Labor Day and Books I've Read

Vacation seems like a distant memory this week. It was a short work week because of the holiday, but the days I did work were very busy. I had to fit into 3 days what normally takes 4. On top of that, a 4 hour staff meeting was scheduled for yesterday, my first day in the office this week. Yikes! Fortunately, I have good help. Although I worked extra hours yesterday, today went better and the work got done.

Andy and I labored on Labor Day. After visiting Amy, Ricky and kids on Sunday (see Amy's blog), Monday and Tuesday we worked on a long list of jobs to be done around the house. None of them were too exciting. For instance, Andy worked on installing a battery back up for our sump pump. He also worked on correcting some electrical issues. Our kitchen light is on a 3-way switch and for some reason, the one switch wasn't working. He had worked on trying to fix that a number of times, but wasn't getting it. He finally called an electrician friend to help and now it works! These may seem like trivial and insignificant items on the to-do list, but it's a good feeling when they can be crossed off.

I puttered around in the kitchen and did errands and cleaned house and generally got caught up from being away. On Tuesday, I watched Kira while Andy and Dawn went biking. They did a 44 mile ride, preparing for the trip to the shore on Sept. 20. They seem to really enjoy their biking, but I think I had the better experience. Kira and I read books, played on the swing set, threw sticker balls in the pond, visited the neighbor's sheep and goats and another neighbor's chickens. (I do not have any pictures because I forgot all about recording those precious moments for posterity.)

I've been reading some good books lately. I gained some insight into myself from People of the Lie by M.Scott Peck.The whole book was insightful but I especially was struck in his explanation of group dynamics. He said "most people would rather be followers. More than anything else, it is probably a matter of laziness. It is simply easy to follow, and much easier to be a follower than a leader. There is no need to agonize over complex decisions, plan ahead, exercise initiative, risk unpopularity, or exert much courage."

It struck a chord with me because I am often in a leadership role, but have to confess that I would rather follow. I had never thought of it in terms of my laziness, but I have to agree that it is easier to follow than lead. There is risk in leading.

The author continues: "The problem is that the role of follower is the role of child. The individual adult as individual is master of his own ship, director of his destiny. But when he assumes the role of follower he hands over to the leader his power: his authority over himself and his maturity as decision-maker. He becomes psychologically dependent on the leader as a child is dependent on its parents."

Another book that challenged my thinking was In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson.The subtitle is: How to Survive and Thrive when Opportunity Roars. It was recommended to me by a friend whose husband passed away in October. Here are some quotes from the beginning of several chapters to whet your appetite:

chapter 1 - "You are responsible forever for what you have tamed." Antoine de Saint-Exupery
chapter 2 - "How much happier you would be, how much more of you there would be, if the hammer of a higher God could smash your small cosmos." G.K. Chesterton
chapter 5 - "To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways; we do not know what a day may bring forth. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness; it should rather be an expression of breathless expectation." Oswald Chambers
chapter 6 - "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

A couple of things I underlined:
"Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshiping what's right with God."
He talked about that there are "basically two kinds of people in the world: complainers and worshipers...Complainers will always find something to complain about. Worshipers will always find something to praise God about. They simply have different default settings."

"Here's what I've learned from personal experience. Sickness helps us appreciate health. Failure helps us appreciate success. Debt helps us appreciate wealth. And the tough times help us appreciate the good times. That's just the way life is. I've also learned that our worst days can become our best days."

The author stated that we can turn our adversity into a ministry. If we don't do so, our pain remains our pain. But if we allow God to translate our adversity into a ministry, then our pain becomes someone else's gain. He said he had a theory that "the more problems you have, the more potential you have to help people."

Very thought provoking.

And then I read another book just for fun: The Three Musketeers.This story was written by Alexandre Dumas who was a prolific writer in the 1800's. Another of his novels, Count of Monte Cristo, is also a classic. This is a story set in France where there is intrigue in the court of King Louis XIII. It gets pretty exciting in spots, but our hero manages to foil all attempts to do away with him and in the end, justice and right prevail. I love good endings.