Thanks for Reading

Hello Everyone.  I just want to thank you for reading my blog.  I've heard from California, Florida, Ohio (Hi CJ!), Canada and here in Oklahoma.

Please be sure to leave your thoughts on the "comments" link at the bottom of each post.

I would really like to hear what you think.

Thanks,

DL

Just One Day To Victory

It is never too late to be what you might have been. -George Eliot.

I woke up this morning with this thought in my head: "You are just one day to victory." Life has it's way of throwing curves. Most are a total surprise, while some are not entirely unexpected. When challenges are placed in front of us, it is easy to think 'Why doesn't God just take care of this...' Well, it doesn't work that way. 

Things happen. Some are mistakes we make on our own and some are created by others, but still, Things Happen. I have never felt that God was supposed to cause or  prevent this or that. We do not live in a perfect world, and there certainly aren't perfect people. How we live in this imperfect world is how we build our strength, our character, and most importantly, our faith. Faith is the key. We all need somewhere to run, and I think our faith is what leads us there. It is the location where we can place all of our worries. 

Each day is a new day.  It can lead us to victory.  I like what Joel Osteen says: Don't be a victim, be a victor.  This isn't the pie-in-the-sky, everything is beautiful, hoo-haw promoted by most motivational speakers.  It is based in truth and fact: We can become what we expect to become. Some of the most successful periods of my life have been when I absolutely expected things to happen. I didn't hope or wish things would happen, I would expect things to happen.  I believe Faith in Expectation is a good thing.  I remember someone asking me at work one day how I was able to get so many things to go my way? I told them, "I expect it to happen."  This was probably ten years ago, and I have allowed myself to forget my belief in Faith in Expectations.

The key is to not blindly hope for something to go your way.  It is important to look and listen for opportunity. It is something like "self-branding," a new buzz word in marketing these days. Create a brand for yourself as the utility man (or woman) -- the "go-to" person at work to get things done. Be reliable and resourceful. Make yourself available. And by all means, look the part.  I see too many people applying for jobs looking as if they have come to mow the lawn.

I can look back over my life and remember the many times I have been "covered."  I lost my job in 1978 and the next day a former employer called me, heard about me losing my job, and had one lined up for me if I wanted it. The money was less than I was making, but it was enough of a cushion to get me back on my feet in a hurry.  If you think about your life and the number of times things seemed to automatically "work out," I believe that is God showing favor for you in return for showing your Faith in Him.

I continue to believe, I continue to expect, I continue to Have Faith, which will lead me One Day to Victory.

-DL

Note: This entry was first written on February 23, 2007. I finished it on February 26, 2007.

The Book Hound

Note: While most of my blog entries will be my thoughts about faith, I am also a book enthusiast, so there will be many posts related to books and my excitement for them. Thomas Jefferson once told John Adams, "I cannot live without books." I know how he felt.  -DL

Everyone who knows me knows my passion for books.  I feel at home around books. There is something so reliable about them, like a good friend, and like a good friend, a book will share with you what it knows and not expect anything in return (except for a nice place on your bookshelf).  I buy books whenever I can and a book store is a very dangerous place for me to be. Another weakness is the book sale; the biggest one we have coming up is the Holland Hall book sale on February 23rd.  At this book sale, I am among book lovers, like me, who are insane, like me, for books.  You must come prepared with a box, or a paper sack from the grocery store. The sack must have handles because it will fill up quickly and you have to tote it around while you look. They will let you "park" your bag of books in a corner of the auditorium where the sale is held where it will be protected by the watchful eye of a Holland Hall volunteer.  

It is not uncommon to be wadded among some other book lovers, competing for a place to look at the tables covered with books.  There are all kinds.  Of books and people. Some of them you will discover under a table rummaging around for a nifty find of a book.  I imagine some of these people have piles and piles of books in their homes leaking into their garages.  No matter. I understand them.  They are like me.  I have to careful about the piles though, my wife insists on a tidy house.  No problem.  The sale is coming on the 23rd, I will be there, and I will post my discoveries on this blog.  

I love my books.  The perfect life for me would be to own a little bookstore somewhere in Colorado where people would come in, say hello, have some coffee, browse around and sit in one of the cozy chairs in the corners to look at books.  What fun that would be.  

I enjoy history and biography, in addition to my interest in faith based books.  I have so many books that I haven't read yet. Really great stuff, too. A biography and collected writings of Ben Franklin, several books on Abraham Lincoln, David McCullough’s excellent 1776 and several other McCullough books. He is recognized as the historian's historian.  Read one of his books and you will know why.  His biography of Harry Truman is considered the standard and the best book about Truman.  McCullough's writing and story-telling (which is what history really is), is absolutely superb. If you ever get a chance to hear McCullough speak, you must go.  You will leave with a greater appreciation for history, our country and the characters involved. 

I am reading an excellent biography of fiction author Richard Yates (I’m two-thirds the way through it. He is best-known for Revolutionary Road (1961), Bill Bennett’s excellent America: The Last Best Hope (I’m three-quarters of the way through Volume 1; Volume 2 was released last year. Bennett's writing is as good as McCullough's), collections of poetry and essays, a collection of Thomas Jefferson’s favorite poems, Robert Lowell’s complete poems, numerous books on JFK, and an increasingly large collection of books on faith and Christianity.  My biggest purchase of books on Christianity so far is the Complete Sermons of Martin Luther.  I have thumbed through the first volume (there are 7) and it is just excellent.  The number of books available on Christianity (really on anything) is just enormous.  How on earth do I read them all?  There is so much to know and learn.     

I have also been particularly interested in old books.  I have a book called Self Understanding by Seward Hiltner, published in 1951. The binding is in pretty bad shape, but the book is still together.  It’s about the relationship between psychology and religion; it’s a though provoking book.  It came from a library in Joplin, Missouri.  The Joplin Carnegie Library.  The book is marked “discarded.”  I wonder if the library is still there.  I wonder how many hands have touched this book.

Two other old books I found are just fun to have.  One is called The Literature of the American People, edited by Arthur Hobson Quinn, also published in 1951, and it is a great collection of writing.  The other is Dominant Types in British and American Literature, edited by William Davenport, Lowry Wimberly, and Harry Shaw.  It was published in 1949 and after I got it home, I discovered it was signed by Mr. Davenport.  Signed books are especially fun and exciting.  It is two volumes in one hefty book and covers everything: poetry, drama, essay, biography, and fiction.  I was particularly drawn to the writings on poetry, essays, and biographies, my key interests in literature.  Both of these books aren’t exactly the “cover-to-cover” kind of read, but they are fun to just grab off the shelf, thumb through to the first page that looks interesting and start reading.  Great stuff, and great books to own.  I found these in a great little used bookstore, McHuston Books, in Broken Arrow, OK.   

It makes me happy to see people wandering through bookstores.  There are still people who enjoy turning the pages of a great book.  I noticed that most of the people in bookstores these days seem to be older, late 30’s to 40’s and up, but there are still some young people milling about. Hopefully the Harry Potter rage of past years will keep those young readers coming back for more.

The Steady Diet

I have discovered something about myself:  I need a steady diet of reading and studying about faith.  I noticed that if I don't work on my faith every day, I fall off track.  I tend to spend a lot of time on the internet--just goofing off.  I suppose many people do this, but I'm just looking at junk sites -- news, youtube, and the sort.  Not that these sites are bad, but they rob me of some productive time working on my faith or reading a great book on history.  There are many other things to do instead of wandering around on the net.  Totally non-productive.  I'm working on this and sometimes I need a smack in the head to get back on track.  I have barely touched my faith reading in the past few days, but I've got plenty of time for the 'net.  It's like watching TV when there is nothing on.  Oh, sure, I'll watch Die Hard for the 200th time, but that's the point - I've seen it 200 times!  I should be reading and studying; doing some research, instead of wasting the gift of time.  

Ten Minutes for God, Two Hours for the Net.

Wow, when you put it that way...  But it's so true.  Not even ten minutes studying, reading or thinking about faith and where I would like it to go, but all kinds of time to waste time.  I read that Joel Osteen spends thirty minutes each morning studying, praying, reading his Bible, just working on his relationship with God.  I have been doing it, but lately it has drifted away.  And when this happens, my "old self" returns (I discuss this in my post about the Two Phases of Faith).  But being aware of a problem is the path to solving the problem.  I simply need to get back to work.  

The Dream.

Note: This is another journal entry from January 16, 2008. -DL

A few nights ago, I had a dream that was really interesting to me.  I was sliding down the side of a hill, heading toward trees and brush, and toward a certain collision with a tree or something.  Somehow, I was able to dodge the trees and rocks and brush, avoiding injury or worse.  When I stopped, I was at the bottom of the hill in the woods.  Looking up and to my left, I could see the top.  I started grabbing some of the limbs of the bushes and pulling myself up.  Again and again, I grabbed and pulled up, and up and up.  I woke up before I could see myself reach the top, but I believe the message was already clear before I could see the end of the dream. 

 

Life brings forward several challenges and I believe dreams are a way for God to speak with us when He wants to.  Some dreams are just random images in your mind, and they are exactly that: random images your mind has stored in its file cabinet.  But when it’s really important, and the dream is clear and means something, I think it is God speaking to us in a way we will think about and hopefully understand.  I think that is what this dream was for me.  Even though things are a little unclear and I am heading down the bottom of the hill, when I get there, I will find the right branches, limbs, brush and trees to pull myself back up to the top.

The Two Phases of Faith

Note: This entry comes from a journal I have been keeping for nearly a year. I will post what I think are the most important entries. This entry is from December 7, 2007. -DL

The Two Phases of Faith

As I have been thinking about building my faith and exactly how it works, I have discovered that faith comes in two phases.  Phase One is the moment you decide to become wrapped in the love of Christ and let God lead your life. Or, at least, you’ve decided to make an effort of it.  Usually, this is when you are Saved. This is huge, because at that moment, when you are Saved or dedicate yourself to following Christ. learning more about faith and how to build it, you move into Phase Two. 

Phase Two will lead you down a path you have never experienced before.  It is hard, challenging and will take everything you have to keep moving forward.  Why?  When you have decided to learn more about faith and following Christ, that is when the devil is really going to come after you.

He hates the idea of losing control, or at least influencing you in some form or fashion.  While visiting the bookstore yesterday (12/06), I was thumbing through a collection of some of CS Lewis’ writings.  It was the Daily Readings book by Lewis.  I happened to open a page, in July, I think, and there it was: exactly what I had been thinking in Lewis’ words from more than fifty years ago! The text comes from Mere Christianity on page 202.  Interestingly, in my copy of Mere Christianity, I had marked the page as something I thought was important, but seeing it after thinking about my Two Phases concept, the words hit me ten times as revealing: 

        

“….once you call Him in, He will give you the full treatment. That is why He warned people to ‘count the costs’ before becoming Christians. ‘Make no mistake,’ He said, ‘if you let me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you’re in for. You have free will and if you choose, you can push me away. Understand that I am going to see this job through.”

 

I just about fell over. Lewis is backing me up! I am right about my Two Phases concept! 

Phase Two, as I mentioned earlier is tough because you are aware of what you have decided and what you are going to become.  Get ready for the roller-coaster ride.  There will be peaks when your faith swirls inside you, and there will be days when the “old” you tries to creep back in.  Sometimes the old you will win, but recognize, and this is very important, that you are a Work In Progress.  I look at it in the same context as going to college: you don’t get your Master’s degree overnight. It takes time, commitment, study, and blood, sweat and tears.  You have to complete your “classes” – getting your associate’s degree, your bachelor’s, and then your Master’s.  If you really want to put yourself through the ringer, go for your Doctorate. But you get my point. It’s a progression.  You will learn more about yourself.  You will recognize the things about the Old You that you simply don’t like anymore and want to change.  Some things may take more time than others, but eventually, you will hit bottom with those things and you’ll chuck them away.  

 

The First Post

Welcome to On My Way To Faith, a blog I have created to catalog my thoughts about faith and my personal journey.    

The journey is a long one.  My first exposure to "religion" was through some friends in high school.  They were pretty heavy-handed with their beliefs and frankly it was difficult for me to grab onto the idea in the beginning. My only experience was going to the Church of Christ on Easter Sunday.  Later, they asked me to go to their church and it was my first exposure to people speaking in tongues.  I thought the guy was heckling the preacher! They had saxophones, drums, guitars, the works.  I never saw musical instruments in church before and wondered what my mom would think.   I was 18 and didn't know anything, but it did get me thinking about the whole idea of religion. Eventually, the friends moved away, along with my thoughts about religion. But, I always seemed to feel the presence of God and decades later I discovered Joel Osteen on television and began to watch him on a regular basis.  Late in 2004, I bought his book, and totally absorbed it.  Here was a way toward faith I could understand.  

I enjoy gospel music and while listen to Alan Jackson's outstanding recording of Softly and Tenderly, I was saved. Right there with the CD playing in my car on the way to work, I felt a great trembling inside me, my eyes filled with tears and I felt the hand of Christ.  My journey began anew.  

I continued to read about faith.  Books by CS Lewis and Billy Graham were added to my library. Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life is one I just finished (A great book, but one I think you have to be "ready" for);  Other books I have found helpful have been American Gospel by Jon Meacham, The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel, a little book I found in a bookstore in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (McHuston Booksellers; www.mchustonbooks.com) called Self Understanding by Seward Hiltner, written in 1951.  I don't know if the book is still available, but it is worth trying to find.  I usually have several books going at the same time and this is one that I look at periodically.  I am now reading Osteen's new book Becoming A Better You and I recently ordered the writings of Martin Luther.  There are seven volumes, a lot of material, and I will simply choose a volume, open it up, and begin reading.  I also like history and biographies, but my reading lately has been concentrated on the subject of faith.  I have other books on faith in my reading pile, but these are the books I have read or I am currently reading.

This blog is to simply get me thinking every day and hopefully writing something on a regular basis.  It is not to promote a particular point of view.  It is just to catalog some thoughts I have on faith and other topics I find interesting.  

Your comments are welcomed and encouraged.

DL 02/07/08