Moments vs. Minutes
More and more I'm realizing that we measure time in minutes but life is really made up of moments. And it is learning to plan, enjoy, and treasure those moments that makes for a great life.
So much of life boils down to this: are you reacting or proacting? I've learned that reacting is almost always a bad thing. The key to everything from parenting to pastoring is living in proactive-mode. And I think prayer is the key to proactivity!
At the beginning of 2007 we planned some family getaways. Life can be pretty hectic and stressful inside the beltway. We love living ten blocks from the Capitol, but we also need to get away. So we spent 24 hours up at Rocky Gap.
We had some great moments!
It was snowing when we got there, so we grabbed our sleds and headed to the nearest hill. Actually had blizzard conditions for about fifteen minutes--horizontal snow. Schweet. Our first hill was about a fifty-degree angle and it was pretty slick. I typically ride tandem with Josiah in front of me. Lora said the look on his face was priceless--sheer terror! He got a faceful of snow, but fear and fun are second cousins!
Had a blast swimming and sledding. And we hit a place called Puccini's right off of Interstate 68--I think it's exit 46. If you're ever driving through that part of the country, go downstairs and get some of the brickoven pizza!
It was a short getaway, but some great moments in those minutes!
So much of life boils down to this: are you reacting or proacting? I've learned that reacting is almost always a bad thing. The key to everything from parenting to pastoring is living in proactive-mode. And I think prayer is the key to proactivity!
At the beginning of 2007 we planned some family getaways. Life can be pretty hectic and stressful inside the beltway. We love living ten blocks from the Capitol, but we also need to get away. So we spent 24 hours up at Rocky Gap.
We had some great moments!
It was snowing when we got there, so we grabbed our sleds and headed to the nearest hill. Actually had blizzard conditions for about fifteen minutes--horizontal snow. Schweet. Our first hill was about a fifty-degree angle and it was pretty slick. I typically ride tandem with Josiah in front of me. Lora said the look on his face was priceless--sheer terror! He got a faceful of snow, but fear and fun are second cousins!
Had a blast swimming and sledding. And we hit a place called Puccini's right off of Interstate 68--I think it's exit 46. If you're ever driving through that part of the country, go downstairs and get some of the brickoven pizza!
It was a short getaway, but some great moments in those minutes!
3 Comments:
Hi Pastor Mark, I've never blogged before so I am not sure if I am doing this right. I actually wanted to pose a question to you, but it's not related to your Getaway, though I hope you and your family have a wonderful time. My finance and I have very much enjoyed attending NCC since the end of last year and plan to attend the upcoming small groups available. My question is about how to incorporate positive, self-improvement books or DVD's that promote positive beliefs and many similar to what our Christian principles also promote but are not created by Christians but secular groups. More specifically, we found a site that had a mini-movie called the "Secret". It's more a documentary than a movie and if you can get pass it's overly done marketing ploy, which I know seems a lot like the Di Vinci Code, but believe me has nothing to do with blasphemy against Christians, there is such a positive theory about the law of attraction and positive thinking. I'm attaching the link to the site below and I would love to get your insight and guidance on its content. We are aware it's important to be conscientious about relying on self-improvement books/methods that focus too much on relying on your self than on God. How can we incorporate both with the right balance or do you believe these kinds of theories should be avoided? Thanks for your time! A-Chau Tran (attran2002@yahoo.com)http://www.thesecret.tv/
A-Chau,
Good question. I just ordered "The Secret." While I haven't read it yet, I find that many of these "self-help" or "self-improvement" books are what I would call biblical shadows--they shadow a spiritual truth. Unfortunately, many of them fail to point to Christ as the one through whom we can do all things.
I think there are universal spiritual laws that people can tap into even if they aren't Christ followers and they work. And that is the testament to the way God has ordered the universe. For example, I think law of sowing and reaping is universal...
So...I think it's good to read everything we can get our hands on. Take what's good. Put it through a biblical filter. And toss out the rest....
My two cents,
PM
Hi Mark,
Been reading your blog for a little awhile and I don't normally post on blogs. However I saw the post by A-Chau and had just seen a "Docu-Ad" on TV the other night for "The Secret". It went for about 30 minutes.
"The Secret" looked incredibly New Age. Sure it's talking about positive thinking and the power of attraction etc which are pretty standard self-improvement concepts. However I would be very careful as it promoted the concept as some mystical force. A lot of the people on the doco had weird "spiritual/god" ideas as well. It was _very_ self centered about what _I_ want and how _I_ can get it, and how we can "tap into" this power source.
Anyway just my two cents worth.
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