bierkergaard

I am a big believer in rest. Although I work hard when I work, I have no problem turning off the Type A switch. Which probably makes me not a Type A personality. How about a Type B+? I don't expect to be back in the blogging chair until after July 18th. See you in a couple of weeks!

I remember a few years ago, I lead a weekly Bible Study for men at a church. During the Singles Class, I stood up and did a little promo for the weekly study. One of the first things I said was, "If you can't be in attendance weekly, without a legit excuse like your car died on the way over, DON'T BOTHER COMING. And make your decision now or very soon as to whether you are going to commit or not." Now, don't get me wrong. I wanted men to come, I hoped for them to come. But, I was not going to give the vibe that I was begging anyone, pleading, wheedling. Do IT or Don't Do IT. Your call...just don't be a Maybe Middler and Wishy-Washer. Most people, catching the whiff of desperation for affirmation, head in the opposite direction. No one respects an interpersonal beggar for approval. We might have pity on him or her, but have some dignity man and do something besides sticking out your psychic hand for affirmation. The results? Probably the best attended Bi...

I picked up a bumper sticker at a Pub recently from the Rogue Brewery . On it there are the words: DARE, RISK, DREAM. Typically, the word Rogue is a negative term. I will let you decide if Sarah Palin and her book has made the word less or more so. Initially, I taped the bumper sticker to my computer lap top with the backing still on it in case I wanted to remove it. Just a second ago, I committed fully, and pulled the backing off and affixed it to my Dell. No turning back. Is that not an illustration of how to accomplish great things? We have to stick and commit. If we go taping ourselves to the backs of things, it leads to easier removal but also to tepid efforts. Now, if I take this bumper sticker off the back of my lap top it is going to be a mess...I am all in. Consequences be damned. My summer vacation officially began today at noon (why else would I be blogging at 3:26 am?) and my creed for the summer is DARE, RISK, DREAM. A Kerouac quote to light the fireworks... "Great th...

I am listening right now to a sermon about anger by Tim Keller . This is the second hearing. Anger is a good visitor but a dangerous resident of the soul. When I became a Christian, I was surprised to read that Jesus became angry at times. Yet, he was purposeful and measured in his anger. It was episodic and not omnipresent. I have spent a good deal of my adult life trying to figure out how to be skillful in this difficult, dangerous, and necessary emotion. Anger, if it were black in color, has a place in the emotional crayon box. It should be one color of many, particularly useful in providing boundaries of right and wrong. Or, to convey a sense of strength, seriousness, and somberness. We should put on anger or pick it up when appropriate and useful. It gives us access to a necessary place, a place that we visit intentionally and mindfully. Then, take it off, put it down, and leave. Lay it down in tranquility. And, re-enter the world of emotional color where black has a place and ...

People clamor for change. Politicians promise it, infomercials promote it, our culture's ethos embraces it. Yet, when we forensically examine what we often mean by change, what we really mean is that often that we want either other people to change or our circumstances to change more to our liking and benefit. We want to stay the same, like the sun in the sky, and everyone else move around us. A helioselfish view of ego cosmology. How about a change that could end in a Cross, metaphorically or literally...or some similar end? When God speaks of change, it goes to the issue of character. Here we are often wary and resist the Lord's work. Are not most of us are actually OK with how we are and don't want to be put in the position where major changes start to happen? It is surely safe to say that this is because of sin that we do so. But, what kind of sin? Our desire to be in control and practice self-protection more than anything. When we lose control and are vulnerable, all...