D.E.E.P. World View Thoughts

    

     DEEP:  Describe Everything Extra Plain

     If you are looking for a deep philosophical discussion on the finer points of worldviews, you’ve come to the wrong place.   These thoughts are for someone (like me) who has never heard of the term “world view.” 

       Six months ago I discovered something called a “world view” operating in my life.    

           Everyone has a world view.  Greg the gas station owner, Jennifer my personal banker, Osma the Islamic terrorist, my neighbor Rodney, a farmer who doesn’t believe in using chemical weed control…everybody.

     In layman’s terms, it is how I look @ life….how I process reality.

     Make no mistake, you do have a world view and your worldview is a powerful force in your life.

     Your world view currently shapes your emotions, your thoughts, your goals, your joys, your frustrations, things you place value on, things you consider trivial…everything….your perspectives on money, weath, capital punishment, morality, character, career, parenting….did I mention everything?

Post modernism is the belief that no one world view or belief system can claim to be “The Truth”.  

      Just because I profess to be a Christian is no guarantee I have a biblical “world view”.  In fact, if George Barna is correct, less than 9% of Christians do.  With that in, mind, I was interested to understand what would constitute a Christian worldview.   Jim , a friend recommended reading a book  titled Think Biblically.   Here is a quote from the back cover:

     “What we think shapes who we are.  That’s why the Bible tells us,”Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” (Romans 12:2a)  In a world of differing voices competing for our allegiance, we must learn to “think biblically” so we can disginguish good from evil.  God is the Creator of this world; His voice- His Word- must guide our thoughts and lives.

    Here is a link to  that book:

      http://www.amazon.com/Think-Biblically-Recovering-Christian-Worldview/dp/1581344120

A Note To My Blog Readers

     Thank you for taking the time to read my musings!   I wanted to communicate a quick note to each of you that reads my heart to heart blog.   I have some good news and some bad news….first the bad news.  I am going to take a Sabathical with this blog “heart to heart”  The good news…I am still writing on a different blog it’s called  “I Also Live On A Farm”  Here is the that web address:

http://ialsoliveonafarm.wordpress.com/

Be sure to stop on over.   My wife and I do live on a farm, run a bed and breakfast, own a small apple orchard, and dabble in several other activities as well.  It just seemed that some of the things I wanted to write about would fit better in a blog specfically targeted to those topics….and I don’t want to spend too much  time writing for  both blogs

       I also want to write a specfic note to the several readers over at Blogowogo.  Thank you, thank you for voting for the heart to heart blog the past couple of months!     While I haven’t specfically heard from too many of you, I know you are there by your votes. 

     Here is the web address to that site as well:

 http://www.blogowogo.com/  Basically how that site works is if you read a blog you like you can rate it from 1 to 5.  My blog(s) are both found under the “general” category.  The better your ratings, the higher you climb on the list.

House Wife By Day, Bat Catcher By Night

My wife is one of the most easy going people you will ever meet.   Little did she imagine “For better or worse”  included  catching bats .

     On our acreage  there are two old barns.  We’ve outfitted the large red barn to host  concerts and  parties.     It dawned on me last Fall we had  a problem with bats when I noticed 3 spots on the floor covered with bat “guano”.

      Skip ahead to a month ago….

      Someone called,  wanting  to rent our barn  for a bridal shower,  a couple of weeks after that, our niece wanted to host a barn dance .  That ment  we  needed to agressively deal with our  ”flying mice”  (that’s what   Opa used to call  them in Low German.) So I came up with a plan.  Set up some scaffolding,  sneek up on them while they sleep,  scrape them into a bucket,  take them on  a road trip and  release.   Piece of cake, right?  Did I mention, I hate bats?  They really gross me out, plus I know they sometimes carry rabies.

      Last Tuesday I finally decided it was time .  We set the scaffolding  up on Monday.  The temperature was in the 90′s that day but I put on a hooded sweatshirt just so they wouldn’t  drop into  the back of my shirt.  When I got to the top of the 20 ft scaffolding, the first thing I notice is  the bats were not asleep. One of them is on guard duty, his eyes are open.    He  starts  backing up  when I am  still several  feet away.  I think  to myself,  this 5 gallon bucket I have is way too small, so I  climb  back down and find  a  garbage can.    I climb  back up, garbage can in one   hand, rake in the other, hooded sweat shirt on, sweating like a dog.  It is at this point, the bats start moving  .  They start  dropping from the rafters.    I knock six of them into the can.     They  try to crawl out  so I have  to keep swirling the can to keep them off balance.  At this point, I called for my wife.  “Could you get me the 5 gal.  bucket with the lid?”   She goes  back into the barn,   seemed to take forever.  Would you believe, I  left the bucket on  top of the scaffolding?  So she climbs up the scaffolding,  bats swooping around her ,  retrieves the bucket, we make the transfer,  I take my road trip.   Mission acomplished.  Now that my friend  is love. 

Imagine…..If Norman Rockwell or P. Buckley Moss Offered to mentor you

  

     I’m building an addition on the home of  an  artist.  As I entered their home this morning,  a pen and ink sketch caught my eye.  

      “Maybe I can barter with her for a portion of the final bill“   I thought to myself.  

        As I presented my bill to the husband I asked ,“Could your wife draw a man plowing with a yoke of oxen?”   (see my post on Lyman Dillon)

     “I think so,  why do you ask?”   He said.

      I told him my idea of bartering.   He smiled and said, “Well, to be honest,  I’m the one that taught her how to draw.”     That statement took me by surprise,  I knew he worked as a janitor.  It is his wife with the reputation for doing stunning pen and ink drawings. For the next ten minutes he told me  his  story….

     He went to college and majored in art.    His  final semester, he was asked by his professor  if he would like to teach part time that Summer.  Something  happened  the last minute to skuttle the  opportunity, he walks away in disgust.   30 years later he gets a   job as a janitor,  decides it would be fun to pick an art student that shows potential and ”invest” in  them.

        These are his words…”  I went into the art room after school,  looked at all  of the art work on the walls.  (Can’t you see him leaning on a broom, studying the pictures with the eye of a master)  One picture  caught my eye.    I could see talent.   Remember,  I’m new in this school, I know no one,  so I ask the art teacher, “Who is so and so”?  (At this point, he showed me some samples of  her  work for the school play)  “She has an eye for color, she has perspective, and she has that ability to crank something out overnight.” 

     I came away from our conversation thinking this guy reminds me of Mr Holland’s Opus . 

      Do you have anyone in your life who has mentored you in some way?  A teacher, a coach,  a relative, a neighbor, your pastor, your parents?….If so, take a minute to look them up and tell them “THANK YOU”   again.    Here’s another idea,  what if you  were to do  a little “mentoring” yourself ?  Pick an area of your life you feel passionate about and make a difference.    Thanks for reading!  DM

Celebrating Dad’s 75th Birthday

    There is an  energy I feel when I am with my siblings.  Each of us has been so richly blessed.  We’re all  married, raising families, have careers we enjoy  (two in construction, one a nurse , and the other in  real estate), and are currently healthy.  What more could you ask for?

     I’m not sure just when it started, but  a few years ago,  dad started taking  each one of us out for breakfast at the local truck stop  when our birthday’s rolled around.  As a family growing up, we didn’t express our affection for each other outwardly. The first time dad and I went out for breakfast alone, to be honest, we both had to work at it.  What do you talk about when you’ve never really related on that  level?…But year after year, it gradually become a tradition.  This past year, for dad’s 74th birthday I invited him out, (and secretly invited my siblings).  It was awesome!  The regulars at the truck stop were all jealous   Today we did it again, where does the time go?  This time it is for dad’s 75th birthday.    He still works full time (says retirement is not in his vocabulary) and was going to spend the day mowing grass in the waterways on the farm.

     Today’s post then  is a tribute to my dad.  Here are a few things I appreciate about him:

     First of all,  I am proud to be your son.   Again and again, I meet people who know you,  who’ve done business with you,  worked for you, and without fail, they tell me you are a man of integrity.   In 1973 when you were asked to build  a  local bank, you did it on a handshake.   That has always spoke volumes to me.   I love your work ethic.  You got it from your dad, (My Opa), and you’ve passed it on to all of your kids.   I appreciate the fact that you’ve made an intentional effort to express your love to all of us, even if you  sometimes have a hard time putting it  into words.   I appreciate the way you love and honor my mom.    Thank you.   You taught me to look a person in the eye when talking to him and the value of a firm handshake.   You and mom gave me a rich spiritual heritage that has already show up in my children.   I am thankful that you began this tradition of going out for breakfast on our birthdays.  It was a great idea.  Well, that’s it for now.  Love, your son.

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.  Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!”  Psalm 127:3-5