Why Can't We Be Satisfied?

I've written before about the class I have been taking this year. Saturday morning we discussed "serving for the long haul" under the larger topic, "Finding Your Role in God's Family." Assignments for the week included listening to Bill Hybels speak on "Reading Your Gauges." In that presentation he identified four mismanaged areas of our lives that lead to the wheels coming off. One, our pace of life which leads to economizing or pushing back those things that are really important in order to keep up the pace of those things we believe are important; two, emotions, we must remain emotionally healthy to produce fruit and if life is emotionally depleting we will be ineffective in doing what God has placed us here to do. Third, relations, pace of life gets to be too much, our emotions drag and our relationships suffer, usually those relationships that should be most important, to our God, our wife, our children. Fourth, spiritual life, one plus two plus three equals four. Remember Titus 3:5.
Then an article by Doug Sherman entitled, "God First, Family Second....Right?" Excellent article that is a rebuttal to old adage God first, family second and so on. He views God in all things and so sets up a pentathlon model where there is no rank but God permeates our entire life. "How can we live in obedience to God as our free time diminishes and the demands on it increase?" Chapter 12 in John Ortberg's book, "The Life You've Always Wanted" discusses a similar model.
Finally, a part of our study and discussion centered around "management of my spiritual life."
1. Am I in a position where God can speak to me?
2. Am I sensing God's love in my life?
3. Is there infrequent personal application of God's Word?
4. Is my Christian life reduced to a rut of routine?
5. Is my prayer life mechanical at best?
Why can't we be satisfied with enough? Why are we always chasing more? Bigger house, next promotion, more time at work, less time at home? As someone closer to sixty than fifty I can reflect on the time invested pursuing what the world holds important instead of what is really important. In the big picture I see that whether I drive a Lexus or a Corolla won't matter one bit. Whether I have the biggest house with the perfect lawn.....it doesn't matter; what matters is whether I have taken the time to develop the right relationship with God which in turns helps me focus on having right relationships with my wife, my children, my job and everything else. I'm not Buddhist so don't assume that because I find wisdom in their Dharma Wheel I am recommending Buddhism. Christians must focus on developing the right relationship with our Lord so that out of that all other relationships have the potential to develop correctly.

Last Colorado video

Final video of our family gathering in Estes Park, Colorado. Adjustment back to school has been difficult due to the above average temperatures. I have been out on the bike more and am trying to get ready for a ride to Minnesota in June. I already have more miles logged than I did in 2008 when I made the ride with a fellow teacher. Of course the lack of seat miles caught up with me and I was forced to cut the trip short.

Bierstadt Lake

Beautiful day for being out in the snow.

Hiking

Video is of the Gem Lake Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. Even though we were later in the day this would be beautiful in the early morning. Some great views of Estes Park. Lake was still frozen solid.

Tracking

Just read a post by Ross Crockett on the Committed Sardine website and he made an interesting comment about tracking. "Apprenticeships have long been popular in Europe, but workforce--oriented high school training is not nearly as common in U.S. schools. One reason is that such programs sound dangerously similar to tracking--sorting students by ability level, a practice repeatedly rejected in U.S. culture, in which the dominant philosophy is that all students should have opportunity to meet their full potential." I have been teaching in a high school setting for twenty-five years and trying to get an English department to reduce or rethink tracking was impossible until the past couple of years. The philosophy was that we have to track due to ability and not a thought was given to preparing students for the real job world. College does not guarantee a good income but there are apprenticeships (carpenter, electrician, plumber) that do provide good jobs with good income and we need to be preparing students in every subject for these types of jobs. American education is hung up on four years of math (not everyone needs it), four years of English (people will do well without it), two to three years of science (two years yes, more...........no) and two and one-half years of Social Studies (no comment, I'm the department chair so can't be fair). I have built homes for a living, didn't need calculus or trig, in fact I worked with my high school math teacher.....poor guy couldn't apply his geometry to building a house to save his life. This is where the real problem lies, we need to have people teaching math who have used the math in real world experience and can relate the theory and formula to actual situations. Tracking, in the negative, must go and be replaced by preparation for the real world.

Vacation video

This video is of our cabin at Valhalla. We have been staying at this resort in Estes Park over the last 15 years. It is a wonderful location and the owners keep everything neat, clean and quiet. We highly recommend spending time here if you travel to Estes Park. It is also very close to the Dunraven which is an excellent place to eat! Another must do in Estes Park. We also highly recommend the Methodist Church for services and that is not just because we are United Methodists. We were in Cabin 9 which is the original home built in this area of Estes Park, 1904 was the year. The cabin has been updated and would sleep a small army but keep in mind there are only two bathrooms. This was the first of what we hope will be regular family gatherings to celebrate special times (Vicki and I will be married 35 years this June 21) but every time we can all be together is special.

St. Francis

Our pastor started a series of sermons on St. Francis. I never thought I would hear a sermon series in a Protestant church based on a Roman Catholic! That is true progress, believers are believers no matter the church title. We will be examining the ideas found in the prayer of St. Francis even though St. Francis didn't write the prayer (written in 1912??) the writing is based on his ideas. The prayer is as follows:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

I urge you to take time to read over these words and contemplate their meaning in your life.

Reflection

I'm not one who enjoys having a picture taken let alone displayed but this image so captures who I am and what I enjoy that I included it. There is truly nothing like sitting in the mountains and contemplating a creator God who made all this. No random accident could have placed things in such order and something from nothing just doesn't hold water with those who study physics or math. As we continue this Holy Week walk may your thoughts return to the One who made all this and so deeply desires relationship with us that He gave His life that we might, through Him, have eternal life. I encourage all to read scripture in light of God reaching out to us to establish a relationship where all things are made new. May the blessings of this Easter season not be lost because your focus is on a rabbit, new clothes, or finding the right spiral glazed ham for the dinner. May your focus be on the One who makes all things new. God bless!