Think On These Things

Research Materials or Organized Clutter?

     In my last post I said that “my home office is strewn with papers, magazines, newspapers, and other research materials. Most of them laying open to certain pages, articles, dates, and so forth. Books are everywhere, opened or closed. I straighten it all up occasionally. While I’m working on a project the material has to be out within reach. And I’m usually working on several projects.” It is certainly the truth. In that particular instance, I was portraying it in a good light. But it does have another side.

     I refer to it as organized clutter. However, there is a point at which it stops being organized and begins to detract from the work at hand. When I am looking for a paper and look through four stacks - still not finding it - I know it is time to file and re-organize. When it takes ten to fifteen minutes to find the paper, book, or such and less than a minute to check the fact I was looking to validate.

     The point at which it ceases to be organized clutter coincides with the times when I have what is generally summed up as writer’s block. Yet it is never as simple as that. Oftentimes, for me, it comes down to life with three teenage boys overcoming the mind-set it takes to write. So I spend a day going through all of the piles - including the bills - and cleaning up the clutter.

     I straighten the floor first. Which entails scanning the newspapers before moving them to the recycle stack. Rotating the magazines from floor to research table to coffee table. Ending up with those for filing or recycling. Filing stacks of research papers that have overflowed from the desk and research table.

     Moving to the desk and research table, I make notes I need before filing materials in current use - eliminating them from the piles. Then I file the stacks that have been waiting patiently for me to place them in their respective folders. I transfer books in stacks on the desk and research table to stacks on overflowing bookcase shelves. I make another mental note to put the three bookcases together that are still in the box.

     Hopefully, by this time my muse has awoken and an idea is germinating in my mind. In that case I just start writing - typing as fast as I can - keeping on the heels of the train of thought. If the train stalls, I wash the dishes and think about it. There are times when I dry off my hands and run to my desk to type frantically - still wearing the gloves (I have sensitive skin and my hands dry and crack easily).

     On the other hand, if the muse stayed dormant and did not appear, at least I am organized again. Maybe I can get to those bookcases.

     Peace be with you.

Writing Church Histories

One of my current projects is writing a book about the history of our church (Christ United Methodist Church, Farmers Branch). Which means my home office is strewn with papers, magazines, newspapers, and other research materials. Most of them laying open to certain pages, articles, dates, and so forth. Books are everywhere, opened or closed. I straighten it all up occasionally. While I’m working on a project the material has to be out within reach. And I’m usually working on several projects. Fortunately, technology allows having the pictures I need on cd - scans of older pictures - or I would have a few extra boxes rather than a stack of cds that is growing faster than the weeds in the yard.

Today, I picked up a large batch of church newspapers from the 1980's at the church that a long time member dropped off. I am finding myself as temporary archivist while I write the history and file the archives when I complete it . The newspapers are a wealth of information. They help to fill in several holes in my research and open up other avenues of information. As I was sorting through them, answers to questions were popping off pages. Not to mention sending me mentally back to the 80's.

One of the idiosyncracies of writing a church history - or any history for that matter - is finding oneself in a different time. While writing the history of my ancestor’s church in Tennessee a few years ago, I took a journey to the 19^th century. It was necessary to put myself in that time to get a proper perspective on attitudes, habits, and morality of the time. This present journey is intensive on another level.

As for the history of our church, I grew up at the same time as the church. Since Cyndy was one of the first babies of the church - born the year the church began - it is also in some ways my wife’s history. Unlike the history of Salem Church in Tennessee, with only two people living who attended the church in its latter years, there are quite a few of the charter members of our church who still attend services and more who remember past decades of the church’s history.

With the history of CUMC I will be not only going back to an earlier time, but also reliving my own life at the same time. Which means I will have to face some demons from the past that I would rather leave on a top shelf of my memory - safely out of reach. Looking through the historical background to events of each decade, my thoughts will naturally drift toward my involvement - or non-involvement of, reaction to, or attitude about those events. However much at times I would rather not take that path.

That is the catch-22 of doing research and writing histories. Particular when relatives, friends, and ancestors are involved. To write a good, authentic history requires living in the time being researched, at least on some level. Then portray those thoughts, feelings, and attitudes through your writing. It is a fascinating journey, certainly worth taking.

Had any experiences studying, researching, or writing historical materials? Please share your experiences or any thoughts or questions you may have about writing - Christian writing in particular, but all writers are welcome.

Peace be with you.

Writing Time vs. Marketing Time

As anyone can see by the archives, I have posts going back to 2006. However, the posts were not consistent as to any kind of frequency. While I was working out what I wanted the purpose of the blog to be, I did not do any marketing for the blog. However, it is time for that to change. The posts will still follow the Think On These Things (Phil. 4:8) concept. But the emphasis will be on Christian writing. I will be discussing different aspects of Christian writing. There will also be posts on the writing life or simply pieces of my own writing that I wish to share.

My website, www.danroark.com, I have kept up with since its beginning. Unlike this blog, I was immediately getting hits. But the purpose of the website was clear. Then I began posting on www.neighborsgo.com, both blog posts and articles. All the while I still did not have a clear idea of what this blog was to be. Many of the posts on this blog were similar to what I was writing for the newsletter on my website.

A writer’s online writing presence is a fine balance between marketing writing, and money-making writing. The same applies to a writer’s time. I have been writing for over thirty years. For most of that time, marketing time was relegated to a few hours a day. A writer had to wait for replies by postal service - now referred to as "snail mail." Most of a writer’s day could be spent writing since you had to wait for replies by mail.

In the twenty-four hour day of the present world, writing time is interrupted by emails - among other things - some of which need to be answered as soon as possible. Unfortunately, while waiting for the important emails, your writing is interrupted by useless emails that you delete, but which disturb your train of thought. I have read plenty of articles that simply advised writers to get offline at certain times for writing. But that is quickly becoming a pipe dream.

My wife and I have four children. I am the community reporter for our church and we are all actively involved. A large percentage of my emails are somewhat time sensitive. It is also quicker and easier to eliminate junk email as it comes. As long as you get back to work. It is possible to write and be online most of the time. As in any situation dealing with the conflict between hours in the day and the amount of work to be done, self-control and organization play an important part.

While it is true that you may need the information in an email you are expecting, it is also true that needing the information can lead to an obsession with having to check your email every time the number of emails in your inbox increases. I try to set a goal for myself between email checks. Such as finish the page(s), post, newsletter, or article, etc., I am working on. It is more difficult when you are doing research online and email is just a click away. But holding yourself to short-term goals and checking email at certain times works to accomplish both objectives.

It all comes down to figuring out the schedule that will best accomplish your goals. Then work on the time management necessary to keep to that schedule. Allowing for flexibility when the unexpected occurs - which it can and will. And trusting in the Lord for guidance.

I am still working on my time management and schedule - have been for years. In a future post I will discuss a different type of scheduling conflict. In the meantime, let me know how your writing life is going.

Peace be with you.

The Grocery List

I went to the grocery store for a few items on Thursday. Coffee, foil, and "something for dinner" was all that was written on the actual list. Entering the store, I grabbed one of the handheld baskets. I went to get a newspaper, but all they had was Wednesday’s paper. They even had a few issues from Tuesday, and some from Sunday. But no Thursday paper. I began to think that I was wrong and it was actually still Wednesday.

When I decided that I was not out of my mind, I proceeded to the task at hand. On the way to the coffee/tea aisle I ran across some things that were on sale that would be handy for dinners. In a few minutes time I had filled the basket to capacity and still had other things on my growing mental list. I decided I needed a larger basket. Although I’ve been known to risk dropping a few things to prove that I do not need to get a larger basket.

After the basket switch, I headed for the items I had thought of while they were still fresh on my mind. Things to go with what I had found on sale. Of course there were other things I thought of along the way. As well as other items that were on sale, making it a good time to stock up. At a certain point I called it quits and headed for the checkout counters. I was running out of steam. Dinner still needed to be fixed when I got home.

I had just over fifteen items but the express lane cashier was standing and staring off into space. I asked if he minded checking me out. He said "sure," he needed the practice anyway. As I headed to the car the rain that had begun when I arrived had ceased. I transferred the groceries from the basket to the car, put the basket away in its parking lot pen, and sat down in the driver’s seat to start the car. That’s when I remembered the foil. The only other thing written on the list other than coffee.

I thought for a moment about putting it off and buying foil another time. But I needed foil to cook what I had picked out for dinner. So I made the trek back across the parking lot and into the store. A few minutes later, after going through the whole process again - except going through self-checkout this time - I was headed to the car for the second time.

As I was driving home, it occurred to me that too often many of us find ourselves with armfuls of stuff while not getting what we came for or need. That also applies to other areas of our lives. We are paying so much attention to what is being called to our attention that we do not keep our minds on track. The old story about going downstairs to get the mail and doing a myriad of other things while still not getting the mail that referred to getting older no longer applies to age. Our sons cannot keep a thought from one room to the other.

Getting extra is not necessarily a bad thing, but we need to stick with the list. If we stick with the list, often everything else will follow. Be the list the commandments, moral laws, to do lists, or grocery lists. If we follow the commandments, the moral laws will follow naturally, being part and parcel of each other. Sticking to those lists will make it easier to focus on goals which will aid in the making of to do lists. Taking care of ourselves - the bodies God gave us - is guided by the previous lists and permeates the planning of grocery lists. Stick to the list.

Peace be with you.

Being "Between Holes"

During all the activities of the past few weeks - Holy Week the same week as spring break, three teenagers and all related activities, work and other duties - I began to notice that I keep adjusting my belt. It is not due to a major shift in my weight. I weigh about five pounds less than I weighed in high school (which drives Cyndy nuts). And I am way past high school. It is due to, as the Monty Python crew would say, something completely different.

When I buy a belt, it fits snugly. Maybe right after my jeans have been washed, the belt might feel a little loose, but when my jeans work back out, it fits fine again. Inevitably, at some point in time, I begin to notice that I need to tighten up the belt a little. But sure enough, when I try to tighten it, I find that I cannot. I find I am once again in my personal twilight zone of being "between holes."

When I bought the belt I had a two hole leeway. Both worked okay, but one a little better. Where did that leeway go? Okay, the belt is leather and leather will flex a bit after time - I get that. And jeans tighten and loosen - I get that, too. But the holes are the same distance apart they always were - within a fraction of an inch. And although I am at the age that my body is beginning to shift, it has not as yet affected my waist.

It is not a recent occurrence. The situation is the same with our son’s belts - when they wear them. Many times I have taken out my pocket knife and fashioned a new hole in a belt. But that is only a temporary solution and does not work for any thing close to a formal event. And, unlike the original holes, it tends to grow, sometimes splitting the belt in the middle to the next original hole or simply splitting it in half.

Unfortunately, it is not a problem for which I think there will be a solution. But it did - as everything does - get me to thinking. About the times in our lives when we find ourselves between holes. We receive life with all the right holes - with a two hole leeway. We keep going back and forth between one hole and another. Because we do not keep on a steady path, the leather stretches, the jeans flex, and we find we need another hole. Which we try to make ourselves. But the holes we make are inferior to the original holes and do not stand up to use and wear.

The between hole theory can apply to our bodies, the planet, and our faith. We take what we are given, as perfect as it can be, and flex it, stretch it, use it, and abuse it until we suddenly find ourselves between holes. Then we think we can solve it on our own. We make another hole. But our solutions are only temporary and usually to not stand the test of time.

We need to work within the boundaries of what we were originally given. Stay within limits and follow the path as we know we ought to. Listen to the Lord when he speaks to us, and have "a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith."

Peace be with you.

Politics and Religion, Oh My!

When I was a boy, people would say that there were two things you did not discuss in polite society or at the dinner table - religion and politics. It was also said that you did not mix the two. In this particular election, they have become mutually exclusive. The rules have gone out the window. Now they are rushing to connect the two formerly unmentionables.

Personally, I think that when the founding fathers considered separation of church and state they were trying to prevent this very thing. They were trying to avoid religion being an issue in the campaign. Yet that is precisely what it has become. Christmas promo spots have become the battleground for who is the most Christian.

They are nice, of course. And we certainly need to remember the "reason for the season." But the sad part is that the spots are mainly a way to keep their faces in front of the voters. Mike Huckabee I can understand - he used to be a preacher. But there is really no need for the candidates to go out of their way to keep their faces in front of the voters - the media will do that for them.

Throwing in the YouTube videos, the internet postings, and the media, the only thing we have not seen the candidates doing is relieving themselves. Which of itself is a good thing. Yet the more information I hear, see, and read, the more confused I get. Partly because most of what I see is irrelevant to the election. I would like for the president to be healthy, but I honestly do not care what his dietary habits are. Would I like the president to be Christian? As a Christian, sure I would. But it is not a deal breaker if he or she will do their best to run the country fairly.

The main problem I have with elections though (other than that this one is going on way too long!), is that their does not seem to be much difference on the issues. Not one candidate does not adjust to changing tide of public opinion. No candidate’s position on just about anything is the same now as it was back when the fiasco began. The Democrats start out resolutely Democrat. The Republicans resolutely Republicans. By the time the general election comes, the lines begin to blur.

Personally, that drives me nuts - I do not know about you. As long as it is good for the country and its citizens, what difference does it make if it is conservative or liberal? If a person says something a conservative does not like, he is branded a liberal and dismissed. It is the same the other way around. Which is ridiculous. A good idea is a good idea, regardless of who said it.

A bill does not pass Congress simply because it is a beneficial bill. It all depends on the party being in control getting it passed. Which means what the public thinks the passing of a bill means is only a small part of the story. There are things tacked onto bills that common people are never even aware of. At least not until long after the fact.

And so candidates keep making promises, very few of which they are sure they can keep. The voters make their choice based on who makes the best promises. Only time will tell if the candidate elected is truly the one who should have been. Although there is no real way of ever knowing unless they are an outstanding president. How often does that happen?

As we come into the holiday season, days before Christmas, reflection is automatic and mandatory. Especially with the new year on its heals. And I think about this - God gave his son for our forgiveness. But not after Christ’s work was done. So we are celebrating his birth. If God can forgive us after all we have done and continue to do, why can we not forgive each other, get over it, and get along?

Just a thought.

Peace be with you.

Blog Info and Steroids

Trying to keep posting to a blog when you are already extremely busy - especially with three teenagers - is an interesting journey. Particularly around the Christmas holidays. Not to mention having a regular newsletter on my website, www.danroark.com, in addition to my regular writing while working on a book. There is only so much of the day in which to write. My past posts have turned into essays which, while interesting, are longer than a blog posts needs to be. The longer pieces are more in tune with the newsletter. Blogwise, it is time to shake things up and see what comes out.

I do not know exactly how much I will actually shake things up, but my purpose is to discuss current events and how they relate to our lives as Christians. Some posts might simply be observations. We’ll see how it goes. If you would like to read more of my writing check my website and while you are there, subscribe to the newsletter. It is free, of course. You might want to check out the store and my books, and coming ebooks.

Now to steroids. That is one of the hot topics in the news today. Specifically, steroids in baseball. Senator Mitchell released his report yesterday which named about 80 players who were suspected of using steroids or human growth hormones (HGH). I was surprised to hear that Roger Clemens’ name was on the list. I was not surprised that his lawyer was quick to call it slander.

However, who is on the list is not my concern. They either did or did not take performance enhancing drugs. My concern is why they took them. It is the same with plastic surgery and botox injections. If you are in an accident, fire, explosion, or the like, that is one thing. You are merely trying to repair the effects of the occurrence. But voluntary operations, I do not understand.

Let me say here that I would consider myself an "average-looking" man. There are parts of me that I would rather were different. But would I have a doctor surgically alter those parts? Absolutely not. I rather doubt that the result of surgical alteration is as good as the patients imagined it would be. There could be complications as well.

Regardless, my point is that I would not have any part of the body God gave me altered as a result of any sense of vanity I may have. There are not two people exactly alike - some close, but no one exactly the same. Given the number of people on earth, and the fact that it has been genetically proven that we all come from the same source originally, what are the odds that we would all be different?

God made me the way I am. For bad or good, I can accept that. Do I do the little things to make my appearance more the way I would like? Sure. But nothing that would make a permanent alteration. There are things I might at times wish were different, but I would not purposely change the body God gave me. With the possible exception of repairing damage someone or something else did to me.

Peace be with you.

A Random Event?

I stopped by a convenience store on the way home this evening. As the cashier was running my debit card, a woman walked in the door. She walked unsteadily - yet not exactly staggering - toward the counter. I moved my purchases to the side of the counter, to allow her room. She looked at the attendant and mumbled something about Irving.

The cashier asked her if she was trying to get to Irving. On the verge of crying, she said "yes." He called his co-worker who was headed to the rear of the store. The directions of the co-worker would have taken her farther away from Irving than she already was, not to mention confusing her.

"Hold it!" I found myself saying. I was about to tell her to take the street she was on to the highway that would get her to Irving. But just after my exclamation her cell phone rang.

As she turned away talking on the phone, I continued my explanation to the co-worker. I said that she could just take this street about the same time as the cashier. Exactly what his co-worker said is still a mystery to me. Neither of the two store attendants spoke very good English. But what I got out of his reply was that "she was drunk" (I think) and the waving of his hands while he finished.

The woman was facing a display in the middle of the floor and talking on her phone. I waved at the attendants and left the store. As I was leaving, I could hear her side of the conversation.

"No!" she was saying, "I’m turned around and I’m trying to find my way back to Irving."

Which was the last thing I heard her say. I am not entirely confident that I heard what she said correctly. I did not have a chance to write it down until I returned home myself. It was obvious, however, that she had gone past her tolerance level as far as drinking alcohol was concerned.

As I returned to my car, started it, and headed home, I thought about what I might have done. I hoped that whoever she was talking to on the phone helped her get home and that she got home safely. If she had depended on the store attendants I am afraid she might never have found her apartment or home (although apartment seemed more likely). More importantly, to me, did my actions - or lack of - have a detrimental effect on her efforts?

If I had given her directions would she have been able to follow them? Would I see in the news the next day that she had died in a wreck? And wonder if my directions had been responsible in some way? Was that any better than wondering now if she got into serious trouble or an accident as a result of my lack of direction?

I would like to think that my thoughts of and prayers for her helped her to get home safely. Despite the attitude of the store attendants. With the help of the "friend" on the phone. But I will never know for sure. Do I want to know? Well, maybe. Should I know, would I find that I did not do what I could? I have to leave that up to the Lord. And pray that I did the right thing.

A New Child in the Family

I think I have mentioned before that I am going to be a grandfather. The doctor is going to induce labor on the 14^th of this month. My wife, Cyndy, has been trying to find her place in the baby’s life. The hardest part for me will be dealing with Cyndy and Jennifer’s mother at the same time. It cannot go well. If Cyndy and I had stayed together when we dated out of high school, Jennifer would be hers. But we had different paths to travel before we finally came back together for the rest of our lives.

So I have not been able to fully enjoy the fact that I am becoming a grandfather. Nor have I been able to think about how I feel exactly and what I will do to be a special grandfather. I do not want to turn around when she is five years old or older and regret not doing what I wish I had done. I already regret enough about raising my four children thus far.

I used to say I did not have to worry about Jennifer any more except when she needs help or money. That was wrong of course. I never stop worrying about my family. But now my little girl is having a little girl. I will not only be worrying about Jennifer, but my granddaughter as well. Making sure that Jennifer and her husband have what they need to take care of their daughter.

But what am I going to do as a special grandfather? Something that will form a special bond between Kelley Elizabeth and her grandfather. Something that only her grandfather did for her. Something only he could do. I am the only writer in the family (my father has written books about our ancestors, but he is not a writer beyond that) since I can barely get my children to read, much less write. Sad though it may be. So I’m thinking that writing would be the most personal thing I could do.

But letters, poems, or what? Or both? I guess I’ll begin to channel the inspiration I am starting to feel in relation to my coming granddaughter. I will see where that inspiration leads me. But I do know this. The focus of my gift will be on the religious traditions that were passed down to me as they have been for centuries. A focus on the gift the Lord gave us when he sacrificed his son. A tradition of faith in God. With a foundation in faith, she will have a good life. It has worked for her family so far.

Peace be with you.

Choices about Serving

Joshua 24:15 (NRSV) “Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua was addressing the Israelites at Shechem before he established a covenant with them. The Israelites did not seem to be catching on to the fact that following the Torah and obeying God was the way to go. They can be cut some slack for the golden calf - they did not have the tablets yet. However, they were only cut some slack because Moses persuaded God not to destroy them. But they had to understand that they could not worship other gods.

Despite Joshua’s warning they continued to give into the temptations that were all around them. They continued to stray after periods of righteous living, when the judge - and later a king - died. Because of the continual recurrence of periods of disobedience, they were stuck with having to get along with other people in the land that they were to be given but had not yet conquered. Due of course to their lack of adherence to the Torah. They paid too much attention the other gods and distractions. Not just other gods, as such, but other things that the Lord had warned them against worshiping or coveting.

Which I think we still do today. Even after centuries, we are still straying from our faith. Even if there are more temptations in the form of the internet, ipods, email, and video games, just to name a few. Cell phones readily come to mind. We did not need to talk as much before cell phones. But now we feel the need to constantly stay in touch.

I have no reliable source for my supposition, but I think that there are relationships that have been destroyed as a result of cell phones. There seems to be this expectation of instant contact. People need their time alone. If not alone, away from the family or significant other. Cell phones takes that time away. As well as email. As a writer, I get distracted when I see “I have mail.” I have to check my email to see if it is important. Usually, it is not.

People let distractions rule their lives. Our distractions become excuses for not doing what we really should be doing. Listening to the Lord is one of those things. If we were confronted, we would say something like “I had other things on my mind,” or “I’ve had to many other things to do.” As if those are legitimate excuses.

Does it ever occur to us that if we took time to pray and listen, our lives might be different than just bouncing from distraction to distraction. At the very least we would have a quiet moment at intervals. Quiet moments are rare these days. Life might also calm down. Not literally, but through having a more positive outlook.

You would think with all the examples in the Bible of the Israelites going astray, being saved by God, and then going astray again, we would have figured it out by the year 2007. But we simply keep on inventing and buying into more distractions. Will you be one of the masses and shrug it off with excuses, or will you be one of the steadfast believers who grabs quiet moments with the Lord and lives each day with confidence? I’m working on the latter. The Lord never said it would be easy.

Peace be with you.