I felt it in my pride...

Another book I read recently took a swing at my pride and I am glad it did. Pride isn't always a bad word but often it can grow to be a overly large part of our character and as it is with the overly large, pride tends to bump into things. The author impressed me with his candor and truthfulness. His honesty was refreshing as well. I am including a quote from my critique of the book and I stand by my last sentence in case you presume I was overstating simply for effect. 

"Humilitas is a treat of a book on humility. The arguments are impactful and presented in an amusing yet healthy manner. The topic of humility should be engaged by everyone and especially leaders. The method of simply attempting to be humble is not enough to arrive at a humility that enables people to follow a leader. The understandings presented by the author will empower people to pin point areas where they are humble and areas that need attention. I would recommend this book for everyone who can read." 

There you go another book recommendation. Are you humble enough to read it??? (orchestral crescendo) 

I read a book

I don't usually promote material that I have studied. It isn't that I don't like the material, I just usually write on my thoughts in the moment but this book has occupied my thoughts since I read it. I have added a slightly edited critique that I wrote for the book. 

"Dr. Swenson’s book on margin is a must read and should be a required reading for ministry staff, business people and people struggling with being to busy. Even with a misplaced concern for the nature of the problem, the scriptural based good advice is sound and needed in today’s society. The four areas of margin which are; emotional energy, physical energy, finances and time, are often out of balance and learning about them and how to safeguard for margin are important. The book is not fluffy or overbearing but concise and powerful in the message that humanity needs God and His established parameters for margin to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I would expect that this book could be used in several capacities such as small groups, personal counseling situations, pastoral training, and leadership training.. Margin is the key to avoiding overload which leads to the decay of one’s mind and body and eventually service to God." 

You may read that and say well I am not looking to serve God and that is ok but if you ever feel overloaded in life, I would suggest this book anyway. 

Value in time

This thing all things devours:
Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;
Gnaws iron, bites steel;
Grinds hard stones to meal;
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down.

The answer is time, and not time I would want. It does seem to move with results unpleasant to some (Gollum ---->). The conundrum is that time is valued as we try to capture it with picture and tale. We long for a time and would give anything for a moment of it. Time, though is continually moving, being devoured, slaying those kings and bending the world as it travels on. We cannot stop time or go back in it. It cannot be bought, made or borrowed, time can only be had, wasted or spent. We can make the most of it, and let wisdom rule it and even ponder what is a momentous realization in the value of time. We have only a time and with it we can do things valuable to us and spend it on those worthy of it. Do not let time pass by and suffer decay as the lonely mountain which is full of dismay. Use time on the ones you love for just like your own, their moment in time is moving and you cannot catch or hold. So cherish your time as it moves quickly on. Cherish its present along with its past and hope for its future which surely will last. In all three tenses, value is found but the present is special for it is now.  I will remember my times, and look forward toward but carry the precious now even more. 

My Own Advice, D'oh

The sting of realizing that your own advice is not being followed is certainly a Homer Simpson moment.

 I recently challenged a couple hundred people with the thought of fighting for relationship, pushing past the difficulties and fighting for restoration. I was encouraging everyone with a life lesson from my mom, who would often seek out reconciliation. She wasn't perfect at it, but the principle was there and I was often reminded to forgive and to seek forgiveness. As for not following my own advice, I have been running from relationship and seeking solitude. Using disagreement and theological differences of the smallest form to create space, I was looking for a way out of several situations. I will have to continue to evaluate the motivation of my heart in those situations, but in any case my responsibility and initial motivation should be to fight for relationship. It is what my mom would suggest and I think it is what is right. (Matthew 5:23-24, Ephesians 4:2-3)

Now one to another Homer S. moment, I am getting a donut.

Ardog

The expression of empty

It may be that empty is not actually a lacking of something. I have discovered that empty has weight and bearing. The point of weight may be argued but since empty is also a feeling, it falls into the realm of interpretation. Interpretation is an interesting thing because it involves choice. Therefore, the expression of empty is a choice. Choices are typically two sided questions multiplied by deviations that end somewhere between one and infinity. The implication is that the choice for expressing empty is in theory limitless. However, empty is also a condition or state of existence which means that as long as the state exists the choice exists. Since choice exists as a condition and choices have the ability to be adapted within the condition, the expression of empty can be adapted in any multitude of applications. The weight of empty is expressed in some capacity based on a choice. The state of empty remains but the expression of empty is not always the same. The expression of empty is a blog of useless arguments to provide a release of cyclical thought processes. Sometimes expression is understood and sometimes is is unintelligible but it is ever changing. What?

A price to great.

I have heard it said that "everyone has a price" and often have applied that sentiment to the erosion of moral behavior. if you offer someone their favorite ice cream, they will usually break a diet. If not on the first day maybe thirty days of offering it will break the resolution. That example is obviously very light weight, however, often the temptation to lie, cheat, steal or break another moral, ethical, judicial, or religious code can be bought, "everyone has a price."I have been thinking on another realization that is closely tied to this or perhaps is the opposite side of the coin and falls under the phraseology of "count the cost" but in my thinking this is the same as "everyone has a price" if you understand that there is a price that is to high. The cost has been counted and the item placed back on the shelf, so to speak. Now this is not about keeping simple diets or even physical, social and possibly the religious status quo. It is about believing in Christ, there is a price to be a follower of Christ and for many people the cost is to high and their budgeted price that they won't pay allows them to shelve Christ and walk away. What is the price to be a disciple? Jesus talks about it in Luke 14. The cost is high and not lightly counted as the change in one's pocket. However, it is not a large lump sum payment either. First there is a payment of belief and maybe that is where people should start but know that eventually, there will be a price that is higher than your budget but now you know.

SRV

This is all...

Lyrics | Stevie Ray Vaughan lyrics - Pride And Joy lyrics