To-Read List

Forgive my lack of posting on this blog in the past several months. Just haven't felt inclined to write. Recently I was browsing through my collection of books and realized I have a ton of them that I haven't yet read, or ones I started reading and never finished. Being an engineer, I made a list of them. And so I share with you.

Most of these I've either had for years, purchased at thrift stores, or were given as gifts. Enjoy!

Gum, Geckos, and God: A Family's Adventure in Space, Time, and Faith _ James S. Spiegel
The Book of Enoch _ translated by RH Charles
God in Search of Man _ Abraham Joshua Heschel
City on Our Knees _ TobyMac
To Own a Dragon _ Donald Miller
This Beautiful Mess _ Rick McKinley
Children of Hope _ Vernon Brewer
Wild at Heart _ John Eldredge
Anthem _ Ayn Rand
War of the Worlds _ H.G. Wells
Earth Odyssey _ Mark Hertsgoard
Moby Dick _ Herman Melville
Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World _ Edward Dolnick
Portrait of a President: John F. Kennedy in Profile _ William Manchester
The Day Kennedy was Shot _ Jim Bishop
The War of the World: 20th Century Conflict and the Descent of the West _ Niall Ferguson
The Poor will be Glad: Joining the Revolution to Lift the World out of Poverty _ Greer, Smith, Cowart, Bell
Pirates of Barbary _ Adrian Tinniswood
Opening John's Gospel and Epistles _ Philip Comfort and Wendell Hawley
The Great Raid _ William Breuer
The World is Flat _ Thomas Friedman
Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy can Change Everything _ Daniel Goleman
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2010 _ Freeman Dyson and Tim Folger
Confessions _ Saint Augustine
Hank Aaron: One for the Record _ George Plimpton
A Tale of Two Cities _ Charles Dickens
In Sunlight, in a Beautiful Garden _ Kathleen Cambor
Anecdotes of Destiny and Ehrengard _ Isak Dinesen
International Relations _ Wilkinson
Searching for God Knows What _ Donald Miller
Fourth Part of the World: Global Discovery, Imperial Ambition, and the Birth of America _ Toby Lester
Selected Poems _ Robert Frost
A Walk in the Woods _ Bill Bryson
Pilgrim's Progress _ Bunyan
The Chronicles of Narnia _ C.S. Lewis
Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt _ Bauval and Brophy
Peace be with You: Monastic Wisdom for a Terror-Filled World _ David Carlson
Muslims, Christians, and Jesus: Gaining Understanding and Building Relationships _ Carl Medearis

patience 2.0

Patience. It can be a tough thing. We seem to be a very impatient society. I know I've struggled with it through the years. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, "We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love." I'd like to focus on the patience part. Over the past few years I've felt God trying to drill patience into my head and my life. Why? Because out of patience can come understanding and love. Most of us hate having to wait for something. But when we become so focused on an end goal, sometimes we miss the day-to-day miracles around us that can come in the meantime.

I was speaking with a friend from back home several months ago, and he pointed out that if we pray to God for patience, He may not necessarily zap us with a lightning bolt and make us more patient. Instead, He may give us opportunities to be patient in our daily lives. As we make the choice more and more to be patient, we end up weaving that choice into a lifestyle. And in that way we can become more patient. I thought it was a very intriguing way of looking at how/why/to what extent we become patient in our lives. Patience doesn't just entail passively waiting for a better experience. Sometimes our patience can be expressing through actively engaging with the world around us. I'd venture to say most of the time this is true.

I work with a man who holds much more conservative views on theology and politics than I do. Over the past few weeks we've had bits of conversation ranging along that spectrum. I say "bits" of conversation because its mostly been discussion in passing; a few minutes at a time. We haven't actually been able to sit down and discuss things at length. I look forward to having that conversation with him, though. Although at times I am taken aback at his views, many of which I find myself disagreeing with, I have recognized that my own views on politics and theology are always evolving as I learn more, understand more, and yes, am exposed to differing viewpoints. It is often when we come across vastly diverging viewpoints and perspectives on a certain issue that our own opinions and convictions come to light. Which I believe is a good thing, because then you have the chance to reflect on them and consider their strengths and merits and if, indeed, they should change. All this takes patience, because it takes time to have a discussion. It takes time to reflect upon one's own notions and perspective on the world.

But I see where I need patience in other areas. I've realized that my job itself requires patience on my part, since it takes time to learn all the ins and outs of being an engineer at this company. Sometimes I find myself becoming very impatient with my own perceived shortcomings. But then I remember that technically I'm still new at this. As another coworker told me, "Don't beat yourself up too bad. I've been doing this for 20 years and I still screw up this stuff." Patience can take many forms, and often it means being patient with ourselves.

I don't know where you stand on the benefits of being involved with a church community, but since I've moved to Lynchburg I've been searching for that community. I've been visiting various churches around here, which isn't too difficult considering the vast number of churches in this area. One thing I realized last week was that basing a faith community on only one Sunday visit wouldn't really be very useful. I've been attending a local church for about a month, although not on consecutive weeks due to various things. But to really get a feel for what a people believe in and how they live it out, it takes time. At times I'm frustrated that I've been here for over four months and haven't found a "church home", but now I'm seeing it in a different way. These things take time and patience on my part. So I'll probably be visiting churches a few more times while becoming more involved with this current one.

I'm reminded again of how God weaves our lives into stories with different chapters, characters, plots, and yet tying them all together for a purpose. I'm looking forward to seeing how my story goes over the next few months. It should be a good read.

New.

This past weekend marked probably the last time I'd be going up to Blacksburg to visit. It was an incredible time of laughter, reflection, and memories. Between seeing old friends and new, walking around the Drillfield, and doing the hokie pokie with the HokieBird, I'd say it was a good time. It reminded me just how powerful that community of Hokies and nlcf-ers really is, and how much I miss being a part of that community. But I also recognize, now more than ever, that this season of my life is coming to a close. I find myself having a harder time identifying with college life, as if that perspective is slowly changing.

As much of a defining season as the past five years have been for me, I sense God wanting to start something new in my life. It starts, I'm sure, with the new town I find myself in. New people surrounding me both at work and outside of it. New opportunities, new discussions, new perspectives. I haven't fully connected to a new community here but I know enough to keep searching. I realized this new-ness three months ago when I first came here, but the routine of working and the various trips I've taken for diverse reasons have somehow kept me from engaging in a new community. Tomorrow, as they say, is another day.

This past weekend I was able to laugh more than I thought possible, I was able to relax with old friends, I celebrated new life through the baptism of three children, and I was able to enjoy one of the greatest places on earth. I even got my picture with the HokieBird. But I also realized how fluid our lives become. We are always changing, always growing, always different from who we were a day ago. It's amazing how much growth I've experienced and seen in my friends over the past few years. I just need to remember to keep growing and keep seeking where God is leading me in this next adventure. For what it's worth, I keep reminding myself that God is making all things new.

Chapter Summary

I titled this post a "chapter summary" in reference to the perspective I've had for a while now, of life being lived in seasons, or chapters if you will. I've had seasons of varying lengths and diverse environments throughout my 22 years on this earth. This new season in Lynchburg with a new job was definitely a movement into something novel and unfamiliar. A story within the story, for example, is the previous month of my life working on the assembly floor. Today concluded my month of work on the assembly floor. I decided to work today's shift, 5am to 11am, partly because I wanted to finish the job we were working on and partly to show the guys on the floor that I appreciate their working with me for the past four weeks and I don't mind helping them. As an engineer with the company, I've been told my customers, in a sense, are the assembly guys. They have to take my design and build the finished product. So I see the past month as both a learning experience and a way to build relationships with the guys out there. I'd like to think I was successful on both counts. 

In an earlier post (here), I talked about meeting a guy at work who had quite an interesting story and life trajectory. After finishing my time on the assembly floor, I figured I could update you on what I've found out. I've been able to work with him off and on since that day, and I've learned different things about his walk in life and perspective. We share many of the same views on social justice and eradicating poverty and oppression. His goals in life are to use his talents to help lift others from destruction within the context of disaster relief and to help create a more sustainable world through adobe homes and gardening. 

One of the biggest tenets of his life is to never stop questioning. He said he can't stand people who uncritically swallow whatever opinions are given to them, never considering the implications for their own lives or whether those opinions are true. In the realms of theology and philosophy, he is a very open-minded person who is very accepting of diverse beliefs. We do not share some beliefs and convictions, but I agree with his assertion that questioning and discussion of important issues are paramount in our churches and our society. 

Case in point. While he does not agree with me that Jesus was God incarnate, we found common ground in my belief that the best hope for our world is the way of Christ lived out as it is meant to be. Caring for the least of these. Unconditional love for any person, regardless of color, creed, ideology, affiliation, or action. Giving hope to the hopeless. Lighting a candle, as it were, in the darkness. I asked him how he felt about spiritual matters, and he said he felt he was on a journey, a search for truth. That resonated with me, because although he doesn't believe as I do, he is open to discussion and will continue the search for truth. I feel that truth can be found through Christ, and to that end I gave him a book by Shane Claiborne (check it out) that I found helpful and enlightening as I walk my own journey of life. We agreed that as he was moving out west, he could read it, think about it, and then pass it along to someone else who was on this search for truth. 

Another man I met at work has quite a different story. He had a hard life growing up, and counts himself lucky to have made it this far in life. He's in his late 50's. He noticed my vtONE bracelet one day (vtONE) and starting telling me about his faith journey. He claims to follow Christ and that he has essentially learned things about God on his own. While readily admitting he is not perfect and has made mistakes, I see in him a willingness to learn, grow, and seek God in different aspects of his life. He's told me a lot about his current troubles, and I praise God for His Spirit being a guiding light and a friend to this man through me. 

I hope to keep in touch with both of these guys over the next few months to see how their lives are going. Soli Deo Gloria. 

Serve

Today I met a man at work who has a radical approach to his life. In a few months he intends to quit his job, travel across the country, and learn various skills. These skills include a workshop and further education on how to build homes from the earth, like the adobe buildings of years past, and sustainable gardening that can be done in almost any circumstance. His goal?

To help others create better lives for themselves.
To learn these trades and teach them to others.
To use nature's resources and man's ingenuity to go around the world and help with disaster relief.

This jolted my senses, reminding me that the reason I chose engineering as a career was to help others in whatever way I could. Recently I'd been remembering how we are called to be servants, as Christ came to serve and give. I got some of his story as I talked to him and we put a conveyor section together. I asked him what made him decide to pursue this path of helping others with disaster relief. He told me that he had been getting to a place where his life was miserable, and all he was doing was making others' lives miserable. What turned him around? "Honest friends who told me what they were seeing in my life. Sometimes you become so focused on your own world that you forget about the real world out there."

Intrigued by his story and life plan, I started thinking of what my own life will look like. We share a common concern for the rampant poverty and destruction seen across this world. I told him about what Nuru has been doing to end extreme poverty. ( www.nuruinternational.org ) I began to wonder what lay in store for me here in Lynchburg, and how I could shape the people around me.

I don't think I'll be travelling across the country or the world to help the cause of social justice, at least not in the near future, but there's a city of people here in need of love and support. So I'll be pondering how I can be of service. Maybe volunteer at a food kitchen or homeless shelter. Donate my time, my money, my talents to causes like Nuru and others. I don't know where this may lead or in what form it may take, but I feel the passion inside that this world is broken, and it shouldn't be this way. God has given me the tools and the power to change this world for the good.

“Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.” 

– Isaiah 58:6-7 NLT

“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” 

– Matthew 25:35-36 NLT

mourn

Death, as they say, is just a part of life. 

Recently it seems like Death has become prevalent in my life and the lives of those around me. Yesterday I found out my great-aunt passed away. She was an amazing woman who lived a full life. Today is a year and two months since my dear friend Ashley Cassell died. Last weekend a young woman who I didn't know, but who apparently touched the lives of many of my friends, passed away from cancer. Every day I hear stories of people dying all across this world. 

It breaks my heart. It brings us sadness and pain to know the ones we love are no longer here with us.

But one of the things I find so magnificent and hopeful about Christianity, and the story God is weaving with our lives, is that Death is not the end. Once again, I don't know your views on the afterlife or the supernatural or all this "Jesus" stuff, but for me I can't think of a more extraordinary belief than the great equalizer of Death being destroyed, subverted, conquered, disabled, and "laid in its grave.". Its grip is shattered and its overwhelming power taken away. This overcoming of Death ties in so well with God's redemptive, forgiving, merciful purpose in our world. As C. S. Lewis said, 

"We are told that Christ was killed for us, that His death has washed out our sins, and that by dying He has disabled death itself. That is the formula. That is Christianity."

Lewis was summarizing the Christian faith in the above passage, and I love "by dying He has disabled death itself." To me that is such a powerful statement. Paul wrote about death in his first letter to the Corinthians (15:55 NIV NLT MSG CEV), 

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 

"O death, where is your punishment? O grave, where is your sting?" 

"Who got the last word, Death? Death, who's afraid of you now?" 

"Death has lost the battle! Where is its victory? Where is its sting?"

From what I've read, Paul was referring to how sin and Law cause death, and subsequently how Christ's work on the cross disabled that death. It stings us and pains us, but it does not wield the ultimate power over us that it once did.

God's love is now the great equalizer. 

So we mourn and grieve with hope. 

Hope that death does not have the final word. 

Hope that mocks death's power. 

Hope that one day, our joy will be complete. 

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." - Revelation 21:4 NLT

Another Season

Second day of living in Lynchburg.

I've discovered, once again, that God provides.

Whether it's a friend who was willing to cook me dinner, a Comcast Sales Rep who had a ton of connections, random encouragement, or something as simple as getting a picture to hang (mostly) straight, I've seen some incredible instances of God's provision in this new chapter of my life. A new season, as I've come to realize it. I've discovered that I've walked through various seasons of life during the past 22 years. There was everything in childhood leading up to graduating from high school, then a four year adventure at Tech, then eight months of summer/fall that included a temporary job, and now this new place and upcoming job. It's amazing to think about as I've reflected on this to varying degrees the past month or so. Incredible to see the changes in myself and others as the years go by.

But as I think of the new chapter of life ahead of me, I'm drawn back to remembering the impact and influence of past seasons. Most recently my time at Tech. It was such a time of discovery and motion. And even now, as my life has shifted locations, I feel connected to my Hokie family. As my friend Franklin told me, we are connected by bonds far stronger than distance. As I got to hang out with a couple friends from Tech today in Lynchburg, I was reminded of that. Such a blessing.

And so I begin this next chapter of my life. May I remember the lessons I've been taught. One of which I've noticed has been to be as outgoing and friendly as possible. Whether it was helping a lady load her groceries or chatting with a man at a local diner, a smile and helping hand are always good things.