Places of Common Ownership

Some of the things my wife and I have enjoyed the most while we have lived in the Upstate of SC have be places of common ownership. The places we've enjoyed the most have been the local state parks and national forest that are within an hour to two drive of our home. We've camped out, we've gone day hiking, we've stayed at a cabin by a lake, we've walked on the beach, we've helped clear trails after stoms have come through, we've looked up at the night sky with no lights around to hide the stars. It's great to be able to enjoy the outdoors without having to pay a sigificant amount. Every time Fall comes my wife's eyes light up and she can't wait to find a good overlook to check out all the changing leaves.

Places of common ownership also include museums, libraries, zoos, rivers, lakes, public beaches... things we've often helped pay for through our tax dollars but which also provide great opprotunites for a wide range of people to enjoy a variety of things at a reasonable cost.

Listening to: Eric Clapton "from the cradle"

Learn How

I'm working on learning how to make do with a lower income instead of needing a higher one. For the last 12+ weeks I've been hanging out and taking care of our little baby Benjamin. We've slowly worked at switching from a 2 income family down to 1. The last time I drew any type of paycheck was 11 weeks ago. Come Monday morning I have to finalize my decision to return to the job I had prior to taking a leave or continue to stay at home with my little boy. It's really deeper than just staying home with him ... I am also using the time to support my wife in all that she has going on with her career and hopefully work toward a personal career change as well. It's a big step... it's a big decision. A lot of what-if's have occupied my mind all weekend. The job really doesn't mean all that much to me besides the security of a second income ... I have found little personal satisfaction in my work over the last 12 months ... and the decision to stay at home with my little boy who is growing and changing each day vs. going back to a corporate atmosphere where there is a seemingly clash of values and goals is ultimately not a hard one to make. The issue is really taking a step from something that is fairly safe, sensible, stable... something that I could "make" work vs a time of change over the next several weeks and months. A time requiring more planning and thoughtfulness about things that we haven't had to think through the last two years or so. A time of uncertanity ... a time of change.

Listening to: Christopher Miner "the calm of paradise"

slow down

Last night we went to the Anderson Civic Center amphitheater to listen to the NewSpring band play. We got there prior to the concert and ate dinner with our friends while sitting on blankets or short-chairs. It was great to be outside with family and friends - the weather was great... as was the concert. I think our little boy was a little overwhelmed - but it was great to be there as a family.

At one point during the concert the band took a break. During this time I layed back on the blanket we brought and saw something that for-whatever reason I haven't noticed in a while. There were several of them just blinking away up above me (us). It was nice to lay back ... and see stars (and a couple of airplanes... and a satellite or two). Now I'm not sure what I've been doing the last several months but I seem to have forgotten that there were stars up there and that it's really cool to look up at them and think about how big the universe is... Somehow I hadn't forgotten the moon... just the stars. Then I thought about where I might could go where I could see more... and more ... where the stage lights or the lights from the city weren't hiding them from me...

Listening to: U2 How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (loudly)

Resist covetousness & consumerism

I think everyone struggles with this to some extent. You see a house, car, clothes, or whatever IT is and say to yourself ... I sure would like to have that. Then the wheels start moving and you figure out a way to get whatever IT is ... when you really don't really need IT. You end up spending more money that you shouldn't, possibly more money than you have, and possibly making payments with interest on something you should never have bought.

My wife and I faced a form of this when we were preparing for the arrival of our first child ... and will continue to deal with IT as he grows. What type of baby furniture to buy, what toys to get, what type of matterss to use, what types of diapers to use, which kind of clothes to buy... etc... With little or no self-control you can easily spend several thousand dollars on Things for your child that simply aren't crucial for your childs development. For the most part the child would be content sleeping in a little onesee, on a pillow, covered with a blanket... but that's not totally realistic. Does your child know the difference between Carter's clothing or the Target brand? How about between Pampers or Huggies diapers and a generic? You want to make good decisions - decisions that you hopefully won't regret - but hopefully staying within a reasonable framework that won't cause you to loose sight of the things that are really important.

Listening to: David Gray Life In Slow Motion

Appreciate Creation

Along with the changing colors of the trees and cooler weather during fall... the Anderson Fair comes to town...

A friend and I went to IHOP last night to study for a couple of hours. We were seated in a corner out of the main path of people so we could hopefully focus a little on our studying. After about 20 minutes the table right behind us was seated. We were eating our food and beging to study when the guys at the table behind us started talking. I don't think it was the guys off of Blue Collar TV or the main character off of My Cousin Ed ... but it was a table full of his immediate cousins or offspring. I felt like I needed to leave right away ... run home and put on a dirty pair of jeans, a flannel shirt with holes in it, and my boots (after I coated them with mud) ... and then go back. They had a fairly simple vocabluary ... about 10 words made up most of it. They were loud and basically harassed the waiter most of their time there. I think their cell-phone went off about 10 times in less than an hour, the volume was turned up so high we could here the entire converstion, and whoever answered the call everyone in the resturant informed about their personal lives during the converstion. Needless to say it made studying a little interesting. My friend said that maybe they weren't locals... maybe they had come over from the fair (since it is in town) ... to be honest I think it could go both ways.

Listening to: Alison Krauss & Union Station "Home on the Highway"

emphasize a joyful life

It's easy to become short-sighted and focus only on the little things that need to be changed, the things that drive you crazy, that things that need to be fixed, that need to be done... while in reality we have a tremendous amount of things to be joyful about. The things in my life that often cause me to loose focus or at least shift my focus include worries about money, family issues, problems at work, career change, housework and... I know there are others.

My little boy helps remind me to be joyful. No matter where he goes he always seems to make friends with everyone. Whether it is because of his looks or because he's only a little over 14 weeks old... he brings out the best in most people. A little girl at the YMCA looked up at me and said "HE Smiled at me!" with all the excitement she had. Pictures of him seem to help brighten the most difficult days of friends and family. Random people at resturants and at the grocery store like to peek inside his carrier and walk away smiling - I have no idea what they are thinking but it seemed to make a big difference in their day. The best part is getting him up in the mornings. He is so awake and constantly smiling. He seems to be waiting for someone to pick him up and give him a big hug. I know that no matter what I may be wrestling with, no matter what unexpected event will come up later in the day or what worry I may allow to cloud my vision or shift my focus .... I know that I am going to have a great time with my little man in the mornings.

Listening to: Tracy Chapman "New Beginning"

Cultivate contentment, desire less

This idea originally struck me the greatest last fall when I went on a long-weekend Hurricane recovery trip with a group out of Hendersonville, NC. Our "job" during this trip was to help several homeowners basically rip apart their homes. The area had been flooded in one of the worst floods in recent histroy. Floodlevels reached higher than the anticipated 100 & 500 yr flood levels. Anywhere the flood waters had touched had to be torn out and discarded. Personal items, family heirlooms, applicances, sheet-rock, flooring, ... everything. Just huge stacks of what was now trash piled outside home after home ... street after street. At one home you could tell that one of the occupants was a woodworker and another an artist. All the handmade shelves and various projects .... and many completed paintings, other pratically finished works, and all of the supplies .... were all piled on the edge of the road waiting for the trash company to pick up.

In recent weeks I was again reminded to "cultivate contentment, desire less" after a series of natural disasters struck the US, Guatemala, and Pakistan... in each of these events "normal life" was totally dismantled as individuals and families lost most if not all they owned... and they begin to relocate and start life all over again. I also received several emails from friends working abroad ... living and being "content" in situations that the average person would absolutely find absurd. Yet they are having an amazing impact through the work they are doing.

Not that owning "things" or having hobbies is a "bad" thing ... just that my focus needed to be more on the eternal and more on the intangibles that a storm, a flood, a fire... can't sweep away. Things like relationships, family, and my relationship with the Lord.

Listening to: James Blunt "Back to Bedlam"
Latest Movie watched: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit starring Wallace & Gromit

simplicity

The inspiration for this blog came from The Cry: An Advocacy Journal for Word Made Flesh Fall 2005. (see link to Word Made Flesh website). A majority of the articles center around Simplicity. These articles profoundly impact me each time I read through them. Hopefully the insights and reflections that I share in upcoming entries will ultimately keep this as an underlying focus.