I have been on vacation for the last week and a half. I had grand goals of sculpting posts for the next month, but instead it turned into a mini prayer and scripture retreat. I don't think I am going to complain about that.....
This evening when Meredith and I got home, I was flipping through a magazine and found this quote in an ad for a guitar company.
He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands, his head and his heart is an artist.
St. Francis of Assisi
I am not sure if we can correctly attribute that to St. Francis, but it struck a chord in a conversation that is very easy to get me into...the artistry of worship design, more specifically the artistry of those who are writing the worship...whether it be prayers, responses, music, sermon or the overall flow. This is a subject that we need to be talking about (and should come back to.) Beauty is a characteristic of worship that reflects the beauty of God, not our own creativity.
Every man either has one or wishes they had one. They are called by various names, from the classy (The Study) to the trendy (the dreaded "Man Cave") or the descriptive (The Black Hole). Most of the time they should be a guest bedroom, but with some begging or just luck you can have your own space. I lucked out and Meredith is terrified of the steps that lead to our finished attic-than meant I got the whole gigantic room for myself. When we moved here I was excited because for the first time I would be able to have all of my stuff unpacked. I had a small project studio at my old church where I kept my music equipment. I had a tiny little room at our old house where I had some of my books set up, more where in my office at work. I also had my records there is boxes and my stereo jumbled together.
When we moved to Kentucky I finally would be able to have everything in one space, all set up. But the problem is that I never got it cleaned up enough to really use. Yes, their were times where it was somewhat situated, but it has never really been a place we want to take people too. My friend Mary Anne told me that the level of organization is reflective of someones spiritual life, and I would agree with her on this one. I have certainly never been peaceful, and neither has my space.
For the rest of break I am going to try to get "The War Room" in order-and to get some accountability, I am keeping up with the progress on Flickr. I have a set called The War Room and you can go their to see where I am at. Feel free to hassle me here or on Twitter.
It is always nice to clean. January has been a "cleaning" time of mine the last several years. I usually have a list of things that I would like to accomplish. These are things that I think would make life easier or more enjoyable. Those that know me can quickly figure out that I am using the term cleaning very loosely. I am a bit of a packrat/clutter fan. I have gotten better since marrying Meredith, cause she has shown me the light.
When I think cleaning it is more like arranging. Putting things in order to enjoy life better. That does mean traditional cleaning at times, and at others it is more like accomplishing or even starting.
I hinted in my last post about a secret that I figured out this last semester that made things so much better. I quit allowing a stressful and busy schedule to identify who I am and to affect the amount of peace that I carry with me. That taught me to slow down when there wasn't the time too, and also to learn to relax very well when I had the time.
It also pointed me towards the idea that for years I (among other friends) had been dreaming about the future, and just acknowledging the present as a place I had to be for the time being. Then I started to see that I had been living life like that for years, and that I was on a path to be an old man that had never accomplished anything he wanted to do. So I quit living for the schedule and started living for life. It actually allowed for the schedule to get done better and quicker and life to be alot more fun.
So here is to the January "cleaning", when hopefully practices will be laid out to make this year on of the best ever.
Well, the moment is finally here. After vegging for three weeks (maybe even 4), I have come back to life on the internet. I read through over 300 posts today in my feed reader, and made a list of posts to write for this site, and a few other sites. I frequented a forum that I haven't visited since October, and I looked at the stack of reviews that I promised to different people.
The last few months was a miserable time in my life, but quietly transforming. What I believed to be the perfect schedule ended up fighting back like a rabid possum at a Larry the Cable Guy show. No matter what amount of planning and GTD'ing I could do, I was always playing catch up. I in turn had to drop off the face of the earth (except for twitter) to concentrate on school and work.
But I am back-and hopefully with the endurance of Rocky fighting that robot Russian guy that appeared to be training on the set of Tron. And I promise to not have any more humor, because I can never get it to translate on the interweb.
What I do have is the usual content regarding Worship Theology, Patristics, Social Theory, the book of Revelation and the occasional post about Rock Music/BBQ.
For the sake of keeping myself accountable, I do want to share a resolution of sorts (I will talk more about my thoughts regarding the year later this week). In Dr. Dongell's class we learn that one can read through the book of Mark in just under two hours. Judging from this, I think I could read the gospels in 8 hours, and probably the New Testament in around 20 tops. I haven't done the figuring for the OT, but I realize that Scripture reading doesn't really take that much time. I know plenty of people that want to read through the bible in a year (and there is nothing the matter with that), and I have always wanted to do the same. But I really think for me it undershoots it. I have tried reading an entire book of the NT on Sundays, and it really hasn't been that hard. When reading Patristics, I am amazed at the grasp they have regarding the Bible, and Lester Ruth says that the best way to talk about God is to use his own words. JD Walt is a big fan of Immersion Vs. Extraction when it comes to Scripture reading. To really understand the Bible, I think it has to be digested in narrative chunks.
So my goal for this year is to read the Bible through as many times as I can. Not just to tack a number on the belt, but to start a lifestyle practice of Scripture immersion and familiarity. So there goes one of my big goals for the year. To end this-I give you David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd).
