Productivity

From Slate:

The challenge for presidential candidates, as Merlin Mann puts it, is "to know when to stop scanning your campground for bears long enough to make S'mores."

Isn't that the challenge for all of us?

The Slate article examines how presidential candidates schedule their lives, how they make productivity work for them. I'm a big 43 Folders fan. It's eye candy for the time-starved, offering hope for just half an hour to spare. There's more where this came from -- productivity classes, forums, books and podcasts (because who can read a book these days?). Half an hour would make me do a somersault; I'm sure Barack or John would do a round off and five cartwheels.

But do productivity strategies really make a difference? There wouldn't be an industry centered around checking off our to-do lists if the strategies didn't help us, would there? So why do we keep going back to these resources, keep trying to find what works? Why do we keep looking for a band-aid that will cover our open wound?

November 4

I've voted absentee in Illinois before, picking names out of a hat without understanding the candidates' track records in the community. As a former Public Life reporter, I learned that our local elections carry more weight than the national ones; after all, your school board will impact your life more than your national president. So I changed my voter registration to Missouri a few weeks ago. I know about Missouri candidates, and I'm invested in Columbia.

But who will I pick for our next president? Couldn't tell you with a shotgun to my head. Actually, I probably could scream MCCAIN or OBAMA if my life was in danger, but you get the point.

I'm trying to approach this from a faith-based perspective, but there's no clear winner. I don't want babies dying, but I want the poor and underprivileged cared for. I want lower taxes, but I want quality programs to have enough funding. I hate the war, but it would not be wise to pack up and leave tomorrow. Some argue experience, but some argue the need for fresh perspective.

People I really trust have different perspectives. I thought about linking them here, but my list got uncontrollably long. Obama supporters and McCain supporters alike have tried to persuade me. I have yet to be won over.

Here on a work visa/ and that's how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air

For what I'm about to write, I must give credit where credit is due: our speaker at Fall Conference.

Exodus tells the story of our freedom in Christ. We're no longer enslaved by our sin. Freedom is a compelling story; so is what we do with that freedom we never deserved in the first place.

People leave their own countries and go to others for many reasons, so there are many visas to fit those reasons. Some travel with a tourist visa, intending to visit a place for a few weeks and then head home. Some travel with a student visa, intending to learn and gain some knowledge and then head home. Still others travel with a work visa, wanting to serve their new country with their knowledge and ability.

Freedom in Christ isn't a tourist visa; it isn't a license to do anything we want. Freedom in Christ isn't a student visa; it isn't a culture we take from and learn from. Freedom in Christ is a work visa. We show up, armed with the Word, to change the world, to serve the world, to love with our arms outstretched.

Big orders. But then again, we have a big God.

***

There are many things I'll miss once I graduate from college. Thing #1: Sing-a-longs.

This weekend, at Fall Conference, I joined some of my best friends in the Fresh Prince theme song, Under the Sea, Wonderwall, Don't Stop Believing, Iris, I'm Yours, MMMBop (no consensus on the actual words), the Brady Bunch theme song, Summer Nights, songs from Rent, about 12 Backstreet Boys songs . . . the list goes on.

I can't remember all the words. I can't remember all the songs. But I remember the people I sang them with. This is the kind of stuff I'll miss next year.

You'd probably do better after a great night's sleep.

Lunesta wants my business.

It's a quarter to one, and I'm scrolling around the homepage on MSNBC. News called; I answered. After clicking on a link and getting through the first paragraph of yet another Obama-McCain story, I notice an ad at the top of the page. It is a color matching game -- I don't say no to a good color matching and order game.

It was kind of like Simon . . . click on the colors in the order they appear. Each sequence got tougher. Just as I reached the lofty score of 5, the game announced how crummy I'd done.

"GAME OVER. You'd probably do better after a great night's sleep."

The game's sponsor? Lunesta. Display ads for sleep aids in the middle of the night, and you're likely to find insomniac customers. Now that's target marketing.

Done with that

I walked through the old newsroom today on my way to a professor's office. (I'll leave the newspaper nameless, on the off chance that someone stumbles onto my blog and thinks I'm biting the hand that feeds me.) This foreign feeling of excitement rushed over me, a feeling of excitement and joy that I'm no longer held captive.

I wanted to cartwheel down the hall. Almost did.

Hitting refresh

I was reading my church's blog today and a blogger asked this. Funny. It is the same question I'm asking these days:

In today's post I just want to ask one simple question and hear what you have to say:

What do you do to hit "refresh."

I am not talking about the left click a the top of your browser.

What do you do?

Segway

When we leave a place, literally or figuratively, physically or mentally, the ends may not be tied up in neat, Martha Stewart-esque bows. Life isn't neat. Life isn't tidy. But God's plan is good; God's path is meaningful. We may not know where we're going, but God does, and we have a reason to be there, every step of the way.