Category: Uncategorized (page 3 of 4)

Image: gordonplant https://flic.kr/p/5ToRh7

Reading.

I saw in someone’s blog today that they had read three books by simply setting aside 15 minutes with a timer each morning to read. Coupled with Elizabeth Gilbert’s admonition to curiosity in Big Magic, I realized I , too had reconnected with reading over the past couple of months.

I’ve always been reader. Well, let me clarify: I’ve always wanted people to think I was a reader. A voracious one. But truth be told, I’ve been in love with the idea of reading more than the reading itself. Kind of like writing. But that’s another story for another dark and early Sunday.

If I’ve cultivated a new appreciation for reading in the time I have, how much more could I read and enjoy if I really put my mind to it? For instance, if what’s her name could read three books by committing to just 15 minutes, could I do that, too?

What would I read? What am I curious about? What would nourish my mind and my soul?

There would be the Bible, of course. True confession time: I haven’t really read it beyond a snippet or two here and there for last-minute sermon prep in a long time. What if I invested just 15 minutes in reading the scripture? Surely the One Year Bible plan would facilitate that. And who knows where that might lead?

What if I added another 15 minutes of general interest reading to that? You know, whatever I happen to be curious about at the time. Maybe it’s making progress on some gigantic masterpiece like Tolkien. Maybe it’s something encouraging, challenging like Big Magic. Maybe it’s a feel good memoir like Ben and Erin Napier. Maybe it’s one of the hundreds of titles languishing in my Amazon Wish List. Maybe it’s one of the countless “to be read” titles that I never got around to reading. 

Fifteen minutes. Plus fifteen more. One half hour to rekindle a love for something that I’ve enjoyed, and benefited from forever.

Photo by Nick Karvounis on Unsplash

The only things I’ve ever made in my life are messes and excuses. I want to make something.

Some noise.

Music.

An impact.

A difference.

Art.

A living. And a life.

Money.

Whoopee.

A racket.

A scene.

A mark.

A date.

A plan.

Someone happy.

Sense.

Memories.

Amends.

Up.

Out.

Friends.

We don’t watch a lot of TV at our house. Oh, sure…it’s almost always on. But very seldom do we sit and watch a show all the way through. There are exceptions.

For instance, somehow I got hooked on Game of Thrones, binge-watched the first two seasons over a weekend, and set a reminder for Sunday nights until Jon Snow took out the Mother of Dragons in season 8. (I was pulling for Arya to sit on the Iron Throne).

Then there’s Moonshiners, my guilty pleasure show. I’m a hopelessly uncool teetotaling Baptist pastor in one of my lives, but the adventures of Mark, Digger, Tickle, and Tim, and the misadventures of Josh fill up my Tuesday evenings like nothing else.

And that brings me to Home Town. I discovered Ben and Erin Napier as I rode the recumbent bike at our local YMCA.

Now, most of the time, those remodeling/flipping shows don’t do a whole lot for me. I mean…he’s 26, and drives part-time for Uber, and she’s 24 and works at a local day care, and their total budget is $550,000? OK, then.

But there’s something about Ben and Erin, and their efforts to revitalize the houses in their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi. Why do I love these two and their show so much that I’ve already binged every available episode?

I like them because…

• They could be my kids. My son and his wife are around the same age as the Napiers.
• They seem like real people. I know everything you see on TV is not necessarily the way things are in real life. I get it. Usually “reality TV” is the furthest thing from reality itself. But Ben and Erin seem like they are genuinely good down-to-earth folks who love what they do and where they live.
• They are immensely creative and talented. I envy them. They are really good at what they do, and it seems they are always interested in getting better. I had artistic and mechanical bypasses at birth, so when I see artists and craftsmen pour their lives into beauty and such, it does my heart a lot of good.
• They appear to love people and have servant hearts. On top of their restoration work, they are  actively seeking to support the folks affected by this week’s storms.
• They look to be in love with each other. Their family life is a model for others.
• They’re local church folks.
• They have a great sense of style.
• They work really hard.
• They’re cheerleaders for Mississippi and Laurel.
• They tell bad jokes. And often their teasing and humorous interaction makes the episode.
• They’re Southern and unashamed! The big hook for me when I first watched their show was the fact that I didn’t need subtitles to understand them. They talk like I talk. And that makes my heart smile out loud!

There’s a lot about Ben and Erin and Home Town that makes me a fan. I don’t see myself ever moving to Mississippi, but if I ever do, I’d like to meet them, buy them a cup of coffee or dinner, and get to know them in real life.

Thanks, y’all for helping many of us adopt Laurel as our hometown!

From earlier this week:

Dear ultra-swanky home gym (AKA The Garage): I’m going to stop pretending that I even like you. I don’t. And that’s no exaggeration.

I. Just. Don’t.

In fact, it’s been about 14 years since I first met you and your companion, the Y. And you know what? Even though the first few years were really, really good, to be honest, I’m still waiting after all those years for those mythical endorphins to kick in.

I. Hate. Your. Guts.

But here’s the thing today: As much as I despise even the thought of you, if I don’t come see you on a more regular basis, I’m going to die, and that real soon. I mean I’m going to die anyway one day, but I’d rather it not be today or this month or this year. Now I may get hit by a bus or some such. But the parts I do have control over, I need to start having control over them again.

So here we are, Monday morning at the ultra-swanky home gym (AKA The Garage). And you will not beat me today.

What’s not to love about the Bicentennial Celebration of 1976?

Forty years ago, America was full of patriotism. Having discovered drum and bugle corps the year before, I remember well the trip from south Georgia to Whitewater, Wisconsin for the big drum corps show.

Several of the corps had patriotic themes that year. And the Madison Scouts, defending DCI champions, had one of the best! The corps started the season with one show, and then halfway through, they scrapped “The Theme from ‘Shaft'” and replaced it with a great rendition of Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever,” which even included a cheesy re-enactment of the iconic Iwo Jima flag scene.

Though the Blue Devils were steamrolling their way to the first of their many titles, and there was no stopping them and their groundbreaking show, the Scouts tried hard, and ended up a close second.

Forty years later, here’s the audio of that great classic:

Denis Collette via Compfight

From my morning pages today. I may have gotten into a little whimsical groove toward the end. Be gentle.

Someone once opined (sang, maybe?) that the devil has all the good music. Actually, a little web search tells me it was first suggested by the Right Reverend Rowland Hill, a Surrey pastor in 1844: “The devil should not have all the best tunes.”

When I read articles about creativity and artistic endeavor these days, it seems only Buddhists and other “nontheistic” practitioners have an exclusive path to creativity. One has to be mindful (whatever that means). One has to find his path (whatever THAT means). And so on and so on.

I think Jesus people ought to be the most creative people on the planet. (Did I say “on the planet?” I think I meant “in the world.” Buddha, you know…).

If we are created in the image of  a Creator God, if we have been redeemed for a purpose by the Maker of all things, if we are part of the Greatest Story Ever, and if we are designed as His masterpieces, then our lives and work – all our lives and work – should be testimonies of the creative spirit.

Our creative work – our art, our words, our lives – should bear witness to the Spirit of Creativity who lives in and empowers us. Rather than searching for some mystical, mythical Muse who shows up (according to Stephen King, in his boxer shorts with a bag of magical dust, every morning, as soon as the writer sits down at the keyboard), and guides our efforts, we should be living fonts of creativity. Jesus Himself said that the life He gives us will in turn spring up and overflow into the world around us. Our creative efforts should be redemptive. Our art should be in a sense, sacramental, as it should convey God’s grace and glorify Him to the ends of the earth.

We follow in a long procession of a great cloud of witnesses who have been creative people. People who have written and sung songs. People who have created art, functional and beautiful. Artisans. Craftsmen (and -women). Makers with skill and talent and most importantly, a spirit of wonder and worship, grateful that God blessed them with His gifts. Crafters of poems, tooters of horns, pluckers of strings, singers of tunes, speakers of words, tellers of tales, sew-ers of clothes, and sharers of things made, all in the gifted tradition of people created to create.

Craig Sunter via Compfight

…why bigotry and discrimination from the Left are acceptable.

…what is the draw of socialism, especially for young people, who one would think naturally yearn for freedom.

The Present. Now.

We look toward the future, plan for it, prepare for it, try to predict it, think of a preferred one, and we neglect this moment, the one in which we have the privilege to live now.

Annie Dillard said of The Present,

These are our few live seasons. Let us live them as purely as we can, in the present.

The Psalmist prayed:

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

The Apostle cautioned:

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.

A real Sunday Night Unwind post is on the way! Amazing, I know! Here’s the soundtrack fueling that post this evening…