Random Testing Gone Bad

Yup, I Still Wanna Be More Like My Pup

Maybe you were wondering how we're doing with our new puppy. When I last wrote about him (click Archives on the sidebar and scroll down to December 13th, and also December 6th), I said I wanted to be more like him. Still do.

We recently dubbed the puppy. The winning suggestion was my daughter's: Captain Jack, after pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp in the recent film Pirates of the Caribbean. Which led me to rent the video and find out what she liked about this character besides his name.

Captain Jack Sparrow was winsome and clever, in spite of being a pirate. He found himself, in various circumstances, uncharacteristically doing good. This wasn't a deep movie, by any means, but if you'll indulge me -- deep down, Captain Jack Sparrow wanted to be noble.

A lot like my dog. In his now-7-month-old-puppy-heart, Captain Jack wants to do good. His strong motivation is toward doing the things we're teaching him. Once in a while, his ability to follow what he knows to do is weaker than his impulse to yield to a temptation, but his overall tendency is to do good.

Somewhat unlike me. I find myself, in various circumstances, knowing to do good but not really wanting to do good. Yet in these circumstances, I often end up doing good because I want others to think that I'm good more than I genuinely want to do good. ("Oh, Linda, you're such a good wife/mom/friend/volunteer/you-fill-in-the-blank...")

Much less noble than my puppy. He's not trying to uphold some image of his "goodness", he just wants to do good. I suppose that's natural, since we've conditioned him to expect positive reinforcement when he does, but it seems purer.

I want a heart-change that enables me to be motivated to do good, even if nobody notices or says a word. Just my knowing I'm doing good would start my tail wagging. Yup, I still wanna be like Captain Jack.

Ironic Turn of Events Following Ban on Prayer in Jesus's Name

Sneak a peek at this Indianapolis Star article which illustrates how denying a right can serve to strengthen people's resolve to exercise that right. Fascinating.

"If federal Judge David Hamilton ever wanted to play the part of a double agent in a Hollywood movie, he might do well at it. The judge banned official prayers in the name of Jesus Christ in the state House of Representatives last year. Now a new wave of prayer has been generated in and around the Statehouse..."

Read the rest of the article here. Thanks to Indy Christian for the heads up.

Remembering the Poor

For the needy will not be forgotten forever; the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed.

Psalm 9:18, New Living Translation

At the close of our church's worship service each week we all join hands in one large circle around the perimeter of the room and say the Lord's Prayer together. Different parts of this prayer seem to hit me at different times, but lately the line "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" has been quite prominent. I believe that praying that line involves me as an agent of His will being done here on earth. Therefore, in relation to the above verse in Psalm 9, I must ask myself: "How am an agent of His will toward the poor?"

Which then leads me to question whether or not my heart is even aligned with His on this matter in the first place. I also wonder which "poor" we're even talking about. Would it be the widow down the block on a fixed income? Compared to my standard of living, she's certainly "poor". Is it enough to care about her "hopes"? Or must it extend to the "hopes" of the child in Mexico city who lives at the garbage dump or of the child in Africa orphaned by AIDS or the peasant whose livelihood was wiped out by the tsunami or Katrina evacuees? Or all of them?

I get a little scared about opening my heart to care about all the "poor". Their needs are just too overwhelming. My heart reasons, "It's a no-brainer that I could never even make a dent in meeting those needs." But then that's just the point, isn't it?

"The needy are not forgotten..." might just translate into intentional and earnest prayer on their behalf. I will confess to routinely "forgetting" the needy as I pray. My own life challenges and those of the folks I'm close to often consume my focus and energy. But allowing my concerns to crowd out a deep prayerful concern for the "poor" and their "hopes" limits the degree to which His Spirit may transform my heart. And it also stunts my capacity to be His agent of compassion and mercy right here, right now. To keep this in focus as I form my prayers might just lead to a reevaluation of my own needs, and a reprioritizing of my budget items to enable a greater expression of His compassion through me.

If all of us toward the top of the economic pyramid, together, hundreds of thousands and even millions strong, remember the poor in prayer and then let Him lead us as to how and when to respond financially, from hearts that have adopted His concerns, we might just make way more than a dent.

Not All the News Is Bad News

Are you in the mood for some good news? (Hat tip to Mustard Seed Associates' January 2006 newsletter.)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) -- an organization of 184 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty -- has just approved 100% debt relief to 19 of the world's poorest countries, with a 20th expected to be approved shortly.

This action was taken in response to the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative adopted at the G8 Summit last summer involving the world's leading industrialized nations plus Russia.

IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato made the following statement:

"I am delighted to announce that the IMF will grant 100 percent debt relief to 19 countries... ...amounting to [about $3.3 billion, US]. This is an historic moment, which will allow these countries to increase spending in priority areas to reduce poverty, promote growth, and to make progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. These countries should receive this debt relief in early 2006. Bringing the [initiative] to this stage... ...has taken an intensive effort. I am proud of what the IMF has achieved in delivering debt relief in just six months."

You may recall the Live 8 concerts held in 10 world cities last July. They were timed just prior to the G8 summit to call the world's leaders to more action to tackle global poverty. Organizer Bob Geldof states, "In 1985 [Live Aid] was about charity (famine relief for Ethiopia)... ...Today it's about a campaign for justice and empowerment for millions of people round the world... ...Mahatma Gandhi freed a continent, Martin Luther King freed a people, Nelson Mandela freed a country. It does work. They will listen."

The countries in question have struggled with drought and famine, political upheaval and the AIDS epidemic in recent years. Now their economies will be freer to focus on their internal issues. I'm so pleased.

Get to Know Your Loved Ones Better

Here's a printable quiz from Family Dynamics, Inc. that will help you find out how much you know about your mate, kids, parents, friends, etc. Even though it's titled for spouses, I found that it works quite well with others. I didn't know as much about my kids as I thought I did. And I was a little too cocky on my answers about my husband. Had fun talking about the answers together.

Enjoy.

Words You Hope to Never Hear...

This one's for my good buddy who'll be having an outpatient surgical procedure performed next week, and is no doubt somewhat nervous...

Have You Ever Noticed...

...that the very act of deciding to eliminate a bad habit causes the habit to seem more stubbornly ingrained than you imagined? I am experiencing this phenomenon up close and personal the past several days. The more I focus on changing a certain negative behavior, the more unlikely it seems I'll avoid doing it.

I'm not alone here. Benjamin Franklin experienced this when he embarked on a project to establish virtuous habits in his life. The following observation is from his autobiography:

As I knew, or thought I knew, what was right and wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the other. But I soon found I had undertaken a task of more difficulty than I bad imagined... ...I concluded, at length, that the mere speculative conviction that it was our interest to be completely virtuous, was not sufficient to prevent our slipping; and that the contrary habits must be broken, and good ones acquired and established, before we can have any dependence on a steady, uniform rectitude of conduct.

To further his progress, Franklin invented (that's not a stretch, huh) a reusable calendrical record book in which he worked on one virtue each week (from a list of thirteen), recording each lapse with a black spot. In a brief overview of Franklin's life, Kathryn VanSpanckeren suggests that "his theory prefigures psychological behaviorism, while his systematic method of notation anticipates modern behavior modification. The project of self-improvement blends the Enlightenment belief in perfectibility with the Puritan habit of moral self-scrutiny."

If this system proved effective for a Founding Father, then why reinvent the wheel? I'm going to get a calendar and hang it in my bedroom, then place a sticker on each day's square when I succeed in avoiding the negative behavior (and actually replacing it with the positive behavior) that day. I'm choosing to focus on what I'm doing right instead of my lapses. It'll be a way of tracking my progress and rewarding myself at the same time -- seeing the stickers smiling back at me ought to put a little wind in my sails. And perhaps I'll be encouraged by all the days with stickers rather than the days without.

And I will also happily employ this prayer that Franklin borrowed from "Thomson's Poems" for this very purpose:

Father of light and life, thou Good Supreme!
O teach me what is good; teach me Thyself!
Save me from folly, vanity, and vice,
From every low pursuit; and fill my soul
With knowledge, conscious peace, and virtue pure;
Sacred, substantial, never-fading bliss!

[Read about Benjamin Franklin's self-improvement system in this brief selection from his autobiography.]

I'm a Billionaire

Here's a gem from Mike, the editor of my daily Bible reading blog:

...As I was jogging I thought to myself, "I am a billionaire!" Why? Because I am blessed with this opportunity to jog, and to check out the beautiful night air around me, and more than anything because of this wonderfully complex thing in my skull called the brain. The brain that allows me to do all these things and to simply think and enjoy life. And I thought to myself, "At what price would I give up the ability to use my brain? Would I sell my brain for 1 billion dollars?" The answer is obviously no -- because there would then be no point to living in this life without the brain. So, I reasoned with myself, well then, "I am a billionaire! I have a billion dollar asset in my skull!"

He goes on to suggest that his readers are billionaires too. I think I could take this line of thinking futher:

Would I sell my feet? Uh-uh. My hands? No way! A kidney? Nope -- might be asked to give one of them someday, but I wouldn't sell it, or any other organ or limb of mine for that matter. I would never choose to part with any of these -- not for a billion bucks! So add them up, and, as you can plainly see, I am a billionaire many times over! I have irreplaceable personal assets worth so much you can't even count that high.

Something about his putting things this way made me feel like King Tut. (Well, that's probably not a good analogy, since his "parts" are now mummified, but I think you knew what I meant.)

This is not a mind game. I'm really am that blessed. And I haven't even mentioned the relational or spiritual riches...

Thanks, Mike!

More Children's Letters to God

[A nun asked her classroom to write letters to God. I shared some of these a few weeks ago. More from that stash... Click Archives on the sidebar and scroll down to December 30, 2005 for the first post.]

Dear God,
Of all the people who work for You I like Noah and David the best.
Rob

Dear God,
I think the stapler is one of your greatest inventions.
Ruth

Dear God,
Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before, You can look it up.
Bruce

Dear God,
Did You mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident?
Norma

Dear God,
Are You really invisible or is it just a trick?
Lucy

Dear God,
In school they told us what You do. Who does it when You are on vacation?
Jane

Happy Birthday, Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. This post is in honor of Mary Anne Burns.

Here's a list of a few things I didn't appreciate learning from Mom at the time but am ever grateful for:

• Put your trash in a trash can. If there isn't a trash can nearby, hold on to your trash until we find one. I don't care how long it takes to find one.
• Stand up straight. You'll be healthier and look more attractive.
• If you can't think of anything nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all. You can't take back ugly words once spoken.
• Your dad deserves special honor as the hard-working bread-winner of this family. He will have jelly on his first piece of toast if he chooses and can start any meal with a glass of milk. (We kids had a tendency to quench our thirst with milk after playing outdoors, so the rule was drink a glass of water first.)
• If you're older, you have more privileges; those privileges come along with a responsibility toward the younger, less experienced siblings. Take good care of them.
• I don't lie to you kids, so don't ever lie to me. Ever.
• It takes a lot of hard work to keep a big family running smoothly. Your participation in that work is a given. You can endure it or learn to enjoy it.
• Learning is a life-long activity. Keep spreading your wings and trying new things. (She launched what was to become a successful portrait photography business at an age when many folks start counting the months and days to retirement, never having owned more than an Kodak instamatic camera before.)

Thanks, Mom. You set a high standard and gave us something to aim for. Happy Birthday!

Larry, "Mow", and Curly Joe...

A friend recently sent this to me. Thought it was too fun not to share.

Words of the Lord/Wisdom Like Silver

The following two verses were in one of my daily readings last week (the Read-the-Bible-in-a-Year Plan). Each day there's a selection from the Old and New Testaments, as well as a portion of the Psalms and some of the Proverbs. I'd never put these two thoughts together before, and their being juxtaposed fascinated me...

Psalm 12:6-7
The words of the LORD are pure words,
Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
You shall keep them, O LORD,
You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

Proverbs 3:13-18
Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
And the man who gains understanding;
For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,
And her gain than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies,
And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
Length of days is in her right hand,
In her left hand riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who retain her.

NKJV

Courtroom Bloopers

Here are some statements, supposedly taken from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, of things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place (these were circulating in the blogosphere a couple years ago, but they're still pretty funny):

Q: What is your date of birth?
A: July 15th.
Q: What year?
A: Every year.

Q: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
A: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

Q: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
A: Yes.
Q: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
A: I forget.
Q: You forget? Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?

Q: How old is your son, the one living with you?
A: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
Q: How long has he lived with you?
A: Forty-five years.

Q: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?

Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?

Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?
A: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
Q: And why did that upset you?
A: My name is Susan.

Q: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo or the occult?
A: We both do.
Q: Voodoo?
A: We do.
Q: You do?
A: Yes, voodoo.

Q: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
A: Did you actually pass the bar exam?

Quiz Questions Answered

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia in the Sweet Auburn district. His boyhood home is only several blocks from the now famous Ebenezer Baptist Church where he would eventually co-pastor with Martin Luther King, Sr. (Daddy King).

King studied sociology at Morehouse College in Atlanta (entering at age 15!), his father and grandfather's alma mater, then later attended Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Divinity. He completed doctoral studies in Systematic Theology at Boston University. He was also awarded at least 20 honorary degrees from colleges and universities in the United States as well as several foreign countries.

During his studies, he was exposed to the concept of nonviolent protest which had been successfully employed by Mahatma Ghandi in resisting British rule in India. He and his wife, Coretta, spent a month in 1959 in India studying Ghandi's methods as the guests of Prime Minister Jawaharal Nehru.

Yolanda Denise, Martin Luther King III, Dexter Scott, and Bernice Albertine have all followed in their father's footsteps as civil rights activists. I was privileged to hear his youngest, Bernice, speak at an event here in Columbia, Missouri, two years ago.

[From biographies at The King Center site and Wikipedia.]

Now, for those of you who love crossword puzzles, here's a downloadable Martin Luther King, Jr. Day puzzle. Have fun.

King's Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech

The following is an excerpt from Dr. King's speech in Oslo, Norway, December 10, 1964:

"...I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the 'isness' of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal 'oughtness' that forever confronts him.

"I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsom and jetsom in the river of life unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality..."

On this national holiday, why not read his eloquent speech.

Test Your Knowledge of MLK

1. What city is the birthplace of Dr. King? (Bonus point for also naming the neighborhood.)
2. From what college did he receive his bachelor's degree in sociology? (Bonus points for naming where he received his Bachelor of Divinity or PhD in Systematic Theology.)
3. Which world leader successfully modelled the principles of nonviolent civil disobedience that Dr. King would learn and later employ? (Bonus point for naming this leader's country.)
4. What do all four of Dr. King's children have in common? (Bonus points for naming the one who visited Columbia, MO, two years ago and was the keynote speaker at the Columbia Values Diversity Breakfast. Hey -- you folks who live outside central Missouri, don't sweat this one...)

[Check back for answers tomorrow...]

More from Dr. King

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well."

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become reality. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word."

In Honor of the Upcoming Holiday...

"I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecutions and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive."

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.,

August 28, 1963, Washington, D. C.

Let's See Those Pearly Whites

Today one of my mentors, FlyLady, emailed me and told me to go into my bathroom, turn on the light, look deep into my own eyes (brown, by the way) and smile from the inside out. Okay, I could do that...

Then said I should take her challenge to spend five minutes at the top of each hour walking around in my immediate surroundings smiling. Whoa! Don't think I've got time for that one...

Said that using the muscles involved in the act of smiling actually tells the brain we're happy and consequently releases those chemicals that make us feel euphoric. Challenged me to do it just to prove those scientists wrong.

Also said that, like yawns, smiles are contagious. You mean by simply smiling I could influence the way people around me feel?

Hmmm...perhaps I don't have time not to. Excuse me while I head to my mirror...

"S" is for Sleep...

Since I've already gone out on a limb with this whole New Year's resolution thing, I might as well confess another one: In 2006, I'm determined to change my sleep habits.The nightowl thing has been my preferred lifestyle for decades. I liked the quiet in the house when everyone else was asleep. I thought I could get soooo much done then. But my definitely-not-spring-chicken-body has gradually gotten quite unhappy with it. And I'm thinking there's probably something to that whole "early to bed, early to rise" thing.

But here's the rub: I've been attempting to improve my behavior for months now, but have gotten caught in a vortex. No longer believing I can afford the late, late nights, I sometimes go to bed on time, but often do not, leaving me with a very erratic schedule and no routine whatsoever. I miss several hours' sleep one or two nights in a row, then try to "catch up" the following night. It's at this point that my body starts to complain: difficulty concentrating, falling asleep at odd (and inappropriate) times, barely articulate, dull complexion, etc.

The power of my will to comply with the predetermined bedtime has proven quite impotent in the face of an apparently powerful emotional attachment to the famliar and ingrained habits. It doesn't seem to matter how many positive benefits I "know"; I "do" otherwise.

So I figure I'll need to up the ante on this one. A current Christianity Today article on sleep by Lauren F. Winner has given me the impetus I needed. An excerpt from her article:

"Sleep specialists are virtually unanimous on this: With some notable exceptions who seem wired to operate on a different schedule (Thomas Edison is a famous example), we human beings cannot lose sleep without decreasing our attention span, our response time, our acuity. I may have been awake for 90 extra minutes [the author cut short her night's sleep], but I was less wakeful all day long...

"...To push ourselves to go without sleep is, in some sense, to deny our embodiment, to deny our fragile incarnations—and perhaps to deny the magnanimous poverty and self-emptying that went into his Incarnation. French poet Charles Peguy makes the point well:

I don't like the man who doesn't sleep, says God.
Sleep is the friend of man,
Sleep is the friend of God.
Sleep is perhaps the most beautiful thing I have created.
And I myself rested on the seventh day.
But they tell me that there are men
Who work well and sleep badly.
Who don't sleep.
What a lack of confidence in me.

"Peguy's words have perhaps never been more fitting: to sleep, long and soundly, is to place our trust not in our own strength and hard work, but in Him without whom we labor in vain."

So I've decided to put a theological lens on my sleep issue. In 2006, I will offer my body the rest and sleep it needs, consistently and regularly, as a declaration of my "created" status -- a being who requires the full eight hours; as a declaration that I have the power to set my own priorities and leave some "important things" undone rather than sacrifice sleep; as a declaration that He will provide my genuine needs quite apart from any frantic attempts on my part to secure my own well-being.

I tried making this change for my own benefit before, and it didn't work. Then I decided that I ought to do it for my husband and family, and that didn't work. This time, I'm going to do it as an act of deference to the Lord of Life who Himself rested. I think this time it could work.

Good night.

On Joy, Forgiveness, and Giving

[These quotes were part of a presentation at Pathways to Peace, emailed to me by my cousin's wife, Diane.]

*

If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice because your soul is alive.

-- Eleonora Duse

*
Forgiveness is the answer to the child's dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is made clean.

-- Dag Hammarskjold

*
We must not only give what we have; we must also give what we are.

-- Desire-Joseph Mercier

"What Is Man, That You Are Mindful of Him?"

[I'm going to go against my natural instincts and reveal one of my New Year's resolutions. I'm thinking that if I go on record by letting all of you know, then I'll have a powerful incentive to stick to my commitment. Soooo, ahem... My goal is to read through the entire Bible in 2006. (Whew, I didn't faint...) I have embarked on this project repeatedly, only to get sidetracked in topical Bible studies somewhere along the way. But now that I've told you, I'm more determined to stay focused. Ask me how I'm doing in a couple months, OK? Just click on "email me" in the sidebar.]

The following is from Psalm 8, my assigned reading from a day ago:

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
(verses 3-6)

Can you wrap your mind around that?! The Creator of the heavens and earth is mindful of us, the people He has made. And not only that, He has crowned us with glory and honor. And if that don't beat all, He has given us dominion over His creation.

Next time I'm feeling down in the dumps, I'm just going to remind myself that I have been crowned with glory and honor, was meant to exert power and agency in my world, and He is ever mindful of me... and you.

[Hey -- why not join me? Just go to One Year Bible Blog.]

Matrimony Matters

mat'ri.mo.ny, n. [ME. and OFr. matrimoine; L. matrimonium, from mater, matris, a mother.]
1. the act of marrying; the rite or sacrament of marriage.
2. the state of being husband and wife.
3. married life.
4. (a) a card game with any number of players; (b) the combination of king and queen of trump, as in this game.

Last night was a big night for me and my husband -- we launched our first Dynamic Marriage Class. Back in November, we took a three-day Family Dynamics, Inc. training to become certified facilitators for this course, and have been eagerly waiting ever since to begin this new venture. (I serendipitously stumbled -- or should I say "surfed" -- onto their website back in October.)

People are hard-wired to desire intimacy -- men and women alike -- and if we don't experience it in our primary relationship, we'll sublimate this need and find fulfillment in other, less satisfying ways. But, when married, we experience optimal happiness when the relationship is "hitting on all eight cylinders" as my dad would always say (how long has it been since I've driven a car with eight cylinders?!!)

The law of entropy being ever-present, it requires maintenance to keep a thing as involved as a marriage in top-notch condition. We are willing to give much attention (translate: time, energy and money!) to other less valuable facets of our lives, but often erroneously suppose that we can simply coast through marriage and not experience disappointment. This course enables participants to focus on something that really matters and to significantly increase their own satisfaction quotient as well as their mate's.

Wish us well (or say a prayer, if you're so inclined) as we endeavor to share this effective tool with others.

Word Verification Feature Added to Comments

A word verification feature has been added to the Comment precedure on a musing moment blog.

When making a comment you will be asked to complete a word verification step which will prevent automated systems from adding comments on this site. Since it takes a human being to read the word and pass this step, unwanted advertisements or random links to unrelated sites can't be left in the Comments by software that can't get past the word verification.

Re: Taking Action, Commitment, and Determination

• If the world seems cold to you, kindle fies to warm it!
  If the world's a wilderness, go, build houses in it!

-- Lucy Larcom

• Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has.

-- Margaret Mead

• Press on: nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world of full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are overwhelmingly powerful.

-- President Calvin Coolidge

On the Lighter Side

[The following is in honor of my former employer:]

It was early in the morning and two robins were sitting in a tree. “I’m really hungry,” said one. “Me too,” said the other. “Let’s go find some breakfast.”

They flew down to a plot of recently plowed ground full of worms. They ate and ate until they could eat no more.

“I’m so full I don’t think I can fly back up to the tree,” the first one said. “Me either," said the second. "The sun is really warming up -- let’s just stay here a little while and enjoy it.”

“Okay by me,” agreed the first.

So they plopped right down and started soaking up the rays. No sooner than they had fallen asleep, a big fat tomcat snuck up and gobbled them right up. As he sat licking his whiskers, he thought:

“I just love baskin’ robbins.”

I was the decorator of the ice cream cakes for 15 months:

• Job description: play all day with very good ice cream, gourmet cake, and pretty colors, getting as creative as you want.
• Nicest job feature: customers always leave happy.
• Worst job feature: monthly defrosting and cleaning of the display freezers.
• Most unusual request for a birthday cake: a "motorcycle wreck" on the cake (it actually turned out pretty neat).
• All-Time Prettiest Cake (while in their employ): Valentine's Day, heart-shaped with white icing overlaid with white frosting Corelli lace, topped with deep red frosting long-stemmed roses.
• Favorite flavor: jamoca topped with hot fudge and chopped almonds. And yours?

Oops, Forgot to Mention...

I plum forgot to give credit to Jeremy Del Rio for directing me to the Carrasco column I featured in the last post. Jeremy is the founder and director of Generation Xcel in Lower Manhattan -- "a holistic youth development agency built in 1996 by youth for youth." Visit his blog: Away with Words.

More Than Mentors

I'd like to share a column I just read that demonstrates the deep impact community developers can make. It was written by Rudy Carrasco of Urban Onramps in Pasadena, CA, for Outreach Magazine. I especially liked his line: "No more Gospel playboys, making spiritual babies via mass outreach events, but not staying around to raise those infants. We determined to disciple as Jesus had discipled, living in community with each other and those we were teaching."

He places the bar high. I hope to reach it one day.

Pressed Down, Shaken Together

Luke 6:38
"Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." (NKJV)

Boy, that's a pretty good offer, isn't it? If we give liberally, God says He'll return our liberality. Goes nicely with the proverb that says if we lend to the poor, He'll repay us personally (Proverbs 19:17). Another one of His sweet deals. Hey, I think I could swing that... After all, can't take it with me, so I might as well give some of it away while I'm here... God promises to pay me back anyway, right?

I've heard Luke 6:38 quoted fairly often, but almost never in context. Let's look at the preceding verse: "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." It's pretty clear that this passage is about having a generous spirit -- which certainly includes sharing our money and our stuff -- but has a much broader application in our lives. The following verses expand on this theme even more. Jesus is instructing us to refit the templates on our attitudes. We need new default settings.

• Is it easy to be critical and condemning? to casually toss someone aside when they screw up something important?
• Is it just natural to assume the worst about people's motives when they do disappointing and hurtful things?
• Do offenses lodge in the heart, turning to bitterness? Grudges get held well into the next decade?

The liberality and graciousness demanded by following The Narrow Way is in response to the immeasurable kindness of God's mercies toward us. Because we have been redeemed from certain death, we likewise extend ourselves generously in our relationships with others, in gratitude for this amazing grace.

I don't think I'll ever forget an event that occurred in my kitchen about twenty years ago. I watched as my husband's mother was attempting to pour a sack of wheat into a gallon jar. I was sure she had seriously misjudged the size of container needed, but wasn't about to say so. She poured until the wheat was even with the brim, then she shook the jar. Suddenly, there was room for more. Then she poured some more and shook the jar again. She must have repeated this drill about four times, and to my utter amazement, she got all the grain in the container. (Note: she was raised on a wheat farm in western Kansas; I'm city born and bred. She knew the ways of wheat.)

Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather. Then she said, "I guess that's what the Bible means when it says 'pressed down, shaken together and running over.' " Having definitely commanded my attention and respect with her All-the-Wheat-in-the-Jar-Trick, her words hung in the air. I've pondered this 24-karat object lesson for years.

So when you think you've been about as generous as a person can possibly get, press down a bit, shake the jar a little, and then pour some more. Forgive and release that offense against you, and that other one that happened the week before. Oops, almost forgot yet another one. It's gotta go too.

Do it because that's just how it's done in Heaven.

One of My Role Models

When I grow up, I want to be like Elmo. I'm not kidding. For about a year, this image was the background on my computer desktop. Here's why (a partial list):

• Elmo is usually cheerful.
• Elmo has a "can do" attitude.
• Elmo lets others know his needs, wants, and desires.
• Elmo makes friends easily.
• Elmo takes responsibility for his own "stuff" (note backpack), but doesn't assume responsibility for "stuff" that's not his.
• Elmo is eager to learn.
• Elmo is able to get out of his own orbit and think of others.
• Elmo thinks he's okay being himself.
• Elmo isn't a slave to fashion.

["Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew18:3 .]

Strong Words from Gloria Gaither

[Bill and Gloria Gaither were recently named Christian Songwriters of the Century by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Their concerts outsell Elton John, Rod Stewart and Fleetwood Mac, selling more than 1 million tickets for their 60 concerts a year. The following comments by Gloria Gaither were made at a recent workshop held by the Gospel Music Association. While her comments do not apply to me directly, they certainly hit me between the eyes in principle.]

After some 250 writers, publishers and others had gotten comfortable for the session, she [Gloria Gaither] asked them: "How many of you are involved in praise and worship? Either you write praise and worship, you lead a team, publish, or record praise and worship."

Almost all the audience members raised their hands. So she sked a second question: "How many of you, who obviously spend your life in praise and worship, have read First and Second Kings in the last two years?"

Three hands went up. Gloria leaned forward.

"Then what right have you to go through the Psalms to pick out a few positive lines here and there?" she asked. "Because most of the Psalms is beating the chest and lament and 'I don't know if God exists' and 'I don't know where He went' and 'I don't know if He loves me.' Finally the psalmist resolves a few things -- and we'll find one little line and have it on the screen by Sunday morning. But what right have you to take his line that he paid for if you don't know what he paid to get it there?"

Praise, she tells them, has to be the outcome of a "gut-living life" and is sincerely real for those who have tried it on the caldron of pain and survived. "When that happens, you will praise Him," she told a now-rapt audience. "You can't stop it. But to just walk in on Sunday morning and start with the punch line? I don't think you have the right."

[Excerpted from Charisma Magazine, January 2006]

"Spending" our Lives

The following quote was in a Reader's Digest years and years ago. (I save way too much stuff.) It's from Charles Spezzano's book What to Do Between Birth and Death:

"You don't really pay for things with money. You pay for them with time. 'In five years, I'll have put enough away to buy that vacation house we want; then I'll slow down.' That means the house will cost you five years -- 1/12th of your adult life. Translate the dollar value of the house, car or anything else into time, and then see if it's still worth it. Sometimes you can't do what you want and have what you want at once because each requires a different expenditure of time. The phrase 'spending your time' is not a metaphor. It's how life works."

Makes me think.

Having recently clicked past 53 on my birthday-ometer I wonder how long I can "afford" to delay projects that I have considered to be lifetime goals? If they're what I really want to do then I'd better figure out a way to "budget" some time for them, huh? Not out of a fear of "running out of" time, but out of a desire to really be doing what I was put on this planet to do in the first place. Or should I say, "spending" my life in alignment with my deepest values, desires and capabilities.

To delve further into the topic of doing what you're "supposed" to be doing, visit Max Lucado's webinar on the Cure for the Common Life. He puts things together in a combination I had never considered. Learned things about myself.

His book by the same title hits bookstores tomorrow, January 3rd. I'm gonna get a copy.

2005 Headlines You May Have Missed

Here's a compilation of smaller news stories from last year collected and posted by Lori Borgman. It's a hoot. Enjoy!

[Okay, I'll go ahead and give you an eensy-weensy sample to nudge you into checking it out:]

The Wacky Warning Label Contest, conducted by Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, gave first place honors to a label affixed to a toilet brush: "Do not use for personal hygiene." My personal favorite was a label on an electric blender: "Never remove food or other items from the blades while the product is operating."

"Acknowledging" God in the Public Square?

Just read a thought-provoking article by Paul J. Dean, adjunct professor at Erskine Theological Seminary, discussing the church/state issue as it pertains to engaging our culture. He writes:

"Christians often wrap the gospel in the American flag and in so doing confuse not only the nation and the church but also our allegiance to Christ and His gospel with our allegiance to America and our rights.

"...it is not in keeping with the gospel to legislate Christianity as it not only fosters the lukewarmness mentioned above, but a dead Pharisaic mentality that keeps persons comfortable in their self-righteousness, sin, and separation from God."

He makes a good case for fighting for souls rather than fighting for our "rights". Strong-arming and political imposition won't achieve the impact for Christ that we would desire.

Read the full article... [Hat-tip to Christian City News and Blogs Network.]