third installment of our "Get Ready" Sunday school Lenten lessons based upon the spiritual practices. I found myself sitting across the table from some amazing, thankful folks. When the prompt was given, "Share one time where you found God answered your prayers," I was amazed to see how free people felt to open up about their greatest moments. For the third week in a row, I watched as someone was reduced to tears... overjoyed.
Ms. Nordt walked us through bible verse after bible verse, giving us pictures of God, as presented in new and old testament scriptures. She presented Hebrew vocabulary, giving substance to words I had heard in hymns and in really long bible verses. I learned so much in this short class. However, it was the worship connection, what Reverend Robinson called Corporate Worship, which led me to a closer relationship with those around me and with God today.
Fathers, sisters, brothers healed. Patience in the journey. Guidance for shaky parents.
The most stunning part was that I have walked past these people for two years now, heading into church. I have worshiped with them...sang the hymns, listened to our marvelous choir and incredibly talented choir and choir director and felt closer to God through worship... Like church camp... like campfire worship close to God.
But these last few weeks, under the kind and gentle direction of our Sunday school presenters, I have felt further connected to our church family. These lessons, reminding us of our focus on spiritual growth during the Lenten season.
This was to get us talking about the importance of a "koinonia," a deep fellowship, in the spirit. A worship song which has followed along with me... in the back of my proverbial pickup truck... is Rich Mullins' song, "Sing Your Praise to the Lord." You may have heard Amy Grant sing this song. That's where I heard it first. But it was written by Rich Mullins. This recording shows the lost lyrics that were not included in Grant's version.
"From the rising of the sun
To the place where it sets
The name of the Lord is to be praised
The Lord is exalted over all the nations
His glory above the heavens
Who is like the Lord our God
The One who sits enthroned on high
He who stoops to look down upon
Down upon this earth and its sky
And that is why you gotta sing"
Simple praise. Giving your time and adoration... giving yourself.
Link of the day...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-07-22-housechurch21_ST_N.htm
a growing trend in folks finding worship within the community using "house churches"
Quote of the day...
"Worship is the human response to Divine Initiative." - Richard Foster
Bible verse of the day...
"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:16.
Ms. Nordt walked us through bible verse after bible verse, giving us pictures of God, as presented in new and old testament scriptures. She presented Hebrew vocabulary, giving substance to words I had heard in hymns and in really long bible verses. I learned so much in this short class. However, it was the worship connection, what Reverend Robinson called Corporate Worship, which led me to a closer relationship with those around me and with God today.
Fathers, sisters, brothers healed. Patience in the journey. Guidance for shaky parents.
The most stunning part was that I have walked past these people for two years now, heading into church. I have worshiped with them...sang the hymns, listened to our marvelous choir and incredibly talented choir and choir director and felt closer to God through worship... Like church camp... like campfire worship close to God.
But these last few weeks, under the kind and gentle direction of our Sunday school presenters, I have felt further connected to our church family. These lessons, reminding us of our focus on spiritual growth during the Lenten season.
This was to get us talking about the importance of a "koinonia," a deep fellowship, in the spirit. A worship song which has followed along with me... in the back of my proverbial pickup truck... is Rich Mullins' song, "Sing Your Praise to the Lord." You may have heard Amy Grant sing this song. That's where I heard it first. But it was written by Rich Mullins. This recording shows the lost lyrics that were not included in Grant's version.
"From the rising of the sun
To the place where it sets
The name of the Lord is to be praised
The Lord is exalted over all the nations
His glory above the heavens
Who is like the Lord our God
The One who sits enthroned on high
He who stoops to look down upon
Down upon this earth and its sky
And that is why you gotta sing"
Simple praise. Giving your time and adoration... giving yourself.
Link of the day...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-07-22-housechurch21_ST_N.htm
a growing trend in folks finding worship within the community using "house churches"
Quote of the day...
"Worship is the human response to Divine Initiative." - Richard Foster
Bible verse of the day...
"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:16.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Weekend... Here In America
As a psalmist would have written, had they seen the wonders of America.
Thanks Rich.
Find your peace this weekend... just stop and look around.
Link of the day...
http://www.nps.gov/index.htm Experience your America
Quote of the day...
"The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: 'that God governs in the affairs of men.' And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?" - Benjamin Franklin
Bible verse of the day...
"Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." Ephesians 3:21
Thanks Rich.
Find your peace this weekend... just stop and look around.
Link of the day...
http://www.nps.gov/index.htm Experience your America
Quote of the day...
"The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: 'that God governs in the affairs of men.' And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?" - Benjamin Franklin
Bible verse of the day...
"Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." Ephesians 3:21
Friday, March 9, 2012
Day twenty-five...Simplicity is being unplugged.
I found reading The Wilderness World of John Muir an uplifting and joyous experience when I discovered it last year. I often return to certain chapters to find courage and creativity renewed through his experiences travelling through the world.
The stories of his childhood about him escaping the harsh life of youth growing up around Edinburgh, Scotland. His adventures exploring Dunbar Castle only whetted his appetite for discovery. When he left Scotland, he came to the United States to walk his way from Indiana to Florida in 1867. The stories of sleeping in cemeteries and the grateful moments when he came upon strangers with soup pots filled helped me focus less on the troubles of life more upon the glorious creations which God has provided for us to find in our lives. Like Muir, I have found a place of peace in the natural world around us. The bible tells of the wondrous world... but the authors of the bible's many chapters had never seen the glories here in America, like Muir saw them. Boy, can you imagine the praises that the psalmists would have written, had that been the case?
Mr. Muir did not start writing his books until later in his life. These writings are to many the beginning of the American ecological movement. He is often referred to as the "Father of the National Parks." Muir relied on his keen memory, his notes and his simple drawings to recall the details of his journeys. You can see some of the drawings and details of his journeys here:
http://www.drawingamerica.org/2012/01/john-muirs-natural-ability.html.
Below is part one of a retelling of the life of John Muir, made by the National Parks Service. Check out part two on youtube, as well.
The challenge today is to visit your own "Scribbler's Den," like the one mentioned in the video. Find a quite place to walk, find a particularly lovely wildflower and take a picture of it. Don't pick it! Leave No Trace... Then take that photo home and in your quiet time, draw it to capture the details. You can see that John Muir wasn't worried that his drawings had to be perfect. They just had to capture the moment and the details of your time outside..."unplugged."
Link of the day...
http://www.johnmuirlive.com/index.html See a living recreation of John Muir's life.
Quote of the day...
"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." John Muir
Bible verse of the day...
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27
The stories of his childhood about him escaping the harsh life of youth growing up around Edinburgh, Scotland. His adventures exploring Dunbar Castle only whetted his appetite for discovery. When he left Scotland, he came to the United States to walk his way from Indiana to Florida in 1867. The stories of sleeping in cemeteries and the grateful moments when he came upon strangers with soup pots filled helped me focus less on the troubles of life more upon the glorious creations which God has provided for us to find in our lives. Like Muir, I have found a place of peace in the natural world around us. The bible tells of the wondrous world... but the authors of the bible's many chapters had never seen the glories here in America, like Muir saw them. Boy, can you imagine the praises that the psalmists would have written, had that been the case?
Mr. Muir did not start writing his books until later in his life. These writings are to many the beginning of the American ecological movement. He is often referred to as the "Father of the National Parks." Muir relied on his keen memory, his notes and his simple drawings to recall the details of his journeys. You can see some of the drawings and details of his journeys here:
http://www.drawingamerica.org/2012/01/john-muirs-natural-ability.html.
Below is part one of a retelling of the life of John Muir, made by the National Parks Service. Check out part two on youtube, as well.
The challenge today is to visit your own "Scribbler's Den," like the one mentioned in the video. Find a quite place to walk, find a particularly lovely wildflower and take a picture of it. Don't pick it! Leave No Trace... Then take that photo home and in your quiet time, draw it to capture the details. You can see that John Muir wasn't worried that his drawings had to be perfect. They just had to capture the moment and the details of your time outside..."unplugged."
Link of the day...
http://www.johnmuirlive.com/index.html See a living recreation of John Muir's life.
Quote of the day...
"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." John Muir
Bible verse of the day...
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Day twenty-four... Simplicity is listening.
My friend, John R. Williamson, is a teacher, a father, husband and musician in California. We met many years ago when I was searching for music for a radio program that I had put together for a local am radio station. He was so kind to have sent a number of his cassettes my way.Many a Saturday, I found myself travelling along, driving my little girl around town, listening to John's music. After a few years of pen paling, I actually convinced John to fly across the United States to play an east coast tour. We set up something like 12 concerts in 9 days to help pay for his trip. What an adventure it ended up becoming, what a hoot! At the end of his visit, John repaid our Virginia hospitality by showering us with many wonderful works of his art. The walls in our cozy library are covered with these wonderful grand statements of life captured on canvas. One of my favorites, which sits right beside the soft green chair where I read every night, is the blue -inked drawing he called Listening.
This picture is a simple reminder to me everyday that I should take the time to pay attention to the people in my life, listening to what they have to share. In most cases, this is a talent for me, where I am able to cut off the distractions and focus on what my family has to say. Some days, I do find myself caught forgetting the important information... especially scheduling issues. I know this drives Ashley crazy. Listening has also become more and more of a challenge with more and more children in the house. We've had to teach the kiddos to take turns talking, just like at school, in order to maintain our version of insanity.
I often picture it as the old tags we would have to take at the cleaners...
That said, I have set it as a challenge to myself to become better organized in thought and action, based on the things which I hear people say in a conversation. I have been keeping notes about my children's needs...my daughter needs paper for her binder, the boys would like to spend more time playing basketball at the Y. My wife would like just a few days where she doesn't have to be responsible for the constant juggling act she goes through to get the children off to school in the morning.The Donahues have started using google calendars, set up for each member of the family. Checking this calendar each day, before I call Ashley on the phone allows me the chance of being a bit more successful in my attempt to "stay on top of things." It has helped our relationship tremendously, if only to give me the chance to recognize why she is so tired at the end of the day. You mothers are superheroes...I'll tell you that.
It took some planning and practice, but now I check our calendars every day. We have fewer slip ups in forgetting upcoming events and I have gone several months now without overbooking events.
Listening is key in building a relationship.
Focusing on listening in my life has shown me that the same it true with my relationship with God. Like the visual of a prayer wheel, am I just sending up request after request? Am I taking time to listen to the answer to my prayers? Am I taking time to listen for God's guiding hand?
Take two minutes to turn off the phone, the computer, the television. Pull over to the side of the road in your life, just for a moment. Better yet, take a step outside and just listen. If you can survive two minutes, try five minutes next time.
Link of the day...
http://psychologytoday.tests.psychtests.com/take_test.php?idRegTest=3206 Psychology Today offers a free Listening Skills test.
Quote of the day...
“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” Robert McCloskey
Bible verse of the day...
"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;" James 1:19
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Day twenty-three - Simplicity is elbow grease.
This selection will be the basis of the prose section for my Sunday school lesson for Lent in one and a half weeks. I'd love to hear your thought on it before I use it with the whole class. I am not one to steal the words of anyone and I give full credit where it is due. I stumbled upon this in Rich Mullins book - The World as I Remember It - Through the Eyes of a Ragamuffin.
I will not attempt to rephrase it because it says everything I need to say right now, with excatly the right words. Thank you Rich for your insight and for how you marveled at God's great, big wonerful world.
"Once in a while - just every once in a great while - you have one of those moments. They are those moments that come one at a time, with no interruptions, no competitions, no phone ringing or beeping, no kids screaming for attention, no emergencies, no jamming of the lines, no log pile of ideas...
So you fold that last piece of laundry, you nail down that last plank. You lay that last brick and wash off your trowel with your fullest attention, aware of your deepest joy. You sharpen your lawn mower blade and savor the motion and sound of the file sliding roughly and at just the right angle along the cutting edge. You toss one extra pass of your football with your kid or your dad or your friend, you fine tune your guitar, you reread that last couple of pages of your favorite book, you measure out and keep the safe space between you and the car ahead...
Not often, but every one in a while you have that perfect kind of moment when you put everything you've got into a task and find you have enough, and you feel that, even if you bungle the job, there is little at stake. You sink your teeth into something, put your heart into it, act deliberately, by choice - not by coercion of immediate necessity. You mean what you do as if there was no meaning at all in everything else - you do it for the joy of doing, not just to get it done. You shoot from the hip, swing from your shoulders, and feel that exhilarating grace and balance of having found your center, or having centered yourself.
It is for those every-once-in-a-while kind of moments - far more than for those once-upon-a-time ones - that we can be most thankful. It is in those moments that we find some sense of who we are. Regardless of how grand or how common the event of the moment is, in it we see ourselves at our absolute best - focused, poised and pure - no compromise, no ulterior motives, no self deception or pretense. We see what we are like when we have no point to prove or score, no bills to fit, no scrutinizing to endure... We meet again that child in us who stills loves to swim naked in the cold, quick-running waters of the now - the child in us who can feel in his skin and very bones the warmth and brilliance of the sun. In those moments there is that flash of astonishing recognition: this is not a child who is merely in us - this child is us.
No wonder we love the moments and want them to linger. But for now they can't, so we must let them go. They are the flicker of some holy flame, a twinkling of an eye wherein the dead come alive again. Remember them, thank the Lord for them, but move on into the next moment and be present in it. It is God's present to you. "
Copyright 1996 by Release Magazine, reproduced without permission... would love to receive it though, one day. Feel free to contact me, if needed. mailto:ChipAshley@aol.com/
Link of the day...
http://www.kidbrothers.net/release.html - read Rich's other articles from Release Magazine
Quote of the day...
"We are joined in a responsibility together make this world a good one for all of us. Each of us warms the world or chills it inasmuch as we offer or withhold respect, hospitality, encouragement, love or truth."
Rich Mullins
Bible verse of the day...
"So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?"
Ecclesiastes 3:22
I will not attempt to rephrase it because it says everything I need to say right now, with excatly the right words. Thank you Rich for your insight and for how you marveled at God's great, big wonerful world.
"Once in a while - just every once in a great while - you have one of those moments. They are those moments that come one at a time, with no interruptions, no competitions, no phone ringing or beeping, no kids screaming for attention, no emergencies, no jamming of the lines, no log pile of ideas...
So you fold that last piece of laundry, you nail down that last plank. You lay that last brick and wash off your trowel with your fullest attention, aware of your deepest joy. You sharpen your lawn mower blade and savor the motion and sound of the file sliding roughly and at just the right angle along the cutting edge. You toss one extra pass of your football with your kid or your dad or your friend, you fine tune your guitar, you reread that last couple of pages of your favorite book, you measure out and keep the safe space between you and the car ahead...
Not often, but every one in a while you have that perfect kind of moment when you put everything you've got into a task and find you have enough, and you feel that, even if you bungle the job, there is little at stake. You sink your teeth into something, put your heart into it, act deliberately, by choice - not by coercion of immediate necessity. You mean what you do as if there was no meaning at all in everything else - you do it for the joy of doing, not just to get it done. You shoot from the hip, swing from your shoulders, and feel that exhilarating grace and balance of having found your center, or having centered yourself.
It is for those every-once-in-a-while kind of moments - far more than for those once-upon-a-time ones - that we can be most thankful. It is in those moments that we find some sense of who we are. Regardless of how grand or how common the event of the moment is, in it we see ourselves at our absolute best - focused, poised and pure - no compromise, no ulterior motives, no self deception or pretense. We see what we are like when we have no point to prove or score, no bills to fit, no scrutinizing to endure... We meet again that child in us who stills loves to swim naked in the cold, quick-running waters of the now - the child in us who can feel in his skin and very bones the warmth and brilliance of the sun. In those moments there is that flash of astonishing recognition: this is not a child who is merely in us - this child is us.
No wonder we love the moments and want them to linger. But for now they can't, so we must let them go. They are the flicker of some holy flame, a twinkling of an eye wherein the dead come alive again. Remember them, thank the Lord for them, but move on into the next moment and be present in it. It is God's present to you. "
Copyright 1996 by Release Magazine, reproduced without permission... would love to receive it though, one day. Feel free to contact me, if needed. mailto:ChipAshley@aol.com/
Link of the day...
http://www.kidbrothers.net/release.html - read Rich's other articles from Release Magazine
Quote of the day...
"We are joined in a responsibility together make this world a good one for all of us. Each of us warms the world or chills it inasmuch as we offer or withhold respect, hospitality, encouragement, love or truth."
Rich Mullins
Bible verse of the day...
"So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?"
Ecclesiastes 3:22
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Day twenty-two...simplicity is savoring.
Last year, we made it a plan to spend more time around the house on the weekends, for some quality rest and relaxation. It has made an incredible difference in our children, in our household organization and in our parental sanity.
But these days, when it is time to get out of the house... the kids are ready, couch-change-stash in hand... ready to spend! You know about couch-change, right? Our kids find coins in some of the strangest places. Under the couch, in the back of closets and all around the kitchen...cocka-doodle-doodle-doo.
This weekend, our get-out-of-the-house-quick trip was to our local natural foods co-op. The kids enjoyed the experience, taking the minature carts around and around the aisles, looking for samples and the most valuable thing they could find to trade in their couch-change. I'm making them sound like little street children, aren't I?
Ashley, my lovely wife, has shown them, time and time again, that it is better to splurge on fine food than a piece of plastic - made in another county, clogging up their rooms with stuff. When the Donahues splurge...we make wonderful meals, instead.
The boys decided to put their money together during this last trip and we ordered a bulk container of dolmas. A taste-filled treasure, dolmas are grape leaves filled with a mixture of rice, onions, currants, pine nuts, mint and spices, and then gently steamed. The boys have often asked to take them in their packed lunch.
Buying this item in bulk allows us the pleasure of being able to send something they enjoy in their lunches but also the time for Ashley to work her magic in trying to make her own. I'm certain, before long, she will be wrapping her own grape leaves, saving us money and most likely adding her own fine, delicious details.
But these days, when it is time to get out of the house... the kids are ready, couch-change-stash in hand... ready to spend! You know about couch-change, right? Our kids find coins in some of the strangest places. Under the couch, in the back of closets and all around the kitchen...cocka-doodle-doodle-doo.
This weekend, our get-out-of-the-house-quick trip was to our local natural foods co-op. The kids enjoyed the experience, taking the minature carts around and around the aisles, looking for samples and the most valuable thing they could find to trade in their couch-change. I'm making them sound like little street children, aren't I?
Ashley, my lovely wife, has shown them, time and time again, that it is better to splurge on fine food than a piece of plastic - made in another county, clogging up their rooms with stuff. When the Donahues splurge...we make wonderful meals, instead.
The boys decided to put their money together during this last trip and we ordered a bulk container of dolmas. A taste-filled treasure, dolmas are grape leaves filled with a mixture of rice, onions, currants, pine nuts, mint and spices, and then gently steamed. The boys have often asked to take them in their packed lunch.Buying this item in bulk allows us the pleasure of being able to send something they enjoy in their lunches but also the time for Ashley to work her magic in trying to make her own. I'm certain, before long, she will be wrapping her own grape leaves, saving us money and most likely adding her own fine, delicious details.
All that said, I'm not trying to make the reader feel hungry, but instead I am trying to point out that our children see quite plainly the things which we value. Is it a weekly family game night, a favorite television show, a favorite meal, playing at a park (and cleaning up that park to keep it wonderful), a clean house, spending money, quiet reading time together? What is your families treasured time?
I have recently been eating a grapefruit every day. When I was younger, I really disliked the flavor, but Ashley showed me that I was eating them all wrong. If you peel away all of the pith, and just eat the fruit...that's powerful stuff. But you have to pull away ALL of the pith. Just one little missed piece can spoil a mouthful, making the experience bitter and unpleasant. This takes quite a bit of time, but each succulent moment is each bite better.
Two major problems with this daily habit:
the cost, at about $1.00 a fruit
and
the annoying, yet charming fact that you can do nothing else while eating a grapefruit properly.
This daily (instead of a habit, I'll start calling it a) discipline has caused me to slow down, increased my daily vitamin c intake and also led to wipe up the table more frequently. It has also allowed time to pause and consider the day. Much of the prewriting I have done for this came from mental notes during my daily devourings.
Slowing down to taste the fruit is so much more important when you have had to work for it. Just like the joy my children are finding in spending couch-change, I too have had to work for those mouth-watering morsels of pulp. I read a great story to my students today about the people of Mali and the work that the people used to put into making just one day's worth of food. Three hours of grinding, just to make prepare the millet flour for the meals. Working for your food makes it taste better, without a doubt.
Certainly, there has been a time in your life when that has been the case. Working towards simplicity in my life has not been easy. I would say, in fact, that it has made my life more difficult at this point. The weeding out, the sorting and the stacking that has gone on at home and at school have been tiresome. When I do get to sleep, I am sleeping quite well.
Tomorrow, I'd like to expand on this with a reading from one of my favorite authors, Mr. Rich Mullins. For today, I will present a challenge.
Take a necessary job or task. Appreciate the joy which you receive by doing just one small task. And take a moment and savor it. You worked to get it to work correctly, now just enjoy the moment of small success.
Feel free to post your task. It will encourage others to tackle the practice of savoring the moment.
Link of the day...
Read more about my darling hippie wife and her concoctions -
http://pinterest.com/ashleydonahue/
Quote of the day...
Meditation on a Grapefruit
Craig Arnold
To wake when all is possible
before the agitations of the day
have gripped you
To come to the kitchen
and peel a little basketball
for breakfast
To tear the husk
like cotton padding a cloud of oil
misting out of its pinprick pores
clean and sharp as pepper
To ease
each pale pink section out of its case
so carefully without breaking
a single pearly cell
To slide each piece
into a cold blue china bowl
the juice pooling until the whole
fruit is divided from its skin
and only then to eat
so sweet
a discipline
precisely pointless a devout
involvement of the hands and senses
a pause a little emptiness
each year harder to live within
each year harder to live without
Bible verse of the day...
"O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!" Psalm 34:8
Link of the day...
Read more about my darling hippie wife and her concoctions -
http://pinterest.com/ashleydonahue/
Quote of the day...
Meditation on a Grapefruit
Craig Arnold
To wake when all is possible
before the agitations of the day
have gripped you
To come to the kitchen
and peel a little basketball
for breakfast
To tear the husk
like cotton padding a cloud of oil
misting out of its pinprick pores
clean and sharp as pepper
To ease
each pale pink section out of its case
so carefully without breaking
a single pearly cell
To slide each piece
into a cold blue china bowl
the juice pooling until the whole
fruit is divided from its skin
and only then to eat
so sweet
a discipline
precisely pointless a devout
involvement of the hands and senses
a pause a little emptiness
each year harder to live within
each year harder to live without
Bible verse of the day...
"O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!" Psalm 34:8
Monday, March 5, 2012
Day twenty-one... Simplicity is welcoming.
Lesson two of our Lenten Sunday "Get Ready" school series was held yesterday. For each of these meetings, we are focusing on one spiritual practice, giving us a chance to find areas to work on in our lives during this season of Lent.
Dr. Sullivan was given the chance to share the practice of hospitality and did so in such a wonderfully, well-thought out way. I was personally challenged by this in my own life. This quote was presented yesterday by Jason Foster, author of the book Christian Hospitality.
Dr. Sullivan was given the chance to share the practice of hospitality and did so in such a wonderfully, well-thought out way. I was personally challenged by this in my own life. This quote was presented yesterday by Jason Foster, author of the book Christian Hospitality.
"Hospitality as presented to us in the Bible is not merely a practice. Instead, it is a way of life; a whole life view of the coming of God's Kingdom that offers us a uniquely Christian ethic. It is comprehensive, all-encompassing, exhilarating and challenging."
This quote, Dr. Sullivan's presentation and a snowy morning off from school have given me an opportunity to ponder and reflect upon my own life.
Yesterday, I started thinking about my own choices. When am I am given time to be hospitable to others? The thought which struck me was that my most important greeting of the day must be the one that I give to welcome my children to the day. At the Donahue house, I have the joy of waking the three wee little ones and leading them into the day. And at least 180 days of the year, those few moments affect the rest of our day. But it all starts the moment I offer them a morning greeting, whether it is by a silly song, a flickering of the lights or a grumpy "LET'S GO! LET'S GO!"
After yesterday's discussion, I realized the power in those moments.
Today, I acted upon that by having everything in it's own place, something that I have mentioned before here on the blog. Telling readers about the importance of living a more simple life and living a life as an example are two different monsters, I'll tell ya! Simplifying, by preparing the night before... deciding who is packing, who is buying. What will the weather be like? Where are your socks? Who will be in charge of breakfast? Taking the time to be just one step ahead made an incredible difference.
And then, I did the most difficult thing of all. I went to bed early. I still had work to do. There was still a dish or two to wash, some laundry was still waiting and I had papers to grade. Instead... I went to bed. Off with the tv, skip my reading time in the green chair. I even skipped facebook time! And it all paid off. I woke up early and woke up refreshed. I tackled the dishes, got myself ready and even had time to walk the dog just a little longer than usual.
This quote, Dr. Sullivan's presentation and a snowy morning off from school have given me an opportunity to ponder and reflect upon my own life.
Yesterday, I started thinking about my own choices. When am I am given time to be hospitable to others? The thought which struck me was that my most important greeting of the day must be the one that I give to welcome my children to the day. At the Donahue house, I have the joy of waking the three wee little ones and leading them into the day. And at least 180 days of the year, those few moments affect the rest of our day. But it all starts the moment I offer them a morning greeting, whether it is by a silly song, a flickering of the lights or a grumpy "LET'S GO! LET'S GO!"After yesterday's discussion, I realized the power in those moments.
Today, I acted upon that by having everything in it's own place, something that I have mentioned before here on the blog. Telling readers about the importance of living a more simple life and living a life as an example are two different monsters, I'll tell ya! Simplifying, by preparing the night before... deciding who is packing, who is buying. What will the weather be like? Where are your socks? Who will be in charge of breakfast? Taking the time to be just one step ahead made an incredible difference.
And then, I did the most difficult thing of all. I went to bed early. I still had work to do. There was still a dish or two to wash, some laundry was still waiting and I had papers to grade. Instead... I went to bed. Off with the tv, skip my reading time in the green chair. I even skipped facebook time! And it all paid off. I woke up early and woke up refreshed. I tackled the dishes, got myself ready and even had time to walk the dog just a little longer than usual.Today, instead of running around lost, I greeted them into the morning with this simple song, humming in their ears. Terry Taylor, I owe you dinner!
Of course, my own singing was probably enough to rattle anyone awake, but it was the simple "Good morning. I'm so glad you are my child," which seemed to really bring a smile to their faces. Or again, maybe it was just that I had stopped singing.
This week, I want to focus my blogs on simple words and simple stories. Also, this week, I will be formulating all of the past blogs into notes for the Sunday school lesson. I would appreciate any feedback, concerns or questions you might have that would help clarify my lesson. Feel free to post thoughts here on the blog, or e-mail me at chipashley@aol.com.
Link of the day...
http://salemdailybiblestudy.blogspot.com/ Dr. Sullivan prepares a daily bible study for anyone who may be interested. This simple click and five minutes a day has been a major factor in my spiritual growth over the last few months.
Quote of the day...
"If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first."
Mark Twain
Chew on that one for a while. It'll come to you.
Bible verse of day...
“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." (Psalm 143:8)
Link of the day...
http://salemdailybiblestudy.blogspot.com/ Dr. Sullivan prepares a daily bible study for anyone who may be interested. This simple click and five minutes a day has been a major factor in my spiritual growth over the last few months.
Quote of the day...
"If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first."
Mark Twain
Chew on that one for a while. It'll come to you.
Bible verse of day...
“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." (Psalm 143:8)
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Weekend... Walk it off.
Walk it off. A term we often use with our three kiddos, usually after someone has bonked heads with one of their siblings.This weekend, we are going to follow a suggestion by artist, mother and creativity enthusiast Keri Smith who recently challenged the readers of her blog, (http://www.kerismith.com/) to Join the Slow Foot Movement.
Ms. Smith, author of Wreck This Journal, This is Not a Book, How to be an Explorer of the World and many other "get your motor running" books, has recently been encouraging her readers to slow down and treasure the moments of life. She has been learning this from experience, while trying to maintain her own simplicity and sanity while raising her own little ones!
Things look different on a walk. When I walk the path I normally drive or ride my bike to work, I find that the colors are more vivid, the details of life are more striking. Looks like a great weekend to walk to church. Pack a bag the night before and just make it happen.
Link of the day...
http://www.kerismith.com/ - Creative kickstarters for the mind, body and soul
Quote of the day...
Also taken from Ms. Smith's blog:
"Walking induces a trance like state that allows the mind freedom and ease and encourages exploration of odd possibilities and improbable connections."
-Annie Proulx, from Bird Cloud pg 194-95
Bible verse of the day...
"When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them." Luke 4:42
Drawing by Keri Smith, used by kind permission of the author. Thanks Keri!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Day twenty... simple in word and deed
"Plain, honest speech."
The last outward evidence of simplicity that I would like to share from Richard Foster's book, The Celebration of Discipline is using "plain, honest speech."
Over this winter, our local librarian introduced me to this poem. She said she had to memorize it as a child. She still knew it by heart.
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening
Robert Frost
"Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
Frost, without a doubt, had a magic power with words. e. e. cummings used his power over words, shaping them and bending them. Shel Silverstein could use a child's fears and elation to create simple poems with lovely, yet simple details to paint a picture of a child's life.
The more I read, the more I am captivated by the power that some people have over words. I've been reading Roald Dahl's wonder-filled books to the kiddos. I am captivated by Dahl's use of details. His descriptions make read-alouds fascinating. From snozzberry wallpaper to the detailed escapades of James and his friends atop an over sized, floating peach, Dahl captures the imagination of the readers... making the book come to life.
Setting aside time to read about man's desire for simplicity, the more I am finding mention of the importance of the words which we speak and write down. Authors often mention keeping journals as a means to collect one's thoughts. In the same books, one would read of the importance of keeping promises and working to eliminate boasting in our lives.
I am also finding that books about simplicity can be r a t h e r l... o... n... g.
That's happened even here with my writings. Looking back over the first week and comparing those blogs to this, the fourth week, my writings have become longer, more detailed. I have found myself running in circles through past blogs, going back and finding I had already made the same point in previous writings. As if I was trying to impress, rather than just share...
I have learned a lesson or two about this from teaching the little ones at Sunday school. They have repeatedly accented the importance of simple speak to me many times. I'd prepare a lesson, share a story, make a connection to the children's lives and then check for understanding at the end. "Now, can you tell me what we learned today?"
Cricket whispers... church building settling. Those noises, but no answers to my questions.
This leaves me wondering, did I present the bible lesson or just talk out loud to myself. Did my words meet the needs of the children? Can I teach them to express, to talk about their learning?
Foster encourages his readers to "Reject jargon and abstract speculation whose purpose is to obscure and impress rather than illuminate and inform." I am challenged by that. Next week, it will be my goal to "speak less and talk more slowly." I was given this suggestion once when I was freaked out by having to speak in public.
Also, I will seek to find the importance of promises. Ask my wife and she'll tell you how many times I've questioned why I took on this task in the first place. Me... I can't speak in public. I don't know enough about anything to teach an adult Sunday school lesson. Those and hundreds of other excuses have come to mind. Fortunately, I believe in the power of a promise. I said I would do it, therefore I must.
Mr. Cummings shows us the simple details and how they paint a wonderful picture.
Link of the day...
http://www.poets.org/ April is National Poetry Month
Quote of the day...
"If thou art absolutely obedient to God, then there is no ambiguity in thee and... thou art mere simplicity before God."
-Soren Kierkegaard
Bible verse of the day...
"Let what you say be simply "Yes" or "No"; anything more than this becomes evil.
Matthew 5:27
The last outward evidence of simplicity that I would like to share from Richard Foster's book, The Celebration of Discipline is using "plain, honest speech."
Over this winter, our local librarian introduced me to this poem. She said she had to memorize it as a child. She still knew it by heart.
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening
Robert Frost
"Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
Frost, without a doubt, had a magic power with words. e. e. cummings used his power over words, shaping them and bending them. Shel Silverstein could use a child's fears and elation to create simple poems with lovely, yet simple details to paint a picture of a child's life.
The more I read, the more I am captivated by the power that some people have over words. I've been reading Roald Dahl's wonder-filled books to the kiddos. I am captivated by Dahl's use of details. His descriptions make read-alouds fascinating. From snozzberry wallpaper to the detailed escapades of James and his friends atop an over sized, floating peach, Dahl captures the imagination of the readers... making the book come to life.
Setting aside time to read about man's desire for simplicity, the more I am finding mention of the importance of the words which we speak and write down. Authors often mention keeping journals as a means to collect one's thoughts. In the same books, one would read of the importance of keeping promises and working to eliminate boasting in our lives.
I am also finding that books about simplicity can be r a t h e r l... o... n... g.
That's happened even here with my writings. Looking back over the first week and comparing those blogs to this, the fourth week, my writings have become longer, more detailed. I have found myself running in circles through past blogs, going back and finding I had already made the same point in previous writings. As if I was trying to impress, rather than just share...
I have learned a lesson or two about this from teaching the little ones at Sunday school. They have repeatedly accented the importance of simple speak to me many times. I'd prepare a lesson, share a story, make a connection to the children's lives and then check for understanding at the end. "Now, can you tell me what we learned today?"
Cricket whispers... church building settling. Those noises, but no answers to my questions.
This leaves me wondering, did I present the bible lesson or just talk out loud to myself. Did my words meet the needs of the children? Can I teach them to express, to talk about their learning?
Foster encourages his readers to "Reject jargon and abstract speculation whose purpose is to obscure and impress rather than illuminate and inform." I am challenged by that. Next week, it will be my goal to "speak less and talk more slowly." I was given this suggestion once when I was freaked out by having to speak in public.
Also, I will seek to find the importance of promises. Ask my wife and she'll tell you how many times I've questioned why I took on this task in the first place. Me... I can't speak in public. I don't know enough about anything to teach an adult Sunday school lesson. Those and hundreds of other excuses have come to mind. Fortunately, I believe in the power of a promise. I said I would do it, therefore I must.
Mr. Cummings shows us the simple details and how they paint a wonderful picture.
Link of the day...
http://www.poets.org/ April is National Poetry Month
Quote of the day...
"If thou art absolutely obedient to God, then there is no ambiguity in thee and... thou art mere simplicity before God."
-Soren Kierkegaard
Bible verse of the day...
"Let what you say be simply "Yes" or "No"; anything more than this becomes evil.
Matthew 5:27
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Day nineteen... "unnecessary" gadgets?
Recently, I have been simplifying my life... into the doghouse with many of the most important people in my life.
I lost my cell phone. A few years ago being without a cell phone was a treasured experience. I was happy to be unreachable. Sometimes, I worked really hard to get lost.
Then one day, while delivering potato chips for my wife's family business, the delivery van broke down in the middle of I-81, our largest and most dangerous local interstate. Right in the middle. Like playing "Pac-Man" with the dashes on the highway in the middle. As the van stalled, I realized that I needed to get out of the van as soon as possible for fear of being struck by oncoming traffic. I pulled the gear into neutral and proceeded to push the van off the road, while hearing cars speeding around me, blaring their horns. Luckily, I was on the side of the van where I could not see the cars coming. I don't think I could have pulled the car out of the way if I saw the cars and trucks approaching! There you go, Mom. A little comfort. Sorry. When I made it across the road, I sat down for a great many minutes praying and thanking God for the dramatic rescue.
Next thing I did, there by the highway was... wait. I sat on the side of the road, as far away from the delivery van as I could and I waited for a state trooper to pull over and help me out. He let me use the phone in his car to call Ashley. When she picked up the phone, my words were simple.
"It's time for me to get a cell phone."
Since then, I have tried to keep the phone on me and have learned to rely on the convenience that cell phones bring.
Today, I am realizing that it has become an essential piece of equipment.
I haven't made my daily tweet (http://www.twitter.com/#!/KidsIntheValley) in nine days. I missed my weekly phone call to my mom. Sorry again, Mom! I got the evening schedule mixed up for my children which ended up with me having to drive to two houses and a college to look for my children. My daughter ended up late for choir. I ended up frustrated and upset. But most importantly, I have missed some very important phone calls from my wife. When she needed to contact me, I could not be found.
Wasting all that extra time, frustrating the people that I love and having to make unnecessary trips in the car... Ugh, these things have really taken a toll on the family this week.
So, when I read that Richard Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline, recommends limiting our addictions to gadgets in our lives, to me I don't think he is talking about having cell phones. He is not saying that we shouldn't have our computers and other tools. He does, however, state that we should "Refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry." To me, he is asking us to check ourselves. Is this connection through technology ruling us?
When we put all of our trust in the newest gadgets, we often forget how we used to live without them. I have often found myself right in the middle of teaching a lesson when the power goes out. My ActivBoard won't work. I guess I just won't be able to teach. I use Google Earth almost daily. No power though...hmmmm.... Now, there's a problem.
It takes a few minutes to adjust and remind myself that I could read a book, or pull out a globe.
Foster's analogy for this is powerful...
"Children do not need to be entertained by dolls that cry, eat, wet, sweat, and spit. An old rag doll can be more enjoyable and more lasting. Often children find more joy in playing with old pots and pans than with the latest space set."
I lost my cell phone. A few years ago being without a cell phone was a treasured experience. I was happy to be unreachable. Sometimes, I worked really hard to get lost.
Then one day, while delivering potato chips for my wife's family business, the delivery van broke down in the middle of I-81, our largest and most dangerous local interstate. Right in the middle. Like playing "Pac-Man" with the dashes on the highway in the middle. As the van stalled, I realized that I needed to get out of the van as soon as possible for fear of being struck by oncoming traffic. I pulled the gear into neutral and proceeded to push the van off the road, while hearing cars speeding around me, blaring their horns. Luckily, I was on the side of the van where I could not see the cars coming. I don't think I could have pulled the car out of the way if I saw the cars and trucks approaching! There you go, Mom. A little comfort. Sorry. When I made it across the road, I sat down for a great many minutes praying and thanking God for the dramatic rescue.
Next thing I did, there by the highway was... wait. I sat on the side of the road, as far away from the delivery van as I could and I waited for a state trooper to pull over and help me out. He let me use the phone in his car to call Ashley. When she picked up the phone, my words were simple.
"It's time for me to get a cell phone."
Since then, I have tried to keep the phone on me and have learned to rely on the convenience that cell phones bring.
Today, I am realizing that it has become an essential piece of equipment.
I haven't made my daily tweet (http://www.twitter.com/#!/KidsIntheValley) in nine days. I missed my weekly phone call to my mom. Sorry again, Mom! I got the evening schedule mixed up for my children which ended up with me having to drive to two houses and a college to look for my children. My daughter ended up late for choir. I ended up frustrated and upset. But most importantly, I have missed some very important phone calls from my wife. When she needed to contact me, I could not be found.
Wasting all that extra time, frustrating the people that I love and having to make unnecessary trips in the car... Ugh, these things have really taken a toll on the family this week.
So, when I read that Richard Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline, recommends limiting our addictions to gadgets in our lives, to me I don't think he is talking about having cell phones. He is not saying that we shouldn't have our computers and other tools. He does, however, state that we should "Refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry." To me, he is asking us to check ourselves. Is this connection through technology ruling us?
When we put all of our trust in the newest gadgets, we often forget how we used to live without them. I have often found myself right in the middle of teaching a lesson when the power goes out. My ActivBoard won't work. I guess I just won't be able to teach. I use Google Earth almost daily. No power though...hmmmm.... Now, there's a problem.
It takes a few minutes to adjust and remind myself that I could read a book, or pull out a globe.
Foster's analogy for this is powerful...
"Children do not need to be entertained by dolls that cry, eat, wet, sweat, and spit. An old rag doll can be more enjoyable and more lasting. Often children find more joy in playing with old pots and pans than with the latest space set."
When I asked my students about this yesterday, they said they remember playing with simple toys, but they really like playing with new toys better now. How often have I gotten caught up in this idea that I need the newest toys also. Watch out, Best Buy! Here I come.
In Last Child In the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder, Richard Louv relates a story that he heard from a child when he asked the child if she liked to play outside.
“I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are.”
I found another quote that makes me chuckle regarding our "addiction" to new gadgets...
"I like my new telephone, my computer works just fine, my calculator is perfect, but Lord, I miss my mind! ~Author Unknown"
So, husbands; stay connected because you love your bride. Fathers, attend to your children... and check out that new video game your kids are playing. They might just need your guidance with what they find in the game. You won't know, if you don't check it out with them.
My dear sweet wife just made a huge decision in hopes of limiting her plugged in time. She is an inspiration to me. Yes, the same lady who has spent countless hours this week trying to help me find my cellphone... and covering for me when I couldn't be reached.
It's a tug of war. A struggle, at times. Good luck. Sit down, assess your use. Ever heard yourself say... "Honey, go play. Daddy's facebooking?" I'm so guilty of this. Time to make some changes.
Set a timer or choose a cut-off time. These fancy gadgets that connect us to each other and to the world wide web are not as important as time spent with our children, with our spouses. Make a human connection today.
Ladies and Gents... I give you:
Mr. Bill Mallonee
Link of the day...
Call your phone for free using Google Maps... http://lifehacker.com/226988/find-your-cell-phone-with-google-maps-click+to+call
Quote of the day...
"Technology... is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other." ~C.P. Snow
Bible verse of the day...
"But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves." 2 Corinthians 4:7
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