Our UMC District Superintendent for the Connecticut District, Ken Kieffer wrote a powerful admonition on the destructive power of sin in our lives. He uses an anaology that communicates well and writes with humor too. There is much wisdom in this article.
I have been concerned lately that my desk and my shop seem to be getting more cluttered. I’m not one of those naturally neat people, yet I like things organized. Busyness, accumulating stuff, and time pressure seem to conspire to increase the disorder. I am busy enough that I very seldom find time to just stop and organize my space. So I have adopted a new strategy. I am seeking to increase organization on the fly just a little at a time.
When I see a book on the desk that I am no longer using, I pick it up and put it away rather than looking past it to find the one thing I was searching for, as I used to do. If, while I take a phone call, I see a scrap of paper that has lost its usefulness, I toss it rather than ignore it. I’m hoping in this way to make progress on decluttering my desk.
In the same way, when I am looking for something in the shop, rather just push something around on the loaded bench, I try to put it away while I have my hands on it. Yesterday, while searching my little storage bins for a particular type of nail, I noticed several possibilities for consolidations that would open more spots to use. So I consolidated a few drawers while I looked. I’m hoping, before too long, I will have a cleaner working space in the shop too.
I guess I am onto something as I was reading advice from a specialty blogger who recommended 7 ways to get organized for those who have no time to do so. Number two in her list was to “Make progress in small slices of time.” http://www.simplify101.com/organizing-tips/get-organized/no-time-to-organize/. In fact she suggested setting aside very short blocks of time, like 10 or 15 minutes and just doing what you can do to make progress in that time, deliberately resisting the idea that you need to do the whole job.
I just put one notebook back on the shelf where it goes; a notepad into the drawer, and a scrap in the circular file. There goes a book and a file folder. Yes, progress!
This article was a very interesting read. As the author, Mark Tooley, suggests, Pope Francis’ persona does invite comparisons to Pope John Paul II. I believe it is important for us as Protestants to pray for the Pope too because his influence in our world is so important to the overall impression that non-Christians have of Christianity and because his decisions are so important for future Christians, both Catholic and Protestant.
Rev. Dr. JoAnne Lyon, General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Church and a leader in the Pan-Methodist movement, was among those invited to greet Pope Francis on the White House Lawn. She wrote a very thoughtful reflection concerning that occasion. It is also an explanation of how the cause of the poor, the immigrant and those impacted by disaster in our world is especially important to those who are disciples of Jesus and also claim to be inheritors of the teachings of John Wesley. It is an inspiring read.
https://www.wesleyan.org/4164/welcoming-the-pope-to-america
Bishop Schnase encourages the church to also join in service projects which they don’t sponsor.
The church over the years develops its own habits and routines, including its own ideas of service to others. But as Bishop Schnase points out in this thoughtful blog post, if the church only serves in its own ways, it will miss relating to many in today’s culture who are spiritual seekers but do not relate to the institutional church. Often these people are involved in service and glad to work with others of like compassion for human need. Even more basic, the church that won’t join hands with others will miss many opportunities to help needy people and express the love of Christ in practical service.
I have long said that one of parents’ main jobs is teaching their children the meaning of “no.” Here is a great article from the Hartford Courant in which the writer, John Rosemond, calls this kind of teaching for children “Vitamin N.” Mr. Rosemond also mentions that far from dashing the happiness of children, the experience of “Vitamin N” actually contributes to their long-term happiness. On the other hand, the nonstop indulgence common today is producing increasingly depressed people who can’t get enough kicks to keep the party going.
These two articles talk about scientific investigations that have started to show that what happens in one generation can affect the genetic makeup of the next. Specifically, the first article showed that a specific gene was altered in the children of Jewish Holocaust victims compared to children of Jews who did not experience the Holocaust. If this kind of linkage proves out, it will be one huge reason why the Bible teaches that God is very interested that the home be preserved intact. Breaking up a home is traumatic for children. Our society does not think about how its actions and lifestyles affect its children. Then we expect the children to do better and better on tests regardless of what is happening at home. It doesn’t work that way. A stable, loving and supportive home environment is the beginning and continuing foundation of a good education. It may prove to also be related genetically to the mental health of the next generation.
http://discovermagazine.com/2013/may/13-grandmas-experiences-leave-epigenetic-mark-on-your-genes
Christianity Today is doing an interview series of evangelical leaders. Recently they interviewed JoAnne Lyon, head of the Wesleyan denomination, one of many Methodist related bodies. She is very articulate in expressing the Wesleyan way in a manner that should fit all branches of the Methodist family. I highly recommend it. Here is the link.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/august/exploring-evangelicalism-wesleyan-church.html
When we moved here 2 years ago, I soon noticed a group of elderberry bushes in bloom just over a stone wall. It was being attacked by marauding vines and overshadowed by maple saplings. But I was determined to pick some elderberries. I remembered picking them as a young man and eating elderberry pie that my mother made.
But I soon discovered that elderberry season is short and there are competitors. The first year when I went to find berries there were none. I had been away on vacation on the key week and either the birds or the bears had finished them off. Same story the second year. So I made a more deliberate attempt to persecute the wild grape vines and clear out some overhanging maple.
This year, I found berries, lots of berries. Our vacation was earlier in the summer or I would not have because the catbirds which are very abundant here were upset when I started picking the crop they had already started to claim. Never fear, there will be plenty left for them. I volunteered to pick the berries off the stems and JoAnne made me a pie. Pictures of the process are below. What a pleasure to finally harvest what God had provided.
This psychologist is pointing out that troubled children need to have their thinking processes reprogrammed in a way that traditional simple positive and negative consequences approach does not do. It is an interesting read.