Transformed Mind

“Everywhere things are troubling and uneasy - wars and rumours of war: perhaps not the final hour but certainly times most evil. Nevertheless, the Apostle again and again bids us "Rejoice." Nature herself bids us to do so, the very face of the earth being now renewed, after its own manner, at the start of Spring. I believe the men of this age think too much about the state of nations and the situation of the world…We are not kings, we are not senators. Let us beware lest, while we torture ourselves in vain about the state of Europe, we neglect either Verona or Oxford. In the poor man who knocks at my door, in my ailing mother, in the young man who seeks my advice, the Lord Himself is present: therefore let us wash His feet." This was a quote from famed author of The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, Mere Christianity, and of course the Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis. Though in this quote he was reflecting about the state of the world in 1947, Lewis had also fough...

Busyness, what’s the solution? First, we need to just stop. And by stop I mean turning off the phone/tablet/laptop, etc. Just power down, set boundaries for yourself on when you can and cannot do work at home, on when you will and will not answer calls.  It’s not sin to not answer calls as long as you respond in a timely manner. Pencil in alone time, time with God, and time with your spouse and family, time away from the rest of the world.  Busyness leads to burnout, which is a real problem, especially among clergy. So, we give ourselves space and then…prioritize. What are the priorities in life?  Personally, I put them in this order: God, spouse, kids/family, work.  Jesus definitely had God as his first priority for scripture states that, “…crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmaries. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” [1] Yeah, you heard that right, Jesus knew that God was of the utmost importance and t...