How Difficult the Challenge

Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says,

"In the time of my favor I heard you,

and in the day of salvation I helped you."

I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

2 Corinthians 5:11-6:2; italics added (NIV)

The Forgotten Depression

Thanks to ChrisB for a link to an excellent article on the economic depression and recovery that occurred in 1920-21. It's a somewhat lengthy piece, but if you are at all cognizant of and/or concerned about the current stimulus efforts, it is well worth reading in its entirety.

Warren Harding and the Forgotten Depression of 1920

Contentment by Oliver Wendell Holmes

Contentment by Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Man wants but little here below"

Little I ask; my wants are few;
I only wish a hut of stone,
(A very plain brown stone will do,)
That I may call my own;
And close at hand is such a one,
In yonder street that fronts the sun.

Plain food is quite enough for me;
Three courses are as good as ten;
If Nature can subsist on three,
Thank Heaven for three. Amen!
I always thought cold victual nice;
My choice would be vanilla-ice.

I care not much for gold or land;
Give me a mortgage here and there,
Some good bank-stock, some note of hand,
Or trifling railroad share,
I only ask that Fortune send
A little more than I shall spend.

Honors are silly toys, I know,
And titles are but empty names;
I would, perhaps, be Plenipo,
But only near St. James;
I'm very sure I should not care
To fill our Gubernator's chair.

Jewels are baubles; 't is a sin
To care for such unfruitful things;
One good-sized diamond in a pin,
Some, not so large, in rings,
A ruby, and a pearl, or so,
Will do for me; - I laugh at show.

My dame should dress in cheap attire;
(Good, heavy silks are never dear;)
I own perhaps I might desire
Some shawls of true Cashmere,
Some marrowy crapes of China silk,
Like wrinkled skins on scalded milk.

I would not have the horse I drive
So fast that folks must stop and stare;
An easy gait - two forty-five
Suits me; I do not care;
Perhaps, for just a single spurt,
Some seconds less would do no hurt.

Of pictures, I should like to own
Titians and Raphaels three or four,
I love so much their style and tone,
One Turner, and no more,
(A landscape, - foreground golden dirt,
The sunshine painted with a squirt.)

Of books but few, - some fifty score
For daily use, and bound for wear;
The rest upon an upper floor;
Some little luxury there
Of red morocco's gilded gleam
And vellum rich as country cream.

Busts, cameos, gems, such things as these,
Which others often show for pride,
I value for their power to please,
And selfish churls deride;
One Stradivarius, I confess,
Two Meerschaums, I would fain possess.

Wealth's wasteful tricks I will not learn,
Nor ape the glittering upstart fool;
Shall not carved tables serve my turn,
But all must be of buhl?
Give grasping pomp its double share,
I ask but one recumbent chair.

Thus humble let me live and die,
Nor long for Midas' golden touch;
If Heaven more generous gifts deny,
I shall not miss them much,
Too grateful for the blessing lent
Of simple tastes and mind content!

Discipline

Discipline. Now there's a word for you. Who wants to be disciplined? The very word connotes a lack of spontaneity that sucks the life out of you. And discipline won't get you on television. Think about it. Who are the sports players who get a majority of the media's attention? The ones who aren't disciplined; the ones who do dumb and provocative things (like Plaxico Burress, who recently shot himself in the leg). Who gets to be on reality shows? Typically only complete imbeciles make for "good TV" nowadays, and the less they can control themselves, the better. And why are there so many home foreclosures out there? Among other reasons, many people weren't disciplined enough to only buy as much house as they could afford.

Discipline. My family's recent income adjustment (taking the form of a 10-month-old boy) has made us become much more disciplined financially. As a result, we have a strict monthly budget that we follow, and if we want to make a major purchase, we have to figure out a way to save up the money for it. Instant material gratification is all but gone at our house. We have chosen to be disciplined financially to allow for my wife to stay home and raise Brodie and to better our financial position at the same time. Let me tell you, that requires lots of discipline!

Discipline. One of the distinctive features of Denver Seminary is their mentoring program. All students are required to do a number of learning contracts in which the goal is to become better in an area of spiritual formation or at a ministry skill. Students are required to write out a needs assessment, a goal statement, and at least six specific actions to take to achieve the goal. Students then meet with mentors and small groups for accountability.

Discipline. I used to be a competitive runner. I ran some pretty respectable times and placed in some pretty tough races. To get to that point, though, required running, on average, 8-10 miles per day, every day, whether I wanted to or not, year-round. There were countless days where I was tired, or weather conditions were extreme, or I simply didn't want to run. But I did anyway.

Even though living a disciplined life isn't always fun and usually very hard, it is also very rewarding. I think about our financial discipline. Through it, God is teaching us how to rely on him and helping us to reevaluate what we really need and what we can live without. And you know what? We are just as happy now as ever. When I performed what seemed like countless learning contracts, it was those disciplined times the Spirit used to lay a strong spiritual foundation in my life (one that has been put to the test on many occasions!). I was able to be highly competitive as a runner solely because I put in the countless miles of hard work to get there, and I have some great memories and experiences because of it.

In short, the best and strongest parts in my life are due to discipline. Through dedicated, structured, purposeful and hard work, God has allowed me to achieve some pretty impressive things, and I truly think my family and I have a great life due to the fact that we have learned to be disciplined. But I never wanted to be on TV anyway.