The Big Picture

With all of the stresses in our lives, in or out of the ivory tower, it is important to stop from time to time and remember that our Lord is sovereign. He is bigger than anything we deal with. He has conquered (past tense) death. He knows the end from the beginning.

It ends well.

SDG

A Future to Cherish

Let the Lord in His Temple rise

His greatness flow down from within

Succor to the suffering

Entreaty to the proud

Why do we long for heaven?

Why does the beauty of this earth cry for release?

Rejoice for that longing rests in the promise

We will have the contentment of sated appetite

And remaining capacity for neverending wonder

The mystery of the Almighty delights

His infinitude draws us onward on

Faster, never tiring

Exertion feeding strength, not draining

Always familiar, always wondrously new

Drink deep

Breathe deep

Rest deep

Run long

Laugh long

Exult longer still

Labor without toil

Care without pain

Rejoice without weariness

All our tomorrows exist in the everlasting today

SDG

Too Much

A colleague and I commiserated at lunch today how the academy has fully transformed from a gathering of scholars discovering, discussing and disseminating knowledge to an overclocked motorized gerbil’s wheel.

A common joke among my staff is “we could get so much done if there weren’t any students.”

It is good at times like these to remember encouragement from God:

“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

“In vain do you rise early and seek your beds late, toiling for your food—for the Lord gives to His beloved sleep.” Psalm 127:2

SDG

Wisdom from Chesterton

I came across a list of quotations from G. K. Chesterton today, and these five stood out to me as a source of meditation and encouragement. I thought they might for you as well. Sometimes it is better to publicize the good words already spoken by another than to fill the world with more of one's own thoughts.

“The act of defending any of the cardinal virtues has today all the exhilaration of a vice.” – A Defense of Humilities, The Defendant, 1901

“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.” – The Everlasting Man, 1925

“An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered; an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered.” – On Running After Ones Hat, All Things Considered, 1908  {Keep in mind that he wrote this one before the invention of computers!}

 “He is a [sane] man who can have tragedy in his heart and comedy in his head.” – Tremendous Trifles, 1909   {This is the most thought-provoking of them for me.}

“The person who is really in revolt is the optimist, who generally lives and dies in a desperate and suicidal effort to persuade other people how good they are.” – Introduction to The Defendant  {I never thought of optimism in this manner before. A challenge to live this way!}

SDG

Inspiration

What inspires you? What does it take to get your attention, to lift your eyes above your daily cares, so they may see grandeur, dignity, hope, the sublime and the holy?

Now is a great time of year to explore your sources of inspiration. We are told to count our blessings. This is very good, yet I’m beginning to realize that is merely a starting point. Counting our blessings simply reminds us to be aware of what we do have, engendering gratitude. It’s like climbing a mountain, and taking a break to realize how far we’ve come.

Counting our inspirations lifts us still higher, encouraging us to push further up the mountain, to keep climbing, for we are not yet as He intends for us to be.

SDG

Fringe Benefits

Three days ago, I posted about an assignment I give where students write a one-page essay on “What I want to do with my life.” One of the fringe benefits is that since I frame it as a life essay rather than a career essay, we get to often go deeper than their 9 to 5 dreams and priorities. In particular, a few students each semester share how their relationship with Christ is a driving factor for them or some other reference to their faith.

I am always thrilled with this, because since they bring it up, it becomes fair game for an open conversation between us, and it is usually mutually encouraging (Romans 1:12). They are excited to learn about an instructor at the big school who shares their faith, and I’m glad to be able to let students know where I stand, and hopefully it spreads to other students for their encouragement. They are especially encouraged that it is a science instructor who is a Christian because there is an attitude sometimes that ‘you can’t be a scientist and a Christian,’ so it is a relief to find out that isn’t true.

Encouragement for the Weary

There are times when we just run out of gas. We’ve burned the candle at 6 ends, and there just ain’t much left. I offer these words from our User’s Manual.

Be still, and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Isaiah 40:29

In vain you rise early and stay up late, eating the bread of toil— for He grants sleep to those he loves.

Psalm 127:2

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

SDG

He Moved Through the Fair

There is a classic Celtic tune, “S/He Moved Through the Fair” which has been recorded by many artists who changed the gender as appropriate or desired. It’s a little strange, but a memorable semi-haunting tune. The lyrics of the version by Sinead O’Connor are listed below:

Who Helped You?

Today while walking to class, I passed a student sitting outside. As I walked by, he was looking over a paper that had been graded and returned to him. In red ink, it said, “95   Who helped you?”

As I was in a hurry, I didn’t stop or turn around to see his face, so my musings are just speculation. However, this was a profound situation. The grader’s comment can be taken at least two ways.

1)      The positive way—who has helped you to improve? Who inspired you? Who helped obtain the information? The grader is saying “way to go!” “Good job!” and so on.

2)      The negative way—From whom did you cheat? Who did this for you? With whom did you commit collusion? The grader is saying, “you aren’t good enough to do this well.” “Not only are you a bad student, but you’re a dishonest one.”

Either interpretation tells a significant story. What story does your feedback tell your students?

SDG