As far as world news goes, I don't have a clue...and that's okay. Sometimes I like it when my world stays pretty small. I know that I could bore you with the details of what happened in my world (I won't) but, like I said--it's a pretty small world.
Small as it might be, my little world keeps me pretty busy...and I'm always surprised to find that it touches a larger world than I imagine. The internet is a part of the expanding influence that I might have on those that journey through this life with me. Facebook has re-established some old friendships and introduced me to some new friends. I belong to a small community of bloggers that enjoy reading each others rants and posts. And I am still amazed at the global exposure that my occasional posts have.
Saturday morning (May 8) was our Ozarks Chapter of American Christian Writers meeting. We had a wonderful young author as our guest speaker. Erin Davis is a local writer that has used her gift for writing to minister to girls and young women. Her first book, Graffiti: Learning to See the Art in Ourselves was born from the need that teen girls have in finding value in a world that devalues anything that doesn't conform to the model image given by the media. It turns out the Bible has plenty to say about the value that we have in the eyes of our Creator. (There's a big surprise!)
Erin is a wonderful speaker and I would recommend her for your women's conferences, girls youth groups or college women's groups (or writers' clubs). In speaking to our group, Erin focused more on the humility of a Christian writer and keeping a Kingdom mindset than on the things that you might expect from an author. She gave a realistic view of what being a published author is (and is not), and was also inspiring to those of us that know there is a book waiting to be written inside of us.
Once again, maybe I'll get started on putting those thoughts into written form and see where that takes me...
...maybe, it's not like I don't have anything else to do!
Some days the world seems so big--like there is just so much going on that I have no influence over. On other days, the world seems pretty small and I find that people on the other side of the globe are struggling with and rejoicing in the same things that I am in my little corner of the Earth. I'm finding that it's okay if I don't get too worked up about the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico or what is going to become of Tiger Woods' golf career/marriage/wealth/blah/blah/blah/life.
Sure, they're completely different things and one will impact the environment and the economy and the other is pretty much gossip and only affects those that are a part of Tiger's world. But I've found that putting things into one of two circles helps to keep them in perspective. One circle is things that concern me, the other is things that I have influence over. If things concern me but I have no influence over them, they become non-stress things; information only kind of things (like the Cardinals dismal hitting or Shogun Rua winning the UFC belt). Some things I have some influence over but really don't care about. They are also non-stressors. Some things don't fit into either circle and can be quickly dismissed. It's only the places that the circles overlap that I have to make a decision on how I'm going to handle it--those things that concern me and I can do something that will make a difference. Obviously, I can have a greater impact on somethings than on others, but overall, this system seems to work well for me. If you are a worrier, feel free to try this out for yourself--let me know if it helps.
I hope that things are well in your world. I hope that your influence in the worlds that you touch is positive. Things in my world are grand! Thanks for visiting.
John
3 comments:
For proof on how small the world can be, wait for the power to go out.
Thanks for the book recommendation! Sounds like a winner for my library if I get the job I've applied for at a youth detention center. As for Mother's Day preaching--our pastor didn't even say "Happy Mother's Day" yesterday but he mentioned his mom in a story related to the "crystal" river mentioned in Rev. 21. I was impressed at his deftness at not relying on Mother's Day for the point of his message but not leaving Mom out of it, either.
Claudia,
Should you land that job, Erin would be a wonderful person to come speak to the kids that find themselves at the detention center.
She is very open and transparent, and has personally dealt with many of the issues covered in her book.
John <>
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