Introverts In the Church 4.3

Another component of chapter four has to do with life’s rhythms. McHugh states (correctly in my opinion) that we must ‘learn to listen to each part of our nature (body, soul, mind, emotion) if we are to find balance and peace in our introversion.' And then he kicks into a look at life’s larger rhythms. He looks at the idea of a ‘reflection-action-reflection’ rhythms as working well for an introvert. He shows how God has built this type of rhythm into our lives. Sabbath rest… for example… is a way of expressing this rhythm in a weekly manner. “Sabbath rest enables us to see broader patterns of the Spirit’s work and teaches us not to capitulate to the restless activity of our culture. Sabbath gives us permission to do what our introverted hearts cry out for: to restfully reflect, contemplate, observe, retreat into and marvel at God’s creation.”

Time for self reflection… I realize how important my day off has become for me. I’ve never struggled with taking a day off… what I’ve struggled with is how to make my day off work for me. I feel like I’m getting better at making that day more effective in recharging who I am and using it to gain what I need to move forward with more strength. I remember one day this past October when I went outside to play with Aaron… and I ended up laying on our trampoline… looking up at the clear blue sky… reading a book… and thinking: This is exactly the type of thing I need… enjoying God’s creation… enjoying Aaron… enjoying a book. It was one of those moments when a profound sense of peace flooded over me. I never know when those moments will occur. But it took me being willing to unplug and go outside.

McHugh continues on in this chapter about the smaller rhythms in life. He gives a story about a summer in Mexico that sounds extremely close to the feeling I had on a trip to Nepal. Sensory overload and no time of solitude lead to a hazy fatigued feeling. His first assumption was that he was not cut out for missions… when all he needed was space to recharge.

He also spoke about the importance of sleep… and he spoke about the importance strategically placing intentional moments of recharge throughout the day. I am picking up on this in my own life. I’ve discovered that certain meetings at church absolutely sap my emotional reserves. I call it a ‘meeting hangover.’ I have a hard time sleeping after such meetings… and I just feel restless and listless throughout the rest of the day. After four years of this particular meeting… I just this week came to the realization that I need to handle the day after the meeting much differently than I currently do. I need to set up appointments with people who inspire me. I need to reconnect with my family. If I’m working… I probably need to get offsite for the day and go hole up at a library somewhere. I need to do things that will energize me out of my funk.

McHugh talks at length about a ‘rule of life.’ His definition is helpful: “The rule of life works with the internal and external rhythms we discover as we come to embrace who we are. This is not simply a schedule or a calendar; a rule of life opens us to the awareness of God’s presence, not only in our moments of quiet but in all aspects of our lives.”

In my next post… I’ll summarize what McHugh’s rule of life is and begin to process how that might be applicable to me.

2010 Reading List

It's hard to believe, but this is my fifth reading list now. 5 years. Wow that went fast! My reading dropped off a little from last year. I finished a far smaller amount of professional books than I did the year before. Of course, it doesn’t help that I’ve started a gazillion different books in 2010… but never ended up finishing them. As always, here's my disclaimer: This list only represents the books that I actually finished. This would be a far greater list if I retold all the books that I started, parts of commentaries that looked through, or early church reading that I accomplished. Okay, here it goes:

Professional Reading

1. The Threefold Art of Experiencing God (Christian Schwarz) 31 Pages
2. Sacred Pathways (Gary Thomas) 233 Pages
3. The Gospel and Our Culture (N.T. Wright) 33 Pages
4. Son of Hamas (Mosab Hassan Yousef) 265 Pages
5. Surprised By Hope (N.T. Wright) 332 Pages
6. Care of Creation (edited by Joseph Coleson) 201 Pages
7. Why Pray? (John F. DeVries) 255 Pages
8. Know Doubt (John Ortberg) 186 Pages
9. Color Your World w/ NCD (Christian Schwarz) 191 Pages
10. Fit To Be Tied (Bill and Lynne Hybels) 234 Pages
11. Living the Christian Year (Bobby Gross) 332 Pages
12. The Last Fall (Jay Blevins) 192 Pages

Personal Reading

1. Star Wars: Skyborn (ebook – John Jackson Miller) 31 Pages
2. The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown) 509 Pages
3. Star Wars: A Forest Apart (ebook – Troy Denning) 50 Pages
4. Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (James Rollins) 360 Pages
5. Star Wars: Paragon (ebook – John Jackson Miller) 32 Pages
6. Pursuit of Honor (Vince Flynn) 431 Pages
7. Star Wars: Backlash (Aaron Allston) 309 Pages
8. The Tales of Beedle the Bard (J.K. Rowling) 107 Pages
9. Star Wars: Savior (ebook – John Jackson Miller) 31 Pages
10. Ford County (John Grisham) 308 Pages
11. Star Wars: Allies (Christie Golden) 359 Pages
12. Project Future (Chad Denver Emerson) 185 Pages
13. Star Wars: The Clone Wars 256 Pages
14. Absolute Power (David Baldacci) 678 Pages
15. Star Wars: The Ruins of Dantooine 286 Pages
16. Total Control (David Baldacci) 520 Pages
17. Star Wars: Street of Shadows 306 Pages
18. The Winner (David Baldacci) 628 Pages
19. Star Wars: Purgatory (ebook – John Jackson Miller) 30 Pages
20. The Confession (John Grisham) 418 Pages

32 Books, 8319 Total Pages

Top Three Professional
1. Surprised by Hope – This was incredibly formative to me. It has helped shape my view of heaven… along with giving me more reason to question the standard view of the end times. (Example 'Left Behind') Loved it, loved it, loved it.
2. Living the Christian Year – Fantastic introduction to the church calendar. Comes with appropriately themed devotions. I traced through this book the entire year and found it to be very accessible and helpful. I would highly recommend for anyone wanting to learn more about the various seasons of the church year.
3. Sacred Pathways – A helpful study on the different spiritual styles that each of us might utilize based on experience and personality. For someone who has grown tired and bored of the normal devotional prescriptions given to them by the church… this book offers a few different ways and suggestions for connecting with God. Thought-provoking.

Top Three Personal
1. Project Future – Great book about the beginnings of Walt Disney World. It was fascinating to hear about all the various ‘maneuvering’ that took place to buy all that land. This lands at number one… more because of my interest in Walt Disney World. Very few people, I’m sure, would put this at #1 on their list.
2. The Confession – A very strong John Grisham offering. Harkens back to his early books when he tackles some very difficult issues. I couldn’t put it down for a span of about 200 pages or so.
3. The Winner – Liked it mainly because it was such a different type of story. Memorable characters and a creative plot lands this book in my top three.