Think On These Things

The Ancestral Cave (or Tomb)

In either of my Bible studies, we split up into small groups and discuss different parts of scripture from the previous week’s readings. In my Tuesday night group this week, my group’s particular passage was the fiftieth chapter of Genesis. In that study, the leader sends out the agenda for class on the previous Friday. I spent part of Tuesday afternoon looking back over the chapter and answering the questions.

As it happened, the material was divided among the group in pairs – in some cases, a group of three. My partner arrived as I was finishing my thoughts on the passage. Which was a good thing for two reasons. For one, Becky did not have to snap into action before getting her materials and Bible out and ready. And the second reason was that it forced me to talk my way through a thought process in a group despite my stuttering. To my surprise I did quite well.

I began by summarizing Jacob’s dying, Joseph and his brothers taking him to Canaan after he had been embalmed in Egypt. They took Jacob to where they were to bury him in the cave with his ancestors. It was the cave that Abraham had bought when Sarah died. Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah were already buried there.

In my summary of the chapter for the class, when I got to the part about going to Canaan to bury Jacob/Israel with his ancestors, a thought occurred to me. As I was telling the class that Joseph went to bury Jacob with his ancestors, I let my mouth voice my thought.

"They buried Jacob with Abraham, et al. And Joseph was buried in Egypt. I’m thinking that the cave was getting kind of full."

Either the cave was getting full or Joseph’s descendants did not feel like dragging his body back to Canaan. The Israelites were living comfortably in Egypt in the land of Goshen. They probably saw no reason to leave. And the twelve tribes of Israel were already in motion. The ancestors with whom God had made covenants were buried in the cave.

Were the tradition to be carried forward, where would they stop? The Lord also made a covenant with Israel, the people. Even if the tradition stopped with Jacob’s sons and their primary wives, there would certainly not have been room in the cave for the additional occupants. Let us also not forget that the Lord only planned for the Israelites to leave Egypt once more. And then to never return again.

Something to think about.

Peace be with you.

Rare Time Alone

It is nice to be posting again. It has been a hectic time. First there were articles to be written for the church online newsletter and the print edition. Then came our church’s Jubilee (50^th) celebration last Sunday. I’ve been working this week on the church history I am writing and looking for pictures of the Jubilee celebration by other members for an article for the Dallas Morning News NeighborsGo section. On top of household duties, running teenagers around, and simply doing research.

Well, I finished the article by the deadline today. After picking everyone up, coming home, and delivering them to other places, Cyndy, with two of our boys, went to a Mystery Night with the church middle school group. Conner stayed with me, but he had baseball practice from 6 to 8 p.m. So I was able to go by Luby’s and pick up a liver and onions meal. It has been a while since I have had liver and onions. It is also relatively inexpensive.

I had some time by myself while eating dinner and for a while afterwards. Conner got a ride home so I did not have to leave to pick him up. He attacked the refrigerator and watched TV while he ate. Then he went upstairs (naturally not putting things up – leaving the plate with what he could not eat with the ketchup on the counter while the meatloaf sat in the dish on the stove). He spent the next hour and twenty minutes on the phone, but he was quiet and did not bother me.

So I had an evening of peace. A chance to unwind a bit. Then start thinking about what I need to write next. Think about the history of the church – what I know and what I need to find out. As a parent, I just have to find the moments alone when I can. Appreciate those moments and make them last until the next time. It may be a while.

Peace be with you.

Writing amidst Distractions

It has been a productive day on most counts. That does not mean I finished all that I wanted to however. House-wise, maybe. Writing-wise, not even close. But there are those kind of days when you are a writer and your office is at home. But they are not distractions, not really. At least that is what I tell myself.

I finished an article this morning and posted it on the web at neighborsgo.com. After the adrenaline rush of a deadline, it was over as quick as it began. I still have other articles and pieces that I need to work on, but I did not want the feeling of exhilaration and satisfaction to end. Starting another blank page would end that feeling immediately.

I started by folding the clothes piled on the sofa and love seat of Cyndy’s and my living room. The boys have their own den, but they refuse to keep it straight so what is the point of putting it their den in piles? Actually, we tried that. Two days later we could not tell clean from dirty. But, as an alternative to having to sniff them, we washed some clothes again that were already clean. So now they pile up in our living room until we fold them - or guilt or cajole them into helping - into neat piles. Then the struggle to get them to take them to their rooms and put them in their drawers.

When the clothes were folded, I still felt restless. I still did not feel like focusing my attention on another piece of writing. Which was a perfect time to re-file some things. Straighten and clean my desk, then Cyndy’s. After all why straighten one without the other? Including moving things, filing things, and dusting. I had made some piles of papers when I cleaned a file that I would file in their new home at some point. Now continued to be as good a time as any.

Both desks were dusted, cleaned, and straightened. Clothes were folded. It was about time to force myself to get to the writing duties. Then Cyndy and J.D. came home. Running errands and picking up teenagers came next. Then there was the matter of what to have for dinner. But with dinner eaten and everyone in bed but me, it is time to get to writing.

That, my friends, is pretty much the life of a writer. Everything that needs to be done does not get done consistently. Life these days does not allow that. Immersing myself in my writing assures that I will be lax in household duties. Thinking about it is complete and it is time to write. So at the first sign of writer’s block, I find time to catch up on household duties. And think at the same time about writing assignments.

At some point, maybe hours, maybe days - hopefully hours - the cycle will repeat itself and I will be writing full tilt. The work I do during the day is all the more important because chances are I will not be able to do much work when everyone starts arriving home. Sometimes I can keep working, sometimes I cannot. If I do keep working there is a guilt because I am not doing something around the house. Even though my writing is more important in most instances.

I still manage to do my share around the house. Certainly tremendously more than our sons do. And that is the life of a writer with a family who works at home. I am just thankful that the Lord is watching over me. My faith keeps me going throughout the cycle of responsibilities.

Peace be with you.

Deadlines and Demands

Well, the deadlines are passed for the inner-church media, so I can relax for about five seconds. Then I can get back to work on the history of the church. After I finish an article for local media. I also need to prepare for setting up a booth for this weekend to take information, pictures, talk to members, and take pre-orders for the church history - to be published the first of next year.

That’s not to mention blog posts and other writing I need to get done. Okay, so I may have mentioned it before, but the deadlines continually make it hard to find time to post. When I do get time to post, there is not much I am thinking about other than deadlines I need to meet and deadlines I am already planning to set before the previous ones are completed. Which would seem to make it obvious that I work best when I have a variety of goals to reach. Then I create other goals to take their place when they are nearing completion.

All would go smoothly except that I have a daughter who is twenty-six, married, and expecting our first grandchild in November, two teenage boys, and one who is knocking on the door of his teenage years. That is where the whole plan goes awry. Between football and baseball games, practices, and running numerous errands under the guise of "for school," the deadlines build up with continually frequency.

But I am working on it. Jennifer, the twenty-six year old, has it figured out by now. The boys seem to be making progress. But until it all falls into place, I will continue to have constant interruptions that keep me from my goals. That does not mean that when "it all falls into place" I will not have more to work on. I will still have more deadlines and goals than life will let me accomplish.

However, with the Lord’s help, through prayer, I will be able to meet my deadlines on a timely basis as the boys grow older. At the very least, I have something to look forward to, which hopefully will happen.

Peace be with you.

Apologies for the Delay in Posting

My apologies for the delay in posting. After a weekend of the absolute "drearies" and a humidity fighting day at the State Fair yesterday, I am beginning to feel better. I am ready to get the new week started and the postings back to regularity. However, after the long weekend of relative non-work activity, I am now behind.

The deadline for articles is upon me for the church-wide media and the NeighborsGo website. So I am franticly posting and writing articles at the same time. Unfortunately, that is not all I need to get done. But I must begin with that to get them behind me before moving on. Here is where some would say the oft-heard phrase, "No rest for the weary." I would say that rest, if it is successful, merely prepares one for the weariness to come when it becomes obvious that the rest caused a backup of work to be done. This past weekend was not quite that restful.

But I keep striking away at the keyboard and trying to get ahead. And a little prayer always helps. Now on to the next deadline. See you next time.

Peace be with you.

Schedules, Family, and Faith

One of the most difficult things about working at home is having the self-control to get into a schedule and keep with it. I am proud to say that it has been a long tough road, but I am making progress. Having to wake up and immediately deal with the younger two boys - getting them up and ready for as well as to school - does its part to impede my progress. My quiet time with coffee in the near dark to wake up slowly has disappeared. It will only return anytime soon if I start getting up earlier. Much earlier. Before Cyndy wakes Conner up and drops him off on her way to work.

There is a serious flaw in that plan. I have rarely ever gone to bed before midnight. It is not within my power to go to bed before my family is in bed with the lights out. It is a peaceful time for me when I know where every member of my family is (our oldest daughter is 26, newly married, and pregnant - I know her and her husband are home also). No one is calling on the phone for any reason. Emails can wait until the next day to be answered.

A compulsion of mine will not let me sleep with a troubled mind. When I was single I would listen to the radio or a tape (before cds) while I went to sleep. Which would help me fall asleep with a positive thought. But now I have much more the think about. And I turn off electronics on the way to bed, not turn them on. So it is imperative that I have my “mind right” before heading up to bed.

What time I go to bed depends on when the rest of the family goes to bed. If they are all in bed “on time” at 10 p.m., I have a shot at being in bed by midnight. Even then I only get six and a half hours sleep. Not quite enough in my aging opinion. Dealing with teenagers requires energy.

When I wake up forced to waste no time in waking children up, getting them fed, and to school, it drains energy I do not have yet. When I get back home I have a strong urge to start the day over again, which includes laying back down on the couch. Which is where working into a schedule comes in. If I could get my work done by the time we have dinner, I probably could slip to bed earlier than at present. But I would not guarantee it.

The problem is that there is not a consistent time of day that I can make sure that I get my writing done. Calls come from school. Errands need to be run to prepare for events in the evening. So when everyone finally goes to bed, I still have work to be done. But as I said earlier, I am making progress. I have come closer to reaching my daily goal in the past two weeks than at any time previous. That includes Bible study. With further determination, faith, and prayer, I will keep making steady advances.

Peace be with you.

Writing the Church History

Today I began to work on the history of our church in earnest. I have been doing research on it for a few months. But I need to have the first two chapters finished by the Jubilee celebration on the weekend of the 12^th. The plan is to have the sample chapters and hopefully a mock-up of the front cover in order to pre-sell the book during the celebratory weekend. I would like to have a synopsis of the rest of the book ready as well. But the sample chapters must come first. And I actually cannot write the synopsis until after the first two chapters. The first two chapters will set the pattern that I will follow throughout the book.

I do know that it will be sectioned by the decades of the church’s history. The story of the first couple of decades will be a bit easier than the rest of the book. The early history is sketchy as far as available physical evidence. The later years will be even tougher. In writing the recent history, the problem will be to decide what information and pictures not to include. There is much more paperwork and pictures on activities of the last ten years than there is on the first three decades. Although in the seventies media coverage began to be available, especially print media.

The most satisfying part of the project for me, other than writing the history of the church to which I belong, is that my wife, Cyndy, was born to charter members of the church and I get to learn something about her early history before we met in high school. A way of sharing events in her life I was not there to share with her when they occurred. And it is a writing project of mine that I can have her involved with. If only to be available to answer my questions. The "good part" is coming up with things she does not remember but older members do. Finding out things about her history that she does not know or remember is another way to become closer to the love of my life.

It is true that I am writing this history because it is my occupation - it is what I do. It is also true that I am looking toward how this project can be a stepping stone to other projects. But the main reason is that it is the history of my church and the church my wife has attended since birth. And I enjoy it. It is hard, it is time-consuming, it disrupts family activities. But, like I say, it is what I do. But it is a whole lot more fun after it is published than it is when I am researching and writing it.

Peace be with you.

One Of Those Days

This was one of those days when a dad feels like he has been doing nothing but spinning his wheels. As much as I tried to accomplish, I felt like I was not accomplishing anything. It is now so late - waiting on the boys to go to bed - that I will once again not get enough sleep. But I still plan to make the morning productive. It is quite necessary actually. Hopefully I will wake up and get moving, even though I will be tired.

Then I will post a thoughtful missive on some aspect of Christian life. But for now I am going to try to get sleep.

Peace be with you.

I'm Working On It

Years ago there was a serious of postcards by an artist/writer in the San Francisco area. Each card was a saying which was accompanied by a small illustration. One of the sayings was "I may not be perfect, but parts of me are excellent." Another was "I may be lucky to be going so slow, I may be going in the wrong direction." Of course there was a turtle on that one.

But the saying that popped into my mind today - which also popped up in other places besides his line of postcards - is "The hurrier I go the behinder I get." I of course had my list of things I needed and wanted to get accomplished. I still have the list and very little is checked off. It seemed as if every time I was ready to start on a project, something that was seemingly a minor, short term distraction, turned into a serious delay. Computer problems only occur when time is of the essence.

Then there was the errand I had to run to pick up snacks for J.D.’s Little League game and groceries we were running low on. From which I returned just in time to put the food up and arrange the snacks. And grabbing a few moments of peace before driving around at the high school looking for Conner after he called while he was in the building playing a game. Then I had to go back when he was ready to wait outside and was tired of playing or his friend had to go home.

There was also washing J.D.’s baseball pants. And numerous other things. Now I have to work harder tomorrow. But I doubt I feel as bad as Jacob did when he realized that he had worked seven years for Rachel only to have Leah switched at the nuptials and he had seven more years to work for Rachel. Talk about someone who always had something to do! Then he worked for more years for the livestock.

Certainly I have it better than Jacob did. But Jacob did not have a computer. There was no internet. No one bothering him throughout the day. Yet I still am required to have the faith and perseverance that Jacob had. Even with the additional distractions. And all I have to say is "I’m working on it." Despite all the additional distractions, I’m working on it. The only question is how good I will do.

Peace be with you.