Island Journal: Day 90, give or take a day….
Posted on January 7, 2010
Filed Under Generally Spiritual (few if any geek references) | Leave a Comment
….whoa, life on the “island” is moving along. I’m still lost half the time, but I think things are starting to come together. I confess that I still miss being out on the sea, but I certainly don’t miss the disorientation of not knowing which way to turn.
Pulling away from the island motif, it seems like about every other day, I need a strong reminder that God is with me, that I can trust Him to help me overcome some pretty stiff challenges. Some days I fear failure–like a couple of days ago–but that very morning, through listening to John Ortberg as he talked about Elijiah, I really felt like God said something significant to me. He reminded me to serve. Wow! When we simply serve, we can leave the results up to God. If I obey, then I don’t need to worry about the outcome, at least not get all in a knot about it.
We have a huge project coming up, significant changes in our IT infrastructure. I’m excited! But a little overwhelmed too. Yet God keeps opening the doors, He keeps guiding us and sustaining us.
Island Journal: day 1…
Posted on October 11, 2009
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(yeah, he’s still stuck on the island theme 
Day 1
We established a beach head. It feels so very good to be on solid ground (translation: to have a clear sense of mission and where to show up each morning, who to work with, etc.) Wow, are my legs ever wobbly! They say it takes time to regain your “land legs.”
Had a very hard time getting the tent set up, struggled to find fresh water, sweat like a mad man while gathering fire wood– and oh yes, there are the “natives.” Very nice folks, but I’m constantly confusing one with another and all that.
At night, around the fire I reflected on just how big this place is, and how much work there is to do. Lots and lots of work to do…
Day 2
I forgot how nasty mosquitos can be! (I had none of those in the middle of the ocean) The air can be so stale at times (I miss the ocean breezes). And I’m constantly lost, can’t get any real work done. I got sand in my sleeping bag, camp fire smoke in my tent, my feet hurt from all the rocks and I have all these little cuts from the foliage.
But wait, today I have mosquitos, in the ocean we had sharks. Today if I want some ocean breeze, I have all the freedom I need to go to the beach and get some. Besides, the ocean could get brutally hot–no shade in the middle of the ocean! And the storms! Tossed about from here to there, overwhelmed by the waves. Here I have solid ground to stand on, and palm trees for shade. In the ocean, instead of sand, I had salt and it would cake all over my head, eyes, arms, etc.
Tonight, as I sat at the camp fire and reflected, it was no longer the hugeness of this island that stunned me, but how quickly I forgot. I forgot how difficult things really were out in the “ocean” of uncertainty.
Day 3 Read more
Land HO! Part II
Posted on September 26, 2009
Filed Under Generally Spiritual (few if any geek references), Some slightly auto-biographical stuff | Leave a Comment
Today I feel as if I’m in a speeding boat. The breeze in my face is refreshing, the salt spray exhilarating. I can’t help but breathe in deep, very deep–and sigh. I look around at my family, they’re taking it all in as well. My wife has never looked so relaxed. She smiles as she looks ahead.
The sun is high, the air is clear, there’s an albatross over head (funny, you would think he was showing us the way…) Land is in sight, effortlessly we speed towards it. What will it be like? I can’t wait to feel the firm ground, to drink from the fresh stream, to enjoy the shade trees. Can I really climb those high hills? It will be difficult–and risky. But the view will be so rewarding.
I’m becoming a little obsessed with all the things I want to do when I arrive. Read more
LAND HO!!!
Posted on September 19, 2009
Filed Under A Geek's Guide to the Scriptures, Some slightly auto-biographical stuff | Leave a Comment
My, it’s been a wild ride lately! Soon, I’ll post a collection of tweets that highlight my pilgrimage of late (my twitter ID is caspiansfriend, btw ). But in summary: I have accepted a position as Judson University’s Director of Technical Services.
No more swimming in circles, no more confusion about which way to go. I feel like shouting “LAND HO!” yes! If I just lost you, please read “My Own Personal Helm’s Deep.” You can jump to paragraph 5, which will put the “land ho” comment into context.
Things have suddenly come into focus. New adventures ahead! I’ll be posting various “adventures in… (who knows)” soon.
Till then, always remember pixels are not people. Translation: Social networking can be a good thing, but it’s not true Community. If it were, God would not have walked with Adam and Eve during the cool of the day. He would have made them His Facebook friends.
Be who God made you to be!
Posted on September 7, 2009
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I know, I know, it’s simple idea, a well worn topic, but still very important. Be who God made you to be, even if others don’t understand, even if they don’t approve, or if who you are isn’t very marketable or promotable– even if they think you’re weird or nerdy or (heaven forbid!) not cool.
Why this sudden urge to “preach” on the idea of being yourself??
Because I saw the coolest “lecture” on the Internet today. It blew me away. Well, I’m not going to say I agreed with every single word this person said….but his energy and his love of life–and his downright eccentric nature– was so cool, and so liberating and inspiring that I think that his lecture is very worth passing on!
Click HERE to see a lecture by astronomer Clifford Stoll. <<– strange, he never really talked about astronomy
PS: I *do* agree with him on the idea of teaching college physics to 8th graders, that there is a certain “snake oil” quality to technology, and his conviction that we should keep computers out of 4th grade classes, but that’s about it. ^_^
Oh, and here’s another thought that I should put out there: could you imagine this guy as your “cubicle neighbor?” AH!!!! nightmare city!! Point being, he is electrifying IF (critical “if” here) he’s in the right environment.
Maybe that’s the real battle for some of us. We’re not the wrong kind of person per se. We’re in the wrong place.
Solution: Stop conforming to the environment we feel stuck in and be ourselves. Of course managers, bosses, teachers and maybe even parents will not understand (companies probably won’t want what you truly have to offer the world). But take a step of faith and be who God called you to be anyway.
I am finally starting to see that if I am who God made me to be (which of course includes bearing the fruit of the Spirit), then yes, by all means I’ll be rejected by most people, teams, churches, companies and the like. But how else am I going to find that place where I do belong?
My own personal Helm’s Deep (or: Forgive Me Lord)
Posted on March 12, 2009
Filed Under My Paper Jesus, Some slightly auto-biographical stuff, What little I know about Lord of the Rings | Leave a Comment
Forgive Me Lord
I could tell that morning had come. It wasn’t the light forcing its way through the curtains that told me. It wasn’t the cough from the children’s room, it wasn’t the dog yawning in her bed. Not even the fitful stirrings of my wife laying beside me told me. No, those things didn’t really tell me anything. Yet I knew that morning had come, and despite the inevitability of it’s arrival, I found myself heaving a deep sigh.
Read more
“Hey! Hello in there, laptop! What you got that’s worth living for?”
Posted on February 8, 2009
Filed Under A Geek's Guide to the Scriptures, My Paper Jesus | Leave a Comment
hello...
Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles…. guess what happened last night?!?–and this morning, actually.
Let me explain. No, there’s too much. Let me sum up: It was as if Miracle Max was saying to me “It just so happens that your friend here (pointing to my laptop) is only MOSTLY dead.”
You see, last night one of my sons asked to borrow my Macbook Pro. He and his friends needed another computer so they could play online games together.
Why not?, I thought. Soon I’ll be ripping its guts out anyway. What could he do to it, melt the logic board?
So he logs in with his account (his, not mine, mind you) and suddenly says, “Hey dad! Look! Read more
Laptop! Be healed! (part 2)…not this too!
Posted on February 6, 2009
Filed Under A Geek's Guide to the Scriptures, My Paper Jesus | Leave a Comment
Whoa!! what in the … world!
There I sat, working on my PMP class, trying to ignore the lousy display/text issue, when I noticed my Macbook Pro’s fans. Hmmm… that’s odd. Why can I hear them? Are they speeding up? Sure enough, according to iStat pro, their RPMs were climbing. Then rather suddenly, the little beasties got so loud that the laptop resembled a jump-jet attempting to lift off from my desk! The CPU heat climbed dramatically, utilization pegged–and stayed there! And I wasn’t running anything! Honest! Read more
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