Enklings Studio

A Lamp To My Feet, A Light To My Path

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105

I've been thinking about this and how God deals with us, especially in times of trouble.

Think about a lamp - it illuminates a small area.  Enough to read or perhaps if carried to see a short   distance.  That's all we get sometimes, just a little vision.  Enough not to stumble - slow and steady.  How comforting even the smallest lamp is on a dark night.

But a light on the path, that's more.  Like the sun during the day.  To see further down the road and be able to move more quickly down the path, perhaps run at breakneck speed.  The wind in your face and the ability to jump over obstacles seen well in advance.  Fearless abandon.

Life is sometimes like both.  In this season of uncertainty, we have a lamp, slow and steady, but the future is dark and it takes a lot of concentration just not to stumble and fall.  There is light.  As dark as it seems, we still have the lamp at our feet.  The streetlamp of heaven. 

Let's take a little time to read some of the poetry in the Psalms - especially starting in April which is National Poetry Month.  Join me in reading 5 Psalms a day, we'll read through them all in the month of April.  You'll be amazed how it lights up your life.

simply,

Tim

More Conversations on Love - Tevye & Golde

Tevye: Do you love me?
Golde: Do I what?
Tevye: Do you love me?
Golde: Do I love you?
           With our daughters getting married and this trouble in the town,
           You're upset. You want out. Go inside. Go lie down.
           Maybe it's indigestion.

Tevye: Golde, I'm asking you a question. Do you love me?
Golde: You're a fool!
Tevye: I know. But do you love me?
Golde: Do I love you?
           For twenty-five years, I've washed your clothes,
           Cooked your meals, cleaned your house,          
           Given you children, milked the cow.
           After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?

Tevye:  The first time I met you was on our wedding day. I was scared.
Golde:  I was shy.
Tevye: I was nervous.
Golde: So was I.
Tevye: But my father and my father said we'd learn to love each other.
          So, now I'm asking, Golde...

Tevye: Do you love me?
Golde: I'm your wife!
Tevye: I know. But do you love me?
Golde: Do I love him?
           For twenty-five years, I've lived with him,
           Fought with him, starved with him.
           For twenty-five years, my bed is his.
           If that's not love, what is?
Tevye:  Then you love me?
Golde:  I suppose I do.
Tevye:  And I suppose I love you, too.

Together: It doesn't change a thing, but even so,
               After twenty-five years, it's nice to know.

Of course this is the famous song "Do You Love Me" from Fiddler on the Roof, but read it again and put yourself in these words.  Your wife, your husband, your kids, your God.  It's so easy to go through the motions....

simply,

Tim

BoneMan's Daughters by Ted Dekker

I'm a fan of every Dekker book I've read and BoneMan's Daughters is no exception.  Dang book kept me up way too late last night finishing the last 150 pages.  Intense!

This one is not for the faint of heart; torture, kidnapping, murder, serial killers, teenage girls.  : )  A redeeming story line thoughand, as always with Ted, the undercurrent of faith worked out in bizarre slice of life!  If your ever saw your mom with Noxzema on her face, the serial killer in this one will make you shudder.  You'll see....

Once again, Ted has written a great read in my opinion.  Pick up a copy, you won't be disappointed!

simply,

Tim

Systemic Change

Most of you that know me, know that I'm a big fan of systemic change.  I think I shared this before but this graphic by my friend Ron Potter has helped me tremendously in business:

To have lasting change, you must get back to the beliefs and assumptions that are underlying the problem you want to fix. 

The lack of contentment in the U.S. (and creeping into the rest of the world) is our systemic issue.  Until we laugh at the commercials as utterly ridiculous when they tell us that we need a new car just because the new car is new, we'll never get out of this cycle we are in of creating a bubble of wealth every 10 or 20 years only to have it burst and the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. 

Being content with what you have is not a weakness, it's a strength.  This is true whether you are talking about your wardrobe, your house or the size of your body parts.  Do you see how we are thinking North is South?  This is what Jesus talked about in the Sermon on the Mount.  Recalibration: 

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

This is about thinking things are of value when they aren't - the whole story of the this Sermon is recalibration.

The commercial that ticks me off the most is the one where a couple pities another retired couple through text messages for having to move in with their kids.  I would have been honored if my mom would have lived long enough to move in with me and my family - if only!!  This is garbage they are trying to feed us!

Wake up and look for ways to systemically change your world - starting with you.

simply,

Tim

The "American Way" Simply Won't

The more I hear about what is happening with the "bailout" and how we are going to spend out way out of this crisis, the more I am convinced that this is a perfect example of the "American Way" gone amok.

For decades we have been told by the media and advertisers that we need more and that wanting more is a tenet of our American society.  We have raised the flag of discontent to the highest peaks in this nation and revere it as if being discontent was the highest emotion we could attain.  How else could we possibly be the best place to live in the world?  "More" is the driver of our economic system.

The more I see, the less want to see, as every check written for our bloated economic failures is putting our great-great grandchildren in a debtor's prison.

It's time to wake up and realize that the "American Way" simply won't do anymore.  I'm not sure what the answer is as I'm not an economist, but as a commonist (as in "sense") I know that borrowing your way out of financial crisis is a sure way to make it worse. 

Contentment must become the tenet we praise.  I've shared this before, but if you haven't seen "The Story of Stuff" you should watch it today.

simply,

Tim

The Dragon and The Eagle - Denis Waitley

Just finished The Dragon and the Eagle: China and America: Growing Together, Worlds Apart by Denis Waitley. 

I've only been to China once, but have done a fair amount of business with folks in China and Taiwan and consider the people I have met there as friends.  This book is a great resource for those who want to understand the differences and similarities between our Western culture and the Eastern culture in China.

The book is done in a fascinating way as a fable presented in a series of conversations between a Dragon and an Eagle representing the two cultures.  The Dragon and Eagle meet and discuss the two cultures and enlighten each other in the process.  Any American with an interest in China, or for that matter anyone from China looking to understand the U.S. more fully, (the book is also written in Mandarin) should pick this up.  It is an easy read and quite enjoyable.

One personal story:  When I was in Shezhen, China, my host and hostess took me around to some of the buying marts.  In one of the gift marts there was a store that sold "family history scrolls".  One person I was with found her name and it dated back 2500 years, the other person found his which dated back over 4000 years.  I couldn't really grasp the significance of this wholly, butthe gal who's family was only 2500 years old had a sort of quiet reverence for the guy who could trace his roots back over 4 millennia.  It was a poignant moment for me realizing that while I can trace my mom's roots back to the Palatine region in Europe around 400 years ago, my friend here in China had roots 10 times as old.  Amazing.

You should definitely pick up a copy of this book, it will help you understand the ancient Chinese culture in a fun, yet informative way.  I know it has for me, and I felt I understood quite a bit already!

simply,

Tim

The Nametag Guy

Now most of my friends know that I have an aversion to wearing nametags, but here's a guy who might just change my mind:

Check out his website at: www.hellomynameisscott.com

simply,

Tim

Conversing with God on Love

God: “Love is patient.”
Me: “Check.”
God: “Love is kind.”
Me:“Check.”
God: “It does not envy.”
Me: “Check.”
God: “It does not boast.”
Me: “Check.”
God: “It is not proud.”
Me: “Check.”
God: “It is not rude.”
Me: “Check.  So far, so good.”
God: “It is not self-seeking.”
Me: “Check.”
God: “It is not easily angered.”
Me: “Check.”
God: “It keeps no record of wrongs.”
Me: “check…hold on, no record of wrongs?  None?  You mean I can’t bring up that time when my wife did….  No record of wrongs?  Let's...let’s start again.”

God: “Love is patient”
Me: “Well…most of the time.”
God: “Love is kind”
Me: “Yeah, pretty kind.”
God: “It does not envy.”
Me: “Hmmm….”
God: “It does not boast.”
Me: “Gulp.”
God: “It is not proud.”
Me: “Ouch.”
God: “It is not rude.”
Me: “OK, I give up – this is way too hard.”
God: “Just let it go.”
Me: “But it’s too hard.”
God: “Let it go.”
Me: “I’ll try harder, I really will.”
God: “Listen.”
Me: “I will.”
God: “No, listen…let it go.”
Me: “I will.”
God: “No, listen.  Let it go.”
Me: “I am.”
God: “Let it go.”
Me: “Help me.”
God: “You keep on seeing, but don’t see.”
Me: “Seeing what?”
God: “You keep on hearing, but don’t hear.”
Me: “Hearing what?”
God: “It’s not about you – it’s about Me.  This is My love, dear one, not yours.”
Me: “Oh, God.”
God: “One more time through.”

God: “Love is patient.”
Me: “Always so patient.”
God: “Love is kind.”
Me: ”Undeservedly kind.”
God: “It does not envy.”
Me: “I have nothing to give.”
God: “It does not boast.”
Me: “Careful with my fragile ego.”
God: “It is not proud.”
Me: “Compassionate with my state of nothingness.”
God: “It is not rude”
Me: “Gentle beyond belief.”
God: “It is not self-seeking.”
Me: “All things work together for good.”
God: “It is not easily angered.”
Me: “Though I am easily sidetracked.”
God: “It keeps no record of wrongs.”
Me: “For Your sacrifice has covered them all.”
God: “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth."
Me: “And truth brings trust.”
God: “It always protects.”
Me: “Though I stray.”
God: “Always trusts.”
Me: “Though I often fail.”
God: “Always hopes.”
Me: “Though I often doubt.”
God: “Always perseveres.”
Me: “Though I often give up.”
God: “Love never fails.”
Me: “Never fails, ever.”

Me: “Thank you God.”
God: “I love you.”

simply from 1Corinthians 13,

Tim

My Irish Blessing

2009 Irish Blessing

May you live long enough to love deep enough
and spend time enough with family and friends
to call your life full on the hour that it ends.

simply,

Tim

Anti-Bacterial Treatment for Alzheimer's

Found this information this morning regarding Alzheimer's Disease and it's relation to a specific bacteria:

"The bacteria Helibacter pylori has been found to be one of the main cause of ulcers. In an important new study, just published in the Journal of Neurology, it was also found to also be involved with Alzheimer’s disease. If this finding holds up, everyone with memory issues should be screened for the bacteria and treated for it."

Read the whole article here.

Some of you may not know that my Mom passed away over ten years ago after a 12 year fight with Alzheimer's's Disease.  It was right before Easter which brings even more significance to this time of year for me.  I pray they find a cure for this as it is such a hard road to travel for any family.

simply,

Tim