. . .the more I am amazed at how much technology there is in my life. Seriously, I can still remember the world of cloth diapers and no ATMs and three channels of television. Now, I am in trouble if I don't answer my cell phone at 9:30 at night.
. . .the more easily people can disrupt my life. I remember when you had to be at home to have someone call you, and there was no way to communicate without either calling or going to see someone. Now, people I barely know can reach me on Facebook all day.
. . .the more complicated my life gets. I always assumed that life would get more simple as I got older. Well, there goes that idea.
. . .the more junk I have to know, especially passwords. We should quit teaching vocabulary in our schools and start teaching password theory. Why does every website or program have a different rule about passwords?
. . .the more "labor saving" devices impact everyone but me. Seriously, homemakers have seen their work loads totally changed by machines for the better. Office life, on the other hand, is worse than ever. Everything has to be done right now and e-mailed to someone.
. . .the more options I have and the less energy I have to choose among them. There are so many channels, so many movies, so many things to watch, so many things to read, that I cannot make up my mind. What I really want is a "peace channel" where everything I want is put in one place. Too bad TV Land updated their lineup.
. . .the less I care about my yard. I see retired guys working in their yards all the time. I cannot really imagine ever enjoying that activity. Rock gardens begin to make sense.
. . .the more I resent bad preaching. Seriously, I am investing an hour of my life to hear some of these sermons? You must be kidding me. How can you not love and be excited about preaching the Word?
. . .the more I dislike Halloween. Having people I don't know come to my door expecting me to have purchased candy and to give it to them in exchange for nothing is not my idea of a fun evening.
. . .the more I begin to understand pain. As a doctor friend once told me, children often complain of pain as if they were dying, not because they are dishonest, but because even a little pain is so unusual to them. As I age, I learn that pain is not an occasional event, but a daily partner, from getting out of bed in the morning to getting back in at the end of the day. If most young people ever had to experience the pain older people experience continually, they would be amazed.
. . .the more I wonder about what I have failed to learn. I am more and more bothered both by not knowing more about people and also about not being more concerned about them. I think I have reached the stage where (1) I feel I should know more people better but (2) I do not really want to know them better. What I want (for myself) is peace and quiet. What I want (in my life) is to be helpful and useful. Trouble is, these things are not the same.
. . .the more I become a "moat and drawbridge" Christian. You know the type, I would be perfectly happy if my house had a moat and a drawbridge that I could draw up at the end of the day, so no one could bother me. Good thing I don't have a backhoe, or my yard might disappear.
. . .the more I love preaching and teaching. I have finally reached a stage where I would rather preach and teach than do anything else I can do with my vocational life. Everything else seems, somehow, less worthy than before. Eternal things seem so much more important.
. . .the more easily people can disrupt my life. I remember when you had to be at home to have someone call you, and there was no way to communicate without either calling or going to see someone. Now, people I barely know can reach me on Facebook all day.
. . .the more complicated my life gets. I always assumed that life would get more simple as I got older. Well, there goes that idea.
. . .the more junk I have to know, especially passwords. We should quit teaching vocabulary in our schools and start teaching password theory. Why does every website or program have a different rule about passwords?
. . .the more "labor saving" devices impact everyone but me. Seriously, homemakers have seen their work loads totally changed by machines for the better. Office life, on the other hand, is worse than ever. Everything has to be done right now and e-mailed to someone.
. . .the more options I have and the less energy I have to choose among them. There are so many channels, so many movies, so many things to watch, so many things to read, that I cannot make up my mind. What I really want is a "peace channel" where everything I want is put in one place. Too bad TV Land updated their lineup.
. . .the less I care about my yard. I see retired guys working in their yards all the time. I cannot really imagine ever enjoying that activity. Rock gardens begin to make sense.
. . .the more I resent bad preaching. Seriously, I am investing an hour of my life to hear some of these sermons? You must be kidding me. How can you not love and be excited about preaching the Word?
. . .the more I dislike Halloween. Having people I don't know come to my door expecting me to have purchased candy and to give it to them in exchange for nothing is not my idea of a fun evening.
. . .the more I begin to understand pain. As a doctor friend once told me, children often complain of pain as if they were dying, not because they are dishonest, but because even a little pain is so unusual to them. As I age, I learn that pain is not an occasional event, but a daily partner, from getting out of bed in the morning to getting back in at the end of the day. If most young people ever had to experience the pain older people experience continually, they would be amazed.
. . .the more I wonder about what I have failed to learn. I am more and more bothered both by not knowing more about people and also about not being more concerned about them. I think I have reached the stage where (1) I feel I should know more people better but (2) I do not really want to know them better. What I want (for myself) is peace and quiet. What I want (in my life) is to be helpful and useful. Trouble is, these things are not the same.
. . .the more I become a "moat and drawbridge" Christian. You know the type, I would be perfectly happy if my house had a moat and a drawbridge that I could draw up at the end of the day, so no one could bother me. Good thing I don't have a backhoe, or my yard might disappear.
. . .the more I love preaching and teaching. I have finally reached a stage where I would rather preach and teach than do anything else I can do with my vocational life. Everything else seems, somehow, less worthy than before. Eternal things seem so much more important.