One Voice...

I have a read a lot of dialogue recently about the need to be a "world" citizen. I like that. It's one of the benefits of having so much technology. We know what is going on around the world within seconds of stuff happening (tsunami's, wars, and many good things as well). We are citizens of a country I know, but really everyone is our neighbor, right? The one next door and the one across an ocean.

The world citizen concept is intriguing to me because it causes us (I certainly hope it does anyway) to live outside ourselves, considering others, and having compassion. The tragedy in Japan is the most recent event that helps us understand this situation.

The thing that intrigues me the most about being a world citizen is that I should be moved to action when another has a need, no matter if it is on the other side of the world. We can help. It's almost like we have one voice with many languages spoken.

A song that is heavy on my playlists is One Voice by The Wailin' Jennys. Enjoy this video and think about being a world citizen.

The Universal Language

Someone posted this on FB the other day. If I remembered who I would give them credit. I don't; so if you were the one leave a comment and I will include you! Bobby McFerrin, best known for Don't Worry Be Happy, does an amazing job of explaining the universal language; actually demonstarting would be a better desacription of what he does in this video... enjoy.

http://www.ted.com/talks/bobby_mcferrin_hacks_your_brain_with_music.html

Forgive and... let go... eventually.

Yesterday morning I had the privilege of listening to a lecture on anger. Or at least what I thought was going to be on anger. After an acknowledgement of the "tip of the iceberg" principle that describes anger, the speaker moved to forgiveness. What a great move! But I was shocked. We don't usually go there. For the victim or the perpetrator. The one who hurts or the one who is hurt.


He went on to explain that we need to. We need to get rid of the notion that we can forgive and forget. We can hope to do the work of forgiving and eventually letting go. Forgive and forget is a pipe dream. Only God does that. Only God CAN do that. He used a great metaphor to illustrate what he was talking about with the letting go. He said that if you are harboring that anger, resentment or bitterness for very long you can seem like you are getting on with life but at best you have a stake driven through your shoe into the ground and you cannot go very far. You can turn around in circles but there is no moving on. You are stuck. And the worst part is that the anger, bitterness and resentment just continues to grow...


I love that metaphor. Not resolving the roots of anger can do that. Unforgiveness can do that. The speaker went on to talk about dealing with hurts that won't go away. They are quite possibly the roots of anger.It could also be expectations that are unrealistic or unfulfilled. Or, needs that are unmet... hmmmmm. Do any of these ring a bell? Do you need to addrress your anger? Do you need to offer forgiveness even when someone else isn't asking for it or is deserving of it? Do it anyway. Or at least start the process of trying to  to do it. It may take a while and you may need help along the way.


It was good to hear this yesterday. Anger can be something that festers and boils under the surface feeding the bitterness monster inside you or it can be a constant battle with explosions that destroys everything around you. Unforgiveness is one of the roots here. Contact me if you need to work on this.

New business! New website! New blog!

Hey everyone, things have changed for me recently and I am starting this blog again. I have begun a counseling business in Colorado Springs and I am looking forward to this new venture. I'm also starting a new website. I will be updating this blog with everyday stuff like before plus a new one on the new site (more related to counseling topics) from time to time.

Spread the news! You can also follow me on Twitter and FaceBook.

Time to get writing again.

... and remembering how fun it is to be nine years old...

(Wow, has it been that long since I... sigh... oh well...)

Nine years old. No responsibilities. Period. Well, that is if you don't count getting out of bed, feeding her fish and watching whatever she has recorded on our DVR this week. Hmmm... do I watch the SpongeBob movie again, for the 100th time? Or that episode of Hannah Montana that I missed this week because I was swimming at the pool with my friends. Like I said, no responsibilities. Whatsoever. There's my youngest daughter's week last week... (the adjacent picture is just so representative of the young one...)

I remember being nine. It was 1972. I awoke to each morning with new ideas of how my friends and I could play with our G.I. Joes. Or what trail we were going to race our bikes (yes, complete with banana seats!) in the open spaces near our outlying subdivision (basically the center of town now). What fun. I didn't watch much TV; I was outside until dark everyday during that summer. The two "most-fun" times though were going on vacation to the North and fishing with my dad (always a great memory), and being with my 20 year old brother who lived at home while at college. Seeing his ever-changing facial hair; hanging out with him playing pinball at the arcade. No video games yet, just old-school pinball. He was the pinball master. Still has one in his basement at age 54!

OK, to the point: This next week marks a week that my nine year old has looked forward to since last year when we did the same thing. Older brother and sister and Mom are going to Mexico on a mission trip with our youth group. That leaves nine year old with dad for nine days. Don't get me wrong, this is fun for me too! This year, she has a list. A list of things to do. I won't share them with you. You can only imagine...

I had to make one suggestion when she was coming up with the list: there had to be some free (or relatively inexpensive) things on this to balance out the others. She asked for examples, I gave her a few and then she came up with some on her own. I'll let you all in on some of our excursions after next week. Should be fun, though. It's supposed to hot enough for us to go swimming in our neighborhood pool and not freeze like last year. That may be the only thing we do if it gets too hot! It's just fun being with a nine year old. Especially one that likes being with her old dad. At least that's what I think she's thinking and what I am going to go on believing!

Eat This Book 3

The post today is going to be a little on the short side but maybe some of this stuff about reading Scripture in a new way takes a little while to sink in...

Just picking up on a little bit of a theme from yesterday, I want to suggest a few things.

1. Read with purpose.

2. Do some background study on setting, criticisms, commentaries already out there...

3. Take notes.

4. Ask questions.

5. Ask more questions.

*6. Let the passage work on you for a few days then read it again.

* 7. Pray. Before reading. After reading. Pray.

See if some of these suggestions jumpstart your Bible reading...

Tomorrow, I will suggest some helpful resources to have or consult regarding what you are reading.

Eat This Book 2

Today I want to focus on resources for daily Bible reading that are out there: As you can see below, here are just a few. Do a Google search on your own and find one you like. The important thing to remember is that there are a ton of great references online. There are also some that are not very helpful. Use discernment!

http://www.bibleplan.org/

http://www.oneyearbibleblog.com/

http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/

http://www.heartlight.org/devotionals/reading_plans/

http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.html

http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.html

http://bible.crosswalk.com/?OVRAW=Bible%20Reading%20plans&OVKEY=bible%20reading%20plan&OVMTC=standard

Another approach that Richard Foster talks about in his book, Celebration of Discipline is to “take a smaller book like Ephesians or 1 John and read it through each day for a month. More than any single effort this will put the structure of the book into your mind. Read it through without trying to fit it into established categories. Expect to hear things in new ways. Keep a journal of your findings.”

I like what Eugene Peterson said about reading Scripture, “We open this book and find that page after page it takes us off guard, surprises us, and draws us into its reality, pulls us into participation with God on HIS terms.”

Have a great day reading the Bible!