According to Wikipedia, a preteen is at least eight years or older, but has not yet experienced puberty (roughly 8-12). While the physical side is apparent, it also carries with it psychological development, including “a more developed sense of self and identity.” I went looking for this information when my four year-old daughter Ayanna repeatedly said a couple of things that I really didn’t expect to hear until those preteen years about four years from now!
First, there was her tear-filled outburst one day that “Nobody likes me.” I’m pretty sure that she’s at least as socially adjusted as her father (which on it’s own might actually be cause for concern), but more importantly her mother. Where did that come from?
More recently, as I was being firm with her to correct her misbehavior, I’ve heard: “But Dad, you’re hurting my feelings!” Excuse me? Worst of all, I think she sensed weakness on my part…she knew she got to me with that…as she’s repeated it several times with just too fast a trigger finger.
Sounds like preteen to me, regardless of the definition.
11 February 2007
How early is “preteen” supposed to begin?
31 January 2007
What defines your day?
I was thinking about what defines my day as 2007 was drawing near and I was considering what targets I was going to set for the year (I personally prefer “target” over “resolution” as it is something out there that I keep shooting at—hit or miss. Resolution sounds like something internal that, once broken, has to be resolved all over again. Tom Harmon’s comments the other day definitely echoed this thought). I decided that I wanted to figure-out a way to frame my days more consciously, regularly, and meaningfully around my connection with God.
Like most Christians (a recent Barna study notes that “9% of Christians identified prayer as the most fulfilling spiritual activity they undertake” and only 4% listed “having a better prayer life” as “their top priority for spiritual change.”), I long for more quality and quantity in my prayer life. I’m not altogether sure what either of those terms, quality and quantity, means in this case. Jesus taught His followers a prayer that was awfully short (doesn’t meet my expectations for quantity), but a prayer whose essential request that we would show God as holy by doing His will and establishing His kingdom as it happens in heaven (a quality far surpassing the laundry list of things I typically want God to do when I pray). As I understand it, prayer at its most fundamental is coming into intimate union with God. And, as Christians pray together, they are also brought into communion with each other.I’ve tried all kinds of things to improve my prayer. In groups, I’ve tried Wednesday night prayer gatherings, all-night prayer vigils, and small group prayer. Individually, I’ve tried scheduling prayer and praying for a certain amount of time. Online prayer sites have helped me to pray prayers that are bigger than my own thinking and practice. I’ve tried engaging in ongoing conversation with God throughout the day, letting this serve as seamless ongoing prayer in the midst of everything else. I’ve written my prayers in journals. Special places and postures that lead me to a greater sense of God’s presence (e.g. praying by a lake at sunrise while kneeling) are another avenue that I’ve tried. Praying Psalms and other scripture is also something that I’ve done. Each has been helpful in some regard for a time.
One of the things that I have not tried is something that the majority of Christians over the last two thousand years have done. It is something that was part of the spiritual life of the ancient Jews, appears to have been followed by Jesus Himself, and according to the Didache’s record of early Christian practice was adopted by His followers as well. I might as well give it a try.
It’s know by a lot of different term—the daily offices, the divine hours, the sacred rhythm. It can be three times a day or seven times a day. You can use the Book of Common Prayer (Anglican), the Liturgy of the Hours (Roman Catholic), A Manual of Easter Orthodox Prayer (Eastern Orthodox), something more recent like the Divine Hours (Non-Denominational), other prayer books, or pray your own spontaneous prayers. Regardless of the choices you make in these, each seeks to order one’s days around a framework of prayer embodied in the regular rhythm and priority of communion with God. Each serves to bring Christians together in common prayer simultaneously though physically apart. And, all guide Christians to hold fast to the essentials of our faith while helping us escape the limited confines of our own prayer patterns.
All of this is by way of introduction to my target. I’ve set about trying to pray at 9:00 am, 3:00 pm, and 9:00 pm each day. I’m struggling with this—particularly the 9:00 pm time which normally finds me distracted and tired in the middle of family stuff. But, the mere existence of that struggle three times a day is something that I’m pleased to have present as a reminder. I’m using the Celtic Daily Prayer Book which is the product of the Northumbria Community in northern England near Lindisfarne and is based on sixth- and seventh-century Celtic Christian writings. Each has their emphases and limitations, but also strengths and virtues--much like my own prayers.
I hope this post was a good introduction for those of you unfamiliar with the practice. It’s good accountability for me. Feel free to ask me how it’s going. I’ll update you as the year goes on. If this is all new to you, here's a brief history of fixed-hour prayer.
16 January 2007
The Notice My World Project
Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan
God is all around us. The evidence is there. We just don’t notice. We’ve learned to ignore them. That is until THOSE moments come ...
One of my favorite Psalms is song nineteen—especially the first section. It takes me back to sailing on Grand Traverse Bay off Old Mission Point . . . a night in the Texas Countryside watching the meteor showers . . . snorkeling off a small Bahamian Cay . . . looking down the 3,000 foot change of elevation at Snowbird Ski Resort from to summit of Hidden Peak . . . hiking through the Ouachita Mountains in Oklahoma—the list could go on. These are places and moments in which God’s presence and glory was so overwhelmingly clear and incredibly overpowering. They broke through my normal dullness and stunned me into realizing that God is not distant. This is the universal medium through which God makes Himself known, and yet I still typically ignore it.
The songwriter puts it like this,
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their measuring line goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
He goes on to point-out that God’s word (His law or instruction) makes what we know of God specific, with a clear moral content. But nature is not dismissed as irrelevant. The songwriter still notices and finds it beneficial to listen to what nature—the physical world around us—has to say about God. At the end of his song, as he asks that “the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O, Lord” this prayed desire refers back to both God’s word and God’s work. John Piper shares eleven practical steps by his former teacher Clyde Kilby to “stay alive to the beauty of God’s world.” One of these reads, “I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what Lewis calls their ‘divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic’ existence.”
I’ve been convicted of this not being true for me. I recognize the impact it has had when I have meditated on it in the past. So, as a spiritual discipline for 2007, I have commenced a project I’m calling “Notice My World.” I will be disciplining myself to see something around me, each day, that in some way points back to God and says something about Him. I’ll be taking a photo and posting these in the photo gallery of the same name in the right column a little way down. I don’t live in the most beautiful or exotic setting. Much of my daily scenery may be “routine.” You may not find them worth looking-at. The public nature of it, however, will hold me accountable.
I simply wish to tease-out what it says about God nonetheless. As I pay attention to the world around me that He has made possible, I pray that I will be more aware of who God is and how he is good to me. Feel free to look when you want to. Maybe it will prompt you to listen to all of His “voices” a little more closely too.
09 January 2007
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
The last six weeks have been filled with stuff: Christmas, the New Year, Ayanna’s birthday, several funerals and memorial services, and too many family gatherings to count—just to name a few of the more obvious. For anyone who’d worried about that Out of My Mind was too high of a priority, consider that fear dispelled. So, the first, main reason for taking a step back was that I needed/wanted to spend time on some higher priorities.
The second step back was to evaluate. Once I’d taken some time off, I figured I’d take a bit more off and really consider whether this was a good investment of time and effort for 2007. My life saying is “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Some critical assessment leading up to a new year seemed like a good idea.
Two steps back. But now I’m ready to take a step forward and continue. I know I’ve missed the outlet. I think many of you have too (especially my Mom & Dad on the kid’s pictures). I relish the chance that this gives us to be in-touch and interacting in some way throughout the week. I like the fact that I’ve met visitors who’ve had a chance to get to know me through my blog which led them to visit our church. Most of all, as I said in my first post, I love the ability that this gives me to give God the glory that He’s due. More than anything else, beyond getting things out of my mind, this is about getting Him into my heart. That is the step forward I was hoping to take. I think I’ve taken it. Let’s keep taking them together.
21 November 2006
Aryssa's first haircut
Ayanna is constantly wanting to play with make-up and frequently gets weird about a few specific boys that she's fond of. We're at a loss to explain both. Cami doesn't wear or spend a lot of time with make-up. And we've never teased about boys and boyfriends. Where did this come from?
Equally inexplicable is Aryssa's hair. I've told people that I now understand what it's like to be Chuck Gaidica's wife in public (Chuck Gaidica is the local minor celebrity weatherman). Hanging with Arys is kind of like being associated in the background with that minor buzz. All of this to say that, at six months, three weeks, and four days old, Aryssa went to the salon for the first time. Ayanna didn't get her first cut until eighteen months. I suppose I should be grateful that at least she already has the hair color that many seem to be paying for these days! Pictures of the event are posted in the photo galleries on the righthand side.
17 November 2006
smiling addiction
15 November 2006
a normal day, but an abnormal wife
Today is Cami's birthday. I won't tell you how old she is, since I've been told that that's not polite. I will say that for the next four glorious months, I refer to her as the "old lady." She was way ahead of her time bagging a younger guy. As is the case when you have a birthday as an adult, it was just a normal day with all the regular routines.
13 November 2006
out of the mouths of babes
weekend recap
Sticking her tongue out is Aryssa's latest skill.
While we ate our way through the whole weekend, the women in the family definitely identified Krispy Kreme as the culinary high-point. Yeah, I know they're around here. But we'd never go to them normally. Being there on a Sunday morning to watch them be made, wearing the goofy hats, and eating more than we should all just seemed liked a big treat. Kind of funny how something so mundane can seem so special just cause of the way that you approach it. I'll share a little from our morning at Granger Community Church, but for now I'll settle for another embarassing photo...
Mom refused the hat...WIMP!
10 November 2006
NEW FEATURE: Photo Galleries
Picasa is the web-based photo component of Google--the company behind Blogger. All of this to say, you can now checkout photos! They'll be sporadic, but they'll be there. Quite a few of you have asked if I was going to make more photos available (especially my Mom), so I thought I'd best comply. To go to the Photo Galleries, just click the picture at the far right, or the link to the album that you want to view just beneath it. 
09 November 2006
Another Break--Wooo-Whooo!!
This weekend we'll be going down toward South Bend, Indiana to Granger Community Church. I've been here before for conferences that they've sponsored. And, on a previous trip, Cami and I were lucky enough to be present for a mind-blowing worship experience. GCC is a church that innovates extensively and is committed to penetrating the culture at-large. I'm really looking forward to hearing the message from the current series that they're doing: "Suburban Legends: How to keep the suburbs from killing your soul." Here is an overview to the series and links to the messages they've already done. Others (such as this one and this one) have been exploring this topic, and I think they're on to something worth considering.
In the interests of honesty, I do have to admit that this is also the closest Chick-fil-A. We became addicted when we were living in Dallas. If you've never had them--don't ask--you won't understand. If you have, well...you know. I also have to confess that while you First Worshippers are gathering, we'll be sitting in a Krispy Kreme before the 11:45 am service. I'll have my coffee and a paper. Cami will be playing with Arys. And Aya will have her face pressed against the glass watching the conveyor belt where they make the doughnuts. Ahhhhh... See you next week!
From Abraham to Jesus
Recently, we went to Grand Rapids for the "Abraham to Jesus" exhibit at DeVos Pl
ace. This is the largest collection of biblical artifacts ever to go on tour around the world. And it is the most comprehensive--spanning the time of Abraham (approximately 2200 B.C./B.C.E.) to the fall of Masada after the Jewish Revolt of 66 A.D./C.E. and the razing of the temple in Jerusalem. It was absolutely fascinating, thus this subsequent post. I would encourage everyone to go even though you'll have to travel Columbus, Ohio for the next couple of weeks (Nov. 13-26)--the next closest location during its North American tour). Click below to hear more about the exhibit.
The exhibit was laid-out chronologically by eras of biblical history. This helped keep the history of the Bible organized as you looked at all of the different pieces. Following Israel's history as a people and the powers they interacted with, some portions included a lot of Babylonian items, others Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek, and Roman artifacts. The earliest pieces were some copper javelin heads and a curved sword.
Some noteworthy pieces were the highlights of the exhibit:
An Assyrian wall relief created during the time of King Sennacherib depicting his conquest of Lachish (c.f. 2 Kings 18:13-19:36) in 701 B.C./B.C.E.. What's cool about this is that it has the only proven depiction (there may now be an Egyptian depiction if the Jews are the Hyksos) of the ancient Jews leaving the city in flight of Assyrian soldiers. Below is the portion that shows Sennacherib on his throne.
The Tel Dan Steele (a black basalt monument found in a hill or "tel" near the town of Dan in northern Israel) which was erected by an Aramaean King sometime in the 8th or 9th centuries to proclaim his victory over the ancient Hebrews. This was found in 1993-94, so it is a very recent discovery. The amazing thing about this is that it contains the first archaeolgical evidence that verifies the Bible's information about Israel having a king named David (1010-970 B.C./B.C.E.). The steele includes the phrase "house of David."
One of the really cool pieces on display was a burial (or "ossuary"...bone box) box shown above. It is not the one that was in the news not too long ago labelled as belonging to "James, Son of Joseph, Brother of Jesus." This one very probably belonged to the family of Simon of Cyrene, the man who carried the cross of Jesus on the way to His crucifixion (Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26). The inscription reads "Alexander, Son of Simon, the Cyrene." Mark's account lists the names of Simon's sons--Alexander and Rufus. Cyrenica was a city in the eastern part of modern day Libya.
Masada was a palace-fortress that King Herod had built on a 1300 ft. bluff near the Dead Sea. After he stopped using it, it became a Roman garrison until Jewish zealots seized it as a last-ditch refuge following the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D./C.E. 70. Approximately 1,000 Jewish patriots lived there for a year until the Romans constructed a giant earth ramp and assualted the city. History records them as finding all of the inhabitants dead in a mass suicide that was intended to deny the Tenth Legion and Rome its victory. Clay pots used to store their food during the seige had been pieced together and were on display. Amazing how moving a simple piece of pottery can be.
The Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in a cave between 1947-1956. They have been dated to between 21 B.C./B.C.E. and 61 A.D./C.E.. As a result, they are the oldest surviving biblical documents that we have. The exhibit featured fragments from the scroll of Isaiah. It's a far different thing to contemplate an ancient piece of the scriptures than it is to see the same text neatly printed by our high-tech printing presses in our modern Bibles.
While these were the noteworthy pieces that it was easy to get excited about, what surprised me was how struck I was by the assortment of household items from each era. Seeing simple items like make-up containers, dishes, bowls, cups, and combs evolve over more than two thousand years was stunning. By Jesus' day, if you had money, you could buy very fine ceramics--delicately crafted and intricately decorated. Glass that was semi-translucent was begining to come on the scene. Fascinating stuff. The walk-away value was that these aren't just fanciful stories. These are tales rooted in times and places and people. The longer we look, the deeper we dig, the more that what we learn confirms what we already knew through the scriptures.
31 October 2006
A Weekend!
What a busy weekend--but a wonderfully irresponsible one (to quote Bono...but, I'm getting ahead of myself). I'm looking forward to seeing all the rest of the staff this morning and listening to Mike Wittmer's message from Sunday. I hope you were there Sunday to listen live. Thought I'd give a quick summary of what we did during the time off.
FRIDAY / One of those work days at home running errands, doing chores, and parenting. We took a long drive to a pumpkin patch that turned-out to be a pretty big disappointment, so we didn't get anything.
SATURDAY / Aya woke up and immediately began puking. I'm not talking routine vomiting here; I'm talking about horror movie kind of puking. It was every ten to fifteen minutes. After two dozen episodes, she became extrememly lethargic and almost unresponsive, not too mention the brown blood stuff we began to see. After a phone consultation with the Pediatrician, my Dad graciously came out to watch Arys and we took Aya to the E.R. at Beaumont Hospital (Royal Oak). We spent the rest of the day there while they did tests and gave her an I.V. to rehydrate her. Turns out it was just a run-of-the-mill virus that really hit her hard. She did really great dealing with it all. The bummer was that her long-anticipated trip to the Friendly Forest with Katelyn Hall was a no-go. Given the weather, I was grateful!
SUNDAY / We got-up early (though not as early as usual on a Sunday for me, and with that wonderful extra hour thrown-in) and drove to Grand Rapids where we worshipped at Mars Hill. The Teaching Pastor that we really like (Rob Bell) was not speaking (of course!). Instead, the showed a 40 minute interview between Bill Hybels (Pastor at Willow Creek Community Church) and Bono (lead singer of U2). I'll say more about that in a subsequent post, but suffice it to say that Willow Creek did this interview about a month ago on another weekend I was on vacation and Cami and I had been tempted to go to listen, but opted to stay home and finish a painting project. I guess God wanted us to see it after all.
After a special trip to Toys R Us (of all the stuff, and with all our lobbying and manipulation to the contrary, Aya picked a Little Mermaid make-up set!? When we got in the car she explained it to Mom: "I get my own so I not have to use your make-up." Makes sense. I am soooo in trouble...). We had a great lunch then checked-into the Ramada Plaza with the four-story waterslide. After all the build-up and anticipation, she went down it only twice and then was too freaked-out to even get near me (I kept having to remind myself that she was possibly still sick after a traumatic Saturday). She finally realized that I wasn't going to make her, so we had fun splashing around in the kiddie pool (checkout the depth below):
Ayanna, Anna, and Aryssa--a.k.a. good genes
My wonderful women
I should note that we came home to find that we'd been T-P'ed (toilet-papered--can you believe there's a Wikipedia entry on that too!?). Cami doesn't want me to mention this, but I think it was a pretty lame job. The good news is that we had not recently cleaned-up all of Reagan's mess in the yard. I hope someone got to take home a treat! If you're willing to let me know who was behind this feeble attempt at trickery, I'd be happy to hold a clinic on graduate level T-Ping.
So, that was the weekend. It really was fun, even if not exactly relaxing. I'll tell you about the Bono interview and the exhibit later. For now, I'm going to work to get some rest!
26 October 2006
A Break for Perspective
Cami and I are going away for a long weekend. We're going to Mars Hill Church on Sunday and Hope College on Monday to see my niece Anna. In-between we'll be going to the "Friendly Forest" at Clintonville Park and staying at a hotel with a waterpark--both of which Ayanna should love! Dr. Mike Wittmer from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary will be speaking in my place. I discovered him from Jon Richey and was thrilled to read his book Heaven Is A Place On Earth (checkout the excerpt) which dispels one of the most often repeated Christian untruths that we commonly repeat. Some of the guys heard him last week at Camp Barakel and report that He was a great speaker. I hope you take advantage of the opportunity to hear him.
We didn't really go anywhere this year, using my vacation time to be at-home when Aryssa was born and when my sister Melynie and her kids visited. I need the break. There's something about that every seven day cycle of preparing and delivering a message that becomes grueling after doing it for a long time without a break. I'm definitely at low-ebb. In addition to this weekend, we'll be off the weekend of November 10-13th.
All of this to say that even in "the grind," I realize that it's all a question of attitude. A video that my Dad sent me really reminded me of that in a warm, engaging way. The video is about nine minutes long, but it's really good. Watch it and see if you don't feel a little sense of perspective on your attitude.
18 October 2006
What a Week!
Ever have one of those kinds of weeks where you look back and are struck by what happened during it? In the last week:
- a friend was really hurting
- a friend of a family member was tragically killed
- a family member contemplated life-altering surgery
- another family member had a stroke.
- yet another family member celebrated sobriety
- I buried someone and blessed the marrying of two others
- a birthday was celebrated
- a date night with Ayanna & Aryssa (& Poppa) happened
- I had breakfast and talked honestly with two friends
- I had a conflict with someone who didn't act like a friend
- and, I had a cold
If you've been wondering why the lack of posts, this may give you a little bit of an idea about what I've been up to. Beyond that, sometimes you just have to look back on a period of time that you've just gone through and wonder at the breadth of what life brings your way. Good and bad, life and death, hard and easy, beautiful and ugly, wanted and unwanted--it's all part of life. "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" Solomon wrote (Ecc 3:1). "He has made everything beautiful in its time" (v.11). He, God, has made everything--each of these events including the bad, ugly, unwanted ones--beautiful. How?
One way to understand them as beautiful is to see the way that He redeems them to new meaning and purpose. A death can draw surviving family together. A conflict can develop character and deepen a relationship. Another way to understand them as beautiful (and I think the way that Solomon meant it) is to recognize them as part of God-given life lived to God-ends. Since I view all of life as ultimately flowing from a God is who is Good, I view all that life has to offer as ultimately Good. The mere experience of living these "times and seasons" is a gift of God's graciousness. Beyond what He may do through these moments, the fact that He has allowed me to experience these moments must be recognized as a gift.
There is much in the last week that I would have gladly chosen to avoid and not have happen. But, they did. So, I'm just going to look back and wonder. I'm going to count each as a good gift, no matter how much they confound my understanding. I will simply "enjoy my lot" (v.22) and be moved to "revere Him" (v.14) since there is "nothing better" (v.22).
05 October 2006
Red Wings Opening Night
26 September 2006
What the Church Can Learn From Google
Clearly, mistakes are not to be desired or taken lightly. But, if you accept that they are inevitable in trying new things, they are a part of life that have to be accepted and weighed against the potential gains that they make possible. What do you think: Is WCC risking enough?I was just reading my new copy of Business 2.0 magazine; and found an interesting article on Google. There was the story of Sheryl Sandberg, one of the Vice Presidents at Google.com who committed an error that cost Google several million dollars...
"Bad decision, moved too quickly, no controls in place, wasted some money,” is all she’ll say about it—and when she realized the magnitude of her mistake, she walked across the street to inform Larry Page, Google’s co-founder and unofficial thought leader. “I feel feally bad about this,” Sandberg told Page, who accepted her apology. But as she turned to leave, Page said something that surprised her. “I’m so glad you made this mistake,” he said. “Because I want to run a company where we are moving too quickly and doing too much, not being too cautious and doing too little. If we don’t have any of these mistakes, we’re just not taking enough risk.”
Hmmm… how does this apply to the church?
How much risk is your church taking?
Are you doing too much, or too little?
Larry Page seems to put things in this scenario:
- Move quickly --> you do too much
- Move slowly --> you’re too cautious and get too little done
- No mistakes --> you’re not taking enough risk.
Google works hard to risk, try new things, and move forward, even if it means some eventual mistakes and mis-steps. Their mission is so important to them that they would rather risk doing it wrong sometimes than not doing it at all.
That got me thinking about our mission as the church.
- Do we value our mission so much that we tackle it with as much vigor as Google does?
- Do we give staff and lay leadership members the freedom to fail?
- Do we support them in their mistakes?
- Do we take risks that, more often than not, take us closer to reaching our goals and mission?
- Or do we shrink back, moving slowly and cautiously, second-guessing every decision?
Let’s face it… the stakes are a lot higher in our line of work than that of Google’s. We’re in the fight for people’s souls. Which would you rather lead? A church that has the tendency of moving too quickly and doing too much; or one that is known for being to cautious and doing too little?
If you’re not making mistakes, you just might not be risking enough!
12 September 2006
September 12th--A New Reality
"On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: " 'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?" (Acts 4:23-25 NIV)
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'
" 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.' "(Lk. 13:1-9 NIV)
"From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah." (Ps. 61:2-4 NIV)
02 September 2006
Apparently, I'm Having Too Much Fun
Apparently, I'm having too much fun. Jef Mallet, the Lansing-based cartoonist behind the comic strip Frazz once wrote: "If time flies when you're having fun, it must hit the afterburners when you're not having enough" (Frazz 08.01.05). For those of you who haven't discovered Frazz, it's a bit like one of the greats--Calvin & Hobbes (tied in my mind with the other indisputable classic The Far Side). It's interesting that he wrote this one August 1st of last year.
I was thinking about how much fun I've apparently been having ever since this August 1st when MTV celebrated its 25th anniversary (this guy has some pretty good insight into whether that is a good thing or not). Twenty-five years! I was eleven when that 1981 debut took place. I remember everyone at Southfield Christian talking about it (None of us actually had it, of course! The illicit quality gave it an even greater appeal). I can still remember the astronaught planting the flag on the moon with the guitars ripping through space (they still use it!). I remember the quest to catch THE hot new video (c'mon, be honest. Can anyone say: "Thriller?"). Thinking back through the long list of videos I can remember is a way of marking the moments of my youth (A-ha's Take On Me sketch video, Peter Gabriel's cool stop-motion Sledgehammer video, or Dire Straits Money for Nothing cutting-edge computer graphics masterpiece). Even if you didn't have it, it was something in the background that you were aware of. It was part of the culture that was a reference point.
We're often not aware of the cultural threads around us that weave together the passage of time. We're even less aware of the threads that no longer run through the cultural fabric-threads we still assume others are aware of. One powerful reminder of this is the Mindset List created by Beloit College.
"Each August since 1998, as faculty prepare for the academic year, Beloit College in Wisconsin has released the Beloit College Mindset List. A creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron Nief, it looks at the cultural touchstones that have shaped the lives of today’s first-year students.
"According to McBride, this year’s entering students form “a generation that has always been ‘connected’ and is used to things happening in ‘real time,’ like live satellite coverage of revolutions and wars, instant messaging and movies on demand. They expect solutions for every problem, from baldness to diseased organs. To the chagrin of teachers and parents, they’ve developed their own generational means of communication."
Among this year's observations are these startling reminders:
- The Soviet Union has never existed and therefore is about as scary as the student union.
- They have known only two presidents.
- There has always been only one Germany.
- They have never heard anyone actually "ring it up" on a cash register.
- A coffee has always taken longer to make than a milkshake.
- "Google" has always been a verb. [as opposed to a noun]
- They have no idea why we needed to ask "...can we all get along?"
- They have always had access to their own credit cards.
- Disneyland has always been in Europe and Asia.
- The U.S. has always been studying global warming to confirm its existence.
Twenty-five years sounds like a long time. I can accept that some things will have changed in that time. I can understand that I was part of the pre-MTV generation. But eighteen years sounds a lot more recent. I remember the USSR! I remember the wall that divided East and West Germany! I remember coffee that wasn't "venti," "with soy," or served by a barista (is anyone else aware that that's Italian for "bartender!?")
I'm glad I've been having fun. And I plan on continuing to have fun--I don't want it to go any faster! But, it does make you . . . startled? . . . shaken? . . . conscious!? to realize not only how fast time flies, and how much things can change with its passage. Much of the changes are meaningless and trivial. But others are significant, shaping the way a person views the world, thinks about their existence, engages in communication, or navigates relationships. The clock may not move any faster than it used to, but the pace of change does. We wonder sometimes why there are such big generational gaps that we have to work so hard to overcome in our time? I'm already feeling distant from today's eighteen year-olds!
Room for Ruminating: Thinking about Titus 2 as we've been the last couple of Sundays, how does this factor into the young and old being meaningfully involved in each other's lives?
29 August 2006
Welcome to my blog: "out of my mind"
Mine is going be a smattering of each of these. Sometimes I'll try to express something I'm thinking or feeling. Other times, I may want to comment on what's happening at WCC or in the Cote' family. Or, I may want to zero-in on some issue or topic that's in the crosshairs. Basically, this is where I'll dump whatever it is that I can get out of my mind.
Ayanna: our future hip-hopper
I assume that the majority of you will be from the WCC community. I'm thankful that we're together and grateful for this way to interact. Others present will be family, friends, and anyone else who's stumbled across this. Welcome! God has brought us together to walk some length of the journey together. I'm excited about the potential.
I aim to post regularly, but erratically. A new post will come every couple of days at the minimum. Likewise, the lengths will vary too. I'm the master of this blog, not the other way around!
Aryssa: never too young to start
Ultimately, I'm mindful that this blog isn't about me alone.
There's you. I'm really just a small part of "us." I look forward to the comments you'll make--the conversation that will flow in both directions. Yours may just be the more valuable portion!
There's God. In every aspect of this, I aim to glorify Him. For both you, and I, may our understanding, appreciation, and response of His movement in the world increase. Can you imagine a life gripped by His power and purpose? Do you long to live life so that Jesus is present now? I think I do. And to the extent that I don't, I hope He'll draw me to that desire with increasing intensity. In the end, beyond getting things out of my mind, this is about getting Him into my heart.
Buckle up. We're now transmitting...
