Void of Technology

Here I am typing this post on my new iPhone 4. The amount of information available at my finger tips is astounding. I went without a phone for more than 6 months. Now I essentially have access to just about any information. However I have noticed a distancing from people because of this iPhone. I must be careful not to create a life dedicated to technology. I feel technology can be a benefit and at the same time a curse. If our lives become dependent on technology we don’t leave room for other more important things such as family, friends; And more importantly Jesus Christ. Although this is a short post it’s a realization that our lives can easily become filled with empty substitutes.

What’s Life?

Do you ever ask yourself the question…”what is my purpose on this earth?” Now if you consider yourself a christ believer then you can pull out the a-typical answer, “I’m here to do God’s will and further the kingdom.” I would say yes, you are correct, however, I cannot fully accept the a-typical answer because it is too general and doesn’t lend itself to further introspective reasoning and challenge. I ask myself this question weekly. Partly because of life’s circumstances that dictate my current situation and because I want to make sure my heart and spirit are congruent to the purpose God has put me on this earth for. I also ask myself the question because over the past few years I question the time I give to work and the time outside of work. Am I supposed to be pursing something different from where I’m at right now in life? Life should be challenging, life should produce opportunities where character can be built and life should also create opportunities for us to put our trust in the Lord. Another question I feel I must ask on the heels of the first question, “have the past few years been a waste of my time?” My answer to this question is two fold…yes the past few years have been a waste according to my expectation and how I “planned” my life to unfold and the career path I thought I should enter after college. But…according to God’s plan the past few years have not been a waste. God has intricately planned and strategically allowed me to be in a position where my expectations must be His expectations. I have come to understand and accept my narrow-minded perspective and my horrible response to the path I have taken over the past few years. Just recently God has opened my eyes to His perfect Will and has allowed me to be comfortable in the timing and path life has taken. Just as Jacob worked seven years for Rachel ( So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her Gen 29:20) his perspective and heart were focused on something/someone who captivated his life and produced a work ethic that created a life which God honored. If I can focus on God and be confident His plan is much better than my plan for my life I’m sure all will be OK!

What do you think…what is God revealing to you about your life..is your plan God’s plan for your life?

I want to leave you with one closing thought: if we can operate in the present we can extract the essence of God’s plan for our life and not be distracted on future events that may never come to fruition.

Cheers,

TT

Void of Emotions

At work, I sit in front of a computer for 8-10 hours per day on average. I stare at a screen with thousands of messages streaming across the screen, news feeds on any and all things good and bad happening in the world available to me in no less than a millisecond. One must question at what point does media have an effect on emotion? Is to much information a detriment to the livelihood of our emotional well-being? Can an individual become so desensitized by a barrage of RSS feeds/news updates/tweets, their emotional stability is jeopardized? My hypothesis is leaning towards a Yes answer.

As I personally reflect on my own emotions I find myself becoming desensitized to a point where I am aware of the effect of media. For example, when I read a news briefs or threads on a particular horrific accident or substantial event which effects people’s lives I find myself saying, “oh well” and moving on to the next task I must complete. It is also creeping into other areas of my life which I’m not to keen on it effecting. I’m finding my mood altered, my perception of events or situations which should be exciting and full of life to be dull and anticlimactic. I don’t want to move through life unaware and desensitized to my surroundings and especially my interactions with those around me. As someone who was created for fellowship with others, the emotional void created by barrages of media must be an area of my life which I address and determine what must the most appropriate measures to ensure my life and those around me are not negatively impacted by my interaction with what comes across my computer screen. It would be important to also discuss the effect on one’s spiritual life but this should be saved for another post.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you experience similar effects from media?

Cheers,

Tim

Happenings

Well well…I find myself at this blog once again in an attempt to be diligent to write more often. I know you have heard it before but it’s true.; my wife has urged me to begin to “journal” more or “blog” for those who prefer the more post-modern monocure.  I said ok, let’s get this show on the road. I’m going to try and preempt the idea of a New Year’s Resolution and start it on December 1, one whole month prior to New Years, this way if I can’t continue my weekly rants I at least can say I didn’t fail in my New Year’s Resolution. I know, it is an easy out on my behalf but what can I say…

Seeing as this is my first post in hopefully what will become many, I believe it’s fitting to start off with my reflections of life and my thoughts on where life leads an individual. I’m consistently challenged by the question, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” It is a question which has bounced around in my head since I was young, but it took on a greater meaning when I was a junior in high school. I was sitting in a class filling out an assessment used to predict which career path best fits with your personality and skills type. According to my results, I should either become a health professional  or something like a plumber. Somewhat boggled by the large diversity in my results I guess I saw that both professions worked with their hands, but I decided to explore the health professional rather than the plumber, not sure why. I found myself in an O.R. room observing a surgery which was about the coolest experience and from that point I decided I want to go into healthcare. Once in college I was taking a slew of different courses in order to prepare me for a future as a healthcare professional in someway shape or form. Fast forward 5 years from my college graduation and I find myself in a profession completely void of any resemblance to a healthcare worker. The same question remains, “what do you want to be when you grow up?”

Yes, my ambition and goal is to still find myself in a healthcare profession, what that profession is has yet to be decided. My point I want to make, brings me to the realization and the reality, God is sovereign in His ability to direct our lives in such a way that he extracts His perfect will from us void of our own agenda for our lives. Does man have free will, of course we do, does God want to grant us the desires of our hearts, of course He does, however,

Philippians 2:12-13-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Am I excited 5 years has gone by and I’m not in a healthcare profession, mmm, not exactly. But, I am reserving the right to give God the permission to fulfill his will in my life aside from my own ambitions. If I trust to know God does want to fulfill the desires of my heart, then I can trust in the promise  He will allow them to come to fruition in a time and season where my life and my gifts will be the most effective used for His purpose.

Cheers,

Tim

Thursday Musings

Sitting here on Thursday afternoon finishing up work and had a thought I should probably put something down on this blog. I know my last post was an amusing post stating I would begin to write more but obviously my ambitions were larger than my execution.

I’m feeling encouraged this week so I thought I would share a few reasons why:

1. It’s not longer 100 deg but seems the temp is dropping to the high 90′s.
2. I’ve come to realize I can’t go through this week without eating at least 1 fun sized Snickers.
3. I’m having a conviction on reducing my use of SUP (Single Use Plastics) but I don’t know how to get around the dilema of my yogurt containers. They are small and plasticly but I like yogurt and it comes in a plastic container. I’ll have to pray about it..
4. I will be heading up to Tahoe this weekend. I think I’m going to try and surf the lake if the winds are up.
5. Trader Joe’s has the best bananas around and I love bananas, therefore, I can conclude I love Trader Joe’s.

I’m going to try and commit to posting at least once a week. If I can at least put down 1 sentence then I’ve accomplished my goal.

So here’s to my journey of posting once a week!

Cheers.

Accountability

Well I must say my attempt to post to the blog has not been successful. My life has taken a turn to include working 12 hour days which leaves little time to sit by myself and write. I enjoy hanging with my wife more than sitting in front of a computer for another hour. But I said I would try and be more diligent to post so I am. Here is my post. I’ll try and think of a topic more interesting to discuss for my next post.

Cheers.
T

Completely Uninhabited

I haven’t posted something in so long. I feel I have forgotten about this blog and everything accompanying it. So I’m posting this short message to say I will be more diligent in the coming days to post regularly.

Thanks to anyone who stumbles upon this blog.

T

Twitter

I thought I would join in on the world of Twitter today.  I signed up and I’m going to see how I like it.  I’m not sure what to expect but I’ll give it a try.  If you are interested here is the link to the account, www.twitter.com/morewhole

Cheers

A Day of Mourning

Today is a day of mourning.  At roughly 1:45p today, Alex and I had to say good-bye to a very faithful and trusted friend- our glass french press. It was a sad thing.  It is our custom to brew up a pot around 1:30 in the afternoon.  As I was sitting at my desk I hear a bellow come from the bathroom, “nnnnooooo” and it could only mean one thing… he is gone. If any you can recall as a young child crying so hard you can barely take a breath, well, you can empathize with our current emotional state.

I sit here writing this because for those of you who see coffee as a necessity, which can only be quenched by the sweet aroma of freshly ground home roasted beans and the supple taste of the first sip of creama on the top of the cup, you can understand the emotional distress I am going through right now.  I’m sure as the day passes we will move onto to greener pastures, but I can’t help but think what could of come from just one more pot from our trust french press.   Until the next brewed pot…

So Your Thoughts…

As I was driving into work today I was listening to NPR (www.npr.org) and couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of remorse for our country.  Many of the stories spoken during the 30 minutes I had the radio on focused specifically on the policies Pres. Obama is putting into effect or in fact canceling the policies oh so strenuously worked on by the Bush Administration.  What are those policies… the Guantanamo Prison, abortion, the marriage debate, economic stability, foreign policy, and education.  I’m not going to presume we all will have the same beliefs or convictions on any one of these policies, but I was more distraught to know an individual or group of individuals can work so hard on a policy, give so many years of their lives to making progress towards the bettering of our nation and in one pen swipe all their work can be destroyed.  I’m not naive to think a more conservative government can and has done this in the past but if only we were a better respecter of persons.  I’m probably too soft on this issue but couldn’t get it out of my mind so I thought I would share some thoughts.

Why do I have remorse?  Let me start off by saying I have complete and utter respect for the new President.  I cannot discredit the mans intellect and aptitude and the shear enormity of the historical importance of him becoming the first Black President.  I was moved to tears on Tuesday by the event.  With this said, I have a difficult time swallowing the convictions of the new President.  I don’t agree with many of the issues he is immediately working on and the decisions he is making to bring “change” and “hope” to this nation or the world. I truly pray President Obama is a God fearing man and he governs our nation with respect and admiration of the God of the Universe.