The book of crisis: Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes, the book of Qohelet, is the book of crisis.

Not the book of a crisis.  A crisis is an event, a happening.  A crisis strikes us from a blind side, laying us low in the dust.  It happens, it is over, and it leaves us reeling in our attempt to recover. Job had a crisis; or indeed, a series of crises.  Were we to use medical terminology, we might call Job’s case one of acute crisis which pushes him into confrontation with God.

That is not the experience of Qohelet.  This book is about a chronic state of crisis.  It is about the long slow hum of crisis that is background noise for all our activity.  This is the crisis that strikes young adults as they realize that they are indeed responsible for the trajectory of their lives.   It reappears in middle age disillusionment and yearning to re-cast the vision for life anew.  Again it rears its head near retirement, as the prospect of laying down one’s vocation sends chills.  The crisis unmasks itself in all its horror as the end of life draws to the close.  It is the ultimate crisis of death and the question mark on the other side.

Yes, Christians claim assurance. We list all the proofs and the reasons and the rational evidence.  We speak of the inner work of God in our hearts.  And yet there is still the question:  What if there is but a gaping void? An eternal silence with no knowing of silence?  What if the unthinkable were really true?

Qohelet teaches us how to wrestle with those questions from within the perspective of faith.   It is not a book for the Christian who likes easy answers and quick assurances.  Don’t come seeking an easy smack down of proof on the table. 

You can forget about “muscular Christianity” with Qohelet.   He lays vision-casting leader-boy pastors in the dust.  “All is vanity” – all the campaigns and big ideas and slick production values and conferences and sermon downloads – it’s all vanity.

It’s the same for “social gospel” Christianity.   Crusades for justice – vanity.  Activism and letter writing campaigns – vanity.  Marches and protests and progress and policy papers – vanity, vanity, vanity.

Need I say anything about “mushy middle” Christianity?

If we aren’t in crisis, then Qohelet will push us there.

And there, in the midst of our vanity and inability and confusion and perplexity, there where we need healing and power in our lives, we cry out “I believe, help my unbelief!” 

And Qohelet has some words for us.

I’ll be preaching through Ecclesiastes, the book of Qohelet this summer.  I would be interested in your questions and observations, your fears and frustrations, your stories and your speculations about this most potent book.  Comments are open, I look forward to hearing from you.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Russell

The Practice of the Christian Life

Originally published in the April 2013 edition of the Covenant Courier

Many of us have been enjoying the thrill of the NCAA basketball tournament, the Big Dance, as it is popularly called.  In the midst of the excitement over upset victories and the glories of astonishing feats of athletic prowess, one simple truth arises: the teams that advance are those teams that have consistently practiced the basic, boring fundamentals of the game.  Flashy airborne dunks and risky three pointers excite the crowds, but they don’t win games.  Games are won by boring free throws, well executed passing, simple layups on the breakaway. 

Flashiness without basic discipline produces disaster.

Why do we say that doctors “practice” medicine and lawyers “practice” law?  Because they are constantly honing their skills.  The best keep returning to the basic skills.   The great musicians put in hours of practice each day, just to keep their skills sharp.  The best writers compose reams of work that will never be seen by another person, because it was a practice exercise. 

Why should the spiritual life be any different? 

What’s more, why should we as Christians approach the spiritual life as amateurs?  We’re a kingdom of priests, we’re a holy nation.   We’re not saved by Christ to be spiritual dabblers, tinkerers in our garages.

The Christian life is not a pickup basketball game – it is training for the tournament.  The Christian life is a practice to which we are called. 

And so let us recommit to those basic spiritual disciplines once again:

• The Worship of God, both in corporate worship and in private prayer,
• Bearing Witness to Christ by continually telling the story of His work in us,
• Diligent Study of God’s word so we may grow in grace,
• Sharing with other Christians in deep fellowship,
• Serving other people as a way of demonstrating the goodness of Christ,
• And exercising wise Stewardship of our time, our talents, our relationships, and our resources.

Brothers and sisters, let’s take inspiration from the great athletes of our day – let us keep practicing our faith on a daily basis.  Let us rely on the Grace of Christ to strengthen us for these practices, to lead us in these practices, and to help us persevere in these practices. 

Soli Deo Gloria

Russell

Why I Write (Introduction to My E-Book)

Last week, I released Reviews, Rants, and Reflections, an e-book collection of Blog posts from 2005.  I think of it as a “greatest hits” from the blog that year.  I put together this introduction as an apologia for the e-book:

A collection of blog posts from 2005. 

How could this be anything but an exercise in narcissism?  The self-centeredness of social media users is an accepted social trope, is it not?  The act of writing, in of itself, is an act of the ego.  To write is to presuppose that I have something worthwhile to say. 

Yet I believe and proclaim that Christ must increase, and I must decrease.  How does the writer achieve reconciliation of, on the one hand, the drive to arrange words and share those particular word arrangements, and on the other, the drive to disappear into the great Artist’s work and be hidden in Christ?  When one samples the simmering gumbo of allusions, interests, concerns, tastes, proclivities, traditions, hunches, and inspirations that make up a written work, how does one tease out what is of the providence of God and what is of the ego of man?

Yes, I am vain.  Yes, I care far too much about the opinions of others.  Some of my ideas are plain odd, while others are banal.  I long to have my work read and commented upon with approving tones.  I immodestly hope that someday, people might read my works with the same relish that Christians of my generation derived from CS Lewis and Tolkien.  And yet, I know that my prose, my thought, and my writing powers fail to ascend to those lofty heights. 

Then why write at all?

I write because God has wired me in such a way that I am deeply moved by words.  I enjoy the artistically rendered turn of phrase; I delight in an author who frolics with the lexicon; I linger with and ponder upon those paragraphs that hint there is more than my feeble mind at first perceives.

I write because we live in a golden age of letters.  Forget the wailing of the naysayers; pay no heed to the cries that we are being dumbed down by digital media.  Consider this: never has it been easier to write in so many different forms; never has it been easier to reach receptive readers.  Blogging has empowered a fleet of amateur essayists to explore subjects both esoteric and bizarre.  Twitter has invited millions to share aphorisms and articles, quips and quotes, rants and revelations; and it has pressed authors to re-learn the value of economy in language.  The print-on-demand and e-book revolutions have bypassed the gatekeepers that kept long form writers from finding their audiences.  Post literate age?  Bah!   A life of letters is a life on the mission field, mark my words.

I write because I feel a fire within. I feel the needle of my inner compass click. I feel that irresistible urge that I must write.  There is a rightness, a sense of vocation about it.  Some trusted loved ones have suggested that these inklings point to a real vocation.

And so I write.

In reviewing those blog posts from 2005, I shuddered.  I found a propensity for parenthetical statements (surpassed only by a fixation for using the dash for every mental pause – even when a comma or period would have done better).  I’ve tried to edit the worst of my literary offenses.  At the same time, I hope I’ve preserved something of the authentic voice of an early 30’s pastor seeking to make sense of the online world pre-Facebook and pre-Twitter. 

Finally, I’ve tried to select only those posts that might prove edifying.  On some rare occasions, I’ve been able to see God’s hand of grace through movies, books, and art.  Theologians talk about “Common Grace.” This is the doctrine that all truth and goodness and beauty are rooted in the character of God.  When we have eyes to see and ears to hear, we perceive hints of His goodness, kindness, and majesty in all of His works.  A significant part of my ministry has been in calling the church to attend to these hints of grace so that we might worship more deeply and witness more wisely.   In so far as these posts point to a deeper grasp of the character of Christ, I hope they’ll be an encouragement.

Soli Deo Gloria 

Russell

Purchase Reviews, Rants, and Reflections on Amazon

Dealing with Anxiety and Worry

“Cast all your anxiety upon [God], because He cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7)

Words that are worth learning, easy to repeat, but difficult to apply.  I’ll confess, I have my own seasons of anxiety, doubt, and fear.  I have seasons in which my mind circles about in rumination.  I’ll wager that you’ve had those times too.

Perhaps the anxiety comes in the form of worries about the future – what terrible things might happen if one event or the other comes to pass.  Maybe it comes from fears about dealing with that one difficult person – it plays out in dialogues rehearsed and re-rehearsed in your head. 

The anxiety might come stealthily disguised in the mantle of control – driving you to address each contingency and master every detail.  Or it may come in a cloud of despair, convincing you that disaster looms on the horizon. 

There is a constellation of other costumes that anxiety wears: cavalier dismissal, passive avoidance, helpless victimhood, blame-shifting defensiveness, etc. etc. etc.  Many times our anxiety percolates underneath the surface, obvious to everyone around us, but hidden to our own self-awareness. 

The key diagnostic is this: upon whom are our negative thoughts fixed.  If the answer is “me” or “him” or “her” or “them,” then it is a safe bet that we’re living with unaddressed anxiety.   When this is the case, I find that the scripture’s admonition to cast our anxiety on God is a helpful medicine.

Casting our anxiety upon God is a matter of dwelling on the richness of the scriptures, of taking our negative thoughts and viewing them through the lens of what scripture teaches about God and His character.  I find that dwelling on the Psalms is a helpful exercise.  For instance, meditate on Psalm 27, a song of David’s confidence and victory.  “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.  For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling, he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle, he will set me high upon a rock.”  Ask questions of the scripture: what is the beauty of the Lord?  What is it for me to be hidden in God’s shelter?  To be placed high upon a rock?  What would it be like for me to exchange my anxious ruminating for earnest seeking of God?

One thing I have discovered through hard and painful experience: the more my negative thoughts drag me down to thinking about myself or my problem people, the smaller my world becomes and the more constrained my thinking.  However the more my negative thoughts drive me to think about God’s deliverance, Christ’s grace, and the Holy Spirit’s power, the more creative my thoughts and the more expansive my vision of the world. 

Let us each search ourselves, identify the anxieties, and cast them upon the Lord.  Be reassured, He loves you, and it is His delight to bear them for you.

Soli Deo Gloria

Russell

Note: This article originally published in the Covenant-First Courier newsletter earlier this month.

35k by Easter for the Glory of Christ!

Join us in a big, God-honoring project that will bless the poor in the name of Jesus Christ.  I call it the 35k by Easter Project.

The simple goal is this: to have 35,000 Christians to do three simple things:

1)   Register as a lender on Kiva.

2)   Join the “Kiva Christians” lending team.

3)   Make a loan.

Register as a lender on Kiva

Since 2005, Kiva is the world’s premier microlending website, and has been featured in dozens of articles in major news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, NPR, and BusinessWeek.

Rather than giving money away in developing countries, Kiva encourages small loans to entrepreneurs in developing economies.  These loans play to the strengths of a community.  When they are repaid, the lender gets their money back and is free to lend again to another entrepreneur somewhere else in the world. 

By registering as a lender on Kiva, you will join over 800,000 people around the world who have collectively loaned over $400 million dollars in 67 different countries.  You will participate in foreign aid on a person to person scale.

Want to find out more about how it works?  Visit here.

Join the “Kiva Christians” lending team.

Kiva encourages its members to band together in teams so they can work together toward common goals.  One of the largest teams on Kiva is the “Kiva Christians” team, currently a little more than 10,000 members. 

When we join together in the name of Christ, we make a public witness.  We make His name famous.  My hope is that we can swell the ranks of the “Kiva Christians” group to 35,000.  This would make Kiva Christians the largest group on Kiva (or at least put us in strong contention to be the largest group on Kiva).

Want some reasons for Christians to lend through Kiva?  Visit my earlier post here.

Make a Loan

You actually help an entrepreneur in a developing country by making a loan.  Browse through the available loans and pick someone that speaks to your heart.  You can lend as little as $25.   Your money will be bundled with other Kiva members who want to help that particular individual.  Voila!  You have just been a blessing to someone in the name of Jesus.  When the loan is repaid, you have the opportunity to lend again – I’ll admit that is one of the most fun parts.

During my first year in Kiva, I contributed $400 to my Kiva account.  I’ve not added anything since then.  However over the past 6 years that money has been repaid and re-loaned 10 times over.  So, I have loaned out over $4,400 in 112 different loans, all from that initial $400.

Will you join the effort to help us raise up 35,000 Kiva Christians by Easter?  It’s three simple steps:

1)   Register as a lender on Kiva.

2)   Join the “Kiva Christians” Lending Team.

3)   Make a loan.

After that, please help us spread the word.

Thanks in advance for helping glorify Christ through lending as a part of the Kiva Christians Team.

Soli Deo Gloria

Russell

Is it “Yes” or “No”?

“As a rule, nos do not move you forward.”

Thus says Robert Smith in his new book 20,000 Days and Counting. 

“It’s not always easy to say yes.  Yes means taking chances, putting yourself out there, embracing the unknown.  But when you open yourself up to yes, amazing opportunities, exciting possibilities, and good results come your way.  Marvellous memories are created.  You expand your territory and that of others” (ch 9)

Shortly after I read that passage, I experienced one of those moments of divine whimsy, when the hand of Providence served up this Tony Blair quote in my Twitter stream:  “The art of leadership is saying no, not yes.  It is very easy to say yes.” 

So which is it: No or Yes?

Both.

The vast majority of us need to learn to say yes more often, starting with the little things.  When we come home tired at the end of the day, and our child wants a story, we default to “No – not right now.”  When we get that event invitation on Facebook, we mutter  “Eh … I’ll think about it later.”  When we’re feeling low energy and lethargic, we default to passively surfing the web or watching TV, not really saying yes to much of anything.

However for a person whose life is brimming over with activity, the need to say no is necessary.  “The good is the enemy of the great” said Jim Collins.  He suggests that highly productive people have a “stop doing” list.   John Maeda teaches us that simplicity lies in cutting out all that is unnecessary.

And herein lies the connection.  You cannot trim away what you haven’t first added.  If we would grow, develop, and change, we must explore, experiment, and try.   To say “no” to some things, we must first say “yes” to many. 

A yes is not always a lifelong commitment.  And when a yes is a lifelong commitment, it should be built on hundreds of lesser yesses.  Before saying “yes” to a job offer, it had better be built on dozens of “yesses” to invitations to explore the company, to grow in that field, and to learn about that particular opportunity.   Before saying “yes” to a marriage proposal, it had better be built on hundreds of “yesses” to invitations for shared activities, conversations about shared beliefs and values, and opportunities to learn from each other.

The value of Smith’s exhortation is in saying yes to all those small opportunities that come our way every day.

• Can we have lunch, I need to talk?   YES
• Let’s play a game, daddy!  YES
• Would you help me with this event?  YES
• I have a book you might like.  YES
• Would you come to this club meeting?  YES

When we build a collection of small yesses, that helps us clarify who we are and what we’re about – so that we are more discerning in saying “no” to the things that we know are just not us. 

What if someone asks for something, and you are genuinely unsure about the commitment?  See if you can pare it down to a lesser commitment.

• You need to get on this committee!  -  Can you tell me about a single project where I can help?
• You ought to join this club! -  How about we try a single event for right now?
•  I’ve got this great idea! – Can you show me a prototype?

Saying “yes” to the small things helps us grow in the ability to negotiate requests to get to “yes”.   Saying “yes” when there’s not a lot at stake grows within us the wisdom to say “no” when there is a lot at stake. 

And I come to the end of this article and read back over it – I ask myself “Where is the Holy Spirit in this?  Where is the grace?  Where is the gospel?”  These observations about “yes” and “no” are common grace applications that anyone can use.  The Christian, however, should be growing in a ministry mindset – continually growing in discerning God’s vocation for his or her life.  The opportunities for yes and no are God’s providential opportunities to discern that calling.

Paul talks about this in 2 Corinthians, as he tries to explain to the Corinthian church why he didn’t pay a visit, even though he had earlier expressed his intent to:  “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us – by me, Silvanus, and Timothy – was not yes and now, but in Him was yes.  For all the promises of God in Him are yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God, through us.”  (2 Cor 1:19-20).  

When it comes to ministry opportunities (as defined by the Bible, not the institutions), the default is yes.   When you have the chance to give a cup of cold water, when you have the chance to encourage the fainthearted, to visit the lonely, to strengthen the weak, to instruct the foolish, to inspire the faltering, to comfort the afflicted, to point to Jesus in all that you do – when you have these opportunities, the default ought to be YES.  As Jesus says, when someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.  Give to everyone who asks (Luke 6:29)  Proverbs 3:27-28 exhorts us similarly “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.  Do not say to your neighbor ‘Come back later, I’ll give it tomorrow’ when you have it with you now.” 

Oh how convicting – I’ll wrap this up now.  Because I have a few things to go say “yes” to.  What about you?  What are you saying “yes” to today?

Soli Deo Gloria

Russell

The Collector Mentality: Curating Your Treasures

I am a collector.  Always have been.  Sea Shells, rocks, stamps, coins, baseball cards comic books – I’ve collected them all.

Collecting is more than a hobby, however; it is a mindset.

Tom Stanley taught me this truth in his little book Millionaire Mind  (published 2000).  Stanley talks about how true wealth generators have a defined sense of vocation which determines the lens through which they see everything.  Then, they develop a “collector’s mentality,” identifying and capturing everything that even tangentially relates to their vocation.  

“Too many people today lack focus; they are not collectors of anything — not data, not customers, not specific marketable skills.  On the other hand, collectors can read one newspaper and find several ideas or pieces of information about their chosen vocation.  In twenty years they can generate a collection of treasure.  Non-collectors often don’t understand what they should be doing given their aptitudes and abilities.  They can read thousands of newspapers and not add one item to their collection.”  (213, emphasis mine)

That little tidbit has stuck with me for the past decade.  So now, in addition to collecting tidbits, stories, ideas, and bon mots, I’m also collecting ideas about how to collect.  Here are my top three collection/curation tools.

A-Z File Cabinet

I used to try all kinds of complex file schemes: color coding based off file types; multiple file cabinets based on the subject matter of the files.   They were all hopelessly complex.

David Allen’s Getting Things Done clued me in to the value of a single integrated A-Z file system for everything in life.  “Family stories” comes right before a folder on “Fasting and prayer” in my file cabinet.  My personal and work files intermingle because I’m a whole person.  

Additionally, I use both paper and digital files – so my laptop has an A-Z file cabinet where I file every email, document, or image that might be of use.  It’s surprisingly easy to locate and retrieve information with this A-Z filing system.

As a caveat, I might add that I do a high level review/purge of the file cabinets at least once a year.  I don’t touch every document, but I do open each file and get a brief refresher on what’s in there.  Usually, I can purge about 5%-10% of the files as not needed anymore.

Evernote

Everyone is all agog over cloud computing.  It’s really a simple concept – cloud computing is mainframe 2.0.  It’s simply storing your data in remote servers somewhere in Kansas or Tajikistan.  Evernote is one of the leading providers of this storage service.  They have a surprisingly robust set of tools that allow you to quickly clip and file documents, photos, web pages, emails, audio, video, etc. 

Not surprisingly, I’ve set up an A-Z file on Evernote.  However, I don’t use Evernote for working files.  Rather, I use it for storage of interesting articles or things I’d like to read.  It’s pretty much only a reference storage facility for me. 

I like Evernote because it saves tons of time and paper in clipping these articles.  It also has a search feature will look through your entire collection – on the odd chance you’ve forgotten something.

Journals

Yes, I still use the old fashioned pen and ink journal.  These are invaluable to me – and I have dozens of filled spiral notebooks going back all the way to college.  They have reading notes, musings, sketches, thoughts, ideas, etc.

In recent years, I’ve tried to take cues from design professionals.  I’ve started clipping graphics, images, photos, and other inspiring visuals and taping them in my notebook.  I’ve also taken to illustrating with doodles more often.  All as a way of capturing the totality of a thought that I might bring to bear in a sermon, integrate with a bulletin cover, or write about in a newsletter article. 

I’ve taken to calling these journals my pensieve, after Dumbledore’s fabulous memory-saving device in the Harry Potter books.

My buried treasure

In these storage vaults, I have accumulated decades worth of stories, reading notes, illustrations, images, interesting turns of phrase, insights, and oddities.  Tom Stanley was right – I have a treasure trove of material that I mine for the intellectual/creative part of my pastoral role. 

So what’s your collection?  How are you adding to it?  How are you building your treasure?  I’d love to hear your stories.

Soli Deo Gloria

Russell

 

 

Reconsidering Gentleness

 

Ours is an era of bravado, coarseness, and bluster.  Gentleness, when exhibited by any over a very young age, generally elicits contempt, or at best, pity.

It’s time to reconsider gentleness.

After all, isn’t gentleness a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:23)?  Are we not commanded to let our gentleness be evident to all (Philippians 4:5)?  When we converse about our faith, giving account for the hope we have within us, are we not told to do so with gentleness and respect (I Peter 3:15)?

If we claim any sense of guidance from scripture, then we should think twice about emulating the swaggering pastor-boys who talk rough and fast and blunt.  While their doctrine may be sound and their demeanor appropriate to their context, that does not mean that they are examples for the whole body of Christ. 

This isn’t to say that we should become doormats for the world; for gentleness does not call us to watery servility.  Paul says that the teacher should be able to correct opponents with gentleness (2 Timothy 2:25) – notice that the correction/confrontation still has to happen.  In Galatians, Paul says to use a spirit of gentleness when restoring those caught in transgression (Galatians 6:1).  This command implies that there is discipline/confrontation involved. 

Here’s my take on gentleness.  Gentleness is not weakness.  It is not shying away from controversy.   Nor is it fragility or softness.

Gentleness is about wise use of strength.

Gentleness is about knowing how much strength to use in the situation before you.   When we see a football linebacker volunteering in a kindergarten classroom, we use the term “gentle giant.”  Said linebacker is not somehow weak or fragile, but rather is holding back his massive strength so that he can accommodate properly to the situation.

Gentleness is about using just enough force for the situation.

When we pick up an egg out of a carton, we hold it gently so as not to break it.  When we are ready to use the egg, we know how to apply just enough force to crack the shell without smashing it.  That is gentleness.  We understand this – it is obvious.

Why then do we have such a hard time applying this truth to our interactions with people?  Why do we have such a hard time adjusting the strength of our language and emotional tone to properly meet the situation before us?  Why do we steamroll over the person in front of us, giving little heed to the emotional effect it will have?

Some of us are woefully unaware of our own inner dynamics, and therefore unaware of the strength we project.

Others of us are oblivious to the environment in which we find ourselves, assuming that it is pretty much like other situations we’ve been in.

Still others are so overwhelmed by the exponentially growing opportunities to interact with others in varying ways.  Or they are confused by the social norms of new means of communication. 

And let us not forget that we all, every one, has a heart of darkness.  In our worst, most selfish moments, we simply expect that everyone should adjust to our way of being.  I am, as they say, on the front car of that roller coaster.  I am in deep need of grace to grow in gentleness.

Wise use of Strength.

Using just enough force for the situation.

Working with these definitions of gentleness, who would you identify as exemplifying this virtue?   Your comments, please.

Crowd-sourcing Health and Fitness Inspiration

I am blessed to have smart, active, interesting, and inspiring friends and family.  Last month, as I pondered what my 2013 was going to look like, I thought I would seek their advice on a topic that has always bedeviled me: personal health habits.   I have yo-yoed in my weight and I have only erratically practiced healthy eating habits.   But recent studies have shown that our network of friends can powerfully shape our habits )

So, I decided to turn to my friends and family to crowd-source my fitness motivation.   I posted this question on Facebook: “What is the single best healthy living tip you would share with us?”

Wow, did my friends and family respond.  They gave me great advice that I’m finally getting around to compiling and working into my personal habits.   Here’s a digest.

Exercise

The #1 piece of advice was exercise,  coming up in some form in eight different responses.   Yes, it’s obvious.  Yes, I’ve written about it before.  Even so, it is often the case that we need the encouragement from our friends and family to get out and move.   Walk, jog, cycle, swim, garden, yoga, team sports.  Physical activity in some form is plain good for us on so many levels.   As I see how many of my friends are physically active, my mind subconsciously says “that must be normal – better get moving”.   My friends, you help me greatly.

Food Choice

This theme was interesting – one person advocated plant based while another said to eat more meats and good fats.   The more general running theme was to “eat real food”, meaning avoiding heavily processed food-like products (such as “Funyuns”, Chicken Nuggets, Hot Dogs, etc) and opting for real food (fruits, vegetables, fresh meats).   One person put it this way “Keep it simple.  Keep it pure.”

Self-Control

The old “everything in moderation” catchphrase was brought out a few times.  I lump it in along with the various “cut back” recommendations: cut back sugar, cut portion sizes by 1/3.

It bears noting that to balance the self-control theme, there were a few “indulge” recommendations – “have a small glass of red wine at lunch and another at dinner with a long walk in between.”   “Eat pie with everything.  If you sit at the table long enough, someone will bring you some.”  And of course the tongue in cheek “Drink until you don’t care about your weight.”

Attitude

My friends and family also reminded me that healthy living is more than a matter of eating and exercising – it is also a matter of attitude.   They gave some great tidbits here:

1. Laugh
2. Play with Kids
3. Forgiveness
4. Greatitude
5. Learn to say no, even to yourself
6. Never act your age

I’m thankful for all the input I received on this question.   It inspired me.   Now, dear blog readers – the comments are open.   What about you?  What healthy living tip to you have?

Soli Deo Gloria

Russell

Reading Recommendation for Spiritual Wellbeing: The God of the Mundane

I liked Matt Redmond’s slim little volume, “The God of the Mundane.“

After a second read, I liked it a lot.

Redmond, a former pastor who now works in banking, offers a healthful counterpoint to the breathless vision-casting Christian-living hype that is served up by the shining-teeth rock stars of contemporary evangelicalism.   He writes for the vast majority of us who live in obscurity and are doing well just to make it day by day, thank you.

Redmond offers a series of reflective vignettes – scenes of normalcy within which he teases out the hints of grace, truth, and beauty.  His storytelling style puts me in mind of Garrison Keillor, if the Minnesotan monologist were seasoned with the Christ-captivated themes of Tim Keller.   For instance, he tells the story of a 20-something lady who comes to him at the bank, trying to figure out how to make her slim paycheck cover her overdraft and at the same time pay the insurance deductible for her cancer treatments.

“I suck at life,” she whispered.

In that line and the story that followed, Redmond had me.  Let’s be honest – we feed the motivational book industry because, deep within, we feel like we suck at life.  Yes, we want to better ourselves, but in the process we hit massive walls. Redmond reminds us that even in the boring, monotonous, tiresome, and weary days, we are not abandoned by God. Even when we suck at life – we are not rejected for our suckiness.

I might also comment Redmond’s voice.  He writes with the cadences of the Southern humorist/essayist school.  The late Lewis Grizzard would have hooted at Redmond’s explanation of the culinary virtues of Chicken Fingers, which Redmond, a Southerner, identifies as “our foie gras.”

Essential to the the Southern imagination is an enchanted perception of place.   As Redmond wistfully remembers his grandparents’ home through the eyes of a child, I am right with him.  For whatever reason, we from the south cling tightly to place and heritage – even to the point of idolatry.   Redmond however, draws the redeeming lesson.   He expresses sadness at the fact that as an adult, the grandparents’ home has shrunk – the reality never lives up to the wide-eyed romanticism of our past:

“Driving by that house a few dozen times as an adult revealed the honest-to-God truth: the place is not quite as big as I remember. In fact, it seems small in comparison. I’m still disappointed, and work up scenarios that alter the reality. My physical growth and a little bit of perspective have changed the way I view such spaces. It is a disappointing thing for this to happen, for I would prefer to have kept the memory intact along with the wonder.” (65)

All things shrink in stature as we age.

Except God.

As he has grown, Redmond has seen God grow exponentially larger – or rather his comprehension of the reality of the living God has grown exponentially larger.   And what’s more, that comprehension has splashed over the rest of reality, infusing every nook and cranny, every moment, every atom with meaning:

“But instead, everything is enlarging. God now has to do with everything. Everything. And not just my own little need to escape hell.

The room has become a universe of inexhaustible ideas, and feelings, and compulsions, and passions, and dreams, and hopes. No longer am I inhabiting the closet-like space of getting people to walk an aisle, and fill out a card, and be good while doing so, and then supposing we have lived the Christian life. The claustrophobia of such a space would kill me now.

Not now. I’ve now sat in the room of hovering stars being called by name, and an earth groaning under the weight of original sin. The room of the impoverished the world over, and chefs who can work culinary miracles with the raw ma- terials of creation. The room of disabilities and exceptional abilities. The room of weariness and wonder. The room of sexuality and suffering. The room of grace, and mercy, and failure, and falling. A room so big, idealism is lost.” (66-67)

I confess that I’ve read this book multiple times, and have profited with each reading.   I wholeheartedly endorse it for your edification, and what’s more, for your enjoyment.

Soli Deo Gloria

Russell

Disclaimer:  I sit on the board of Doulos Resources, which publishes Redmond’s book.   I received a free copy of this book, but am otherwise uncompensated.    This endorsement is my own, and does not represent Doulos or the other board members.