We just got back from a trip, and on our way we saw this comical sight. When a trucker carries an empty load, it’s called “dead heading”. This trucker, made some effort to show he wasn’t exactly doing that. The rubber chicken suggests he was joking. You like this one? Let me know.
It got me to thinking…What about you and me? Have you looked at what you’re hauling lately? (I’ll be writing about some of mine in a post, soon.) Are you noticing crazy baggage? Are we truly making forward progress, or instead, failing to admit our dead-heading, by just going through the motions, or joking around, rubber chicken-style? Just something to chew on…
Can your soul fit into a mailbox? Take this Survey to Find Out!
(Is this is silly question? Yes. Try to have some fun, okay?)
Directions: Answer these simple questions, True or False, add up your score, and I’ll give you some instructions at the end.
1. T or F On cold, windy days, sometimes it feels like the wind goes “right through you”.
2. T or F Cats and dogs bother you when you don’t want them to.
3. T or F The wrong mail has been delivered to your home.
4. T or F This wrong mail to your home stuff has happened more than once.
5. T or F Sometimes you feel lighter in the morning time.
6. T or F After a hair cut, sometimes you miss your hair.
7. T or F You feel like you’d like to “go home” sometimes, even though you might be at your own house when you think that.
8. T or F Babies and crazy people sometimes stare at you…knowingly.
9. T or F Your fear of heights has gotten worse over the years.
10. T or F You don’t wear out shoes like you did ten years ago.
Now, give yourself 5 points for every T, and 10 points for every F. Add them up.
If you scored 50-100, your soul is pretty hard to define, size and shape-wise, but I won’t lie to you, you have one. It might fit into a mailbox.
If you scored over 100, you have a soul, and a mailbox is no place to put it. Use your mailbox for letters, and small packages. Take larger packages directly to the post office, and take your soul and spirit with you.
We may not think about our spirits and souls in an everyday way, but if we hold our breath for 20 minutes, a lot of questions get answered. The life breath goes right out of us. The Greek word for spirit is literally “breath of life.” It seems there are a lot of things that aren’t incredibly easy to define. If we think we can use the Bible as a glossary, we’ll find out, there isn’t a definition of the word “soul,” “spirit,” like there would be in a glossary, which would clean up the confusion, nice and tidy-like. But, most of us realize our life experience isn’t just surface level. Are we simply machines that live a few decades, and then die? That’s the harder thing to believe, especially when we take in Beauty that is all around us.
Things like Beauty, Hope, Love, Innocence, and such, are *Ideals* that point deeper, or further out, than we can clearly perceive, or could ever accurately measure. Knowing God (who is infinite and personal) works the same way. So does a life that includes an acknowledgment of soul and spirit, and a journey toward the heart of God who is “Other,” the Source of Good, and the best of the ideals written on our hearts.
Thanks for playing.
I hope you stay, read some posts or try the other self-tests, and leave comments where you’d like to.
(The guy on the street corner who sold me this photo said it was a picture of an actual piece of knowledge coming down from “on high”. Apparently, it’s never been captured on film before. He either said that, or he took this when he was high, and he’s never been captured on film before. I’m not completely sure. He also owned a bridge, which I thought was PRETTY FLIPPIN’ COOL, but I could only afford this photo.)
This post is an announcement to introduce a learning group I will launch in October. It’s experimental, since I haven’t tried an online version before, but I hope this first group of us can test the waters for more types of group learning online.
What is it: A group of 10 of us, (max. or at a time) will all read the same material, and have a few reflection questions given out beforehand which go along with the reading. Then we will meet-up (online, perhaps using Skype, which is free-check it out) to discuss some of our insights and responses.
I will also send along related materials for your use, enjoyment, and implementation on a manageable “project,” that you come up with. It will bring the topics at hand into focus and application in a real way. This will help you, on a personal level, and be applicable in community, as well. This is the part that can really incite growth. It’s where the kind of “book club” feel to it, emerges forward into something vivacious and real–
even life-changing.
Then, a week or two later, our small group will meet-up one more time (online) to discuss our unique uses of our learning, and share our insights. We’ll exchange our ideas, lessons learn, and also brief project summaries in file form, so later it may be possible, (if we choose) to incorporate new practices into our lives out of our new learning experiences–
applications others have thought of, and already applied.
When is it: Some time in October. I will try to pick a good time so as many of us as possible will be able to interact in real time, at least twice. Probably in the evening, and perhaps on a weekend, in mid or late October for 1- 2 hours each time. (For this, I would like lots of feedback to hear what may work best. International learning gets be tricky with all the various time zones!) The rest of the time, learners will be reading, reflecting, or relating to God, self, and others at times that work best for them. There will be a place online (possibly a closed group on Facebook) where we can bounce ideas back and forth, learn, discuss reading items (not in real-time), share discoveries, etc.
Who is it: This learning group is for people who are committed to growing and searching for deeper intimacy and richer relationships with God, and others. They are curious, open-minded/optimistic, willing-to-learn and contribute, and want to apply insights from various sources including insights gained through prayer and the Holy Spirit. I will host and facilitate the group. To learn about me, click the “bio” tab, or go to my website.
What are the texts assigned: This has not been completely decided. There will be Biblical passages, and most likely, for this first learning group, the fairly brief text The Practice of the Presence of God: Conversations and Letters of Brother Lawrence. (The link above offers a free version, to print out oneself, but used copies sell for only a few dollars.) Some reading items will be sent directly to learners as PDFs, and other items could be added as I work out the specifics. Reading will be manageable, but will require a proper investment of time to be profitable for everyone involved. Expect to read 150-225 pages in total. Approx. 3-4 hrs
What the cost will be: 0$
(I always accept your generosity anytime with a cheerful, toothy grin. A link to help me is on the home page. Hopefully, learners will find the class will be worthy of a gift toward continuing this work, but one is not necessary.)
I’ll make more details available as I work out specifics. If there is a lot of interest, I’ll start a waiting list-after ten people ask to join in. But if something like what I am trying to describe appeals to you, in general, please let me know in a comment below.
ALSO- if you have suggestions for what may make this work better or more smoothly, please include that in your comment, or at any time!
Sometimes it’s painfully obvious what a person loves. Take this guy. McDonalds is really important to him. I can’t stress this enough, and by the looks of it, neither can he. The golden arches are embedded on him–for LIFE. How’s that for a Mac Attack? How…er..um..sweet, I guess.
One of the most earth-shattering things I’ve come to comprehend spiritually is that God desires loyalty, and not perfection. For a performance-oriented person like me, this comes as a great relief. I only wish I had known this in my teens and 20s. Now, loyalty doesn’t mean you have to be devoted enough to get a fancy yellow tattoo with clouds and stars on it, but it does mean you’ve decided to hang in close, through thick and thin, for life. Loyalty is actually simple to understand, but it’s rare to find. It is really what we all hope for in true companionship from a spouse or best friend.
What would you have tattooed on you, if anything? (hypothetically)
If you have one, submit your real tattoo photo, or a great idea for one, and maybe I’ll send a nifty goodie your way.
