Traveling Alone

I love to travel. It doesn't have to be extravagant at all. I just like to go somewhere and get to know the place a little better than I did before. Traveling with family is wonderful for strengthening bonds. Few things cause me to laugh quite like a trip with a small set of good friends. Despite the positive aspects of traveling with a group, I'm discovering that there are benefits to traveling alone.

• No itinerary is required. When I travel with family, it is certain that the responsibility of scheduling our activities will fall to me. Partially this is because I'm pretty good at it. The other reason is that no one else really wants to deal with the headache of trying to please everyone. While traveling alone, there is no agenda because spontaneity is the rule of the trip.
• I don't have to worry about upsetting someone. For some reason, whenever I travel with friends, someone gets upset. Somehow I didn't make my plans for the trip clear from the outset and now you're upset because you didn't listen. (Hmmm.....I'm specifically thinking about trips to NYC and Hawaii here.) When traveling alone, I get to be as selfish as I want -- without condemnation -- because the only person impacted by my plans (or lack of them) is me!
• The trip can be exactly what I need. Most recently, I returned to Pigeon Forge by myself. In one of my past visits, my main concern was fun. I was in the amusement park and acting like a kid. Another visit was simply a chance to hibernate. I spent the majority of my time in the hotel reading, watching television, and sleeping. This visit was all about relaxed exploration. I checked out shops I had avoided in the past, visited new restaurants, and took a long, winding drive through the mountains.
• Messiness is perfectly acceptable. Laundry covers the floor. My books, papers, and tablet are strewn about the hotel room. It looks as though my suitcase exploded. Here's the great news . . . it doesn't matter because no one will see it except me (and housekeeping)!

Rediscovering the Joy of Mail

Written communication is essential to our modern life. Each day, words fill cyberspace in the forms of email and brief text messages. This communication is thrilling because of its efficiency; a string of emails can contain a lengthy conversation occurring in a very narrow time frame. What all of these electronic messages are missing is the anticipation and humanity of a hand written letter.

I vividly recall the excitement of receiving a letter in the mail. Scanning the envelope began to unlock mysteries as I examined the penmanship, stamp, and postmark. Upon opening the envelope, I was certain the message contained on the hand written pages were intended solely for me as they were carefully crafted by a writer whose attention was directed entirely on me. This precious gem was much more than merely a piece of mail; it was a personal letter that I would repeatedly return to in the days ahead.

These days, most envelopes I receive by postal mail are either bills or junk. Neither is terribly exciting. To remedy the absence of personal letters, I joined an organization known as International Pen Friends (IPF). That's right...an adult man is writing to pen pals. IPF is a subscription service. For $30, I received the names and addresses of 15 pen pals. These members were selected because of their age range, geographic location, and some shared interests with me. Additionally, in the coming year, my contact information will be shared with 10 to 15 additional members.

What do I expect from my IPF membership? I'm not entirely sure. It's fascinating to share stories with a person on the other side of the world and compare their life with my own. By putting pen to paper again, the process suddenly feels more relaxed than composing another email while sitting at the computer. In a best case scenario, I will make a few new friends that I probably would have never met without first taking the chance to write a personal letter.

Hits and Misses (August 3-9)

Here's a look back at the week that was.

HITS

• I had the good pleasure to get away for a few days over in east Tennessee this week. A visit to Pigeon Forge was just what I needed. Nothing too active for me this trip. Just a little window shopping with lots of eating and sleeping. I can now say that I'm thoroughly rested and ready to get the semester started.
• I've always enjoyed jigsaw puzzles, but I've not gotten to do very many of them. The biggest issue is that I'm so slow at solving them and didn't have a space to keep them that would not disrupt the entire household. Imagine my excitement when the problem was solved by purchasing a Puzzle Store! This thing is super neat. It will hold a puzzle that is 20 x 27 inches (most 1000 piece puzzles fall within this dimension). I've had a lot of fun getting to enjoy my puzzles without the clutter.
• As I was leaving town on Monday afternoon, I received my first letter from a pen pal in Germany! I was so excited! I'll be telling you more about my involvement with Pen Friends International (IPF) in a post later this week.

MISSES

• My trip was bookended with doctor's visits. They are never fun events, but necessary. Thankfully, neither of the geriatric patients got horribly negative reports.
• While in Pigeon Forge, I stayed at the Best Western Toni Inn. The hotel was a great facility; the reason it ends up under the "misses" this week is because of the noisy AC unit that didn't get fixed until my second morning in town. Nothing is worse than having sleep disrupted by a knocking that could only be stopped by turning off the AC. I was very pleased, however, when the unit was promptly fixed after reporting the problem to the front desk the next morning.

An Unexpected "Church"

While reading the August 4, 2014 issue of Time Magazine, I was introduced to a new movement discussed in the religion section. The article centered on Houston Oasis, the largest of approximately twelve atheist churches popping up around the country. You read it right -- an atheist church.

Under the leadership of a former Christian minister who now declares himself an atheist, Houston Oasis offers Sunday secular gatherings for the atheists and agnostics of the community. The gathering is modeled after the Christian service, providing a time of musical reflection, fellowship with like-minded people, and an informative talk that offers relevant insight to the highly scientific within the confines of a community that is aware of its members' challenges and offers support to one another. A quick visit to the organization's website (www.houstonoasis.org) revealed that Houston Oasis further reflects the typical church by offering opportunities to impact the larger community through financial contributions, volunteer efforts, and support services such as food pantries and personal counseling.

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and sounds like a duck, it must be a duck, right? What separates this atheist church from the Christian church? For many seekers, one of the most inviting differences is Houston Oasis' statement that "human people are of greater importance than human belief."

Before this discussion goes any further, let me clearly state that I am a fervent Christian. In light of the decreased commitment to the contemporary Christian church, however, I think it is important to examine the growing popularity of secular gatherings such as Houston Oasis.

Many churches have placed their emphasis in the wrong places for far too long. We have concerned ourselves with providing ample fellowship opportunities. We've polished our services to include excellent music and a clearly outlined message that includes three points that can be applied to life situations in the coming week. We strive to help the poor with our clothes closets and school supply drives. None of these things are wrong in and of themselves. Honestly, they are all quite commendable. But these things alone make our congregations no different from the atheist churches. That's a hard pill to swallow!

Some will identify the love displayed by the Christian church as the distinguishing feature. I'm not sure that's entirely true. I will go so far as to say that Houston Oasis' efforts are also founded in genuine love and compassion for their fellow man. While the source of love may be different for the atheist and the Christian, the one receiving experiences both expressions of love in much the same way.

So then, what makes the Christian church different from the atheist gathering? The only thing that can possibly distinguish our Christian gatherings and outreach efforts from available secular offerings is an unquestionable anointing of the Holy Spirit. Unless we can leave our Sunday services with the undeniable realization that we have been in the very presence of the Most High God, we may as well have called our time together a secular gathering and just move on. Without anointing, lives are not transformed. Without anointing, our efforts have no eternal impact. Without anointing, our churches are dead and powerless. We desperately need a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit in our churches!

Life changing anointing begins with the individual and will spread like wildfire to the entire congregation. A healthy church is either experiencing anointing or desperately seeking it. The only other option for a church is staleness, meaningless ceremony, and spiritual death. If you find yourself in one of these dead congregations, don't waste another minute! Seek out life changing anointing that will change the world and, in the process, will forever change you.

Lord, send anointing to me!

In Dreams

Dreams come in many shapes and sizes. Some are hopes for ourselves. Others are wishes for the happiness of another. Sometimes dreams fill us with hope for a better tomorrow. Occasionally, a dream is so big that just thinking about it is overwhelming.

I've noticed that dreams most often come when our mind is at peace. Just as literal dreams flash through the mind while the body is resting and restoring itself, life's big dreams tend to be birthed during quiet seasons. We're in between projects, stress is relatively low, and we begin to entertain possibilities for the future.

Our dreams are often expressions of our deep-seeded desires. Things we have thought about before, but never dared to voice find their way to the surface as a dream. In the safety of a dream world, we are able to explore the options that our cognitive mind would normally brush away. In dreams, we are not forced to face the possibility of failure. In dreams, any fantasy has a chance of being reality.

Our dreams are influenced by our surroundings. Do you remember watching a movie right before bed and becoming a part of the story in your dreams that night? Our life dreams are also influenced by the world around us -- whether it's judgmental nay-sayers or people who have faith to move mountains. If you want a new dream (or a new outlook on an existing dream), it may be time to evaluate your daily environment.

Dreams can be frightening. Sometimes our fear is associated with the content itself. More often, I find that my fear is associated with the size of the dream. After all, the bigger the dream, the greater the possibility of failure. For those of us who tend to dream big, we know that it can be both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing when we see limitless possibilities. The curse comes as we begin to share our dream with others; few things can be more discouraging than realizing you didn't effectively convey the dream to another person.

Dreams are not reality. They are temporary expressions of what could be. Fortunately, our dreams can become reality if we are willing to risk, work, and keep believing. When a road block appears, our dream demands we courageously look for another solution. As we get tired of all the hard work, the dream must be revisited to remind us the outcome will ultimately be worth the high price.

I'm finding that a new dream is taking shape in my own heart. Truthfully, it's not entirely new; it's a rebirth of an old dream. The enormity frightens me. The task is huge. I'm certain challenges lie ahead. The dream may never become a reality, but I'm not willing to spend the rest of my life wondering "What if?" So, I'm keeping the dream in mind and slowly taking steps to make it happen. Even if it doesn't come about in the way that I hope, I have to believe that my life will be enriched by daring to give birth to my dream.

What dream is in your mind today? Dare to imagine how your life would look if you courageously took the first step toward fulfilling your dream. After all, a dream is nothing less than a wish your heart makes!

Sweet dreams to you, my friends!
~Kennith

Hits and Misses (July 27 - August 2)

This week has been all about recovering from vacation and enjoying the last few days of summer. Here's a look back at the week that was.

HITS

• I'm gearing up for the fall semester and that means it is time to get some practicing in! Regardless of how much work it is, I really do enjoy getting to work out new pieces at the piano. This week has included a lot of time spent with songs by Barber and Rorem as well as the first act of The Magic Flute. I don't have things totally under my hands yet, but I'm much closer than I was last week!
• I've also enjoyed plenty of time to read again this week. I always have a good book at hand, but this week I also got to dive into some magazines as well. Time has taken up most of my reading, but I also discovered American History this week. I've never been a true reader of periodicals, but I'm finding that it's interesting to dive into these short, thought-provoking articles. Look for the first influence of my reading in Friday's post....
• Because I tend to travel for work and pleasure quite a bit, I have racked up a solid number of hotel loyalty points. That means I'm able to escape for a few days again this week (this time without the Geriatric Patients) and just catch my breath before things get moving full steam ahead in a few weeks.

MISSES

• It's never fun when scheduling conflicts arise. It seems to be even worse when the conflict impacts your income. This week, I learned that classes I was scheduled to teach at MSCC and Union were offered on the same mornings. It was not an easy decision to make since I knew I wouldn't be able to fulfill one of the commitments. Ultimately, I decided to continue teaching class piano at Union during the day; I'll teach the night and online sections of music appreciation in West Memphis. It appears that it will be another financial hit for me, but I'm trusting that everything is going to work out for my good in all circumstances.
• I've suffered with a stiff neck most of the week. I guess I'm sleeping in a position that puts pressure on it. I've seen a massage therapist this week, but I'm still really tight. The plan is to have another massage while I'm out of town.
• My car is filthy! The exterior doesn't look too bad, but the inside needs help. It's simply been too hot to deal with it, I've been lazy, and I can't afford to have it detailed. So I'll live with the mess for a little while longer.

There you have it.  Hope you have a great week.

Insulted

It happens to everyone. A comment is made that raises an emotion you're not entirely certain how to describe. At first, you think it's anger. Maybe your feelings have just been hurt. No, it's a little deeper than that. You feel completely insulted.

Insults most commonly come when people think less of us that we feel we deserve. We begin to wonder if the person really thinks we are so naive, uncaring, insensitive, or just plain stupid. The deepest insults come from those we thought knew us best; many times, painful insults come shortly after getting commended in the same life area by another.

When insults come, we feel betrayed. We want to lash out in anger at the source of our pain. Often, we decide to do the opposite and withdraw from those who have injured us.

With a single thoughtless comment, trust that has been built over time is destroyed. No matter how sincere the apology, things will never be the same. That's because we know that the insult contained a germ of that person's true opinion of us.

So how do we avoid being insulted? Can we avoid unintentionally insulting others? I think that our technologically driven society has forgotten the truth of the adage "Think before you speak." Before making the comment about an emotional situation, stop and think. Can this be misunderstood? Is this even an issue that needs to be raised? If we all took a couple of minutes to pause and think about others before we spoke (or typed, for that matter!), we would avoid the majority of the pain that we dish out.

To those on the receiving end of the insult, the advice is much the same. Avoid addressing the issue while you're dealing with hurt feelings because hurt people tend to hurt other people. The spiral of pain has to stop somewhere. Once you've dealt with the hurt and anger, objectively decide if anything needs to be said. In most cases, anything you say will only accomplish opening the door for more baseless insults to be hurled your way. Remember that the opinions of others do not determine truth. Walk confidently in the knowledge of who you are take all of your pains to the Lord, your Healer.