Less Is Way More

I always want more so I chase more only to find less. What I'm learning (painfully slow) is that "less" is always the road we must travel to arrive at "more." In fact, it is almost disturbingly inverse. If you want much more, you must pursue a lot less.

Kim and I are considering downsizing homes and going to one car. We're asking God if less could really result in more? (More time? More peace? More to give away? More to enjoy?) I'm ruthlessly weeding out my schedule looking for opportunities to drop and delegate. And of course, every Sunday I stand before my brothers and sisters with less and less material in hopes of proclaiming more and more meaning. Call it editing, downsizing, pruning, whatever you'd like.

Just try it.

You have less to lose and more to gain than you think.

Here is one example of what it might look like: www.junkycarclub.com

Stressed, Bored, A Bit Overwhelmed? Try These.

Pop some bubble wrap here.
Hear a song about french fries here.
Buy some dog armor here.
Watch a video that will worry you here.
Check out the Hawaii Chair here.
Lebron James on the Etch-A-Sketch here.
Hot Dog and Table Saw video here.
Oreo sculptures here.
Fingers Breakdancing here.
Sidewalk Chalk Guy paintings here.
Japanese Pen Spinning here.

Now get back to whatever it was you were doing.

Thunder

I'm not a huge fan of storms. I'm comfortable with "close" lightning. By "close" I mean, "close enough to hit me." But I sure do love Thunder. I hate the thought, mention, or chance of a tornado. I'm not especially fond of the rain in general. But I'm enthralled by Thunder. I have some great memories of my time in Abilene (all three stints) just sitting outside and listening to the thunder roll and pound and rock the earth. I love thunder and thought I'd learn something new today about it. A quick Google search yielded the thoughts below:

Thunder is a natural sound phenomenon that is caused by a discharge of lightning. The lightning rapidly heats and expands the nearby air's volume by over a thousand times, forming a powerful compression wave that is heard as thunder. Because the lightning spike is usually quite long, the sound of the more distant thunder is heard later, which accounts for the duration of the rumbling sound. Thunder is usually not heard from a distance greater than about 10 miles / 16 kilometers.

Thunder is recorded in The Bible both as a naturally occurring event and as a tool that God sometimes used to demonstrate His power over man and nature.

Natural

• "When He gave to the wind its weight, and meted out the waters by measure; when He made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder" (Job 28:25-26 RSV)

• "The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder." (Psalm 77:17 RSV)

God's Power

• "Then Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven; and The Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And The Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt; there was hail, and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. The hail struck down everything that was in the field throughout all the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and the hail struck down every plant of the field, and shattered every tree of the field. Only in The Land Of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, there was no hail." (Exodus 9:23-26 RSV) (see The Ten Plagues)

• "On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God; and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because The Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder." (Exodus 19:16-19 RSV) (see The Ten Commandments)

• "So Samuel called upon The Lord, and The Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared The Lord and Samuel." (1 Samuel 12:18 RSV)

• "Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of The Seven Seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say, as with a voice of thunder, "Come!" (Revelation 6:1 RSV)

Fact Finder: What was Jesus' nickname for James and John?
Mark 3:17

I'm writing this in the middle of a powerful thunderstorm. I'm praying that the powerful God who sends the thunder and speaks in thunder, will send me and speak through me today.

Learn Something New Everyday

As I quickly approach the top of the "hill", I realize that learning is becoming more difficult. With school behind me (for now) and my time being fuller than I wish, I don't read as much as I'd like. Thus, often I don't learn as much as I'd like. But with the beauty and the power of the internet, I too can learn something new everyday. Take today for example. I learned something highly useful just by checking my email. So I leave you with this valuable tip...enjoy!

"Call me stupid cause I didn't know this. LD

I've been using aluminum foil for more years than I care
to remember. Great stuff, but sometimes it can be a pain. You know, like
when you are in the middle of doing something and you try to pull some
foil out and the roll comes out of the box. Then you have to put the
roll back in the box and start over. The darn roll always comes out at
the wrong time.

Well, I would like to share this with you. Yesterday I
went to throw out an empty Reynolds foil box and for some reason I
turned it and looked at the end of the box. And written on the end it
said, "Press here to lock end". Right there on the end of the box is a
tab to lock the roll in place. How long has this little locking tab been
there? I then looked at a generic brand of aluminum foil and it had
one, too. I then looked at a box of Saran wrap and it had one too! I
can't count the number of times the Saran wrap roll has jumped out when
I was trying to cover something up."

Amazing!

A Great Day

5:00 The alarm goes off and I hit snooze. It is a good day.
5:20 I'm done hitting snooze and hit the shower. It is a good day.
5:55 Out the door, headed to the church. It is a good day.
6:00 In the door at the church. It is a good day.
6:01 Review notes, pray, and think. It is a good day.
7:30 Chat with Stephen, a great friend. It is a good day.
8:45 Head to the lobby to see who God would send us today. It is a good day.
9:05 Class. Steve is starting a series on heaven. Wow! It is a good day.
9:45 Back to the lobby. Cliff arrives. Double Wow! It is a good day.
10:00 Service starts. Smaller crowd. Still big God! It is a good day.
11:15 Service is over. Welcome begins. Greg, Misty, kids, Carl, Yvonne. It is a good day.
1:00 Welcome wraps up. It went wonderful. It is a good day.
1:30 Arrive home. Final prep for Senior Celebration. Trip to the church. It is a good day.
2:45 A little database work and a little Lakers and a lot of relaxing. It is a good day.
4:30 Get ready for Senior Celebration. It is a good day.
5:00 Senior Celebration. Laura's beautiful. See the picture below. It is a good day.
8:30 Senior Celebration is over. It was a powerful evening! It is a good day.
8:35 Great encouragement from Gary and Matt. Feel so grateful. It is a good day.
8:50 Quick trip to Starbucks. A tall Pike. It is a good day.
9:15 Home. Laura was so blessed. She was so grateful. It is a good day.
9:45 A little Cubs/Cardinals. A little Sports Center. A little Stars/Sharks. It is a good day.
10:45 Overtime in the hockey game. It is a good day.
10:50 Going to bed with my bride before overtime begins. It is a good day.
10:55 Walking through my house, praying for my kids, thanking God for my life...
It was a great day.