Vacate

The joy of the vacation comes only after the packing of the car. Which is what I am about to do for our family trip to San Diego. Generally I like to pack all the bags… fit the kids in… pack more bags around them… get the car going with movie and earphones… and then my wife I close the doors, go back inside the house and have a nice long breakfast before leaving. (Ha! Just kidding!) I have often said that you measure time when driving cross country with the kids in dog years… every hour equals seven hours. But in this case we will be moving from 110 degrees to 70 degrees so the trip will be ‘lighter’. The truth is all good things come only after struggles. G. K. Chesterton said, “In everything worth having even in every pleasure, there is a point of pain or tedium that must be survived, so that the pleasure may revive and endure. The joy of battle comes after the first fear of death; the joy of reading Virgil comes after the bore of learning him; the glow of the sea-bather comes after the icy shock of the sea bath’ and the success of the marriage comes after the failure of the honeymoon.” I’ve never read Virgil but I understand Chesterton’s point. Pain can give birth to joy when you persevere. peace, J

balance - week of june 20, 2006

My middle boy, Shay, and his friend, Cole, when we camped last year up by the 'Lava Tube' in Flagstaff, AZ. It almost looks like Shay's pants are on fire. I assured his mom that they weren't. Blessed are the balanced for they will outlast everyone else. Well, I’m preparing to take July off of work. It’s really a strange thing to consider that I will be out all month. My brother in law, who's from South Africa, tells me that each year South Africans get a month off and an extra month’s paycheck from their employer… a month off and an extra month’s paycheck every year… You wonder why South Africa didn’t fix some of their problems sooner? Cuz they were all off on vacation! (or holiday as they say) I’m just messing with the South Africans. It’s not as if working all the time is the best approach to life. Japan has the highest suicide rate in the world which in repeated studies has been connected with their unhealthy perspective of the importance of work. (I wont site any articles but just google Japan suicide rates if you need to). Somewhere in the middle there is a balance. We should be able to look at our year and note significant times off to recreate (that's recreate and re-creating). We should also be able to look at different seasons of life and say the same thing. Recently I was in a meeting with a couple of older gentlemen that I admire when the topic of taking time off came up. Both men spoke of trips they had taken with their sons. I think one mentioned a special trip where he had taken 3 or 4 weeks off with his son to travel. That, of course, doesn’t happen every year. Those kinds of things happen maybe a few times throughout a lifetime. The point for me is: throughout this past month, have I built in margins in my life… throughout the past six months… the past year… this past ‘season’…? Overall, am I a balanced person? Oswald Chambers said, “It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful.” In the context of what I am talking about here being an ‘excessive fanatic’ means working too much… sometimes enjoying the work too much… at the expense of other things in your life. Truly, anyone can do that. It takes discipline to stop sometimes and do nothing. That’s why it’s important to absorb Max Lucado’s backward thinking from time to time, “Don’t just do something. Stand there.” So, that’s part of what I will do in July… just stand there… I'm pretty sure that it's the best thing for me during this season in my life. renovare J

fathers day - week of june 13, 2006

Actual photo of my dad on the Mississippi River almost 60 years ago. It's the coolest photo I own and since Father's Day is coming up I figured I should post it. I'm not sure about the whole 'posing' thing. Maybe that's just the way they stood in boats back in the 50's.

For some reason I've been on this 'strange animal' search lately. I feel like this week at dc I will be presenting something more like a PBS or National Geographic show than a 'normal' sermon. (I honestly don't know what a 'normal' sermon is for me.) Anyhow, one of my ideas was to look throughout the animal kingdom to find strange creatures and then compare them to men/fathers. I dont know if it's a good idea or not but it has been entertaining for me. Here's one creature I came across that I probably won't use but I certainly could if I wanted... The sea squirt... Not a great name, I admit but the sea squirt has a very simple brain which is used only to find a suitable spot to root itself for life. Once it's settled into a spot, it no longer needs the brain, so it eats it. (By the way, this has been compared by at least one researcher to a professor receiving tenure at a university.) Reaons I'm not using this example this week: It's kinda gross... and it might be denigrating to men/father... You know the whole idea that men don't use their brains once settled into a spot... truthfully, I think our culture portrays our men as dumb or ineffective far too often. (take a sample of any number of tv commercials out there and see what I mean) so I probably won't use it this week.... however... What a great analogy for people in general. Far too often we find our spot in the world and then settle down... and down... and down... until we expect so little from our lives. There's no need for brains or courage or energy! What a shame. We need to wake up. renovare, j