QotRTP

"It's easier to avoid people when we're discouraged than to invite them into our pain."

Doug Fields in Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry

Technology, Upgrading, and the Simplicity of God

With some things, upgrading is good. With other things, it's not.
Who doesn't appreciate the change from dial-up to DSL? Or a gasoline-electric hybrid that gets 47.5 average mpg? But unfortunately for our society, an increase in technology makes our lives more complicated, and often more difficult. Technology is bringing a wave of changes not just in electronics and innovations, but in morality and values.
Sometimes, simple is better.
You may appreciate e-mail for its speed and convenience (and that you don't have to pay for stamps), but if you've written and received real ink on real paper in a real hand-addressed envelope recently, you know that there's something special about handwriting, stamps, and knowing someone cares about you enough to take the time to write you.
You may not think about the fact that most suburban houses have little or no front porch, but if you've ever sat on one drinking lemonade with someone who's not in a hurry, you may get a gnawing feeling that it's not the same without it.
You may never wish that you didn't have a cell phone or an iPOD, but you may have forgotten what it's like to have peace and quiet.
I'm not advocating throwing away technology or becoming Amish (no offense to Amish people -- you may be happier than us). However, I am suggesting that you simplify your life, keep a list of priorities, and carefully consider every change that you make. Limit distractions. Scrutinize your motives. Care about people.
And most of all, know that God is simple, and there's no complicated road to get from here to where we most want to be.

Sleep, Alarm Clocks, and Accomplishing Life's Purpose

I do like to sleep. But life is too short to spend more time than necessary sleeping. I hate that feeling of waking up later than I planned to. I imagine the world whizzing by me as I lay there, and I realize that sleep does not accomplish my divine purpose. It does help me to accomplish it, as long as I get enough of it. But, for me, after 7 hours or so, time in bed is wasted time. This is especially true for a morning person like me, who knows that the best and most productive time of the day for me is in the morning before 10 AM.
It's important for me to decide the night before when I'm going to get up in the morning. The first five minutes after I wake up is the worst possible time for me to make a decision about whether to get up or not. But after I'm up for a few minutes, I never regret getting up that early.
It may be different for you; the morning may not be your best time of the day. However, I challenge you to take advantage of your moments on earth, especially the ones when you're at your best. Sleeping is not one of the primary things that you exist to do; it's just there to help you accomplish your real purpose.

QotRTP (Quote of the Random Time Period)

"The key to unselfishness is actually thinking more about other people than we think about ourselves."

quisnam?

Resolutions, Goals, and One Small Step to Change

Everyone makes resolutions. But not everyone thinks about the process. Think about it: Perhaps you made a mistake recently, and said to yourself that you would never make that mistake again. You just made a resolution.
Even if we do admit that they are important, we rarely consider what an impact they can have on our lives...and our lifestyle. I'm definitely someone who benefits from setting goals, so that's one reason they're especially useful to me. But even if you're not, know that resolutions mark an opportunity, a gateway for change. It's much more than just saying that we want to be different, that we want to improve, because we are making a concrete step in not just identifying what we want to be different but how we are going to work at getting there. And anything that helps us initiate positive change in our lives is a good thing.
I made one a week ago. I had been talking with my pastor about how to open up to people and connect with people in conversation. I was struggling with this during my first few days here in Texas City as I met a lot of new people. On Wednesday night, a week ago, he called me into his office right before the weekly Bible study and said he had an assignment for me. Every time someone tried to ask me a question or start a conversation, it was my job to ask a question in return, and so to keep the ball rolling. In other words, to be as socially responsive as possible. I realized later that this was empowering for me to have something to do. I am not in control of what happens, but I do influence what happens. In short, what I do matters. With that in mind, I made a resolution to always take advantage of opportunities to talk to people. This is not entirely comfortable for me, but it's a necessary thing for me to attempt because encounters of people with people are God's primary arena of working in our lives. It is one of my first areas of stewardship responsibility in my endeavor to live for Him.

Clarity, Expression, and the Adventures of an Amateur Philosopher

Well, if you're reading this, hopefully you think my thoughts are worth reading about. Enough people have said something about it -- my gift for thinking, and for expressing clearly what I am thinking about -- that I have decided to challenge myself and do something about it. I started a blog. Here goes nothing. (If you are one of those people, you can take partial credit for this, and I hope you will benefit from it.) I pray God will bring meaningful things out of this.