Filed under: rhythm
My wife has designed a comfy corner in our bedroom. We don’t have a large house and our bedroom is certainly not large (I’m actually proud to say that my wife and I SHARE one closet and one dresser) but she put this chair in the corner that came from my grandmother’s house and a bookshelf. She even hung a light directly over it that perfectly lights up a book. Having a space is good because it makes it that much easier to build a rhythm of reading, playing guitar or whatever you do in a nicely lit corner. 
Filed under: rhythm
I used to think of journaling as “dear diary, here are my feelings…” and that sounded so little-girl-ish and I really didn’t want to go there. But journaling as a spiritual and mental exercise (discipline) is so much more than that – really not that at all. Getting your thoughts from swirling random thoughts that you have one second and then they are gone just as fast down to black n white words on a page (screen) can be really revealing. I use a journaling software called MacJournal (there are free and pay versions…guess which one I use…haha). I can type pretty fast and I’m amazed at those journaling times when I just begin to type what I’m thinking – at what comes out (of my fingers not my mouth). Some people only want to write with pen or pencil, they feel closer to the words that way. Whatever…try it. Try it for 7 days in a row. Journal your thoughts, prayers, or about something you’ve read or a movie you’ve seen. Don’t be a sissy. Do it.
I’m up early. It’s part of my rhythm. It’s one of the few times when I won’t be interrupted. I can read, write, think, pray, etc. Ed is also a morning person. He has started coming over around 6am most days. Why? He just wants someone to read around…not necessarily with…some days we’ll do our reading, praying, etc in 2 different rooms but having someone else there kind of focuses your energy for some reason. Of course we also end up talking and hanging out. It’s good for both of us. This pic was taken at 6:56am. 
One of my favorite things to do is give away free water. One of the purposes of our church, and my life, is to serve others in the name of Jesus. Not a bait and switch type of thing but to simply serve others. One of my favorite ways to do this is buy water bottles, lots, like 800 or 2000 or so and give them out, freely, in public places. Come join me one day. Today we’ll be in the Target parking lot – the new Target mind you – and give out about 800. Will 20 visit my church tomorrow after I give out 800 bottles (that would be a .25% return, which stinks by the way if you’re into marketing or advertising)? Probably not. That’s not the point. The point is to serve and nudge people and let them know that there are people out there who “love God, love others and enjoy life.” 
I’m an extrovert. Not just outgoing but I get energy from being around others. When I get down I want to strike up the grill and invite 50 friends over. That’s energizing for me. But…at some point even I get, as my wife calls it, “peopled out.” Yesterday, after working most of the day at the cafe, hearing CNN headlines all flippin’ day (it makes me nervous) in the dining area, and knowing I was talking with the young people that night – I was getting overloaded. So…I went to my office (everybody else was gone) and sat in complete silence for 30 minutes. To some of you that seems like a long time…a whole sitcom you say?! To some of you 30 min is not enough. I didn’t pray really. I didn’t sleep either. I was so burned out on information and voices that I just sat and focused on Jesus. Not the middle-eastern peasant wonder-worker (that was a long time ago) but the living, active, “what are you doing now” Jesus. It was difficult actually b/c it’s easy to see Jesus as the bearded white guy with a robe and that’s hard to do away with. But after 30 min I felt energized again. I recommend it.
We got our dog, Missy, through Save-a-Life pet adoptions. They thought she was a boxer/husky mix but through some research we are 99% sure she’s mostly basenji (do you hear the certainty in that sentence?). Basenjis are chasers, super-affectionate, and only bark (howl) when alarmed or annoyed. She never barks unless she is alarmed which is nice. Below is a picture of her focusing on a cat – she wants to chase it really bad and was shaking but I was standing at the bottom of the steps so she couldn’t get off the porch. It took me months to get her to listen to my voice at all (once she got off the porch after said cat and the listening part of her brain shut off). Dogs do exactly what they are supposed to do? This picture is really cool to me b/c I love to see a dog doing what it’s made to do. She is focused.
Occasionally, as in daily or more often, I/we have to get to the point where I say “Jesus, do with me whatever you want.” In spite of all excuses or obstacles or doubts or fears…whatever You want. That is my rhythm. I want to stay in Jesus’ gravitational pull…He’s strong enough to hold me there. He is my focus. 
Filed under: rhythm
Sometimes you just need to shut it down. This past Friday I was physically and mentally tired. Nothing overwhelming, just done for the day. So, I bought some dinner (mmmm, ribs), got a movie (one for Bess, one for us), and turned the phones off. Saturday morning I worked a bit (some mentally, some physically…both were good) but then I took my daughter to my in-laws and my wife went with me to the GA. Southern football game. Go Eagles…fight, fight, fight! It was nice to be away from Savannah and just enjoy the football game and be back at the old school. Sometimes you just need to shut it down.
