There and Back Again—A Larson's Tale – March 25, 2008

 

 

"His [Elrond's] house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Evil things did not come into that valley." This statement, made by one Mr. Bilbo Baggins, accurately told of the wonders of Elrond's little haven of rest in The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien.

I now have my own Rivendell. It occurred to me that like the fabled hideaway in the story my Rivendell also is a good place for quiet conversation, good food, good friends, reading a good book (there are lots of these!) or just having a quiet moment of thinking.

Elrond (Greg) and I have wonderful conversations that energize me and I leave Imladris with the gifts of fresh ideas and a new outlook on life; this has never failed to be true.

I go to Hesston in the hopes of being an encouragement to my friends as well, and to just enjoy their company, but I come away being the one encouraged.

This year we came away with more than we bargained for…

The Holmes have three wonderful daughters with distinctive and wondrous personalities and each one is fascinating to interact with and observe. Greg and Kelly do a superb job of raising those girls, they are a role model for other parents, and they have given us much good advice for our own children.

We picked up a plethora of new "Grace-isms" which I am sure Kelly and Greg will just shudder about but we are still laughing! She is so funny! Great blessings to all! "Not fair!" LOL! It is so hard not to laugh at times!

I also picked up a tremendous life lesson from this little girl:

Have what you want but want what you have…

I don't know the entire story but the gist of it goes like this:

Gracie and my daughter, Alyssa were outside playing and somehow (this is the fuzzy part) Grace was really excited about her dog Rosie Cotton. She hugged the dog and said, "I wish I had a dog like her!" (paraphrase) Alyssa said to Grace, "Grace, she is your dog!" And Gracie, in all of her four year old wisdom, said, "YEA!" Have what you want but want what you have… from the mouths of babes…

This was a great gift! Live life the way God intended. Enjoy what you have and don't fret about what you don't…it's not that important!

This year we also left with a new game: Settlers of Catan. What a cool game! They happened to get a duplicate for Christmas and they were not able to return it so they donated to the Fellowship of the Larsons. We will enjoy time with this game!

We were blessed to be a part of Greg's church this weekend also and Friday night the youth pastor, John, sang during the Good Friday service. What a terrific voice! I would have liked to talk with him but it did not work out that I could this weekend. He has been a great blessing to Greg and to Garden Community Church. (By the way, I know how to drive there by myself now! Long story not for this missive!)

When at last we pack up and head back out into the real world I leave as Frodo and his eight companions left in the "Fellowship of the Ring", with gifts beyond wonder, peace and a new view on the issues of life.

We had a precious time this weekend and though it is just an annual trip it is satisfying and renewing! We always take away much more than we give.

 

In case any of you are confused here is the final equation:

Hesston, Ks = Rivendell = Imladris J

Until next time, so long and fare thee well good travelers! May you also find your Rivendell!

A Haven Update

Here are a couple of pictures of my haven! It is almost done. We have a busy week so I won't be able to put too much time into the finishing but I would say 12-15 hours of work would do it.

A Journey’s End – March 8, 2008

I am getting closer. I had hoped to reach my destination long ago but I am now in sight of the end. The work on my office is almost completed.

I was thinking about this the other day and I couldn't remember when the idea first came into being. I have wanted my own space for forever but the reality that is my office space is a memory I can't recall.

I don't have pictures at the moment but I will once it is completed.

This past week I was able to get the last of the drywall put up and the joints mudded. I have had to put three coats on the walls to cover them properly and if it were scrutinized by someone of a professional background I'm sure it would not pass, in fact I fully expect some constructive criticism from my father who will be coming over Wednesday of this next week. Nevertheless, when all is said and done I will have my little haven and I fully intend to begin to write in earnest. I have been toying with a few ideas that will go into my first story.

I want to take the pieces that I have developed so far, spread them out and see if any of the parts that would fit together into a storyline that is not currently there. This is the exciting part of writing for me: Creation!

Once the office is completed and I begin writing I will start using this blog for its originally intended purpose: keeping you up to date with any progress I make.

Speaking of creativity, Alyssa has her play this next week thus the main reason for my folks visiting. They will come over Wednesday and dad will help me to finish the office, Lord willing. We will attend the play Thursday night and mom and dad will leave Friday afternoon.

On Saturday, Mike and Betty will come over and we will do the whole thing over again with the exception of the work in the office.

I am excited about writing and can't wait to have my office completed!

As I have said before, I don't what will happen with my writing but it would be a lie to say that it doesn't matter to me because it does.

I would love to get published. In fact I would love to become prolific in my writing. I will say that if I could even complete a novel and even if it never gets out the front door, I will have a great sense of satisfaction just having completed it. I am ready to roll!

 

Good-bye for now!

 

This Very Day—Jan. 22, 2008

I am posting a short missive this morning but one with a poignant reminder.

This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it!

(I read this somewhere once. LOL!)

Seriously, these simple sentences have carried a lot of weight in my life and it says so much with so few words.

God has given you and me this day as a gift to be enjoyed. Even the things we would consider bad are there for a reason and that is to glorify God and remind us of our dependence upon Him for all things. When we realize that this day is a gift from our heavenly Father and He gives it to us to enjoy we cannot help but rejoice and be glad in it!

Take a moment today to thank God for this wonderful day, express to Him your dependence on Him in all areas, and REJOICE! I will say it again, Rejoice! (I read that somewhere too!)

Have a God filled day of rejoicing!

Bye!

Mostly Just to Get a Posting Out…Jan. 17, 2008

This is my second attempt at a blog today. I am impatient to get something out and feel it as an urgent need in fact, but the words are plain and boring today.

Part of the problem is that I have read a new blog (at least to me) and the author is very talented writer so when I read the words I put on paper they look quite plain, but here I go anyway!

As I was growing up I never questioned anything people told me, I believe the word to describe me was "gullible", "Naive", "Simpleton", "Short Sighted", OK! OK! You get the picture! I guess I figured others knew what they were talking about and there was no reason to question what they told me. I learned that that was not always the case.

A cousin once told me that if you pour some catsup on a plate and pour some salt on it you could feel heat rising from it. When the experiment was ready, I eagerly placed my hand over the concoction expecting to feel warmth radiating from the mess. It was at this time I realized my mistake, a hand swooped down and smashed my hand into the mixture. The only heat was from my embarrassment!

As I grew older, the things that I accepted became more sophisticated but just as embarrassing when I was caught in the lies.

This soon took me to cynicism and that is a hard place to turn from once you are enmeshed within its steely grasp. You tend to look askance at the things you are taught and this includes Christianity. Though I have been a believer for most of my life, there are still things that can cause me to be cynical but I am working through that daily with God's help.

One positive thing that has come of all of this is that I am not afraid to ask questions, to seek answers and not be afraid to ponder things that fear once held back from me.

If you hang out with my senior pastor, Steve, you will know he is a man who loves questions. He will ask things like "If you had a choice between McDonalds and Burger King, which would you choose?" He asks many questions like those and that intrigues me.

Jesus also asked questions. Often He would answer a question with a question but always, I believe, His design was for people to think. To think about their lives and the direction their lives were taking. He asked questions designed for them, and for us, to evaluate our lives in light of His life and in light of the gifts He offers us.

"If you had a choice between the desolation and destruction of hell or to be with the Everlasting God in Heaven forever, which would you choose?"

Make no mistake it is YOUR choice. God presents the evidence and the options but you must choose. Oh, by the way, not choosing is choosing.

It is not a matter of who gets to be in the White House but where YOU will spend eternity. The choices are both costly to someone. If you choose hell, you will pay for an eternity and this is in fact, what we all deserve.
The other way is also expensive but God Himself has already paid the costs. You see, perfection is the only payment for this way and no one on this earth can stand up to pay that price. Jesus could because He was perfect and thus qualified to pay the price required.

In His love He did pay that price so, if we should so choose, we could live in Paradise with Him forever. It is that simple. He changes us and makes us into the person He wants us to be, we don't have to change to accept His gift to us. It is amazing if you take time to analyze all of this.

 

Ok. Whew. I just let the words flow today so I hope I didn't go to far afield for anyone. I did not start out with a direction or a goal other than to write and get a post out to my blog. Here it is…

 

Go in God's grace and may His truth set you free.

 

 

 

 

What would you do if a theme has been running through your heart for many months now and you it starts showing up more frequently?

For a LONG time now diligence has been a theme that has run around my heart like Eric Liddell running around the beaches! The difference? This theme does not take the Sabbath off.

I must admit that I have never been very diligent and that is the root cause of many of the failures in my God-given life. This is something that I hate to admit but God has helped me to come to grips with it and confess it to forgiveness.

I subscribe to an e-zine from John Maxwell. Maxwell is an expert in the field of leadership and mentoring and he has written many books on these subjects. I have read, at least in part, a number of these books and he never fails to amaze me with his insights.

Today I received his monthly newsletter and the first article, the VERY FIRST article, was about diligence!

So many times I take these wonderful articles and file them away for a later date and time but I could not put this away without first reading the article.

Maxwell wrote the article based on a book by author Steven J. Scott called, "The Richest Man Who Ever Lived".

According to Maxwell the richest men today are Bill Gates, worth about $56 Billion dollars, and Warren Buffet, worth about $52 million dollars. These numbers stagger my imagination! I am amazed when I hear of someone winning or inheriting $10 million dollars, but $56 BILLION?!? WOW! I could afford to replace my electrocuted (struck by lightning last spring) dishwasher and get new tires for my truck with that kind of money!

But there is one eclipses these two by far. In fact, he eclipses them both added together! Who am I referring to? King Solomon, of course!

Solomon asked God for wisdom to rule God's people Israel and God granted to him not only the wisdom he sought and far beyond, but also great wealth. His estimated worth in present day dollars, is $1 Trillion dollars! That is $1,000 BILLION dollars! WOW!

Solomon, in his incredible wisdom, wrote this about diligence (or the lack thereof!):

"The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slack hand will be put to forced labor" (Proverbs 12:24).

"The soul of the sluggard craves, but he gets nothing." (Proverbs 13:4)

"He that tills his land shall be satisfied with bread, but he that follows vain persons is void of understanding" (Proverbs 28:19).

These are hard to accept, not that they are not true but I have spent so much time dreaming about what might be (being a sluggard) that I didn't ever start the engines and to get off of the ground.(diligence)

Scott gave some biblical advice for stimulating diligence:

1. Wake up to reality!

   "How long will you lie there," he asks. "When will you get up from your sleep?...poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man." (Proverbs 6:9-11)

    

2. Define Your Vision (I say to set goals)

   "Without a vision, the people perish." (Proverbs 29:18)

The bottom line is this: God has shown me, in various ways and with various means, that I need to strive to do my best and only then will I glorify Him in my life.

This started last year as He took me through the valley of darkness, which came about, I am convinced, because of my lack of diligence and I achieved nothing because I was so intent on dreaming about what might be that I never did anything to achieve it.

I am waking up! It is not an easy change since I have spent the last forty-two years cultivating this lifestyle, but I recognize the problem, have confessed it to the Lord, and am taking steps to add a liberal dose of diligence to my life.

I can't say where it will lead me but I do know one thing: It glorifies God when I do my best in whatever I do. This is my goal this year.

It has to start in the heart, my heart. You all can send me encouraging words and even whack me upside the head I do need both now and again) but until I fully engage diligence through discipline and self-control, I will never glorify God as I should and I will miss that wonderful blessing.

I have a lot of work to do but it brings me a measure of peace that I am actually facing my giants and not just burying my head in the sand in hopes that my problems will go away.

I have so many wonderful role models that God has brought into my life. Some are close and some are far away but in one way or another they have all impacted me for good.

The original question is "What would you do…?" and the answer is: Face the problem. It is not going to go away and it will fester and infect others if left unattended.

This seems simplistic when seen on paper but when the rubber meets the road it will not be an easy journey but a necessary one. I am excited because I know that God will be traveling this road with me, cheering me on, holding my hand, and strengthening me in the inner person. Praise His name!

It looks like the writing bug has bit me again so I will say, "Good bye"…for now!

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures of My New Haven—Jan. 13, 2008

Here they are! The pictures I promised of the progress of my new office. I really don't like the word "office". In my mind an "office" is the place where you work or pay bills or other such not-creative activities! I like to think of my space as more of a haven, a getaway, a place to create and study. I am very excited about getting to use it! My friend and coworker, Dave, helped get the furring strips and new wall up before he had to go. Thanks, Dave!

The first picture is of the room where my new haven will be created in after it has been cleaned out. (A project in itself!) I taped it off to give an indication of the size. Pretty small but it will work!

Here are a couple of picture with a chair to give you a better idea of what it will look like. In the end I will have a chair on wheels that swivels so movement will be efficient and easy.

The materials are here! Let's get building!

We started with the furring strips. The new wall is up and I'm doing a little clean up before I put up the drywall. Speaking of drywall…Oh look! The drywall is here!

The drywall is up inside the haven. The back wall is in a holding pattern as I made a mistake. I forgot that when you by 1x2 furring strips it REALLY means you have purchased 1/2 x 1-1/2 inch furring strips so the 1 inch insulation I bought is WAY too big!

Hre we see the mighty Logan Larson helping his dad with his surprisingly powerful muscles! (He's a real ox!) Looks like we'd better feed this beast!

It's obvious I enjoyed Christmas a little too much!

Here's my lovely wife just because I think she's gorgeous! And she said YES to my new little haven!

I also want to thank my dad for his phone advice and for the times he taught me to do this work. I am not in his league at all but as you can see I learned enough to get'er done! And I look forward to mom and dad coming over to help put in the all important desk area.