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Announcement:  my book, Building on the Rock:  Practical Advice from Jesus! is now available in your favorite e-book format for a mere $3.99.  Follow the link and I'll appreciate it.

Morning thoughts

When I wake up in the morning, some things call for my attention right away:  bodily needs, personal hygiene, whoever else in the house is moving about right then.  I usually step on the scale and note with dismay or pleasure what I have gained or lost overnight. But because most mornings this happens fairly early, without a need to rush out to meet the demands do the day for at least an hour or two, there is an opportunity for quiet time.  So I may compose a brief thought and tweet it, or focus on a bible verse and share that with my friends online.  

Today I am thinking about the possibilities a new day can bring. Of course it brings pressures:  pretty soon I'll look at my calendar or my to-do list, or remember something that was left unfinished yesterday, or, as happens many days, the phone will ring and call my attention in some unexpected direction. All those things will press on me; but I want to establish sooner rather than later: where in this day will God be at work? Everywhere the answer immediately comes.  God is in the calendar, in that undone task, working with that person on the other end of the phone call.  God is also in those places I will leave untouched. My task is to rest in his presence, whatever the activity may be.  It is a given that I will be inadequate, that my time, energy, money, and attention will come up short. When I know that to be true, I will also know that it is not all about me.  I am called to be a witness to the infinite power of God in a finite world... God has given me a ringside seat in an unfolding story, and I even get to play a small part.  As a member of his audience, I want to pay attention so I can applaud his performance.  This is worship, and it is also life. Sometimes I find myself part of a company who can see and applaud together. We call that church in the best sense, a foretaste of the great celebration when every creature in heaven and earth and under the earth, the sea and all that is in them, will unite in a spontaneous, joyful chorus of praise to the Creator and Redeemer for his brilliant performance. My goal today is to get in practice for that day.  Way to go, God!

A narrow window of opportunity?

So in the run up to military action in Syria, some interesting developments today. This morning Secretary Kerry, asked what might deter the U S from going forward, suggested that if the Assad regime were to turn over, this week, all of its chemical weapons stockpile to international control, that might do it, while hastening to add that of course Mr. Assad would never do this. Later in the day, Kerry's bluff was called on this very point:  by the Russians, who publicly suggested the Syrians should do that and also sign on to the chemical weapons convention. The Syrian foreign ministry made favorable comments and so did leadership at the UN. 

I am put in mind somehow of the George Aiken strategy for getting out of Vietnam. The then-senator from Vermont said we should declare victory and withdraw. I think there is a narrow window of opportunity to do just that.  The accompanying rhetoric would go something like this:

"In response to international pressure including the threat of immanent military action by te United States, the Syrian government has agreed to take the steps necessary for assuring that it will never in the future have the capacity to use chemical weapons, against its own people or anyone else. The Russians have offered to take an active role in enforcing and implementing the dismantling of Syria's chemical arsenal under UN supervision. Since our objective in the first instance has been to deter and prevent the use of such weapons by sending a strong and unmistakeable message to the regime, we now see that the message has indeed been heard.  We applaud the Russian initiative and will join with them in seeking UN support for supervision of compliance with this action.  We will not, however, accept any delay, and will stand ready to act should this agreement not be quickly finalized and implemented." 

Declare victory -- take credit for creating conditions that led to a diplomatic solution that changes the dynamic on the ground -- and withdraw.  

Of course, as in all such cases, some things would remain unresolved. There would still be a civil war in Syria. There would not necessarily be an admission of responsibility for the August chemical attacks. But the international prohibition on chemical weapons would be strengthened and enforced, and that specific threat reduced.  

Not Dead Yet

I haven't used this Blogger venue for quite a while.... looks like a year or so.  But not to worry, I'm still dancing...  Having found that one's presence on the Web can bloat like overcooked spaghetti, with Wordpress here , Blogger there, Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn and who knows what else (ok, I do... LiveJournal, Tumblr, oh yes GooglePlus....)  well, it gets to be a bit of a chore to maintain. 

I did learn that even cyberspace does not equate to the Akashic Records.   Some things once posted no longer exist.  The Bridges Across the Divide website is down, and with it the various essays and comments I contributed to that once-cutting-edge bit of conversation.  Myspace turned into a special-interest space for entertainers mostly.  StumbleUpon stumbled, changing its format and losing many of its participants, including me.

I've seen other places pop up, mostly geared to random dating things which seem to cater to people more isolated and lonely than myself (MeetMe, Shtyle.com, MyDailyFlog) or very short-term postings (Instagram).  Time sinks, for which I have little time.  For my own (semi-) private conversations, there has been for a long time things like AIM, Yahoo messenger, and more particularly Jabber (and its Google implementation, Gtalk, now morphing into Hangouts.  And for really real-time, the long-fictional world of live video conferencing is now in place, more or less, with Skype and FaceTime. I don't use them much, but I do appreciate the potential there.

So a wise man once talked about purging or pruning what is fruitful, so that it may bear more fruit.  In ordinary human life this translates into cutting back, concentrating on doing fewer things better.  So wander on over to the Search for Integrity or if you are interested in poetry, to Fearless Symmetry, which are the two places most likely to have recent entries from me.  I've been less prolific in general over the last year or two, but that could change.  Anyhow, thanks for stopping by.