I have a number of letters I can put both behind my name and in front of my name. I guess that comes with continuing education. While I would not trade my education for anything, I must admit there are times when I’ve wondered if all the educated people we have around us trying to tell us about life, simply complicate life instead of making it easier.

I had a professor who told me once that when you get a Bachelor’s degree, you keep all of your brain in tact. When you go on for a Masters, you check half of your brain. Then if you get a Doctorate in something, you check the rest of your brain. Sad, but sometimes true. Many do become closed minded instead of open minded with more education.

This afternoon and into tonight a recurring phrase keeps coming to mind and it’s what I used for the subject of tonights entry — Sitting With The Master — I remember the story of a busy-body who spent a lot of time in the kitchen preparing food when the Master arrived at her house one day. Her sister, on the other hand, decided to sit at the feet of the Master. Did He teach the whole time there? We don’t know. But we do know that when the busy-body sister complained the Master told her to calm down and realize her sister had chosen the better portion for the day. Sitting at the feet of the Master.

My dog Samson likes to hang out with me. When I come home from work, he greats me at the door. When I take my afternoon nap, he curls up by my feet. When I sit in my chair, he’s right there beside me. When I’m working in my home office, he’s curled up in his little Samson sized bed napping. He’s content to be with his master.

I believe there’s a lesson here for all us. Many times we approach the Master who’s also the Author and Perfector of our lives and we think we need to be busy the whole time. But, reality is, we find true contentment when we simply sit and rest in the presence of the Master.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

I just got back from picking up our middle son from work. As I pulled out of the driveway I noticed flashing lights along the side street we live on. A closer look revealed one police car with two other cars pulled over. Along the sidewalk, many others stopped to watch. Then, as I pulled onto the main road, a number of vehicles slowed to rubber-neck in an effort to see what was going on.

Sitting here tonight winding down from another day I find myself asking the question; Did I rubber-neck my way through the day? Or, did I actually get involved in the day, living the day to its fullest? How many times do we actually coast through the days, which can turn into a daze, and before we know it, a week, a month, or even a year has flown by. Do we actually become involved in the day, or do we simply rubber-neck our way through the day, without becoming involved in anything.

A couple years ago Adam Sandler put out a movie called Click. While we hated the movie because it was rude and crude, it did contain a few good lessons. One such lesson revolved around the idea of fast forwarding through life on cruise-control. If we do this, before we know it, life has flown by, and it’s usually filled with many regrets.

Tonight I’m wondering how to get more involved in life and not rubber-neck the events of any given day too much.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

For years I’ve preached the fact that I do not believe in a separation of what many call the sacred and the secular. I believe such a division is made merely as a human reaction, and somehow flawed attempt, to describe the world as God might see it. However, reality is, God sees the world very differently than we do. As a matter of fact, He sees everything much differently than we do. In Isaiah 55 God declares that “His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.” When we come to a full realization of what those words mean, then maybe we’ll stop trying to categorize a world where God sees only His creation.

Is everything perfect on this earth? Of course not. But, that does not change how God feels about and sees His creation. We must remember He is the Beginning and the End. That means He sees the world from the end of the story to where we find ourselves in this journey now.

When Thomas Merton transitioned from the monastery to living as a hermit one of his first journal entries pointed to this very same separation I’m addressing here now. On September 11, 1965 Merton writes; “Here, (in the hermitage), I see my task is to get rid of the last vestiges of a Pharisaical division between the sacred and the secular, to see that the whole world is reconciled to God in Christ.”

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

The lazy days of summer are rapidly drawing to a close and soon the leaves will start turning as fall makes another cool entry. The changing seasons usually make me ponder the events of the previous season. Did I accomplish all I set out to do? Did I accomplish what I should have focused on doing? Am I ready for the start of yet another season?

In the end, I guess I find great comfort in the words of Paul — “We keep moving forward with our eye on the prize, that which Christ Jesus has already won for us.”

As we journey through life, keeping our eye on the prize which Jesus won for us, is of the utmost importance. With that in mind, suddenly everything else that screams for attention, falls by the wayside as I ponder His grace and His mercy in my life.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

Thomas Merton always seemed to walk a tightrope of complicated thoughts, in the midst of a simple life. That’s probably why he wrote so much. It was a way to possibly un-clutter his mind and sort through all the varied thoughts, ideas and yes, even tensions he found present in his everyday life.

We live in a world of many gadgets, which are in turn supposed to make life simpler. However, I often wonder if we ever do achieve the simple life by adding gadget after gadget into our lives. There was a time when I felt the need to have every new wild and fancy gadget that ever hit the market. In the end however, all this really led to was a life full of toys gathering dust on a nearby shelf. As I journey through this life I’m coming to realize that some of the gadgets are good, and when used properly, they can even help to make life simpler. However, other gadgets are merely toys taking up space, and making noise in an already busy schedule.

In the end, as we journey through each day, we need to look closely at what we’re filling our life up with, and then decide if it’s really making life simple or merely adding to the noise already around us.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

I was speaking with a Pastor friend of mine this weekend and we started talking about the journey. Reflecting on the past, looking toward the future, we pondered the journey and talked about sticking with it. The sad thing is, many don’t stick with the journey. People come and go for the oddest reasons. My wife and I always keep reminding ourselves that we simply drive the bus. People get on, people get off. But, so often, people get off before arriving at their destination.

The church seems to be filled with wanderers instead of sojourners. A wanderer is someone who moves from place to place, without a fixed course, aim or goal. A sojouner, is one who stays in a certain location, but as a temporary resident. It’s true, we are only visiting this planet, but we should not be aimless wanderers. Instead, we should remain in one place, growing in that place, and learning all we’re supposed to learn in that one place. But, many in the church today wander from one place to another. The reasons for the wandering are many, but in the end, I do believe the wandering not only hurts the individual, but also hurts the overall body.

As I spoke with my Pastor friend we reflected on the life of Moses. He was the man who led the people of God out of Egypt. He was supposed to lead them into the Promised Land, but, that didn’t work out so well. One day Moses struck a rock twice because he was frustrated with the people and God told him because of his frustration, he would not enter the Promised Land. As a matter of fact, none of the generation Moses was leading would enter the Promised Land. Instead, it was up to him to lead the wandering people around the desert for 40 years, until that generation died off, so the new generation of sojourners would in turn enter into the Promised Land.

Wow! Think about that for a minute or two. Moses knew he would not enter the Promised Land. But, as a leader, he stuck with his assignment, became a sojourner in the desert, so he could point the next generation in the way they should go.

I believe this is a lesson not only every leader should learn, but many of the wanderers of today should also learn. Too often we toss in the towel and complain, and we don’t even ultimately know how the journey will go. Moses knew the outcome of his journey, but he remained faithful and sojourned in the desert, pointing the way to the Promised Land.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

The boys started back to school today. That of course means the closing of yet another summer, and the opening of another autumn. While summer doesn’t officially end for a couple more weeks, heading back to school usually signifies the end of summer. And so it goes, the cycle of life, and my oh my how when you have kids, that cycle seems to revolve around the school year.

I sometimes wonder if we’re moving forward in this journey, or simply spinning our wheels along the way. The days pass, and yes we all grow older, but how do we know if we’re moving forward or simply spinning our wheels. I guess the best way to answer that question is to reflect on where we’ve been, and look forward to where we going. While we all have different visions and goals for our lives, some big, some small, the best test is to see if we have indeed moved forward in any of the goals.

Moving forward means more than just growing old. I think moving forward also means learning from past experiences, so we can truly live life to the fullest in the future.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

It really seems like a long lost phrase these days. There was a time when those words were regularly uttered around the dinner table at the end of the day. A time to gather together as a family, catch up on the events of the day, and look forward to the newness of the next.

But alas, life seems so busy now that many don’t even know what having dinner together as a family means. It’s something we’re trying to bring back to our house. It kind of goes in spurts and starts. But, for the most part, we do try to gather at the dinner table a few times through the week so we can ask the very simple question; What did you do today? I think sometimes we figure the answer to such a question needs to be long, filling in every detail of the day. But reality is, many times we’re looking for interaction with one another, and yes, even encouragement along way, as we reflect on the journey of the day.

I just read another entry from the Thomas Merton devotional and in this particular entry he was simply recounting the day and short visit he had with some friends. He simply jotted down a few thoughts of what they talked about, and how much he enjoyed the time with the friends catching up on what’s been going on in their lives.

So, what did I do today? Well, it is Labor Day, and it seems I did labor some. The day started with Sandra and I discussing some re-arranging in a room. She went after that with two of our boys, while I worked on some Live Line talk shows for air later this week. When I was needed to move furniture, I was called into the other room. Then it was back to my mixing program to finish off the shows.

By the end of the day, I must say we’ve had a very enjoyable day. We worked together as a family, and yes, we even managed to have diner together as a family around the table. To wrap it all up, we sat down for a couple episodes of the old show The Greatest American Hero. While some might think that show is far-fetched, and obviously not as well produced as the shows of today, I must admit, watching a show of old, with our sons these days, is quite fun, and I can’t think of a better way to spend some family time.

So, what did you do today?

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

This writing thing is really very interesting. As I mentioned in an earlier blog entry I’m currently reading a devotional book entitled A Year with Thomas Merton. The entry I just read seems so relevant, and yet also so irrelevant to my life. While Merton writes he is starting to read the book of Job, I am not even thinking of reading that book. It’s not that the book of Job is a waste of time, for it’s really far from that. I’ve spent time reading Job before and find it all very fascinating. However, at this point in my journey, it’s not really a book I feel like reading. So, in that respect, the reading was rather irrelevant.

However, in the same entry Merton talks about his writing. Should he continue to write, or should he stop writing. For in the end, he really is a writer, so what else is there for him to do. He even makes mention of possibly having paper and pen buried with him so he can in turn continue writing, even after he dies.

This whole line of thinking once again stirred in me the desire to write. For there are times when I do little writing, but even when I’m doing little writing, there’s still writing coming out in the form of those pesky little post it notes all over the top of my desk. Sometimes it’s not even post it notes. I find myself jotting down little thoughts here and there and randomly sticking them under a coaster I have sitting on the corner of my desk. The notes build and build and while I sometimes do little with them, they’re still there. At times they seem to call out to me as young children do when they want to be encouraged to grow. I guess one day the little notes may just grow up into full blown articles, or dare I say it, even a full blown book or two, or even more. But for now, the notes sit stuffed here and there.

Jotting down some thoughts.

Even if they don’t become more, I do believe it’s important for us to jot down those random thoughts we find along the way. I do believe they help us sort through this journey we call life. For many, those thoughts may never see the light of day. But, in the end, I believe they’re an important guide along the way helping us sort through life, emotions, and even problems or situations along the way.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus