"Keep It Simple"

Jesus now called the Twelve and gave them authority and power to deal with all the demons and cure diseases. He commissioned them to preach the news of God's kingdom and heal the sick. He said, "Don't load yourselves up with equipment. Keep it simple; you are the equipment. And no luxury inns—get a modest place and be content there until you leave. If you're not welcomed, leave town. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and move on." (Luke 9:1-5, The Message)

I read these verses from Luke while spending some time in my office at Lake Banet. An image from this past week entered into my mind upon reading, "Keep it simple; you are the equipment." On Tuesday, Jenn and I did our normal 4.25 mi run. Lately, I've been running an additional mile after this run. This works out great because we are able to run to the athletic complex on campus. Then, Jenn turns right and heads home. I turn left and take another pass through campus. On this last pass, I took the alternate way around the grotto from our normal route and came across a substantial pile of branches, brush, and twigs. "Hmm," I thought, "that was sure nice of someone to clean up in the grotto." Later, I was so pleased to find out that this was Jenn's work. In reflecting today, I was also excited to think about the simplistic beauty of her actions - of her being God's tool to help in the maintenance efforts of this haven of peace.

SJC Camping Extravaganze III: Oh Yeah!

This past weekend, Jenn and I joined friends from my college dorm, Bennett Hall, for SJC Camping Extravaganza III. Perhaps, the youngest member of our camping group, Bennett, summarized the weekend most eloquently...

He kept running around exclaiming, "Oh yeah!"

God's Air Conditioning

Over the past few weeks, Jenn and I have spent several Saturday and Sunday afternoons at Lake Banet on the campus of our alma mater, St. Joseph's College. This past Sunday, Jenn and I sat on our new beach chairs... in the lake. We read our books and enjoyed the silence.

The beach is nestled away from US231 just enough that the sounds of the cars and semis are only barely audible. No houses and yards disrupt the shore-line. Two lifeguards were the only other people at the beach. Okay, another lady is there almost all the time, but she usually is off on her own. So, yes, we were reading and enjoying the silence.

Yet, it wasn't really silent at all. The breeze rustled the leaves. The birds harmonized in the trees. The occasional movement of Jenn's feet resulted in a few happy splashes. The water lapped subtly against the shore.

Later, our friend, Nick, joined us at the lake for a brief respite from the fast-pace of life and the almost oppressive heat. As the three of us relaxed and kept cool in the lake, minnows started nibbling at us. Well, they really started swarming around me. One even went into my pocket. In fact, they kind of swarmed around some awkward areas.

We all laughed.

It is kind of amazing when you think about it. In this world filled with Facebook, Nintendo Wii, shiny vehicles, spacious houses, and the latest trends, three friends enjoyed something a bit more organic.

We enjoyed an afternoon in God's air conditioning.

Depth of Field: The Difference Between Spectators and Converts

This morning, Seth Godin wrote about Fans, Participants, and Converts. One of the differences between spectators and converts is the individual's depth of field. Spectators are just trying to take in everything that is around them. They bounce from trend to trend without any commitment. Converts are able to see the details in the landscape of life - and make a difference. The irony is that embracing this shallow depth of field ultimately leads to deep and expansive focus.

Depth of Field

As previously mentioned in this blog, I take quite a few pictures as part of my work. Pictures are an essential component of my ongoing research project into the causes of discolored copper. However, outside of work, I also experiment a bit with photography. Basically, it is fun to experiment with different camera settings. And the feedback is only a click away! Since receiving my camera as a Christmas present, I have been most interested in depth of field. Depth of field has to do with the portion of the picture that is sharp. Quite a bit more technical lingo in optics more adequately describes depth of field, but the picture above has a shallow depth of field.

Yesterday, I was thinking about depth of field while driving home. It is intriguing. Think about the world that we occupy. We continue to have exponential changes in technology, communication, and the overall pace of life. It would be overwhelming to keep track of all the latest developments. It is often overwhelming just trying to keep track of day-to-day schedules and commitments. It is difficult - perhaps exhausting - to keep everything in our view sharp and in focus. What happens, though, when we let some of the stuff on the fringes start to blur out? What happens when we can put more emphasis on what is truly important while de-emphasizing all of the superfluous background noise?

Cookies!

Today, I received a text from Jenn:

"Pulled out the mixer. Working on surprise #2."

Jenn has enjoyed organizing the kitchen with all of the new items that we received as gifts. Yesterday, she surprised me with Aunt Lois' strawberry lemonade - compliments of the new blender. So this text piqued my interest and the day could not get over fast enough.

I arrived home from work and walked into the kitchen singing, "It's the freakin' weekend..." Then, my gaze landed on the table and my eyes widened. The table was covered in... cookies.

"Ooh, cookies!" I exclaimed.

I heard some laughter from the backyard. Jenn was reading in the hammock.

So I scampered out to say hello and was hopeful that perhaps it would be okay to eat a cookie.

Sure enough, Jenn said to get a cookie.

So I dashed back into the kitchen and inhaled a cookie.

Then, something dawned on me. These were not just any ordinary cookies. These were old fashioned sour cream drop cookies that Grandma used to make. Only, they were different! You see, Grandma only ever made them with white frosting. My initial thought upon discovering the cookies was that they were some great 4th of July cookies. It never occurred to me that these could be the same cookies from years past. But really, they were different. They were red, white, and blue... Jenn made them in her own special way!

(Thanks to Anita for the copy of the Grace United Methodist Church cookbook!)

Mutual Encouragement

From July 16, 2008:

"Okay, I've put up a few posts on Vermont (as duly noted by Ben). We also went jumping. (Note the outstanding farmer's tan.) True confession: I was very scared about this jump. (This is not a confession for those bystanders who witnessed this jump.) Why was I scared? The rock wall slopes away from the jump site toward the water. Consequently, I could see the wall below me and was scared that I would not jump out past the wall and into the swimming hole. I envisioned myself sliding painfully down the rock wall and to the bottom of the swimming hole never to jump - or for that matter, do much else - again. My knees were shaking. Each time I tried to take the plunge, I would get right to the edge and then... step back. Finally, after some patience and encouragement from Jim and Ben (Hey guys, can you do that again? I just want to watch - and make sure that you survive one more time), I jumped. Wow, that was a great feeling. I ended up doing it again. Later, I started thinking about my life. To often, I get scared - scared of rejection, scared of failure. The easiest and safest option is to back away and avoid the pain. Instead of diving in, I often try to hedge my position a little bit - try to provide some safety. This time, I jumped."

Fast forward to June 16, 2010:

While in Riviera Maya, Jenn and I went on two excursions. On the first excursion, we took a step back in time and wandered the Mayan ruins. At the end of the excursion, we stopped at a cenote to do some jumping (top photo). My thoughts immediately went back to those jumps in Vermont (middle photo). However, this time, rather than fear, exhilaration pervaded my body, my soul. What was the difference? Well, I knew - I believed - that it was going to be okay to jump. The beautiful thing about this story is that this time Jenn and I were on a trip together and... she jumped. I asked her about this later and she said that she would have never jumped if we weren't there together.

Perhaps this is kind of what Paul referred to in Romans when he wrote, "that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith" (1:12). We can't get too far on this journey of life alone. Yet, together, by trusting in God, we can mutually encourage each other to take those plunges!