Draw from the Well

What's In A Desk?

"If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what is an empty desk a sign of?" Albert Einstein

I love my desks.  I have one at work and one at home.  I love them both.  At them I am surrounded by monitors, papers, books, and little things which inspire me.  I always work with a lamp. 

While I like to have an organized desk...my desks are rarely empty.  I work in organized piles.

Watch this little video about the evolution of the desk, and be inspired.

Desk - Music and Sound Design from Aaron Trinder Film:Motion:Music on Vimeo.

 

HT: Life Hacker

Good Quote

from my friend Laurel:

"Efficiency is concerned with doing things right.  Effectiveness is doing the right things."

from P. Drucker

Do You Have Mental Debt?

Great quote:

"Just remember that every email you read, re-read, and re-re-re-re-re-read as it sits in that big dumb pile is actually incurring mental debt on your behalf. The interest you pay on email you’re reluctant to deal with is compounded every day and, in all likelihood, it’s what’s led you to feeling like such a useless slacker today. Maybe? Think about it."

http://www.43folders.com/2006/03/14/delete

Best Quote of the Day

Asked my 2nd year interns what they are learning. 

One student shared that she was learning that she could minister to people much older than she is.  Her statement: "I realized that when I was praying for this lady, she didn't care that I was only 20 years old.  She just cared that I loved Jesus, too."

Great insight.

Deep Thought Tuesday

"The church is either a place or a posture."  Marc Julagay.

Quote to Chew On

Yesterday I was in a meeting with our Executive Pastor and he said something profound which I've been thinking about it:

"Trust is earned with difficulty, but lost with ease."

When dealing with people (which we do all the time), this is a great thing to keep in mind.  That tidbit you are going to share, that comment you are going to make, that action you are going to do - is it going to build trust or destroy trust.  Yikes.

Yesterday I was also in a meeting where a person's actions were referenced.  This person's actions had caused him to lose trust with people.  When I inquired further (from a different source), I found out that the person is actively trying to change his actions.  However, the damage is done.  It will take much hard work to erase the perception in everyone's mind. 

Difficult to earn, easy to lose.

Still chewing on it.

Wise Words from Walking

There is an overpass where a walk which has become graffiti laden.  Here was one of the more profound statements painted on it:

"Instead of fame, money, love, or happiness...give me truth."

I think I agree, but it's a bold statement.

What do you think?

Monday Morning Musings

Lots of things rumbling around my head today:

• Favorite quote from last week's episode of Lost:  "Jesus Christ is not a weapon."  Perhaps I will actually do a blog entry on that one day.
• At 2:28 pm China time (yesterday), there was three minutes of "silence" to honor the victims of the earthquake.  During the time of "silence" horns were honked.  I have no cultural understanding for why this would be.  I can't remember it ever happening in my 5 years in China (not even for the victims of the embassy bombing.)  You can see what it looked and sounded like by going here and here.
• Last night was our Anthem Commissioning service.  Pastor Shane gave a great word.  It was fun to celebrate all that the students have accomplished this year...lots of growth!
• Today I have the house to myself...I've been cleaning a lot and now am working on the weekend's message.  Ahh...silence.
• This week I get to do something that I've wanted to do for a very long time.  I'm not telling yet because it's a surprise...an early birthday present!

What Have You Learned Lately?

I asked my interns yesterday what they had learned after 9 months of being in my office every week.  One student made a very insightful comment:

"Your teachability will be demonstrated the more you put yourself in a position to be taught." - Bryan

WOW.  Challenged me to think about the ways I've been open to learning new things lately (or not.)

Where are you putting yourself in a position to be taught?

Why We Need To Study History

Started a new seminary class today.  Our professor reminded us why we study by quoting C.S. Lewis:

"Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy must be answered…Most of all, perhaps, what we need is an intimate knowledge of the past. Not that the past has any magic about it, but because we cannot study the future, and yet need something to set against the present, to remind us that the basic assumptions have been quite different in different periods and that much which seems certain to the uneducated is merely temporary fashion. A man who has lived in many places is not likely to be deceived by the local errors of his native village: the scholar has lived in many times and is therefore in some degree immune from the great cataract of nonsense that pours from the press and the microphone of his own age."

C.S. Lewis, Weight of Glory