Wilderness Camp

It would be astonishingly and offensively presumptuous to imply that I truly experience wilderness times. I am blessed beyond belief. But for many of us, even when life is good, it is challenging. It gives us opportunities to learn, improve, or to break, walk away. I thought it would be useful to put down some thoughts that I've either learned or heard in the last few months during some hard but hopefully fruitful times. So here you go...Wilderness thoughts.

1. You can walk in the same circle many times, but ultimately, you are still going somewhere. You're just going to take a lot longer walking in circles. "You'll know you're in the right place when you've never been there before." Often the difficult time makes the good time possible. If we do not suffer, we often do not know good to be good, or at least as good as it it.

2. Going into the wilderness yields riches (though likely not monetary ones). When the Israelites left Egypt, they took plunder while being set free from slavery (are those reparations?). We can take many riches with us if we are willing to ask. I'm hoping one of my great riches out of this time is an increased faith. I think it already is to some degree as I continue to lean onto God, realizing I have very little to offer to situations. There are many others that need not be mentioned here.

3. Complaining is bad. Don't believe me? Look it up. That's the simple answer, but we have the ability to choose a good deal of how we feel and what our life looks like. I'm not implying that we won't have gut reactions, nor that difficult things do not require grief, mourning, and sadness. Only that we often miss the mark because of our selfishness.

4. You aren't in the wilderness because someone brought you here to die. You're on a journey. You'll get there faster if you learn from wilderness camp.

In contrast, life changes are extremely hard and put great stress on relationships, faith, income, and everyone around you. I am blessed to be surrounded by so many good people who have made this transition a sad, amazing, heart-breaking, hopeful thing.

Discovered by Amber

"If we can keep our minds open to the blessings, humor, and education in whatever happens to us -- if we can set that little invisible radar dish on top of our heads to constantly search for blessings instead of disasters -- our lives will be enriched by the experiences we endure and fertilize our lives" -Unkown.

Further up and Further in, Part 2

Referencing an older post, a better picture has been found. Of late, the realization of life as a journey of transformation has become much more acute. Life as a journey to death which yields more life. It's a confusing idea that I'm just beginning to wrap my head around. Henri Nouwen does a much better job of describing it in his book, Life of the Beloved. He describes the process of death as one which should open us up even more to God and to loving other people. This is a difficult concept for me to grasp, though I think I'm getting better at it. Applying the idea to other areas, it's intriguing to see what "dying to oneself" looks like in myriad situations. Through some personal unscientific study by someone who knows very little about it, it's reasonable to say death yields life.

Ya, I'm engaged...what's it to you?

Amber has hindsight bias. She now thinks she knew it was coming. She didn't. I tricked her into marrying me, and now it's too late. If you want the story...man I'm tired of telling it but here 'goes.

We went out to eat at Gaetano's. If you don't know what it is, it's in Dunedin, FL and you should go. Great food, good time. Nice atmosphere. As we were leaving dinner, Amber had to use the restroom, so I went out to the car and put the ring in my pocket. I snuck it out while she was in the shower after our bike ride.

We stopped in dunedin and looked out over the water and talked about stars and tampa area geography. Next on the plan was going to the Botanical Gardens for the Holiday Lights. We walked around some of the other areas, and then went into the wedding garden. I asked Amber if she wanted to stand under the gazebo and practice. She said no, that's dumb. I was able to convince her. Then I tricked her into marrying me.

One of the highlights of the evening was a couple walking past charging us to make it last 40 years like they had. It's encouraging stuff.

We wound out the evening hanging out at the beach, letting some people (who were awake) know of the night's festivities.

2 people looking HOTT!

It's gonna be a fun life together.

Bullet Grind

In an effort to write more frequently, the author hopes to make this a regular segment of PYHOOYB(pullyourheadoutofyourbutt). "It's fun to say too!" Brief ideas or jumping off points that have been found interesting either to the author, or to others and it has come to a more corporate attention. They might also turn into some rants of frustration as deemed necessary by said author's immediate sanity. As always, we here at PYHOOYB are visual learners, and seek to provide visuals for any and every idea. Hope you like it, and would appreciate and welcome comments.

##*## Hospitality in Community -

It's a lost art according to a study I recently heard of (sorry, no link, but I think you can determine this from basic experience). Some dude did a study showing how full service sit-down restaurants are declining, and fast food restaurants have increased by 100% over the life of the study. Most of these people eat in a car alone. People go to places where other people are, but remain alone. There are hordes of people starving for hope and companionship, even if just a little. It seems we need to learn to slow down enough to eat with people. It would probably make us healthier too.

##*## Insecurity in Religion -

Believers should be extremely careful about who and what they criticize. It's a dangerous thing to promote one's own understanding as the "only way." I'm ever amazed at others (and my own) propensity for attacking those against whom my battle is not. You will know my people how?

##*## Advent -

The advent season is one of expectant hope. A great picture is the history of Jews in captivity, waiting for the Messiah. The poverty and despair present in that time provides an interesting backdrop to Western Culture today. We are impoverished in our souls as we seek to light our own candles and find hope and peace within ourselves. Many are given over to their evil desires as they stand in defiance of God. Total depravity indeed. O Come Emmanuel. We need you.

Freedom and Perceived Prisons

I found this on Gordo's Blog today, and thought it was a great quote. I wish I could locate its author. So for now, it will be unknown.

Avoid regret for a man that has the freedom to follow his dreams, and does. Feel empathy for those who live under the illusion that they are trapped in prisons, and don’t.

Peaceful Image

Click on the Picture for Image Information

Church essential number one: Brokenness/Wholeness

It seems a key element in any kind of effective church is the ability to grieve healthily. A corporate outpouring of this character is stoked by all of the individuals' willingness to sit in hard places, and believe and hope for redemption.

I believe God has an inner fire in each of us, but so often we let it die because we are broken by life, sadness, pain...

A friend of mine once related a similar situation to me using an analogy of a broken glass (paraphrased):

"Sam for such a long time, all I could do was sit and say look at the broken glass; what am I going to do? My glass is broken...After some time, I realized there was glue, and the glass could be put back together. It wouldn't be put back together, though, without blood-without your hands being cut over and over again. It also would never look the same as it did before. How could it? with glue holding glass together like mortar with bricks. However, it can again serve its purpose." That purpose? A vessel. "Be filled and spill" also comes to mind. This cannot happen if we believe we, in and of ourselves, can do it. We can't. We break, we weary, we despair. But there is much to say for our past pains becoming strengths that can be used by a perfect Creator as he deems fit. Not for our own glory, but for his own. We are broken, but our brokenness can be made new, can be re-sculpted for good (what was intended for evil).

(I'm really thinking out loud here and trying to dream a little bit. I welcome your input and thoughts, criticisms and questions. I'm hoping to think of more of these and bring them together for a more cohesive whole.)

Effectiveness

Gordo Byrn has a great article on personal planning. You can find it here.

Telling you things you might already know...

Ahem: There are still good people in America.

[Please don't interpret this as some kind of theological stand on the goodness of man (The author has not lost his mind in the last couple weeks).]

US charitable giving set a new record in 2006. A selection from the article above:

The overall increase for the year was 4.2 percent, or one percent adjusted for inflation. But if disaster gifts are excluded from the 2005 total, giving in 2006 rose 6,6 percent.The record-setting gift total in 2006 included $1,9-billion from billionaire Buffett, the world's third wealthiest individual, in the first installment on a 20-year pledge of more than $30-billion to four foundations."While headlines focus on 'mega-gifts', they represented 1,3 percent of the total," said George Ruotolo, chair of the Giving Institute."About 65 percent of households with incomes lower than $100 000 give to charity. That is higher than the percentage who vote or read a Sunday newspaper.""There certainly is a tradition of supporting nonprofit organizations in the United States," Jolly told AFP."It's just characteristic of the American public to give to the extent that they're able contribute."

This is not to say that America doesn't have a long way to go, because with much privilege comes much responsibility, but it does give you the right to think reasonably and with the solid cranium you were born with as opposed to just feeling guilty and bad about yourself everytime some moron reporter writes something because he wants to make people who make more money than him feel bad (oops, did I say that?)

Give generously, Live simply, Love your neighbor. Peace.

Peace and Punishment, a not so Common Sense thing

It is a difficult thing, forgiveness. It's also a very difficult thing to not punish wrongdoers. Is there compromise? Does it depend on the outcome. Is peace the greatest good, or just a figment of our imaginations? If we offer amnesty, do we encourage more violence by evil people (read: if there is no punishment/discipline, what's to keep people from repeating the offense?)

How do we move on when so much wrong has been done by all sides?

What hope is there to answer the injustice? This is a brief venting of frustrations. I believe the best answer is to work to prevent most of these things from ever happening (Easier said than done, I know). But how do we do that? I don't know, but there are some things I'm willing to do to attempt to sway myself from apathy.

1. Be Content. I don't need your stuff.

2. Promote Peace in my relationships

3. Promote Peace with my words and actions in other public spheres.

4. Find new ways to be an agent of change for good.