Saturday, March 5, 2011
Closing my MySpace account
Maintaining a presence on multiple social networks just does not work. So after much delay and neglect I am officially suspending all activity on my MySpace account. To that end I have moved some old blog entries from there to here, making *this* my one and only place to jot down my thoughts and save the for posterity.
Choice
Originally written and posted on MySpace July 31, 2006
It has been a while since I was here and much to my surprise, people have noticed (Hi Pam :). I will always be an infrequent poster here so I am not going to make up excuses.
I was talking to a really good friend of mine the other night while sitting out on my back porch. We were talking about life and choices and direction and definition and ... well you name it. We were truly enjoying each other's company.
One of the things we talked about was choices. When I read in Genesis that "God created us in His own image" I often wonder what that means. I often wonder if it means that He gave us the ability to make choices. We clearly do not operate by instinct. We clearly do not always make good choices. Of all of the things that God gave us in our creation I believe that this is the single most powerful.
Consider the power you have. You get to choose whether or not to have faith. You get to decide to do right or wrong. You can even choose to disregard God all together and decide for yourself what is moral and what is not. Were I God I am not sure I would give me those choices. I feel fairly certain that, were I God, you would disregard Me at your own peril; my lightening bolt would always be hot. Yet He not only gives us choice but is patient with us as we use and misuse this blessing.
Choice. It is not always a Heaven or Hell thing. I see unbelievable power in those choices. But I also see fantastic freedom in God giving us the power to choose who we are going to be. In another entry in this blog I describe some of the choices I have made. What I may not have made clear is that not all of those choices are natural for me. Many of them are counter to what I would be if I did not have the ability to decide who I am. But God gave me that ability and I would be foolish not to take and use that blessing.
Another thing that I did not make clear is that I have not successfully become what my choices say that I am. I write my choices in a tense of completeness but they are, in many places, still goals. Some things I am much closer on and some I have a ways to go. That is not the important thing, though. The important thing is that I have exercised the gift God gave me by making the choices. I choose who I am.
I suspect that I could go on and on with this. If ever you want to see me animated get me talking about this topic! Almost every aspect of life is a choice. God gave us incredible power with that blessing. We are foolish beyond all imagination not to take full advantage of it. Thank you for being there as I remind myself of this.
It has been a while since I was here and much to my surprise, people have noticed (Hi Pam :). I will always be an infrequent poster here so I am not going to make up excuses.
I was talking to a really good friend of mine the other night while sitting out on my back porch. We were talking about life and choices and direction and definition and ... well you name it. We were truly enjoying each other's company.
One of the things we talked about was choices. When I read in Genesis that "God created us in His own image" I often wonder what that means. I often wonder if it means that He gave us the ability to make choices. We clearly do not operate by instinct. We clearly do not always make good choices. Of all of the things that God gave us in our creation I believe that this is the single most powerful.
Consider the power you have. You get to choose whether or not to have faith. You get to decide to do right or wrong. You can even choose to disregard God all together and decide for yourself what is moral and what is not. Were I God I am not sure I would give me those choices. I feel fairly certain that, were I God, you would disregard Me at your own peril; my lightening bolt would always be hot. Yet He not only gives us choice but is patient with us as we use and misuse this blessing.
Choice. It is not always a Heaven or Hell thing. I see unbelievable power in those choices. But I also see fantastic freedom in God giving us the power to choose who we are going to be. In another entry in this blog I describe some of the choices I have made. What I may not have made clear is that not all of those choices are natural for me. Many of them are counter to what I would be if I did not have the ability to decide who I am. But God gave me that ability and I would be foolish not to take and use that blessing.
Another thing that I did not make clear is that I have not successfully become what my choices say that I am. I write my choices in a tense of completeness but they are, in many places, still goals. Some things I am much closer on and some I have a ways to go. That is not the important thing, though. The important thing is that I have exercised the gift God gave me by making the choices. I choose who I am.
I suspect that I could go on and on with this. If ever you want to see me animated get me talking about this topic! Almost every aspect of life is a choice. God gave us incredible power with that blessing. We are foolish beyond all imagination not to take full advantage of it. Thank you for being there as I remind myself of this.
Rules for Life - The Rules
Rules For Life
Originally written and posted on MySpace March 25, 2006
- The first rule of my life is that there are no rules. There are only choices and consequences. Rules imply doing things because they have to be done; no choice in the matter. Or, things are not done because you are told not to; again, not because you have a choice. My first choice is to not live by any rules.
- I choose to trust God's promises in my life. I will actively seek them as I read and study His word. I pray that they will stand out as I read and I trust God to make that so.
- In relationships, with God, my family, my friends and those around me, I will choose to do all things because I love them and seek their happiness. I will gain pleasure, joy and happiness in seeing smiles on other people's faces. I will learn to love more deeply and care more actively.
- I choose to base my happiness, self worth and joy of living in the things that God gives me. These I can trust to be there in all situations. God has promised to Love me no matter what comes; no matter what I do; no matter how the world my treat me. He is my anchor and I will trust in Him to give me value.
- I will choose to do good, not because of the negative consequences but because of the positive ones. I have no fear of Hell my eyes are upon heaven. I serve well not because if I don't I will be made uncomfortable but because I love the joy I share in doing good. I will live with the active knowledge that joy shared is doubled and sorrow shared is halved.
- I choose to speak boldly in support of my Lord and Savior. When others put Him, or those who believe in Him, down, I will speak. My life must be as bold as my words for only by the mirror of my life may my words reflect the power of Jesus Christ.
- I choose to be open to changing my mind. I choose not to come to any conclusion that has the rigid permanence of an epitaph chiseled in stone. I hold the Bible to be truth and am willing to submit my understanding to its guidance.
- I choose to be gentle with sinners. I will not condone or encourage their sin. Neither will I dilute in my speech its harm to their soul. I will, however, teach, admonish, correct and encourage with that same heart that told the woman caught in the very act of adultery to "go and sin no more".
- I choose to openly worship my Lord every single hour of every single day: every waking hour and every hour I am asleep. Sundays I choose as a time to focus that worship and to encourage others and to accept the encouragement from my fellow brothers and sisters. Sundays are a day of building up.
- I choose to seek out my Lord so that I might know Him better. I will do this by reading His word and by speaking to Him often. My prayers will, for the most part, be conversational, as with a friend. When I praise Him it will be with all of my heart. I will allow my prayers to be assisted by the Holy Spirit. This is a promise of God that I will trust.
Rules for Life
Originally written and posted on MySpace March 24, 2006
Some time ago I was in a class at church and an assignment was given. It was to write down your rules for life. Now, I never did home work when I was in school, what made this teacher think that I would do it for him?
He had triggered something, though. My mind tried to chew on it, for though I had no real intention of doing the assignment I did want to have some seemingly smart answers just in case I was called upon to participate the next week. What I found really distressed me. There was nothing to chew on.
I was a man in his 40's with a successful job and a good family. From all outward appearances it would seem I had it all together. I did not. I simply could not answer the question "Who is Paul". I kept coming up with answers like "A computer programmer" and "Father" and "Husband" and "Christian" and a list of other adjectives but they were all so nebulous. They were the pat answers; not the real answers. I did not have any real answers.
I found that my life was one where I was being lead by events as they happened. I had no real guiding principles. I had no way to say "this" or "that" fell within the bounds of who I am. I had no goals. I had no definition. I was simply a rider of life and a slave to whatever was the current situation.
So I decided to give the assignment a try. It was not easy. I will tell you, though, that it was worth it. After completing my "Rules for Life" I had a better idea of who I was. I found I liked me :)
I have these posted on my wall in my office. I read them to remind myself of who I am. It is also there so that others can read them and that gives the a feeling of accountability; if others know who I am, I need to reflect my values consistently.
Anyway, this preamble is much longer than I had planned. So, I will post my rules in a new post. I hope you will read them and then be challenged to come up with a list of your own. It will be time well spent.
Some time ago I was in a class at church and an assignment was given. It was to write down your rules for life. Now, I never did home work when I was in school, what made this teacher think that I would do it for him?
He had triggered something, though. My mind tried to chew on it, for though I had no real intention of doing the assignment I did want to have some seemingly smart answers just in case I was called upon to participate the next week. What I found really distressed me. There was nothing to chew on.
I was a man in his 40's with a successful job and a good family. From all outward appearances it would seem I had it all together. I did not. I simply could not answer the question "Who is Paul". I kept coming up with answers like "A computer programmer" and "Father" and "Husband" and "Christian" and a list of other adjectives but they were all so nebulous. They were the pat answers; not the real answers. I did not have any real answers.
I found that my life was one where I was being lead by events as they happened. I had no real guiding principles. I had no way to say "this" or "that" fell within the bounds of who I am. I had no goals. I had no definition. I was simply a rider of life and a slave to whatever was the current situation.
So I decided to give the assignment a try. It was not easy. I will tell you, though, that it was worth it. After completing my "Rules for Life" I had a better idea of who I was. I found I liked me :)
I have these posted on my wall in my office. I read them to remind myself of who I am. It is also there so that others can read them and that gives the a feeling of accountability; if others know who I am, I need to reflect my values consistently.
Anyway, this preamble is much longer than I had planned. So, I will post my rules in a new post. I hope you will read them and then be challenged to come up with a list of your own. It will be time well spent.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Treasure Chest of Memories
My son in law has a blog and is struggling with why he has one and what he should do with it. My words, not his but that is how I interpreted it. Perhaps I read the question that way because that is how I feel about my own blog. It am not above being reflective.
I responded to his query with the text below. I liked what I said because it brought clarity to me as well. I have felt this all along but never captured it. In the spirit of my response I now capture it. Why? Because it captures a part of "me" as I am tonight.
I responded to his query with the text below. I liked what I said because it brought clarity to me as well. I have felt this all along but never captured it. In the spirit of my response I now capture it. Why? Because it captures a part of "me" as I am tonight.
I too have a blog. It does not get updated much. A couple times a year, maybe. Nobody really knows it even exists. That is OK, because I write it for me. It acts as a clearing house for thoughts that need direction or clarification. Sometimes it is just to capture a feeling or emotion that I found precious and did not want to lose. It is a treasure chest of thoughts, in a way.
I have come to the conclusion that almost nothing written is found valuable to anyone but the writer. The best that can be hoped for, if one is seeking notoriety, is that someone will fleetingly find something we have written interesting. Even if it happened that something gains wide spread fame, it is short lived and soon forgotten.
It is only the things that are important to the writer personally that have value... memories... feelings... love... loss... conundrums... musings... and the like. I go back and read what I have written often and live again those times that are important to me. I spend time with my treasures.
Perhaps, it is less a blog that you need and more a storehouse for the preciousness that is you. This was the conclusion I came to when I asked myself the same question you pose today.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Faith
"Faith" such an ambiguous word. It is used too many ways to give a clear picture in my head as to what it means. "My Faith" could designate where I go to church, a trust I have given someone or even an ethnic background. It could be a hope: "I have faith that all will work out". "My" faith also has a connotation that mine is different than yours, indicating a catalog of things that I believe and possibly you do not; a differentiator as opposed to a uniter.
I sometimes have trouble wrapping my mind around the word. I do know that it is much deeper than the shallow definitions above.
First of all, I know that it is a choice. A deliberate act of choosing to believe in something. I do not have faith that there is an Earth. I know that there is an Earth. Knowledge and Faith, while not incompatible, are not in the same family of thought. You choose to have faith while with knowledge you either know or you don't know.
Faith leaves open the possibility of being wrong. I have faith in God and Jesus His Son. I have no knowledge of this fact. I was not there. I did not see Jesus. I have never met Moses. Yet I still have faith that these people lived and breathed and were who they said they were. Yet, the atheists could also be right. They too have a faith: They have chosen not to believe. One of is is most assuredly wrong. I can not prove which it is and neither can they.
It is impossible, I believe, to have faith and not have doubt. Especially in this age of reason and science it does seem to be a little naive to believe in something that can not be seen or evidenced though scientific methods. Doubt is the constant companion of faith. Thus, faith must also be mated to conviction. There is a certain amount of stubbornness that must accompany faith to keep the hounds of doubt at bay.
Faith is trust when there is often no foundation to the trust. I look at the Hebrew prophets. They had no written word, for the most part. They only had some history to look back on; things that were told to them and they chose to believe. As I read the Bible I see them being reminded and reminding others of that history. Yet, even with that, which I would call a dubious foundation, they were willing to take great risks, venture into the unknown, uproot families and even die. Their faith clearly included trust.
Faith puts one in a place to be ridiculed. Faith is often called into question. Faith is often challenged. Faith will make you uncomfortable because there are those that are very talented in feeding doubt and making you feel small, out of date or silly because of what you believe. It can even cost you your dignity, friendships, and even family. There is no such thing as cheap faith. If it is cheap, it is not true faith.
Faith is not built on what I know. What I know can change too easily. For example: If I say "I know that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God and that there is no room for mistakes or human influence" I can be very happy with my faith for a long time. Then someone says "What about the books that did not get into the Bible as we know it?" or "Did the solders around Saul see the light and not hear the sound or was it the other way around?". We can start a conversation on translations and the theology that os presented based solely on the words the translators chose to render a thought originally expressed in Greek. These things an more can change what I "Know" to be true. Faith, because it is a conscious act of will, unfettered by a shifting knowledge, will not be daunted by these types of enlightenments.
I know faith is more than even these. Faith changes lives, sets direction and is the mother to hope. Faith is much more than could be annotated in a few short paragraphs. Faith, is a creation of God and carries with it a depth that is as deep as its creator.
Though tossed and bruised; though strong one day and weak the next; though my life does not always reflect my faith: I, like Joshua, choose this day and every day to serve the Lord.
I sometimes have trouble wrapping my mind around the word. I do know that it is much deeper than the shallow definitions above.
First of all, I know that it is a choice. A deliberate act of choosing to believe in something. I do not have faith that there is an Earth. I know that there is an Earth. Knowledge and Faith, while not incompatible, are not in the same family of thought. You choose to have faith while with knowledge you either know or you don't know.
Faith leaves open the possibility of being wrong. I have faith in God and Jesus His Son. I have no knowledge of this fact. I was not there. I did not see Jesus. I have never met Moses. Yet I still have faith that these people lived and breathed and were who they said they were. Yet, the atheists could also be right. They too have a faith: They have chosen not to believe. One of is is most assuredly wrong. I can not prove which it is and neither can they.
It is impossible, I believe, to have faith and not have doubt. Especially in this age of reason and science it does seem to be a little naive to believe in something that can not be seen or evidenced though scientific methods. Doubt is the constant companion of faith. Thus, faith must also be mated to conviction. There is a certain amount of stubbornness that must accompany faith to keep the hounds of doubt at bay.
Faith is trust when there is often no foundation to the trust. I look at the Hebrew prophets. They had no written word, for the most part. They only had some history to look back on; things that were told to them and they chose to believe. As I read the Bible I see them being reminded and reminding others of that history. Yet, even with that, which I would call a dubious foundation, they were willing to take great risks, venture into the unknown, uproot families and even die. Their faith clearly included trust.
Faith puts one in a place to be ridiculed. Faith is often called into question. Faith is often challenged. Faith will make you uncomfortable because there are those that are very talented in feeding doubt and making you feel small, out of date or silly because of what you believe. It can even cost you your dignity, friendships, and even family. There is no such thing as cheap faith. If it is cheap, it is not true faith.
Faith is not built on what I know. What I know can change too easily. For example: If I say "I know that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God and that there is no room for mistakes or human influence" I can be very happy with my faith for a long time. Then someone says "What about the books that did not get into the Bible as we know it?" or "Did the solders around Saul see the light and not hear the sound or was it the other way around?". We can start a conversation on translations and the theology that os presented based solely on the words the translators chose to render a thought originally expressed in Greek. These things an more can change what I "Know" to be true. Faith, because it is a conscious act of will, unfettered by a shifting knowledge, will not be daunted by these types of enlightenments.
I know faith is more than even these. Faith changes lives, sets direction and is the mother to hope. Faith is much more than could be annotated in a few short paragraphs. Faith, is a creation of God and carries with it a depth that is as deep as its creator.
Though tossed and bruised; though strong one day and weak the next; though my life does not always reflect my faith: I, like Joshua, choose this day and every day to serve the Lord.
Like the father
Tonight I got a note from my daughter. She is in England studying abroad and she started a blog. When I went to it my eyes lit and a smile filled my face as I saw it. I know she has never visited this blog and when I look at hers... She chose all of the same options I did. Her presence on the web, how she represents herself: look just like me.
As I see such a small and simple reflection of me in her, I pray that those things of me that are in her are the things that God would also smile upon. Thank you God for such a wonderful daughter! Thank you for letting me be a part of her life... literally.
As I see such a small and simple reflection of me in her, I pray that those things of me that are in her are the things that God would also smile upon. Thank you God for such a wonderful daughter! Thank you for letting me be a part of her life... literally.
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