More or Less

"Just when I think I have a handle on what is enough in my life, I am confronted by new ways to ask the question. There's a continuous line that we all must define and redefine at many different points in our lives."

Jeff Shinabarger

More or Less

     How much is enough?

     John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, was part of an expedition funded by a wealthy businessman. A story is told that one night the campfire conversation turned to the subject of the expedition's patron. After a few of the men speculated the man's worth, John spoke up. "I've got more than he does."
     "How do you figure that?" asked one of the men. 
     "I have all I want. He doesn't."

     More or Less by Jeff Shinabarger is one of those books that convicted me on one page, while offering a practical solution on the next; it goes beyond the usual question- How much is enough money? More or Less asks- How much is enough food, clothing, transportation... enough time? 

     Shinabarger writes:

     "There was a time, not so long ago, when the polite answer to the question, "How are you?" was, "Fine." It seems that busy is the new fine."

     "...we now determine the significance of a person by how busy they are. Somehow, busy has become better than fine."

Jeff Shinabarger's solution to an ever-busy world?

Presence.

     "Presence is a physical expression of love in the midst of a culture that never stops- it is to stop and be with someone that matters."

You will have to read the book for a beautifully simple way to practice presence with others in your home.

     America is fat with excess and slim with generosity. Graham Cooke posed this question- "Do you want to be known as a careful person or a generous person?"

More or Less is scheduled to be released March 1. Thanks to the good folks at Story Cartel I was blessed with an advance copy. If you want to challenge your lifestyle paradigm, read More or Less by Jeff Shinabarger. I am glad I did. 

A Blessing

Samuel Carter

Leading a discussion on his recent paintings

     It is a beautiful thing when a son blesses his father. 

And I am blessed indeed. 

As my son Samuel becomes a man he continues to bless me with his insight and generosity. Not a day passes without him telling me about a song he has heard (and then play it for me) or sharing something he has read.  Recently he decided to sponsor a child in a foreign country, even though he is currently unemployed. Before I could ask how he would provide the support he said, "I plan to sell my plasma until I get a job."

     Last week I was privileged to hear Samuel speak before a group of artists. At one point, as Samuel answered a question from the floor, my friend Susan looked at me wide-eyed and said, "He sounded just like you when he said that!"

Yes, I am blessed.

Here are a few of Samuel's paintings.

May they bless you.

I praise God for sharing you with me, Samuel.

You are a blessing.

May the Lord continue to sanctify your imagination

and bless the work of your hands.

God will provide the Lamb

"God will provide the Lamb"

Michael R. Carter

32" x 14"

Oil on corrugated cardboard

     And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" And Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together.

Genesis 22:7,8 NASB

     Tests come in many forms. Teachers test their students. People test our patience. Situations test our convictions. Chapter 22 of Genesis begins with these words:

'Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham...'

Teresa of Avila, in the Interior Castle, commented-

"We are fonder of consolations than we are of the Cross. Test us, Lord- for You know the truth- so that we may know ourselves."

     Tests are life's litmus paper, revealing the acidity or baseness of our character. Abraham's test revealed his faith.

The texture of Truth tempers the test.

     This painting is the result of a friend's question- "Have you considered painting the story of Abraham?" Click here for the original post.

    
      As the painting progressed, the work became a collaborative effort. My friend noticed the Hebrew word for love- ahava- contained within Abraham's name.  Two names, Abraham and Elohim, touch at the tip of the ram's horn. The tip of the horn crosses the final letter of Abraham, forming the A of AHAVA. The ram's horn later became an instrument, the shofar, to be blown on Rosh Hashanah. In this image, God and Abraham meet at the mouthpiece of the shofar. In the blowing of the shofar, God-breathed man offers breath in return, as a reminder of sacrificial love.

   

     As a final note, the inclusion of two Arabic words were suggested- the word for 'sacrifice' on the left and the word 'Moriah' on the right. In the story of Abraham, three faith-groups meet: Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

     If the viewer 'reads' the painting from the left, the story begins with an instrument of death. If, however, the painting is treated as the reading of Hebrew, the story begins with the sacrificial life. And in the middle are the thorns. 

loose ends...

Samuel and me,

playing our Stringer guitars

handcrafted by Hulon Stringer

... here, at the end of days, there are loose ends... random journal thoughts, homeless expressions of a wandering mind... may they find a home in you...

     Unanswered Questions:


Is my faith an event or a lifestyle?



From which perspective do I relate to best- 
     from below the horizon or from above? 



Am I pushing walls outward or pulling walls inward?



Is there an aspect of honor contained within generosity?



What are my students actually learning?



What does 'making a living' mean?



Am I on par with a broken clock- true twice a day?



If I were a font, would I be serif or sans-serif?



How can a person be heard if they haven't found their voice?



Is shame a consequence or an attachment?



Understand God? I don't understand me!




     Bits and Pieces:

My needs give other believers the opportunity to be the Body of Christ. Why am I uncomfortable with that?



In the natural realm, sight precedes sound.



Before a word can be spoken, it must first exist. Speaking lends breath to the thought.



Truth is easier to chew when you are smiling.



Sometimes I feel I am a piece that fell from a puzzle box. 




Mistakes leave scars.

Neighbors and Wise Men

"Stand at the crossroads and look,

and ask for ancient paths where the good way lies;

and walk in it, and find rest for your souls."

Jeremiah 6:16

     In G.K. Chesterton's classic The Everlasting Man, Chesterton writes-

"There are two ways of getting home; and one of them is to stay there. The other is to walk round the whole world till we come back to the same place..."

Early Christians were known as followers of the Way. Anyone who has ever followed Christ must agree with Bilbo Baggins when he said to Frodo, "It's dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door." Paradoxically, it is a business for the faint of heart. There will come moments in the journey when you long for home, when comfort seems far way. Along the path you will encounter paens and threnodies, songs of praise and cries of lament, and you will participate... with your voice or with your silence. And sometimes you will wonder why.

     Tony Kriz introduces his latest book, Neighbors and Wise Men with these words,

"I CAN'T BELIEVE ANYMORE"

Tony Kriz walked 'round the whole world' to come home. If you've read Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz you know Tony as "Tony the Beat Poet." In Tony's words, "I am not a beat-poet. I am not even a normal poet." 

     Neighbors and Wise Men is the story of Tony Kriz's journey, from home to Albania to Reed College to home again. And, along the way, he wondered why. This is a book that will challenge the Religious Camp's ideology, and that is a good thing. Here is an excerpt:

"In time, over a thousand conversations about faith with Muslim people, I learned an unexpected idea. When I stated a fact about faith, it led to a spiritual debate. The argument was often enjoyable, but there was an undeniable sense that the relational separation was growing. However, when I shared a story about how I came to believe what I believe, the relational distance closed like the bellows of an accordion. My unexpected discovery was this: facts are the language of the head; story is the language of the heart. The language of the head encourages debate. The language of the heart encourages friendship."

     As I read Tony's book I realised that my journey is similar to his. I realised that God has consistently surprised me- in pubs and other unexpected places. Tony Kriz reminds us that God delights in revealing Himself to us, especially in unexpected places. 

     I disagree, however, with Tony on one point. He is a poet.

     Thank you, Tony, for Neighbors and Wise Men.

    

A Good Life

"He wanted to be buried in his orchard, beneath his favorite Apple tree."

That is what the family member said.

Rudy and I were there to place the grave marker. I don't know which is the more remarkable thought: that he wanted to be buried under his favorite tree or that he had a favorite tree?

     Since my childhood I have found solace with trees. Nothing clears my head faster than a walk in the woods. Perhaps if our politicians took walks our government would be different.

     Last night, as I considered the man buried in his orchard, I wondered about his life, if in his last days he wondered about his life. What is a good life? Friends, purpose, peace, contentment, and consistency are elements of a good life. Not merely having needs met but the ability to help others is also part of a good life. Perhaps a good life is like the fullness that comes from having had an excellent meal. With an excellent meal there is:

preparation

fellowship

an aesthetic aspect

different courses

elements of surprise

(the known blended with the unknown)

and, dessert

(ending with the taste of sweetness)

    

     Perhaps, at the conclusion of the matter, it can be said by all present, "Something of more than ordinary significance occurred here."

Things I Need to Remember Before Entering the Classroom

I teach art to High School students. Here are a few things I wish someone had told me twenty years ago:

1. Leave room in the lesson plan for the student (and God)

Q: What is more important-

Seeing my goals and objectives achieved or

seeing the student realize that their voice is valid?

2. Words have the power of Life and Death

3. My students are hearing with fresh ears

4. Profanity is the sign of a poor vocabulary

The thirsty will drink filth and young people are thirsty; i.e., people will settle for the mediocre or shock because they are unaware of the richness that surrounds them, from both the past and the present.

5. Joy is contagious

6. Negativity is contagious

7. I am a steward of ideas, not an owner

Not all my ideas are for me.

8. I teach people, not subjects

9. Learning is reciprocal

The floor in my classroom is level.

10. You never know what a day may bring forth...

and it is a Good day