Purpose of Worship

An interesting quote from a book I'm reading:

"The transformation of people's lives must be the ultimate goal of worship, as it is for church life generally. I know all the arguments for worship being about glorifying God [whatever that might mean] and for worship to be God-centered. I just don't accept them as the end of the discussion....

A life of words and actions and thoughts that are being transformed is more likely to bring glory to God than the endless singing of love songs to Jesus that bring no transformation. Transformation of the worshipers is the goal of all worship." [The Art of Curating Worship, Mark Pierson]

Do Everything/Do Nothing

There are two types of vacations, and two types of vacationers. The first type I call the Do Everything vacation. Wherever you go, the Do Everything vacationer will plan it all out so that you maximize your time, see and do everything you possibly can, and experience life at your destination to its fullest. You will wake up early, go to bed late, and rush from here to there in order to cram in as much as possible. The Do Nothing vacationer doesn't care where you are, their plan is to do nothing. They will sleep all day, stay in the shower or bathtub forever, read a book, watch a movie, and generally veg out. At the end of this type of vacation, you will have done very little--but you will be rested.

I am a Do Nothing vacationer.

My wife is a Do Everything vacationer.

We usually meet in the middle. We just returned from our annual Do Nothing Vacation in the Smoky Mountains. We join eight other college friends in a fancy cabin in the Smokies, and generally hang out, play video games, eat, talk, read books, scrapbook, whatever. It is my ideal vacation.

This year, we got a little more active. We took a hike for a better part of the afternoon one day, and we played a round of golf on another day. The rest of the time we mostly ate. All in all, it was a great time--but a little more Do Everything than I care for. Next year, I am a committed Do Nothing vacationer.

How about you? Are you a Do Everything, or a Do Nothing vacationer?

Out Next Week!

I'm on vacation next week. So I have a lot going on today to try to tie up loose ends. With that said, this blog post is finished.

Here and Now

One of the most important things in life is enjoying the present moment. I've heard it called the "sacrament of the present moment." There is something sacred and holy about being in the "now", being awake to what is present, and the God who is present in all and through all.

In the present moment, we can hold life gently. We can take it as it comes to us, and appreciate it for the good gift it is. We can slowly become aware of God around us, within us, outside us, holding us, sustaining us.

We can truly be present to others. We can hear others' hearts. We can think. We can create.

All we truly have is THIS. Here. Now. As Jesus said, "Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough trouble of its own."

Work v. Play

I struggle to balance the tension between effort and restful service. I believe the best work comes out of the overflow of the heart. However, I believe that we should also give all we have to what it is that we do. I'm in this period of life where I am feeling incredibly motivated to accomplish a lot, to be fruitful, to make a difference. And every once in awhile, I am wondering to myself: Am I being too driven?

I do believe that it is God's power in me that allows me to live and move and have my being. I believe it is Jesus who sustains me breath by breath, moment by moment.

However, I also believe that I will reap what I will sow. I believe that if I put my "talents" to work, and work hard, that the harvest will yield its fruit.

So I struggle with this. I want a healthy balance between work and play, activity and rest, movement and stillness. And right now, I'm not sure if I'm balanced enough. I'll have to sit with that a little longer, I suppose.

Cheat To Win

Today is a day that I am supposed to blog, but I have lots to do right now, and there is no time. So I am fulfilling my duty as a legaliast in writing this post, but also allowing myself to do other things.

Cheat to win.