Recently, a movie called The Bucket List illustrated the goals that two terminal patients wanted to achieve before the end came and they "kicked the bucket". I'm not writing mine because I expect to die anytime soon, since the chronic malady of whatever nature seems to be waning on the whole, but because I had this question in my heart for some time that keeps asking me 'what do you want?' rather persistently. In the past, interesting things that shouldn't have been possible (or simple, at least) have unfolded before my wondering eyes when I've dared to ask for some of the things that I deeply wanted to experience. I'm thinking that I should step over the disappointments and start asking again.
1. I want to go back to school, and get a degree that's an active choice rather than the best of a small and limited selection of choices. The longer I go, the more I lean toward some sort of human service or Sociology degree. There are a lot of people who need a lot of help. I would like to become a licensed clergyperson, whatever major I took. For a lot of the things that I want to do, it might be a helpful door-opener. I would also love to pick up whatever study tools they could show me. A lot of the people I've known have done that through correspondence.
2. I'd like to have the energy to get out all the instructional material that I've got for such things as guitars and piano and various languages and put them to use. I think I'll make that one happen to some degree, eventually.
3. I would like to be healthy again--enough said there. I would particularly like to be at a healthy weight. I've actually found some things that substantially help, so that's encouraging.
4. I would like to meet all of my online friends in person, at least once.
5. I would like to have a stable, secure living situation that "felt right". I'm very grateful for the present degree of stability that I have after what's happened in the last two years of my life, but it's not the best fit. I hope that's not too terribly ungrateful.
6. I would like to put my feet on two lands for which I've done a lot of prayer: the Omaha reservation, and Israel. The former may happen within the next few weeks!
7. Appropriately in the "7" slot is my dream of seeing the 77s live and fully staffed, and getting a copy of the new album as the moment unfolds. That also actually has a chance of happening if I can find a way to get to Ames, IA on June 24th!
8. I would like to see my son in a stable and enjoyable career. I put this in the "8" slot, because it's said to be symbolic of new beginnings.
9. I wouldn't mind being in a stable career myself. I'd like to have one that complemented the type of ministry into which so much of my heart has been invested.
10. I would like for the isolation created by the astronomical gas prices and my income of late to be resolved. It somehow doesn't feel right to be missing this much of people, events, opportunities, etc.
11. As my father's child still, I would love to own a good horse that lived right outside my window.
12. I want to have my inner man strengthened to know the height, depth, breadth and length of the love of Christ, according to Eph. 3. I'd really like to be so convinced that it never entered my mind to question it. When I read the life of Paul and some others that were 110% serious about God, I find it easier to grasp that He loves despite all the things that have happened.
13. I would like to figure out the nature of this vast, unmet, nameless need in the depths of my being, and have it fulfilled.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Thursday Thirteen #9: Lively Stones
1 Peter 2:5
"you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
I was thinking the other day about how some of the people I've met have seem to stick. That's not happened with everyone I've met, but some have gone the distance. I wanted to list thirteen characteristics that I think are important to building relationships that last.
1. Honesty--You know when someone's not being straight with you (or find out in unhappy ways), and it creates discomfort and distrust.
2. Consideration--Paul tells us in Eph. 4:15 to speak our truth in love. Love thinks the best, and puts things in the most harmless light that it can.
3. Listening--Another good scripture on relationships is James 1:19. It starts out, "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak...."
4. Patience--The rest of the verse says, "....and slow to become angry." A valuable person merits some self-control on our part when they're not at their best.
5. Loyalty--We can sometimes hear unflattering things about our friends in the oddest places. It behooves us to present their good side, whether or not it leaves the conversation comfortably flattering to us.
6. Diligence--Our circumstances sometimes make it hard for us to do a good job of keeping regular contact, but the effort that someone takes to send the briefest greeting are so appreciated!
7. Helpfulness--Life can be a handful. Coming alongside a friend that's struggling tells them that they're not alone. I'll be at a horse funeral this weekend for a friend that's had the old guy for well more than 20 years, because that's what friends do. Friends also help put the fence back up after the backhoe leaves.
8. Sharing--Among my most meaningful possessions are my books and albums. I've passed out copies of several friends' albums to several friends so that they could share the experience.
9. Laughing--I love the times when a conversation takes off into gales of glee. Those moments get remembered long after others are forgotten. I have a sense of humor that ranges deep into the theatre of the absurd at times, and I value the people in my life that don't look at me funny when I'm weaving strange tales.
10. Weeping--True friends are the ones that don't leave when things aren't fun anymore. I it when I have people suffering states away that I can't be near.
11. Planning--Fun is often more fun in groups. I have a concert coming up next month that I just might be able to make if all goes ideally, and am wondering if I should seek out a travelling companion.
12. Remembering--It's possible to rehash the event for years after the fact, particularly if someone brings the camera.
13. Praying--I try to wrap prayer in and through everything. With prayer, we form the threefold cord that's not easily broken. We help carry the weight of career transitions and troubled children, and draw farther into the presence of God together. He is the best friend that makes it possible for us to know how to be good friends. We become His lively stones, built into the temple of His immediacy in us and among us.
"you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
I was thinking the other day about how some of the people I've met have seem to stick. That's not happened with everyone I've met, but some have gone the distance. I wanted to list thirteen characteristics that I think are important to building relationships that last.
1. Honesty--You know when someone's not being straight with you (or find out in unhappy ways), and it creates discomfort and distrust.
2. Consideration--Paul tells us in Eph. 4:15 to speak our truth in love. Love thinks the best, and puts things in the most harmless light that it can.
3. Listening--Another good scripture on relationships is James 1:19. It starts out, "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak...."
4. Patience--The rest of the verse says, "....and slow to become angry." A valuable person merits some self-control on our part when they're not at their best.
5. Loyalty--We can sometimes hear unflattering things about our friends in the oddest places. It behooves us to present their good side, whether or not it leaves the conversation comfortably flattering to us.
6. Diligence--Our circumstances sometimes make it hard for us to do a good job of keeping regular contact, but the effort that someone takes to send the briefest greeting are so appreciated!
7. Helpfulness--Life can be a handful. Coming alongside a friend that's struggling tells them that they're not alone. I'll be at a horse funeral this weekend for a friend that's had the old guy for well more than 20 years, because that's what friends do. Friends also help put the fence back up after the backhoe leaves.
8. Sharing--Among my most meaningful possessions are my books and albums. I've passed out copies of several friends' albums to several friends so that they could share the experience.
9. Laughing--I love the times when a conversation takes off into gales of glee. Those moments get remembered long after others are forgotten. I have a sense of humor that ranges deep into the theatre of the absurd at times, and I value the people in my life that don't look at me funny when I'm weaving strange tales.
10. Weeping--True friends are the ones that don't leave when things aren't fun anymore. I it when I have people suffering states away that I can't be near.
11. Planning--Fun is often more fun in groups. I have a concert coming up next month that I just might be able to make if all goes ideally, and am wondering if I should seek out a travelling companion.
12. Remembering--It's possible to rehash the event for years after the fact, particularly if someone brings the camera.
13. Praying--I try to wrap prayer in and through everything. With prayer, we form the threefold cord that's not easily broken. We help carry the weight of career transitions and troubled children, and draw farther into the presence of God together. He is the best friend that makes it possible for us to know how to be good friends. We become His lively stones, built into the temple of His immediacy in us and among us.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Thursday Thirteen #8: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
I was trying to think of something that I could write quickly, due to the brevity of time available. After spending six or seven years on the Internet, I thought that it would be very easy to come up with thirteen advantages and disadvantages of e-mails, blogs, and message boards.
1. IT'S GOOD!--You can go all over the world from your typing chair.
2. IT'S BAD!--People that you don't even know and that have no frame of reference for your remarks can completely misconstrue what you're trying to say can erupt into a ball of flames (which is why it's called "flaming") and denounce you for having an idea that you would never even consider.
3. IT'S GOOD!--Depending on how you're set up, it can be a lot cheaper than calling.
4. IT'S BAD!--Spammers can use your carefully crafted message board for cheap advertising. Some of the things that they're selling are pretty tough to look at, much less endorse.
5. IT'S GOOD!--You can do mass e-mails and tell a group your wonderful news with one note and one SEND.
6. IT'S BAD!--If they don't check their e-mail for awhile, or there among those that regard their e-mail as being more like a newspaper than a phone call, you may never know what they thought about the wonderful news, or if they ever got it.
7. IT'S GOOD!--Sometimes, people are more candid when they don't have a face in front of them to intimidate them. Some of the deepest and most personal conversations that I've ever had have been held over the Internet.
8. IT'S BAD!--The opposite is also true--caution gets thrown to the wind when you don't have to look at a pained reaction (see #2).
9. IT'S GOOD!--You can throw a question onto a forum and have a variety of people from all walks of life look at it. Your odds of finding an answer to a question increase.
10. IT'S BAD!--There seem to be some in every crowd that can't imagine how a functional human being wouldn't have that information already, and they feel the need to be insulting (see #2 and #8).
11. IT'S GOOD!--It's the cheap and easily accessible venue for publishing your writings.
12. IT'S BAD!--It's also a cheap and easily accessible venue for misinformation. You have to learn to check out the veracity of some of the amazing and shocking bulletins that you receive before you forward them to everyone that you know.
13. IT'S GOOD!--During a particularly introverted time in my life, I collected some of my best friends ever through my message board involvement. The healing and guiding presence of God in our life can tip the scales in our favor!
1. IT'S GOOD!--You can go all over the world from your typing chair.
2. IT'S BAD!--People that you don't even know and that have no frame of reference for your remarks can completely misconstrue what you're trying to say can erupt into a ball of flames (which is why it's called "flaming") and denounce you for having an idea that you would never even consider.
3. IT'S GOOD!--Depending on how you're set up, it can be a lot cheaper than calling.
4. IT'S BAD!--Spammers can use your carefully crafted message board for cheap advertising. Some of the things that they're selling are pretty tough to look at, much less endorse.
5. IT'S GOOD!--You can do mass e-mails and tell a group your wonderful news with one note and one SEND
6. IT'S BAD!--If they don't check their e-mail for awhile, or there among those that regard their e-mail as being more like a newspaper than a phone call, you may never know what they thought about the wonderful news, or if they ever got it.
7. IT'S GOOD!--Sometimes, people are more candid when they don't have a face in front of them to intimidate them. Some of the deepest and most personal conversations that I've ever had have been held over the Internet.
8. IT'S BAD!--The opposite is also true--caution gets thrown to the wind when you don't have to look at a pained reaction (see #2).
9. IT'S GOOD!--You can throw a question onto a forum and have a variety of people from all walks of life look at it. Your odds of finding an answer to a question increase.
10. IT'S BAD!--There seem to be some in every crowd that can't imagine how a functional human being wouldn't have that information already, and they feel the need to be insulting (see #2 and #8).
11. IT'S GOOD!--It's the cheap and easily accessible venue for publishing your writings.
12. IT'S BAD!--It's also a cheap and easily accessible venue for misinformation. You have to learn to check out the veracity of some of the amazing and shocking bulletins that you receive before you forward them to everyone that you know.
13. IT'S GOOD!--During a particularly introverted time in my life, I collected some of my best friends ever through my message board involvement. The healing and guiding presence of God in our life can tip the scales in our favor!
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