Aug 2011
The Pastor
Mon 29 Aug 2011 Filed in: Photos | Reflections
The years have taken their toll as years do, and at 87 my pastor’s painful battle with cancer will probably end sometime soon. But today the mischievous smile was still there as we shared together for over an hour. I prayed for them, planning to take my leave, but we were not finished. He is still the pastor, and once more Pastor Hoyle prayed for me. I am blessed!
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Creating a Legacy
Thu 25 Aug 2011 Filed in: My Life
I’m back among the redwoods. They are magnificent trees that stretch straight to the sky, held firm by interlocking roots. For years Mount Hermon has been a special place for me - vacations, honeymoon, retreat, family camps, r&r.... I have sensed that special “Mt Hermon effect” again as I’ve been here for an adult conference focused on creating a legacy and telling one’s story. It’s been a busy few days, and I’ve been encouraged, prodded, blessed, and challenged by Chuck Swindoll, Bill Butterworth, and other communicators I admire. I’m still processing these last few days, but I sense that what I have heard and experienced has helped to shape what I am in this current chapter of my life.
I suppose it is inevitable that one creates a legacy, whether one wants to or not. Intentionality is good, and the telling of the story should begin before the all the chapters have been written. The roots are there, and the trunk is stretching. Stay tuned; there’s a legacy in the making. . . .
Traveling Light(er)
Fri 19 Aug 2011 Filed in: My Life
I’m on the road again. Traveling is good, especially connecting with family and friends that I love. It’s a road trip this time, so I don’t have to contend with the hassles of airline travel. (Remember when flying was actually FUN? What happened?) There is the joy of people and the joy of the more-or-less open (under construction) road and the adventure of a GPS that thinks it knows more than it actually does.
For me the downside to travel is packing. The same DNA that helped me accumulate all that stuff in the basement that I am now starting to shed pushes me to pack more than I will ever need. This time I’m trying to travel lighter, and it is good. LightER; not really LIGHT. Yet. It’s a challenge for me to hear and believe me telling myself you won’t really need that. But I’m working on it. And for now, I’m on the road, and all I need to remember is to leave each spot with essentially the same stuff that I had when I arrived. And should I end up leaving a spot traveling lighter than when I arrived, it might not be all bad!
For me the downside to travel is packing. The same DNA that helped me accumulate all that stuff in the basement that I am now starting to shed pushes me to pack more than I will ever need. This time I’m trying to travel lighter, and it is good. LightER; not really LIGHT. Yet. It’s a challenge for me to hear and believe me telling myself you won’t really need that. But I’m working on it. And for now, I’m on the road, and all I need to remember is to leave each spot with essentially the same stuff that I had when I arrived. And should I end up leaving a spot traveling lighter than when I arrived, it might not be all bad!
Confessions of a Bibliophile
Sat 13 Aug 2011 Filed in: My Life
Getting rid of stuff may be liberating, but it is also work. Someone should have told Solomon that shedding can be just as wearying as study. I admire people who joyfully and ruthlessly rid themselves of that which has ceased to be a useful and meaningful part of their lives. They possess a discipline that I apparently lack. But disciplined or not, the lightening process has begun.
I approach the task with mixed feelings. I embrace the joyful stirring of the freedom of simplicity, but when it comes to books, I have a hard time letting go. Perhaps I was born a generation too soon. In the information age of Kindles and Nooks (or is that Nindles and Kooks?) “books” take up a lot less space. But I am a child of the printed page who takes delight in the feel and the smell of books with real pages, however dusty they may be. They are my friends. (Some of them were Joan’s friends or Matt’s friends.) It is a bit like having a couple of thousand Facebook friends and suddenly deciding to unfriend 1500 of them. It makes life simpler, but. . . .
I like books, but it is time for some of them to move on.
Blogger's Block
Tue 09 Aug 2011 Filed in: My Life
Has it really been three weeks since I’ve posted anything here? It’s not that there has been nothing of significance going on in my world; the last three weeks contain fodder for multiple posts. Nor is it that my life has been too busy to take time to write. It’s been busy - sort of - measured, that is, on the retired-dude scale. But it’s not been that busy.
It might seem that not writing has its advantages: One less activity, and therefor a bit more margin in one’s life. But that is not the case. Writing is part of who I am, and so not writing creates an uncomfortable void. Sometimes there seem to be good reasons not to write; sometimes writing is painful. But the inescapable reality is that not writing is also painful. There is no good way out of that dilemma.
Except, perhaps, to write, because that’s what writers do. So I’m back, and I don’t think it will be three weeks until the next post appears.
It might seem that not writing has its advantages: One less activity, and therefor a bit more margin in one’s life. But that is not the case. Writing is part of who I am, and so not writing creates an uncomfortable void. Sometimes there seem to be good reasons not to write; sometimes writing is painful. But the inescapable reality is that not writing is also painful. There is no good way out of that dilemma.
Except, perhaps, to write, because that’s what writers do. So I’m back, and I don’t think it will be three weeks until the next post appears.