Change

I have been a bit sensitive to change recently. Here are some examples...

A few weeks ago, a guest needed a place to sleep so I moved over to the futon room. That night I slept great (which is kind of unusual for me) and that is where I'll still be sleeping tonight. Maybe it is the mattress, different room, direction of the bed, or some other mysterious, elusive reason, but sleep has been had a much greater quality since this move.

This morning we did a circuit in the weight room including ab machine, triceps, leg press, shoulder press, lat pull-down, and sit-ups. Some of the guys were getting up to new high weights on the ab machine. One of the guys did a set of nine reps at one hundred pounds. I was over at triceps but just knew that I could do at least that even though I've never been above 90. So when I got back over there, I did twelve at 100. Back in August, I could only do half that weight. That is the way it pretty much is for all the exercises. This is still a fairly new thing for me but I've been enjoying it so much.

Other examples include moving to a different office at work and asking for help on a side-project that has been pretty empowering.

So I don't know. Change just for the sake of change is probably not a good thing. But change also can be very interesting and even exciting. Change is movement.

Follow-Up to Knocking

Wow, my bed is nearly shouting my name right now, but I just read an email that blew my mind. Here is an excerpt (if the author happens to read this, I hope you don't mind me sharing):

"Your right how simple it is but how hard it is for some of us to knock. All day I have been watching the kids in my classroom miss so many learning opportunities because they are afraid ask, or seek out new ideas."

This past summer, several us went on a trip with Jim and he ended up with a nick-name The Enabler. He helps people to knock on doors. The author of this email highlights such a huge responsibility that we all face - to help others overcome fears, to ask, to seek, to knock.

Out!

Good night,

Todd

Fishing

Wow, it is great to be home by 10:00 PM on a Monday. This is the first time this year to be in my house by this hour on a Monday.

Yesterday, we celebrated Angie's (my cousin) and Dad's birthday over at my grandparents' house. My dad is an avid fisherman. Over the years, he has collected some pretty cool fishing gear - fish-finders, a fishing scope to see down in the water, all different kinds of lures, even a fishing boat. He has also had quite a few interesting stories including a truck ending up in the lake.

So it was no surprise to see him open a gift of more fishing gear. He unwrapped the box and we beheld this amazing little fishing pole and reel. It folds up and even includes a compartment for a lure or two. In typical Wise family fashion, he passed it around the circle of people gathered in the living room. When it ended in my hands, I eagerly attempted to cast the weight (no hook tied on - thankfully). I pulled the rod back and pushed the release button will casting forward. Umm, yeah, the weight flew across the entire room and into the kitchen. It just cleared the people still sitting at the table. Needless to say, this created quite a stir and my little cousin Eric laughed and laughed. (Actually, thinking about his laughing is making me laugh right now.)

I thought about this a little more though today... about casting. Without casting (over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, in some cases), it is never possible to catch any fish. I think back to the numerous fishing trips that I took with Dad... the trips in the rain, the uncomfortable times when I was seriously overdue to spend some time in the bathroom, the times that we sat for hours without even a bite. The crazy thing is that without those times, we would have never caught any fish.

Knocking

Take a minute to check out my buddy Trent's post, Slap Bracelets and Swirly Pens. (Since he posted a picture, I needed to return the favor.)

Last night, we had a conversation after church. One of the things we talked about is a possible mission/retreat trip to Crandon/Argonne, Wisconsin, this summer. This is still in the talking phase, but the pieces seem to be coming together. Regardless of the outcome, it really highlights a verse that came into my mind yesterday and has persisted throughout today.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7)

I have read this verse before but it is starting to take on more meaning. I guess even though the verse seems pretty straight-forward, it is really hard to really believe and accept and trust in the broader implications of this verse. It is hard to believe that this verse could be real and relevant.

However, it is becoming increasingly clear that asking, seeking, and knocking are very real and relevant. I have been looking for and knocking on (albeit a bit hesitantly) some doors lately and have been a bit startled to have the doors crack open. Of course, there is always the possibility that the doors will be slammed shut. However, even these doors that are slightly ajar have offered such a refreshing sense of hope and revitalization.

Anyways, check out Trent's post for some further insights!

Driving

While in the Dominican Republic, the thought of fear came into my mind. On one of our excursions into the city, we took both of the vans. I ended up being driver number two. Within blocks, the vans were separated and of course we did not have the walkie-talkies or cell phones to communicate between the two vehicles. Driving in the Dominican Republic is very different from driving here in the U.S. Basically, stop signs don't mean much. Cars cut in and out of traffic. Honking the horn is considered a necessity rather being offensive. So there I was driving a van with passengers and not knowing for sure where we were headed. Pedrito was in the front seat but of course there was a bit of a language barrier. He is also protective (this is a good thing) but he was overly concerned about the roads being slippery (there had been some sprinkles) and I think he was more than a little uncomfortable with my driving (probably a little bit warranted). However, truth be told, I was a bit nervous, too - driving in the chaos in a place had been to since 2007. Then this calm came over me. Just go. Not recklessly, of course. But going was definitely safer than being hesitant or getting scared.

Meijer

Last night, I stopped by Meijer after class to pick up protein bars. Meijer is a convenient place to stop about every other week to buy a few necessities.

However, last night was very different.

The parking lot was empty.

In fact, several of the very closest parking positions were available. Probably only 20 cars occupied the entire parking lot.

It was almost eerie.

Usually, this place is hopping and it is necessary to park at least 5-10 positions into the parking lot. This empty parking lot was a pretty dramatic visual of our mounting economic woes.

Last week, Marshall County's unemployment rose to over 12%. This number is absolutely incredible and mind-boggling.

More troubling, though, are the faces behind those numbers.

Coffee Creamer, Fire, and Life

Disclaimer: I do not advocate attempting the demonstration described herein. However, it is quite impressive.

Before the trip to the Dominican Republic, Jim asked me if I could come up with a catalysis demonstration to use in his message. I looked around a little on the Internet but could not come up with anything that was safe and/or used readily available chemicals. So after returning from the D.R., I get an email from Jim on Friday asking about the demonstration for Saturday night. [Bleep] I had completely forgotten about the demonstration and quite frankly didn't have much more left (time or energy) to come up with something. However, I pulled up one of the websites that I had bookmarked and there was the demonstration. (Catalysts are one way to affect the rate of reaction or change. However, there are other ways: temperature, surface area, and concentration. After talking with Jim, I realized that any one of these demonstrations of changes in rate of reaction would get the point across.) If you pour some coffee creamer into a bowl and put a flame against the creamer, it just turns brown. Not too exciting at all. However, if you take some of the creamer and sprinkle it into the flame, it is possible to get this amazing fire ball. (There are two reasons for this phenomenon. First, the surface area of the coffee creamer increases significantly. Consequently, the fire has more access to creamer area. Second, there is much more oxygen available to the surface of the creamer to make for a classic combustion reaction.) I was thinking about this some more today and it just really astounded me. This is so much like life. It is so easy to just sit in a cup, moping around, letting the excitement just tinge the surface but never really leading to any ignition. However, when we get out out of the cup and take a jump (re-position), crazy things can happen. So by now, I know your probably tempted, but don't do it (play with coffee creamer and lighters, that is). However, I'm wondering about my own life. Where is the Holy Spirit trying to get some fire burning? Am I being receptive or just sulking in the cup? After all, it does "only take a spark to get a fire going."

Until later,

Todd

(By the way, when I read this in the Message from Colossians 1:13, I thought about the creamer in a cup. "God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons.")