"Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning."
Yesterday morning while mowing my lawn, I chuckled to myself as I recalled mowing a lawn when I was twelve years old.
I had sung "Give Me Oil In My Lamp" since I was a small child. I had also seen oil lamps burning. I thought oil was something that was supposed to burn.
My great aunt owned several rental houses that she had inherited from her brother-in-law, my grandfather. When I got old enough to mow lawns she employed me to mow these yards. She not only paid me to mow, but she gave me the lawnmower.
I had watched my older brother check the oil gauge in his mower, so I did the same thing to make sure that it was full. But he told me that the mower was not supposed to burn oil. I didn't understand why you needed this combustible liquid in the mower that wasn't supposed to burn. I guess I should have asked my brother or somebody, but I just trusted my own faulty logic. Since the mower wasn't supposed to burn the oil in the first place, I decided that checking the oil wasn't necessary. It was just one less thing I had to do when I mowed. I figured that the mower didn't even need it.
Several weeks into the summer while mowing a yard the mower developed a pinging sound in the engine. I didn't pay that much attention to it. As I continued to mow, the pinging sound got louder. But I continued to mow. Then a few minutes later the engine ground to a sudden stop. When I tried to start it, the cord wouldn't even move. It was stuck.
I pushed the mower up the street to a filling station and asked the attendant to take a look at it. He pulled the stuck cord, looked at me and said, "It's froze up." I asked, "It's what?" He pulled the dip stick out of the mower and said, "There's no oil in it. It's froze up."
I learned a new word--lubricate.
I pushed my mower across town to my great aunt's shop. I told her what happened. Now your aunt might have scolded you. Or told you to pay her for the mower. My aunt did neither. She told me to check the oil from now on and to pick out another lawn mower. So was I a recipient of grace and love or suffering from affluenza? I'll let you decide.
It was a valuable lesson, even if it was at my aunt's expense--whereas oil doesn't burn it serves a useful purpose in an internal combustion engine. When I bought my first car four years later, I checked and changed the oil quite frequently. I still do. But the first time I ran out of gas, I was reminded that gasoline does in fact burn.
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Friday, April 15, 2016
The Good Jesus or the Evil Jesus?
"Jesus loves the little children, all the little children of the world."
"Parents, do you want your twelve year old daughter to spend eternity with the Devil and Jack the Ripper? Then you need to be sure that she gets saved." (a direct quote from a revival evangelist at the church of my childhood).
"Connector 3", as it is called, is at exit 328, the interchange at I-75 and GA 3 south of Dalton, Georgia. There is a billboard just north of this interchange that has been there over three years. I don't know how much it costs per month to rent a billboard there, but I can't believe that it's very cheap. Some organization thinks the message on this billboard is of vital importance to the travelers along I-75.
This sign reads in big letters "Jesus is Lord." And then in smaller letters underneath it reads, "And you know it."
Since I pass that way quite often, I have read the sign many times and have had much time to contemplate its possible meaning. I read it this week and I still have no idea what the creators of the sign intend, so I can only guess.
This sign, as well as a multitude of signs in front of churches around here, seem to contain a rather menacing message. The intent of the words seem to be to strike fear in the heart of the reader. Last week I saw a church sign that read, "Stop, Drop and Roll won't work in hell." A few years ago during a triple digit heat wave, a local church sign read, "Hot? Think about hell." It is apparently very important to many Christians that people go to hell. You may say, "No, that's the point. They don't want people to go to hell." If that's so it seems to me the signs could be somewhat less threatening and a little more inviting. A little less of the evil Jesus and a little more of the good Jesus.
"Jesus is Lord and you know it" may mean just that. "You know that Jesus is Lord." But that's not the way it hits me. To me it's not that different than the other two signs I referenced. To me it's saying "Jesus is Lord. I'm quite sure that you (average I-75 traveler) have never acknowledged Jesus as Lord. But you know this is true. Therefore, you are going to suffer the eternal consequences." Again your guess is as good or better than mine, but that's the way it feels to me.
Years ago I felt the need to proof text my beliefs by referencing particular verses of scripture. I no longer need to do that. But back when I did, I worked out an elaborate scriptural path out of hell. The idea was that even if you found yourself in hell, you didn't have to stay there if you didn't want to. Back then I also felt the need to share my deeply held convictions with other people, with other ministers in particular. I no longer feel the need to do that either. As I presented my case I found that the ministers not only disagreed with me, but were quite upset that I could believe there was an escape from the fiery flames of hell. It actually made them mad! Almost to a person they said, "If people can get out of hell, then my ministry is for nothing. I'm wasting my time." I'm just going to let you figure that logic out for yourself.
In case you're curious about my theory on a less than eternal hell, it involved Philippians 2:10-11 and Romans 10:9. I then combined that with 1 Peter 3:19-20 (that Jesus descended into hell and preached to the captives) mixed with a little Einsteinian time-warp theory and voila ! everyone for all time has a Biblical ticket out of hell.
I wrote a letter to that church with "Hot? Think about hell" sign. In the letter I talked about the good news of Jesus Christ. I suggested that their sign could instead read, "Hot? Our Sunday services are air conditioned." The next week the sign was gone. The evil Jesus seems to delight in forcing unrepentant sinners to bow before him and then throwing them into hell, a place of eternal torment. The good Jesus seems to want to help, to heal and to forgive. Why do so many people prefer to worship the evil Jesus? Hell if I know.
"Parents, do you want your twelve year old daughter to spend eternity with the Devil and Jack the Ripper? Then you need to be sure that she gets saved." (a direct quote from a revival evangelist at the church of my childhood).
"Connector 3", as it is called, is at exit 328, the interchange at I-75 and GA 3 south of Dalton, Georgia. There is a billboard just north of this interchange that has been there over three years. I don't know how much it costs per month to rent a billboard there, but I can't believe that it's very cheap. Some organization thinks the message on this billboard is of vital importance to the travelers along I-75.
This sign reads in big letters "Jesus is Lord." And then in smaller letters underneath it reads, "And you know it."
Since I pass that way quite often, I have read the sign many times and have had much time to contemplate its possible meaning. I read it this week and I still have no idea what the creators of the sign intend, so I can only guess.
This sign, as well as a multitude of signs in front of churches around here, seem to contain a rather menacing message. The intent of the words seem to be to strike fear in the heart of the reader. Last week I saw a church sign that read, "Stop, Drop and Roll won't work in hell." A few years ago during a triple digit heat wave, a local church sign read, "Hot? Think about hell." It is apparently very important to many Christians that people go to hell. You may say, "No, that's the point. They don't want people to go to hell." If that's so it seems to me the signs could be somewhat less threatening and a little more inviting. A little less of the evil Jesus and a little more of the good Jesus.
"Jesus is Lord and you know it" may mean just that. "You know that Jesus is Lord." But that's not the way it hits me. To me it's not that different than the other two signs I referenced. To me it's saying "Jesus is Lord. I'm quite sure that you (average I-75 traveler) have never acknowledged Jesus as Lord. But you know this is true. Therefore, you are going to suffer the eternal consequences." Again your guess is as good or better than mine, but that's the way it feels to me.
Years ago I felt the need to proof text my beliefs by referencing particular verses of scripture. I no longer need to do that. But back when I did, I worked out an elaborate scriptural path out of hell. The idea was that even if you found yourself in hell, you didn't have to stay there if you didn't want to. Back then I also felt the need to share my deeply held convictions with other people, with other ministers in particular. I no longer feel the need to do that either. As I presented my case I found that the ministers not only disagreed with me, but were quite upset that I could believe there was an escape from the fiery flames of hell. It actually made them mad! Almost to a person they said, "If people can get out of hell, then my ministry is for nothing. I'm wasting my time." I'm just going to let you figure that logic out for yourself.
In case you're curious about my theory on a less than eternal hell, it involved Philippians 2:10-11 and Romans 10:9. I then combined that with 1 Peter 3:19-20 (that Jesus descended into hell and preached to the captives) mixed with a little Einsteinian time-warp theory and voila ! everyone for all time has a Biblical ticket out of hell.
I wrote a letter to that church with "Hot? Think about hell" sign. In the letter I talked about the good news of Jesus Christ. I suggested that their sign could instead read, "Hot? Our Sunday services are air conditioned." The next week the sign was gone. The evil Jesus seems to delight in forcing unrepentant sinners to bow before him and then throwing them into hell, a place of eternal torment. The good Jesus seems to want to help, to heal and to forgive. Why do so many people prefer to worship the evil Jesus? Hell if I know.
Monday, April 11, 2016
2:55
"I can see me lovin' nobody but you for all my life." Happy Together
1966 and 1967 must have been very hopeful years for me. Often while listening to 60s music on Spotify, I learn that the songs that fill me with the most joy were released during those two years.In '66 and '67 I was in the 7th and 8th grades at the Enterprise Junior High. The school is directly across a side street from where my grandmother and aunt lived. I road my bicycle less than a mile to school and I walked across a side street every day to eat lunch at the home of my grandmother and aunt. They were always glad to see me and I was glad to share lunch with them.
In the 8th grade I didn't have a girl friend. I had had two. My first girlfriend and I were friends in the 5th and 6th grades. We had been in the same class for several years, but the sparks flew in the 5th grade. I had no idea how to express my feelings, but I had deep feelings just the same. Did we ever kiss? Are you kidding! We never even held hands. And yet there was something between us. So much that years later, after we both were married, her mother said "I thought you would be my son-in-law". We only had one date. On a half day, my best friend, his girlfriend, my girlfriend and I walked downtown and had lunch together at The Sweet Shop. He and I sat on one side of the table and the girls sat on the other. But for a sixth grader it was exciting all the same.
In the 7th grade, for reasons I don't remember, I moved on to someone else. I liked this girlfriend a lot too. And she had horses ! We spent many afternoons riding her two horses all around Enterprise, Alabama. That summer my trombone and I made the award-winning Enterprise High School Marching Band as a rising 8th grader.The friendship with that girlfriend ended early in my 8th grade year. I got rather affectionate with her best friend on the band bus coming home from a football game late one Friday night. And that was that. I missed my girlfriend. And I missed those horses ! I hardly ever spoke to either girl again. The wages of sin.
The 8th grade gave me time to reflect on the meaning of life and the responsibility of having a girlfriend. But something else happened that year. Since I couldn't drive at 14 years old, I must have been in my parents' car when a song played. That song became my favorite song and continues to be a touchstone of happiness for me today. I already loved The Association from "Cherish" the previous year, but "Windy" had me from the first note. I immediately fell in love. I not only fell in love with the song, but I fell in love with Windy. If you know the song you know that Windy is a sprite and not a person, but that didn't matter. I was smitten. I eventually bought the 45, but it was when it randomly played on the radio that I enjoyed it the most. How could one song about an ethereal fairy fill me with so much happiness? How can it still?
About a year ago I was reading about Windy's history while listening to The Association on Spotify. I learned that the song was written by a young woman named Ruthann Friedman. Ruthann was born in the Bronx and became a formidable musician in her own right. In San Francisco her friends included the members of Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin. She also became friends with Van Dyke Parks. In time his collaborations included The Beach Boys, The Byrds and Randy Newman. She enjoyed all those significant relationships, but it was Parks who introduced her to The Association. This band recorded and released Windy in 1967. It was a hit! Within a few days, the song rose to #4 on the Billboard Top 100. And it rose to #1 in my heart.
I enjoy following Google article links to see where they lead me. That morning a year ago that trail led me to Ruthann Friedman's email address. I wrote her a short note expressing what her song had meant to me over my life. To my joy and delight I received a nice reply thanking me for my words and that I had made her day! I treasure that email to this day.
In 1967 The Turtles released Happy Together. Since I had no other girlfriend, I guess you could say that it was mine and Windy's lovesong. Well it was as far as I was concerned anyway. Windy didn't have horses, but she could fly !
1966 and 1967 must have been very hopeful years for me. Often while listening to 60s music on Spotify, I learn that the songs that fill me with the most joy were released during those two years.In '66 and '67 I was in the 7th and 8th grades at the Enterprise Junior High. The school is directly across a side street from where my grandmother and aunt lived. I road my bicycle less than a mile to school and I walked across a side street every day to eat lunch at the home of my grandmother and aunt. They were always glad to see me and I was glad to share lunch with them.
In the 8th grade I didn't have a girl friend. I had had two. My first girlfriend and I were friends in the 5th and 6th grades. We had been in the same class for several years, but the sparks flew in the 5th grade. I had no idea how to express my feelings, but I had deep feelings just the same. Did we ever kiss? Are you kidding! We never even held hands. And yet there was something between us. So much that years later, after we both were married, her mother said "I thought you would be my son-in-law". We only had one date. On a half day, my best friend, his girlfriend, my girlfriend and I walked downtown and had lunch together at The Sweet Shop. He and I sat on one side of the table and the girls sat on the other. But for a sixth grader it was exciting all the same.
In the 7th grade, for reasons I don't remember, I moved on to someone else. I liked this girlfriend a lot too. And she had horses ! We spent many afternoons riding her two horses all around Enterprise, Alabama. That summer my trombone and I made the award-winning Enterprise High School Marching Band as a rising 8th grader.The friendship with that girlfriend ended early in my 8th grade year. I got rather affectionate with her best friend on the band bus coming home from a football game late one Friday night. And that was that. I missed my girlfriend. And I missed those horses ! I hardly ever spoke to either girl again. The wages of sin.
The 8th grade gave me time to reflect on the meaning of life and the responsibility of having a girlfriend. But something else happened that year. Since I couldn't drive at 14 years old, I must have been in my parents' car when a song played. That song became my favorite song and continues to be a touchstone of happiness for me today. I already loved The Association from "Cherish" the previous year, but "Windy" had me from the first note. I immediately fell in love. I not only fell in love with the song, but I fell in love with Windy. If you know the song you know that Windy is a sprite and not a person, but that didn't matter. I was smitten. I eventually bought the 45, but it was when it randomly played on the radio that I enjoyed it the most. How could one song about an ethereal fairy fill me with so much happiness? How can it still?
About a year ago I was reading about Windy's history while listening to The Association on Spotify. I learned that the song was written by a young woman named Ruthann Friedman. Ruthann was born in the Bronx and became a formidable musician in her own right. In San Francisco her friends included the members of Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin. She also became friends with Van Dyke Parks. In time his collaborations included The Beach Boys, The Byrds and Randy Newman. She enjoyed all those significant relationships, but it was Parks who introduced her to The Association. This band recorded and released Windy in 1967. It was a hit! Within a few days, the song rose to #4 on the Billboard Top 100. And it rose to #1 in my heart.
I enjoy following Google article links to see where they lead me. That morning a year ago that trail led me to Ruthann Friedman's email address. I wrote her a short note expressing what her song had meant to me over my life. To my joy and delight I received a nice reply thanking me for my words and that I had made her day! I treasure that email to this day.
In 1967 The Turtles released Happy Together. Since I had no other girlfriend, I guess you could say that it was mine and Windy's lovesong. Well it was as far as I was concerned anyway. Windy didn't have horses, but she could fly !
Saturday, April 9, 2016
The Mystery of Music
"O great mystery
and wonderful sacrament
that even the animals saw the new-born Lord
lying in a manger.
We saw the new-born, and a chorus of angels
Praising the Lord. Alleluia.
This morning I was listening to a musical work of Samuel Barber of which I am very familiar, The Prayers of Kierkegaard. Often when I listen, I Google and read about the composer and the piece. This morning I read about another composer.
There was a short passage in the Prayers that reminded me of music from somewhere else. I realized that it sounded very much like a passage from The Testament of Life by Halsey Stevens. In the spring of 1979, which was my last semester in graduate school, I recruited and conducted a choir of 33 singers and performed The Testament of Life. I had the flu during the last few rehearsals and was still recovering during the performance. I don't listen to that recording very often because with my own music I am very critical. I tend to hear the flaws instead of the beauty. That discussion is for another time.
So this morning while listening to Barber I was reading about Halsey Stevens. I learned that his major music influences were Bach, Copland, Stravinsky and Bartok. All of these composers have been a significant part of my own music history. But more importantly I learned that one of his students was Morten Lauridsen. Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium ( o mahnhoom meestehreum) touched me to my core the first time I heard it and continues to be a musical touchstone when I need to be moved.
In the spring of 2005 I was in my chorus room alone when I realized that my soul was being warmed and changed. It was a few seconds later before I realized that the band down the hall was playing O Magnum Mysterium. The sound sucked the air out of my lungs. A few weeks later when the band director was going to be out of town, he asked me to fill in for him at his rehearsal. Although I had directed many choirs over the years, I had only conducted a band once or twice and never one this large and this good. The student he left in charge told them to get out O Magnum Mysterium. This was something I was very glad to do.
When I raised my baton, the band became completely silent and all of my music ability, training and appreciation were suspended in the quiet air for a few seconds. When I gave the downbeat and the band started playing, I thought my heart would break from the beauty.
I have done pretty well as a singer, conductor, performer and composer, but I don't think any of these are my best musical ability. I think my expertise is in my ability to listen, to comprehend and to connect. When those composers put pen to paper they felt something, they were trying to say something. My head may not always understand, but my heart does. To think that when I'm listening to Lauridsen, I'm also listening to J.S. Bach. I find that to be quite incredible.
It's now the spring of 2016. forty-six years after that kid chose music. His heart knew things that his head had no way of knowing. His decision has been my life. He did good. We did good.
In the late 1800s, my great grandfather Wayland Dick Helms taught Sacred Harp singing schools all over southeast Alabama. Helix. Double Helix. Little wonder I enjoy music so much. It's in my DNA.
and wonderful sacrament
that even the animals saw the new-born Lord
lying in a manger.
We saw the new-born, and a chorus of angels
Praising the Lord. Alleluia.
Whom did you see, shepherds, say,
Tell us, who appeared?
We saw the new-born, and choruses of angels
Praising the Lord. Alleluia."
Tell us, who appeared?
We saw the new-born, and choruses of angels
Praising the Lord. Alleluia."
In the spring of 1970, when at seventeen years old I decided to give my life to music, I had no way of knowing where that decision was going to take me.
The significant music in my life keeps going in circles, Well really in a spiral. Then again, not a spiral more but more like a helix. A helix is a spiral on a 3-d plane. A spiral simply goes in circles, whereas a helix is gradually ascending. Every loop is connected but is higher than the previous one.This morning I was listening to a musical work of Samuel Barber of which I am very familiar, The Prayers of Kierkegaard. Often when I listen, I Google and read about the composer and the piece. This morning I read about another composer.
There was a short passage in the Prayers that reminded me of music from somewhere else. I realized that it sounded very much like a passage from The Testament of Life by Halsey Stevens. In the spring of 1979, which was my last semester in graduate school, I recruited and conducted a choir of 33 singers and performed The Testament of Life. I had the flu during the last few rehearsals and was still recovering during the performance. I don't listen to that recording very often because with my own music I am very critical. I tend to hear the flaws instead of the beauty. That discussion is for another time.
So this morning while listening to Barber I was reading about Halsey Stevens. I learned that his major music influences were Bach, Copland, Stravinsky and Bartok. All of these composers have been a significant part of my own music history. But more importantly I learned that one of his students was Morten Lauridsen. Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium ( o mahnhoom meestehreum) touched me to my core the first time I heard it and continues to be a musical touchstone when I need to be moved.
In the spring of 2005 I was in my chorus room alone when I realized that my soul was being warmed and changed. It was a few seconds later before I realized that the band down the hall was playing O Magnum Mysterium. The sound sucked the air out of my lungs. A few weeks later when the band director was going to be out of town, he asked me to fill in for him at his rehearsal. Although I had directed many choirs over the years, I had only conducted a band once or twice and never one this large and this good. The student he left in charge told them to get out O Magnum Mysterium. This was something I was very glad to do.
When I raised my baton, the band became completely silent and all of my music ability, training and appreciation were suspended in the quiet air for a few seconds. When I gave the downbeat and the band started playing, I thought my heart would break from the beauty.
I have done pretty well as a singer, conductor, performer and composer, but I don't think any of these are my best musical ability. I think my expertise is in my ability to listen, to comprehend and to connect. When those composers put pen to paper they felt something, they were trying to say something. My head may not always understand, but my heart does. To think that when I'm listening to Lauridsen, I'm also listening to J.S. Bach. I find that to be quite incredible.
It's now the spring of 2016. forty-six years after that kid chose music. His heart knew things that his head had no way of knowing. His decision has been my life. He did good. We did good.
In the late 1800s, my great grandfather Wayland Dick Helms taught Sacred Harp singing schools all over southeast Alabama. Helix. Double Helix. Little wonder I enjoy music so much. It's in my DNA.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
10% Happier
My sister put in my hands the book 10% Happier by Dan Harris. I read the delightful book and have put into practice several of the meditation exercises he espouses. This meditation may involve no more than five minutes a day. The idea is that we don't have to meditate hours a day to achieve more personal peace and harmony in our lives. And we don't have to be twice as happy to feel better about ourselves throughout any given day. This "enlightenment" has made a big difference in my attitude, disposition and overall quality of life.
I have some very good camera equipment that helps make me happy. I have some very good music equipment that yields hours of satisfaction and enjoyment. I have a very nice automobile that not only gets me places in style, but its Bose stereo system, including Sirius/XM radio, is a never ending source of musical pleasure. Who would have thought I could live the 60s again? And in stereo ! None of this stuff was cheap.
However, I recently made a purchase, including shipping, that cost about $14.00 that is providing for me a fountain of joy.
I love everything about my home. After moving three times in five months, we settled in this house in 1986 and have been here ever since. As much as I enjoy just being home, there is a place in our home that's my personal space. In one corner of our den there is an oak computer cabinet. We bought it for a desktop computer. I filled each cubby hole with my tower and components. Now my laptop resides on this desk and I fill the cubbies with other useful things. Like anyone, I use the computer for a number of things, but the thing I do most often is to combine Spotify with my Bose noise-canceling headphones. This marriage then becomes a well-spring of musical pleasure. Besides Spotify, this is where I see and hear movies on Netflix using the same headphones. My wife's television doesn't bother me and my movies don't bother her. This arrangement works for both of us.
I find noise-canceling headphones to be amazing things. The device not only delivers sound, but it also listens to sounds and eliminates them. It has a microphone that picks up ambient noise. "Its circuitry then creates a wave that is 180 degrees out of phase with the noise, thus canceling that frequency" (internet sources).
To power this circuitry, the headphones use a small battery. The battery came with the device. As I listen to music and movies this battery gets used up as batteries tend to do. Since it takes several hours to charge the battery, every couple of weeks I'm out of business for a day. And sometimes it goes dead right in the middle of a good movie . I realize that this is a first world problem, but since I live in the first world--it's a problem. A few weeks ago while listening to music, the very obvious solution popped in my head--buy another battery! After a quick online search, I found the battery . A few clicks and a credit card number later, the battery was on its way to my house
The Amazon box in the mail was like Christmas morning! Now while I'm listening with one battery, the other battery is charging. The fresh battery not only fills the gap of a lost day of music, but enhances my enjoyment of the battery in use just knowing it's not going to die alone.
The thing about happiness is that I never know how happy I'm supposed to be? Although I'm relatively happy, should I be even happier? How would I know? But I do know that I'm finding more and more joy in little things. Some of those things cost $14.00 or less, but most of those things cost nothing at all. I'm finding that in daily meditation contentment is as close as my breath. And that makes me at least 10% happier.
I have some very good camera equipment that helps make me happy. I have some very good music equipment that yields hours of satisfaction and enjoyment. I have a very nice automobile that not only gets me places in style, but its Bose stereo system, including Sirius/XM radio, is a never ending source of musical pleasure. Who would have thought I could live the 60s again? And in stereo ! None of this stuff was cheap.
However, I recently made a purchase, including shipping, that cost about $14.00 that is providing for me a fountain of joy.
I love everything about my home. After moving three times in five months, we settled in this house in 1986 and have been here ever since. As much as I enjoy just being home, there is a place in our home that's my personal space. In one corner of our den there is an oak computer cabinet. We bought it for a desktop computer. I filled each cubby hole with my tower and components. Now my laptop resides on this desk and I fill the cubbies with other useful things. Like anyone, I use the computer for a number of things, but the thing I do most often is to combine Spotify with my Bose noise-canceling headphones. This marriage then becomes a well-spring of musical pleasure. Besides Spotify, this is where I see and hear movies on Netflix using the same headphones. My wife's television doesn't bother me and my movies don't bother her. This arrangement works for both of us.
I find noise-canceling headphones to be amazing things. The device not only delivers sound, but it also listens to sounds and eliminates them. It has a microphone that picks up ambient noise. "Its circuitry then creates a wave that is 180 degrees out of phase with the noise, thus canceling that frequency" (internet sources).
To power this circuitry, the headphones use a small battery. The battery came with the device. As I listen to music and movies this battery gets used up as batteries tend to do. Since it takes several hours to charge the battery, every couple of weeks I'm out of business for a day. And sometimes it goes dead right in the middle of a good movie . I realize that this is a first world problem, but since I live in the first world--it's a problem. A few weeks ago while listening to music, the very obvious solution popped in my head--buy another battery! After a quick online search, I found the battery . A few clicks and a credit card number later, the battery was on its way to my house
The Amazon box in the mail was like Christmas morning! Now while I'm listening with one battery, the other battery is charging. The fresh battery not only fills the gap of a lost day of music, but enhances my enjoyment of the battery in use just knowing it's not going to die alone.
The thing about happiness is that I never know how happy I'm supposed to be? Although I'm relatively happy, should I be even happier? How would I know? But I do know that I'm finding more and more joy in little things. Some of those things cost $14.00 or less, but most of those things cost nothing at all. I'm finding that in daily meditation contentment is as close as my breath. And that makes me at least 10% happier.
Friday, April 1, 2016
Pursued by Unfailing Love
"Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life." Psalm 23:6 NLT
There have been times recently that I have felt that my day was scripted, that I was following some unseen screenplay that was written by someone else. And all I had to do was to act it out.
But then as these days have accumulated, I get the sense that my whole life has been scripted, that I have been the actor and someone else was the writer and director. Whether this is true or not I have no way of knowing, it's just what it feels like.
The King James Version of Psalm 23:6 is marvelous enough, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of life." Over the years I have experienced great comfort in the thought that goodness and mercy were behind me cleaning up the messes that I have sometimes made of things. But when I consider the New Living Translation above, that "goodness and unfailing love" are actually chasing me, the possibility of this screenplay becomes very possible, very real, So then now the handwriting is not on the wall, but is in my heart.
Looking back I have experienced so much goodness in my life--in my childhood, in my education, in my various vocations, and in my family and relationships. But then there have been other times when my life was completely off the rails. It's especially in those times that "follow" apparently became "pursue." I don't see any other way that things could have worked out like they have for me.
But I say "worked out" as if it's over, as if that's all she wrote. Whereas I have no promise of living through the day, more than likely there are some even better days ahead. As I give goodness and mercy fewer messes to clean up, perhaps they have an even greater opportunity to move me along in paths of righteousness.
If I could give a title to this screenplay, this drama that is my own story, I can think of none better than Pursued by Unfailing Love. But what if "shall follow me" is as good as it gets? Isn't that what I learned as a child? Isn't that good enough? Should I hope for more? As good as "shall follow me" is, "will pursue me" seems to be the only way some of the story has been possible. That's what I choose to believe. "Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life." Cut. Take.
There have been times recently that I have felt that my day was scripted, that I was following some unseen screenplay that was written by someone else. And all I had to do was to act it out.
But then as these days have accumulated, I get the sense that my whole life has been scripted, that I have been the actor and someone else was the writer and director. Whether this is true or not I have no way of knowing, it's just what it feels like.
The King James Version of Psalm 23:6 is marvelous enough, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of life." Over the years I have experienced great comfort in the thought that goodness and mercy were behind me cleaning up the messes that I have sometimes made of things. But when I consider the New Living Translation above, that "goodness and unfailing love" are actually chasing me, the possibility of this screenplay becomes very possible, very real, So then now the handwriting is not on the wall, but is in my heart.
Looking back I have experienced so much goodness in my life--in my childhood, in my education, in my various vocations, and in my family and relationships. But then there have been other times when my life was completely off the rails. It's especially in those times that "follow" apparently became "pursue." I don't see any other way that things could have worked out like they have for me.
But I say "worked out" as if it's over, as if that's all she wrote. Whereas I have no promise of living through the day, more than likely there are some even better days ahead. As I give goodness and mercy fewer messes to clean up, perhaps they have an even greater opportunity to move me along in paths of righteousness.
If I could give a title to this screenplay, this drama that is my own story, I can think of none better than Pursued by Unfailing Love. But what if "shall follow me" is as good as it gets? Isn't that what I learned as a child? Isn't that good enough? Should I hope for more? As good as "shall follow me" is, "will pursue me" seems to be the only way some of the story has been possible. That's what I choose to believe. "Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life." Cut. Take.
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