At the start of the new year
... I've been reading writing and reading quite a bit over the past few days
... I've been reading in preparation for a few meetings, sermon series and the beginning of a new course.
... in notebooks, word documents, random pages and the rest
The beginning of the new year is a time when we get to look back and also to dream big dreams for the year ahead.
My reading has been interupted by facebook and the links friends post. One post jumped out at me which prompted this blog... and I hope it's OK to steal it ... but it sums up a lot of stuff I would hope to put into practice this year
Based upon their Mix here's mine as I sit with a cuppa ... I've left theirs which I'm going to own for myself in Red
Taking time to Build Community - Taking time to be with people, listening and encouraging them. Not rushing on.
Using Technology wisely - Like a hammer or any tool, phones and computers can be used
constructively or destructively. I want to treat my technology like I
do my other tools – use them when I need them. And I don’t need my
tools telling me when to work (which is where airplane mode or “shut
down” comes in handy). Facebook friends can be like microwave meals –
they take little energy to make, but they can also leave you
malnourished.
Reading More - Taking time to read a good mix of books - fiction, non-fiction and the rest
PRACTICE THE OLD-SCHOOL SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES. Fasting, prayer,
solitude… these are exercises for the soul, working out the spiritual
muscles. Just like running (which I also hope to do), the hardest step
is the first one… but the more we do it, the better we breath and the
more alive we feel.
LIVE A LIFE THAT IS SIMPLE… AND STILL
BEAUTIFUL. Simple living does not mean ugly living. I want to be free
like the lilies and sparrows – free of consumerism and clutter and
noise– and be surrounded with wonder and beauty.
SPEND MORE MONEY ON OTHERS THAN ON MYSELF. It’s been said that
“budgets are moral documents” – I hope my budget, community
budget, and organizational budgets reflect loving our neighbors as we do
ourselves --and that you can see it reflected in the line items.
BE A MINORITY more often. I hope to put myself in situations where I
am surrounded by folks who are not all like me (age, gender, ethnicity,
economics, religion, politics…), and where who I am may be the exception
rather than the norm.
KEEP THE SABBATH HOLY. Old idea –
originally God’s idea for everyone. Surely I want
to integrate work and rest and holy leisure every day, but one day a
week I hope to rest in a special way – and do things that refresh my
soul.
BELIEVE IN MIRACLES… and live in a way that might necessitate one.
Oldie but a goodie – friends living in pretty extreme poverty have
taught me that part of the reason that those of us in industrialized
countries don’t see many miracles is that we don’t “need” them. When we
get sick we go to the doctor, when we get hungry we go to the store…
but when we live like the lilies and the sparrows in utter dependence on
God we see God provide in miraculous ways. I want more of that… not
more poverty, but more of that kind of faith.
LAUGH OFTEN. I have a friend who says, “If we can’t
laugh then the devil has already won.” Social justice folks can be so
serious… and need to loosen up a little. Joy comes from the confidence
that the world doesn’t have to stay the way it is. It also helps win
over those who oppose you – it’s hard to hate folks who make you smile.
So there we go ... quite a few things there ... what's yours?
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