Balance is a tricky thing. You don't sort it out once then let it take care of itself for the next twenty years. And while there are different checks that help to maintain or move back to balance, it's always going to be an ongoing process.
Depending on how you're wired, if you're left to your own devices and inclinations, you'll either default to a lazy bugger who wishes they didn't struggle with procrastination, or to an over-committed, over-worked maniac. There's a continuum there, but most people are likely to be some darker or lighter shade of grey in the black and white that bounds each end of the scale.
For me, balance has always had to be an intentional thing. Left unattended I head towards the darker end of the scale (yet seem well capable of procrastination at the same time). I think that's called multi-skilled—or an affliction...possibly both.
The trouble is, there's so many fun things to do in life. So many opportunities, 'people to see and places to go', kilometres to run, books to read and stuff to write, work to do, quality conversations to have, people you'd love to invest in, and opportunities to serve God with our heart, soul and mind...but there's only 168 hours in a week. And 24 of those 168 hours he calls us to rest! If only so many of these things weren't enjoyable, fulfilling and inherently good. And if only some of them weren't so incredibly intoxicating.
We all have different sized engines. Our capacities are different. Some are exhausted by a 40-hour week, some thrive on double that. Comparisons aren't helpful although an understanding of our uniqueness is important.
Peter Brock appeared in a television commercial once that contained the line 'I've always said, bite off more than you can chew, then chew like hell'. Great fodder for the Type A's of the world. Also great fodder for dysfunction.
So, a couple of thoughts for the time-poor and balance-impaired to get back to where you once belonged: 1. Submit your schedule to God—He's got a better idea of balance than all of us put together.
2. Passionately pursue what's in you and then get into that stuff. Learn to say no to the alluring and essentially good things that come your way but are beyond either your capacity or your understanding of calling.
3. Get your head around the things that make your life spacious and are typical of your life in balance. Whether it's praying, reading, time alone with God, walking the dog, running, journaling or catching up with friends for coffee; have an understanding of what they are. Knowing what they are might give you a better chance of recognising the early warning signs of the balance shifting.
4. If you no longer have the time to do the things that give you pleasure, or you don't derive pleasure from the things that once did, it's time to make some changes.
5. Surround yourself with some people who know you and your capacity well enough to know when the fulcrum is shifting and needs readjustment. Make yourself accountable to them.
6. Be bold enough to question your load and realign and recalibrate. Create regular times to review so you can track how you're doing.
7. Know your capacity. Continue to grow your awareness of your tipping points.
8. Factor margin. Don't expect things not to grow. Don't expect to have perfect health all the time. Don't expect everything to track along like some controlled lab experiment. Have enough space to accommodate the ebb and flow of life while knowing that from time to time unaccounted for stuff comes along that blows the whole ship out of the water. There are times when you have to chew like crazy—don't drop your bundle, chew!
9. Teachers have DOTT time, others have TOIL or RDOs, make sure you've got yours.
10. Have the ability to name your Sabbath and the ways you keep it holy.
11. Don't use a list like this as a reason for saying 'no' to any new thing, but understand that commitments work in concert with everything else, not in isolation.
12. Understand motive. Some of the reasons you'll commit to stuff maybe a bit warped.
13. Perspective is a beautiful thing when it comes to balance. A change of location or context allows us to think things over again.
14. Don't beat yourself up. Unless you're some kind of freak, or comatose, you're likely to get out of whack every now and then.
Paul said in Galatians 6:4, ' Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.' The easiest thing to do in all of this is compare yourself to others as justification or to puff yourself up or deflate yourself. Don't. It's about who you are and the work you've been given.
Got to go...there's some re-aligning to do.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Got a bit on?
Get back to where you once belonged
Thursday, October 25, 2007
The Occasional Ensemblee Series:
Caitlin D'Arrietta offers a Top 5 to whistle along to
Top 5: Best Music Video Clips
Music video clips have played a pivotal role in the life of Cailin D'Arrietta. Since the age of 5, video clips have provided the soundtrack for her life and times.
'A good video clip is like a movie compressed into three minutes', Caitlin says.
And, in a spirit consistent with her fervour and devotion, she invites you to nominate the music video clips that have moved you, changed your destiny...or that you've thought were just pretty good. Like 'Big' by Peter Gabriel for example. Just saying...
Friday, September 28, 2007
Do schools kill creativity?
A fellow cacophonist, Amanda Powell, sent this through the other day. It's worth investing 20 minutes...perhaps a number of times.
How far is too far?
No, I’m not talking about dating in high school. I’m talking about to what extent we let something grab us—how much time, energy and money do we give to a particular passion/hobby/fixation?
Since embarking on the journey to making great coffee, I’ve met some extremely passionate people. These people sit as far as possible on the other end of the spectrum from those who see coffee as nothing more than a hot energy drink. For them, coffee is a story rooted in history, it’s a science, it’s a life-long romance. In the pursuit of consistent perfection, there are options such as single origin milk (milk from the same paddock of cows), heated debates on whether ‘to tap or not to tap’ and the availability of $13,000 espresso machines employing the latest technology. Those in the game say their mission is never complete; they will always be searching for new ways to perfect the espresso.
This kind of devotion isn’t peculiar to caffeine-lovers; one can go as far as one wants along any given path in the pursuit of excellence. If it’s the Lord of the Rings you’re into, you don’t need to stop at reading the book and watching the movies. You can learn the language of Elvish, join a virtual Middle Earth community and subscribe to the Lord of the Rings Fan Club glossy, bi-monthly magazine.
If it’s mountain climbing that takes your fancy, you can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars buying the necessary equipment (and life insurance) and hundreds of hours training mentally and physically.
I find this single-mindedness and wholehearted dedication to pursuing excellence inspiring. These sort of people often make good business people because it’s always easier to sell something you’re sold on yourself. They’re also the sort of people who corner you at parties to tell you all about their passion.
I think the apostle Paul was a fan of extreme devotion. (He might also have been a bit annoying at parties). He tells Timothy in a letter: “Pursue a righteous life—a life of wonder, faith, love, steadiness, courtesy. Run hard and fast in the faith. Seize the eternal life, the life you were called to…”
I think we’re wired to get into things. It’s interesting that when something is taken to the extreme, there’s often no other way to describe it other than in religious terms. In espresso, the perfect shot is called a ‘godshot’. Those who stand on the top of Everest usually describe it as a spiritual experience. And we all know Lord of the Rings geeks are part of a cult.
So the answer to how far is too far? I think the sky’s the limit. The challenge is to apply our passions to the way we relate to God and our purpose for being here—to wholeheartedly pursue righteousness. Is there something you’re into in a big way? That’s great. Just try and demand the same level of devotion from yourself in regards to your faith.
Any suggestions as to how this can be done?
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Work. Rest. Play.
Part Three: Play
Sure, it's taken me a while to get to Part Three, but I've had reasons: 1) What do you say about play if your work has a facet of play? 2) what do you say about play if you rest has a facet of play? and 3) the lack of intentionality about embracing the play component that would have got this post written earlier! Procrastination probably deserves a dishonorable mention as well.
I guess a good place to start would be with the intersection of work, rest and play.
If I only define work as 'that activity that generates an income that sustains me and my family' then I leave out a lot of 'work'. For as enjoyable and rewarding as some rest and play is, there's generally some work involved as well. As enjoyable as a good run might be (it would feature in my rest and play), it can be hard work as well. So, there'll always be overlap.
I think it takes work simply to make the space to play. Intentionality at least. To meet up with friends requires organisation, planning or spontaneity and coincidence. With the exception of coincidence, you've got to do something!
Anyway, back to play.
I scribbled down a bunch of reasons why 'play' is a better than good thing while I was waiting for someone the other day. I'm running with the loose definition of 'play' as some physical, spiritual, social or intellectual activity that invigorates, recreates or stimulates the mind, body or soul - yep, that's pretty broad.
Here we go:
1. Play takes us beyond ourselves
All work and no play can make Jack a dull boy. Healthy play (ie. non-destructive play) has the potential to drag us out of the introverted caves of our mind into spacious places.
2. Play breathes life into us
Without play, it's easy to furrow a pretty deep rut or dig a pretty deep hole that makes it difficult to look beyond ourselves. A rest/work/rest/work cycle has the habit of grinding us down by degrees. When we're acutely aware of what's going on, we can arrest the decline and be intentional but it's possible to dig so far down that we create a new normal where our lives as boring farts become so much 'us' that we know no different.
3. Play gives reason for rest.
If all work and no play make Jack dull, the solution isn't to ditch all the work and play all day. Work, rest and play operate in concert. Rest all day for too long and you'll probably end up in some disengaged, numb funk. Work all day for too long and you'll end up slowly or rapidly dislocating yourself from the world around you. Play all day for too long and you'll a) go broke pretty quickly, b) find that your play begins to lack meaning and purpose, c) find yourself chasing ever-greater 'highs' to top the last great experience.
I think there's a God-ordained rhythm at work with the trinity of work/rest/play that makes a lot of sense. Whether it's an unhealthy over-developed protestant work ethic or not, I find that I enjoy my play more when I've done a decent chunk of work to make sense of the play. After a long, hard week, play is something to revel in as a way to recreate and hit refresh. If it's been a tawdry week of work, I'm less inclined to even feel like playing—I'm more likely to continue the trend and waste away the weekend as well.
4. Play activates the body's rhythm
If you're in a deep hole, play can be the catalyst for extraction. I read a book last week that talked about a runner who, following a big marathon, spent the next twelve years being unable to race or train at the same level. In the end he was recommended a (legal) drug that effectively 'restarted his engine'. The analogy in the book was that he'd been like a truck ascending a hill stuck in a low gear—it didn't matter how hard he pressed the accelerator, it wasn't going to make much difference to the speed the truck traveled up the hill. What would change the speed was getting the truck to change into a different gear. The drug 'unstuck' the athlete.
I think play is helpful in getting 'unstuck' sometimes. It can remind us what it means to be fully human all over again. It can reset the rhythm of our body to enjoy the work/rest/play cycle in a way that's sustainable.
6. Play is contagious
Most play involves other people. There's an element of community, camaraderie or journey about it. Your decision to play can be the kick-starter for another person as well. Parties happen because someone (or a bunch of people) gets highly contagious with their play—in a good way.
7. Play = Rest (sometimes)
Often the things that wake us up through play invigorate us as well. There's rest embedded within some forms of play.
Final thoughts
Something that I realised as I ruminated over the whole work/rest/play deal was that we fill our time with some things that don't fit into any of these three categories. Procrastination certainly doesn't. There's a whole lot of TV watching that would fall in the 'mind-numbing category' rather than having a play or rest element.
And where does ministry fit into this? Work? Rest? Play? All three?
And how about parenting, relationships, volunteering, discipling or a bunch of other intrinsically worthwhile endeavours?
While rest and work may be necessary for our survival (physically and financially), without play it can yield a life that simply exists rather than one that embraces a spacious appreciation of people, creation and the essence of ourselves.
I think I'm discovering that I need each of these three and yet knowing you need something doesn't necessarily lead to action. There needs to be an intentionality as well. There's nothing attractive nor enjoyable about being a slob...but few people arrive at being a slob intentionally—it's a product of a myriad of non-decisions. Not just physical slobbery either, but mental slobbery as well. There's plenty of people who find themselves in front of seedy late-night infomercials and struggling with lustful thoughts because they didn't make the decision to go to bed 3 hours ago. Just a thought...
Work is good. Rest is good. Play is good. None should be exclusively flogged to death or it will flog you to death.
Yep, I'm out.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Top 5: Most Frequented Websites
Most folks have a bunch of on-line favourites that are trawled through on a daily (hourly?) basis to make ensure that they don't miss a moment's action in their area of interest.
When it comes to e-destinations, what piques your curiosity and keeps you coming back for more? Are they seasonal or regardless of the phases of the moon?
Share your internet indulgences with the 'hood and some rationale if the mood takes you there.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Starbucks or Waffle House
Reprinted with no permission from Relevant Magazine. I think perhaps the metaphor is lost with the brandnames causing a skewed meaning but, anyway... Maybe Five Senses or International Roast would have done the job.
In my Sunday service adventures, I've come across two types of churches: in my mind, I classify them as Starbucks and Waffle House.
Starbucks churches are really chic. They've got all new sound equipment, a rockin'band, awesome praise and worship, and relevant teaching. No dress code is required, although most dress for success at this type of church. That may include the latest thrift store find and a new pair of Puma shoes, or it could be as dressy as suits and ties. It seems everyone has a fashion sense.
I love my Starbucks churches. Portrayed on the wall without fail are the words for the music on three huge screens and some nifty graphic background that pertains to the song. They always pass out a really cool, shiny bulletin, which is filled with upcoming mission trips, home groups and fun stuff to do. Some even have coffee bars. The church in itself appeals to all five senses.
Then you've got your Waffle House churches. These are naturally set in the country and often, it takes an hour to get there from any major freeway. Complete with a steeple (I almost forgot what those were!) and pews, you've always got your staple hymnal book to accompany the worship time. This worship time may consist of one piano player and a singer, or maybe just a singer and a tape deck.
The sermon is usually more to the point with the occasional country dialect and straightforward delivery. Someone may even talk about their weekend fishing trip to humor the congregation. There is always an altar call. The preacher will talk until he gets through. What's lunch? This is God's time. When God's ready to let you eat, He will let the preacher know.
I attended a Waffle House church today. You know what? It was humbling. Sometimes you just need the coffee and without all the foam.
I'm not stating that one church is better than the other. Personally, I like my Starbucks church. But, I think it's good to experience a different service every once and a while. I felt like I was in a different country. I was so blessed by the preacher's message. He was so on fire. I was blessed by the people who took turns getting on stage to sing their hearts out to God—and how communal it was; how simple and pure.
I know that God has no preference as long as we are concentrating on Him. We are all His children. I know that the delivery of Gospel has evolved for the upcoming generation, and I believe that's necessary.
It's still coffee. It's still fresh. It's just packaged differently.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Top 5: Guitar Solos
Let's get the fly wheel moving before the doom loop takes over. It's Top 5 Thursday!
It's time to grab your axe, push up the doof-doof and party like it's 1999—ideally without making one skerric of noise. Air guitar is the only way to savour the aural pleasure of a genuinely great guitar solo (that's assuming you have to be doing anything beyond listening).
So, what's yours? Bit of Jimi? Bit of Jimmy? Bit of Eddie? Bit of Slash? Bit of Edge? Bit of Eric? Bit of Lyndsay? Bit of Mark? Bit of Steve?
Your call.
Yep, the Top 5 is back and we're on the hunt for classic guitar solos (at least as far as you're concerned).
Step up and swing hard (Pete Townshend-style).
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
The Occasional Ensemblee Series:
We're all alone.
I sms'd a mate last night with a wee poem I'd just read:
I believe in myself slowly
It takes all the doubt I have
It takes my wonder
With his kind permission, here's his interaction with the poem in the small hours of Tuesday morning:
The loneliness in me is hard to hide, it’s my humanity. I’m lonely when I realise there’s more to life than my own small minded desires and needs; beyond the bounds of my existence there is a vastness my life can never fill or exceed, encompass or capture. We gain nothing real as we pretend to be complete in ourselves. To be a hero and disown our most human aches is a facile denial. Far harder to accept the frailty of time passing like water through grasping hands. Greatness is found by learning not to lie to ourselves. A bravery that doesn’t feel or recognise the anguish of loss can’t honestly be called courage. There’s nothing profound about certain or unshakeable faith; The conviction of our faith is found as we’re rocked to the core of our certainty, buffeted and tried by the vast unknown storms as we struggle to hear the voice of the wind. I am here awaiting. This is hope and it’s a lonely intimacy; I can’t share a map of my heart with you at midnight. This is hope and it’s borne out of my loss. This is hope, that there’s something other than myself.
Loneliness is our reminder of company and a promise that companionship has meaning. If I feel an overwhelming solitude, it’s only because I can remember a time I wasn’t alone. I can’t truly regret something I haven’t experienced. We live in deferral, waiting to be reunited. Held in our humanly discrete moments, we’re hoping to understand the continuum bridging the gaps between us. Loneliness itself is part of the continuum: a reminder, a memory and a longing for all the prodigal moments to return. Loneliness is the emptiness of a heart that’s given blood and waits for time and effort to pump it back around.
Loneliness isn’t the end. Why do we stay alone like we’ve been backed into a corner when our solitude reminds us, is beckoning us to remember all the discrete, abandoned moments we’ve left behind in our search for newer, more thrilling relationships? We’ve been contented with spun concoctions and fragile crystalline ephemera, insubstantial gossamer rewards that can’t sustain our weight instead of the ties that should bind us together. There is no reason for surviving in this moment unless we help each other survive it together.
Let me not be swayed by the convictions of this modern life, that the organic and holistic nature of feeling is insufficient and requires an upgrade. In the absence of anguish we become content with imitation plastic and pacemakers, where once we had a living heart of most human flesh. Let the bad always help me recognise my responsibility to return what is good in my life.
Funeral Faux Pas
I went to a funeral this week to say goodbye to a family friend. He left behind five daughters and as I stood next to one after the burial, I was a witness to a number of interruptions by various people—some of whom were close to her, some she’d never seen before. Now I’m the queen of foot-in-mouth action but over the course of the afternoon, I managed to calmly observe that the comments of many well-wishers were completely inappropriate.
Things NOT to say/do at a funeral based on this experience:
• Ask how they’re feeling. (Okay, I said this too—it depends on the tone)
• “You seem to be holding up well.”
• Question: Did your mum tell you girls how to behave today because you’ve been great?
Answer: No.
• “Your dad would have loved this funeral.” (What the…)
• Squeeze person’s hand and look wistfully into their eyes.
• Laugh excessively then turn around, catch person’s eye and suddenly look really sad.
• Comment on how good the sandwiches are.
• Discuss your observance that the grief sometimes only hits a person later.
Here’s some free advice for anyone attending a funeral:
• Don’t say much
• Avoid clichés
• Keep your pop psychology to yourself
• Don’t try and say anything to make someone feel better on the day of their dad’s funeral—they’re just not going to.
• Share your memories about the person who’s died for a future time and place.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Top 5: Australian Citizenship Questions
The federal government unveiled their likely guidelines for Australian citizenship yesterday.
Among the guidelines are 20 rudimentary questions (that will be asked randomly from a pool of 200 questions) that are likely to be asked were:
1. In what year did Federation take place?
2. Which day of the year is Australia Day?
3. Who was the first Prime Minister of Australia?
4. What is the first line of Australia's national anthem?
5. What is the floral emblem of Australia?
6. What is the population of Australia? (approx 21 million)
7. In what city is the Parliament House of the Commonwealth Parliament located?
8. Who is the Queen's representative in Australia?
9. How are Members of Parliament chosen?
10. Who do Members of Parliament represent?
11. After a federal election, who forms the new government?
12. What are the colours on the Australian flag?
13. Who is the head of the Australian Government?
14. What are the three levels of government in Australia?
15. In what year did the European settlement of Australia start?
16. Serving on a jury if required is a responsibility of Australian citizenship: true or false?
17. In Australia, everyone is free to practise the religion of their choice, or practise no religion: true of false?
18. To be elected to the Commonwealth Parliament you must be an Australian citizen: true or false?
19. As an Australian citizen, I have the right to register my baby born overseas as an Australian citizen: true or false?
20. Australian citizens aged 18 years or over are required to enrol on the electoral register: true or false?
I was thinking that we could probably add a few random questions of our own. Perhaps if we generate enough Top 5's amongst us, we'd have our own random 200.
Anyway, here's an initial 5 to get the ball rolling:
1. What was Don Bradman's Test batting average?
2. In Cold Chisel's 'Khe Sahn', how many quiet hours does it take to get to Hong Kong?
3. What is the average meat content of an Australian meat pie?
4. What name did Toyota give to their first crack at the 6 cylinder market?
5. When the first name of your town is Wagga, why do you have to say it twice?
Step up.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Raspy Bob gets his inflection and gathers no moss.
I saw Dylan live on Thursday night at the Burswood Dome.
Now, before I get going, there's a couple of things you need to face up to before you make your entry into a Dylan concert.
First, you're seeing one of the living legends and great poets of our time doing his thing. And, second: Bob's thing is Bob's thing.
There's a few more things you should know about a Dylan concert. Unless you make some serendipitous stumble of the highest order, you're probably going to be seeing him in a venue way larger than ideal. This was certainly true of the Burswood Dome (as it was when I saw him in 2002 at the Perth Entertainment Centre).
The next thing you need to understand is that you're not going to see a display of breathtaking pyrotechnics and laser lights. Nor will you see electrifying dance moves (although that seemingly rubber left leg can be kind of cute). Indeed, a slick stage is unlikely too—it's not often you see gear on stage at a big show these days, but you could spot Vox amplifiers from a mile off.
You're not coming to see some backing dancers in tight clothes gyrating behind the front man as he 'gets the audience jumpin', jumpin' either. And I realised some way in to the show that being able to do laid back from a position of absolute authenticity is way different to the disinterested charade paraded by some of the generations of artists that have followed in Bob's footsteps.
You shouldn't expect to develop a personal relationship with Bob either. Back in 2002, the extent of his conversing with the audience was a simple 'hello' (or complex? it was hard to tell by the intonation) after about the 10th song. During the day at work, we'd taken punts on the likely word count for Bob. One punter suggested an outrageous 23 words. I was optimistically rooting for 8.
And—final disclaimer—you're not coming to hear dulcet and supple vocal techniques paraded for your aural satisfaction.
But, let's face it, you signed up to see a Bob Dylan concert...you never expected to see or hear any of that stuff.
So, with that out the way, on to the concert.
As Brad, Sherri and I walked across the park from where I work in Burswood to join the others we were Dylan-ing with, I commented that this would be a lousy concert to lay down the ultimatum that 'he better do such-and-such-a-song'. Let's just say the back catalogue is extensive.
We had tidy seats. Silver seats apparently. Beige buckets seats in reality, but well-positioned. I'm pretty sure that someone had lit up incense near our seats. Part of the territory I guess. It was a gentle reminder of Bob's roots and longevity.
He was announced in a similar way to a heavy-weight boxer making his entry into the ring to defend his title. The pre-recorded announcer skimmed Bob's life with intro something like 'Welcome to the stage a poet laureate of the ages. A man who defined the folk era of the 60s, who lost the 70s through substance abuse, who found Jesus in the 80s and reinvented himself in the 90s...'. There he was: 66-year old Raspy Bob inflecting away with a sensational ensemble of players who could well and truly cut it.
And we were off.
Bob and his band carved there way through a swag of songs with only enough time in between to remind themselves what was coming next. You get the feeling with Bob that the words and music are loosely connected at best. Depending on your take, Bob is either a sublime phraser of vocal lines...or he has scant regard for phrasing altogether. I'm not sure which.
It's a little tricky reeling off the set list for Bob. He can play a song that you heard for the first time when you were 10 years old (and many times since) yet you can be half way through the tune before you recognise it. I'm not sure whether every night is different, but there's a fresh interpretation both musically and vocally to so many tunes that you can find yourself mesmerised by the artistic convolution.
What I can tell you is that he and his band effortlessly sauntered through Tangled up in Blue, Lay, Lady, Lay; Don't Think Twice, Highway 61, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna fall, It Ain't Me, Babe. And I can tell you that one of the two encore songs was Like a Rolling Stone.
For the most part though, I found myself sitting there knowing that I was watching an artist who'd had a profound impact on the landscape of music for over 40 years. And that Bob had not only wandered through the wilderness in that time, but seen glimpses of the promised land. Occasionally I asked myself the question; 'why does someone come along to a Bob Dylan concert?'. Sure, the songs have stood the test of time and and the rich texture of his work has not wavered in decades (meandered, sure...but still remained textural!). I think the answer lies in the fact that people recognise greatness above hyperbole.
For the record Bob said three words on Thursday night (if we exclude his introduction of the players of the band). During the encore I was joking with Alsie (Brad's uncle) about the word count betting ring we had going at work. He told me that there were reports that in an earlier concert in the tour he had fixed on 'Thank you friends'. That's what we got—a three word count. It was plenty.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Wrangers let their hair down
From the wires...
REDHEADS are becoming rarer and could be extinct in 100 years, according to genetic scientists.
The current National Geographic magazine reports that less than two per cent of the world's population has natural red hair, created by a mutation in northern Europe thousands of years ago.
Global intermingling, which broadens the availability of possible partners, has reduced the chances of redheads meeting and producing little redheads of their own.
It takes only one red-haired parent to produce ginger-headed babies, but two redheads obviously create a much stronger possibility.
If the gingers really want to save themselves they should move to Scotland.
An estimated 40 per cent of Scots carry the red gene and 13 per cent actually have red hair.
Some experts say that redheads could be gone as early as 2060, but others say the gene can be dormant for generations before returning.
National Geographic says the gene at first had the beneficial effect of increasing the body's ability to make vitamin D from sunlight.
However, today's carriers are more prone to skin cancer and have a higher sensitivity to heat and cold-related pain.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Work. Rest. Play.
Part Two: Rest
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
In Part One we were all about work. In Part Two we're talking about a Sabbath and a rest. Without wishing to warble the theology of the Old Testament, I'm wondering whether the two are very different things. Perhaps it's possible to enjoy them both on the same day, but it's worth figuring out the distinction as we go along.
Pretty much any biblical reference to the Sabbath that I mention here will be well known. And that's a pretty good place to start. We all know the premise that God was laying down within the story of His creation. So often though, the premise and praxis find trouble connecting. God hasn't had a break since so His rest was more likely a not-so-subtle nod and a wink in our direction rather the result of him being all tuckered out.
So, let's kick off with the Sabbath. It's always a good way to start or end a week (depending on how you've decided it makes the most sense or what church you've grown up in).The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.
Informed by a healthy Protestant work ethic (or unhealthy - depends on your worldview), I'd always figured that observing a Sabbath infered that you're working the other six days. That's not an unreasonable assumption, nor an unreasonable practice. Yet I read verses like Exodus 35:31 (It is a sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance), and my opinion starts to waver.Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Our Sabbath is for God. It's not for our indulgence. It may be a day for serving Him in different ways (worship, hospitality, administration, justice, mercy...the list is long) or it may be a time for resting from those things (if they're what's work for us) so that we can keep a day holy. And what does keeping a day holy mean? It means a day dedicated and consecrated to Him. A day of rest probably isn't frenetic or ridden with anxiety—a day centred on God is unlikely to yield those outcomes.
While we're at it, is it good enough to say that we can rest and Sabbath on the same day, or are we indulging ourselves on God's clock? Without getting legalistic yet staying biblically faithful, what does a great sabbath look like? Even as I tap away I'm reminded of the Essenes, a bunch of hard core blokes before Jesus time, who believed that if Israel could just muster one perfect Sabbath, it would trigger the coming of the Messiah. Must have been a bummer when someone stuffed up...
The perfect Sabbath doesn't come from our legalism, the perfect Sabbath rest comes when we submit our all to the Lord, accepting joyfully his promised guidance through a “narrow way” to the Kingdom. It's when we rest from our own works, from all effort to justify ourselves. We confess ourselves to be imperfect and unworthy of Divine grace, and unable to make ourselves worthy. And we gratefully accept Divine mercy extended toward us in our redemption through Jesus.
So, if our Sabbath is a time for denying ourselves and seeking God, when does the rest come? Sure, we find our rest in God but, in the context of work, rest and play, where does the rest fit in.
Fortunately, we're not left with a Torah alone to navigate through our weeks. Jesus came to fulfill the law. And what does he say about the Sabbath? Far a start He declares himself Lord of the Sabbath. Then he puts the Sabbath in perspective by saying: "The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren't made to serve the Sabbath. The Son of Man is no lackey to the Sabbath. He's in charge!" (I'm not completely sure he said 'lackey'—I think that's Eugene's work.) You can tell me what you make of Jesus' words, but what I get out of it is that the practice of a Sabbath was designed to bring us back to God; a trigger for re-consecrating ourselves. The Sabbath is the period in the paragraph. It resets the meter of things.
So often, we deviate by degrees. We don't so much go awol and take out the guy who won't give us breakfast, more often we just veer a little, then a little more, to the left or right of true north. I think the Sabbath is intended to recalibrate our souls so that again we respond to our God. Maybe we haven't drifted at all. Maybe we're ready to raise the rafters with our God-songs and God-deeds, but maybe we need to raise our heads and bow our heads to discover His greatness and glory covering our brokenness. I think this is what Jesus meant when he said 'the sabbath was made for man'. I think this is what the Sabbath's all about.
And where does rest fit in?
Some of the activities and practices that become part of a well-intentioned Sabbath can make us blimmin' tired. They tire me sometimes. So, where does the rest fit in? If our Sabbaths are intended to be days of self-denial, when do we recover? While we work? On the job? Or is there room for rest somewhere or somehow else?
And what is rest to you? Because my guess it's different for each of us. My first thought when I hear the word 'rest' is a good sleep, but in the context of recalibration and rejuvenation it's quite different. A restful weekend for me (the best place to get me some rest) would probably contain a decent run, some writing, breakfast at a café, a bit of reading, some cricket or AFL viewing while lying on the floor, and some cooking. If I put my head on the pillow on a Sunday having worked some or all of these around some Sabbath action, I'd be well-rested.
That needn't be you. I think my brother-in-law would stick pretty rigidly to 'a good sleep' as a definition for rest. And his not wrong. Some people would find a few hours of shopping restful. Yeah, that's not me. The big deal about resting well is figuring out what you classify as 'activities of rest' and practicing them.
I know some excellent 'resters' (see the above paragraph for an example). I don't mean that they're lazy. They work hard in their jobs, they offer themselves freely outside of their working lives, but they know how to rest and when to rest. Either they've figured out or wrestled with the biblical principle of the Sabbath and grown in the discipline of rest, or they're naturally predisposed.
Both a Sabbath and a scheduled time of rest require discipline. It often requires discipline to do things that ultimately or immediately restore us. I don't think that's contradictory, it's just life. Sometimes we're so lazy we don't even do the things that give us rest. Weird, but true.
Work requires rest. And rest assumes that we go back to work. And somewhere in there we've got to play a bit as well. So as not to get all dull and stuff.
Until we play, rest up!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
I feel the earth move....
Well, actually, up here in the Andes I didn't feel a thing, but plenty of people in Lima and southern Peru did, so much so that 337 are dead and nearly 1000 are injured.
I was on the phone to Simone when it happened. She was in Starbucks (yes we can forgive her) and she said to me "I'm now standing in the carpark, cars are rocking, we are having trouble standing up, buildings are swaying, everyone is panicking".
Thank the Lord, we are fine, our friends are fine, and there is no evident damage to any property where we live. However, the small town of Pisco in southern Peru, where we went for a holiday after Christmas, is all but levelled. The quake was a 7.9 at the epicentre, a 7.7 at the southern coast, and a 7.5 in Lima. I could put a bunch of links about it, but you all know how to use Google I'm sure.
Please pray for this country. Peru has a long way to go in its development. The areas hardest hit are simple villages based on agriculture and fishing. Villages in the Andes were hit too and the winters are bitterly cold, so much so that people have been dying because they don't have enough clothes for the winter. Many people will have lost everything they have, and insurance is non-existent, let alone affordable for people who cant afford clothes.
We are hooked up with a great church here, and I can bet that this Sunday the church will be sending donations and aid to help out. Let us know if you're interested and we'll find a way to get your money in the right spot. Sorry for the nature of this post, but some things in this world can't be intellectualised. Often times finding the symphony in the noise is as simple as being the proverbial hands and feet. After all, we are all a global community, right?
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Church goer tips God for excellent week
This from my favorite satirical online newspaper - the onion. But sometimes it's all too true.
CHARLESTON, SC—Churchgoer Brad Thaden, 48, reportedly tipped God a little something extra Sunday, claiming that the Almighty had done a better job than usual that week, especially with the weather and his children's behavior.
"Hey Big Guy, here's a five-spot for ya," Thaden silently prayed while placing the bill in the church collection plate. "If you keep it up, and make sure Mom doesn't have one of her spells at dinner on Wednesday, there's more where that came from."
According to God, five dollars is "basically nothing" after He tips out the the priest, the pope, the altar boys, and the Holy Spirit.
The Occasional Ensemblee Series:
Mikey B gets his jury on.
I got home yesterday and checked the mail. Wow, how exciting! What a dynamic fun-filled life I live. You're right, I don't. I have a toddler and a 6 month old, getting the mail is my equivalent of a single person going to da club and picking up.
Anyway, the pity party is over. In the mail was a summons for jury duty. Yep, the opportunity for me to do my civic and national duty has arrived. So why do I have the urge to join about 95% of Australians and want to apply for an excusement of attendance? Surely I should want to do my bit for the country and the principles upon which it stands? Surely there are things that are more important than my desires? Maybe Dennis Denuto was right in The Castle? Maybe it is about the constitution? Maybe I just want the swine found guilty by default? Maybe I can't be stuffed waiting around a court house with a bunch of ferals in case some lawyer in a funny wig wants me to sit there with 11 other poor souls and listen to evidence that demands a verdict (thanks Josh McDowell). HELP ME!
It's even worse for me as I wasn't born here. I actually wanted citizenship and national identity of this mighty fine nation called Australia. I actually signed up for this. Most of you lot were Aussies at birth so you didn't know any better. I knew this was a possibility. It was part of the questions they asked me.
I have been summoned before but had a genuine reason to get out of it but this time I kind of could get out of it but probably it's not a genuine hardship to do jury duty. Surely it's truly Australian to want to opt out, to weasel out of this? Wouldn't any true blue Aussie do the same?
Am I being stupid? Are you with me? What would you do? Hey, what would Jesus do (hehehehe)? Help, advice required, interaction needed!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Rove McManus resigns as
Chief Strategist for Bush
I just thought Kim Beazley should know.
It seems Bush is finding it hard to hold on to the funny guys these days.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Work. Rest. Play.
Part One: Work
A couple of stories I read and heard a couple of weeks back got me thinking about the logical rhythm of life we were created to live as opposed to the contrived, distorted and perhaps more artificial version to which we've adapted in our third millennium convalescence.
The first story I heard was about the prevalence of diabetes due to poor diet. Effectively, obesity-induced bad health.
The second was the effective treatment of severe depression amongst middle-aged men.
And the third was the treatment of the most appropriate treatment for women enduring the effects of menopause in their middle-age.
Each of these stories were utterly independent of each other yet, perhaps predictably to some, the treatment for the relief, reduction, or apprehension of these conditions was the same: exercise. In fact, in the case of the depressed cohort, exercise outperformed the most effective drug by quite a margin.
It got me thinking about the nature of our lifestyle in 2007 versus God's original intention for us. Before I wind back the clock and get all agrarian on you, I just want to talk about pattern and rhythm. Largely because what we've done, through great, convenient, time-saving, life-giving advancements, is create an environment that allows us to ignore the work, rest, play rhythms of life.
Where do I start?
Let's start with this: work is good. A hard day's work is good. And a hard day's labour is great. God followed a 6 day on, 1 day off pattern and it worked pretty well for him. The creation story tells of no plant having sprung up in the field because man wasn't yet available to work the soil. The concept of work is pre-fall. That's to say: it's consistent with a humanity fully restored to its creator. Genesis 2 reads: The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
This is one of the 538 references to work in the NIV. Admittedly not all of them are in the context of work that I'm talking here, but you can bet that a whole bunch of them are.
When a gaggle of slackers in the church at Thessalonica (I can't come up with a better collective noun for slackers than gaggle on the fly) decide that Jesus is coming soon so they best give up their day jobs and wait for the rapture, Paul rains on their tedious parade and says: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." Paul was a bit of a worker too.
Solomon was also partial to a little work. He has the Proverbs 31 woman pretty much running the universe on her own and throws out a stern rebuke or warning to the idle in Proverbs 6 with this little gem: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
I don't really need advocates for the idea of work though, I just need a little more justification for the benefits. This is where it will get a little tough to keep the 3 parts of the Mars Bar separate. And that's appropriate, because from get-go God has been all about integration. The idea that work, rest and play should be connected and overlap is a little obvious. For the sake of a three-part strategy though, let's try and contain this post to work.
While I'm no medical practitioner (not even a closet one) I reckon the reason behind exercise being a solutions to a multitude of maladies has a whole lot to do with endorphins. Endorphins are a by-product of hard labour. And they make you feel good. They have an analgaesic effect Prolonged physical exercise will do it for you although a bunch of scientists have hypothesised that the high comes comes as much from completing a challenge as it does from exertion. Either way, it works for me. Through their analgesic effect on the body, the release of endorphins results in a state of euphoria for the satisfied receiver.
So here's what I'm thinking: in the rhythm of life that we were created to enjoy, our work was part of the healthy mind/healthy body balance. While my work is largely sedentary and needs to be supplemented with exercise to attain this balance, the rhythm of life back in the day would have yielded a bunch of endorphins each day. Dad went off to work and worked hard. Dad was fit. Dad ate plenty because he was hungry from a hard day's work. But he was also blimmin' satisfied in his labour. The endorphins released by his effort and accomplishments made sure of it.
Obviously it's not all about work. For a start that wouldn't make for a trinity of posts. And it would eventualy make Jack a dull boy—though perhaps not as quickly as all play and no work would.
I've got to stop as my body clock is calling for the second installment of the series right now.
Before I go though, what's your experience of work? Does it energise you? Reward you? If you're in an active job, do you come home tired and satisfied...or just plain tired. And how is it linked to your spirituality and your relationships. Is it connected or is it separate? How do you address the sedentary nature of your job with a body that craves endorphins for its own sanity?
Monday, August 6, 2007
Send it down
Last Friday, there was 2136,000,000 litres less in our dams compared to 2006. Today, there's 172,000,000 more in our dams than this time last year. (The black line below tells the tale)
Rain's a great thing. Nah, really, it is. Just saying...
Sunday, August 5, 2007
The Writers' Bloc
It's hard to find an easy answer to what releases a writer to write and what makes one retreat. In talking to a few Ensemblees lately though, it seems as if we may have clammed up en masse—a collective writers bloc/k.
I love the scene in Adaptation where Charlie Kaufman (played by Nicolas Cage) attempts to sit down and write. What transpires is a marvelous internal dialogue between conflicting voices that come up with a bunch of reasons why he needs to write...and yet things aren't quite right.To begin... To begin... How to start? I'm hungry. I should get coffee. Coffee would help me think. Maybe I should write something first, then reward myself with coffee. Coffee and a muffin. So I need to establish the themes. Maybe a banana nut. That's a good muffin.
For a few minutes, Kaufman considers all the possible reasons for his blockage: the position of his desk, his general writing location, his level of tiredness, and his hunger. They're more explanations than causes though.
My guess is that for most, the number one enemy of unbridled writing is time. Pretty obvious I guess. Writing is generally the product of thought. And talking, reading and listening. Rumination, meditation and contemplation. Lots of 'shuns' all over the place that gestate and give birth to written expression.
These things take time.
So, while the Ensemble loosens the bowels of their minds with the fibre of contemplation and motivation, why not start talking? What gets you unstuck? Assuming you figure that writing stuff down is a better-than-average means of processing the gear in our internal and external worlds, what gets you un-stuck when you become a tad constipated?
I figure we could all use a little help...
Top 5: All-time favourite albums
Wish, the magazine that gets tucked inside my copy of The Australian on the first Friday of each month, included a "High Five" (as they called it) of all-time favourite albums from some musicians and industry-folk. Some of them also nominated a guilty pleasure—a CD to which they were sheepishly attracted.
It didn't take much of a leap to figure that this should step up as Cacophony's next Top 5. Before we get there though, some Top 5's from some folk you may know:
Tex Perkins
1. Sticky Fingers: The Rolling Stones
2. Loaded: The Velvet Underground
3. Tonight's the Night: Neil Young
4. Raw Power: Iggy & the Stooges
5. Clear Spot: Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band
Guilty Pleasure
Jesus Christ Superstar (Soundtrack)
Marcia Hines
1. Sargeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: The Beatles
2. Tutu: Miles Davis
3. Face Value: Phil Collins
4. Talking Book: Stevie Wonder
5. Luther Vandross: any album
Arnold Frollows
1. Kind of Blue: Miles Davis
2. What's going on: Marvin Gaye
3. Astral Weeks: Van Morrison
4. Hejira: Joni Mitchell
5. The Harder they Come: (Soundtrack)
Guilty Pleasure
Hotel California: The Eagles
Sarah Blasko
1. Debut: Bjork
2. To Bring you my love: PJ Harvey
3. Amnesiac: Radiohead
4. Dirty: Sonic Youth
5. Talking Heads: 77 Talking Heads
Guilty Pleasure
Neither Fish nor Flesh Terence Trent d'Arby
Simon Elliott
1. U2: The Joshua Tree
2. Making Movies: Dire Straits
3. Gossip: Paul Kelly
3a: Rumours: Fleetwood Mac (just following on the with the loose lips)
4. Enlightenment: Van Morrison
5. The Bends: Radiohead
Guilty Pleasure (not really, just one more)
Brood: My Friend the Chocolate
So: Peter Gabriel
Simon's twin
1. David Grey: White Ladder
2. Oh, Mercy: Bob Dylan
3. Mercury Falling: Sting
4. Woodface: Crowded House
5. Glo: Delirious?
Guilty Pleasure
Difficult Loves: Weddings, Parties, Anything
So—step right up and swing hard. No wrong answers (other than those listed above).
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Yep, she's here
Now I know this site is not intended to be a personal column for the events of life, but I'm bowing to public encouragement to introduce you to a friend of mine.
Here's Molly Grace Shakespeare Elliott. Molly entered the world at 11.52am on August 26, 2007. She weighed in at 3210grams and stretched out to 50.5cm when it mattered. She's got a less than comfortable head (35.5cm) in the clinches but it's covered with plenty of hair. She hasn't said much so far.
We're more than happy to have her stay at our place for a while...
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
He ain't heavy ... he's my brother
My brother is an artist, a renovator and somewhat of a property mogul. He's also been trying his hand at other pursuits recently.
Check this out.
I couldn't be more proud.
Top 5: Leaders of the Bible, Leaders of the World
I've been preparing to lecture a unit on leadership over the last couple of days. The first couple of weeks is spent reviewing some of the great leaders of the Bible and some fine leaders throughout history. So I thought I'd throw it out there. Butter up with two separate Top 5's: one for biblical leaders and another for giants of leadership through history.
As far as criteria goes, the only criteria is that you consider them a leader. Feel free to add words of clarification or even what you admire about their leadership but, like any leader, don't feel that it's a particular stereotype of leadership that qualifies them for a list like this.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Greatness.
From Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, 1601:
"...Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em"
(Malvolio)
Given that the overwhelming majority of the population considers themselves 'above average', which one of Malvolio's three options are you?
Better still, what have you got to say about greatness?
Friday, July 13, 2007
The Cacophony Interviews: July 2007
Peter Birt, Pastor et.al.
On a Wednesday in the middle of May, Peter Birt – pastor, runner, football fan – and my uncle – was diagnosed with bowel cancer. The following Friday, he went in for surgery and came out fitted with a colostomy bag. I spoke to him in early June – the day after he left hospital – about the journey so far. Here are some highlights of that conversation...
PB: Yeah, so...you go to hospital, and suddenly you’re an invalid. And you’ve got nurses saying ‘you will need to be shaved’ and it’s embarrassing, you know, and you’re just this helpless...invalid. And I was really grateful for some Scripture that I’d memorized...out of 1 Corinthians that says,
I care very little how you judge me – or any human court. Indeed I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
And I found that concept incredible helpful when you’re going through all the indignities...You say, I care very little, it matters very little, it is the Lord who judges me, my worth and value and sense of identity come from him. So I found myself going over that Scripture while they’re snipping away, doing all that stuff. Which helped, I guess, to cope with embarrassment and indignity.
Prior to it all...there was another verse that I memorized the previous week or two weeks before, 2 Peter 1:3 that says,
His divine power has given us everything we need for life – and I gather the word means an abundance of life – and for godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us according to his own goodness and glory.
And it just struck me, those two things, life and godliness. His power is available for whatever life throws up but then it’s available for godliness which I took as being a God-centered, Christ honouring response to what was happening. So when I became more conscious [following the surgery], I just went over and over those Scriptures and other stuff...because I knew I just had to keep my mind...focused I suppose or renewed by truth...I just found that incredibly helpful and I’m so grateful that I had a whole lot of Scripture...
C: The spiritual disciplines have been a big part of your life for a while now…It sounds like they were really helpful?
PB:Absolutely helpful. One of the things I found most reassuring out of all this is that that stuff matters...There’s so many days over the course of a long walk with Jesus that you don’t particularly feel like reading Scripture, or you don’t particularly feel like praying or, for many years I made fasting part of my practices and you don’t feel like it, your stomach gnaws away. But what I found was just this overwhelming sense that it was worth it, it really counted for something. When the tough time hits, I’m not starting from scratch...You do the training off the spot so that on the spot, you instinctively do it.
I think some people kind of expect that you will fall to pieces, and I was always aware that that could happen; I’ve got great capacity to do that. It may yet happen, I don’t know. But when I look at the Scriptures and see things like Psalm 16,
I have set the Lord always before me, because He is at my right hand I will not be shaken.
You know there’s some reality there that seemed to become...
[Peter’s eldest granddaughter arrived. Peter really loves his grandkids…]
Yeah, so I want to shout to young people in particular, the disciplines matter, hanging out with Jesus matters, consciously doing it, being intentional. You might not feel like anything is happening but it is, and you cannot overestimate miles walked or kilometers walked with Him, intentionally, seeking to live in His presence, setting Him consciously before you. It matters. And you reap the benefits of it. It’s like there’s a reservoir that has something in it, as opposed to just trying to face it on empty, which I can’t imagine how hard that must be.
C:I know your family have been really important through this. What about other people? Has there been any interaction or impact?
PB: Yeah, huge. I’m so grateful, I got so many cards and emails and messages and people sending us, a couple of people sent us cheques... One totally anonymous one just blew us out of the water, we’ve got no idea where it came from, there’s been all of that, tremendous support, people who are praying. Then, I think at one stage there were about six people a day who would come through, and that’s even with our own home church being banned from coming because we didn’t want an influx. And just the conversations around the bed have been amazing, talking in depth about stuff.
...I was really encouraged, I eventually discovered two of [the nurses] were Christians and they would just drop in for social visits after a while and we had some fantastic conversations...
[In this situation] I’m just a normal person and my role as a pastor means absolutely nothing, I’m just this old fella lying in this bed... I began to think about what does it mean for the Kingdom of God to come in this body as it now will be? Or what does it mean for the Kingdom of God to come to this bed? And then I expanded that to what does it mean for the Kingdom of God to come to this room? And I thought about how if the Kingdom of God came to a location then there would be beauty, and so I was really thrilled that people had sent flowers and I was thinking, ‘Yeah, that’s what it would be like if the Kingdom of God had come’. And then Jill had had a birthday on the Monday and so she’d brought some balloons in that someone had given her for her birthday, and I thought, ‘I’m so glad that these balloons are in my room, in a somewhat sterile surrounding, they add a bit of life’. And I thought, you know, if the Kingdom of God came, there would be life in the midst of what’s happening.
And then I thought, there would be meaningful conversations if the Kingdom of God came, and so I made it a point of praying, ‘Lord, I don’t know what today holds, but if there’s anything, any way that my life can be an open book for other people, then I’m available, I’ll talk with them.’ So I’d quietly pray for the nurses.
And then with these two nurses… I’d talk with them and say, ‘this is how I’m wrestling with what it means to live in the Kingdom in my circumstances, how do you guys do it?’ And we had great conversations...
But then a whole bunch of other people came in, and generally speaking, the level of conversation was below the surface. There were a couple of instances where it was surface stuff, but generally it went down underneath, and we talked about what it means to walk with Jesus in these kind of circumstances. And in that sense, it was absolutely rich and life-giving and soul-replenishing.
C: I know you’ve talked about it as an ‘apprehensive adventure with Jesus’. What does that mean for you?
PB:Initially, it meant: I was apprehensive – I don’t like pain, I don’t like people fossicking around with my body, thank you very much – I’m somewhat private, by nature. I certainly didn’t know initially what the future would hold. So for example, I love running, I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to run again. So there’s all sorts of apprehension – what else might I not be able to do that I can now do. How will I cope with the pain, how would I cope with the emotion, would I get depressed? Apprehension – don’t know.
On the other hand, adventure because: Years ago I memorized or adapted a little phrase that says,
Discipleship is walking with Jesus in the real world, having him teach me moment by moment what it means to live life his way.
And that’s an adventure. So I thought; this is just a new adventure in knowing Him in circumstances I had never been in before. And I wonder what I’m going to learn about Him, I wonder what it’s going to be like to walk with Him through this phase of my life? Maybe he will rub some of the rough edges off that drive me nuts. Maybe I’ll get refined and I’ll end up looking a little bit more like him, maybe His love will become more real or present or be amazingly sustaining, I don’t know. It’s an adventure of getting to know Him in my real world that’s changing. That’s what was behind that concept.
I think out of that, came something that I hadn’t thought much about: That the formation of Christ in a person’s character; I had tended to think that that’s good for me, that Jesus will make me more like Him and so I will be more comfortable being me. What I came to see through my time in hospital was that the formation of Christ in me is for the sake of others. Yes, there’s a benefit for me, and ultimately it’s for Him, but there was a fresh sense that it’s for others, that what happens in others as a result of what he does in me is more important. And part of that meant being willing to open my life up, rather than shut it down, to be in the light, because people can’t see what Jesus is doing in you unless you’re in the light. So I deliberately chose that when people said, ‘What do we say to other people?’ I said, ‘Tell them that this is what is happening.’ I had no sense of keeping it a secret – this had to be in the light, or else I can’t see how Jesus can use it.
Which then led to some reflection on healing. I firmly believe that Jesus has the power to heal, and I was praying before I went in to the operation, with Jules and Brad and Jill, ‘Lord, if you want to, you could still heal and I would love you to do that.’ But the more I reflected on it later - I have a neighbour next door who has had two lots of cancer treatment, and another neighbour across the road who is currently going through a form of cancer treatment, and I thought, imagine if I come waltzing back saying, ‘Wow, they opened me up and miracle of miracles, I was healed! Woo! Isn’t God good?’ I’m not sure that that message would have as much capacity to glorify God as me coming back and saying, ‘Guys, this is new to me, what have you guys learnt? How are you coping?’ And then maybe, along the way, having the opportunity to say, ‘The support of people has been fantastic, blah blah blah, BUT, I also found that my relationship with God has deepened and that He’s sustained me.’ I just wonder whether that’s actually a little more powerful than just saying, ‘Wow, I’m healed, what happened to you?’ Which would be horrible...
In all of this, one of the things I’ve [been] wrestling with is the issue of whether I’m in denial. I’ve surprised myself...that I seem to have been fairly positive, and yet I know I’ve been depressed [in the past]. I know what the dark and melancholy side of life is. So I’ve been thinking, it might sound like I’m in denial, but it doesn’t feel like that. But, it’s always a possibility. Or maybe the issue is that you don’t know...
C:I pretty regularly get asked to pray for people who are in situations like this. There were a lot of people praying for you - did that make a difference for you?
PB:Oh, yeah. I felt, I think, I’ve been sustained because people have been praying. So in Phillippians it talks about, being in prison or whatever he’s been doing and he says, with the help of the Spirit and your prayers, and I go, ‘Yeah, I’ve experienced both of those’.
One of the interesting things I’ve noticed is, I have family members who aren’t followers of Jesus and it really struck me powerfully when I rang them to tell them. They’ve got nowhere to go with it, so they’re shattered, going, ‘Oh, I can’t imagine what that must be like.’ Yet when I tell a Christian, even though they may be not necessarily a burning hot Christian, they’ve got somewhere to go, and they’d say, ‘Oh, right,’ and they’ll be shattered, but they’ll say, ‘Well I’ll be praying for you.’
And so yeah, I felt incredibly supported and sustained by the prayers of God’s people. And really grateful to know that people were praying. If you were to ask me, what did I want them to pray? I would say, I want somehow Jesus, the reality of Jesus in me to somehow shine through whatever happens. Again it’s that wonderful thing, I think it’s John 12 where Jesus is wrestling with what the future holds for him and says,
So what shall I say, Father save me from this hour? No for this reason I have come. Father glorify your name.
For me that...it’s not about being saved from it, that would be great, but bigger than that, it’s that Jesus life and presence and reality somehow shines through and impacts people. But yeah, greatly supported and consciously thought of that, I think people’s prayers have really counted.
C: Has God been teaching you anything about himself?
PB: Over the last few years I’ve been reading through the Psalms with one of the kids from youth group...I think every Psalm has at least one verse underlined – every psalm except one – and one day I read through the ones that I’d underlined, and again I was amazed at how God is a living, interacting, present God. That he’s this refuge and that he acts on behalf of those that trust him, that just came through. I kind of want to say to people who are going into hospital, you know, if it’s been your practice to set him before you, then you can expect that you won’t be shaken half as much as you might be, because he is a rock, and he’s present, and he’s powerful and sustaining, and you can expect that. Yeah it might be tough but you can expect that the unshakeable God will pour some of his unshakeableness into you...
One of the things that struck me really early in the piece was the mechanisms of walking with Jesus on the Wednesday of the week before I knew any of this were no different from the mechanisms of walking with Jesus on the day that I discovered I had cancer, or the day of the operation. That internally, it’s the same processes, that you wake up in the morning and talk to Jesus and say, here I am today. I surrender to you, I trust you with what happens today, whatever it might be, and then you walk with Him. And if life kicks you in the guts you tell him about it, you say, ‘Oh, this really hurts, I never expected this but thank you that you’re there and I give this over to you’. And if there’s some joy in your life you capture it and say, ‘Lord, talking to these people was such a joy-filled experience, thank you for allowing me to do that’. So the internal processes are exactly the same and if you’ve got them in place, then you know how to deal with what happens. Sure it’s a bit more significant perhaps, but the processes are the same.
C:How high is the horizon from here, how far out are you looking? Are you looking forward in time?
PB:Well, in two weeks time I’m talking to the surgeon who will put me onto an oncologist who will begin a process of chemo and radiation, and I have absolutely no idea how I will respond to that, I’ve heard stories of how some people say, ‘I don’t know what all the fuss was about,’ and breeze through. I’ve heard stories where people are absolutely wiped out and they can’t work and then all shades in between... My church where I work has been absolutely fantastic, they said to me, you’re a staff member, we want you as a staff member, if we see very little of you over the next six months that’s ok, if we don’t see you over the next six months that’s ok, if we see a lot of you over the next six months that’s ok, we’re there with you. That’s an amazing gift. So, in terms of looking life expectancy, I don’t know. I just want to live well in whatever the next little bit holds. And I want to learn, I want the adventure to continue. I suspect that this is going to be lot tougher than what I’ve been through. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have constant nausea, and I am a physically active kind of person, to not feel like being active. I don’t know what any of that’s going to mean. So I suspect that that might be a far bigger battle.
C:But the processes are the same?
PB:The processes are the same, yeah. They might be harder to do. But [for example], my practice is to journal, and yet in hospital, I went over a week without journaling and yet I survived richly. I didn’t open my bible, and yet, just to be able to pray through the Lord’s Prayer as an extended paraphrase was a wonderful thing because I’ve done it many times before and I could invent new tracks. Or a stupid little thing that I found incredibly value was just going through the alphabet and thinking of attributes of God. I’d think of some A’s, think of some B’s, and then sometimes link As and Bs together, Cs and Ds together, Es and F’s together, and sometimes do nouns, sometimes do verbs. And in utter weakness I could lie there and in my head do that. And it builds your soul up with God. And it was a way of setting Him before me in my utter weakness. And it was sustaining. So yeah, the processes are the same.
C:It’s a very affirming story of God’s power...
PB:Yeah, He’s real. I wrote about 10 points in my journal and one of them is - Jesus is real. For me personally, it’s been really reassuring that this stuff matters, and it comes home to roost. And it’s not just the processes that come home to roost, it’s the reality of the One that the processes are about. His sustaining, nourishing, replenishing, rock-like life, comes real. I remember lying in bed, I couldn’t get to sleep because the nurses had been in and out and just going, Oh, Lord, I love you so much because you love me, just overwhelmed by the sense of his loving presence. It was so real, palpable. Will that be there all the time? No – and it hasn’t been. If anything, I think earlier on it was heightened, and it’s a little bit more mundane now, but man, I’m convinced that you just keep on clocking up the miles...
Peter is currently undergoing his second round of chemotherapy and radiation. He preached last Sunday - you can find the podcast here.
A month later I'm still processing the things I learnt that afternoon...
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Welcome to the Future!!!
The first part in an “end-times” triptych.
Many Christians love to have very deep, complex discussions regarding their eschatology (view of end times) – usually with multiple references to obscure numbers or verses in Scripture. The end times doesn’t need to be filled with placards, tracts, or bigoted views that polarise the Church. Don’t worry; I’m not about to go there.
The end of the world tends to freak people out, and it’s quite understandable.
The first thing that comes to my mind is R.E.M.’s song “End Of The World As We Know It” and seeing as I really don’t like R.E.M., this immediately gets me retreating.
The most common topic I hear people discussing when it comes to the end of the world (from a Christian perspective) is “When it is going to occur?”. This is usually combined with arguments based on current political events and allegorical interpretations of scripture that prove their opinion. At the heart of this type of view is a hunger to see Jesus return and see what the Whore of Babylon really looks like. I don’t know if you feel the same way, but this is what turns most people off joining the eschatological conversation.
Despite the (sometimes) weird trappings, it is important to include eschatology in our theological discussions and not be afraid to mention more than “Well all I know is that Jesus is coming back”. A good eschatology will not just get a person looking for evidence of the future, but will draw their view of the future into their present experience. Have you ever thought about the end times as a framework for which to live in the now?
In the Bible, this word ‘end’ comes from the Greek word Telos that doesn’t only mean “the final part of something” but also carries a sense of the fulfilment of a purpose, goal or duty.
So, while we are talking about the end of history, we are also talking about the end goals, purpose and duty of the Kingdom of God. This immediately makes us change the focus of our question from “When is it going to happen?” to something like “What is the end goal of the Church, how does that affect life in the present?”
For instance, if an individual’s eschatology were to be based solely on the belief that the End has only to do with the physical end of the world, how would this affect the way they live? I think we would find that their environmental choices would certainly be affected, as would their perception of a Christian’s role in society and politics. Their view of the world would be coloured by their anticipation of seeing the fantastic events of Daniel and Revelation come to pass. Sometimes, people have very good reasons to suspect that the end of the world is nigh...
... but the trick is to balance this with a broader perspective.
Another person may hold similar beliefs about the end of time but, to them, eschatology isn’t just a study into when and how the earth will end. Their entire lives can shaped by what they see to be the end goals of the Kingdom – renewal, justice, rest, hope, grace, love etcetera.
Eschatology need not only be an exercise in reading the “signs of the times” but can be, if perspectives are broadened, a way of viewing life that is filled with hope. This mini series will look at a couple of aspects of viewing life with the end of the world and the end goals of the Church catholic in mind.
Stay tuned, the world may end before we’re done with this.