tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37283149967611171082024-03-21T06:41:54.358-07:00Christopher's MeanderingsI write about my experiences related to faith, life, and books. Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-7176452640763441352019-04-29T11:38:00.002-07:002019-04-29T11:38:33.901-07:00Dinomania - A Short Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Most people enjoy a good work of fiction, and this book is no exception if encountered with that expectation in mind. Unfortunately, the author attempted to write more of a sociological commentary on our relationship with dinosaurs. Most of the book addresses the Western perspective on dinosaurs, but there are sections which show global development.<br />
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Where Boria does well is inviting the reader to re-imagine our relationship with dinosaurs in such way that are not just over-commercialized kitsch. He also invites the reader to view dinosaurs through different historical-cultural lenses which show up most readily in artistic renderings of dinosaurs from the last two hundred years. Prominently, the Crystal Palace dinosaurs show how Imperial Britain viewed dinosaurs as an extension of her own place in the world.<br />
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There are a few areas where to book fails. It is obviously influenced by post-modern constructive views which leave you wondering what exactly a dinosaur actually is without ever answering the question. One of the most confusing and hair-brained chapters associates dinosaurs with modern totems. Although there are some relevant and helpful thoughts about our relationship to death and the world, this section falls flat as it attempts to articulate our relationship with these creatures of old.<br />
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Much more could be said about this book, but I'm not sure it is worth the time. I came in with high hopes, and it was easy reading. However, there were entire sections which were entirely muddled and unclear. Probably the best thing I realized while reading this book is that there may not be a good reason to associate certain dinosaurs with other species. Even this could have been communicated more clearly and effectively though.<br />
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If you need a filler for the airplane or lazy afternoons to take a nap with, then I would recommend this book. The pictures are great. Otherwise, find a better book to avoid the over-commercialization and kitsch of our favorite extinct species.Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-46010126373224572522019-03-19T08:08:00.002-07:002019-03-19T08:08:23.530-07:00This is America My heart was heavy again last night* as I watched two fresh, but not uncommon news stories unfold. First, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/15/world/asia/new-zealand-shooting.html" target="_blank">the shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand mosques</a>. Second, <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article227692494.html" target="_blank">another video of police using what appears to be unnecessary force has reached national attention</a>.<br />
<br />
Let's start the narrative off with this: I am a capitalist. I believe in the power of free markets and hard work to accomplish a lot. Supply and demand can create wealth that is not limited and does not necessarily take from others.<br />
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We do not enjoy capitalism equally today.<br />
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The problem comes when those who already have access to resources, land, or other assets are given additional legislative or societal power to gain leverage over other people. This is not a free market. This is crony capitalism with unbridled free markets. Capitalism separated from morality is a beast ready for blood. It tears the fabric between people and lifts a few while simultaneously and necessarily squashing many people.<br />
<br />
You might disagree with me. That's fine, but are you really o.k. with where we are at as a country? Nothing really bothers you?<br />
<br />
Inequality and abuse of power bother me. These are multi-faceted problems, and worth thinking about in different ways.<br />
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Extreme poverty as a percentage of our global population continues to shrink, yet our population continues to grow along with our food needs. <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview" target="_blank">Parts of sub-Saharan Africa, like Sudan, continue to have rising numbers of extreme poverty</a> and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/02/the-worlds-major-famines-from-the-last-century/" target="_blank">famine is at hand.</a> At the same time, <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/11-09-2018-global-hunger-continues-to-rise---new-un-report-says" target="_blank">malnutrition and poor diets continue to be a problem.</a><br />
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Anecdotally, it can cost me far more to eat fresh and healthy food than it costs me to prepared or processed foods. I think this is a common experience for many people in the U.S. It's why Whole Foods may be mocked as "Whole Paycheck."<br />
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Recently, I was able to visit friends in Chicago. It was simultaneously thrilling and disheartening to visit the city and see neighborhoods which have been either completely revamped or given a new exterior in the last ten years. We know rich people are moving to cities, and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-12-18/these-are-the-neighborhoods-attracting-america-s-richest" target="_blank">Chicago is no exception</a>. Poverty still lined the city streets in both the usual ways like dingy public housing and neglected tenement buildings, and it was hidden in the commutes of people tired and commuting to work on public transit and barely operating vehicles. Gated buildings and luxury building shared the streets with these same people, but technology and other subtle signs of disparity provided chasms of impenetrable distance.<br />
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Many thoughts crossed my mind on the trip. I was in Chicago for the beginning and end of my trip, but the middle was in the Ft. Lauderdale-Miami during most of it.<br />
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Miami Beach show-cased the dazzling wealth of the U.S. High rises and glitzy shops and neat restaurants lined the immaculate streets.<br />
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A short bus ride later and I was surrounded by people who had a whole different set of concerns. We passed a hospital, and part of my ride included a few parents who appeared to be from a lower economic background who left us at that location. I couldn't help but notice the differences in dress and attitude from those who drove Lamborghinis and Landrovers to the families who surrounded me on the bus.<br />
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I'm not going to assume I know the stories of any of those people. I do know the people on the bus appeared more tired, worn out, and like they were just trying to get to the next thing. The people in Miami Beach probably spent more on their handbags, actually I'm pretty sure of this for a couple I saw, than my fellow bus riders did on a month of rent.<br />
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This is America. It's a land of fantastic opportunity, and foregone promises. At a terminal waiting for a bus, I spoke with a guy who grew up in Detroit. He was now canvassing to get a ballot measure for raised minimum wage throughout the state. He briefly shared with me about his different experiences growing up in the North and then migrating to the South. He shared about experiencing racism in all parts of the country. He grew up in the sixties and seventies, and some things he never expected to return have.<br />
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Transit is a mixed bag in this country.<a href="https://www.miamidade.gov/transit/library/system-maps-web.pdf" target="_blank"> While in Florida, I was able to use mass transit opportunities to reach any place I would have wanted to go.</a> The connections were regular and abundant between buses and trains. In Chicago, the story was similar, but a greater degree of wear and tear was visible on much of the equipment. The biggest thing I kept thinking of was how little options there were in Cincinnati. Although I don't live there anymore, I still think about the city a lot.<br />
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This has been my experience of the United States though. We are united in very little. One more story though.<br />
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One night, I decided to take a Lyft to get to the beach quickly after a shower. I had already walked between 11 and 12 miles that day as well as kayaking. My Lyft driver was a gregarious individual who was willing to share about his experiences as well as give suggestions for areas to explore. He suggested Wynnwood which a friend had also recommended. We got onto the topic of gentrification, and he mentioned there were still homeless people in the area.<br />
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When I asked if people in the area were getting jobs and their situation was improving, he thought so. Overall, he thought money being invested in neighborhoods was a good thing. He was a second generation Jamaican immigrant, and his parents had taught him to work hard in school and life. His perspective was that although there was poverty and homelessness in the U.S. it was overall a much better place to be for opportunities than majority world countries. The poverty he had seen firsthand outside the U.S. showed him it was good to be here.<br />
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I end on that story to share a summation of my feelings.<br />
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We live in a country of great opportunity. I still believe in opportunity offered by free markets. We must do better though. We can't pretend like racism has been eradicated. We can't pretend there are not giant gaps between the rich and the poor in this country. Our infrastructure is crumbling around us in many places. Mass transit can be a benefit to all people, even if it costs a lot to implement. When we invest in ourselves, we invest in our future. For those who do not care to invest in who we are as a country, I believe this type of selfishness gets us nowhere fast.<br />
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The way we talk, the way interact with one another matters. We must find ways to bring our country together or we will fail as a nation. Sometimes, it seems like that is what some people want. They are more concerned with their own little kingdoms than they are with helping to see our country grow and prosper. If we want to continue to be the land of opportunity, this single minded selfishness cannot continue. Nationalism which only looks out for the U.S. as well "prepper" mindsets alike have devastating consequences to both society and the individual. Callous individuals who only look out for themselves or their families will only come to dust.<br />
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What does potential police brutality have to do with all this? I believe there are good police, just like there are good people in any profession. There are also bad police. As a society, we must be willing to face this reality. We must also face the reality there are good and bad police procedures, laws, and systems. A society which only seeks to preserve power will find itself in ruin. The preservation of power as such does not protect you as an individual when the system shows its weaknesses. Juries which always protects police because they "fear for their lives" even when a preponderance of evidence is to the contrary do so because they want to believe power is on their side. They think the victim of police violence has somehow erred and that by preserving power, they are preserving their own safety and security.<br />
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The opposite is true. When we do not have clear accountability and only uphold power, we are all in danger. We all may become the victim of unwarranted search, seizure, or violence. We all may experience loss at the hands of unfettered power.<br />
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We have public transit projects which benefit many people, and we have some sorely in need of repair. In the same way, justice becomes an uneven project in this country. We should and can do better.<br />
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When we do better with our money and our justice, we can do better at being a true leader in the world. We can and should care about the rest of the world. This is America. Let's lead.<br />
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*<i><b>This was a post I started, but couldn't finish on 3/15. </b></i>Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-86031602715177972392019-03-13T14:22:00.002-07:002019-03-13T14:23:44.669-07:00Brainless Sameness - A Brief Review Despite the fact that I home school my two boys, I believe in public education. I think that public education is fundamental to the well-being of our country, and our lack of care and attention to many districts throughout the country is a disservice towards a thriving republic. Local taxes and national taxes should support children of all backgrounds, regardless of what the local community provides back in instant return on investment.<br />
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<u>Brainless Sameness</u> by Bob Sornson tackles the inefficiencies in much of American education. It is more of a survey book looking at what brought us to our current state where both children and teachers are failed in education. He also offers ideological shifts met with practical solutions to navigate the path toward better education. The broad solutions he encourages us are proven solutions which could translate into a healthier society.<br />
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Sticking to an antiquated adaption of Horace Mann's educational system lies at the root of our problem in educational systems across our states. Government mandates require teachers and administrations to largely stick to a mandated system of covering material, testing students, and scoring them based on this limited range of assessment.<br />
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Rather than looking toward the development of individual students through competency based learning, we turn to testing and scoring as ways of categorizing people. The failures within this system have long been apparent as schools fail with or without funding, and government programs to bring us into the twenty-first century have been pedagogically and morally bankrupt.<br />
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Sornson offers the model of competency and project based learning as our alternative. Rather than continuing to teach for the test, educators should be allowed to help students flourish. The Horace Mann based system created a scholastic class of ten to fifteen percent of the population. This might have made sense when it took a hundred people to do the work of one farmer or factory worker last year century. In a global and technological economy we must make strides forward in our educational approach. Sornson looks forward to a day when public, private, and home education all reach competency based standards which encourage thinkers who innovate.<br />
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The pragmatic ending to each chapter, and the focus of the book kept it from being dry reading. He was able to craft a practical volume for addressing our needs as a progressive society. Those who are interested in classical education and the liberal arts will not find this book abandoning those principles. Instead, it allows us to look at what our goals as we educate.<br />
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Good books ask us questions and pry more questions from our imagination. If you care about the future of education in your community or our country, I highly recommend reading this book for the ideas it may give you. American ingenuity and educational opportunity deserve more, and this book paints the possibility of a brighter future for all students.Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-64689282716463929232019-03-01T07:55:00.001-08:002019-03-01T07:56:16.882-08:00Listening <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "san francisco" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "ubuntu" , "roboto" , "noto" , "segoe ui" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: nowrap;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/TmAz-cPoVpo?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Louie Castro-Garcia</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "san francisco" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "ubuntu" , "roboto" , "noto" , "segoe ui" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/search/photos/listen-conversation?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Like most people, there are time when I want to check out mentally and stop listening when someone is talking. Last night I had one of those experiences. I was ready to go home, my eyes were tired, and it had been a long day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Then I asked a question. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One of the guys I had played games with suddenly became far more talkative to me than he ever had been. I had already wondered that night if this person was capable of saying something that wasn't sarcastic or negative. I found out he was capable of this simple feat!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">He began to passionately share with me about his daughters, and then one of his favorite games. He talked for at least fifteen minutes without saying a single negative thing. I was amazed. I struggled to contain my tiredness, but I made a mental note to stay close physically to the conversation and to continue to make eye contact. By the end of the conversation, I could tell he had shared most of what he wanted to and was in a better mood than before.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Things I thought about related to this conversation on the way home. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1. It's easy categorize people and assume you know them. There is always more to the story. If we assume we know someone without listening to them, we will miss opportunities to grow in our relationships.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2. Listening can be hard, especially if you are focused on how you feel and what you want to say. There were several times when I had to stop myself from thinking about how I wanted to respond, and instead focused on what he was sharing. If I had shared my own thoughts, I would have missed out what he said next. I probably would have also missed out on the chance to help him have a better night. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3. Listening is a skill to be developed. I can always get better at it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4. Asking questions is essential. When we live in our worlds and never get out of them, we miss other views. This is a different point than number 1 in that asking questions is one way to help us not assume and categorize. What type of questions do I ask? Do I ask leading questions or open-ended questions? Do I ask questions which invite people to share? What do my questions reveal about me? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">5. When I get a chance, one of my favorite questions to ask is, "What's your story?" There are different ways of asking this question, but it is one which allows people to tell their story in their own words. In order to listen, we must be ready to learn from other people.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What questions am I going to ask today? Am I going to be an active listener? </span>Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-22394668614002797712019-02-27T14:25:00.001-08:002019-02-27T15:42:20.075-08:00The Anxious Experience <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">There
are moments when the world feels overwhelming. The inside feels as if it will
make the outside come crashing in through your skull, or at least through the
cavity of your chest.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">That’s
where you feel the longing to connect with other people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
acute. It’s a pull toward community and authenticity and rawness. But the more
you feel it, the more you are afraid of sharing and reaching out to anyone.
Those buzzwords rear back more like buzz saws. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">You
already feel as if your failures are defining you. If you reach out one more
time, you may just be proved right. The self-fulfilling prophet will rear back his
ugly head, shaking his mane in approval of the self-doubt and loathing you
feel. If you’re lucky, he’ll eat you alive instead of just gnawing on you
constantly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After
all, you already doubted whether any of it was true. Social media, the plethora
of choices, and the mistakes of other people have cloaked you in the drape of apprehension.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
feels as if nothing good will come. All the past successes which are part of
your story are shoved to the side by the current fear. If failures are defining
you already, how much worse could it be? It could be worse. Let me count the
ways I love the fear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
could be shoved even more to the side, out of sight, of mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
soul can flounder, when totally out of sight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">To
the ends of my being without grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
despise thee to the end of every day’s<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Most
violent need for want of socialite <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
love thee freely as tied to a birthright<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Of
utterly and completely obsequious compliment<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
abhor thee with passion bent to abuse<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
service of old grievance and need for simple acceptance<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
love thee with a grasping hand, each follower I lose<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">With
my profane prayers. I put up with you while breathing,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Smiles,
jeers, in all parts of my life; and if I so choose,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
shall hold thee bitter until death. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Melodramatic?
Perhaps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
how I feel sometimes. Are the feelings real? Absolutely. Do they describe
reality? Maybe some parts of it, sometimes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Anxiety
crowds out other parts of my own reality. It crowds out positive and neutral
things. It even crowds out very real things more pressing which need to be
dealt with in life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Writing
is one of my coping mechanisms. I’m not always perfectly functional. But there
are better days and worse days. One of the best things is seeing that anxiety
does not define me. In the same way that depression, laziness, or moodiness do
not define me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even
my good traits do not define me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
am a more complex person than how I feel at any given moment (or series of
moments). I am more complex than my mistakes and successes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The way I view my self isn’t even the most
important part of my story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
wait there’s more! My story, my definition of self is a part of something
bigger. There is Good News. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Part
of the Good News is that Jesus has redeemed me. This redemption isn’t just for
me. But it includes me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
all that messiness and fear. Jesus gives me a new definition. If I fully got
the Gospel, in terms of narrative and impact and all that other stuff, I still
wouldn’t fully get the Gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
must be a mix of immanence and transcendence. Mystery is part of the
experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus
speaks to us even in our fear. He speaks even amid my fear and apprehension. He
speaks even during my anxiety. That’s why I am going to embrace it instead of
running away from it.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1irVc9DmKaixAytAHRemvbJOI1RWdHABr84h5bJStNxQNU62ZL4Ch3IHHbEwAuK3Ds1foGyiwZ6myIFhB1kHlD_UAD7kQcRML4vxK7RNjYsNot7f1vN1HL9tQ4MsLgQxK3ZoAh-10ze3D/s1600/1BB4A039-7910-4A90-A14B-0B79F5181790.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1irVc9DmKaixAytAHRemvbJOI1RWdHABr84h5bJStNxQNU62ZL4Ch3IHHbEwAuK3Ds1foGyiwZ6myIFhB1kHlD_UAD7kQcRML4vxK7RNjYsNot7f1vN1HL9tQ4MsLgQxK3ZoAh-10ze3D/s320/1BB4A039-7910-4A90-A14B-0B79F5181790.jpeg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Christ
is all in all. It doesn’t eliminate how I feel. But He is here in it, and I
know I am not alone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-5064699629181763162019-02-25T15:59:00.002-08:002019-02-25T15:59:32.568-08:00This - A Review of Michael Gungor's new Book. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUf9IfMC0eG4whrY8nScJ5Xge6zQ-wP1O6MuiZ8we1lAY4H7mpIB_npby9el-2f0-X5HrdmTUOJ0sE9hqAxvkxvb0yB7HTRDe8jYf0aOdkwVs-O3bLHn4iIn5B3JPtQ3LFpgEghkPPHM5/s1600/IMG_4707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUf9IfMC0eG4whrY8nScJ5Xge6zQ-wP1O6MuiZ8we1lAY4H7mpIB_npby9el-2f0-X5HrdmTUOJ0sE9hqAxvkxvb0yB7HTRDe8jYf0aOdkwVs-O3bLHn4iIn5B3JPtQ3LFpgEghkPPHM5/s320/IMG_4707.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the same way writing about a song never fully shares the experience of hearing the song, writing about this particular book seems like it will be woefully inadequate. Maybe it is just the phase of life I am in, but there are parts of this book that reached me as few books have lately.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I received the book from my father in law while attending the Gungor concert at Hope College last Monday night (February 18th). It was a touching gift, and you could tell me father was excited to be there. Soren, who is ten now, immediately started to consume the book. There was nothing necessarily unusual about this as he has loved the song "Beautiful Things" since he was very young. However, there were a few things that I immediately noticed about the book that drew me in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">First, Soren was making furtive glances at his mother and me while reading. Always means there might be something worth discussing in the text. Secondly, it quickly became clear we were among the first people outside of the publishing community and early release group to be able to purchase copies- always an advantage when you write about books. Third, the dust jacket was dull, but you could clearly see a vivid work underneath. The contrast intrigued me. Finally, I was already processing a lot of emotions as I had been reading about the Gungors and their ideological travels before this last tour. Those thoughts, plus the music was hitting me hard in the feels.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It also helped that Soren mentioned, "I know it's an adult book because he used the F-word, but can I still read it because I'm really interested." Well, there it was, now I had to read the book to review it for my own sanity with my persistent ten year old.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Part of the reason any review of this book would be woefully un-expressive is that it encompasses several genres. Really, it floats between them in a natural way as the book progresses. Allegory, poetry, prose, and sections of personal reflection all work together in what is meant to be a love letter. Is the letter written to me or you? Is it written to Michael Gungor? Yes, these are all true. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Michael, who now self refers as Vishnu Dass or simply God, would like you and I to believe we are part of a cosmic one. If this sounds like something from Eastern Mysticicism, it is clearly influenced by the worldviews of Sufism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. And just for good measure Christianity remains in the mix with some Islam and Judaism for flavor. Although there are claims to the contrary, it reads like a primer for Eastern transcendental mysticism as a response to Christian fundamentalism with a healthy dose of science interpreted through these lenses. The author clearly wants to retain some framework for making sense of the world while simultaneously rejecting a dualist way of viewing the world. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Within this milieu, he defends the idea of catastrophic suffering as part of the oneness. Genocide, patriarchy, and destruction occur as part of the cosmic drama. Gungor (Vishnu Dass?) spends his time comparing the existence of such occurrences as a distraction for the cosmic divine in much the same way as the antagonist's drama of a movie. One particular example of his is that the suicides of Romeo and Juliet are bad when viewed on their own, but the work of the whole is good. Without this type of drama, he argues, the eternal would essentially get bored. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What is most interesting to me about this argument is how it parallels the traditional defense of evil in some ways. Especially in light of his rejection of the Christian defense of God while encountering evil, it is odd for me that he would spend so much time explaining away evil. What is odd is not that he is essentially saying evil isn't real, it is his case for something or everything being essentially good. This goodness is in the cosmic oneness itself. This argument fundamentally relies on hope and trust, and in this way it is the same argument as most arguments dealing with the problem of evil. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Does this mean he is okay with with injustice and unjust systems? No, because these are myths which have no reason to control other myths. Maybe? Or, maybe these are self-deceptions within the cosmos which need to be shed? Does it sound confusing? It is a little. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Vishnu Dass, or Michael Gungor, or Mitch, Mike- whatever you want to call him comes across as someone who has been hurt and hurt deeply. While traipsing through psychedelic experiences, being well-read, and caring about how contemporary science informs our view of the world, a strain is sung throughout the book. To me, it sounds like someone who desperately wants to find peace. It sounds like the song of someone who wants to care, but is tired of being hurt while trying to make sense of it all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At one point, he tells the story of meeting a homeless women in Southern California. The woman is distraught as she asks him and Science Mike for a drink of water. He goes to a local McDonald's and purchases a bottle of water and gets some French fries. After returning to the women, he sees that she is ready to sleep near the beach. There are rats around. I won't spoil the ending, but suffice it to say that this story comes nearer the end of the book and feels more like a self-justification for feeling things without acting. Some people may see me as being uncharitable with this description . However, it's hard to see why else this section is included in the book. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's important to point out that this book includes a caveat about holding teachings too closely. From his point of view, it's only helpful if it's helpful. It's not trying to be something to be held too dearly, so any interpretation could be simultaneously agreed with and disagreed with. Maybe. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I came away from reading this book with several thoughts, but three stick out to me the most.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. Some people feel a need to solve everything. Or at least feel like they finally have a way of understanding the world that makes sense. Christianity would do a lot better to hold onto tension in a truly unique way. I'm not sure this book holds onto to tension, but it certainly reminded me it is good not to know everything. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. There is an interesting argument about our worship of self and ego in the book. As the author points out, Christians are often okay with doubting God but hold firmly to the idea of a self. Without the self, the whole system falls apart. Later, there is an argument that we must fully love self to love other. This argument, I think, implicitly comes closest to the truth all Christians could do better at- loving self and loving other people. Many times we love an idea of ourselves or we love what we think will be a future version of ourselves. This is idolatry. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. Christianity separated from the here is and now is dangerous. It is idolatrous. It is mixed up in a world which creates division and rivalry. I am not calling for complete immanence in terms of politics, economics, or culture wars. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am saying we must be people of love. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Michael and Lisa Gungor's music continues to play an important part in my life. This book has helped me to see a few things clearer. I hold to some things less tightly. In that respect, I appreciate the book. In others, I mourn for a man who seems to be deceived. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Read it if you are willing to struggle through some thoughts, feelings, and experiences. If you aren't, I also understand. </span>Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-3143437895813540562019-02-22T17:55:00.001-08:002019-02-22T18:02:16.762-08:00Friday NightsI'm not good at being smart.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
More than once in my life I have had people call me smart. I have even had people say that I am one of the smartest people they know. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I don't feel smart. I don't even feel average. There are plenty of times when I feel dumb. I feel really dumb. I feel like I am failing at everything I do. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This is not a "pity me, plea." I just know a little bit of how big the world actually is at the present time. I know how little I know right now. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The world is a big place. I am a small person. I am small in my emotional responses. I am small in my ability to figure everything out. I am small in terms of my ability to respond to other people. I am small in terms of my impact. I wish I weren't. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I wish I had a huge impact. I wish I had could speak on huge stages with huge online impact. I wish I could measure my market share and do things that made a difference in the world. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I don't think I'm alone in feeling this way. I feel like I want to make a difference in the world.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mygNZ9x0QhCMVv91v5bQ7Fv4tMQsUODzCA4D3M5FIRlvOPfKDJwyrP4huSbT0cgjRo3g-6fIO_qiKeQmh6k3WAtGGOZtSfz_kIaL6gKmPKyT1bNa98CWpSycWST0Jn4mOf9JakzCo14O/s1600/56036701394__C4E0BF12-D894-4053-B6D6-A4DF3210E878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mygNZ9x0QhCMVv91v5bQ7Fv4tMQsUODzCA4D3M5FIRlvOPfKDJwyrP4huSbT0cgjRo3g-6fIO_qiKeQmh6k3WAtGGOZtSfz_kIaL6gKmPKyT1bNa98CWpSycWST0Jn4mOf9JakzCo14O/s320/56036701394__C4E0BF12-D894-4053-B6D6-A4DF3210E878.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's not like I don't try. I know people from a broad spectrum of beliefs and experiences. I have lived in urban and rural areas. I am not completely inarticulate or lazy. I like to speak. I like to share stories. But I am not having the type of impact I wish I could have. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Life is not what we expect it to be. Everyone experiences different things and looks outside themselves for validation. I am not alone in this expectation. I am a social animal after all.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tonight I enjoyed pizza and games with my boys and it was glorious. Really. I enjoyed it and didn't think about anything else. I read a quote this week about making disciples. For a second, I thought about how I wished I could be making tons of disciples. Then, I realized I was trying to share my faith in several venues. It wasn't as if I was being disobedient. The main place I can see growth and change is with my boys. This area is hard. My boys see the bad in me. They see my depression. They see my love for my wife. They see me struggle. And laugh. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Friday night is a family night. Not religiously, but whenever possible. It's also a good chance to make disciples. Not of me, but of Jesus.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Tonight, after reading from the Psalms and Harry Potter, I prayed with my boys. They got it. I think. I'm not always sure they get it. But tonight, I think they got it. Love God, love people, trust God. God is so much bigger than what they think. It's also okay for God to be mysterious and different and completely other. It's okay to trust. And love. And just enjoy a family night. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Friday nights at home are good. Seek good. Seek love. Seek the Lord. </div>
Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-43008067802844132542019-02-19T20:34:00.003-08:002019-02-19T20:34:52.195-08:00A Recurring Dream The ocean stretches out before me in every direction. Treading water, I can tell it's time for me to swim. Fear is gone. Reticent doubt has been removed. Only blue expanse remains as far as the eye can see and the mind can comprehend.<br />
<br />
The water is warm. I am warm. Comfortable and swallowed in the blanket of the sea, I begin to swim. The horizon breaks in jagged, gentle lines of rolling waves.<br />
<br />
Going forward makes as much sense as going backward. My muscles respond the way they always wanted to when I was in a pool or at the beach. Every stroke, every kick provides a response. Progress isn't about arriving, it's about continuing the journey.<br />
<br />
The sights are the same at each site in the journey. The blue expanse surrounds and envelopes me. Topaz mirrored with slight reflections of the light source just beyond the corner of my eye.<br />
<br />
Firm ground has never felt as right as the resistance of the water to the sole of my foot. Each kick, each movement of a calf muscle, the tightening of my thighs produces the expected result.<br />
<br />
Maybe I have moved position. I might not have moved at all. To stop swimming would be to drown though. There have been times when I certainly felt as if that were the case. Right now, the water is calm. The water is a friend. It has never been my enemy. The adversary is the darkness.<br />
<br />
But there is no darkness here. Only light and water fill my view- my existence obscured by the gentle motion of the waves as I perpetually swim.<br />
<br />
The sky- oh the sky! So brilliant, so calm, so outrageous, so present and yet so transcendent. The water meets the sky and yet I still do not know it. The clarity and the calm brush against me like a hazard and a kiss.<br />
<br />
Swim farther. Do not tire. Swim farther. A recurring dream.<br />
<br />
Seen at the edges of consciousness, sleep may have brought me the dream, but it no longer remains there. The dream dominates my conversations, the lapses in communication, and the misreads of language. But I have never mentioned it to a soul before. It's still there.<br />
<br />
I swim on. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower, as I progress without progress. It feels like home. The chance to change and stay the same.<br />
<br />
If only the ocean knew this place. If only the ocean knew the water by name and reached for the sky to rekindle its love lost. The ocean, the lake, the waterfront broken and jagged miss this place. This place they hold so dear as they call to their lost love. Where have you gone? When will you return? Where are you to be found?<br />
<br />
The dream rampages through my days, breaking the bounds of normal thought. What is sanity after all but the ability to appear a certain way in front of other people? <br />
<br />
My constructs might be simple. The water is simple. The sky is simple. They call to me, bringing me back to them. Inviting me to swim once again.<br />
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<br />Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-29511763117267456272019-02-14T11:55:00.001-08:002019-02-14T11:57:04.120-08:00 Planes and Trains<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I recently started a second (third if you count home schooling) job at a local game store. It involves hosting escape rooms, doing some wood working, and doing some retail. I love the fact that I will be doing some things I enjoy while getting to be with people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The best part of the job is that it works with my schedule to still travel this year in the way I want. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Today, I booked a flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Why? Because I had some ticket vouchers which were going to expire at the end of May and wanted to go somewhere. My original plan was to visit a friend in El Paso, but ticket prices there tripled. So, I started researching warm destinations and ended up with a reasonable round trip experience to Florida.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What am I going to do there? Explore for a day, do some writing while traveling, enjoy the train ride to Chicago, and maybe try something new. Still don't know where I am going to stay, but I am aiming to do this trip as cheaply as possible. If anyone has any suggestion, I am open to hearing them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Amtrak travels between Holland and Chicago, so I am taking the train down on the morning before my flight. It has been a few years since my last Amtrak ride, but I look forward to the time on board to think and people watch. It still amazes me that the United States doesn't have more train options. In my experience, trains are simple and peaceful way to travel when you are alone. Now, they are even equipped with WiFi. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Travel has always been something I enjoy, and the chance to break out of routine for a few days grabbed my attention. For many people in the Midwest and those who live farther north, winter has a way of stealing our joy. Escaping for a few days to sunshine and a different habitat can lift the spirits. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I will be sharing my experiences once I get back, and hope to find some new and interesting things in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. </span>Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-14721791619677736872019-02-06T15:27:00.002-08:002019-02-06T15:37:08.096-08:00Goals, Expectations, and Reality<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I have continued to write everyday, but some of that writing is now in my journal instead of on the blog as it seemed a better venue. However, I wanted to share something I have been thinking about- goals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There are a number of goals I made when I was a younger person. I am a different person than when I made those goals, and the world has changed considerably since then too. Some have been postponed and others have altered. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There are a few goals which have persisted for years though. Rather than share those goals, I thought I would share some of the things which have kept me on track with both the accomplished and long-standing goals. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Motivation, or the "why," must be present for a goal to have any staying power. Here, I am talking about how a goal is carried out on a daily basis. What makes you get out of bed? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Personally, I struggle with depression and there are times when I could just lay down and never get up. However, I know how good I feel after I work out. I also know how much clearer I think after doing a work out. Usually, these things are my motivation for working out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The long term motivation of being healthier, having a healthy heart, and not becoming a couch potato all exist too, but they really are only things which help me to understand my goal better. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Secondly, every goal I have ever accomplished has been broken into smaller goals. This is pretty common for people who achieve their goals. I'm sure I heard it when I was a younger person many places, but I'm not sure where. It's a theme. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The third things is being realistic. If I had tried to run a 10K the first time I walked a 5K a few years ago, I would have probably given up immediately. I know my limits. I know when my body is sore from a workout and when I have pushed it too far. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There is a reason most people encourage runners to only add 10%, at most, to their previous length. Staying within realistic limits helps us to know our capabilities. Whether it is writing, running, or being fiscally conservative we are better able to repeat the activity when it is realistic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Next, celebrate victories. Find a way that fits with the goal and also keeps you excited about it. One of the reason "cheat days" don't work well for most people on a diet or exercise plan is that they don't align with the goal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Maybe we should re-think our language and our practices if we feel the need to cheat in order to accomplish a goal. If the goal is to lose weight, then why not celebrate with small things you enjoy. Celebrate with an appropriately sized piece of cake or other sweet. If it absolutely doesn't fit with your goal, it isn't worth the dissonance to go against your goal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Finally, take time to assess and re-assess. Not everyone can afford a vacation or retreat. However, almost everyone can do things like shut off distractions like television, video games, or social media. Take a break from these things and set aside time for yourself or you and your partner. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Write down your goals. Write down accomplishments. See if there are areas you want to grow. Ask what it would take to grow. What are the realistic, daily steps which would get me there? What is going to motivate me each day? How am I going to feel as I accomplish my goals and mini-goals? </span></div>
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Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-53503258473412527982019-02-04T18:00:00.003-08:002019-02-04T18:00:35.644-08:00Holy Weeks <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">During my high school years, I was lucky enough to spend some time at a Bible camp in central Missouri volunteering. It was lucky because I learned a lot at that camp- other Christians can show you important differences in perspective, the joy of serving students, and the satisfaction of hard work in the sweltering humidity of summer in the Ozarks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Looking back on those times, I see now how precious they were. It was something separate and set apart from all of the hustle and distraction of high school. For me, high school was about music, girls, and grades. Somehow, these few weeks were truly holy in a way I didn't even know at the time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My first impression of the camp was that I was going to be lost in some place time had forgotten. The surrounding hills were populated with people who looked like those old photo's from Johnson's War on Poverty as he visited Appalachia. I thought outhouses were a thing of the past, until my grandparents navigated those twisting roads and the small wooden shacks peeked out between the verdant flanks of the hills. What had my cousins drug me to? Would I regret ever waking hour? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The camp occupies a few acres in the midst of a hollow. I can still see the Gasconade River winding its way along the edge of the property. Bright sunlight would pour into the opening of the pioneer cemetery which bordered the southern edge. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It turned out that the caretakers and constituents of the camp cared for it as a modern, well-apportioned facility. Manicured laws, generous common buildings, and sturdy cabins surrounded a neat chapel. The long cafeteria and staff dormitories rose above a pool smelling of bleach and summer. What a place!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There are many things stuck in my memory from this place, even though I only served a few different weeks over a couple of summers. There are two in particular I will share. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First, the way we celebrated in worship together on Sunday mornings. We worshiped in the round. I had never experienced this before, and it was ground breaking to me. We sang simple songs, accompanied on an acoustic guitar. There was no pretense, and the music filled the building, haunting me to this day. Equality in worship cannot be fabricated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">Second, the daily devotionals given by the volunteer staff every morning. Pictures of people get stuck in your mind. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. I will take one picture of my cousin to the grave with me. It's something I can never fully express, but seeing him worn out from giving himself to younger students, and sharing a simple devotion about Jesus will always stick with me (it was from <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+8%3A24-25&version=KJV" target="_blank">Mark 8:24-25</a> if you are interested). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">The naivety of faith produces much better results than the viciousness of scholastic competition or lavish pageantry. I long for the days of summer when I could have those types of conversations with my cousins again. It was the closest I ever felt to them. It was not long after we started growing apart. Who knows why? I might have changed, they certainly seemed to change to me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">It's easy to look back and see holiness in the set apart times like those weeks at camp. In some ways, I would love to go back there. However, I also know those kinds of impressions are gossamer and will never be replicated fully. Instead, as I reflect I want to look for the holiness in the regular things, the tired things. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">Holy weeks were times to remember and to look forward. The holy weeks of our lives are often only remembered absent-minded or in strictures, fits, and gasps of regulated restraint. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;">Maybe we should return to our tiredness, brokenness, and our giving to other people to celebrate the holy weeks. Maybe I'm just naive in my faith. I'm o.k. with the possibility. </span><br />
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(A typical picture of the Gasconade River in Missouri, <a href="https://fllog.wordpress.com/category/gasconade-river/" target="_blank">from another blog</a>) </div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><br /></span>Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-71018383368296451882019-02-03T19:42:00.004-08:002019-02-03T19:42:41.894-08:00Stone Circles and the Scientific Method<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Every once in a while, a story will come up like it did near the end of of January. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/scottish-stone-circle-90s-replica-gbr-intl-scli/index.html" target="_blank">A stone circle which had been identified as being between 3,500 and 4,000 years old. </a> At its face value, a story like this may cause us to question whether scientists (in this case maybe archaeologists or geologists) really know what they are doing. Then we might doubt the scientific method. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some things to keep in mind at this point though:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. The circle never had a completed study done on it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. Even if it had, individuals in science do make mistakes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. ^ This is why we have peer reviewed journals as well as plenty of other forums to see if someone's findings are worth believing or not. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. In other words, science and the way we carry out <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/scientific-method" target="_blank">the scientific method</a> does not and should not happen in a vacuum. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5. Testing can and should be rigorous.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6. Question everything. Believe some things.<a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/knowledge-analysis/" target="_blank"> Think about how you know.</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">7. Be careful how and when you present things. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">8. Science as a discipline has not been hurt by the missteps of a few people involved in this particular case. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Those are my takeaways from this incident. </span>Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-51783114403439771522019-02-02T19:11:00.000-08:002019-02-02T19:11:25.922-08:00Church, Brains, and Social Interaction <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love thinking about the church and how it could be better at bringing people in. Whether it is Sunday mornings, volunteer opportunities, or smaller group gatherings- there are almost always areas local churches can improve in welcoming new people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Why should the church bother doing this? Without welcoming people, we will not get better at evangelism and discipleship. We will end up talking to ourselves and our effectiveness decreases. Thankfully, God can use the local church in spite of itself, and often does even when we don't think about these things. However, why not try to improve if we can do so?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, in that vein, I started wondering about how we process social interactions and if there was anything we could learn and improve on in local churches. The main reason I started thinking about this was I read a short but provocative article entitled <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/falling-walls-social-relationships-as-a-spatial-problem/" target="_blank">Falling Walls: Social Relationships as a Spatial Problem</a></i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The main thing that post prompted me to think is about how people immediately orient themselves to other people when they enter a local church for the very first time. In most traditional church settings, we navigate people toward a central room for a worship service where almost all of the seating is facing one direction and a limited amount of people dominate the time. Usually, the sermon takes up more time than any other single element in the service, except for maybe music, depending on the church. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In either case, we may be creating an abstract spatial environment where people are orienting themselves towards dependence. It may not be our goal, but it is what we are doing by the very nature of how we are using our time on Sunday mornings. I'm reminded of what <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228276.The_Forgotten_Ways" target="_blank">Alan Hirsch and Leonard Sweet said in The Forgotten Ways</a> about how seating has an impact on how we interact with one another. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Put differently, Sunday mornings may be causing us to think about our relationship to pastors and music leaders in a dependency relationship. By default, whoever is in the front, even if they are using conversational tone and delivery methods, becomes an authority rather than a peer in the faith. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Why would this matter? <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+2&version=NIV" target="_blank">1 Peter 2:5-9</a> makes it clear the church is called to be a priesthood of all believers. The special class status of the priesthood has been abolished by Jesus on the cross. Discipleship means we are all called to a peer relationship where only Christ is lifted up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Am I saying any of the following?: 1. Authority structures should be broken apart in the church. 2. Authority structures are evil. 3. Authority, education, or specialization are bad for the church. 4. Traditional church is evil or unhelpful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm not saying any of those things or any thing else that might be inferred negatively. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What I am saying is that the church could do better. Maybe we keep Sunday morning worship services as they are, but we find other ways to come alongside people and re-orient the social organization in our brains. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are some possibly helpful questions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Do we have settings where the people who are usually up front serve no other role than coming alongside as friends and fellow servants? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-D</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">o we have Sundays where there is opportunity for communal expression of the gifts of the body? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">-Do we regularly allow other people to speak and share the stage? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">-How do we effectively demonstrate the priesthood of all believers? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">-Are we building communities or creating top-down dependency structures in our volunteer systems? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Final thoughts:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1. Church should be somewhere we build <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/demystifying-psychiatry/201206/social-interactions-and-brain-cell-connections" target="_blank">positive stress and social interactions</a>. If your "meet and greet" time isn't more than a quick hand-shake, you might just be causing someone undue stress. Train your church to go beyond a "hi" and invite people to be a part of a meal or neighborhood event where they can get to know one another. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2. It's a good idea to tell people explicitly what we think, expect, and want from them. Every church has a liturgy, even a home church, even if it's informal. Let me people know what you are doing. <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rstb.2009.0160" target="_blank">Giving people new information can help build a bond of trust.</a> This would be a simple area of communication lots of different people can regularly be involved in. Have someone different each week explain things like communion, offering, or upcoming activities in the week. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">3. Practical ways of incorporating what we believe theologically are important. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/01/26/what-processes-are-taking-place-in-our-brains-when-we-learn-new-things/#bed540051f94" target="_blank">They help us to learn in different ways than just hearing or reading. </a>Let's reflect the reality of being the body of Christ instead of just talking about it. We can start with our initial interactions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-53416173181314308742019-01-31T15:26:00.003-08:002019-01-31T15:26:47.737-08:00My top Three Games from 2018I'm about to head out to my weekly board game night in an effort to regain some of my sanity from all the time indoors this week. In that vein, I thought a brief post on games was appropriate.<br />
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2018 was another great year for board and table top games. There were so many published, I haven't even been able to try half of the games I want to yet. Hopefully, we get a little more levity in terms of what is published this year, but there is no guarantee.<br />
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Since the amount of games published last year can be overwhelming, here are my top three games from the year.<br />
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1. <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/230802/azul" target="_blank">Azul</a><br />
A wonderful puzzle game with plenty of replay-ability. I've played it with people new to board games, kids, and veteran games. It's a near perfect filler and doesn't take long to explain.<br />
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<a href="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/itemrep/img/ql-0-t271LVGqbmWA1gdkIH7WvM=/fit-in/246x300/pic3718275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="246" src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/itemrep/img/ql-0-t271LVGqbmWA1gdkIH7WvM=/fit-in/246x300/pic3718275.jpg" /></a></div>
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2. <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/221194/dinosaur-island" target="_blank">Dinosaur Island</a></div>
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Absolutely the most fun I've had with a worker placement in quite a while. Not for those new to board games necessarily, but the bright colors and fun graphics will attract some people and introduce them to a whole new way to play. </div>
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<a href="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/itemrep/img/VevkNKkVOi1DgRBmHqOh1j1azXs=/fit-in/246x300/pic3429338.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="246" src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/itemrep/img/VevkNKkVOi1DgRBmHqOh1j1azXs=/fit-in/246x300/pic3429338.png" /></a></div>
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3. <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/198414/dwarven-smithy" target="_blank">Dwarven Smithy</a></div>
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A game I need to play more. With card crafting and hand/area management, it is a lot of fun and the graphics draw you in. My one complaint would be the quality of some of the components. Overall though, players will be engaged in crafting various rare items. It moves quickly once you get the fairly unique mechanic limitations. </div>
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<a href="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/itemrep/img/oRSCXT3iejCynK91EaXlmCcvMfc=/fit-in/246x300/pic4134467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="244" src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/itemrep/img/oRSCXT3iejCynK91EaXlmCcvMfc=/fit-in/246x300/pic4134467.jpg" /></a></div>
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Did you have a favorite new game last year? Is there something you are looking forward to this year? Let me know!</div>
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<br />Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-83658363070930343702019-01-30T15:12:00.002-08:002019-01-30T15:12:51.597-08:00People walking with God. Isaiah 2:2-4<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Isaiah 2:2-4 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2 In the last days<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">as chief among the mountains;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">it will be raised above the hills,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">and all nations will stream to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">3 Many peoples will come and say,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">to the house of the God of Jacob.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">He will teach us his ways,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">so that we may walk in his paths.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The law will go out from Zion,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">4<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He will
judge between the nations<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">and will settle disputes for many peoples.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">They will beat their swords into plowshares<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">and their spears into pruning hooks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nation will not take up sword against nation,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">nor will they train for war anymore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Is 2:2–4). Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.myjewishlearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/andrew-shiva-wikipedia-temple-mount-aerial-view-1598x900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://www.myjewishlearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/andrew-shiva-wikipedia-temple-mount-aerial-view-1598x900.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Temple Mount in modern Jerusalem. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Commentary:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vs.
2<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
are the last days? There are two typical responses to a passage such as this:
1. To over accentuate the eschatological significance and assume that it only
applies to the times which appear apocalyptic in tone. 2. To underestimate the
eschatological importance of passages like this one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
the first case, people like <a href="https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2017/winter/feature/the-late-great-planet-earth-made-the-apocalypse-popular-concern">Hal
Lindsey</a> or <a href="http://leftbehind.com/">Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
</a>have encouraged a popularization of eschatology <a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-61/dispensational-premillennialism-dispensationalist-era.html">which
has not always been a majority view in the church. </a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This type of pre-millennial eschatology is not
alone in encouraging an aggrandizement of the last age, but it is certainly
influential in the United States. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The major problem with this view of the last
age is that it leaves out the importance of the church in the kingdom work at
this current time. It is no accident that one of Jesus’s favorite
self-designations is “Son of Man” (e.g. – Mark 10:35-45).* It is inseparable
from passages such as Daniel 7 and the imminent expectation of the Messiah in the
people of Israel. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As Jesus announces the kingdom, I believe he is ushering in
the beginning of the last days. To separate eschatology, whether in the case of
Isaiah, Revelation, or any other biblical book is to cause harm to the purpose
and witness of the church. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Secondly,
it is not wonder underestimating the eschatological importance of a
passage abates the strength in a parallel way to over-extending its eschatology.
To put it differently, Christians must see themselves properly in the tension
of the initiated kingdom. We care that it is the last days, but not in a
fanatic, hyperbolic manner. The simplicity of the kingdom’s reality must permeate
our actions as we also yearn for the return of the Messiah. Our regular actions
must meet the irregularity of who we are called to be as the bride of Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
mountain here mentioned is the temple mount of Jerusalem. Although Zion is not
the highest point around, with even the Mount of Olives being physically
taller, it is the central place of worship. In the sense of being the place of
worship for the one true God, there is no taller mountain in the world; it is a
spiritual height which is important here. Although <a href="https://www.discovergreece.com/en/mainland/macedonia/olympos">Mount Olympus</a>
is the tallest peak in Greece, there are plenty of taller mountains in Israel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It is the special relationship offered that makes the Temple Mount central. The
spiritual significance of those things which are considered weak by the world
but considered of great importance by God should not be lost on us today.
Although other nations may have scoffed at this over-sized hill, God had a
special purpose in mind for it. Similarly, there was a special purpose for
the small nation of Israel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vs.
3 <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>An
endless stream of people groups approaches the mountain of the Lord. Here,
there are no longer divisions of politics, language, or ethnicity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These realities may still exist, but the
unification proves to be important. The special relationship of Jacob, who came
to be known as Israel, is a chief way God will be known.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This contrasts with the false gods who cannot
have the same immanence as the creator of the universe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Lord will directly teach people about His goodness. This is not mere pedagogy, and
even extends beyond andragogy. This will be God bringing people into true
knowledge, a restoration of the expulsion from the garden where knowledge became
divorced from relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God restores
the earth through teaching, but this is not stale classroom experience. Peripatetic instruction will invite all people back
into holistic communion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">We can imagine the right
ways of God radiating out over the whole earth as people come to know who God
is. Reading this passage, it is easy to see how John saw Jesus as the Word made
flesh. As people were joined to Jesus through walking with him, they came to
know the Word. Belief must primarily be relational before it is even primarily cognitive.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vs.
4<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Again,
the purpose for the dispersal of the Law is to bring people into right
relationship. Disputes are resolved so that people may be restored. When we
sin, we create divisions between God and other people. Sin has direct and
indirect consequences which are not always apparent. However, when all things
are restored through Christ we see a resolution of even the hidden things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span>The
making of weapons into plowshares has been of interest to Christians throughout the centuries.
However, this is neither a call to Utopian visions never realized, nor is it
something which will only happen at some opaque end times. Jesus is the Prince
of Peace. Christians must be known for their love for one another. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">J</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">esus’s work
on the cross gives us reason to forgive those who will harm us and those we
would otherwise not wish to harm. If we are as avaricious or lustful in the
same way as those who are not believers, we have not submitted to Jesus as Prince
of this Kingdom of Peace. We must first submit to Christ before we can hope to
see peace extend to those around us. Instead, we often find the church filled with
people who are just as concerned with individual right to power as those outside
the church.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If we
really look forward to the coming of our Messiah, we will seek to be different within
ourselves first. We must put down those things which cause fighting and the
marking of borders between others. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s easy to look for fault, but how often
do we look for reasons to unite in knowledge of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus? As persecution in the West starts to
grow and mirror what has already happened in much of the world already, we must
be ready to look different in what we claim as our own. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Final
Thoughts<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Do
I pray regularly for people to come to know Jesus?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I spend time knowing Jesus by walking with Him?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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do I show the uniqueness of God in my daily life?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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am I different in my passions and pursuits than the outside world?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Do
I seek to worship and gather with other Christians in a kingdom centered way?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Have
I prayed for the persecuted church today? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://www.persecution.com/idop/">(Here’s a good resource to help with
this topic)</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">*<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.craigaevans.com/"><span style="mso-comment-date: 20190130T1618; mso-comment-reference: CH_1;">See Craig A. Evans’s work related to Jesus as
the Son of Man for some fascinating and helpful discussions.</span></a><!--[if !supportNestedAnchors]--><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20190130T1618; mso-comment-reference: CH_1;"></a><!--[endif]--></i><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<br />Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-48090190242539811152019-01-29T20:08:00.000-08:002019-01-29T20:10:33.702-08:00My Dream Camping Destinations<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since I will be trapped inside the house like most of Michigan tomorrow, I thought it was time to start thinking about camping. Here are ten of the places I would go camping if it were summer or fall and the weather were different from our current polar vortex.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPPniR8Y1Xz6QJ6f6kvXlkXIUInGFlQ25PiuN-YInwAPo2sBbTPnvCihiIJ50g-5YFcga-T5-_1iyqF52nwjTNejHefcdP-0U2lIBlSpQueoDtFH2TyKknWV5BriNBWHnSSG-pa5nelnL/s1600/IMG_3026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPPniR8Y1Xz6QJ6f6kvXlkXIUInGFlQ25PiuN-YInwAPo2sBbTPnvCihiIJ50g-5YFcga-T5-_1iyqF52nwjTNejHefcdP-0U2lIBlSpQueoDtFH2TyKknWV5BriNBWHnSSG-pa5nelnL/s200/IMG_3026.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our 1961 Garway camper. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">10. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/carcamping.htm" target="_blank">Great Smoky Mountains National Park </a>, Tennesse</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Specifically, I would visit <a href="https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232488" target="_blank">Cades Cove Campground.</a> With miles of trails and electric hookups at the campsite, this would be worth visiting in the fall. One of my hikes would definitely include <a href="https://smokymountains.com/park/hikes/abrams-falls-trail/" target="_blank">Abrams Falls</a>. Autumn colors, rushing water, and the chance to fish? Yes, please.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">9. <a href="https://vtstateparks.com/littleriver.html" target="_blank">Little River State Park</a>, Vermont</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I can't wait to visit Vermont and go camping. There's a lot of great state parks with stunning views in this state. What attracts me about this one is the relatively small size (although it's popular), the ruins of a community, and Waterbury Reservoir sitting below <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Mansfield" target="_blank">Mount Mansfield</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">8. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm" target="_blank">Acadia National Park</a>, Maine</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If we hadn't moved to Michigan, we would have already visited this splendid national park. It's a popular park, but seems to be well worth the visit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">7. <a href="https://www.albertaparks.ca/parks/south/dinosaur-pp/" target="_blank">Dinosaur Provincial Park</a>, Alberta</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Do you want to camp somewhere that feels otherworldly? I do! This seems like a perfect place to escape to in summertime if you have kids that like paleontology (or if you do). There's even comfort camping options. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6. <a href="https://www.banfflakelouise.com/banff-national-park" target="_blank">Banff National Park</a>, Alberta </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've been to the Rockies in Colorado a few times. They're great. I really want to go here though. So. Many. Options. For the outdoor, camping enthusiast it's paradise. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/bica/index.htm" target="_blank">Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area</a>, Wyoming/Montana </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.nps.gov/bica/planyourvisit/horseshoe-bend-campground.htm" target="_blank">Horeshoe Bend Campground</a> in this national recreation area is a great place to camp while exploring the area. What's summer without some <a href="https://www.nps.gov/bica/planyourvisit/fishing-the-bighorn.htm" target="_blank">good fishing</a> (at least that's what I wonder)? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/superior/recreation/camping-cabins/recarea/?recid=40253&actid=51" target="_blank">Brule Lake</a>, Minnesota</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There's something special about primitive camping and canoeing in the wilderness with few other people around. This part of the United States offer a wealth of opportunities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. <a href="https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/visiting-ozette.htm" target="_blank">Lake Ozette in Olymplic National Park</a>, Washington</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Want visit a beautiful lake? How about the ocean? Camp <a href="https://www.chitobeach.com/" target="_blank">in a cabin</a> or <a href="https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/camping.htm" target="_blank">in the park</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. <a href="https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/pe/pei-ipe" target="_blank">Prince Edward Island National Park</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Shoreline to explore as well as the island itself. Fall colors and cool temperatures or summer fun? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/wallowa-whitman/recarea/?recid=79467" target="_blank">Hells Canyon Wilderness</a>, Idaho</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/wallowa-whitman/recarea/?recid=51743" target="_blank">Black Lake Campground </a>forces you to be secluded. Sometimes that's the only point. Imagine the stars. And the quiet. Falling asleep in the cradle of the universe as you look out your tent. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bonus: Winter camping destination - <a href="https://www.nps.gov/bisc/planyourvisit/camping.htm" target="_blank">Biscayne National Park</a> in the Florida Keys</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you want to go camping in the winter, why not try this? </span></div>
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Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-3658127899945502142019-01-28T19:09:00.004-08:002019-01-28T19:09:56.684-08:00The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen – A Short Book Review <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://henrinouwen.org/about/about-henri/" target="_blank">Henri Nouwen</a> has been one of my favorite authors since
college. Although popular, I had not read his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Return of the Prodigal Son </i>before. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At first, I was skeptical of a book about someone’s reflections
on a painting taking a little more than a hundred pages. How could such a simple
subject take up so much time? Would it be dry historical information about the
artist? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What the book really is about is the inner life of Nouwen as
he saw himself in the painting. From his personal retrospection, the reader can
make applications for their own life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There are small bits of information in the book about
<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rmbt/hd_rmbt.htm" target="_blank">Rembrandt</a> and how his life produced the painting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall, they are asides which serve to help
the reader identify with the different characters in the painting. This self-identification
proves to be the real heart of the book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Nouwen uses his own experiences to draw us into a realization
that we are meant to see ourselves as the prodigal son, the elder brother, and
the father. Even the onlookers make brief appearances as those who come close
to the touching scene but do not interfere or extend love themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Nimbly, Nouwen brings believers into an implicit realization
of the necessarily gospel intent of the painting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever baggage or other needs Rembrandt
brought to the painting, it takes on its own message due to the subject
matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Here, I found myself amazed I had never directly connected
Luke 9:23 (cf. 14:27) with the story of the Loving Father (also known as the
Prodigal Son – Luke 15:11-32).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a
section where Jesus makes it clear God’s nature seeks out the lost people of
this world (i.e. parables of the Lost Sheep 15:1-7 and Lost Coin 15:8-10) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and does whatever is necessary to make friends
of lost people (parable of the Shrewd Manager, Luke 16:1-13), the son clearly
tells his father that he is as good as dead. This is a fact has been obvious to
almost anyone studying or reading the parable for some time. However, the
direct connection lost on me was the death to self and the willingness of the
father to take on this death to self. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This book makes it clear believers are to become like the
father. As the father willingly, and through Jesus’ example, we are to die to
self in order to make love known. This is what it means to extend love like the
father in the story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Nouwen shows how we often want to be like one of the sons
because we can be forgiven for our wrong actions and understood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, who hasn’t sinned rebelliously or
cast judgment on other people? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In contrast, taking on the role of the father in
the story means we will be fundamentally misunderstood and wronged. I
personally heard Jesus’ words to die to self in a whole new way in this
context. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As usual, Nouwen’s work is both humble and profound. Much knowledge
can be secured in this short work for those who approach it with the right
attitude. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I ended up reading this book alongside the Gospel of Luke, and
it helped me to see new richness in the scripture. I would highly encourage reading
this book if you are looking for something with easy prose which may also touch
your heart. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-70195103434966680942019-01-27T18:55:00.000-08:002019-01-27T18:56:46.159-08:00Simplicity in Narratives <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Two things this weekend reminded me how quickly and how often we can share important narratives with other people in simple ways. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First, I was involved in worship training. One of the things we talked about was stage presence. Music worship leading is a tool. It's not an end in itself, and our hearts may feel one way, but there is nothing wrong with extending a welcoming attitude in how people lead from a stage. In fact, this is part of what can help invite people into this element of worship. Worship should be our approach to life, but why not try to use music to encourage people? A good stage presence can be a useful part of that story. I know the topic is bigger than this short summary, but this is one element of the conversation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Second, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2019/01/27/5-ads-that-tell-great-stories-insight-from-a-pixar-movie-writer/#74340dbc4241" target="_blank">this Forbes article on narrative advertising</a> had my attention the whole time. It's the perfect length to both share why narrative is important in all forms of communication, and it made me want to watch the videos. I'm a sucker for family advertisements, and the one at the end was one I hadn't seen before. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It isn't necessarily the length of what we communicate, it is how we communicate it. We should always be creating a story people want to read, listen to, or watch. Complexity has its place. When communicating, we should be sure there is a reason for complexity. Also, what we may term complexity may just be an excuse for being bad communicators. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://youtu.be/V6-0kYhqoRo" target="_blank">Here's the Edeka ad (a supermarket chain in Germany)</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://youtu.be/a2lv_Xl1e4U" target="_blank">Here's one of my favorite ads that may get you in a different way.</a></span></span>Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-38373418410259777292019-01-26T16:48:00.002-08:002019-01-26T16:48:44.525-08:00Interview with Rebecca McGee - Life Deserves to be Lived! <br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Today I have the
pleasure of sharing an interview with a classmate from high school. As usual,
our interactions happened through text online. We all have people we wish could
have gotten to know better in high school and she is one of those people for
me. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Rebecca
McGee is a 36-year-old mom with a soon to be 12-year-old daughter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She values family more than anything else. She
kindly took time out of her week to work on this interview about some important
issues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Christopher:
</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">How would you tell your story? </span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Rebecca</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was born in 1982 with Spina bifida (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SB from here on out)</i>. At that time, they
didn’t know I had SB until I was born. Nothing showed up on the sonogram. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">I
had a relatively “normal” child hood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
went to school like my siblings and peers. I graduated high school in 2001.
Gave birth to my daughter via c-section in 2007. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16pt;">I have myelomeningocele
form of SB. I do not walk. Although I
did (<i>walk) </i>when I was a kid with leg
braces and a walker.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">C: </span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">For those unfamiliar with SB, could you give us a brief
overview of the condition?</span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">R: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">The spinal cord doesn't
form properly. It falls under the broader category of neural tube defects. The
neural tube is the embryonic structure that eventually develops into the baby's
brain and spinal cord and the tissues enclosing them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Normally,
the neural tube forms early in pregnancy, and it closes by the 28th day after
conception. In babies with SB, a portion of the neural tube fails to develop or
close properly, causing defects in the spinal cord and in the bones of the
spine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">There
are 4 types of SB: Myelomeningocele, meningocele, occulta and Rachischisis (sometimes
known as complete spina bifida).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">For a more detailed introduction to Spina
Bifida <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/spina-bifida/symptoms-causes/syc-20377860">see
here</a> or <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/spinabifida/facts.html">here</a>)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">C: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">How has it affected your
life personally?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">R: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Growing up, I had a lot of
surgeries on my back and feet. I also underwent brain surgery to insert a shunt
to drain the excess fluid from my brain due to hydrocephalus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Other
than surgeries, I had a normal childhood. I went to public school, graduating
in 2001 from high school. Then, I went on to college in Greenville, IL for a
year and a half.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">My
daughter was born in 2007. Doctors had told me I’d never have kids and if I did,
I’d never carry to term. My daughter was born a healthy 6 lbs 3.5 oz and 19
inches long. She’ll be 12 on January 29<sup>th</sup>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">C: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Abortion has recently
forced its way back into public discussion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Rather
than stating my own views, I believe you may be better able to address the
topic for two reasons:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">You
are woman with a child. Some physicians may recommend abortion for babies
who have the same condition as you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">What
would you like to say about the topic? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">R: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">I think it’s horrible
doctors are still giving a grim prognosis when diagnosing an unborn baby with SB.
All children, regardless of disability, deserve a chance to grow and be loved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">C: </span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Specifically, what do you think about the quality of life
argument, i.e. that it is better to abort a baby than cause them to be born
into a life of suffering?</span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">R: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">No one knows the extent of
disability until the baby is born and growing/developing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can’t possibly know when the baby is
still in his or her mother’s womb. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Yes,
the baby may have problems with mobility or bowel/bladder issues. But they are
still a human!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life is what you make it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">C: </span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">How does your faith impact your understanding of this issue?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">R: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">I think my faith has held
a big impact on how I feel about this. Life is what you make it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">My
faith has helped a lot in understanding life and love. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">C: </span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Why do you think it is important for people without
disabilities to hear from people who<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">live with disabilities?</span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">R: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">It’s important to hear
from those living with disabilities because it teaches that life’s not always
candy and rainbows. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">There
are crappy parts of life, whether disabled or not. Being disabled doesn’t
always mean poor quality of life. I like to think I have a great quality of
life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">C: </span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Do you think there is a way we could improve our public
discourse about related issues?</span></i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Hlk536291675"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">R: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">One way we can improve our
public discourse is to NOT be afraid to talk about what may scare us or what makes us different. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">C: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Is there anything else you
would like people to know? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">R: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Life is what you make it.
If you go through life with a “poor me” attitude, yeah, your life is going to
suck. Get out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Live life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUDGkRKcni3BEH9NV2sc5sTXSmxfa-XFpBoa9RbziDd9NFHfIzbp2b_i-a8fChD2bO-hUXyMyjGKLZi0VsWFMtvRDfrsNoEWvNkiARBOqO4ctQ7pU0ZrS2JIaiADozOg_3GzfmFuyfGHuV/s1600/Rebecca+McGee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="721" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUDGkRKcni3BEH9NV2sc5sTXSmxfa-XFpBoa9RbziDd9NFHfIzbp2b_i-a8fChD2bO-hUXyMyjGKLZi0VsWFMtvRDfrsNoEWvNkiARBOqO4ctQ7pU0ZrS2JIaiADozOg_3GzfmFuyfGHuV/s320/Rebecca+McGee.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>Rebecca with boyfriend Andy and daughter Vickie</i></div>
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 20.0pt;">Thanks so much Rebecca! I
really appreciate you being willing to share your time and thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-55543019343958219032019-01-25T20:23:00.000-08:002019-01-25T20:25:35.125-08:00Interview with Matt Hoffman - A Story about Coffee<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><i>The next interview is with my friend Matt Hoffman. As usual,
our interview happened through online text and has been edited for clarity and
conciseness with his permission. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5951ae6236e5d30f9507b467/59552e6572af65567caae1fa/5bf4df434d7a9c127e710fdd/1542775249785/This+is+NOT+a+story+about+coffee_thumbnailclean.jpg?format=1000w" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5951ae6236e5d30f9507b467/59552e6572af65567caae1fa/5bf4df434d7a9c127e710fdd/1542775249785/This+is+NOT+a+story+about+coffee_thumbnailclean.jpg?format=1000w" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Matt is the Brand Strategist at Deeper Roots Coffee, and he
gets to work in social media, creating narratives for people to connect with regularly.
He has told stories through video, photo, and song. We first met through the band
<a href="https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/wakingpoint">The Waking Point</a> where
Matt played drums and I got to play guitar. His wife Lanna is also a talented photographer,
and they are raising three cute kids together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some of his recent work can be found at “A Story about Coffee”
on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/astoryaboutcoffee/?hl=en">Instagram</a>
and <a href="https://www.astoryaboutcoffee.com/shop">the website</a>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He's also trying to meet someone different over coffee each week this year- <a href="https://www.astoryaboutcoffee.com/lets-grab-coffee/" target="_blank">so if you are in the Cincinnati area, consider reaching out to him. </a></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Christopher:</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> What do you love about coffee?</span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Matt:
</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
love that it’s a daily connector. What I mean is that a lot of people seek it
out in their own way, on their own time, in different places, but it’s still
something shared amongst strangers, and I think that is good.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">C:
</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What brings you joy?</span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">M:
</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
find a lot of joy in seeing order come to chaos. There’s something innately
special about misplaced pieces being brought back to their place. People,
words, tools, opportunities, etc. Order is life giving.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">C:
</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">How do you decide what to
share on social media?</span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">M:
</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
don’t really plan anything. I’ve found as I get older, spontaneity has become
scarce, but being creative and sharing what I observe in specific moments gives
me freedom to sort of wing it. I still have a system for capturing and
communicating, but the content writes itself as I go along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">C:
</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">You’ve written and shared
about intentionality before, what’s the core of that message for yourself as
you share content?</span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">M:
</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
hate small talk. There’s nothing binding or meaningful about it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I take the same approach to what I create. I want there to be
an emotional connection for people, I want them to feel heard, valued, and to
feel like they belong somewhere. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I think the best relationships happen when both parties are
intentional about stretching past the surface stuff and dig into the depths of
what’s drawing them together. I guess simple intentionality equals love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">C:
</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If you could participate
in any creative project, what would it be?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">M:</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Some
sort of worship collective that pulls in artists, musicians, teachers,
prophets, families to move more fully into what Heaven on Earth could look
like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">C:
</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What steals your time?</span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">M:
</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Easy
answer is that social media steals my time, but I think the root of that is the
desire to be acknowledged and affirmed. Social media is just the current
vehicle for that desire. I’m not very diligent when it comes to creating habits
and managing my time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">C:
</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Do you have habits which
give you time? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">M:
</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Earlier,
I spoke of intentionality and order. Time management is one area of life that
is thirsty for those things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">C:
</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What is “A Story about
Coffee?” How would you describe it to someone who didn’t know you?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">M:</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> A Story about
Coffee is a passion project aimed at sharing my perspective one cup of coffee
at a time. I believe good stories happen over coffee, but only if we’re
intentional about seeking out those stories. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The thing is, it’s not even about the coffee, it’s about
people and how coffee injects itself into our daily lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqc4VrMUHtWcCjXNz2oLJEzHxLlvbWfF_OrDDURJyiajBNEjY09RyeBBz9o0XHigBFPdz1HS5O_YPzW9Y-SXgwdhmufPFa006IpapaMkU2nGJw19gMASPwoqp-BuZwQUH3KNc04uVg6gDb/s1600/Matt+Hoffman+and+Family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqc4VrMUHtWcCjXNz2oLJEzHxLlvbWfF_OrDDURJyiajBNEjY09RyeBBz9o0XHigBFPdz1HS5O_YPzW9Y-SXgwdhmufPFa006IpapaMkU2nGJw19gMASPwoqp-BuZwQUH3KNc04uVg6gDb/s400/Matt+Hoffman+and+Family.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Thanks
Matt for sharing part of your story!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-53557060722915085912019-01-24T07:50:00.000-08:002019-01-24T07:50:06.109-08:00Take a Step BackAs the news cycle continues to churn out this week, I would encourage you to take a step back. Despite the presence of social media's intrusion into the everyday, 24 hours a day, we do not need to know what is going on in the world at all times. To become better able to think through critical issues, it is essential to realize we all have bias and our immediate reactions are not necessarily the most helpful reactions.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_bias" target="_blank">Cognitive bias</a> is an important part of who we are as humans (<a href="https://reformed.org/apologetics/index.html?mainframe=/apologetics/why_I_believe_cvt.html" target="_blank">For an interesting Reformed view of apologetics making use of bias, see this article by Cornelius Van Til</a>) Our experiences shape us and help us to filter the world so that we can make better sense of it. However, those same experiences, memories, and ways of thinking about the world which allow us to make helpful snap judgments are also terrible at telling us if those judgments are correct, helpful, and truthful.<br />
<br />
I have a bad temper at times. It is especially hard to keep my temper in check when I believed someone, including myself, has been unfairly wronged. There have been many times when I do not have all the facts, or my perception of a situation is wrong. My temper has led me astray at times. My perception was off. <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2014/03/24/293740555/the-rotating-snakes-are-all-in-your-mind" target="_blank">We have known for a long time that what we perceive may not actually be reality.</a> So, why don't we apply this information to the news and social situations?<br />
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<a href="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2014/03/24/color-rotsnake_custom-d48b779a38b868da75a48c9b1e7e5515a0a644cd-s1600-c85.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="800" height="239" src="https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2014/03/24/color-rotsnake_custom-d48b779a38b868da75a48c9b1e7e5515a0a644cd-s1600-c85.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
Am I saying there isn't truth? Nope, I am saying our perception of truth may not always be right. Second, I am saying our initial reactions may not always be truthful, even to ourselves. Third, I am saying that processing information is an important step in evaluation. We must be willing to take a second, third, or however many looks at information and still be willing to concede we do not have the whole picture.<br />
<br />
It's also helpful to step back from a situation to diffuse any emotional response we might have at that time. <a href="https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/how-emotions-impact-cognition" target="_blank">Emotions are complex</a>, and we are never fully aware of all the sources they come as they present themselves. Emotions should be a part of our decision making process, but they should not define it.<br />
<br />
Keep engaged with the news and current events, just remember to take a step back before you respond. Try to get the full account, more of the information, and <a href="https://hbr.org/2012/11/be-forewarned-your-knowledge-i" target="_blank">don't be afraid to change your mind</a>. It's actually a sign of intelligence.<br />
<br />
Step back - become a better listener, processor, and communicator in the hurry of today's world.Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-31149723140526372732019-01-23T12:31:00.000-08:002019-01-23T13:14:07.270-08:00Interview with Billy Coker - Graphic Designer <br />
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16pt;">This is
an interview conducted through text with my friend Billy Coker. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16pt;">It has been edited
with his permission for clarity and format.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16pt;">Billy
is a graphic designer who shares a love of Star Wars. Also, he happens to have
been raised by two of the most generous people I have ever met. Currently, he
lives and works out of Chattanooga, Tennessee although he grew up in Southern
California. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Photo of Billy in his natural habitat, part
of his series of 52 self portraits)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Christopher:
How did you get started in your line of work?</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Billy:</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"> Back
in the mid-90’s I played in a band. I didn’t consider myself a musician, but
rather a guy who played bass well who wanted an excuse to hang out with his
friends. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16pt;">That’s always
been my approach to creative projects and skills. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16pt;">I
recognize I have been blessed with creative talent, but I’ve never made
creativity my identity. During my time in the band, I took on the role of
making all our flyers and shirt designs. It was fun! I realized it was
something I liked to do, but I never thought it would turn into a job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">In high
school, I loved art class because it was easy and natural for me. I took what I
learned and simply applied it to what we needed for the band. It wasn’t
necessarily good, but it was a start! That easy road turned into a job in the
spring of 1997.<br />
<br />
I began working in-house for a company called <a href="https://www.adj.com/">American
DJ</a>. I had the job of making clipping paths for product photos, and simple
catalog layout. I made </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">$5</span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"> an
hour, which was 75¢ above minimum wage at the time. It was then I officially
got bit by the graphic design bug. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">My
career evolved swiftly over the next 10 years. I went from a </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">$5</span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"> an
hour production artist to a </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">$50</span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"> an
hour Creative Director. I worked a LOT of hours. Took naps on floors. Skipped
lunches. After a while, I burned out. I stopped caring, which means I stopped
producing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16pt;">At the
time I was a Creative Director at an agency in Burbank specializing in
entertainment clients. It was cool on paper, but not in the day to day. Movie
posters, DVD packaging, movie theater standees… they all look cool, but it
takes a certain type of individual to thrive in that environment, and I
realized it wasn’t for me.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">C:</i></b>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What
happened next? How did you decide what you wanted to do? <o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">B:</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"> I took
a step back and started working for a fast food chain in Tucson where I worked
fewer hours for less pay, but I was able to enjoy what I did again! It was then
I started adding photography and video to my skillsets. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">C: What
re-energizes you in your work?</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">B: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Over
the last decade or so, my life has become more about living. The projects come
and go. Some are interesting, some are routine, but every project becomes
satisfying when then person who has hired me is happy. I have come to realize
there is something that satisfies the human soul when we serve others. Of course,
we need to pay bills and we deserve a fair wage, but a wage cannot satisfy the
soul.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">C:
Is this where you draw your inspiration?</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">B:</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"> There’s
a quote that I cherish that says it best, “Even God did not come to be served
but to serve. When we serve one another without wanting to be served, God will
be pleased.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16pt;">So, if
I spend each day realizing the client who has hired me is the most important
person in the relationship, then I will do my best to satisfy the needs of that
client. They are happy, they bring me more work, they recommend me to others.
It’s a great way to live and do business! <br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">C:
You have worked on some cool projects over the years, are there any favorites?</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">B:</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"> Over
the years I have worked on many projects that were fun or cool or satisfying to
finish, but the one closest to my heart was a video I edited for my mom’s
memorial service. If I had to throw away every project I have ever worked on
except one, that is the one I would keep. It is the only project I consider
mine. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">C:</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That
says a lot! Is there something you would want to say to someone starting out in
this field?</i></b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">B: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">Every
other project (besides the video for my mom) has been for someone else, which
is fine, but they don’t belong to me. They belong to someone else, which is
what they have paid for, which brings me to my next point.<br />
<br />
One painful thing having in the creative business is an ego. People will
be critical of your work. Clients will hate your work. Coworkers will be
jealous of your work. If you can keep your work separate from your feelings,
then it will allow you to understand the perspective of others who may have
good and valid points that break apart what you have spent a lot of time on.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">C:
Anything else you would like to add?</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">B: </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">In the
end, I love having a career relying on my creativity. There are always new
challenges, new trends, new clients, new people, new smiles, and new lasting
relationships. I don’t think my work will change the world or start a
revolution, but it will definitely affect the world of those around me, and that’s
what I thrive on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="background-color: #444444;">Thanks
to Billy for taking the time to share his thoughts about work and creative
production! </span><span style="background-color: #666666; color: #cccccc;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-76803192306382077762019-01-22T07:24:00.004-08:002019-01-22T08:44:46.237-08:00A Reiteration of Purpose- Isaiah 2:1<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Isaiah 2:1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A secondary
superscription reintroduces us to the vision of Isaiah. These are words he saw
in a vision which came to him (cf. Lam. 2:9; Ez.7:26). Put another way, these
words are not just his own creation. The prophets were earlier called seers (1
Sam. 9:9) and this points us to one of the realities of prophecy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
prophecy is a vision from God, the prophets make known a present reality to the
people of God. The visions seen are not necessarily about the future but are
instead about a contingent future following a failure to change in the present.
The present is necessarily a part of the vision of the prophets. The vision is
necessary because the people’s spiritual blindness has become so much a part of
their lives that they can no longer see what they are doing. Prophets speak the truth as they imagine a new way of being (<a href="http://fortresspress.com/product/prophetic-imagination-40th-anniversary-edition" target="_blank">I love much of Walter Brueggemann's writing in The Prophetic Imagination)</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Jesus
refers to this same spiritual blindness several times in his ministry (e.g.
Matt. 15:13-14, 23:16-19; 23:24; Luke 6:39-42). It is no accident that the
healing ministry of Jesus involves physically healing several persons who are dealing
with blindness (e.g. Matt. 20:30; Mark 8:22-26). As they are healed, the
prophetic ministry of Jesus is unleashed with power as the Pharisees and the
teachers of the Law are rebuked in their own spiritual blindness. This brings
us back to Isaiah. Jesus brought his ministry for all to the reality of him
breaking into the present. The prophets hoped for present spiritual change so
that there would be future physical change. Jesus brought a present physical
and spiritual change as he preached the restoration of all things in the
kingdom. This is a part of the Good News, and one of the things that we must
see in the prophets is their looking forward to Messiah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Messiah brought the message they had always
hoped for as they saw a glimpse of the reality of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
claim to have special revelation from God was critical to Isaiah’s message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It meant that God had not abandoned His
people. God’s provided His wisdom to bring life to His people. By following the
guidance coming via the prophet, God’s people could enjoy the benefits of the
special relationship afforded to them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There
may have been some elapsed time between the superscriptions of chapter 1 and 2,
and it is likely the prophet had multiple visions from the Lord. The placement here
may also point to a reaffirmation of one of the overarching themes of the book –
the redemption of all people (compare 66:18-21). </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">In any cases, although the
prophet or later editors may have ordered the book thematically for purposes of
chronology or thematic focus, repetition should only enforce the authorship of
the book and not cause us to question it. One other possibility for this
reiteration is that the author intended to set it apart from either: 1. A common
source material with Micah 4 (or) 2. Micah 4 itself. The most likely
straightforward reading of the text is that the material was written by Isaiah,
even if there was a common hymn both authors drew from in writing their
manuscripts, and Isaiah is a compilation of continuity brought together by
either the prophet or faithful editors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Final thoughts: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">11. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What
does spiritual blindness look like today? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">22. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What
does it mean to make the kingdom of heaven known in the world?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">33. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What
planks do I need to take out of my own I so that I can better share the kingdom
message (cf. Matt.7:3-5; Luke 6:42)?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">44. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Do
I look for the things of God at work in the world? Do I have a heart for the lost?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">55. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When
I write, do I remember to give credit where credit is due? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-570869114928314212019-01-21T07:26:00.000-08:002019-01-22T08:45:25.897-08:00Interview with Wigmaster and Author Daniel Townsend<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One of the things I have wanted to do with the blog is
interview some people who are in creative fields. I am honored to share this
first experience with my friend Daniel Townsend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Daniel is a hardworking and loyal husband, dad of
three young daughters (including twins!), and wig master. He has worked in
theater in the United States and overseas. For several years, he was the
Wigmaster at the popular <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Christmas
Carol</i> annual production at the Cincinnati Playhouse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">From that experience he went on to write <span class="MsoHyperlink"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mouthful-Goose-backstage-stories-Christmas/dp/1492906271">A
Mouthful of Goose: Backstage Stories from A Christmas Carol</a></i></span>. He
has a <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/daniel.townsend.222/videos/10157019560854939/">new
book</a></span> coming out from Routledge which will be focused on teaching
makeup and wigs skills in an academic setting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Here is our conversation:*
<br />
<i><br /><b>Christopher:</b> What do you enjoy about makeup and wigs? </i><br />
<b><i>Daniel:</i></b> My favorite thing about working with wigs and makeup is the artistry of the craft. Selecting the right color blends that go into making a wig is an exciting first step in the making of a wig. It is important to create realism when making wigs, so hair choices are very important. <br />
<br />
I have always felt like styling wigs is akin to sculpture. The 3-dimensional quality of hair is a perfect representation of sculpting any other medium. <br />
<br />
The same (rule of realism) holds true for makeup. I specialize in theatrical makeup, and it always feels as though I’m painting on a textured canvas. The face is just like any surface and makeup is like paint. <br />
<br />
<i><b>C:</b> How did you get started in this field? </i><br />
<br />
<b><i>D:</i></b> I attended undergrad at the University of Kentucky. At first, I studied fine art, but one semester I took a theatre class and loved it. After changing majors, I took an emphasis in costume design. While taking the basic stage makeup class, I noted how much I enjoyed makeup and my teacher saw that I had a talent for it. <br />
<br />
Once I graduated, I went to the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music to get a masters in wig and makeup design (<a href="https://ccm.uc.edu/theatre/tdp/makeup-wigs.html">MFA Make-Up and Wig Construction and Design</a>) . My whole journey is a long series of events that, as I look back, shows God’s hand at work. <br />
<br />
<b><i>C:</i></b> <i>You have a book coming out from <a href="https://www.routledge.com/">Routledge</a>. What has been the best part of the publishing process? </i><br />
<b><i>D:</i></b> The best part of the writing process is having my part of the project complete. <br />
<br />
My book “Foundations of Stage Makeup” is a textbook but it also included a video component. Having the various elements complete and the book finally off to the copywriters and editors is a great feeling. The anticipation of getting my first proof copy is exhilarating. <br />
<br />
<i><b>C:</b> What parts were rough, or did you have a hard time with before getting the done? What did you dislike the most about the process? </i><br />
<br />
<b><i>D: </i></b>What I disliked most about the process was coordinating the photography and the video shoots with models’ availability. I think it boils down to timelines. <br />
<br />
Toward the end of the writing process I had several deadlines that forced me to stay up late and work quickly. I don’t like to be rushed on projects. At the beginning of last year, I really tried to be on top of the work and space it out. However, with the birth of our babies (the twins were born in 2018) it became difficult to meet the deadlines. <br />
<br />
<i><b>C: </b>You are a stay at home dad who writes and teaches (When I asked Daniel this question I didn’t know he had quit his teaching job to focus on the full-time job of being a dad. He still has experience in this area and had some valuable things to say. Formerly, he taught classes at University of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky University). </i><br />
<br />
How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance and still manage to find time to create? <br />
<br />
<b><i>D: </i></b>The reality is that with the birth of our twins I ended up quitting my teaching jobs to stay home with our three girls. It made the most sense instead of figuring out childcare. So now my work is to fully be home. I guess you could say my work and life are in balance. <br />
<br />
As for creating, it’s actually very difficult to fit it in right now. I’m currently working on a set of children’s books but it’s hard to find the time to work on the illustrations. Usually I (must) wait until everyone is in bed or the girls are napping. <br />
<br />
<b><i>C:</i></b> <i>What brings you joy and gives you energy? </i><br />
<br />
<b><i>D: </i></b>A couple things really bring me joy and energize me. The first is when my wife takes a day off work. I love spending time with her running errands, talking, and going to breakfast. During her maternity leave last year, the Lord really drew us closer than ever. Now those times where we get to hang out really excite me. <br />
<br />
The second thing that brings me joy is creating using art. I’m having so much fun drawing the illustrations for my next project. Drawing, painting, making and styling a wig, these creative outlets make me happy and I find real joy in them. <br />
<br />
<b><i>C: </i></b><i>How would you describe yourself? </i><br />
<br />
<b><i>D: </i></b>I am an ambitious person by nature. I love to think and plan out projects to work on, and there is no better satisfaction than completing a project which has taken so much energy. To truly step back and see what it is I have made. I believe in creating we as humans exhibit God’s first displayed characteristic in the Bible. It’s through creating that we can emulate the artistic nature of our Creator. <br />
<br />
Finally, nothing I do would ever get done without my wife to spur me on. Having an accountability partner, whether a spouse or friend, is key to being successful in any area of life. My life and work are no exceptions. Jessica keeps me focused on my goals and helps motivate me when it’s crunch time. <br />
<br />
<i><b>C:</b></i> <i>Anything else you would like to add? </i><br />
<br />
<i><b>D:</b></i> I think that’s it. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about this topic. <br />
<br />
<b><i>C:</i></b> <i>This was all great stuff, thanks so much for sharing! </i><br />
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You can find Daniel’s <a href="https://twitter.com/danielctownsend?lang=en">Twitter feed here</a> and his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5u1rZ-w6P_JICpIGgTLj0A">YouTube channel here</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">*This conversation happened via text
over a couple of days and has been edited, with Daniel’s permission, for
clarity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728314996761117108.post-10042642870654632292019-01-20T18:17:00.001-08:002019-01-22T08:46:12.315-08:00A Brief Sabbath PostMy job requires me to work almost everyday of the week because of the type of work. Today, I only had a few minutes of work, and I relished the small amount after how last week felt. On reflection, I was reminded how important a little bit of rest can be.<br />
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Here's a quick reminder of why rest is important:<br />
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1. Rest allows us to focus.<br />
We can better do the things we need to do and stay on task when we take time to rest. <a href="https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Understanding-Sleep" target="_blank">Without rest, we can't learn and create new memories.</a><br />
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2. Rest gives us space to make the right decisions.<br />
When we are hurried and tired, we make poor decisions. <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/persuasion-bias-and-choice/201806/5-tips-better-decision-making" target="_blank">Rest gives us the mental and spiritual space to make better and better informed decisions. </a><br />
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3. Rest is healthy.<br />
Sleep is an important part of rest, don't leave it out. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2845795/" target="_blank">It helps you have a healthier heart.</a> <i>and </i><a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-sleep-clears-brain" target="_blank">It might help stave off things like Alzheimer's later in life.</a><br />
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4. Rest allows us to work better.<br />
Most of us want to be more productive at work. Productivity can be a key sign of effectiveness, and it is something I definitely want more of in my life. Sometimes, we work against ourselves by working too much instead of working smart. <a href="https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_resting_more_can_boost_your_productivity" target="_blank">Rest allows better output. </a><br />
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5. Finally, rest is godly.<br />
I'm not a sabbatarian, but I do think the story of the seven day week has some important insights for all people. God rested after six days of creation, not out of a lack of energy or potential, but for other reasons. Rest refuels us, allows us to enjoy our work, and gets us ready for what comes next. Rest makes room for reflection and better insight into all the busyness that we have been about for the week. If God chose to rest, we should too.<br />
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I hope your weekend was restful, or that you at least found some time this week to rest. I know I have appreciated my respite.Christopher Highhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17559890128708256269noreply@blogger.com0