Mental Post-Its

Thoughts, Notes, and General Mental Mayhem


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Yet

I am currently reading through Psalms. I gotta say, it’s not my favorite. I know many people enjoy reading Psalms and Proverbs for their comfort, insight and wisdom. But I really have a hard time getting through them, and always have. I think it is because there is no real narrative. Lots of people feel that way about some of the other books of the Old Testament, but for me, I’d rather read through something like Lamentations because at least there is a story flowing through the book.

Anyway, the other night I read Psalms 22 and it struck me in such a profound way. I’ve read it before, but I guess that’s one of the beautiful things about the Bible…you can read through it over and over, and still find new insights. It speaks to me differently depending on where I am in life.

Psalm 22

New Living Translation (NLT)

1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
2 Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.

3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted in you,
and you rescued them.
5 They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you and were never disgraced.

6 But I am a worm and not a man.
I am scorned and despised by all!
7 Everyone who sees me mocks me.
They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
8 “Is this the one who relies on the LORD?
Then let the LORD save him!
If the LORD loves him so much,
let the LORD rescue him!”

9 Yet you brought me safely from my mother’s womb
and led me to trust you at my mother’s breast.
10 I was thrust into your arms at my birth.
You have been my God from the moment I was born.

11 Do not stay so far from me,
for trouble is near,
and no one else can help me.
12 My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls;
fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in!
13 Like lions they open their jaws against me,
roaring and tearing into their prey.
14 My life is poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax,
melting within me.
15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
16 My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;
an evil gang closes in on me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
My enemies stare at me and gloat.
18 They divide my garments among themselves
and throw dicefor my clothing.

19 O LORD, do not stay far away!
You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!
20 Save me from the sword;
spare my precious life from these dogs.
21 Snatch me from the lion’s jaws
and from the horns of these wild oxen.

22 I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will praise you among your assembled people.
23 Praise the LORD, all you who fear him!
Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob!
Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
He has not turned his back on them,
but has listened to their cries for help.

25 I will praise you in the great assembly.
I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied.
All who seek the LORD will praise him.
Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
27 The whole earth will acknowledge the LORD and return to him.
All the families of the nations will bow down before him.
28 For royal power belongs to the LORD.
He rules all the nations.

29 Let the rich of the earth feast and worship.
Bow before him, all who are mortal,
all whose lives will end as dust.
30 Our children will also serve him.
Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.
31 His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.
They will hear about everything he has done.

I’d like to draw your attention to the “yet” at the beginning of verses three and nine. One of the things I’ve always loved about David, as the supposed writer of Psalms or at least many of them, is that he was a bit bipolar. He is loving life in one verse and cursing it in the next. I like to think it’s the artist in him. We are a sensitive bunch. I have no proof, but I suspect we are way more likely to experience things like depression than the concrete thinkers. So, in always being led by my heart and forever a drama geek, I appreciate a good show of dramatic flair.

And as I started this Psalm, I smiled at myself as I could see David heading for one of those hairpin turns. But then I got to verse three and I stopped. I reread it. I pondered. I kept reading. I saw it again in verse nine. I reread it. I pondered. I finished the Psalm.

It dawned on me.

David seemed to be having a pretty bad day. Like Jack Bauer 24 bad from the sound of it. But in the midst of it, he was able to have perspective. He got outside his circumstance to recognize God for who He was and is. I thought that was pretty remarkable. After all, we get pretty selfish (or at least I do) when everything seems to be against us. We (I) tend to draw inward and be consumed with our (my) own hardships. It’s easy to play the victim or remember all the other times things went badly. Especially if this has been a recent trend. And we know from reading any five, random Psalms that David had his share of bad days.

I admire, though, that he took time to talk himself through it. He stepped back and took a deep breath. The beginning of the Psalm has such a different tone than the end. At first he laments the things that are going wrong. Then he takes the time to recognize that God is still good, even when things are bad. He wavers a bit after that, but devotes the remainder of the verses to how he will still love and serve the Lord in spite of his circumstance.

I guess it’s easy to see in times like these why David was a man after God’s own heart. He was honest with God. He loved God. He shared his life with God. He even did a lot of complaining to God. He composed music and poetry for God. The foundation of it all came back to the fact that he desired a relationship with God. It’s a beautiful example of both God and David’s character.

Bad times will always be a part of life on this earth, yet God and His promises remain the same. There’s a time for eternal laughter, singing, joy and happiness…but not yet.


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My 2012 Theme

Well, as some of you may know, a few friends and myself pick a theme for the year, and have done so for the last few years. This tradition is loosely based on the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. My friend, Daron, inaugurated it about five years or so back. Since then, I’ve really latched on to it and look forward to discussing my theme with close friends.

The basic idea is that instead of merely looking back at the year to see what happened at the end, you start the year by looking ahead to see what you think the year might be about. Then you use the theme as a lens in which to view things throughout the year and see if you can incorporate it. At it’s basis, it’s a way to be proactive/responsive to the year, and not let the year just happen to you. It’s an intentional way to live rather than reactive…which is how I prefer to live.

Now, come December, I start this process again. I evaluate the year, see how things went, remember what happened, take stock of my responses or reactions. Sometimes the theme has changed completely over the course of the year. Sometimes the theme still holds true.

2011 was an interesting year. Very different from others for a variety of reasons. After taking a hard look, I feel like the theme “Prioritize” held up pretty well for the first half of the year. For the second half, I’d say it was more like “Heal” because it was a time to recoup from all the changes life brought. Lots of changes during the year and the few months at the end of 2010. So, the latter half of the year gave me time for myself to rest. That’s not something I have ever been great at doing, in any way shape or form, so perhaps it was good that it was thrust upon me.

But I feel like I learned a few things along the way. After all, what a waste it would’ve been for me to go through it and not learn anything. And now I feel like I’m up for something similar and something different in 2012.

Anyway, all this is leading up to my 2012 theme. And after a period of reflection, I have decided to go with “Prioritize” again. I want to give it another go and see how 2012 shakes out differently. I believe it will, and I look forward to seeing the ways that it might.

So here goes….

Word:
“Prioritize”

Verse:
Proverbs 16:3, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

Song:

“Empty Me” by Jeremy Camp


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Book Review: 2011

181613924Here’s a list of books I either listened to or read in 2011. I recommend most any of them. It was a little lighter load than in years past, but there was a lot of transition in my life this year to distract me. Hopefully there will be a longer list in 2012, but at least these were good ones to keep me informed and entertained!

 

(Note: Amazon links are affiliate links.)


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Human Trafficking Stats

I went to a screening of Nefarious, Merchant of Soles, a couple of weeks ago. It was a documentary on human trafficking, and was probably one of the best I’ve ever seen – if you can say that about the subject matter. You can take a peek at http://www.nefariousdocumentary.com.

While there, I received a couple of pieces with stats on human trafficking. They are a bit horrifying but I thought I’d share, because ignorance isn’t bliss and knowledge is power. Consider yourself educated after reading this, and then do something.

National and International:

  • 27 million people are enslaved around the world, which is more than the 9 million during the Trans-Atlantic Slavery period – Free the Slaves, Kevin Bales
  • Human trafficking (sexual, domestic, industrial and agricultural) is a 32 billion dollar per year industry, bringing in more revenue than the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB combined. – United Nations
  • Human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal industry around the world. – US Department of Health and Human Services
  • There are nearly two million children involved in the international commercial sex trade. – UNICEF
  • 161 countries out of 192 are involved in human trafficking. – United Nations
  • 80% of all trafficking victims are women and children who are forced into the commercial sex trade. – US Department of State
  • The average age of entry into commercial sex slavery int he US is 13. – US Department of Justice
  • Over 17,000 people are brought into the US each year for trafficking purposes. – US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2006
  • The average age of a girl entering prostitution in the US is 12 years of age. – Domestic Sex Trafficking of Minors
  • Her life expectancy after entering is just seven years. – Shared Hope International, “Demand: A Comparative Examination of Sex Tourism and Trafficking in Jamaica, Japan, The Netherlands and the US” Sharedhope.org, July 2007
  • The two other most common forms of slavery in America are domestic servitude and agricultural workers. – The Slave Next Door by Kevin Bales

Atlanta:

  • Atlanta is a major hub for human trafficking in our country.
  • 200-500 underage girls are raped for profit in our city each month. – Adolescent Girls in Georgia’s Sex Trade: Tracking Study Results, Atlanta, GA: The Shapiro Group 2011
  • 7200 menu purchase underage girls for sex each month in Atlanta. 42% of these men come from the upper north side outside the perimeter, 26% from inside the perimeter, 23% from the south metro area, and 9% from the vicinity of the airport. With approximately 3 million adult men in Georgia, 23% have purchase sex with females and 20,700 do so in any given month. – Georgia Demand Study, 2009 by the Shapiro Group, Atlanta, GA
  • 90% of the runaways wind up in prostitution. – Hidden in Plain View: The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls in Atlanta, 2005

Local Organizations:

  • Not For Sale Georgia (www.facebook.com/NotForSaleGA)
  • Out of Darkness (www.outofdarkness.com)
  • Wellspring Living (www.wellspringliving.org)
  • Street Grace (www.streetgrace.org)
  • Meet Justice (www.meetjustice.org)
  • International Justice Mission (www.ijm.org)


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Lessons From Disney

Last Monday, Brian White came to speak in staff meeting. He works in the mobile game department at Disney, and also spoke in our senior pastor track last year at The Orange Conference. I really enjoyed hearing about the inner workings of Disney and their cultural. He gave us some really valuable insight, and I thought I’d share it with you.

  1. You can’t fake enthusiasm. People can tell if you are being authentic or not.
  2. Insane talent is not enough. Be sure to play well with others.
  3. Failure can be tolerated, lack of judgement cannot. Failure can still be a path to success. If you’re failing, you probably aren’t trying very hard to make a difference. Lack of judgement is how you treat others or conduct yourself. Do others have to do damage control on your behalf?
  4. Think of art as a team sport. No one can be something big all on their own.
  5. Concentrate on psychographics, not demographics. Disney uses the word “guests” and not “customers.” And they create their experience around the Compass (Needs, Emotions, Stereotypes and Wants – North, East, South, West).
  6. Criticism alone is not valuable feedback. Always include a suggestion or solution.
  7. Focus is the key to organizational momentum. Bobby Iger, former CEO, says their focus is creativity, innovation and going into foreign markets. Examples: Shakespeare In Love vs. Pirates of the Caribbean. Shakespeare In Love was a great movie, but not near the marketing options. Pirates involves many of the staff, so they can rally around the same project.
  8. The guest experience is everyone’s responsibility. This is the thing that really matters. If you think this is beneath you or doesn’t effect you, you have the wrong mindset.

Of course, it was awesome to see all of this unpacked over two hours, but I hope you can still gain some insight from these notes. Now, let’s all go to Disney World for the object lessons!