Life Begins Here, Now

I was pretty busy on Saturday. We were making preparations for Christmas. I brought up the decorations from the basement, including the outdoor lights which I hang on our home each year. It's no small feat. Including checking the bulbs, placing the hangers on the gutter to planning where I am going to place the lights, and then actually climbing up and down the ladder, it takes a couple of hours all told.
I found myself thinking, "I'll be glad when this is all done." I had to stop myself. Why not be glad now? What was delaying my joy? Wasn't I decorating my house in preparation for Christ's birth, after all? And wasn't the sweat and soreness worth the end result?
My answer to those questions was a shift in my posture to one of gratitude and simple surrender to the moment. It enabled me to be patient, taking a systematic approach to the process. I was met with an unexpected buoyancy in my spirit and a spring in my step. In other words, I actually enjoyed the "drudgery" of the chore, and was able to really begin celebrating Christmas through it.
This started me thinking about all the myriad ways in which I delay joy in my life. "If only I had/was X, THEN I'd be happy" and "When X happens, THEN I'll be happy" are common refrains in my brain. But life isn't something that happens once we get everything set just the way we want it. It's happening all around us, at all times. It's up to us to wake up and be present in the moments of life that are passing us by. It's also about waking up to the incredible treasures and gifts we hold in our hands and are given freely every day. Life truly is a miracle. Perhaps if we accepted each day as a miracle and every moment as an opportunity to live in and spread Light, our joy would emerge from us as naturally as our breath.

Moving Forward

Have you ever left your house without your keys? You walk to the car and realize your keys are in the house. At that point, you need to go back in and get them, or you won’t get very far. Sure, you could just walk, but that tiny little resource (a key) is worth going back in your daily journey to pick up so you can apply it in the proper context (your car) and move down the road at a much greater rate.

I think maybe we’ve placed too much emphasis in this culture on moving forward, continually growing, developing, and evolving. Doubtless that is the intention of the overall arch of our lives – to grow and become more of what God intends for us. But I think backwards movement along the path isn’t necessarily negative. It’s just often painful and difficult, because when I recognize the landscape as being familiar, I take that as a cue to be disappointed, upset, guilty, or angry. But it’s often necessary for us to go back over old ground in our lives to pick up things we didn’t learn the first (or second, or third) time. It’s not a judgment against me or a failure – it’s simply where I am on the journey.

In my mission statement, I wrote that I believe you are always moving forward or moving backward, and to always move forward, I do certain things. But I’m starting to realize that maybe I should cut myself (and others) slack when I see myself moving backward. Perhaps I’m going back to pick up a key I missed the first time.

Chunky!

I had a really hard day the other day. It wasn't because I had a lot of work to do. In fact, my workload wasn't that overwhelming at all. The problem was I didn't want to anything. My attitude stunk. I ended up talking with friends and procrastinating all morning long. I didn't get a thing accomplished in the morning. But the most incredible thing happened-at lunch, I prayed that God would help me reset my attitude and jump into my work in the afternoon. I was able to let go of the temper tantrum that had gripped me in the morning and actually had a very productive afternoon.

This made me think of how our days are less like a neatly arranged plate of food and more like a bowl of stew. If we're open to it, new emotions, motivations, and interpretations of our experiences will meet us in unexpected ways. But I think God enjoys showing up in the context of real life vs. in a planned church program or other compartmentalized experience. Like a bowl of stew, we may be be surprised by the chunks we eat in a day. We may dine on the spiritual equivalent of vegetables one day, and the next day chewing on chunks of meat (harder to chew, but much more nourishing). But usually, it will be both. It's up to us to really be present to taste our experience and enjoy it if possible.

I tend to want to break life apart and compartmentalize and reduce it so I can have control over it and reduce my spiritual "risk". Unfortunately, life is not compartmentalized and neatly arranged. Life is a mess. Joy, love, happiness, pain, sadness, stress - they are all thrown into the same pot for us to eat. If you feel you have complete understanding of something, it's either not living/inert, a reduction or facsimile of the truth, or you are mistaken. We can apprehend life, but we cannot comprehend it fully. To believe otherwise it to be disillusioned and set up for a painful fall as we are humbled by the Creator and put in our place as His creation.

What things do you reduce and break apart to gain control over? What fear are you dampening through this activity? What blessings are you missing by dwelling on the "chunks" of life that you don't want to "eat"?

Hard Questions

I learned of a tragedy last week that had the potential to shake my faith. A friend of a friend who had been struggling in many areas of life committed suicide by cop a couple of weeks ago. This was disturbing on many levels, since this man was a Christ follower and had prayed with my friend just days before for God's help in his situation. It brought up all kinds of questions for me about just who God is and a lot of "why" questions. If God is in control, how can evil be allowed in this world? Why does crap like this happen? Why do good people die? Where is God's justice in this world? Where is his Spirit, his presence? Where was God when this guy was losing his mind and his life?

These are tricky questions and ones without concrete answers. It's some solace to me that they've been asked of God since biblical times - many Psalms and the book of Job pose these same queries to God. And though I haven't received many solid answers since this happened, I did have a very helpful experience last Monday. I had a short coaching session with an acquaintance in which I was the client. I brought up these tough issues. Turns out, she had been trained as a pastor (coincidence?), and was quite skilled at listening to me "pour out my lament" without judging or trying to provide answers. I learned quite a bit in that session, including:

• God does not prevent us from feeling pain as his followers. What he does is infuse the pain with the possibility of his presence.
• We are called to rely on God, not on pat answers or formulas, or on how God has shown up in past situations. There is a part of me that would much rather create an answer sheet based on what I've seen and experienced from God in the past and disengage from living life with God. That is obviously contrary to the life we are called to - a full, eternal life that begins now as we walk with God every day and allow him to stretch and reform us in his image.
• Relying on the gifts God brings into our lives vs. God is also futile. This one is quite tricky, since human nature is always searching for a substitute for God. What better to fill the role than the gifts he provides? Of course, all things that are visible are temporary. Any time we're misaligned and worshiping God's creations, the rug will surely be pulled out from under us.
• In spite of my not knowing, God still acts. I don't have to have all the answers. It's not all up to me. I am a part of God's story, not the other way around.
• All efforts to construct limits for God will be blown apart. I always thought my image of God was always being challenged and broken apart so that a larger image of God could be created. The problem is, any image we create of God in our minds and hearts is inadequate. God is alive and wild. He cannot be caged, boxed in, or understood completely. We must relate to God as a Person, because he is. We're actually called to a relationship.

Even as I type, I know I will need to be continually reminded of these realities, which is part of the reason I'm blogging about them. These aren't the kinds of paradigm shifts one makes in a day or a week. I have gained a lot from asking these questions and realizing that God is here with us in our darkness and pain, even when we can't sense him and when all evidence around us is contrary to that truth. That's where faith comes in - believing something that flies in the face of worldly evidence.

Power vs. Control

I recently figured something out that has sweeping implications for me. I realized that there is a big difference between "power" and "control". Power is defined as the ability to act or accomplish something. Control, on the other hand, is focused around dominating or exercising restraint or command over something.

As human beings, we are imbued with an incredible amount of power. We have power beyond our understanding and imagination. The vast majority of our power is never tapped consciously. Instead, we often end up as victims of our own subconscious as it feeds back to us unconscious beliefs, fears, and hangups that we have fed it all our lives. One of the keys to fulfillment is to look into these dark areas and bring the lies and limitations that usually remain hidden to light.

By contrast, we have control over very little in our lives. We cannot control the economic or family situation we are born into, or the wounds and limitations of our families. We cannot control the weather or what obstacles we may encounter each day. We can only control our attitudes and responses to what life throws at us. And since most of us don't understand how to do this in a conscious way, we don't even take control over the precious little that we have domain over in our lives.

Why is this distinction so important? I have often gotten the two confused, to my detriment. I have a pattern of getting really excited about something new in my life and attempting to seize control of it until I choke all the life and fun out of it, then disengaging completely, moving on to a new area of focus. This usually happens in areas in which I have a natural talent. I get excited about how much power I can bring to a challenge, and I want to control all aspects of the area - how, when, and how often I get to express my power. But since I don't have domain over that, I end up being frustrated that things aren't happening just as I'd have them happen, and I often give up.

Coaching was like this for me. I got so excited last year when I learned about coaching and how natural it was for me. I knew down deep that I had discovered a key vocational expression for myself. After I earned my certification, I thought clients would simply pour in to my practice without my having to lift a finger. This didn't happen, of course. When it didn't happen like I wanted it to, I stopped all my efforts to learn and express the craft of coaching and my coaching "muscles" fell into atrophy. It wasn't until November that I realized I had fallen into this pattern and got engaged again in the pursuit of coaching mastery.

I think this distinction is especially crucial for Christians. As followers of Christ, we hear so often that we are to surrender to God and to God's will for our lives. But too often, I think we stop exercising the most precious gift in the world - that of the human will. The power of the human will cannot be overestimated. Just witness the people who, through sheer human determination (will) accomplish amazing feats, even without a conscious understanding of who God is or a conscious relationship with Him (I say "conscious relationship" because we all have a relationship to God, but sometimes we don't acknowledge it). But God's will for us is to have a full, vibrant, dynamic life. In order to have this life he wants for us, we need to exercise our will. We need to figure out what it is we really want and go for it. We need to dream, take chances, strive, and fail. We need to come to the end of ourselves so we can recognize our abject need for His strength. To me, a big part of surrender is surrendering my right to be lazy, to give up easily in the face of obstacles. If we can do all things through Him who strengthens us, we have no excuse to be defeated by this world's challenges. We just have to rely on God to supply the strength that we cannot muster in crucial moments.

The Patchwork Quilt

Well, after a very busy July, I'm back on the blogging circuit. I'm looking forward to a return to normalcy, along with some of my normal rhythms and habits.

A friend of mine spoke of life recently as a patchwork quilt. Apparently, when you are quilting, you can't go back and undo an earlier patch in the quilt without tearing apart the whole thing. She said she looks back on life in much the same way - many times, we have episodes ("patches") in our lives that are painful or that seem to have no purpose at the time. However, when we look back on the whole of our lives, they wouldn't be what they are - we wouldn't be what we are - without those patches. And we can't remove them; they are as much an integral part of the whole picture as the joyful and pleasurable parts of life.

This resonated with me so deeply since I tend to want to minimize or ignore those ugly patches in my life. But when I sit and survey my life, it's clear to me that I learned more about myself, about the loved ones in my life, and about God in those painful episodes that I ever have basking in His light. I honestly wish it wasn't this way, but it seems God uses those times when we are most challenged to do His greatest work.

What patches are there in your life that you tend to ignore or minimize? How did God use those patches to teach you about Him and about yourself? If you are in a tough patch now, can you open yourself to the possibility of learning and growing at this time?

The Dentist Chair

I went to the dentist for the first time in a while last week. OK, it has been at least two and maybe three years since I last had a six-month checkup. As a result, it was a very long and quite painful visit. After taking a completely new set of x-rays, the dental hygienist proceeded to scrape, scrape, and scrape some more. Then the dentist came in and diagnosed three cavities. So much for "out of sight, out of mind". I certainly paid the price for ignoring my dental maintenance.

There are many areas like this in life that don't require much energy to maintain. The problem is, that also makes it easier to ignore things we know we should be doing. The result is always the same: pain and expense. If we don't maintain our cars, expensive repairs result. In relationships, it's easy to ignore the little warning signs our partners give out that they are unhappy, only to be confronted with emotions that seem to be "out of the blue" or worse, a "Dear John" letter. The body is another area that will only be ignored so long before it turns up the volume on us in the form of disease or injury.

The traditional Christian response to pain of this sort is that we have sinned and are being punished for our sins. I don't think that is the case here. Rather, the pain and suffering are natural consequences of inaction. It's completely predictable. We have the ability to live in concert with universal truths or against them. But sooner or later, we have to pay the piper. Richard Rohr has said that growth only occurs through great love or great pain. I must admit, like most of us, I usually fall into the latter category before growth occurs in my life.

I know there are other "dentist chairs" that I am avoiding in my life. How about you? What areas do you know you should be paying attention to that you are simply ignoring? What are the natural consequences of continuing to ignore that area? What are some simple steps you can take today to address this area?

Still Life?

I was looking at a very nice painting the other day of some apples and cherries, a classic example of "still life". That started me thinking - the term "still life" is an oxymoron. Everything that is alive is always moving, even if only at the molecular level. This makes it impossible to pin down. Its dynamic aspect forces us to constantly change, adapt, and grow if we are to remain engaged with life. It's so tempting to cut aspects of life off or break them down to their piece parts so we can gain control over them and understand them completely. But when we do either of these things, the very element that drew us in - life itself - is gone, and the beautiful thing we hold in our hands withers and dies.

I can speak with authority on this subject because I am guilty of this error. In fact, this tendency reared its ugly head in my recent quest to earn my coaching certification. I found myself thirsty to learn all about coaching practices while in pursuit of my certification. Yet, once I achieved certification, there was a part of me that thought, "Whew, I can cross that one off the list", and I disengaged from the learning process. I was no longer on the master's journey. Instead, I was in danger of what Thomas Leonard calls a "dabbler" in his brilliant book, Mastery. According to Leonard, a dabbler is someone who is constantly chasing the newness and novelty of the latest shiny thing attracting their attention. But once the newness has worn off and reality sets in, they are off to the next thing.

Ouch. I realized I had been guilty of this very pattern, and faced a decision. Would I discard all I had learned and jump to a new practice, or get back on the path of mastery around my coaching practice? I chose to re-engage the learning process. This involved seeing my certification as a beginning point, not an ending. Sure, it's nice to have it, but without regular practice of those skills, I might as well not even have it. Said another way, I re-engaged the life in the coaching masteries. The shine has now worn off and I've been through a couple of plateaus. I now realize that this process is lifelong. Indeed, the master's journey never ends. There's always more to discover and learn, as long as we stay engaged in life.

Redwoods

My chiropractor just got back from Northern California, where she visited the redwoods. She was blown away by how massive they are. They grow up to 360 feet, or about as high as a thirty-story building. She said the canopy blocks out the sunlight when you're in the forest so you forget that it's a sunny day until you walk out from underneath it.

But what was most amazing to me is what she shared about the root systems of these giant trees. A redwood's roots only grow eight feet underground. It seems a root system that is that shallow would not be able to support the massive weight of a giant tree such as a redwood. But what is unique is that the roots grow outward, spreading for acres and intertwining with the other redwoods in the forest. It is this combined strength that gives them the support needed to weather storms they would be unable to survive alone. The parallel to humans is obvious: we are also able to withstand so much more if our roots are intertwined with others.

In fact, this anecdote reminds me of the human system model that Dallas Willard proposes is his brilliant work, "Renovation of the Heart". In it, he includes the social aspect of ourselves as part of the model. That is, our relationships with others is actually a part of who we are. As he puts it, "The natural condition of life for human beings is one of reciprocal rootedness in others." I in you and you in me, abiding with one another through thick and thin. It is not possible to go through this world alone, though it is possible to live under the illusion of aloneness. Sometimes we just need to be reminded of those that we share roots with, and of the need for these connections.

This need for relationship points us back to the relationship of the Trinity, reminding us that even within the Godhead, there is relationship. Relationship is a universal state, one that predated even the creation of the world. The fact that we are drawn to participate in relationships as a matter of living life fully points us back to this reality. It's another beautiful example of how this universe is fashioned to constantly mirror and reveal God. Humbling, ain't it?

Today Is A Beginning

Each day is also a beginning. This morning is a starting point. Endless opportunities expand before us. You know, it doesn't matter how deep we feel we're going in life or how enlightened we become. We're actually just scratching the surface. How can you tell if you're just scratching the surface of life? Take a moment and check to see if you're still alive. If so, then you've only just begun. Yes, I mean even if you're 85, retired with great-grandkids. You're alive for a reason. God still has more for you in mind - more to experience, be, become, express, drink in, and give to others. What beginnings do you have in front of you? How are you being renewed today in your mind, your body, and your heart? What seeds would you like to sow today?

A wise friend recently told me that we don't have to worry about changing the world. Simply by being alive we change the world a little each day. The question is not, "Do I want to change the world?", but rather, "How am I changing the world?". Are you making the world a more peaceful, loving place or bringing more hatred and pain by your presence? Are you healing yourself and others or wounding? Are you expressing your true self or stifling it?

Today Is An Ending

Today is an ending of sorts. The experiences you had today are in large part a result of what you habitually focus on and cultivate. As you stand in the garden of your life, what do you see? Are there towering trees that provide shade and fruit and beautiful flowers? Or have weeds taken over? The trees and flowers are the intentional practices and the positive, life-giving aspects of life that you focus on. The weeds are the things that crop up when we're not paying attention. If you're like most people, you probably have both elements. Like tending a garden, it takes regular, repeated effort to remove the weeds and water the trees. As the Chinese proverb states, the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, and the second best time is now. What tree can you plant today that will provide you shade and protection in twenty years?

Driving the Space Shuttle Down the Street

I hear the term "will power" thrown around quite a bit. It usually comes up when people relate their latest failure in doing something they wanted to do. "I just don't have the will power", is a common refrain. When most people refer to their "will power", I don't think they're actually referring to the power of their human will (aka spirit or heart). Our will is designed to be the place where decisions are made for the rest of our selves. It's supposed to be in charge. But most of us don't navigate life by our will; instead, we navigate by emotions, thoughts, or by our bodily urges.

The problem with going through life this way is that our will ends up at the end of the line, pulled around by the other parts of ourselves instead of leading them. These other components have a fleeting, unpredictable nature. This means that whenever we're navigating life by one of them instead of our will, we will of course be on a roller coaster in our lives instead of walking on a wide plateau of stability.

I must confess that I have spent much of my life navigating life by my emotions. In fact, I recently realized that I have identified with my emotional state for much of my life. In other words, I have equated my emotional state to who I am as a person. This put incredible pressure on myself to monitor and manage my emotions. If I was feeling less than ideal, I would do all I could to stamp out that emotional state or change it as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this meant that I was often short-changing myself in my emotional life by not allowing my emotions to be present or to allowing them to be processed naturally.
I now realize (through a painful process of self-discovery) that I am not my emotions. Rather, my emotions come and go, but they don't affect my true self, or heart (spirit/will).

We often complain that we don't enough power to change the things we want to in our lives. The simile that I sprang to mind around this idea was this: navigating life by our emotions (or any other component) instead of our will is like trying to drive the space shuttle down the street and then complaining that we can't navigate it properly. The space shuttle is not designed to drive down the street, it's designed to go into space. Likewise, the human will is actually designed with power to do things beyond our wildest dreams. But we relegate it to tasks it wasn't designed for, and put it out of order. The result is frustration and failure. But putting our will in the center and navigating by it is like lighting those boosters - it unleashes a level of power so immense that it will carry us right beyond our barriers into the stratosphere of our lives, where anything is possible and there's nothing holding us back.

In and Out

Language is so interesting. What we call "expressions" do just that - they express deeper or underlying truths about how we understand or relate to reality. Think about the way we use the word "out" in various expressions. We work things out, act out, give out (good or bad vibes), make out, hug it out, bring things out (into the open), we go out, figure it out, people are regularly "outed". These expressions usually relate to the release or revelation of a secret or energy, or of resolution of a dissonance.

Of course, the opposite word, "in", has just as many related expressions. We are hemmed in, boxed in, shut in, the walls close in, our guts are sucked in. These expressions usually relate to invisible things - thoughts, feelings, fears, emotions, judgements, motivations. The underlying idea here is that there is something "in" that is begging to come "out". Something hidden that is revealed. I think we try to hide things from ourselves, and from God. But whether consciously or unconsciously, fun or painful, all things come out, all things are revealed.

Jesus even talked about this in Mark 4:22, "For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open." So often this world reflects truths into our lives on a small scale that are true on a large scale. I believe that's how God constructed our world - to be a reflection of and point back to Himself. So if that's true, it's quite a realization-that there's no such thing as a secret, and we can only deceive ourselves for a short period of time before the truth comes "out".

What secrets are you keeping from others in your life (not just "bad" things, but what glorious things are you keeping in)? What secrets are you keeping from yourself? What things are you keeping in that are dying to get out? What would you be risking by letting them out?

Codependency

I used to travel a lot for business, so I was always in airports. One day, I saw what I assume was a mother and daughter, carrying a bag. They weren't each carrying a bag, mind you. They were carrying one bag between them. It was a large duffel bag, with two handles. The mother had one strap and the daughter had another, and they were attempting to walk side by side. This caused the weight of the bag to shift violently back and forth, making it very difficult for them to carry it. As a result, they looked quite comical trying to walk this way down the airport hallway. They had to stop every few steps to rest, and were obviously quite annoyed at one another.

I immediately thought that this was a great illustration of codependency. I think often we get caught up in trying to carry a burden for someone else that they have the ability to carry. Our implicit message in these moments is, "You can't handle this, you must need me to rescue you." We also say to God through our actions, "You are mistaken. My (husband, wife, sister, brother friend) doesn't have what it takes to shoulder this burden. So I need to take over for you here."

Or, we look for help in carrying a burden that is meant for us. Either way, we end up like this mother and daughter - exhausted, frustrated, and not very productive. In this example, either person in the drama could have stopped and volunteered to shoulder the burden, even if it was for a short time. Then the other could have stepped in when the first person was unable to continue.

I can hear you now. "But Art, what about in Galatians 6:2, where it says, 'Carry each other's burdens...'?" I'm glad you asked! To be clear, I'm not talking about when one person has a legitimate need for assistance and communicates that need clearly and openly. I think Paul is talking about buoying or lifting our brothers and sisters up for a short time, not a systemic situation wherein the ownership is abdicated to the helper. And he goes on to say in verse 5, "...for each one should carry his own load." Plus, I think the urge to rescue people when they don't need it is almost always about the person doing the rescuing - about their limitations and comfort. It's just dressed up as "helping" the other person.

Are there situations where you're holding one of those straps in your life? Who is holding the other one? Are there burdens that you need to set down, to allow the rightful owner to shoulder the load? Or are there things that your loved ones are helping you carry that you really are able to carry on your own?

A Metaphor For Personal Growth

Last October, I was in the Bahamas with some friends of mine for a conference called "Soularize", which is characterized as a "learning party". Richard Rohr, Brennan Manning, and NT Wright were also there. Those names may or may not mean anything to you, but suffice it to say it was cool. We had a blast, of course.

On one of our last days there, I was sitting on our hotel room's balcony, looking out at the ocean. On the horizon I could see the lights of a cruise ship. It was apparently anchored, since it didn't appear to be moving. I turned my attention to the palm trees being blown by the wind and the surf. When I looked up a few minutes later, the ship was in a different place on the horizon. Yet if I stared at it, I couldn't see any movement at all.

I think growth is like that. If we constantly examine and measure ourselves, we're going to see very little movement from moment to moment, day to day. We'll appear as that ship - like we're not moving. But if we just turn our attention to doing what we can each day, and take note of where we happen to be on a regular basis, we'll look back and be amazed at the level of growth and transformation that has occurred in our lives. Asian cultures refer to this concept as "chopping wood and carrying water" - doing what we need in each moment and not concerning ourselves with "things too wonderful" for us.

The way I take note is just to write down on a regular basis (not daily, but several times per week) what I'm going through, the questions I'm living in, and what I feel God is showing me about life, about me, and about Him. I've been journaling in this way for nearly eight years, and it's easily the most powerful personal growth tool I have.

Like that ship, we're always moving. We're either moving toward God and toward our true selves, or we're moving away from God and ourselves. Which way are you moving in the various aspects of your life? How do you know?

Open Arms Prayer

I realized recently that it's not possible to give someone anything if their hands are clenched tightly around what they already have. I could be holding a pile of crap, and God could be trying to give me something beyond my wildest dreams, but unless I let go and allow Him to remove that thing I'm holding onto, I won't receive it in my life.

So I wrote down this Open Arms prayer. I have gone back to it several times since I first wrote it, so I thought I would share it here. I hope it finds you well and serves you as it has me. Peace.

Open Arms Prayer

Dear Lord, I open my hands and my arms to you.
I allow you to remove things from my grasp that do not serve you.
I surrender control to you, and pray that you will fill my arms with exactly what's needed to bring me closer to you; be they trials or triumphs, joy or pain.
I accept all that is in my life today as a gift so that I may know you, know that I am in you and that you are in me, and become the person you are calling me to be today.
Amen. Alleluia!

Starting Anew

I had a false start there, in February. Had a couple of pretty interesting posts, I think. But now I'm going to blog in earnest - at least weekly, and I'd like to shoot for more often. I am looking forward to getting the writing practice and sharing my ideas with yall. Let me know if something I have written sparks something in you. I'm always looking to share ideas and have great conversations. Peace.

Toleration

We took one of our cars into the shop a few weeks ago. There were some minor, nagging maintenance issues that we had put off for too long. There had been a slow oil leak which leaked onto the manifold, sending a nasty burnt oil smell through the vents when the heater was on. There was also a hissing noise coming from the brakes, which also affected their performance. So we finally bit the bullet and took it in. Three days and over $800 later, it was fixed and returned to us.

My wife and I were both amazed by how different the driving experience was after it was fixed. The hissing was gone, as was the nasty oil smell (not to mention the accompanying guilt of putting off needed repairs!). It was also much safer, since the brakes worked as designed.

It struck me that we tend to do this same thing with our lives - we put up with one minor annoyance, then another, and another, and before you know it, the life we’re living is uncomfortable and inefficient, if not dangerous. It can be so deceptive, since changes seldom happen all at once. Are there things that you are tolerating in your life that you could easily correct? Are there things that only you can do for yourself that you have been putting off for too long? What advice would you give to someone who came to you and said they had been tolerating what you are currently tolerating? What’s one thing you can do to change this today? And tomorrow? How do you prevent them from recurring?

Johnny Cash: Still the Man (in Black)

When I was young, my dad had this giant entertainment cabinet with a turntable and radio. He had a bunch of old country and a few pop standard albums. He still has it, in fact. He and mom would put on a stack of records (Marty Robbins, Andy Williams, Jim Reeves, Up With People) and listen to them all evening. Good stuff. But the one album that captured my nine-year-old imagination more than any was Johnny Cash Live at Folsom Prison. What a record! I would listen to that record over and over, always picking up on a new nuance or sound that I didn't notice before.

I hadn't thought about it for a long time until Walk the Line came out (the fantastic movie starring Joaquin Phoenix as Cash and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter, a role for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress). That movie takes us inside Folsom prison for the recording of the album, and reignited my imagination around the album. I just got around to ordering it last week, and it's even more amazing than I remember. I've basically been listening to it nonstop ever since. It's so raw and real, and Johnny is funny, man. He really knows how to tap into the energy of the audience. Almost all the songs are directly or indirectly related to themes of imprisonment, freedom, crime, punishment--all eternal themes, and ones he knew would strum the heartstrings of the prisoners.One thing that really caught me this time around were the original liner notes (in his own handwriting, no less) from the 1968 release. Here is a link to them: http://maninblack.net/Albums/Record_Folsom.html#Liner%20Notes (click on "Liner Notes")Take a moment to check them out. They are amazing to me.

Johnny is such a classically flawed hero. As he mentions in the liner notes (which is really more of an essay on the American punishment system) , he was behind bars more than once. He also saw firsthand the devastation of addiction to pills and alcohol, an addiction that the Carter family basically saved him from. He turned to Christianity as part of that process, and as a reformed "bad boy", his rhetoric of redemption and grace carried so much more weight than someone who had never seen the bottom of a bottle or the bottom of their souls. Johnny had seen these, and much more. He wasn't innocent. No, he was a living testament to the healing and freeing power of God. And his heartfelt compassion for the prisoners really comes through on the album. He is one of them. He doesn't put himself above the prisoners. He understands that we are all imprisoned, we all deserve punishment, we all need saving and freeing. For the record, God Bless Johnny Cash.

The Tapestry

Life is made up of many elements. As a tapestry is many threads woven together - threads of different color, texture, and length - so life contains many different threads. To tell the truth, there are a lot of threads in my life that I’d rather not be there. I really don’t like pain. I’d rather have no pain or even struggle or difficulty in my life, thank you very much. Sure, I try to be thankful for everything that’s in my life. But it’s hard to be thankful for injuries, disease, pain, and suffering. It’s tempting to say that these things serve no purpose and should be battled, eradicated from life, or that we should always run away from them or ignore them. There are times to take up arms and go to battle, for sure. And there are times to remove yourself from painful situations. But what if all of the unsavory elements in your life do indeed have a purpose? I wonder what would happen if, instead of a knee-jerk, self-preservation response, we simply asked each of these threads to speak to us? What would they have to say? What are they trying to show us about ourselves, or about reality? Are you giving your unwanted threads a chance to speak to you?