MONDAY MORNING REFLECTIONS - JOSH HAMILTON, CREATIVITY. ADVENT, HAITI, THE BEST WIFE

As I predicted, Josh Hamilton was named American League MVP.  An honor much deserved.  He made the difference for the Rangers as they finally got their first World Series.  But long before that I connected with Josh because of his faith, his battle to maintain and then regain a character reflective of Christ. If you have never heard Josh's story, you need to watch this video.



Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz, writes in his blog:
                 
"The great stumbling block of the creative mind is the awareness of self from the perspective of others. Self awareness isn’t the enemy, because we are in fact masterworks of God, but rather the overemphasis regarding what others think of us. When we think too much about the opinions of others, we are letting them edit a book God has written.

In his introduction to C.S. Lewis’ sermon The Weight of Glory, Walter Hooper says Lewis was not capable of writing a great work until he converted to Christianity, not because only Christians create great work (obviously) but because his conversion marked an inner change in which he ceased to take much interest in himself.

In an age in which we can project an image and score that image based on immediate Facebook and Twitter feedback, thus making a video game of life and a false-reality composed of lies, what gets lost is a joyful obsession with the work we create from the purest of motives, a sheer joy in the act of creation itself that causes us to lose ourselves in something else, and in a way die to ourselves over the absolute love of a thing we are breathing into life."

As a writer, I need to say that sharing Christ in me is my chief motivation for writing.I consider indeed that when I write, especially when I share personal stories, I am merely editing a book that God is writing. I doubt if my work will ever rise to the level of a C.S. Lewis, but I write for the joy of it -- the joy of sharing what Christ is teaching me day by day.

We are rapidly approaching the end of Advent and Christmas arrives. In our culture there is no "advent," just Christmas. But where there is no Advent Christmas arrives without preparation or anticipation.

Haiti continues to face a myriad of problems, this time on the political front. It appears that the average Haitian is growing desperate in the face of unrealized promises, undelivered aid, and politicians conducting business as usual.  My friend Lynn Byers came home from Port-au-Prince to renew her visa, but currently waits in Dallas for a return. Yesterday Lynn posted on her Facebook page this message:               

"So not sure when I'll be going back to Haiti. Everyone (all the foreign staff) at the hospital is being evacuated. Well, I'll be here in Texas in the meantime! Guess I should start applying for jobs...My prayers go out to all my Haitian friends & patients during this violent time in Haiti. My heart goes out to them."  Lynn has a very informative blog that gives an interesting view from ground level. Read Lynn's blog.

 I just wanted to say that I am blessed with the best wife in the world, Dianne. One of the blessings she is to me is to teach me about the power of prayer.  I'll be blogging about this soon.