What I Learned Winter 2019-2020
I am a big fan of reflection. It's one of the ways that we can enjoy life and truly take it in. Sometimes, life can feel like it's passing us by simply because we are so busy we don't take the time to really see it, to really take stock of what we're learning and experiencing and enjoying. Thus, I have taken on the habit of Emily P. Freeman in sharing what I learned during the previous season. She already shared hers last week. This is my list of some of the things I learned during this winter season.
1) "But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today." -- Deuteronomy 8:18
2) So much about the history of the royals and the UK from The Crown. There is so much we just aren't taught in school about our neighbors across the pond! I learned about the mining tragedy of Aberfan and how the queen's greatest regret is that she didn't go sooner to be a comfort to the families who lost their children in the accident. I enjoyed learning how Prince Charles went to Wales to learn the language and to give a speech in Welsh. Obviously, it's necessary to do some investigation after watching to know what is sensationalized for the sake of story and entertainment and what actually is confirmed history. But, it's eye-opening to see history from a perspective other than the US one I've been taught from in the past.
3) Discovery and being able to grow is at odds physically, spiritually, and emotionally with living defensively and trying to constantly preserve oneself. This theme came up in numerous books that I read in this season such as Stronger Than the Struggle by Havilah Cunnington, Unpunishable by Danny Silk, and Who Switched Off My Brain? by Dr. Caroline Leaf. I saw this pattern as either an invitation or as an indicator of the direction I was already headed in. Life in ministry can cause burn-out; this is fairly well-known. What tends to buzz under the surface, however, is a tendency to fall into living defensively and wanting to preserve oneself. Physically, it causes a stress reaction that prevents cell growth. Spiritually, it makes us miss the very ways that God is leading us in adventure. Emotionally, it can make us so guarded that we miss out on the most healing of relationships. Since we can't do both at the same time, eventually I think we have to choose what kind of person we want to be with God's help.
4) Sometimes "good enough" can turn into a masterpiece that becomes part of cultural canon. This lesson comes courtesy of watching the Netflix show, The Movies That Made Us, and particularly the episode about Ghostbusters. This movie, aside from being so unlike anything else around at the time (or since, really), faced so many obstacles to be made. The script was started by Dan Akroyd and was a constant work in progress with key questions being answered at the last minute. The name "Ghostbusters" almost didn't happen because another television program already had the name, and it was an uncertainty if it would finally be released for use or not (even though they had already filmed the movie using the name). No one really knew if Bill Murray was actually on board or not since he hadn't signed a contract at all, and many of the actors that Dan Akroyd had in mind when writing were not the ones who actually ended up in the movie. A whole company for special effects had to be assembled and formed because there was only one good special effects company at the time, and they were already committed to a Spielberg movie. From the time the movie was green lit in May 1983, they only had until June 1984 to finish, but they didn't even have a finished script at the time they were green lit. When they previewed the movie to an audience, the special effects weren't even in the movie because they weren't finished yet. In fact, because of the time crunch, when the special effects team sent over their work to be approved by the director and then finally polished, the director just went ahead and put them in the movie. The songwriter of the theme song had the messenger boy knocking on his door to take the cassette to the director as he was finishing the final lyrics. But, the rest is history. It broke box office records. The theme song was nominated for an Academy Award. And it's now a major pop culture reference that's appearing in numerous other forms of entertainment. (Not to mention a new one is on its way to theaters soon.) As someone who can struggle with perfectionism and tends to want to do things "just right," this whole story just brings me joy. You do the best you can with what you have. You bring the best that you have, and you never know how that will be multiplied.
5) "Knowing exactly what God wants to do is not the aim of our life; worship is." - Jess Connolly in her book, You Are the Girl for the Job
From Amazon
6) One Night: Ultimate Werewolf game is really fun. I grew up in a home where lying was totally unacceptable. While most kids go through a lying phase, my siblings and I had that nipped in the bud pretty quickly. And now, all of us also hate lying. None of us are good liars for this very reason. So with that in mind, I didn't expect to like this game because I figured that I'd be really bad at it. I don't know that I'm very good at it, but my family played this game a lot over the holidays, and it was a lot of fun. It's one of those games that is best explained by doing, but you basically draw a role at random via cards. From that point on, you play that role and ask questions trying to figure out who the werewolf is. And, if you're the werewolf, you don't want to be caught--thus, the lying. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once people get the hang of it, it causes a lot of laughter and produces some interesting strategy.
7) The story of Aarti Sequiera and her faith. I really enjoy cooking shows because they jumpstart my own creative outlet in cooking. There are only so many channels in English that I have access to here, and one of them is the Food Network. I don't watch cable television often, but when I do, it's usually the Food Network. And, one person who is frequently seen on the Food Network in shows like Guy's Grocery Games is Aarti Sequiera. I had no idea that she was a Christian or how she got involved in the world of food entertainment until listening to Annie F. Downs' podcast episode with her. It was a great episode, and it was encouraging to hear how the Lord prompted her to just take a big leap and know that He would bless it. That is how she ended up connected to the Food Network.
8) God's guidance of me is not contingent on my sensing it. At some point in life, most of us will go through a season when we feel like we aren't moving forward, or we don't know where God is leading us. We may feel lost even though we continue to seek the Lord and His will. We may feel hesitant to take a path or make a decision for lack of clarity. Or, we might take steps forward only to find that they don't pan out. Yet, I am learning as I emerge from a loooonnnggg season like that that God has been leading me the whole time. He has been honoring my faithfulness. And He has been guiding my steps even when I couldn't feel it or wasn't sure of it.
Photo by Susanne Jutzeler
9) Longer is not always better when marinating meat. I have started reading Samin Nosrat's book, Salt Fat Acid Heat. I have raved about her Netflix show and the recipes I learned from it before. This book is even better because it's so practical and educational. One of the things I just learned was how acid in marinades can soften meat proteins to uncoil and become tender. However, there is a window of time that is ideal for marinating. Beyond that, the proteins that have uncoiled to become tender actually re-coil and suck all of the moisture out of the meat. Thus, marinating is a good idea but only for so long.
What did you learn in the last season?
Comments
Post a Comment