Reading & Running

Seems like my days have been full of two things lately, reading and running. Which has reminded me that I really love both of them a lot. I have read multiple textbooks start to finish along with other supplemental reading and then reading just for the fun of it. It seems like my brain is about to expand beyond limits!!

Anyways, as I was eating breakfast this morning I found myself digging into a new book: The Notebook of Elbert Hubbard. It's an old book however, it has timeless advice and thoughts within it. It starts out with "Emerson loved the good more than he abhorred evil- Carlyle abhorred evil more than he loved good."

It made me stop a bit as I thought about how that's something I think sometimes we need to work on as a society. We need to remember what is evil and really let ourselves be convicted by the evil that we are faced with but we also need to remember that there is so much good that can be attested to and enjoyed. Then the excerpt goes on to say: "If you should by chance find anything in this book you do not especially like, it is not at all wise to focus your memory on that"

I once read an illustration of how we are to write the bad memories or hurtful ones in the sand and then write the good ones upon rocks. So then as we look back we remember and live with only the good memories and the bad ones are washed away with high tides. However, I think that sometimes we fall into this pit especially myself, where I am writing things on the sand that is practically to the beach houses... As if to say, well God, I will forgive this person when you get water all the way up to the beach houses. However, what I think I must not forget is that it's not really all about when the water hits the message- but why I am holding a grudge. Ephesians 4:32 states: And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you. It makes me wonder how directly I fulfill this on a daily basis... I have found especially in the work setting I am letting some of the biggest annoyances I have found in my co- workers define who they are... I get frustrated and angry and I am not truly reflecting God.

I have really thought about what it looks like to not only be a Christ follower, but someone who is consumed by Christ. If we are truly and fully consumed by Christ, what does that look like? How can we achieve that?

In closing:

"The supreme prayer of my heart is not to be learned, rich, famous, powerful or even good, but simply to be radiant. I desire to radiate health, cheerfulness, calm courage and good- will. I wish to live without hate, whim, jealousy, envy, or fear. I wish to be simple, honest, frank, natural, clean in mind and clean in body, unaddected- to say "I do not know," if it be so, and to meet all men on an absolute equality, to face any obstacle and meet every difficulty unabashed and unafraid. I wish others to live their lives, too, up to their highest, fullest and best. To that end I pray that I may never meddle, interefere, dictate, give advice that is not wanted, or assist when my services are not needed. If I can help people, I'll do it by giving them a chance to help themselves; and if I can uplift or inspire, let it be by example, inference and suggestion, rather than by injunction and dictation. That is to say I desire to be Radiant- to Radiate Life!" -Elbert Hubbard