Knowing Your Why, When Maps Speak, and 3 Rules

Some of you have noticed that I haven’t been around for the past two weeks. First, let me say, it’s good to be missed. Second, well, it wasn’t intentional. But you don’t want to hear the boring details. And they really are boring.

So, let’s move on.

The great irony here is, sometimes slowing down and living deeper gets pushed to the side for a season. I’d prefer that it didn’t, but the fact that it does just means I remain vigilant about what I plan to say yes to.
 
A friend called me a couple of weeks ago and asked me to attend a Gideons meeting. It’s a worthy ministry, but I can’t take on anything else right now, so I said no. And I didn’t feel guilty about it.
 
This is a relatively new thing for me. As a people-pleaser, I used to say yes, which means I ended up on all sorts of boards and committees.
 
In the indie author movement, a buzz phrase is circulating right now: know your why. If you know your why, then you’ll know your who, what, when, and where. If you don’t know your why, then your who, what, when, and where will likely be determined by someone else.
 
Of course, I’m not talking about never helping someone in need or pitching in at church. Instead, I’m talking about anything that requires a sustained amount of time. Time is a commodity every bit as much as a physical product is. When we trade it for the wrong thing, we aren’t being faithful to our why.
 
If you want to know more about this, check out: 

• Why Discovering Your 'Why' Is the No. 1 Business Move
• Life on Purpose
• Know Your Why [Video]

Now, let's get to this week's thoughts about slowing down and living deeper. 

• Lou Reed and his wife, Laurie Anderson, lived by three rules. You'll find language in this article, so feel free to skip it. But point number three is, "Be really, really tender." The article doesn't go into detail, but I can't help but wonder if the rule is about personal relationships. We tend to be the harshest with the ones we love most. 


• If you are looking for a website where you can download free e-books, check out Free Books for Free. You need an account, but once you set one up, you'll be all set. Currently, the site contains more than 1,600 free Christian e-books.


• I don't know if this is true or not, but I found this map of every device in the world that's connected to the internet to be fascinating. Kind of shows you what the rest of the world might be up to. 


• Want to know what Americans think about the Bible? Check out this story on Christianity Today's website.


• Here's a sobering article: 3 Kinds of Students That Leave Christianity After High School. In it, the writer says that approximately 50% of students disengage from their faith after they leave home. 


• If you aren't a baseball fan you can tune this one out. I love Joe Posnanski's writing, especially his baseball writing. He goes deep into the weeds to show us why baseball is such a great game. Here's a good example: The Wonder of Beltran. Can you tell I miss covering the game?


• Have you noticed how difficult it is becoming to find coffee shops or restaurants where you can write, work, or think without dealing with loud music or being seated right next to somebody else? My former favorite coffee shop is now in the habit of blaring modern music that makes my ears bleed. A restaurant I write in on Monday nights has both loud music and it crowds everybody into the same section, leaving the other half of the restaurant completely open. I tend to vote with my feet, so I'm currently looking for a quieter place by my house. How about you?  

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Have a great weekend!