... in my new job. The "drinking from the fire hose" part is past now and I believe I am absorbing things. My boss has passed a few things my way to own (with careful supervision, of course) by way of a couple of projects to lead and a couple of regular reports to create, and I'm already out of things to do. I'm at a hard stop while I wait for him to answer questions and provide feedback. So in an effort to keep me busy while he figures out what to give me next, he is going to sign me up for on-line training for a professional credential.
This is one of the issues with reporting to a high-ranking executive. He's busy! As he passes me things to take off his plate, he will become less busy, but to pass me things requires that he take time which he doesn't have to show me what he wants done. Classic Catch-22 scenario.
In other news, it's much snowier up here. Daily brushing & scraping of the car windows is required. Fortunately by mid-February I will be in an apartment with underground parking. Yay! But until then I scrape.
The Hamburger Helper routine is going well. One batch makes two dinners, alternating with pre-cooked sausages (brats, cheddarwurst) on the off days. Maybe I should branch out into frozen pizza... Of course there is a side salad, maybe some cottage cheese as well. All to be able to enjoy eating ice cream right out of the container at night while watching the local news & weather. Mint chip.
Breakfast is a rotation of 1) gruel (steel cut oats, chia seeds, frozen fruit steeped in almond milk & plain yogurt overnight), 2) grits and a protein shake, and 3) eggs & toast.
Subway is my destination after work, to pick up their daily footlong for lunch the next day. On the weekends, it's Chunky soups or ham & cheese on multi-grain. When I get into the new place, I will be able to walk to work and walk home for lunch, so Chunky soups every day! Woo.
I have to say, thank God for video calling (Google Duo). I thought I'd hate it as I don't like phone calls very much. But it's a Godsend, literally. We couldn't have done this 10 years ago, but with that technology, the 7 hour drive separation is bearable. I think we actually talk more now than we did when I was at home. :)
Oh, and I guess I failed to state that since my last post, we did decide to try to finagle keeping the house in Des Moines. It's an experiment, that's for sure.
And that's the news from up north.
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Chapters of Life
For a long time I've been fiddling with a concept of how the various stages of life commonly break down into 12 periods of seven years each.
Each period corresponds to a particular month of the year, beginning March 1 (when we begin expecting new life to emerge from the dead ground), and ending on February 28 (the end of winter and the shortest, coldest month of the year).
Those months also cluster into quarters of three months each, which also correspond to a larger phase of life. A couple of days ago, I assigned verbs to the months and quarters which to me characterize the main activity of those periods.
Finally today I put together a diagram which portrays those periods of life as books on a bookshelf. I would imagine that selecting a couple of key stories about your life from each of those periods would produce a pretty good autobiography.
Hm. Maybe I'll do that. After all, by next Autumn I'll be heading into the "concluding" period, and shortly after that comes a period of sharing with others what you've learned in life. If I can commit to writing the first 9 periods now, then the last quarter should be easy to put a pen to, even for someone who is nearing the end of the journey, about to fill up the bookshelf. :)
Friday, December 1, 2017
Leaving what you love
As my job search continues, the several options I had been exploring (and some, interviewing for) have started to fall off the radar screen. Right now I am down to two, both fairly assured that I may get an offer soon. Neither are in Des Moines. It's looking more and more like I will have to move. On one of the jobs, Diane and I are now starting to consider how I might move, but finagle keeping our home where it is, so as to retire in it in 4 years, but still see each other regularly. On the other job, that would not be possible, so I am wondering if we could get Jimmy to consider also moving there, so he could be near us like he is here.
Earlier this week, I found myself standing at the top of the staircase to the lower level and nearly began to cry. I had an overwhelming feeling of loss, saying to myself "I don't want to leave here." For a guy who's moved around as much as I have, it feels strange to have such a strong attachment to a place. I don't know what to make of it.
Earlier this week, I found myself standing at the top of the staircase to the lower level and nearly began to cry. I had an overwhelming feeling of loss, saying to myself "I don't want to leave here." For a guy who's moved around as much as I have, it feels strange to have such a strong attachment to a place. I don't know what to make of it.
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Amnesia
poem by William Wordsworth, Intimations of Immortality
What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
In the primal sympathy
Which having been must ever be;
In the soothing thoughts that spring
Out of human suffering;
In the faith that looks through death,
In years that bring the philosophic mind.
Monday, October 30, 2017
The Vine and the Branches - John 15
John 15 contains a brilliant analogy for the relationship between God the Father, Jesus the Messiah, and the Church and its believers. The first 5 verses get us started and should be very familiar:
In most versions of the Bible, there is an unfortunate translation choice that confuses the analogy, and that is the use of "he takes away" in verse 2. An equally proper, and I think better, translation of that Greek word (airei) is "he lifts up". If we are going to apply Jesus' analogy to our lives, let's at least do it correctly, understanding fully the context. That same Greek word is used in Acts chapter 1 to describe Jesus' ascension into Heaven. When Jesus was lifted up into Heaven, we surely wouldn't refer to Jesus as being "cut off" or "taken away" with a connotation of judgement. Yet that is what conventional interpretations often do.
This article from a vineyard owner really says it well. The gardener "lifts up" any branches that trail along the ground, and ties them on to the support structure so that they grow upward. They are pruned as well, of course, but there's no pruning until they've been tied on and trained to go upward.
Also, the word for "prunes" in verse 2 is also the same Greek word (katharoi) as for "clean" in verse 3. Those two verses should be translated using the same word (and I think pruned is the better word for both verses).
Later, when the analogy shifts to cutting off branches that are no longer abiding in the vine, and bundling them up to be burned, it's a very appropriate translation. If a branch breaks off at the trunk, or at the cordon (arm), it loses its connection to the vine and becomes dead. Nothing for it at that point than to be burned up. But there's no cutting off and burning for a branch that is trailing along the ground. Instead, it gets the Vinedressers loving attention; he tends to it in such a way as to help it to grow properly, and produce good fruit.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." ----- ESV
In most versions of the Bible, there is an unfortunate translation choice that confuses the analogy, and that is the use of "he takes away" in verse 2. An equally proper, and I think better, translation of that Greek word (airei) is "he lifts up". If we are going to apply Jesus' analogy to our lives, let's at least do it correctly, understanding fully the context. That same Greek word is used in Acts chapter 1 to describe Jesus' ascension into Heaven. When Jesus was lifted up into Heaven, we surely wouldn't refer to Jesus as being "cut off" or "taken away" with a connotation of judgement. Yet that is what conventional interpretations often do.
This article from a vineyard owner really says it well. The gardener "lifts up" any branches that trail along the ground, and ties them on to the support structure so that they grow upward. They are pruned as well, of course, but there's no pruning until they've been tied on and trained to go upward.
Also, the word for "prunes" in verse 2 is also the same Greek word (katharoi) as for "clean" in verse 3. Those two verses should be translated using the same word (and I think pruned is the better word for both verses).
Later, when the analogy shifts to cutting off branches that are no longer abiding in the vine, and bundling them up to be burned, it's a very appropriate translation. If a branch breaks off at the trunk, or at the cordon (arm), it loses its connection to the vine and becomes dead. Nothing for it at that point than to be burned up. But there's no cutting off and burning for a branch that is trailing along the ground. Instead, it gets the Vinedressers loving attention; he tends to it in such a way as to help it to grow properly, and produce good fruit.
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Falling Upward
During this process of evaluating how to approach the next few years - retire, work part-time, work full-time (same industry or a new one) - I have found myself thinking about what's truly important to attend to in the remainder of my life here on this planet.
(Ha. That reminds me of listening to an old Larry Norman album I owned with the title: Only Visiting This Planet. True that, Larry.)
In a recent visit with my pastor in which we compared notes on self-examination, he recommended to me the book "Falling Upward" by Richard Rohr. In it, Rohr posits that there are two halves to life, the one in which we discover and form ourselves into a unique container called "who I am", and the one in which we make the best use of that container and contents to accomplish that which we were set on earth to do.
Seems to me that right now is an excellent time to think about that idea, settle on a definition of self and on a second-half-of-life mission, and then lay out a plan to execute that mission.
Okay then.
Let's begin.
(Ha. That reminds me of listening to an old Larry Norman album I owned with the title: Only Visiting This Planet. True that, Larry.)
In a recent visit with my pastor in which we compared notes on self-examination, he recommended to me the book "Falling Upward" by Richard Rohr. In it, Rohr posits that there are two halves to life, the one in which we discover and form ourselves into a unique container called "who I am", and the one in which we make the best use of that container and contents to accomplish that which we were set on earth to do.
Seems to me that right now is an excellent time to think about that idea, settle on a definition of self and on a second-half-of-life mission, and then lay out a plan to execute that mission.
Okay then.
Let's begin.
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Refugees, their motives, and the Scripture
My wife and I just returned from a 3800 mile driving vacation which took us from Iowa to Branson to Hot Springs to Shreveport to Dallas (Fort Worth, actually) to Austin to Brownsville & South Padre Island to Kerrville in the Texas Hill Country to Abilene in West Texas to Wichita and back home.
While in Austin we stayed with our eldest kid in her new house, and were there over a Sunday, so went to her church as well. A guest pastor was preaching that day and the message was on the refugee and the Biblical case for compassion for, and acceptance of, them. Here are the particular Scripture passages invoked in that message:
The Refugee
Psalms 46:1 ESV
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
http://bible.com/59/psa.46.1.
Psalms 59:16 ESV
But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.
http://bible.com/59/psa.59.16.
Psalms 68:5-6 ESV
Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
http://bible.com/59/psa.68.5-
Psalms 91:4 ESV
He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
http://bible.com/59/psa.91.4.
Leviticus 19:33-34 ESV
"When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
http://bible.com/59/lev.19.33-
Deuteronomy 10:17-19 ESV
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of Lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
http://bible.com/59/deu.10.17-
Hebrews 13:1-3 ESV
Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.
http://bible.com/59/heb.13.1-
Galatians 5:14 ESV
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
http://bible.com/59/gal.5.14.
Acts 17:26-27 ESV
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
http://bible.com/59/act.17.26-
Now, a statement and a question. Every Scripture used to urge compassion and acceptance toward refugees has an underlying assumption - that the refugee's motives are benign. What if they are not?
The parallel is made in many passages to the Israelite nation being captives in Egypt (or in Babylon). Israel's motives were benign - they had no intent to undermine that government or to infiltrate the culture in order to do harm.
Because of this core assumption, the Scripture says nothing about how to treat an alien or stranger in your land whose intent is to cause harm. (i.e. sent by a hostile government or a terrorist or a criminal organization). The only example of an immigration policy decision in the Bible that is even close to such a situation is in Joshua chapter 9, and the result was not compassion and acceptance.
One has only to look at Europe to find instances of immigrants intending to cause harm. It seems to me that we need an immigration process which is like the Ellis Island approach we used to have: no one is admitted unless then can demonstrate that they have 1) a month's wages on them, 2) a relative already in the USA to vouch for them, and 3) a job offer. Those requirements alone, plus a 30 day quarantine period to give time for background checks, would eliminate most of the risk that anyone with malicious intent would make it into the US.
While in Austin we stayed with our eldest kid in her new house, and were there over a Sunday, so went to her church as well. A guest pastor was preaching that day and the message was on the refugee and the Biblical case for compassion for, and acceptance of, them. Here are the particular Scripture passages invoked in that message:
The Refugee
Psalms 46:1 ESV
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
http://bible.com/59/psa.46.1.
Psalms 59:16 ESV
But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.
http://bible.com/59/psa.59.16.
Psalms 68:5-6 ESV
Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
http://bible.com/59/psa.68.5-
Psalms 91:4 ESV
He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
http://bible.com/59/psa.91.4.
Leviticus 19:33-34 ESV
"When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
http://bible.com/59/lev.19.33-
Deuteronomy 10:17-19 ESV
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of Lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
http://bible.com/59/deu.10.17-
Hebrews 13:1-3 ESV
Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.
http://bible.com/59/heb.13.1-
Galatians 5:14 ESV
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
http://bible.com/59/gal.5.14.
Acts 17:26-27 ESV
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
http://bible.com/59/act.17.26-
Now, a statement and a question. Every Scripture used to urge compassion and acceptance toward refugees has an underlying assumption - that the refugee's motives are benign. What if they are not?
The parallel is made in many passages to the Israelite nation being captives in Egypt (or in Babylon). Israel's motives were benign - they had no intent to undermine that government or to infiltrate the culture in order to do harm.
Because of this core assumption, the Scripture says nothing about how to treat an alien or stranger in your land whose intent is to cause harm. (i.e. sent by a hostile government or a terrorist or a criminal organization). The only example of an immigration policy decision in the Bible that is even close to such a situation is in Joshua chapter 9, and the result was not compassion and acceptance.
One has only to look at Europe to find instances of immigrants intending to cause harm. It seems to me that we need an immigration process which is like the Ellis Island approach we used to have: no one is admitted unless then can demonstrate that they have 1) a month's wages on them, 2) a relative already in the USA to vouch for them, and 3) a job offer. Those requirements alone, plus a 30 day quarantine period to give time for background checks, would eliminate most of the risk that anyone with malicious intent would make it into the US.
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