Coming Alive

In about 2 weeks I will finally get my chance to sit down and do some serious writing.  Seminary work will be, for the most part, over.  Kristan will be back to work and I will be work from home dad again, but once I get acclimated to the routine I have no doubt that productivity is possible. 

Yesterday I wrote 23 pages in 6 hours.  It was on Vygotsky’s sociocultural learning theory, but it was writing nonetheless.  I look forward to being able to pour that much into a subject that I am really passionate about.

Going to Outback tonight with my bride.  Love it.  I don’t twitter so you get it here.

“The entire law us summed up in this, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” – Gal. 5:14

I think there is a vast difference between loving your neighbor and not being unloving to your neighbor.  One takes action.  Motivation.  Intent.  The other simply avoids situations that might cause them to be unloving.  If the command was fulfilled by not being a jerk the most godly thing you could do is withdraw from community and maintain surface level relationships. 

I’m pretty sure that you can simultaneously be the biggest jerk in the room and the most loving. 

As long as you are intentional about TRYING to demonstrate active love towards people those moments of impatience, frustration, and anger are covered in the “comes with the territory” of living in community.

I love hate camping.  However, I love the idea of camping: peace and quiet, beautiful landscape, and…bacon (camping bacon is like Tacos al Pastor, you might find them locally, but it’s not the same).  Regrettably, after numerous attempts, I have come to the conclusion that the idea of camping is a farce, a lie.  At best it is reality to be enjoyed only if you possess the ability to overlook the rest of the reality.

The cold – bugs – bears – lack of restrooms – unclean (yep, like a leper) – and waking up sore from sleeping on the ground.

That’s the rest of the reality, and I do not possess the magical gift of ignoring it.

Because no one in their right mind enjoys those things.  They tolerate them b/c the value they place on the rest of it.  There are two realities – one, a wonderful, enjoyable reality; the other a terrible, insufferable reality.

Just like people.

2 realities: wonderful and terrible – longed for and tolerated – pursued and ignored.  The most lonely of people simply concede the wonderful in hopes of avoiding the terrible (like me and camping).  The belief is, “If I never hop on a snowboard I will never topple end over end down the mountain while everyone laughs at me”

The reality is, anyone around to see you is carrying their own snowboard…knowing that it’s just a matter of time until their moment of pain.  No matter how good you get at relationships you eventually tumble.

I have not welched on my promise to blog.  Seminary has weighed me down this month.  This semester I registered for 3 classes – 2 of which meet 4 times the whole semester for an entire day each.  All of those meetings are this month. 

So, this month I am knocking out: 6 textbooks, 20+ resources of reading, 25 page paper, 10 page paper, 2 finals and 3 sermons. 

All that and I am ITCHING to get to work on extra-curricular writing (I am in the beginning processes of essay writing – in hopes of a future book).   Not to mention the 3 books on my desk I can’t wait to read!  They just have nothing to do with class right now so I can’t justify it.

So…soon you will be getting something.  Just not quite yet.

I like the idea of getting my masters.  You look better sitting down at a desk if there are one or two pieces of paper hanging on the wall behind you.  People are more likely to believe your advice.  Bad advice from a “Master” is preferred over good advice from, um…an “almost Master”.  That degree is an assurance…a guarantee that this person knows his stuff.

“I can take a crap in a box and mark it guaranteed, I have free time.  But for your sake, for your daughters sake; you might want to think of buying a quality product from me”
- Tommy Boy

Education is good, sure.  I’m pro-education.  I’m just not anti-IhavenodegreebutstillbelieveIcanfaithfullyserveGodandHischurch.

There are a lot of men and women like that.  In the landscape of current ministry trends these people, thankfully, actually can have an ADVANTAGE in ministry!

I digress.  This post is supposed to be about me.

I have 40 pages of papers to write in the next month on topics ranging from criticism of other guys sermons to learning theories.  Also, I just recently got inspired to get back to work writing essays in hopes to get something published.  So, tomorrow I have a decision to make:

Get the grade or get creative?

I have a pretty good idea which way I am going to go.

The last couple of days I have been looking over my old blogs on myspace.  They seem foriegn, unlike me.

The voice in my head as I read those blogs doesn’t match 
                     The voice in my head as I wrote them.

In the last couple of years my blog has taken a dynamic turn from the soulful, contemplative musings on spirituality to something formulaic, enterprising…

and unlike me.

I want my old voice back.  As I read those old blogs from some of the most devestating times in my life I find inspiration that is depressingly absent from the current trend of writing.  I’m becoming convinced the old me wouldn’t even like the new me so much.  At least not the me portrayed here. 

Maybe that’s the frustrating part.  I sit down with a buddy over coffee and its a different experience altogether. 

Coming soon:  The return of my voice