Wednesday’s Words : St. Francis

This is a series where I’ll post a few of my favorite lines from books.

This is my first post in a while, so I’m easing back into it all. I read St. Francis of Assisi several years ago, simply because I wanted to read something by G.K. Chesterton and I had wanted to know more about St. Frances. I decided to (using a phrase I doubt St. Francis would care for) kill to birds with one stone.

It was a good book and for $0.99 you can’t really beat it. It’s a great quote and one that think about a lot when working for Scrap Mills signs & more. Visit our page there to check out some of my work as an “artist.”

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Wednesday’s Words: Martel

This is a series where I’ll post a few of my favorite lines from books.

[Today might not be 3.14, but 3/4 is pretty close.]

I was given this book as a gift from my wife. I had already seeing the movie but I wondered how it be to read it. I’m steadily making my way through it and came across this line I thought I’d share.

That’s the good thing about books. Even if you’ve seen the movie, you haven’t seen the it all. It’s the difference in seeing a house from the curb and walking inside. Sure it looks nice and you can probably get a good idea of what it has to offer, but unless you walk inside you really can’t say you’ve been there.

Wednesday’s Words: Wells

This is a series where I’ll post a few of my favorite lines from books.

I read War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells a few months ago after looking for a free book while I was between reads. I knew this one was a classic that had been around for years so I thought I’d give it a try. I wasn’t disappointed.

I was really surprised at how quickly I was drawn into the book. Wells has a way of painting a picture of science fiction with the elegance of the Victorian Era that still holds against the test of time. When you get it for free, you can’t beat the deal.

Check out some of my other most recent reads here:

My 12 of ’14

How to Make Your Lady Happy: The DIY Dating Game

I’m obviously not a dating expert, but I have been married for several years now. Over this time I’ve learned that having a great relationship with your spouse doesn’t just happen. It takes work and time and communication. So here’s a little game I’ve done to make the time you have with each other a little more special.

The last time my wife and I went out on a date we played this game. Here’s a list of questions to ask your spouse. You each take turn picking questions. The catch is that anything you ask, your spouse gets to ask you back. It’s a great way to make sure your conversations don’t stay on the surface level. A great tip is to ask a follow-up question. If there’s more there that you haven’t heard before, ask it. It’s a fun and interesting way to learn more about the person you love.

1.       What are some books you’ve really enjoyed?

2.       What books would you like to read sometime?

3.       What are your favourite foods?

4.       What did you want to be when you grew up?

5.       What is some of your favorite memories from your childhood?

6.       What are some of the more difficult memories from your childhood?

7.       What are you favorite hobbies?

8.       What did your parents teach you that you appreciate now?

9.       What did your parents say or do that you found difficult?

10.   Who is someone that inspires you?

11.   What do you like us doing together?

12.   What would you like to do together in future, just the two of us?

13.   What would you like to do together in future, all of us with the kids too?

14.   What is your favorite passage of Scripture?

15.   What is your favorite memory verse?

16.   What are your greatest strengths?

17.   What are your greatest weaknesses?

18.   What overwhelms you?

19.   What is concerning you?

20.   What are you fearful of?

21.   Are you content at present?

22.   What makes you happy?1

23.   How can I add to your happiness?

24.   What do you find attractive about me?

25.   When did you know you wanted to marry me?

26.   What are some of your favorite memories of us?

27.   How do you like me saying ‘I love you’ the most—words, gifts, or touch?

28.   How can I demonstrate my love for you in different ways?

29.   What do I do that irritates or frustrates you?

30.   How can I help you be a better husband/wife?

31.   How can I help you be a better father/mother?

32.   How can I better meet your physical needs and desires?2

33.   How can I better meet your emotional needs and desires?

34.   What can I do to encourage and support you better?

35.   Where do you see us in 5 years time? In 10 years time?

36.   Is there anything in your heart that you need to forgive me for?

37.   In what ways do you think we love differently?

38.   In what ways do you think we parent differently?

39.   Describe to me your relationship with God at present.

40.   Tell me about a memorable time you connected with God.

41.   What do you love about each of our children?

42.   What hopes and dreams do you have for each of our children?

43.   What are you most thankful for?

44.   How have you changed since we married?

45.   What do you like about our marriage?

46.   What would you like to change about our marriage?

47.   What spiritual gifts to you see in me?

48.   Is there anything you regret?

49.   Tell me something about yourself that I may not know.

50.   What are some of your greatest hopes?

These sample questions are taken directly from Intoxicated On Life. Check them out here.

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Verses in Manhood: Robert Burns

If Jack Bauer wrote poetry, it would be here | Verses in Manhood

It has been a considerably cold week here, like most the country, as temperatures have dropped and wind has come sweeping in fast. If there was any doubt that Winter is here, that has been erased.

So I thought this was appropriate for Verses in Manhood. Enjoy.

The wintry west extends his blast,
And hail and rain does blaw;
Or, the stormy north sends driving forth
The blinding sleet and snaw:
While tumbling brown, the burn comes down,
And roars frae bank to brae;
And bird and beast in covert rest,
And pass the heartless day.

The sweeping blast, the sky o’ercast,
The joyless winter-day,
Let others fear, to me more dear
Than all the pride of May:
The tempest’s howl, it soothes my soul,
My griefs it seems to join;
The leafless trees my fancy please,
Their fate resembles mine!

Thou Pow’r Supreme, whose mighty scheme
These woes of mine fulfil,
Here, firm, I rest, they must be best,
Because they are Thy will!
Then all I want (O, do Thou grant
This one request of mine!)
Since to enjoy Thou dost deny,
Assist me to resign.

Of this poem Robert Burns said,

What I Found When I Cut the Grass

Lawn care, Entropy, Robin Thicke, and Faith

I like cutting my grass. Most people do. I’m too cheap for a riding lawn mower so I push mow my yard. It usually takes an hour or two to cut the whole yard. It would probably take a little less time if I bought a bigger push mower, but as I said before, I’m pretty cheap. I live in the South where the summers are brutal so when I cut the grass I usually end up sweating so much you can see it through my jeans . . . seriously, through denim. I’m not talking something like tight skinny jeans, but a baggy pair of Wranglers that were hand-me-downs from my brother-in-law. Sometimes when I cut my backyard I’ll take my shirt off. My backyard is fenced in so I think it’s not a big deal. And I ask my wife if it’s okay so she won’t be ashamed of the redneck she’s married.

When all the work is finished you get a total sense of accomplishment. Where once sat the patchwork of the endless competition of weeds and grass chutes now has been replaced by rows of green carpet. And in admiring my job well done it makes me think why I even like my grass to be cut?

I mean obviously the yard looks nicer when it’s mowed, but why? Why do I have this desire to make nature conform to what I think it should look like. No where else in my world do I see that grass naturally grows in unison at the same length and yet here I am spending hours each month to make my little patch of earth do just that. Why?

It suddenly made me think of a quote I’ve read several times,

“A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.” – C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity 

Then there’s this thing called entropy. It’s the measurement of the disorder in a system of energy. It’s a scientific term used in anything from communication theory to thermodynamics. They best way I’ve heard it described is that it’s the rate at which anything has a propensity to return to a nature state of disorder. Our world is in a state now that it wants to return to a state of disorder, so much so, that we actually have to calculate how quickly it wants to get there.

And yet here we are, despite living in a world where were rarely, if ever, come into contact with naturally occurring uniform conformity, we have a desire to make the things all around us neat and tidy. Sure you can argue there are other, more practical reasons to perform upkeep and maintenance but I know I get actual pleasure of seeing my grass cut that I don’t have when I get my oil changed. It’s not the same.

I believe we were created with the concept of straight lines. Even if we don’t see them popping up everywhere around us, we like to make them ourselves. Grass grows in every way it wants. Tigers and zebras have stripes instead of bars. And we still want things in straight lines, because we like them. (This may also be the reason hate Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines video and I think we can all agree that that guy is pretty much a tool.)

So after I cut my grass and am able to watch my kids play around on my lawn I found that I like the way it looks, not just because it’s crisp and clean, but the fact that I like things looking crisp and clean is an indication that I was created with the idea already in mind. That this innate idea of perfection I have is proof I was created with the intent of living in a place of perfection and even though I don’t see it around me now, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be there.

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Post #3 – Three Songs

Today’s assignment – Try free writing. To begin, empty your mind onto the page. Let the emotions or memories connected to your three songs carry you. Commit to this practice for at least 15 mins each day.

Okay . . . so free writing.

To me it basically begins with this . . . a total blank.

But maybe that’s the point. Start with a blank slate and see what you put on it. So let’s start.

Three songs that come to mind are ones that I usually find myself listening to constantly because they are on every playlist I’ve created.

• Time by The Greencards – I don’t know how you can describe this one. I’d say it’s closest to bluegrass. But cool, slow bluegrass. No spoons being pounded on someone’s knee while someone else blows over a whisky jug. Slow and sad, it makes me stop and think. It makes me think of home. Not the place, but the feeling. Whatever feeling you get when you are out in the world doing things; commute, job, traffic, grocery shopping, standing in line, sitting behind a computer at work, talking to coworkers. This song is the exact opposite of all that. It’s sitting on a front porch, drinking a cup of coffee, and feeling the wind blow.

• 3 Rounds and a Sound by Blind Pilot – I can’t sing. I can’t play an instrument. If I could do one or the other or both, I’d play this song. I’d sing it to my wife. It’s speaking a slow dance.

• Oceans (Where My Feet May Fail) by Hillsong UNITED -There’s worship songs that speak to your faith because they make you want to clap your hands or stand up and acknowledge your creator. Then there are others slowly make their way deep inside you because their words shake you to your core. They let you know what you are feeling before you have a chance to realize it yourself.

These three songs. Their words in my ears make me want to put words to paper.

If I Were a Sandwich

If I were a sandwich I would be a classic one. Ham, turkey, lettuce, tomato, and bacon …. ahh, bacon. Simple stuff, but the best.

At least that’s according to a quiz I took this week.

Another one told me my “spirit animal” would be a grey wolf. That’s pretty cool. I could live with that.

If I were a fictional character I would be Bruce Wayne. That’s pretty cool too.

I found all this about myself from taking a few online quizzes. You answer a few questions and they tell you who you are. As if you didn’t know already.

The thing I realized when taking these quizzes is that a lot of people really don’t know who they are. They know how they identify themselves. They are their job. They are their relationships. They are where they were born or where they live or what team the pull for.

Those things are great, but they are only a part of the puzzle. I’m glad to say I have my job. I’m glad to say where I was born and where I live. I’m glad to say I’m married and a father of two amazing boys. I’m glad for those things that make me who I am, but they are not who I am.

I think identity should be deeper than those things. For me, it’s in my faith.

If you aren’t spiritual then you may not understand where I am coming from. Maybe it sounds corny to say, but these beliefs define everything about me. They define how I conduct myself. They define my hopes and my dreams. They define when I fail. They define when I succeed. They give me a sense that no matter what happens in the world around me or what happens to me, that this will never change. I’ll always be this person and nothing I can or anyone else can do will change this.

“I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” –Psalms 139:14

“Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” -Romans 3:24

“Had has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.” -1 Corinthians 1:30

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31-32

To me, that’s better than being a sandwich.

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Wednesday’s Words: Miller

If you’ve ever thought about reading a book on religious thoughts or spirituality, but didn’t want to read something that sounded like a self-help book, Blue Like Jazz is perfect. Miller is an incredibly clever and talented writer. His storytelling is simple, but still poignant.

Easter ’14

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Today is Easter. To read it for yourself click here.

“A man who was completely innocent offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.”  Mahatma Ghandhi