Tag: people

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I’m on a Bus

I am writing this morning on a bus with a bunch of teenagers after spending the last five days in the Big Apple. What a crazy place! So many contrasts, so many incredible sights, some incredibly beautiful and some tragically ugly. But one thing I can say that is the same from Fifth Avenue to Chinatown is that people need to be encouraged and uplifted no matter where they live and no matter what their background or lifestyle is.

New York is so extreme, so fast, so exciting! And at the same time, it’s littered with broken windows, broken lives and broken hearts. Just like your neighborhood!

Today, I will more than likely be recovering and sleeping, since we are completing this trip at 4 am, but yet somehow, I feel so energized. So ready to continue on the daily battle to transform myself and impact those around me.

I hope it impacts you with my writing and my interactions and I hope you are always looking for ways today to impact those that you meet and share one more turn of the Earth with!

. But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.(Jude 1:17-23 NIV)

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Equal Creations

Oh wow, my morning schedule had been completely thrown to the wind this morning and that reduces the amount of time and inspiration that I have this morning. And that stinks, because Friday’s usually provide the best posts!

Even listening to the bluegrass classic “Little White Church” didn’t seem to kick up any great metaphors or thoughts this morning. 

So here is one little thought for today, one that I have been pondering.  So many times we let the environment we are in shape our thinking.  I wonder what would happen to that environment if he shape it with our thinking.  So, I am trying to ignore the ugliness of the corporate culture, and am trying to apply the great learnings about life outside of this mess to it. Or put another way, I am trying to step above the junk and politics of the workplace and just relate to people as what they are – creations of our father in heaven.

Hm.. maybe that is an interesting thought for Friday.

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a] you are doing right.  James 2:8

 

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.  James 3:9-12

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AntiSocial

It is always an interesting debate for me on days like today as to whether I should work from home or not.  I actually have a day with limited scheduled meetings, and I feel pretty good I could bang out some good work today from my home office.  But there is one thing that is missing – people.

Yes, and that a pretty important part of life – especially for those who follow the Christ.

For the last year or so Andrew and I change the background of our home computer each month from to a background from the selection of month themed backgrounds at Smashing Magazine.  This month we could not find something we really liked, so I removed the August background and replaced it with this one:

Yes, it’s a great reminder to live with intention and get out and actually meet with people.  I’ll tell you, I need this reminder on a daily basis, because personally I am content to sit in my cube and interact with my monitors.  But the Christ as encouraged us to impact people, and we do that with interactions.

To wrap this up on this Friday, I thought this verse from Philippians would be perfect.  It seemed even more so since it happens that both boys were assigned this verse as their memory verse this week!!!

 1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

 5In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:  Philippians 2:1-5 New International Version (NIV)

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Working from Home

I went round and round this morning in my normal indecisive way.  Work from home,drive to the office, work from home, drive to the office. It’s been paralyzing this morning.   Should I enjoy the pleasures and comfort and solitude of home, or should I dare to engage traffic, ( especially the day after I had a dream that I received three speeding tickets in one afternoon), and burn the gas to just sit at my desk , type on my keyboard and talk on my phone.  Oh the agony of the decision.

There was something this morning just urging me to go downtown.  It’s a thing called people. ( Now for someone with a previous Meyers Briggs score of INTJ people usually don’t cross my mind). However there was something today about people, and about being able to impact them.  Can you impact people remotely – sure-  and I will find other days to work in the solitude of my home office, enjoying the views that it affords.  But today, there is something that says, maybe just staying at home  just because may not be the best?

(I know right now several of you are thinking – Are you crazy!!!  Stay at home!)

But I started thinking about these verses today:

  1. Matthew 8:3
    Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.
    Matthew 8:2-4 (in Context) Matthew 8 (Whole Chapter)
  2. Matthew 17:7
    But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”
    Matthew 17:6-8 (in Context) Matthew 17 (Whole Chapter)
  3. Matthew 20:34
    Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
    Matthew 20:33-34 (in Context) Matthew 20 (Whole Chapter)
  4. Mark 1:41
    Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
    Mark 1:40-42 (in Context) Mark 1 (Whole Chapter)

It’s not that there’s a command there, and its not that I am going to go around touching people today and healing them.  But there is something about presence sometimes that is important.  There is something about personal interaction that’s good.

So, today, I will go off and see how I can impact people face to face, versus over the phone.  How will you “touch” those you come in contact with?

Maybe today holds something incredible? (or maybe I am really insane)