Extremely Wise

I've been reading through the books of the Bible that Solomon wrote over these past few weeks (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon) and at the risk of sounding incredibly sacrilegious, I have to say that they're not my favorite books of the Bible. Granted this man is supposed to be the wisest man that ever lived, but to me, Proverbs seems incredibly random or incredibly obvious.

"A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret" (Prov. 11:13).

Really, Solomon?!? So you're saying that a gossip is going to tell other people my secrets?!? What do you think a liar is going to do with it?!? :-)

I really have been trying to press past my initial feelings, however, and ask God to enlighten my heart and mind to learn from the wisdom that I believe is there. Recently, the Holy Spirit really challenged me with a particular verse in Ecclesiastes. It's found in the 7th chapter, verse 18.

"It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes."

Earlier this week, I posted some feelings about how I was trying to figure out "normal life" after crazy-busy seasons. I realize that it's a lot easier for me to live in one extreme or the other. When you're working 16 hour days for weeks at a time, it quits becoming difficult. And you think you don't really need sleep or days off like you once thought.

On the other hand, when you visit life in the other extreme, it kind of makes you never want to work again in your life. Sleep, recreation, more sleep, exercising, and then you get to sleep again. Kind of makes that sluggard look good no matter what Solomon has to say about it.

Learning to live in the way that God intended, between the tension of work and Sabbath, productivity and rest . . . that's what really takes some work. Grabbing on to the one without letting go of the other truly takes a fear of God to learn how to do it in the beautiful way He created it to work.

Maybe there is something more to these words of Solomon. If this keeps up, maybe I'll start to understand why I should be flattered if some guy told me told me that my hair was like a flock of goats. :-)

They're Baaaaaaaack!

It's that time of year again . . . St. Vincent's College is filled with our favorite black and gold team. It's a good thing, too, because our local news coverage was running out of Steeler stories to talk about in the off-season. I just love football. I'm so happy it's here again. :-)

Oh My-pod!

As I was driving in the car the other day, listening to my iPod, I was reflecting on how much I love my little Nano. I got him for my birthday last year, signed up for iTunes, and named my little blue friend, Svenn. While I love the shuffle feature and the surprise of music each time a new song comes on, I have to say that my most favorite part of my iPod are podcasts. The most ironic part of my iPod is that I call it, "the gift I never knew I wanted." While I enjoy music, I can't say that I'm a passionate music fanatic, so when I was thinking of birthday gifts last year, I was thinking more clothes than iPods. My mom knew me better, though, and introduced Svenn into my life and I'm not sure how I could get along w/out him now.

I can think of several other things in my life that would go in that same iPod category, things way more significant than actual material gifts. My job and some great friendships are just some of the surprises that God's brought along my way, things that I never knew I wanted and yet are far greater than I could have ever asked. Thank God for all the "iPods" in my life and that He knows me far better than I know myself.

Return to Normal

So did you ever have one of those seasons of incredible intensity where you lose all sense of balance and "normalcy" in an effort to just survive? In the weeks before Kidz GiG, I found myself not taking days off and working 12-16 hour days more often than not. I got used to 2-6 hours of sleep a night and somehow found myself arriving at work by 5:30-6:30 AM on more than one occasion. Clearly, this is not a healthy lifestyle to pursue on so many levels and an argument could certainly be made that I shouldn't even embrace it for a season.

Getting back into a more healthy and Sabbath honoring lifestyle has certainly been an adjustment. I'm finding myself sleeping ridiculously long amounts of time (10+ hours), and once again having significant amounts of time to think, write, and pray. It's got me realizing again that learning to live in a God-honoring way in the midst of all these seasons is certainly a desire of mine. Any suggestions on some of the things that you've learned in the midst of similar types of seasons?

Loch Ness Memories

I had the delightful opportunity to spend a day off at Cedar Point on Friday. For a roller coaster enthusiast like myself, I have to say that I got quite a thrill from some of its impossibly designed coasters that I'm sure would make even Mr. Newton scratch his head on how they could work alongside his laws of physics.

After a day at "the Roller Coast," I can't help but remember how I was first initiated into the world of these thrill rides. I was about seven years old when my family was vacationing at Busch Gardens Virginia. While I had experienced a few rides on a "baby coaster" at a local amusement park, I was now just tall enough to ride the "big kid" rides and from the moment we walked into the park, it was impossible to ignore the bright yellow, steel frame towering over the rest of the Olde World . . . the Loch Ness Monster.

I could see the glimmer in my dad's eye, itching to tame the beast, and I could feel the knot in my stomach as I felt the tension between pure fear along with a compelling urge to conquer it. I knew if the day went on, the lines would get longer and my courage would get smaller, so I made the bold declaration. "Let's go, Dad."

We practically walked on to the ride, being one of the first people in the park, and I didn't talk much during the short wait to get in the car, as I was focused on trying not to overtly display my terror. When the large, black harness came down over my 48-in. body, I began to have second thoughts, however. What was I thinking?!? The only thing that brought me out of my tailspin panic was feeling my dad's reassuring hand on my knee, and hearing him say, "You're gonna be fine. I think you're really going to like this."

The next 2 minutes were an upside down, loop-the-loop, death-defying drop delight. I came out of the line a victorious warrior and couldn't quit talking about it to my dad. I was relating every turn, every hill, and every loop that took me to a new level of roller coaster fanaticism. He excitedly joined in where he could, which wasn't too often since he didn't actually "see" much when his glasses fell into the lake on the second loop (he forgot to take them off in his concern to make sure I was okay).

I remember the feeling I felt when he told me that when we went through the dark tunnel we were actually turning over in corkscrews. I knew that if I had known that ahead of time, I would have never gone through with the ride. That knowledge would have thrown me over the edge on the fear factor. Knowing that my dad was with me, and that he said I'd like the ride, however, made my ignorance bliss, and afforded me the opportunity to enjoy an adventure that I would have sadly missed out on otherwise.

In the years since, my Loch Ness lesson has come back to me, serving as a very tangible picture of the thrilling ride on which my Heavenly Father has taken me. I confess again, that had He told me all the twists and turns that the ride was going to take, I probably would have bailed out a long time ago. In the midst of those disorienting, dark tunnels, however, my fear of the unknown is replaced with exhilarating anticipation when I choose to ignore the track ahead and instead listen to the reassuring voice of my Father. It's been a wild ride, but one that I wouldn't trade for anything. Almost makes me want to be a line-jumper to get in the front for more rides to come.

Buckets 'o Fun

So I went to the bank yesterday with 6 buckets of coins and a wad of dollars collected from Kidz GiG last week. I wish I could explain to you the looks you get when you walk into the bank and ask for a cart to help carry in your money. I was so proud of the kids, however, when we came up with the grand total . . . $2,076.69! All that money will go to provide scholarships for children to attend the Christian Paisanart School in Thailand. I can't wait to see the look on the faces of some of our GiG kids someday when they get to Heaven and get to see what their little pennies and dimes did for kids they would probably never know or see. Amazing how this whole Family of God works!

Water Bottle Ethics

I read this really interesting article the other day from an online magazine called Fastcompany.com. It's called "Message in a Bottle," and it brought up some incredibly thought-provoking ideas on a topic I had previously given very little thought about . . . bottled water.

I, like probably many others of you, have enjoyed the convenience and accessibility of bottled water over the past few years. Its presence has subversively crept into our culture, moving from an elite drink of the Parisian aristocrats, to the preferred beverage at soccer games and shopping malls. I don't really think much about spending $1.35 for my bottle of Dasani or buying a case of water for my office. What was shocking to me, however, was what kind of market the bottled water industry commands.

This article reveals that the leaders of the bottled water industry last year made $15 billion, more than Americans spent on iPods and going out to the movies combined. What's more, if I filled that $1.35 bottle with tap water (some of which, like San Francisco, is so pure it doesn't even have to be filtered) once a day for the next 10 years, 5 months, and 21 days, I would finally spend $1.35 for that water. If we paid for tap water like we do for bottled water, we'd spend roughly $9.000 a month. Wow!

The real interesting point of the article came in when they raised some ethical questions about the bottled water industry and our consumption of the beverage. The article argues that bottled water is a luxury item, one that we enjoy thoughtlessly, while 1 out of 6 people in the world don't enjoy any kind of safe drinking water. Ironically enough, it's easier for an American to pay to drink a bottle of Figi water than it is for the majority of the people of Figi to drink any kind of safe drinking water. San Francisco has actually banned city departments from buying bottled water trying to set an example in being environmentally responsible, as more than a billion bottles end up in state landfills each year.

I'm not quite sure what to do with this information, whether or not it will significantly alter my bottled water drinking habits. What do you think of some of the ideas? As Christians, what kind of responsibility do we have to take care of the environment and others around the world and should this affect our usage of "luxuries" like bottled water?

KiDZ GiG Stories!

I thought it would be cool to invite some of the KiDZ GiG leaders to share some of their best stories from their week at KiDZ GiG so that we all could celebrate all the amazing things God has done among us. GiG Leaders . . . post away! :-)

Incensed!

Last week, I mailed a card to a friend that included some mints and an iTunes gift card. Tonight, I found out that the card arrived, but that the envelope had been opened and it was completely empty! No card. No iTunes card. No mints. Just an empty envelope. I was incensed! Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? Does anyone know a way that I can state an official complaint to the the Postal service? Grrrrrrrrrr.

Avalanche Fun

Well, it's started this week. Our VBS, Kidz GiG, kicked off yesterday with a Western bang! I came home around 6 PM yesterday, was asleep by 7 and slept for almost 12 hours! When the kids left that first day, so did the adrenaline that I'd been living on for the days before. These past few days have been chalked full of lessons that God's been teaching me. Here are a few:

• Delegation - Sunday night I was feeling a little nervous about all the registration and administrative details for the next morning. Last year I had spent the days before camp literally not sleeping in order to get everything done. When it was done, I was exhausted, but I knew that it was right. This year, I made what was the better choice, and allowed other people to handle all the registration details over these past few months. This choice meant, however, that the night before camp I had to simply trust these very capable leaders, and let it go. What resulted was a great registration time (even for Day 1) and other people who enjoyed doing jobs that they wouldn't have been able to do.
• Ego - The night before Kidz GiG, I was walking through a back hallway, one that was designated to be decorated by a group of middle schoolers. As I walked through, it wasn't hard for me to believe that the decoration was executed by those who were just old enough to legally see a PG-13 movie. A huge part of me was compelled to take down all the work, and do it over myself (which would have definitely taken a few more hours). I was convicted with the thought, however, "Would redoing this job help children learn and know about Jesus even better?" The answer for me was a resounding, "No!" Pulling in a group of people to carry out a task is not necessarily the most efficient way of accomplishing something in the short term (as many times it's just faster to do it myself), but it's certainly the most rewarding in that so many more people are changed and blessed. How humbling to think that God doesn't need me to accomplish His plans (He's certainly more than capable of doing it Himself), but He allows and chooses me to carry them out, giving me the gift of purpose and meaning.

Tomorrow will mark the half-way point, one that will end with me and my partner, Darren, getting pied. I'll post some pictures when I get them. :-)

Na, Na, Na, Na, Hey, Hey, Hey, Good-bye!

I've worn glasses or contacts since the seventh grade, only being able to see the big "E" on the eye chart without some type of optical help. My eyesight had just become a way of life, working around contact solutions, eye drops, and cleaning glasses lenses. So, when I was given the opportunity to accept a remarkable gift of tremendously discounted LASIK eye surgery, you'd think I'd jump at the chance. And yet, I must confess, I hesitated.

My first reaction was, "I'm not sure if I want to get LASIK because sometimes, I just like wearing my glasses." Yep, I feel sheepish just writing it. I quickly determined that if I was in one of my scholarly moods that required wearing some chic glasses, I could just buy a fake pair of glasses because, as a friend enlightened me, "Wearing a fake pair of glasses is about as dumb as turning down the gift of eye surgery."

Once I had resolved that issue, I was next faced with some very real fears about this surgery. Granted every person I had ever talked to who had this surgery only raved about how easy and revolutionary it was, yet I was uncertain that I might be "that one person" who experienced the dramatic side effects. Watching the "informative (we don't want you to be able to sue us)" DVD didn't really help either. It was basically 15 minutes describing just about everything that could go wrong including displacing my cornea, having my eyes feel "gritty," and even blindness. My favorite quote was from my doctor when he said, "You may smell a burning smell during the surgery. Don't panic. It's completely normal." Normal . . . uh huh.

The part that really stuck out to me, however, was when they said on the video, "Know that you are choosing to have an irreversible, permanent procedure done to your eyes . . ." They were right. I was choosing this. I was choosing to undergo surgery along with all the potential risks that came with it. And when I was struggling with all those risks, I read one other key piece of information on my papers. "The only way to completely avoid the risks involved with LASIK is to not have the surgery." And there it was. The choice was mine. I could walk away from the opportunity due to my fears of the possible detriments that could occur. Or, I could choose to have the surgery, believing that the potential reward was well worth the work and risk involved.

As you can see from my pictures, I chose to have the surgery (I'm waving good-bye to my glasses). And, as you can see from my subsequent after picture (taken from my phone right after the surgery) IT WAS AMAZING!!! Truly, REMARKABLE!!! The whole world looks different . . . clearer, brighter . . . night and day. To think that I almost passed up the opportunity to be healed, changed, more whole, well, I'm saddened to think about it.

Like He does so many times, God used the situation to get past my eyes and point to an even bigger condition of my heart. If I were honest, there are some areas of hurt and pain from my past that while I may have done some preliminary work to get them to a place where they are "functioning" from day to day, I've not committed to pressing through, taking the risk to allow Jesus to write my prescription and to follow the rigors of the healing process whatever they may be. I'll glamorize my hurt like my glasses, a bizarre dysfunction to desire to hold on to them. I've settled for a life of myopic living, seeing enough to get by and dealing with crutches and "glasses" to get me through.

After my surgery, I'm feeling a new empowerment to embrace the risk when Jesus is involved, acknowledging the work and potential complications, but reaching for the reward that is far beyond what I could have ever imagined.