Thirty Good Minutes

I did something Monday that, I am embarrassed to say, I haven’t done in a while. I spent 30-40 minutes just reading scripture. Don’t misunderstand me. Most days I will read a chapter in the Bible (a psalm for example, or one chapter in one of Paul’s New Testament writings), or some verses (often a proverb or a parable of Jesus). But I have been neglecting the reading of big chunks, entire stories, whole books of the Bible in one sitting.

And so yesterday I read the entire story of the rise of David from “shepherd-boy” to arguably the greatest king in Israel’s history (recorded in 1^st and 2^nd Samuel). It was a time of great blessing, comfort, inspiration and insight.

Later it struck me that reading like this can shape a person in ways that a five-minute daily devotional can’t do. Again, don’t misunderstand me. I know many people who take a few minutes each morning to pray and reflect on a “scripture-thought for the day,” and find it to be a very good thing.

But having a time of greater immersion in a larger portion of scripture was something I didn’t realize how thirsty I was for. Here are a few of the things I was reminded of as a result of my longer encounter with God through scripture:

1. Reading about David’s life in one sitting gave me a “bird’s-eye-view” of his life. And seeing how God works over the course of a lifetime is confidence building. We so often see day-to-day challenges as massive obstacles. But viewed through the lens of an entire lifetime, day-to-day or season-to-season challenges begin to seem more like speed bumps that God was not only present through, but helping us navigate over.
   

2. Reading the entire story of David’s life in one sitting gives deeper power to a single passage. For example, 2 Samuel 22:2 says, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer.” Read as an isolated passage, this text is a nugget of truth that provides inspiration and a reminder of God’s consistency and strength. But read in context, this text is a powerful testimony to how an incredible God showed his strength amidst some rough times. David wrote this AFTER the death of his son, AFTER personal struggles with sin, AFTER many failed battles and relationships. God was David’s “fortress and deliverer” through hard times. This wasn’t a nice text to inspire him before his work day. This was the truth he clung too amidst unthinkable challenges.
   

3. Finally, reading the entire story in one sitting took time. And because of that I was reminded that the more time I spend in scripture, the more influence it has on my day. Just like thirty minutes of good exercise is better for my physical health than five minutes, so, too, thirty minutes of good reflection on scripture is better for my spiritual health than five minutes.
   

So I encourage you to experiment with reading a larger “chunk” of scripture in one sitting. Not because you’ll get brownie points with God or because it's the "best" or "only" way to read the Bible. But simply because it can bless you in ways that reading smaller portions of scripture at a time cannot do.

Successfulness versus Fruitfulness

I was reading from the writings of Henri Nouwen yesterday and came across a rather remarkable paragraph. It was so good and challenging and right, that I want to share it with you (with a few of my own thoughts interjected, for better or worse). I pray that God would speak to you and into your exact life situation this week as you reflect on Nouwen's words.

"There is a difference between successfulness and fruitfulness. Success comes from strength, control and respectability. A successful person has the energy [and skill] to create something, to keep control over its development, and to make it available in large quantities. Success brings many rewards and often fame.

“Fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability [and trials and problems and perseverance--see James chapter 1 in the New Testament]….Community is the fruit born through shared brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching another's wounds. Let's remind one another that what brings us true joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness."

Lists 2011

In 2008 I started what is a fun, annual post for me.

Here are my top five lists from 2011.

Top Five Movies I Saw:

1. The Help

2. The King’s Speech

3. The Next Three Days

4. The Adjustment Bureau

5. The Lincoln Lawyer

Top Five Websites I Visited:

1. Ted.com

2. AJC.com / CNN.com / USATODAY.com

3. Pandora.com

4. CBSsports.com

5. FastCompany.com

Top Five Books I Read:

1. Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman

2. Great By Choice by Jim Collins

3. Jesus through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture by Jaroslav Pelikan

4. The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman

5. Signature in the Cell by Stephen C. Meyer

Top Five Restaurants I Ate At:

1. Subway

2. Sid’s Pizza (for pick-up, not dine-in)

3. California Pizza Kitchen

4. Taco Mac (more for the football than the food)

5. Starbucks (still not a restaurant, but I frequented no eating establishment more often. And my beverage of choice switched from hot chocolate to coffee and/or steam apple juice.)

Top Five Things I'm Really Glad I Spent My Time Doing:

1. Growing my relationship with my wife and children.

2. Being with my church family on Sunday mornings.

3. Tutoring kids at Esther Jackson Elementary School, helping to fund the digging of freshwater wells in Africa, and officiating at weddings at Kimball Hall.

4. Spending time with friends.

5. Reading.

Fifteen Great Memories

1. Attending my son’s basketball games and a little father-son, one-on-one game in a full court gym on Thanksgiving Day in North Carolina. Just the two of us in the entire gym. (And one not-so-great memory: spending time with him at two hospitals for surgery on his broken tibia and fibula in mid-December.)

2. Tucking my daughter in at night and driving her to school every morning, Mon-Fri.

3. Baptizing my daughter in the waters of Lake Lanier on October 22. The water was cold! The day was unforgettably wonderful!

4. The best six months in all the years of my marriage.

5. Our annual summer vacation in Hilton Head. Great again.

6. The Braves game with SteveW (about 250 phone conversations, too), tennis with Chris, Wednesday lunches over backgammon with Carlos, conversations with George and Dianne, and deepening friendships with Susie and Eddie.

7. Talking on the phone with my parents.

8. My 40^th birthday celebration(s).

9. Sunday nights at Taco Mac with friends.

10. Phone conversations with my great Aunt Gracie, who passed away in the Fall at the age of 94…still quick-witted and sharp of mind.

11. Weddings at Kimball Hall.

12. A wonderful, warm and perfect Christmas brunch with my church family at Altobelli’s

13. One new cat, Iris, that unexpectedly resulted in two kittens, three weeks after we got her (we kept one of the two kittens, who Emma named “Snowball.”)

14. Rafting the Ocoee River with McKenzie, Jack, Naum and Ethan.

15. Christmas Morning with my family. The most relaxed and fun I can remember.

GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN

On behalf of Mike Nelson and the Hornheads (a man and a group I know almost nothing about—but you gotta admit that that name says a lot), I’d like to recommend their Jingle Bell JAZZ Holiday CD, which includes 20 holiday favorites arranged in classic jazz style.

I recommend it because my daughter Emma and I have been playing it and singing to it each morning on our way to her school since the first Monday after Thanksgiving.

Yesterday we turned up the volume in my car almost as loud as it would go and, we shout-sang together, “Go, Tell It on the Mountain.”

Go tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and ev’rywhere

Go tell it on the mountain, That Jesus Christ is born!

By the time it was over, we were laughing and high-fiving (at the stop light), and Emma was exclaiming, “Let’s sing it again, Dad!”

Later it struck me, that to “go tell it on the mountain” would require a decent amount of work. I mean if I wanted to go tell it on Stone Mountain I’d have to drive a good forty-five minutes and then climb the 1686 feet to the summit. If I wanted to go tell it on Brasstown Bald Mountain (the highest point in GA) I’d have to drive to the NC-GA state line and climb 4,784 feet. If I wanted to go tell it on Mount Everest…..well, you get the idea.

But then I recognized that there are many kinds of “mountains” or “platforms” in which we can “go tell it.” And there are many kinds of ways we can “tell it,” too.

The “platforms” we have to tell it from include places liked our children’s bedside at bedtime, the front door of our neighbor’s house, the classroom at a nearby school, the parking lot of a church, and a community center in need of volunteers. We can “go tell it” in phone conversations, emails, written letters, text-messages, and over a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop.

And the ways we can “go tell it” are even greater. Some of the best ways don’t even involve our mouths (although “a word aptly chosen”—and ‘aptly’ is the key—“is like apples of gold in setting of silver. Pr. 25:11). We can use our hands, our feet, our ears, our money, our time, and our talents. We can tell it with a handshake, a “thank-you,” a hug, a small gift, and a listening ear. We can shout it through acts of kindness, and working hard, and doing things with excellence, and demonstrating unconditional love.

The list, of course, is endless. But the question is a singular one: Will you “Go Tell it on the Mountain” this moment, this day, this season?

“You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “HERE IS YOUR GOD!” -Isaiah 40:9

ACTION TRUMPS EVERYTHING

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend I read a great book, ACTION TRUMPS EVERYTHING, by Len Schlesinger and Charles Kiefer.

Among other great things they give 16 Reasons why Action Trumps Everything!

1. If you act, you will find out what works.

2. …and what doesn't.

3. If you never act, you will never know if you are right or wrong.

4. If you act, you will find out if you like it.

5. …or you don't.

6. Acting leads to a market reaction, which could take you in another direction.

7. As you act, you can find people to go along with you.

8. As you act, you can find ways to do things faster, cheaper, better.

9. If you act, you won't spend the rest of your life going, “I wonder what would have happened if . . .”

10. If all you do is think, you are less interesting as a person.

Who would you rather sit next to on a plane, someone who started a successful rock-climbing store (or even an unsuccessful one), or someone who only thought about it?

11. If all you do is think about stuff, you gain tons of theoretical knowledge, but none from the real world. In other words, if all you do is think . . .

12. . . . all you do is think.

13. Action always leads to evidence. Thinking doesn’t lead to proof.

14. If you act, you know what is real.

15. Talking to people is acting. . . at zero cost.

16. It seems the cost of doing more thought, before you pull the trigger, is zero. But there is a huge opportunity cost. While you are still thinking, someone else could be stealing your market or the opportunity itself may end.