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“You are going to feel like hell if you never write the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves of your heart — your stories, visions, memories, visions and songs. Your truth, your version of things, your own voice. That is really all you have to offer us. And that’s also why you were born.”
Anne Lamott

“You are going to feel like hell if you never write the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves of your heart — your stories, visions, memories, visions and songs. Your truth, your version of things, your own voice. That is really all you have to offer us. And that’s also why you were born.”
Anne Lamott

Category: for repost

Is It What It Is ?

George 1 Comment

I am always trying to find ways to explain how I think and see the world differently than I did years ago. As I sat waiting for an orientation class at to begin, the television was tuned to an educational channel and the program was a GED preparation math class. The teacher was trying to explain math concepts. He explained that a number, for example the number 5, is more than just a 5. You could say that 5 is 5 and that what it is. But in reality 5 is infinitely more than just 5. Five is not only 5 it is 2.5×2 = 15/5 = 37-32 = 6-1 = 7.4389 – 2.4389 = ad infinitum . Yes, they are all 5 but 5 is more than just 5. I can’t explain all the math concepts in the illustration but for me it was a great way to illustrate how my thinking and ultimately my view of the world have changed. My former way of thinking was when I saw 5, it was 5 and that was what it was. Somewhere along the line I realized that not only is 5 … 5, it is 2.5×2 and 15/5 and much more. Things I viewed so narrowly, I now realize have endless possibilities in how they are seen and understood. Creation reflects the infinite nature of the Creator.

 

From Where Does My Praise Come ?

George 0 Comments

From where does my praise come?

…from the bounty of my circumstances?

…from the strength of my health?

…from freedom and liberty?

…from my goodness and rightness?

Hallelujah!

So dear God, keep from me

…poverty

…sickness

…imprisonment

…failure and sinfulness

If not, where then would my praise come from?

 

The Fence Parable

George 1 Comment

Occasionally I run through a neighborhood which has mostly neat, well maintained and attractive houses. The first time I ran through the neighborhood I couldn’t help but notice one house in particular. In stark contrast to every house around it, the place was a mess. The yard was overgrown. There was all kinds of “junk” scattered about. The front porch was cluttered and the only thing that seemed to be missing was a refrigerator or sofa. There was a vehicle on abandoned in the back yard. I wondered about the people that live there and what their lives must be like. Surely they are not aware of the conditions. Why wouldn’t they do something about them?

After a considerable amount of time, I recently passed through the neighborhood. When I came to the messy house, I could hardly believe what I saw. Everything about the house seemed to be just as I had noticed earlier, except for one thing. About 10′ from the front of the house, an eight foot privacy fence  stretching across the width of the house had been constructed. Problem solved. Apparently the owner believed that it was better to expend time and money to build a facade than to clean the place up. Ironically, the fence was incomplete. The final section of fence leans against the house where it fits perfectly into the surrounding scene.

Surely no one in their right senses would go to the trouble to build a facade like that rather than just clean up the mess?

Hospitality (con’t)

George

Many of us, especially when we compare ourselves with much of the world’s population, live with abundance, not scarcity. But we often act as if resources are scarce; we fear there won’t be enough, even before we begin sharing what we have. The problem may have much more to do with our willingness to respond than with our resources.

Hospitality

George

Currently I’m reading Making Room: Recovering  Hospitality as a Christian Tradition by Christine Pohl.

It has been thought provoking and thus far has challenged my notions about hospitality. Here are a few excerpts that I believe are worthy of some thought.

A shared meal is the activity most closely tied to the reality of God’s Kingdom, just as it is the most basic expression of hospitality.

Seeing Jesus in every guest … reduces the inclination to try to calculate the importance of one guest over another.

“The tasks aren’t what hospitality is about, hospitality is giving of yourself.” If hospitality involves sharing your life and sharing the life of others, guests/strangers are not first defined by their need.

(Meal time) is the time when hospitality looks least like social services.

Simple acts of respect and appreciation, presence and friendship are indispensable parts of the affirmation of human personhood.

“… the pinnacle of lovelessness is not our unwillingness to be a neighbor to someone, but our unwillingness to allow them to be a neighbor to us.”