Daily Buffet

…but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage;

Posts Tagged ‘Mark’

Working from Home

September 24th, 2010

I went round and round this morning in my normal indecisive way. Work from home,drive to the office, work from home, drive to the office. It’s been paralyzing this morning. Should I enjoy the pleasures and comfort and solitude of home, or should I dare to engage traffic, ( especially the day after I had a dream that I received three speeding tickets in one afternoon), and burn the gas to just sit at my desk , type on my keyboard and talk on my phone. Oh the agony of the decision.

There was something this morning just urging me to go downtown. It’s a thing called people. ( Now for someone with a previous Meyers Briggs score of INTJ people usually don’t cross my mind). However there was something today about people, and about being able to impact them. Can you impact people remotely – sure- and I will find other days to work in the solitude of my home office, enjoying the views that it affords. But today, there is something that says, maybe just staying at home just because may not be the best?

(I know right now several of you are thinking – Are you crazy!!! Stay at home!)

But I started thinking about these verses today:

Matthew 8:3
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.
Matthew 8:2-4 (in Context) Matthew 8 (Whole Chapter)
Matthew 17:7
But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”
Matthew 17:6-8 (in Context) Matthew 17 (Whole Chapter)
Matthew 20:34
Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
Matthew 20:33-34 (in Context) Matthew 20 (Whole Chapter)
Mark 1:41
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
Mark 1:40-42 (in Context) Mark 1 (Whole Chapter)

It’s not that there’s a command there, and its not that I am going to go around touching people today and healing them. But there is something about presence sometimes that is important. There is something about personal interaction that’s good.

So, today, I will go off and see how I can impact people face to face, versus over the phone. How will you “touch” those you come in contact with?

Maybe today holds something incredible? (or maybe I am really insane)

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Tags: compassion enouragement Mark Matthew people

Being Watchful

July 7th, 2010

Last week on the beach there were people crawling all over it – people with a job to do, not people relaxing. Up and down the beach in their gators the Florida National Guard would travel looking and watching. Out in the bay, there were 5-6 boats full of workers being paid by BP watching and waiting. All of these people where looking for the oil to arrive. Fortunately it had not arrived at this beach yet. But there were they – diligently watching for the looming disaster.

I thought about them, and the beauty that surrounded them. As I watched the guys in their fatigues driving up and down the beach talking and watching the tourists, I wondered. As I studying the guys on the BP boats and watched them sitting on the rails talking and driving around in circles, I wondered. ( Incidentally, I also found the job I wanted. In this group of boats there was one pontoon boat with a port-a-potty strapped on board. That’s the job I want – to drive the potty boat!) Anyway, I wondered, will these guys be so lulled to sleep by the beauty that surrounds them that when the oil shows up will they miss it at first?

And then I thought about our lives, and how easy it is to be lulled to sleep by the “beauty” that’s around us, that we miss what we are looking for. (I know this analogy breaks down here, as the things around us are more like the oil and what we are looking for is more like the beach!) But really, I think we can get caught up in the everyday stuff and miss the goodness that we are blessed with. So today, be diligent and watchful, not only for the return of our Savior, but for the blessings of life that are right around you today.

³²“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. ³⁴It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Mark 13:32-34

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Posted in Daily Post

Tags: beach Mark

Represent

June 25th, 2010

Today I will haul my geek bag downtown one last time before I return home and trade in the cell phone, headsets and laptops for barefeet, sand and oysters. Yep, I will be taking the week off from this crazy world, following an example set out by our Savior himself:

³¹Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”³²So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. Mark 6:31-32 (New International Version)

Next week there will be some treats in store for the Buffet, as I know just because I am resting that the remainder of you are still out in the world, training and buffeting yourself each day. So here is a little video that may keep you going. Its by Weezer. Evidently this song is the theme song for our tension loving soccer team, and since they go up against Ghana tomorrow, I thought it would be appropriate. Its called Represent.

The chorus here is very interesting

You know it
It matters how you play the game
It matters that you can take the pain
You don’t wanna lie, steal or cheat your way to the top ohhh
It matters what your people think
You represent your family
But that’s just one more reason to see that it matters whether you win or lose

Well, as much as I like soccer, and as much I want the US to win. ( I did by the way take a run around a section of cubicles with my hands in the air screaming GOOOAAAALLL after the 91st minute goal on Wednesday) As much as that’s true. There’s only one thing where it does matter if you win or lose, and that’s a life full of love and the spirit, given over to our Savior. That’s how you Represent!

³⁴Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. ³⁶What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? ³⁷Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Mark 8:34-37

Enjoy the Week. Cheer for the Yanks, and Represent!

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Posted in Daily Post

Tags: Mark soccer Weezer

Giving It To Get It

June 8th, 2010

Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of writing time this morning. So today will be a quick glance at a thought that has been swirling in my head this week. I have been thinking about how to live a life of service, instead of doing “service projects”. This is another one of those puzzlers – especially giving the frantic schedules that we attempt to maintain. So I was doing a little bit of channel surfing the other day and I stopped on one of the “religious” channels just to see what was up. After a minute of watching a bunch of teens worship – which was a very interesting thing as well- this dude pops up on the screen and reads this verse:

³⁴Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵For whoever wants to save his life^[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. ³⁶What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? ³⁷Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Mark 8:34-37 NIV

So the thought that has been swirling is how do we do that? How do we give ourselves? How do we lose our lives? Any ideas? Post them in the comment section.

^34-37Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for? (Mark 8:34-37, The Message)

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Tags: giving Mark

Can’t Kick the Habit

June 4th, 2010

I can tell that summer is here. I was able to sleep in a little ( like 20 minutes) and take my time in the morning and the house is completely quiet. Where are those people that live with me?

Anyway, yesterday I received an email about a band call Family Force 5. They are a Christian crunk rock band. That’s usually not my type of music, but it’s still intriguing to me to see people use so many different ways to spread the message of the Christ. One of their songs is called “Love Addict” and the music video has over 3.5 million hits on YouTube. This song contains the following lyric:

Hold Up! Wait a minute! Put a little love in it!

That sort of reminds me of Paul in 1 Corinthians

¹ If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. ²If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. ^3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. ( The Message)

I mean really, if I have everything, but I don’t have love what do I have. And that is the message of the Christ. Check it in Mark:

³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. ³⁶What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? ³⁷Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Mark 8:35-37 (New International Version)

So today, whether you like crunk rock or not ( and I think I am starting to!), sing it out: