Efficiency

"Efficiency is measured by the difference between what is being done and what can be done. A Dutch woman in the long ago, for example, would sit with one foot on the spinning wheel or churn while with the other she rocked the cradle. With her hands she knitted socks for her husband, while on her knee rested a book from which she improved her mind through study.

"And all the while she sat upon a cheese, pressing it for market."

A Cold

Uggghhh!!!

Beautiful day outside, but I have another cold.

All I want to do is sit in the La-Z-Boy and either read or doze. I did manage to get a few groceries and do a couple of loads of laundry. Other than that, today has been a complete loss.

Letter to the Editor

How interesting that people who pride themselves on their secularism, even atheism, now see the need to come apart for awhile ("Sabbath's Secular Lure," Faith and Values E-1, Saturday, March 15, 2008). So Jacob Grier spends his Sundays socializing in a coffee shop, unplugging his laptop and conversing with friends. In other words, he is using the seventh day for his form of resting.

As illustrated in Saturday’s article, our society as a whole sees the need for rest, of one kind or another, one day a week. Even as local Anderson people in the last year were loudly proclaiming the "right to shop on Sundays," hence the revocation of the blue laws, now we acknowledge that people do need some time of rest. Ask the small business owners in the mall, who are required to be open seven days, what one day of rest each week would do to help them with staffing, with morale, with being fresh on the job.

Every person alive refers to the "words written on our hearts," as written in Romans 2, even if he refuses to acknowledge them or the One who created these laws. Even F. Scott Fitzgerald, a man not known for his Christian lifestyle, reveals this deep knowledge as he writes with power in GREAT GATSBY of the incredible emptiness of a life of partying and reveling. In our hearts we know what is true, whether we are willing to admit it or not—truth that includes rest on the seventh day as well as much else.

Flying Out of O'Hare at Night

I flew from O'Hare at night yesterday, after being with family for Uncle Ralph's funeral that morning. The sky was cloudless and the lights of Chicago arched on as far as I could see, a beautiful sight. Who wants to read when there's such beauty below. Most of the lights were in straight lines, intersecting at right angles and forming squares. It's easy to tell when one is flying above the midwest vs. flying above the southeast, where roads and lights meander over and around mountains, foothills, and creeks.

As we traveled on, the pilot came on the intercom and told the passengers that we were over Indianapolis; that next we'd fly south of Cincinnati, then Lexington KY, then Asheville NC, then Greenville-Spartanburg. I followed the path and saw it all. Amazing how we can travel that far in an hour and a half.
On the initial flight on Saturday, we flew above the clouds most of the way. Twice I saw another plane also flying in the stratosphere, above the big storm that crippled much of the eastern side of the upper midwest. We didn't get this close (this is not my photo), not even too close for comfort, but it was interesting to see other planes winging their way in other directions, six miles above the earth, 500 or so miles per hour, full of passengers, no traffic lights, no wrecks, no road rage.

A Passing

Uncle Ralph passed away last night. So once again we are reminded of the finality of life.

Mark Twain famously said, "Live your life in such a way that when your time comes, even the undertaker will be sad."

But I have heard a similar quotation that is far fuller in meaning: "Live your life in such a way that, when your time comes to die, all you have to do is die."

Amazing Circle

I'm using first names only to maintain anonymity.

Last week we met Mike and Betty. Turns out they knew Joey when they lived in the same town in Alabama. Joey eventually married Mary. Mary is my sister. I am married to Mike. Mike's brother is Steve. Steve's son is Jonathan. And Jonathan married Mike and Betty's daughter last Saturday. The connections one finds, particularly in Christian circles, are amazing!