RESOLUTION PRESSURE RELIEVED

One of the top lessons I learned this year was how to start and maintain a new habit. I used to drive myself a bit crazy the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve because I have long been a believer in New Year's resolutions, but I also tend towards indecisiveness. Each year as December rolled to an end, I just knew that if I failed to identify a potential new habit by January 1st, I would end up doing nothing at all.

I leaned heavily on having a firm start date and on making public pronouncements in order to bolster my willpower and help me to stick to my resolution. (Pride can be a powerful motivator!)

Honestly, it usually worked. I have a better than average track record for resolution follow through. 

But this year it is different. I now know better how my brain works and I can start a new habit at any time without concern over willpower. 

It feels almost like a superpower. 

This New Year's Eve, I have been mulling over how to introduce others to the process of habit formation - especially in regards to spiritual disciplines (like prayer, Scripture reading, and fasting) which are so crucial for spiritual formation but completely underutilized in American church culture.

It's a lot to think about, but I don't have to figure it out by January 1st. I will lean on God's timing. 

I wish you the very best in 2022!

*******

Here ends a year of writing daily. I'm guessing I will be back at it tomorrow night. It's a habit now.

33 MINUTES AND 33 SECONDS

In the back of my mind throughout the month of December, I was low-key dreading today. 

Today was the due date for my third 6-page paper - on a book comparing four different theological views on the Lord's Supper. 

Not only was the paper daunting, I knew from early in the month that life was going to get extra busy and the majority of my December classwork would still be waiting for me after Christmas day. 

I was right. When Sunday came, I still had 350 pages to read and a few smaller assignments ... and this paper.

Anyway, the good news is that I discovered a new "brain hack" to keep me on track today. I couldn't get myself started on my paper this morning as much as I tried. It felt very intimidating and my willpower was almost nonexistent. So I tried something I had heard suggested on a podcast recently.

I set the alarm on my phone for 33 minutes and 33 seconds and opened my book to start taking notes. When the alarm sounded, I would give myself permission to take some sort of little break.

It worked. Whereas I could not force myself to sit down and write an entire paper, I felt almost no resistance to sitting down to work for 33 minutes. When the alarm buzzed, I had accomplished part of my task and that felt good. I got some coffee and scrolled on my phone for a few minutes and then reset my alarm for another 33:33. 

And that's how my whole day went. One unforeseen advantage was that I soon began to accurately judge how much I could accomplish in 33 minutes and it gave me a better estimate of how much more of my day I would need to devote to the project. 

All in all, the day was not at all unpleasant. I had time to go for a  run and even take a short afternoon nap and a leisurely dinner. And the paper got edited and submitted shortly after 9:00 pm.

I need not have dreaded December 30th in the least.

POISON TREE

Like thousands of other motorists on a daily basis, each time I get off Interstate 65 and head toward Columbus, I soon pass a small house with a big white sign out front that never fails to make me sigh. 

The sign has to be at least five feet wide and three feet tall, and it has been permanently and prominently installed in the yard for all who pass by to see its message: "Out on a Limb Tree Service, Andrew B______ is a thief! Takes your money and runs!"

It looks professionally made. The homeowner sees it every morning and every night. He has to mow and weed-eat around it every summer. 

And I think it has been there for at least the past decade!

Now THAT is some world-class bitterness. 

It reminds me of the famous poem by William Blake:

A Poison Tree

I was angry with my friend; 

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe: 

I told it not, my wrath did grow. 

And I watered it in fears,

Night & morning with my tears: 

And I sunned it with smiles,

And with soft deceitful wiles. 

And it grew both day and night. 

Till it bore an apple bright. 

And my foe beheld it shine,

And he knew that it was mine. 

And into my garden stole, 

When the night had veiled the pole; 

In the morning, glad, I see; 

My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

You might dream of your hatred killing off your foe, but you're the one with a poisonous tree in your garden! 

The end of the year is a great time to put any lingering bitterness toward anybody aside. Don't carry any poison into 2022!

(And if you need help cutting down your poison tree, may I suggest Out on a Limb Tree Service - they have multiple 5-Star reviews on Yelp!) 

LESSONS LEARNED

I am still a few days short of completing my year of writing and publishing SOMETHING on this blog daily, but it is safe to assume I will successfully reach the finish line on Friday.

So I want to begin reflecting on what I have learned:

1) I am more opinionated than I realized.

2) Whether anyone else reads my words, writing daily has been a great benefit for ME, by helping to clarify my thinking. 

3) Publishing here has been an important part of the habit. It forces me to complete my thoughts and to edit them. 

4) I never experience "writer's block". 

5) Possible topics pop into my head randomly throughout the day, but if I don't immediately write an idea down, it is lost within minutes. 

6) My best editing decisions involve deleting words, sentences, or entire paragraphs. 

Now that it has become habit, I believe I will continue daily writing into the new year. It needs to evolve in some important way, but I am not yet sure how. 

NOT ALL BAD

To clarify after my post on Christmas day - I don't hate EVERY aspect of Christmas. I am not a complete Scrooge. I simply dislike the pressure our culture puts on everyone to attain some perfect Hallmark holiday celebration. And obviously the extreme commercialization of the whole thing is also more than annoying. 

And it all begins the day after Halloween.

Having said that, here are some pictures from our last 10 days or so of things I DID NOT hate:

PRIORITIES

Late this evening - long after I should already be in bed - I broke out my laptop at the kitchen table to write my daily post.

I had just opened up a blank page, but then Caleb came in for a drink of water. And then Samuel came home and decided to eat a second dinner.

Long story short, I chose having a conversation with my two college-aged sons over putting time and thought into writing a blog post. 

I am certain I made the right choice...

POST CHRISTMAS

And now begins my favorite part of Christmas: the end. 

It is officially OVER. 

And even though I am a bit Grinchy, I am not the sort to immediately sweep the house clean of all Christmas decorations. I kind of like the afterglow of Christmas more than the day itself. The goodwill and some of the festivities linger, but there is no longer the danger of being subjected to "Feliz Navidad" on the radio. And all of the self-imposed deadlines are past. 

It is time to cut way back on sugar consumption - actually consumption of all types - and start making New Year's resolutions. 

I am ready to move on. BUT, if there is one aspect of Christmas that I wish would continue daily throughout the new year, it would be this: the normalization of believers speaking publicly and unashamedly about Jesus, about the Scriptures, and about salvation. 

Wouldn't that be great? 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

My wish for all is that you, now as an adult, might find a bit of that magic you experienced as a child during Christmas. 

The great thing is that now that we have grown up, we have the opportunity to know what C.S. Lewis described as the "deeper magic". 

Even though I am a bit of a Grinch about various aspects of our modern celebration, Christmas as a reminder of the dawning of a new reality for mankind - "God with us" - gets me every time. And THAT is what finally puts me "in the Christmas spirit".

Unfortunately for my family, it doesn't happen until Christmas Eve. 

Anyway, Merry Christmas! And may we all live in the reality of God's deeper magic today and every day of the coming year.

GOD SPIRALS

In reference to yesterday's post:

Up until this year, I was often embarrassed and ashamed when I felt that God was having to reteach me some important lesson we had gone over before.

I thought it meant, at best, that I was a slow learner. At worst, that I was stiff-necked and hard-hearted. (Either one COULD be the case, but there could also be a more innocent explanation.)

This year, I changed my approach to teaching 8th grade English and my eyes were opened to an important truth.

My change? Instead of devoting an entire class period to some new concept - like "irony" - and then moving on to something else the next day, hoping the kids had mastered "irony" during those 45 minutes, I started "spiraling" my lessons more intentionally. 

Spiraling means that I might introduce irony briefly during Week 2, then return and build on that introduction during Week 8, before adding further nuance in Week 14. By the end of the school year, spiraling proves to be much more effective than a "one-and-done" approach.

This is the way that I should have been teaching all along. It is effective because this is the way the human brain absorbs new information best.

Since God is the one who designed our brains, it is not surprising that he would teach us about himself, his world, other people, and ourselves by spiraling those lessons over the years. 

REVIEW LESSON

Today marks the second time in a decade I have resigned from Hauser Junior/Senior High School to pursue God's call into missions. 

And here's the amazing thing about this past year (or rather, an amazing thing about God): It wasn't just a paycheck to tide me over until I found something else, rather the Lord used this experience to teach me and to deepen my faith. My time at Hauser was in no way wasted.

Like any classroom, some of what I needed to learn was review. I see now that some of the most important lessons from our painful departure from Haiti got reinforced. 

For instance, in these last two weeks of my teaching career, I was made aware of two students who had very different experiences in my classroom:

Student A's parents came gunning for me with several critical emails which built to a demand to meet with my principal about me. (Not surprising to me, the meeting with my principal was prompted by something I did only in their imaginations. They never apologized to me.)

Student B brought me a gift and a sweet goodbye note. And Student B's parent posted on Facebook about her child's LOVE for her English teacher - a compliment I only became aware of through some mutual friends. 

So why did the Lord think it useful to give me a small reminder that every person in any sort of leadership role develops both supporters and enemies? 

Well, I think it inspires me to be a lot bolder in life and in ministry. I don't need to spend undue time pondering how others perceive me when I have very little control over their opinions! (And God knows this has been a lifelong battle for me!) I just need to keep my focus on serving God's kingdom. 

Romans 12:18: "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."

It is useful to remember that living peaceably with others is not ALL dependent on me. 

A STUDENT'S POWER

A young lady hesitated as she walked by my door at the close of the day. She has been one of my most conscientious students and a standout even in my honors class. 

She's quiet and reserved, so it meant that much more to me when she said goodbye as she passed and then paused, turned back towards me, and said, "I am going to miss you, Mr. Gross." 

Students have no idea how much power they have to either frustrate or encourage their teachers. 

Unfortunately, the opportunities to frustrate are taken on a daily basis while the opportunities to encourage are pursued only on special occasions. 

COUNTDOWN

Tomorrow I give three final exams, each lasting one hour and 40 minutes, and then I am pretty much done with my junior high teaching career forever.

Except for a bunch of grading.

With any luck, though, when I walk out of the school on Wednesday afternoon, I will be completely finished with my work, moved out of my classroom, and ready to turn in my key.

I have to admit that there is not much that I will miss in the least. And that makes me a bit sad ... and nervous ... about the future of education and our country. 

While I have been working within a public school, I haven't written much here about how broken our education system is, but I have much to reflect on.

There are no easy answers, and I am relieved to step away from the frontlines soon. 

Two more days.

MEN'S DISCIPLESHIP

This morning after worship an older lady approached me and said, "There was a young man looking for you - he wanted to meet you." It turns out the "young man" is retirement aged! He was wanting to put a face with my name because I had texted him about joining a men's small group focused on discipleship.

I didn't know him; I had gotten his name and number from the church office as being someone interested in joining a small group. 

He introduced me to his friend who was also looking for a small group. 

This will bring our men's group to five members come January. 

And I am thinking this is just the tip of the iceberg of the number of men in our church - and the wider community - looking for opportunities for genuine spiritual growth and accountability.  

SPIDERMAN KNOWS

Tonight I saw the latest Spiderman movie at our local theater. 

It was an enjoyable two hours, and to me the best part was the theme. (I know ... I sound like an English teacher.)

But truly, (without giving any spoilers) the movie was about how Peter Parker would rather see a villain redeemed than to see a villain simply vanquished. Even one who has done him great personal harm.

And I find that a deeply Christian concept. 

It is exactly what thrills me every time I see any version of The Christmas Carol. No matter what license Hollywood takes with Dickens' story, it cannot avoid staying true to the heart of the story: a terrible old sinner getting a second chance, leading to a genuine change of heart.

Most movies assume the audience longs to see the villain get his comeuppance - and we do. 

But is there a deeper, more Christlike part of us that is even happier to see the villain changed?

TWELVE TOGETHER

Over the next four days we will find out if our little house can hold twelve people. All three kids are home from college for Christmas break - Caleb and Samuel arrived this evening and Hannah yesterday. Our friends Bill and Julie arrived Wednesday evening with their three little boys. And now we are just waiting for Janeen to get here. 

Twelve. That's four times our "new normal" of three. (Plus, we can't forget the two dogs. Even if we tried.) 

The last time all twelve of us humans were together was almost two years ago when we escaped Haiti for a few days of retreat in the Dominican Republic. That was just weeks before Covid sent us all in different directions around the globe.

I thank God for this opportunity to be reunited.

I think this is shaping up to be a 96 hour slumber party: too much snacking and laughing and not enough sleep. 

IS THE WORKER EVER WORTHY OF A GULFSTREAM?

 An absolutely disgusting article in the Daily Mail about Kenneth Copeland today:

"America's Wealthiest Pastor".

I have never understood how people continue going to a church led by such a man. When your pastor has a 7 million dollar "parsonage" and pays zero property taxes by exploiting Texas laws, I doubt it is a secret among the congregation. Nor is the fact that he has his own little airport and a 10 million dollar Gulfstream jet.

And how about his justification for owning his own jet? Flying commercial might make him "angry" and that would affect his preaching negatively. 

Sounds like a heart problem to me. It would have been much cheaper to let the Holy Spirit take care of that anger. 

And Copeland says the house was built out of his love and concern for his wife. He can't help being such a devoted husband! 

And really, when you're worth 770 million dollars, a 7 million dollar house IS pretty modest.

As Copeland says, "Glory to God, hallelujah!"

WHY NOT ME?

I took Latin as my foreign language during my high school years. Mrs. Kelley was a great teacher and she knew her subject well. She also took a group of students on a trip to Rome every summer. 

I never went.

In fact, I never even seriously considered the possibility because my family could not afford it.

But I sat in her class and watched her slides of my classmates standing in the Forum or outside the Coliseum, and I wished I could be a part of one of those trips.  

At some point in college I had a breakthrough thought: If other people could find a way, why couldn't I?

I discovered that I had often closed doors in my own face ... before the world even got a chance to. 

It is a mindset that I have battled throughout my life. Whenever I give in to "I guess that's for other people, but not for me", my life shrinks and I miss out on who knows what. But when I think "Why not me?", my life expands and I find I can do more than I had dared to dream ... with God's help. 

("Why not me?" got me to Rome just a few years after my last class with Mrs. Kelley.)

ANNOUNCEMENT DAY

This morning just before the start of first period, a couple of my students walked into my classroom and asked, "Why are you leaving?"

I had been putting off telling my students about my decision to leave Hauser at the end of the semester, but I knew word would get around and eventually I would get to explain, especially since the school is actively advertising for a new 8th Grade English Teacher. 

Today was the day. I gave a little explanation at the beginning of each class.

It was the quietest and best-behaved my students have been in a long time. I took the opportunity to explain what Mission Resource International does, how important microloans can be to those living in extreme poverty, and what I hope to contribute to the ministry. It also gave me a chance to point my students to Jesus Christ, at least briefly. 

So it was a good day.

********

We have much to look forward to in the next week: Tomorrow our good friends, the Edler family, come for a week as they make the trek from Haiti up to Canada. AND over the next few days Caleb, Hannah and Samuel will all be coming home from college for Christmas break. We are about to test the limits of how many people can fit in this little house. 

WORST CHRISTMAS LYRICS

"You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,
Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. 
But do you recall 
the most famous reindeer of all?"

This is the dumbest line in the entire genre of Christmas music. And it will cause me to switch the radio station faster than if I hear the opening few bars of Feliz Navidad.* 

Why would you assume I know the names of eight reindeer who are absolutely indistinguishable from each other, but I WOULDN'T recall the one who is actually famous?

That's like asking, 
"You know Milgram and Leavitt and Florey and Kepler,
Pauling and Lemann and Gilbert and Napier.
But do you recall 
the most famous scientist of all?  Albert Einstein?"
(Who had some very shaggy hair...)

And while we're at it, it is also troubling that Santa chose "Vixen" as the name of one - if not the only - female reindeer. What is up with that?

* Feliz Navidad is banned from my radio because it has a playing time of THREE minutes but contains only EIGHTEEN distinct words. Seven of those words, "I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas", are repeated EIGHTEEN times while two, "Feliz Navidad", are repeated TWENTY ONE times. There's not a single word that isn't repeated at least 6 times. This song could be edited down to 15 seconds. 

DREAMING OF FUTURE EDUCATIONAL POSSIBILITIES

Even though it seems Covid fell flat as a spur for educational innovation, the pandemic inspired "distance learning" could still serve a role in the future of education: as a contrast to learning in the "metaverse". 

If you're not familiar with the coming metaverse, it looks to be an advanced combination of apps, video games and virtual reality technology. The pitch is that you will be able to strap on a pair of goggles and enter into cyberspace, instantly transporting from one "location" to another at will, all the while interacting with the avatars of other individuals who are in the same spaces.

As a starting point, imagine the possibilities for virtual field trips. Instead of lecturing through a bland handout covering "Shakespeare's World", the English teacher could take an entire class into Shakespeare's Globe Theater for a 45 minute virtual tour. Imagine the difference in engagement and learning that would be! A guest speaker could address a science class virtually from her own lab as she works. 

The public school system is too dated, clunky and bureaucratic to jump on board quickly and broadly, so I am wondering if the metaverse might first take off among the homeschoolers. 

I can imagine some top teachers setting up their own virtual classrooms and charging by the head to attend class. Talk about "school choice"! 

Also, when homeschoolers can enter a virtual lab for science class and work alongside a virtual lab partner or enter a virtual gym and find a workout partner, the common criticism that they lack opportunities for meaningful interaction and socialization would become a thing of the past. Your kid could be sharing virtual classrooms with students from all parts of the globe. 

One of the biggest headaches and inefficiencies in the current public school system is all the repetition. I have had 75 students rotating through my classroom each day, spread over 4 separate periods. If I could deliver that content just once each day to all 75 at once, that would free up three hours to meet with students for individualized instruction. 

(Not to mention how useful it would be to mute various students throughout the entire class.) 

And could a student who answered a question incorrectly have a symbol pop up over their avatar's head that only I could see? And could I "walk up to" that student's avatar and have a private conversation with him or her that would be mute to other students in the class? If so, embarrassment over misunderstanding could become a thing of the past. 

I am just dreaming here. But who knows - maybe all these features and more are possible in the relatively near future.

Or maybe the metaverse will fizzle. 

HOLES THAT WILL NOT BE FILLED

I had hopes that the pandemic might stir up some changes in our country's approach to education. That maybe all the disruption would produce some out-of-the-box experimentation. 

I have been disappointed.

In fact, there is little creativity even in addressing the gaping holes in our students' progress, holes produced by entire semesters of so-called "distance learning". 

There was plenty of distance and precious little learning. Some students disappeared off the grid. "Playing hooky" had never been easier, and it lasted for weeks and months on end. And apparently, the majority of parents didn't have either the know-how, the time, or the interest to track their kids' "education". 

I hear some school districts intentionally forbid their teachers to cover new material during those months online. Review only. Other teachers tried to cover new material but were constantly slowed by all the students who weren't showing up or engaging. 

The resulting slow pace meant even the good students tuned out. How boring. How useless. 

I know Sarah and Samuel both hated it and felt that they learned nothing. 

Now many schools are slowly returning to "normal" and what is being done about the gaps distance learning created - in every subject area? 

Some government money has been thrown at it, to hire some extra teachers temporarily. From what I can see, it's a piecemeal attempt to make sure the struggling students at least pass their core classes now that they are back to school. 

But mainly, day-to-day, our solution is to pretend it's not a big problem.

IN THE 20S, HOMEWORK IS A NO GO

I don't know if this was caused by the pandemic or some cultural trend independent of Covid 19, but the current junior high students are dead set against homework.

I have had to completely change my approach to class to allow all work to be done within the given period because at least half of the students will simply never do homework. 

And it's not that they forget to do it. Or that they are too busy to do it. 

They are adamantly opposed to the very concept of homework. 

A few days back in one class I announced that we were going to read chapter 9 of The Outsiders together. One young lady said, "We can't read it together. I haven't finished chapter 7 yet. How am I supposed to get caught up if we keep moving forward in class?"

I said, "Well, there's a weekend coming up."

Shock and indignation flashed across her face: "Wait. You don't expect me to read this ON MY OWN TIME, do you?!"

I said, "Yes, that's exactly what I expect."

Or, rather, it is what I used to expect.

(She confirmed today that she never did finish the book. Currently we are writing an essay over The Outsiders. I anticipate at least one in five will not turn any sort of essay in.)

ANSWER A FOOL

Faced with the need to answer a critic tomorrow, I am reminded of this pair of seemingly contradictory proverbs:

Proverbs 26:4 - "Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him."

And Proverbs 26:5 - "Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes."

Odd, isn't it?

I don't know Hebrew, but it looks like the "according to his folly" part is not quite the same in the two verses and this might be the key to resolving the "contradiction". (Which is important because we NEED to know how to respond to the fool, especially in this day, right?) 

The commentaries seem to indicate the first "according to his folly" means something along the lines of "in a similar manner" while the second is a slightly different form of the same term and means "as his folly deserves".

So to rephrase the two verses: "Do not answer a fool in the same manner in which he addressed you, or you prove to be just like him. But DO answer a fool in the way that he deserves and perhaps it will humble him."

Jesus, of course, was the master of this. And he got a lot of practice answering fools. 

To my shame, I find that my first instinct is to respond with "tit for tat". That would make me a fool. I need to be careful. 

CHRISTMAS CONCERT

Last night Melissa and I had the pleasure of seeing Sarah perform with her school's show choir at their Christmas concert. 

It sure leaves me with mixed emotions to see her singing and dancing on stage. On the one hand, she is a GOOD dancer and a natural performer. She loves it and it shows. On the other hand, how is our baby girl wearing make-up and looking way-too-beautiful in a red sequined dress?

But if it feels a bit like stepping briefly into some alternate universe just coming into the performance for a night for me, it is only because I am not there watching her practice day after day at school and taking her dance lessons two nights a week on top of that. Dancing is a big part of her day to day reality now.

And I am thankful she has this opportunity now that we are back in the States.

That's Sarah, front row, second from the right. (And our friend Hannah Michel right beside her!)

Sarah, on the right, with her dancing buddies, Olive and Kate. 

Sarah with her proud mom and proud grandma. My mother sure would have enjoyed seeing Sarah perform. 

NEW DIRECTION

My students don't know yet, but the announcement was made to my co-workers today, so I can officially announce it here as well:

For the second time in a decade, I am leaving a teaching job at Hauser to enter missionary work. 

I am just as confident of God's call and just as scared by the prospect as the first time around.

Melissa and I are staying put in Columbus, Indiana, but I will be joining the staff of Missions Resource International in January. In short, MRI makes microloans possible in struggling communities overseas. 

I have 11 school days left at Hauser. I am thankful for the opportunity this past year to teach there but also excited about this new opportunity. I will share more details soon. 

HOLLYWOOD DOES IT AGAIN

My honor students just finished reading Fahrenheit 451. Each time I read this book, I appreciate and value it more. 

HBO made a movie out of the book a couple of years ago and, of course, my students are begging to see it. So I just finished watching it to see if it was usable or not.

Of course the writers had to sprinkle a few f-bombs throughout but I think I can censor it as we go to make it "school appropriate". (Which is totally ironic, but you gotta do what you gotta do.)  

The bigger issue is what a hot mess Hollywood made out of Ray Bradbury's cautionary tale. Is there anyone left in California who knows at least the rudiments of storytelling?

In the book, Guy Montag is a futuristic fireman, tasked with starting fires rather than extinguishing them. Specifically, Montag and other firemen search out books and set them on fire. The fire chief, Beatty, functions to explain the danger of books: their ideas contradict each other and that is just too complicated for the average human. Thus, society concluded that people would be much happier with nonstop entertainment and being rid of books altogether. 

Bradbury uses the character of Montag's wife, Mildred, to show the emptiness of endless distraction and entertainment. A mysterious young girl, Clarisse, opens Montag's eyes to his own lack of happiness, but then she mysteriously disappears. A chance acquaintance, Professor Faber, explains to Montag that books contain important ideas - ideas that call for wrestling and action from those who truly comprehend. The Bible is alluded to throughout the story. 

Ultimately, Montag kills Beatty and goes on the run. The city he escapes from is destroyed in war and Montag finds a small band of scholars, living in the countryside and preserving books by memorizing them. 

In the movie?

There is no Mildred. Montag does not have a slow burning curiosity about books - he is tempted to join a revolutionary group of book radicals, among whom is Clarisse. (Or, at least, a character sharing that same name.) There is no Faber. Books are preserved not in human minds, but by being copied into a strand of DNA which is then injected into a bird which flies away. (What the heck??)

Montag does not kill Beatty. Instead, Beatty kills Montag.

The Bible is never referenced, but Harry Potter is. 

I suspect the ghost of Ray Bradbury is now compelled to spend eternity haunting the director of this hot mess. 

FIFTY DOLLARS

Now and then a friend from Haiti will contact me with a request for some money. I know life is difficult there - especially these days - and so I usually comply with a bit of cash. 

It doesn't take much. Sometimes the need is just for some money to make it until the end of the month. Fifty dollars can be the difference between a friend and his family going several days without food or ... having their daily rice and beans. Fifty dollars might enable a family to keep a child in school for the next month or two. Fifty dollars might make a visit to a doctor possible. 

Me? Well, yesterday I took two items back to Target and Lowes that I had decided I didn't really need - and I was tired of them sitting around the house. (For several weeks.) The total back on my card was $48.

"Poor" is a relative term, yeah? I think Americans have a nearly impossible time imagining what it would be like to be one of the 700 million people on this planet surviving on less than two dollars a day. It's a level of poverty that is nearly incomprehensible to us.

I am certain that my Haitian friends have never experienced buying $50 worth of something they might not really need, just as I have never experienced going for several days without food because I couldn't afford any. 

WITHOUT EXCUSE

Although extremely difficult to live up to, the Golden Rule is beautiful in its straightforward simplicity: "In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12) 

Beyond its simplicity, there is another aspect of the Golden Rule that had never occurred to me until I read The Good Works Reader by Thomas Oden: it demonstrates that we are without excuse.

Oden quotes early church Father, John Chrysostom: "In this statement Jesus briefly sums up all that is required. He shows that the definition of virtue is short and easy and known already to all."

Nobody is able to plead ignorance before God of the good he or she should do for others!

Chrysostom continues, "What is less of a burden than this? What is more just? So we all know within ourselves what our duties are. We cannot ever again find refuge in ignorance."

When Jesus says to us, "Do unto others what you would have others do unto you," his words are both challenging and convicting. 

 

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

We know so little about each other and what goes on "behind closed doors".

This evening Melissa and I walked through our neighborhood in the dark, critiquing our neighbors' Christmas decorations. As we passed a particular two story brick house, I pointed and said, "That's the house." Through a wide window we could see a large, beautiful Christmas tree. The house was peaceful. It seemed warm and inviting.

But yesterday morning I was running Ginger through this same neighborhood in the dark of 6:00 am. 

And as I passed this same house, I heard a loud and angry teenage voice screaming from the upstairs, "I [expletive] HATE you! You're a [expletive] liar. All you do is lie! I [expletive] HATE YOU!" And then a door slammed very loudly. 

How incredibly sad. As I continued running, I prayed for true peace in that household.

And I wondered if that teen girl had anyone she could turn to.

And I wondered if those parents had anyone they could turn to.

I'VE GOT QUESTIONS

This morning I was watching a video an old friend recently posted on YouTube, and at one point I had to rewind it a few seconds to see if I had heard him correctly.

You see, he's a pastor. But some of the things he talks about on his videos have generated a whole lot of questions in my mind. For example, he speaks of "Gnosticism" in a positive light. I don't know much about Gnosticism, outside of the fact that the term is usually preceded by three words: "the heresy of" and that the gnostics valued their own mysterious spiritual experiences over Scripture and orthodox doctrines. Otherwise, I am pretty ignorant on the topic.  

My friend also speaks of "the magnetic center" and "the fourth way" and, again, I am ignorant. Are these harmless terms to speak of spiritual growth or is this some specific modern day pseudo-Christian teaching? 

What I heard my friend clearly say on video this morning confirmed my growing concerns. He was referencing "the armor of God" and casually mentioned, "You know, I am no fan of the Apostle Paul, but he was right about this." 

That's a huge red flag in my point of view. When we set ourselves over the writers of Scripture and start making judgment calls on what is inspired and what is not - watch out. 

I will continue to listen and to seek to understand my friend's perspective, and when the time is right, I will ask my questions.

PAPER SUBMITTED

I had to take a personal day from school to write a paper for my class, Sacramental Spirituality and Disciple-Making Leadership. So I am "all written out" this evening. But it is done. 

It was difficult ... before it became impossible ... to find the self-discipline to write a six page comparative book review over Thanksgiving weekend while all the kids were home from college. (And neither book was super easy!)  

Maybe once I get back into the flow of being a student again, I will remember how time-consuming papers can be. Next time I will break the process into parts and spread the parts over several days. (Maybe!) 

Surprised to come home after a long day at work to find me not yet finished, Melissa was giving me a hard time at dinner about "waiting until the last minute", but I want it to be known that I finished the paper at 8:45 pm.

And it was not due until midnight. So ... NOT the LAST minute. 

Victory!