Often our internal conversation is an effort to make sense of our lives. Or maybe I should say mine is. Something inside says that your life really matters, or at least ought to. There should be justice, and truth, and (oh please) mercy. Mostly we search for meaning not by writing it all down, but by talking to ourselves internally. I wake up this morning & sit here with a cup of coffee and a blank page before me.
A true picture of the day. My day is blank before me, waiting to be created. There are some things about the day that are not so much totally blank as waiting to be filled in. But the truth is that God has given us the power of choice in our lives and we decide how to fill in the blanks. My job, my home, my spouse, my church, the city I live in, the clothes in the closet, much of my life is the result of choices I have made. Choices I make today powerfully influence the range of choices I will have available to me tomorrow.
Choose well, my friends. And to myself, I say, Choose well!
The day is just beginning.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
The Blank
NOTE: This was written a couple of months ago, I didn't publish it at the time but I just read it again this morning & decided maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought it was.
One thing about writing is that you start with a blank page. There are all kinds of thoughts about writer's block, getting started, how to turn a thought or idea into a written work, etc. When I started this blog it was just a way to process some of the thoughts & emotions I had. Then a friend, then another, mentioned that they had read it, and somehow that changed something for me. It was like I wanted to say something of value to whoever happened upon this blog, and a new dynamic was introduced. Gradually it seemed as if the blank page was waiting to receive words of wisdom, or insight, or whatever could be of benefit. Then it became something to do, which wasn't quite as fun as it had been to write it. So I suspect it would not be as fun to read. Not that I really expect the early morning musings of someone who's daytime identity is a CPA to be really fun anyway.
So I'm going back to the blank page. Just me and the morning. Cup o' Joe, laptop, and a few quite moments before the kids wake up & the race begins. It's quiet now. I can hear my wife upstairs, moving around quietly so as not to wake Jack. Once he's up the house is a different place. My next door neighbor is a single man, his house is no bigger than mine but I imagine it is roomy for him. With 3 active kids I am sometimes wishing for more square footage. But there are some real advantages- you do spend more time together, in part because you are physically closer together. And my kids don't seem to mind, not in the least. When Jack gets up, he climbs out of his bed & heads to the hallway. I keep his bedroom door closed for his own safety - he can open it but at least the sound wakes me up so he's not wandering around the house all by himself. He will stand at the top of the stairs with his wonderful 2 year old smile and announce: "Jack's awake!" Let the games begin. Can I make a confession? He usually watches Curious George on PBS in the mornings. It is one of the few reasons on earth he will sit still for 25 consecutive minutes. He is very curious himself and it can be disconcerting to step out of the shower to find his sister's pet frogs in the sink instead of their aquarium or to find all the silverware on the kitchen floor. Many times I've heard people talk about what a negative thing the tv is, or how horrible it is to use it to "baby sit" your kids. But I think the truth is in the middle- this is a powerful medium for good or bad. Alan Ladd would put it like this, "A tv is a tool, Marion. It's no better and no worse than the man that uses it." (A quote from the western "Shane"). If Jesus chose to physically be on the earth today, he would be on tv. Maybe he would purchase airtime to get his message out, maybe not. But he caused enough of a stir that there would be no way for Him not to be on tv.
Well, I have really enjoyed this little chat. Not sure if there is anything of value here, to tell the truth. Just some early morning ramblings of some guy waking up and considering his life. The wisest man who ever lived did that a lot, of course his writings about it are of value. So if you're looking for something of value, I would recommend the Bible. If you're just curious, thanks for taking a minute to let me ramble. And to you I say, Ramble on. Keep considering your life until it makes some sense. My page is no longer blank, and my little Jack is awake.
One thing about writing is that you start with a blank page. There are all kinds of thoughts about writer's block, getting started, how to turn a thought or idea into a written work, etc. When I started this blog it was just a way to process some of the thoughts & emotions I had. Then a friend, then another, mentioned that they had read it, and somehow that changed something for me. It was like I wanted to say something of value to whoever happened upon this blog, and a new dynamic was introduced. Gradually it seemed as if the blank page was waiting to receive words of wisdom, or insight, or whatever could be of benefit. Then it became something to do, which wasn't quite as fun as it had been to write it. So I suspect it would not be as fun to read. Not that I really expect the early morning musings of someone who's daytime identity is a CPA to be really fun anyway.
So I'm going back to the blank page. Just me and the morning. Cup o' Joe, laptop, and a few quite moments before the kids wake up & the race begins. It's quiet now. I can hear my wife upstairs, moving around quietly so as not to wake Jack. Once he's up the house is a different place. My next door neighbor is a single man, his house is no bigger than mine but I imagine it is roomy for him. With 3 active kids I am sometimes wishing for more square footage. But there are some real advantages- you do spend more time together, in part because you are physically closer together. And my kids don't seem to mind, not in the least. When Jack gets up, he climbs out of his bed & heads to the hallway. I keep his bedroom door closed for his own safety - he can open it but at least the sound wakes me up so he's not wandering around the house all by himself. He will stand at the top of the stairs with his wonderful 2 year old smile and announce: "Jack's awake!" Let the games begin. Can I make a confession? He usually watches Curious George on PBS in the mornings. It is one of the few reasons on earth he will sit still for 25 consecutive minutes. He is very curious himself and it can be disconcerting to step out of the shower to find his sister's pet frogs in the sink instead of their aquarium or to find all the silverware on the kitchen floor. Many times I've heard people talk about what a negative thing the tv is, or how horrible it is to use it to "baby sit" your kids. But I think the truth is in the middle- this is a powerful medium for good or bad. Alan Ladd would put it like this, "A tv is a tool, Marion. It's no better and no worse than the man that uses it." (A quote from the western "Shane"). If Jesus chose to physically be on the earth today, he would be on tv. Maybe he would purchase airtime to get his message out, maybe not. But he caused enough of a stir that there would be no way for Him not to be on tv.
Well, I have really enjoyed this little chat. Not sure if there is anything of value here, to tell the truth. Just some early morning ramblings of some guy waking up and considering his life. The wisest man who ever lived did that a lot, of course his writings about it are of value. So if you're looking for something of value, I would recommend the Bible. If you're just curious, thanks for taking a minute to let me ramble. And to you I say, Ramble on. Keep considering your life until it makes some sense. My page is no longer blank, and my little Jack is awake.
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