The Bookhound, Part 2

With summer approaching, I am taking stock of the books I would like to read. Since I lost my job last June (!), I have had to cut back on my book buying. Now, do you have any idea how HARD that is for me? If you're a book lover, I'm sure you know. But the upside of this is that I have taken time to look through the books I have, many of which I have not read.  There are two that stand out, and in keeping with the topic of Faith, I would like to share with you. These are books I have just started reading.

One Nation Under God - The History of Prayer in America, by James P. Moore, Jr.

This book came about after Mr. Moore noted there was hardly anything available of the subject. Interesting because faith is the very foundation of our nation. The book sleeve notes the subject of prayer in America and "the extraordinary role that prayer has played in every area of American life..." Subjects include how prayer is an "essential ingredient" in our nation's character and has been a key component in the formation of our country and the thought of individuals as diverse as Ben Franklin and Elvis Presley. You should be able to find this book in any bookstore. I have just started reading it, and I can't wait to dig deeper into it. This book is of particular interest to me because it covers three areas of my greatest interest: History in general, American History specifically, and Faith. America and prayer seems to go hand in hand.

The History of Christian Thought, by Jonathan Hill. This books explores faith and Christianity with a much broader brush. It is described as "a wealth of insight on the history of Christian thought and the colorful personalities of those who gave it shape and form." Browsing over the Contents page will give you an idea of the depth of this book. Subjects include The Church Fathers, The Byzantine Empire, The Middle Ages, The Reformation (an area I have somewhat of an understanding as it includes The Reanissance, Martin Luther, John Calvin), The Modern Era (The Enlightenment, Immanuel Kant, Kierkegaard; I expect this section to be particularly interesting), and The 20th Century (Existentialism, Feminist Theology). I expect this book to be quite a brain stretch, and much of it could be over my head, but that is the whole point in reading it. In the study of faith, I expect some of the texts to be a head-scratcher. Faith is a very deep, involved subject with a variety of thoughts and opinions. Some I expect to be way off the mark (for me) and most I expect to have a "so that is what is means" moment.

This is a personal search. A step-by-step walk toward a fuller understanding of faith, the purpose of Christ, the role of God, and my/our place in it. I think the search is worth it. There is something bigger than us, and I expect to discover that the something bigger is on our side. 

What Are You Doing?

"Regrets, I have a few. But then again, too few to mention."

-From "My Way," Frank Sinatra, 1969

When my dad wanted to know if we were causing trouble as kids, he would say (in a very bold voice, I might add) "What are you doing?" He was a guy that didn't waste time and if we were out of line, we heard about it. Immediately. There was no doubt there was a problem. Dad was a great guy. He passed away in 1997, and I miss him every day. But decades later, "What are you doing?" takes on a whole new meaning for me.

What Are You Doing? How many years pass before we start thinking about what we are doing from day to day. For me, it's the simple stuff. I love to read and I need to read more. I need to watch less television. I need to spend less time noodling around on the internet (except for writing this blog!). What Are You Doing? Simply spending some time thinking about where you've been - and where you want to go - can be valuable. I try to have some kind of quiet time every day. It can be in the car with the radio off. I take the turnpike home, there is little traffic, so it allows me to have some quiet and think about things.

Time Flies.

It is truly amazing as I sit here in my almost mid-50's thinking about how much time has passed. And how much time I have wasted, just let slip by. There is a book, I can't remember the title (I'll hunt it down and add it later), that I came across in the bookstore recently. It was one of those "meaning of life" books, but without all of the new age puff. There was a question in the book, something along the line of 'What do you believe?' The book explained how much time passes in our lives without asking of ourselves, What Do You Believe? What an important question. I was a little stunned. I had no idea, really, what I truly, truly believed. Well, there are the basics: I believe in God; I believe that people are basically nice (I seem to be getting challenged on that one from time to time); I believe that the cup is half-full, etc. But what are the core beliefs, the things that make my "center." Now, that will take some thinking. It is something like politicians - their beliefs change with each poll that comes out. Their beliefs and their "core" changes with the breeze. Makes me miss Harry Truman. But the idea is to sort out the unbendable things about yourself; what you feel about life, faith, love, the should do/shouldn't do's. I think this is how we all get so anxious a lot of times. We don't know, really know, what we believe and who and what we are. And we get anxious to the point of medication about what we have lost. Time, friends, love, etc. 

There is a light at the end of this tunnel. Maybe it can be as simple as a checklist for ourselves. Just a little notebook of things we would like to do or change. For me, the big one is finishing my degree in History (when our finances get a little more leveled out around here). One of my professors told me that she hoped I would write or teach history. WRITE OR TEACH HISTORY. Astounding! What would those grade school teachers think of that! (See "Bump" blog). There is so much to do. 

As Darren LaCroix, a motivational speaker friend of mine said in one of his speeches, "Even when you fall on your face, you fall forward!"

Ah, that's it -- Forward.

Maybe I'll go back to the bookstore and find that book.

NOTE: The book in Time Flies is Choosing Happiness: Short Answers to the Big Questions, by Stephanie Dowrick.

Bump.

It's good for us to Stretch ourselves.  Not just with exercise, but at work, and really everything we do.  I think God wants us to find out what we can do well; to challenge ourselves.  I can't tell you the number of times I didn't do something because I let fear win.  Over and over; time after time.

I love the music of Gordon Lightfoot and when I was much younger, I kind of fancied myself as a Gordon Lightfoot wannabe (no American Idol in those days). I had the 12-string guitar and everything. I wrote songs, made an album which I never released, and had a good time doing it.

At one time, I even had an agent (questionable as much as he was) but he did manage to get me a "gig." I said "Sure," when he asked if I would do it.  It was in a little night club that held probably 200 people, if that many, most of them would be properly pickled by the time I would go on. I gave myself just enough time to think about how I would probably forget the words and mess it up. So, I called the sort-of-agent back and told him No. Unfortunately, he had already told the club owner I would do it, so now, he has to call him back and tell him I decided not to do it. He (the agent) wasn't happy. And I guess the club owner wasn't happy either. Now, a good thirty years later, I'm not happy about it. I should have done it. I loved music, particularly folk music. I was a pretty good singer, a nice Lightfoot like voice, and had some good songs that I had written myself. But no, fear kept me from doing something I would have loved to do.

Things have a way of "sticking." And I can trace the club episode to my earliest days in grade school. It doesn't take too many times for a teacher to tell a six-year-old that they are stupid and "can't do anything," before the kid starts believing it. Low and behold, twenty years, thirty, forty, fifty years later, the kid still believes he is stupid. This thinking has stopped me dead in my tracks so many times I can't tell you. It has just been in the past few years that I have realized how much has been taken from me by the words of a heartless teacher. I always promised myself that if I ever had kids, I would spend most of the time telling them how great they are. Things you say to kids matter. I'm evidence of that.

So now, I try to do something that scares me a little. It's was I call "Bumping." Try to do something every now and then that challenges you, or "bumps" you to a higher level. Joel Osteen speaks about "coming up higher" frequently in his talks. After reading his books and hearing him speak, I realized I could be so much more. Come Up Higher. 

So, at a new job I have started, I have offered to do the radio traffic reports while the regular reporter goes on vacation. Now this is for the top rated radio station in town with massive credibility. There are several reports per hour on the station, two per hour on a local TV station and four additional radio stations in the chain. It is absolutely frantic. The second I finish on the TV station, I go to the radio station. There are just seconds in between. The prospects of this scared the bleep out of me and I even expressed my concerns to my supervisor. I wanted to bail. Just like I have done forever. By the time I get to my car, I realized what I had done: I let fear drive me again. When I got home, I called him right away and told him to keep me scheduled to do the fill-in work. Come Up Higher. Bump. Bump. Bump.

I did the reports this morning, and yes, it was the most frantic experience of my career. But it was also a "Wow" experience. Sure, I had some rough spots, but it let me know I need to raise my game, to step up, come up higher.... Bump!

God wants us to find out what we can do. To grow. To learn. You will never hit a home run till you step up to the plate, in front of thousands of people, you could strike out, you could look silly and like a disaster, you could fail, they could shake their heads at you, you could feel horrible about your failure, people will look at you.... but THEY won't step up to the plate. You did.

You Stepped Up!  Bump!

The Watchful Eye of God

I have this belief struggle.  I have always believed, from the time I was a teenager, that God does not "cause" this or that to happen or not happen.  The "Why does God allow all the suffering in the world?" question.  I always believed that He didn't allow it to happen, we did. God gave us the world, and what we do with it is up to us.  We can take care of it or destroy it. We can love each other or kill each other.  That simple, I always thought.  Still do.

Same thing for tornadoes and hurricanes and tsunamis.  I don't think God causes these events and I don't think He is likely to prevent them from happening.  He gave us the world and it's ours with all its blemishes. I have always thought, again from the time I was a teenager, that these things are simple to explain.  The earth has its own cycle, its own life, and its own rhythm. We are just as likely to have a beautiful, sunny day as we are to have a tornado (particularly here in Oklahoma).

But here is where I get stuck, and maybe you have your own explanation for these things.  If what I said in the above paragraph is true, or at least makes sense, then what about this:  I have been out of work since June 07 and my wife and I are going through our savings, but I have never had the sense that we would lose our house or all of our financial security.  I never had the feeling that this would happen.  Why? Because I never thought God would let it happen. Now, see the catch?  If God does not cause/prevent disasters in the world, wouldn't it make sense that He wouldn't get credit for some good luck (or finding a job just in time)?

I have struggled with this (and maybe you have some answers or opinions) but I think it all boils down to my favorite topic: faith.  The simple belief that things will work out,  holding on to your core beliefs, principles, ideas that make up your character, and pursuing appropriate opportunities, will ultimately result in a positive outcome.  Share your concerns with God, confide in Him and let Him help you by way of His strength.  

The "working conclusion" I have is that I believe God gives us things. He lays everything out for us. He gives us our lives, our brains, our purpose, the earth. What we do with these things is really up to us.  He can nudge us along the way, and He may not be happy with what we do or decide--it's called "Free Will,"--but we can do it or not do it.  And this is how I resolve the question of "Why does God allow all the suffering in the world?"

It's not up to Him -- It's up to us.

Confident of Heaven

Some of you may be of an age old enough to remember Mike Smith.  Mike was the lead singer of one of the British Invasion bands of the 1960's, the Dave Clark Five.  Mike was absolutely one of the greatest singers in rock history.  His terrific and powerful vocals on the DC5's hits like "Anyway You Want It," "Try Too Hard," (two of my favorites) and "Glad All Over," resonate on oldies stations across America and in the hearts of baby boomers to this day.

Mike Smith died on February 28th of pneumonia.  After a fall on his property in 2003, he was paralyzed from the mid-ribcage down.  Since the accident, he spent most of his time in a hospital, but he was able to spend his final months in a specially designed home with his beloved wife, Charlie.  The loss of this decent man and tremendous talent is truly heartbreaking.  What is especially sad is that Mike was just days away from seeing the Dave Clark Five inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, something that has been long overdue for this fabulous singer and band.  

As much as I could go on about Mike Smith's extraordinary talent and the music of the Dave Clark Five, there are some messages of faith in this story. Rob Bolton is a fan and friend of the Smith family and he has had a tribute website for the Dave Clark Five and Mike Smith for some time.  In a conversation Rob had with Charlie Smith (Mike's wife), he shares the following:

"[Charlie] told me that Mike passed away peacefully last night [February 28], confident of heaven, after exchanging 'I love you' with her."

Confident Of Heaven. What an interesting expression of love and faith, I thought.  That says so much about faith. How many of us are truly Confident Of Heaven?  Are we sure?  Do we know? There is a depth to these three words that have stayed with me since I first read them.  The impact and the meaning are so important that I have been thinking about their extended meaning.  It says so much.  Confident of God, confident of faith, confident of the power of blessings, confident of Who You Are in Faith.  

How many of us walk through life knowing about God, Christ's sacrifice, the beauty of life, knowing these things but not mentally absorbing the confidence it takes to walk in Faith.

This is why I think it is so important to spend time reading about your growing faith each and every day. It is so easy to get distracted by the demands of our lives on a day-to-day basis that we can forget to take a few minutes to spend time with God in thought and prayer.  It has happened to me.  All of a sudden things have gotten busy, and I have a lot on my mind, which had taken some of my time away from my faith study.  It is study because I believe it is an on-going experience--you never stop learning about faith and particularly your faith.  Your Faith is important, it is something that belongs to you.  You can share it with your friends, on a blog, or in quiet thought and contemplation with God.  It brings a depth to life that is personal and strong.  It is something to be absolutely certain about.  Confident about.  Confident of Faith.

Confident of Heaven.  Confident of God. 

Mike Smith 1943-2008.

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To read Rob Bolton's website about the Dave Clark Five and Mike Smith, please copy and paste this link:

http://www2.rpa.net/theboltons/DC5main.htm