loving the it guy

Has anyone noticed how divine messages seem to come together in force when they are really needed? Our church has been having a series called God at the Office, the main thrust of which has been living out our beliefs in a way that they actually show during the work week. I think everyone, Christian or not, would agree that far too many people cliche-ly “talk the talk” without “walking the walk.” I heard the message and thought about a few ways I could do better. It didn’t really effect the way I worked this morning. Then I listened to Rob Bell’s sermon (All of You) for this week, and lo and behold, he was talking about the same thing. I started thinking more specifically about what I needed to change. Then later in the afternoon my daily verse and quote came from Sojo.net and it said…

“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” – Matthew 5:46-47

– and –

“Contemporary American churches in particular do not require following Christ in his example, spirit, and teachings as a condition of membership—either of entering into or continuing in fellowship of a denomination or a local church…. Most problems in contemporary churches can be explained by the fact that members have not yet decided to follow Christ.” – Dallas Willard
The Spirit of the Disciplines

Oh My.I got the message. I was convicted, perhaps almost repentant, then my coworkers decided the share with me the joke they had laughed at over lunch. They had been talking about who was going to be sent to the printer to oversee the printing of directory. My supervisor had said she would send me and a certain guy on our team. That was the joke. Everyone cracked up. They all thought it was hilarious. This is simply because I have made no attempt to hide the fact that I don’t think very much of him, personally or professionally. I can try and church it up and say he’s my “extra grace required” person, but it’s past that, I don’t like him, I don’t like the way he shares information and I don’t think he does his job well. And I have not kept this to myself. I may not say a lot with words, but my rolled eyes, my way of gesturing towards his cubicle, the things I imply but don’t quite say, my actions have been been plenty clear. I have been judgmental, mean-spirited, and just plain out non-loving. What a Christian example, no? And so now, it is painfully clear to me that my job as a person who wishes to follow the second greatest commandment as well as the first is that I have to show this guy Christ’s love. I am not excited about it. I’m not even sure how to start, though I did just get the idea that a couple of OJ’s be in order. The man loves him some juice. Anyway, even though no one is actually reading this blog I think that just typing this out and having it “out there” should help hold me accountable.

wired

So, I’ve made the leap. I called and signed up for phone and broadband service. It will be hooked up on the 10th. Life as we know it will be changing. Oh, how it will be changing. This morning Little Sebastian recited to me by memory several websites he was ready to visit. I’m feeling just a bit of panic.

inspiration

So, I’ve been spending the afternoon typesetting little pieces of text fillers that we use in the phone book when I came across this one…

Are you waiting for inspiration?

Deciding you are going to sit down to do some kind of work is often the hardest part of getting a task accomplished. Once you do sit down and begin, often something remarkable takes place, says Steven Pressfield (www.stevenpressfield.com) in The War of Art. A whole sequence of events is set into motion by that one act.

Pressfield says Somerset Maugham was once asked whether he wrote on a schedule or only when struck by inspiration. “I write only when inspiration strikes,” he replied. “Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.”

According to this all I need to do is set a time to make art and then do it. I am going to try. I have been doing better. I did manage to make some masks for our company’s New Year’s Eve Masquerade ball…