Keep It…Current: Paying Attention
The news headline had stopped me in my tracks. Another senseless tragedy, but this time, the victims’ only crimes were that their names and faces mirrored my own. As the initial shock began to fade, my stomach tightened. Sorrow and anger came in waves as I came to grips with the facts of the tragedy. And I felt very alone.
Keep It…Current: Connection Through Vulnerability
Networks on all sides have long understood how fear can be capitalized, and it shows today more than ever. That is why we see and experience so much anger in the media (not just social media, but mainstream news stations). Anger is referred to as a “secondary emotion”, meaning that it tends to cover up more vulnerable feelings like fear, hurt, or shame. We do not like to feel vulnerable, so it is much easier to express anger than these other emotions.
Keep It…Simple: Love!
As a pre-teen kid, one of my favorite “toys” was my 150-in-1 Electronic Project Kit from Radio Shack. It was awesome! All you had to do was follow specific instructions to attach color-coded wires to the various labeled spring connectors. I could make a basic radio receiver, have a photo-electric cell turn on and off a small lightbulb, or even light up an LED number! The possibilities may not have been endless, but 150 different projects were not the limit!
Keep It…Simple: Good News!
What is Christianity—being followers of Christ—about? Put simply, it means we have the opportunity to experience an eternal relationship with the God of the universe (John 17:3)! Wrap your mind around that for a minute. We, created and limited creatures, are able to have a real, vibrant, and ever-growing relationship with our Creator. That really should be unfathomable! Yet it is true.
Keep It…Personal – # 2
We were young and didn’t know better. That’s all I can say. My girlfriend and I, full of ideas of how to make people feel welcome in our home, had such detailed plans for what we would do that no one could have done it all. Guest rooms would be scented, chocolates lovingly laid on the pillow, sweet notes of welcome tucked in unexpected places. I’m telling you, we had it going on! And we did it too! Until full-time ministry took over, babies were born and feeding, cleaning, and caring consumed the day. All of a sudden it seemed more important to categorize, organize and find a way to survive. We didn’t have time to be personal.
Keep It…Personal
You’ve Got Mail has been a favorite movie of ours for a long time. Aside from being charming, quirky, and fun, it’s infinitely quotable. We love that. Especially the one when Meg Ryan’s character (whose bookshop has just been put out of business by a big chain bookstore) confronts the “big boss” Tom Hanks who keeps spouting, “It’s not personal, it’s business.” Meg, in her typical way, says, “What does that mean anyway? It may be just business to you, but it’s personal to me. If it doesn’t start with personal, what is it?” Now, that’s not an exact quote, but it’s the gist and it’s what I took away from the scene.
