Paul Long's Ramblings

It has been a busy period for me. And it looks to be just as busy for the next three weeks. So ... it is time once again to "re-center" lest I lose my focus. Chapter 31 of "Spiritual Formation on the Run"  and chapter 40 both seem like ideal chapters to reflect and blog on especially in the light of my current sermon series on Parables of Jesus, the concept of "righteousness" and the theme of "choosing" has been very prominent.  Have been thinking a lot, among other things on these two areas. Anyway, first the chapters ... BEWARE THE DARK SIDE George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith was one of the most awaited summer releases of 2005. The Star Wars movies - six in total - represented a significant milestone in movie making as the computer became as important as the actors and cameras. This futuristic intergalactic war epic started off in the middle of the story with Episode 4-A New Hope. To get an idea of the storyt...

Busy - busy - super busy. More than busy - also stressed ... so re-centering time! This is a chapter in which my ramblings are long overdue ... :-) JUST DO IT Chapter 28 of Alex Tang's Spiritual Formation on the Run First the chapter, then my ramblings ... I have always been fascinated by the Desert Fathers and Mothers who lived in the fourth century. These men and women left behind everything they had to live in the hostile deserts of Egypt, and later Syria and Palestine. The desert is a deadly, unforgiving environment. In the day, the sun bakes the land mercilessly while the nights are freezing cold. Yet these people left behind comfortable, secure lives and loved ones to live alone in the desert. They moved there to fight the demons in the desert, and the demons within themselves. Like Jesus' temptation in the desert, these elders sought the purifying furnace of the desert to encounter God. Though we are separated by 1500 years, cultural, social and linguistic diffe...

It's been a while since I last posted a reflection from Alex's "Spiritual Formation on the Run" ... For this post I have chosen Chapter 25: Keep in Step. First, the chapter in blue italics , and followed by my reflections and of course ramblings :-) Please be forewarned about the ramblings! :-) Look at a herd of sheep. You may be able to get them to move together in one direction, which farmers in Australia use sheep dogs to do. The sheep dogs will herd the sheep, but the sheep will never be able to march in a precise and coordinated manner. They will trip over and run into each other, and make a lot of noise. A herd of sheep does not exhibit teamwork. An emperor of China decided to see if his people could work together. Were they capable of teamwork? He issued a decree that everybody must eat with four-feet long chopsticks; they were not allowed to eat with their hands. The decree must be obeyed on pain of death. After six months, the emperor wondered how h...

It has been a tiring few weeks. One major reason has been a problem with my prescription glasses. *sigh* Makes my eyes so tired that I literally have to shut them. And of course it is hard to focus. Hope the new ones are ready soon. I tend to sleep a little earlier too as I literally can't keep my eyes opened but I dream a lot and get up often as my "brain is not happy" to be asked to power down when it has a lot on its mind :-) The human mind is really a wonder! Anyway, I have finished this Sunday's sermon early, which is good as I have a lot to do this week. And this time I am not going to work harder in resisting the temptation to look at my sermon before Saturday. And since I have a birthday party on Saturday, that might help as well :-) It's a good time to pause and do some re-centering. Been a while since I posted up anything on my slow but steady "run" with Dr. Alex's book so here's one ... under his 'HEROES AND SUPERHEROES" cate...

My recent car accident has distracted me a bit from my routine. And though I am not scheduled to preach this month, I have been busy with a number of pressing ministry matters that have also been distracting. So I am grateful for a long preaching break where I have had a lot more time to pray, reflect and try to figure out what to do!!! Sometimes the tunnel seems pretty long and dark and there is no indication of any light showing that the tunnel is near. Anyway this is good as again, it forces me to remember that it is God who will take care of matters not me - my task is to do my best to discern his leading and move accordingly. So again I turn to my re-centering exercises and I find comfort in chapter 26 (How expensive is your church) . Why? Well, because our church building project journey has been difficult and I think will continue to be challenging BUT at the same time at this stage of the journey I can see clearly God's hand and guidance. Anyway, here's the chapter f...

I have been wanting to blog on chapter 21, Renovation of the Soul for a long time but there's too many questions and issues that first need to be "resolved". So here's chapter 23 instead ... though it was / is not exactly an easier chapter to reflect on. First the chapter, then some of my reflections / ramblings. HOW HEAVY IS YOUR BURDEN? There is an old story about three men and their sacks. Each man had two sacks, one tied in front of his neck and the other on his back. When the first man was asked what was in his sacks, he said, "In the sack on my back are all the good things friends and family have done. That way they are hidden from view. In the front sack are all the bad things that have happened to me. Every now and then I stop, open the front sack, take the things out, examine them, and think about them." Because he stopped so often to concentrate on all the bad stuff, he did not make much progress in life. The second man was asked about his sacks....

Been a while since I last posted my reflections of my Lectio Divina exercises using Alex's "Spiritual formation on the run". Been extra busy as my wife is still in Malaysia. Not too busy to do my contemplation as it is after all being done ... "on the run". :-) If you didn't get that, that's the whole beauty of this concept. You do not have to be disappear for hours in a quiet secluded place to get close to God and "practice the presence of God". But busy I have been as all the cooking and cleaning duties are now my domain so time to type is rather limited ... but more on that as it is related to this blog's reflection and ramblings. Ah ... Brother Lawrence would be smiling in heaven at hearing this .... :-) Ok, first this is from chapter 16 entitled: SHOUT TO THE WORLD Elie Wiesel writes: One of the Just Men came to Sodom, determined to save its inhabitants from sin and punishment. Night and day he walked the streets and markets prot...