Month: September 2011

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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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Life is Good Today

My sleepy little head was awoken this morning by The Zac Brown Band’s little diddy “Toes in the Water.” I laid there for a few minutes wishing I was on the beach and far away for the ‘normal’ days of life, until I eventually convinced myself that I could not just be singing the song magically travel to the beach.

However, I could not get the song out of my head, and I started wondering why I could not approach today like a day at the beach and forgot about the struggles of raising a teenager, the boundaries at work and the fact that I don’t have a money tree growing in my back yard.  It’s going to be a stretch, but I thought I might give it a try.

So, while I ironed by shirt I penned this adaptation to Zac’s words:

I got my toes in my loafers,

I am stuck on the tele,

Not a worry in the world,

I bought my sweet tea from Shelly

Yeah! That’s good stuff!.  (Amy commented that it maybe have to go on the greatest hits album, I am not sure I she convinced me, but I like it! 🙂 )

Life is good today!  Those little worries mean nothing compared to the promise we live with!  So how about you, post your adaptation of Zac’s song and make today a day at the beach.

9-10 I’m happy from the inside out,
and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
that’s not my destination!

11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I’m on the right way.  Psalm 16:9-11 The Message (MSG)

(Oh and actually I by my sweet tea from Michelle, but I didn’t want make the verse rhyme with that – that could have been a little negative!)

 

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Thoughts on Thinking – Part 2

It’s pretty amazing really.

So yesterday I had that verse running through my head all day  – “as a man thinketh so is he”.  And then I foundeth myself adding ‘eth’ to every verb I saideth.

No, not really, let me start over.

So yesterday I had that verse running through my head all day  – “as a man thinketh so is he”. And then I would look at my thoughts – and just shake my head.  It is so amazing that I could think this verse one minute and then next thought be a thought about something so removed from what I am striving to become.

Ok, show of hands – or by adding comments ( hint hint) – who else experienced this same thing?

Well, no matter, I know I am not alone, because the writer of a huge chunk of the New Testament of the Bible says the exact same thing.

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. Romans 7 NIV

I have a feeling he was just as dismayed as I am today when he penned those words. But, just like Paul, the author of those words, we have a way of escape from this trap.

21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!  Romans 7 NIV

Yep, there’s the way out.

So, keep working to put your treasure in this Christ and I think you will see the car begin to drift in a direction you want it to go – despite this ridiculous war that is waging inside out minds.  But boy, I wish that war was not going on.

 

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Our Thoughts

I have been spending some time recently examining what I spend my time thinking about.  And let me tell you, I am not sure I like what I have learned about myself.

This little exercise started when I discovered this quote sometime last week

“Act the way you’d like to be and soon you’ll be the way you act.” – Leonard Cohen

After reading that I started to think about how I acted, but I decided to also take a investigatory look at what I was thinking about – especially since at this time I spend a lot of time alone in my office at work.

As I mentioned above it’s a little sobering.  I was surprised how little time I spent on certain topics and how much I spend thinking about other topics.  Even more surprising was how much time I spent thinking about me!

It’s even more sobering when the Proverbs echo the quote above ( more than likely its the other way around!!!)

 7For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Proverbs 23:7 King James Version (KJV)

Of course then there is this little diddy as well

 34For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 12:34 King James Version (KJV)

Hm.  The other day Alex was driving on the interstate for the first time.  We started to swerve toward the shoulder, and Alex said as he was straighten up the car, I was looking over there at that barn ( or whatever it was on the side of the road).  Yep, he learned an important fact, the car goes where you look!  And from that we know, we go where we think.  Spend a little time thinking about what you are thinking about!

 

 

 

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The Importance of Keys

I know it’s a Monday.  Not only is it a Monday, but it’s a Monday with a full moon.  How do I know this you say.  Well, let me recount the ways.

After a surprisingly non eventful start to the day, Amy and the boys went off to work.  Following suit, I prepared my self for a day at the ol’ milestone, feed the cats, loading my bags for the post-work activities into my truck and reached in my pocket for my keys.

Except  they were not there.  Nor were they on the nightstand, of the kitchen counter, or my desk.  no, they were in Amy’s purse – that was in Amy’s classroom at Amy’s school.

Not only that, but remember last week when I had no power ( yes Ben, I had no POWER!!!, and it went out again last night!!!! – I think I have moved to a third world country).  Anyway,  remember last week, when I had no power, and no laptop.  You do!  great, because the laptop problem has returned.

So, here I sit, at home, with a laptop complaining about a hard drive it can’t read, and two , count them two cars in the garage which I cannot start, because I have no keys.

Well, actually, I do have one key – I have a key to the car Amy drove to work today.

Oh, it’s Monday!!!

So, what does this have to do about anything, apart from my complaining?  Well, I think it shows how important something foundational or something essential is to the whole works.  Without  a key those vehicles are just big hunks of steel.  Although they are completely functional, they are missing the one element that keeps them going.  It sort of reminds me of these words from John 15:5, which we will put in Red letters

   5“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5New International Version (NIV)

The Christ himself says that he is really the key to you running properly, otherwise, you are just sitting in the garage!

Also I think this is gentle reminder about how to handle something we all deal with everyday – anxiety.  In the end, this whole deal this morning is actually a small thing.  I do have a 11ish appointment that I should be present in the office for, and I do need to get this laptop fixed, which again requires heading to the office, but in the end, being anxious and worrying will not help at all.

 22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Luke 12 NIV

 

So, Stay Calm and keep hold of the Key!