Withdrawing To Get A Better Look

Dandelion Fluff

Have you ever looked at the life cycle of a dandelion? Those incredible yellow flowers, or weeds, which spring up all over the grass as soon as spring arrives. To some people, they look pretty. To others, they’re a menace to be weeded out and discarded forever. The first life of the dandelion consists of that little yellow flower that just seems to never go away.

Then, for those that do survive the first cycle of life, the dandelion suddenly and magically turns into nothing more than fluff. On the surface, this fluff looks very harmless. When a wind comes along, the fluff is blown away and the dandelion is never to be seen again.

At least for a season…

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This post is taking part in Randy Elrod’s Watercooler Wednesday!

Over on Randy’s Cultural Watercooler discussion for today he asked the question – What book or author has had the greatest influence on you?

First off Randy, that’s really a tough question for a preacher! There are so many and so little time or space to tell you of them all! But, before I tell you who my favorites are, yes, I have managed to whittle the list down to two, your question reminds me of a similar question once asked of a class at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.

I don’t remember which class it was, but I do remember the professor. In a class studying Wesleyan Theology, Dr. Steve Harper once asked the question – If you were in the midst of being exiled to an island in the middle of nowhere, what one book would you take? Of course in a class of second and third year Seminary students working on their Divinity degrees, those who wanted to appear really spiritual said — the Bible! But, that was too easy. Dr. Harper’s question truly did start me thinking about what author, and what book, could truly continually feed my soul and spirit if I found myself on an island in the middle of nowhere.

Would I take John Wesley books? Or would I take something totally different?

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Who is Soapy Sanderson you ask? He was a character on episode three of season one of Northern Exposure. As a movie reviewer I sometimes simply get bored with movies. Yes, I know, some might think that hard to believe, but it’s true. We see a lot of movies, and from time to time, we just get bored with them. When that happens I usually change up my Netflix queue and start watching some old TV shows. This month it’s Northern Exposure.

I loved the show in the early ’90’s and along the way I’ve forgotten most of the episodes, and realized I also missed some along the way. This week I started on season one, and today I watched episode three, Soapy Sanderson. The episode was good, as usual, but one scene in particular jumped off the screen at me. Dr. Fleischman is, once again, is having Maggie problems. In this particular episode he finds himself chatting with Chris, the philosophical radio announcer, about life, and how to connect with Maggie. He’s done something stupid again, putting himself first, which has turned her off.

Now it’s no secret, even by episode three of season one, that Fleischman does not want to be in Alaska. It seems every waking moment is spent trying to figure out a way to get back to New York City. Chris cuts through all of that and simply says, “It doesn’t matter if you’re going to be here for four years, four weeks, four months, or four hours. What’s important is how do you positively effect those around you in the time that you have here.”

Wow! What an amazing thought!

I guess that’s my thought for tonight as I get ready once again to wind down for another day. I would ask you the same thing I find myself asking myself right now — How did I positively effect those around me today?

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

Okay, so I didn’t plan to jump into the Watercooler Wednesday posts so quickly. But, since the chatter around the watercooler today is about favorite books, I figured I would jump in with my favorite book

Scanning my bookshelves makes it hard to pick out just one favorite book. I move from the classics such as Christ & Culture to the monastic of Thomas Merton. Then there’s the holiness of John Wesley and others in the Wesleyan Tradition. Of course I can’t forget the more modern testimony books by people such as Ken Mansfield who worked closely with The Beatles or Grace is Enough by Willie Aames of Eight is Enough fame. I’m also working on Timothy Keller’s new book The Reason for God. After interviewing Dr. Tim on my talk show about his book, I’m even more fascinating by it, and also highly recommend it

However, to boil my library down to one favorite book, I’d have to go with my favorite writer, Ken Gire. Anything by Ken is well worth the read. He’s passionate and has an incredible way of connecting his life, with the life of the reader, as we in turn connect with God. As for all the Ken Gire books I have, my favorite is Windows of the Soul.

This post is participating in Watercooler Wednesday!

I was reading another entry in my A Year with Thomas Merton book today entitled “Bearing Witness to the Resurrection.” It’s a great entry where Merton talks about where he finds happiness, and where he is most happy. In this particular entry Merton said he is “happier than he’s ever been” while singing in the choir. He goes on to say he can hardly “hold himself in place, expecting every moment to be his last.”

Merton also points out that when he’s at his toolshed hermitage he is “always happy and at peace, no matter what happens. For here, there is no need for anyone but God.”

Then suddenly out of no-where, the entry ends with the sentence – “A fly buzzes on the windowpane!” Did this fly suddenly pull him out of the things and thoughts of God, directly back into what many call the real world?

This got me wondering just how often we find ourselves distracted from the peace of God through daily, and many times the mundane, things of life. A fly buzzing on the windowpane suddenly becomes our excuse for the moment to stop thinking on the things of God.

What is buzzing on your windowpane today taking your attention away from God? Is it a worthy distraction? Or is it best to ignore it, so you can continue pondering the things of God.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

Thomas Merton, as I’ve mentioned before on this blog, is probably one of my favorite spiritual authors. Merton recognized the dichotomy of writing, and actually being a writer. Many people know how to write, but few really write. There really is a difference between theory and actual practice. It’s like the newspaper editor in the Samuel L. Jackson movie Resurrecting The Champ tells the young sportswriter trying to find his voice. “I see a lot of words, but I don’t see a lot of writing.”

A book containing excerpts from Merton’s thoughts on the vocation of writing was recently released entitled Echoing Silence. What an amazing thought. One wants to write, in order to encourage others along whatever journey they may find themselves on. Whether it’s a journey of joy, adventure, science fiction, or whatever, the writer writes, so one can be entertained, learn something, or be encouraged. However, at the same time the writer often finds himself in the midst of an echoing silence. Just how do the words flow into thoughts, sentences, paragraphs, chapters, and yes, even books.

It’s funny, I find myself in the midst of such an echoing silence these days. While it’s exciting to write and create, it’s at the same time somewhat scary to think I’m hanging my thoughts out there for all to see. Will people like what they read? Will they understand what they read? Will it even make sense?

However, it really is all about the journey we find ourselves on individually. For some, reading helps them along the journey. For others, writing helps them along the journey. Whatever the case may be, in the end, we can find encouragement in knowing that the Alpha and the Omega really does know what’s going on. In the end, He is the Author of Life and He truly is in our corner, even in the midst of what might seem like echoing silence, to run the race which is marked out for us so that we might hear those wonderful words of — Well done My faithful servant. Come, enter into your rest.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

While in seminary I came across a book by Brother Lawrence entitled Practicing The Presence of God. It’s a small book, but an amazing book. Brother Lawrence was a monk who said he got to the point in his life when he found the set times of prayer in the monastery interrupted his time with God.

Wow! What an amazing thought. Think about that for a moment and let it really sink in. Is it true we can get close enough to God that set times of prayer interrupt our time with Him? I remember pondering that thought often throughout seminary and even during times of ministry. How can one arrive at the place where set times of prayer interrupt regular time with God. That means we’re truly conscious of the presence of God at all times in our lives.

Many times we find ourselves tossed to a fro by the demands of the world. It doesn’t matter if one is in ministry, or if one is working in the marketplace, the demands of the world, and those around us, can seem overwhelming at times. How are we to survive and maintain a relationship with God in the midst of all the demands on our life? I believe that’s what Brother Lawrence was getting at when he addressed the idea of practicing the presence of God, at all times.

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