Worry

It's a word that can be preached on all day long, and people would still go home unsettled.  We worry about everything - food, clothing, stock market, sports' teams, deadlines, quotas, and family members.


As a minister, I get bombarded with different kinds of worries: is so-and-so still coming?  Who will teach?  Or preach? Or lead worship?  How many were in class?  How much money was collected?  The worry engine never quits.


Our adult class has been going through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 on Sunday mornings, and the pinnacle of the sermon centers on three self-giving disciplines that alleviate worry: giving to the needy, prayer, and fasting.  When one practices these three things, worrying seems to be placed on the back-burner because the focus shifts from oneself to others and to G-D.


So, to us worry-warts out there (yes, I am one of you), let's practice giving, praying, and fasting, and then step back and let G-D worry about the rest.  After all, each day has enough trouble of it's own; why add our worries to the list?

No TV

Since it's been nearly a year (ok, 361 days), I thought it would be appropriate to blog...something. And so, I am.

My wife and I have been married for 5 years, 1 month and 7 days - not that anyone else is counting - and in that span we have had cable for approx 6 months (and it was free). Now, understand that we enjoy many things on television - Food Network, DIY Network, HGTV, and of course the finals in any major sporting event (with the exception of ice hockey and croquet). We know, too, that television offers wonderful information on traveling, history, science, art, and news, and all of these things ALMOST make it worth it to fit the bill for some dish network. Almost, but not quite.

You see, we aren't bombarded with 1000s of commercials every single day. We aren't tempted to watch the next show after the one we wanted to see is over. We have time to watch shows that we really like, over and over and over again.  (Can you really get enough of "I Love Lucy" or the "Cosby Show"?)  The TV is not the focal point of our living room. Or bedroom. Or Kitchen. We can play games like Scrabble or Battleship - both of which my wife KILLS me - and not worry about when to catch the latest game.

And for nights like tonight when Monday Night Football looms and I still have to run 14 miles, we can go up to Anytime Fitness and for 2 hours and 2o minutes, I can watch the game from the treadmill.

So you see, it's not that we don't watch television - we do. It's that we control our intake of it and don't let it control us. Are we better than others who have TV? Not at all! There are moments when we are downright jealous of you! But for us, going without it has worked. We like not having it around.

And I hope it stays this way for the next 5 years, 1 month and 7 days.