HRFinney

Just a couple quotes i Like

2012-02-16T17:32:00.000-08:00

"An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be.”
― Albert Einstein

Dreams

2012-01-16T19:42:00.000-08:00

I've had two vivid and overly random dreams in the last week. After a little thinking about them, I've come to the conclusion that they each have meaning. The first dream was of me visiting a patch of land that had mature plants on it, including one very tall palm tree. The land was surprising familiar and later in the dream I recalled that I had once sown seed in that same dirt many years before.

Later awake and analyzing the dream, I was encouraged and motivated as its meaning came to me. My time here and my relationships is my sowing of seeds. I may leave and never see these people again, but I have the chance to instill thoughts in people that would blossom to something I could never image. The palm tree was special too, because it means that there is some relationship here that will be very meaningful in the long run. The dream told me to keep my eyes open and to truly invest in those I spend my time with.

Then Friday night I had a dream that startled me awake before 7 am on Saturday. I was working in the basement of what seemed like an old run-down church. I was down there teaching kids something, when suddenly there was a girl acting really strange in the hallway outside of the classrooms. Next thing I know, this girl looks over at the boys bathroom, where the door is cracked open, and offers a really strange remark. In the most casual of tones as if she has experienced a similiar tragedy before, she says something along the lines of "were screwed now." So I make my way over to the bathroom and there is a foot of standing water in the bathroom and there is a mentally challenged little boy floating face up under the water. He's smiling and has apparently been in this position - trapped under water near death - before. I was so shocked by what I saw in the dream that I was instantly wide awake.

The meaning of this one came to me very quickly as I laid on my couch that morning. I was that boy, drowning with a smile on my face. And I had been in that position before. It was a message to me that I need to always be sober. Always. That was a creepy dream.

further up further in

2011-12-21T05:23:00.001-08:00

I hear whispers. Come away my love, come away, come away...
You sound closer. Come away my love, come away, come away...

a good quote

2011-12-19T11:50:00.001-08:00

"travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light"

these are just nice song lyrics

2011-12-16T11:06:00.000-08:00

For now you will deal with heartache,
And for now you will face some pain.
But now release all of your buried grief,
You don't know how inside it lies your healing.

Letting grace make a way,
Letting love take a place inside your heart now,
You don't have to grasp,
You just have to ask and peace will find you out.

The grief is heavy tonight,
You will break out with the daylight.

Even now you are being restored,
And for now you don't fully understand.
Even now your whole life's being thought for,
By the one who calls himself "I am".

Letting grace make away,
Letting love take a place inside your heart now,
You don't have to grasp,
You just have to ask and peace will find you out.

The grief is heavy tonight,
You will break out with the daylight.

All over the world darkness is pierced by light.
All over the world, all over the world, darkness succumbs to light.

Letting grace make away,
Letting love take a place inside your heart now,
You don't have to grasp,
You just have to ask and peace will find you out.

Your heart feels it now,
The grief is heavy tonight,
You will break out with the daylight.
Your heart feels it now.

Nerdy Stuff

2011-12-15T18:12:00.000-08:00

I'm not used to working a little under 40 hours a week. I'm also not used to not being strongly connected to people living around me. These things combined give me plenty of time during the weeknights to do something worth while. Unfortunately, during this time of year, its dark before I ever leave work, which restrains my effective hours to indoor activity. There has been this strange draw over the past week to learn something new in this free time, and the things that comes to mind is math. Yea, its strange, but I'm following through on it. MIT has online classes, and I found their intro calculus class and have started watching the lectures. Although I have already taken the class twice, its like a new world starting to learn stuff again. How overwhelming and how nice.

Its a long process

2011-11-19T07:39:00.000-08:00

When you move to a new place, it slows you down. Many of your old daily patterns, the things you regularly do that eat up free time, no longer apply. Its a time where you get to make conscious decisions about how to order your life. The knee jerk reaction of most people, including myself, is to fill that void with busyness and noise. Something has prevented me from doing that here, and I'm so grateful for that. I'm even thankful for being robbed, because it stripped away another something that could eat my time.

For the first time in years I have nice margins in my life. These margins have really freed up my mind. You know that feeling when you get to college and its a whole new world? One where you get to explore many new trains of thought, one where you get question any and everything. I'm having another round of that, and its exciting! I'm refining my daily habits. I'm adding bits to my morning pre-work routine that I've meant to add for years. I'm adding habits to my pre-sleep routine that I've neglected. I'm questioning my diet and my attitude towards work. Nothing is free of the questioning eye. It feels really nice to consciously make efforts to change, however small they may be. Change is a long process, and I'm just started into it.

The realization I've come to is that, if I want my life ordered in a way that pursues God and strives to make Him know, I've got to fight myself all day long. I've got to train "brother ass" as St. Francis would call it. This mental battle seems daunting from the onset, but it brings peace. Over the course of the last week, I've laid in bed to the sound of the wind and frogs and the words "I'm at peace" have played in my head. Wow! When is the last time you have laid your head down at night and ended the day with complete peace! I'm so thankful for this time.

All of this peace still oddly is still not without a caveat. My dreams nearly nightly are of my time in BDA being over, of me being home in PTC and having regrets for not doing so many things I wish I would have done. Its a nightly reminder that, yea it was a good day for you Haynes, but tomorrow is a new day with new struggles. Each day I need to begin anew with the same attitude of fighting to live a Godly life.

He looks after his people

2011-11-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

I got my second piece of furniture for my apartment last weekend. We've had an empty living room since we moved in, so I set out of Saturday in search of some yard sale deals. The first place I went was a bust. I proceeded to the nearest gas station to fill up to continue my search around this island. As I was finishing at the pump, one of my managers pulled in to grab some milk. We chatted for a bit about my goal of finding furniture, and she was quick to offer a sleeper sofa of her own for a cheap, cheap price. About an hour later I was on my new couch in my living room! I can only attribute this coincidence to God's hand at work. He looks after his people.

morning prayer

2011-11-09T03:20:00.001-08:00

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and for ever.

Money

2011-09-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

Money is one of the most taboo topics around. Folks quickly shy away from talking about salaries and donations. To properly live out Christianity, this is a trend that needs reversing. Read through the new testament and you will wind it chock full of warnings about money. Read Jesus's words after his encounter with a young rich man at Matthew 19:23-24 for example. These warnings should terrify Christians, especially us accustomed to posh western lifestyles and fat paychecks. Compare how we live, concerned about building a nice retirement asset base and stockpiling wealth, to the example of true community in Acts 2:44-47. Does that challenge you? It scares me! I've got gobs to say about this, but I'll use the idea of talking more about money to talk about my most recent idea about how to put money to its proper use.

While I'm in Bermuda, I'll continue to rent my house to the existing roommates. In addition, I'll be filling my room. All together the cash will be more than enough to cover my mortgage. Because my house was so cheap, my mortgage runs $523 per month. With a full house I'll bring in $800-$900 a month, which will net me around $300 a month. I've been trying to decide the best use of this $3,600 next year. It could go into extra principal payments or even as a down payment on another rental house. Then one of my best ideas to date came to me. What I'll be doing is giving all of that money away. The neat part of the idea is that the renters get to be involved in the giving. Each of the three roommates gets to pick how three months of the extra money will be used. I'll decide how the final three months are allocated. That way, the house finances are completely transparent and all roommates get a chance to do good with the rent payments they have to make. This transparency keeps me accountable, and thats what we all need. We need to talk about money. Openness forces any self-respecting haves to carry their weight and redistribute wealth to the havenots. Maybe it will shrink the hump on my back.

Nerdom

2011-09-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

This week I was inspired by a website that recommended evaluating your net worth by valuing your liabilities with interest payments included. For example, on your mortgage, take your monthly payment and multiply it by the number of payments you have left. That number is truly what you are going to pay for your place. Valuing your obligations this way is a conservative approach and assumes that you will be staying put long term; however, in times like these, this approach seems appropriate.

In light of this article, I did a quick calculation on my outstanding mortgage. I've been paying as much into my mortgage as possible since last February. At times it's hard to convince myself that these payments are a wise option. Rather than grow my asset base now, they reduce future cash outlays. This is kinda boring to me. After all, it really would be more fun to talk about investments in some exciting company I had made. So let's have a look at these extra payments.

Since inception of my mortgage and between regular and extra payments, I've paid $10,495 in principal. Of this figure, $8,911 is extra payments on principal.

First lets look at some theoretical returns I could have earned on that $8,911 over the 18 month life of the mortgage. Since last February, the S&P 500 has experienced 9% gains. If I had invested the entire $8,911 in an index fund at the beginning of the mortgage (an impossible assumption), I would have $9,688 today. This represents $777 of gains. A perfect number and not terrible returns.

Now lets look at the interest side of the equation. Since inception I have paid $4,613 in interest. At this principal number on my mortgage amortization schedule, I should have paid $27,440 in interest. That amounts to savings of $22,827! Effectively, I have invested $8,911 and made $22,827 over 18 months. That is a handsome return of nearly 2.6x. All of this with an interest rate of only 5% on the mortgage.

You could argue that I should contrast my $22,827 in savings with $8,911 invested over the next 28 years. But that wouldn't be fair. I'm continuing my extra payments, which results in only 10 years remaining on the mortgage. To turn $8,911 into $22,827 over 10 years would require annual return of over 9.5%. I'm not confident in that happening.

Long story short, pay your large debts quickly and save loads in interest. Or is my logic all backwards?

Divine Affirmation

2011-07-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

I've recently decided that I will work in Bermuda for a year and a half. Deciding to take the job was a big challenge. Even when making the decision I was not 100% confident that it was the correct choice even though I was fairly certain it was where God was leading me.

After making it official, I was at David's for a dinner spending time with friends. Earlier that day I had received the packet of items necessary for my work permit in Bermuda. The list was daunting and required notarized copies of numerous documents. During the dinner I was chatting with a neighbor, the wonderful Molly Ellis, when the fact that she was a notary public was spontaneously divulged.

At this moment I nearly got out of my chair to dance around! God spoke to me through Molly and told me I had made the correct choice. He told me that, during all the stressful things I will be going through, He would be there. He would make the challenging seem mundane. Let's call it divine affirmation.

Its Official

2011-03-12T06:05:00.000-08:00

My last day at Deloitte will be April 15th. I've quit a job that pays extremely well, that provides great benefits, and that challenges me every week. All this has been done under the guise of returning to school, but I'm not sure that is going to happen. This decision to resign seems more stupid each time I consider it. I have left complete security and financial stability for the unknown.

In preparing for this shift, I have been reading for the first time in months and came across the following quote. "I wonder at some points if I'm being irresponsible or unwise. But then I realize there is never going to come a day when I stand before God and he looks at me and says, 'I wish you would have kept more for yourself.'" How true that is! All the security and affluence can never compare to knowing God as a provider. Yes, the unknown is scary and not without struggles, but I am looking forward to it with hope and with joy. For it is high time for me to decrease and Him to increase.

from os guiness

2010-10-04T18:13:00.001-07:00

"Community, of course, has fallen on hard times in the modern world. First, all modern people live with a greatly weakened sense of community compared with traditional people - due to modern travel, modern mobility, modern media, modern work and lifestyles, and the saturation of modern relationships.

To be sure, our nostalgia - literally homesickness - for a lost world tempts us to romanticize community in the traditional world. Doubtless it was often rigid and claustrophobic rather that liberating. To be sure too the benefits of the modern world are staggering. But there is a huge cost in the shift from involuntary community to voluntary groupings. An no amount of talk of 'virtual community' can overlook the fact that communication that is person-to-person but not face-to-face amounts to a severe loss. The plain fact is that for most modern people, community is either a rare experience or a distant, even mocking, ideal."

Reflection

2010-08-31T17:43:00.000-07:00

In the summer of 2006 I sat in a field in Weimar, German. I was laying in the middle of knee high grass outside of Goethe's garden house with headphones in my ears. History Maker by Delirious was playing, and it was one of the first truly memorable moments with God I have had. I encountered Him in a real way and found true peace in that field. If you haven't heard the song, you should go listen to it. The song is so motivating!

Almost exactly four years later, I listened to the same song sitting outside of an Orlando hotel as the sun set in the distance. Thinking back to four years ago caused me to reflect on where I was and where I am today. I think a personal inventory is really important, however painful it may be.

In the past four years I have finished school, worked a year at a job, bought a house, bought a car (even though I didn't want to), and had almost complete turnover in the people in my life. I have lost my passion, I have lost my direction, and I have lost my vision for the future.

Luckily the past few weeks have slowed me down and allowed me to assess my situation. My take on things is that there is much work to do, much work that I cannot bear on my own.

i dont like finishing posts...

Brutal Honesty

2010-08-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

I'm treading on some painful thoughts right now, and I am honestly scared to go where I'm being taken. Thats the theme of this...ill get back to it at the end.

Rewind to the beginning of summer. After a winter and spring of hard work, I was ready to pursue joys outside of the office come nice weather and normal working house. And man did I pursue me own joy. I filled my schedule and had so many quality hours with friends. I was looking for something, some type of rest or peace, knowing that I was pursuing exactly what I wanted to do. For some reason that seemed like what I was put on earth to do.

That season is drawing to close now at my own choosing, and all my searchings have come up empty. At the end of the day, even after hours with friends (which I think is a noble pursuit, mind you), I found myself empty. In all my joy, in doing exactly as I pleased day after day, I lacked. I still lack.

I'm realizing that there is an emptiness inside of me that cannot be filled by anything on this beautiful earth. This is a monumental shift for me! As much as I like to think that God is my ultimate pursuit, I am realizing that finding a mate holds the number one spot in my life. (How silly does that sound once written?!) This priority of pursuing a worldly companion over an infinite companion is a very easy trap in my opinion, and it is something that has to be corrected in my life. There is no way that a girl can fill the longing I have for companionship. It would be cruel of me to put that kind of pressure on someone. God must be first, and for some reason it has taken me years to discover that He is not. God, why teach me this today at my favorite coffee shop? Why wait so long?

So now to the painful part. There was once a time in my life when God occupied the number 1 spot, and those were the happiest days of my life to date. When He occupied that spot, the two most meaningful relationships I've ever had sprang to life. I was free to love others and God put wonderful people in my life to love. Through acts of my own stupidity those relationships have disappeared and the people have moved away. My stubbornness prevented me from seeing the mistake I was making, and now I get to deal with the consequences and sadness as I begin to mentally work through the thoughts of what I had and gave up....years later. It is not fun to look at where I am and know that I've had so much better in life. Heap on top of that the fact that my losses are all my fault.

Anyway, I think this is going to get a lot more painful before it starts getting better and before the healing begins. But, and this is a big but, I do have the distinct feeling that God is calling me to a fresh start. I have no idea what a fresh start means, but the idea has been on my mind all week.

Many more thoughts to come on this topic including some wonderful quotes from people way smarter than me....

Reorientation

2010-07-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

I am, you anxious one.

Don't you sense me, ready to break
into being at your touch?
My murmurings surround you like shadowy wings.
Can't you see me standing before you
cloaked in stillness?
Hasn't my longing ripened in you
from the beginning
as fruit ripens on a branch?

I am the dream you are dreaming.
When you want to awaken, I am that wanting:
I grow strong in the beauty you behold.
And with the silence of stars I enfold
your cities made by time.

-Rilke

Some things have happened since my last post on waiting. After some time waiting on a car, God dropped the best deal possible into lap. I got the exact car I wanted at a price I never would have dreamed of, and it all happened during a week I was off of work. I initially requested the week off last December, figuring I might want to have it off. Without that week free, the car never would have happened. So God's timing was just as perfect as the deal he gave me!

Then we come to waiting on work. I stumbled onto a job listing online this week that seems like a dream job, so I applied. Phone interview happens Monday, so well see where it goes. I refuse to force anything right now, because I know God's timing and provision are way better than my own. So I'll sit back, trust, and pray that what needs to happen happens. Living as God plans is one of the most frustrating things because it requires abandonment of self, but as the whole car situation shows me, the results are better than I can manage on my one. In God's timing my joy is so much greater.

The poem above offers me a fresh perspective on waiting. When I think of waiting, it is implied that there is something that I long for that I don't yet have. There's a problem here. I am putting my hope in future circumstances and things, not in God. He spoke to me in the poem saying, hey that longing you have is Me. It might be masquerading as things or situations, but you really want Me. You need Me to be at peace, you need to want Me.

Sitting here on my couch this morning I do feel a strong sense of anxiety. It's become hard for me to sit still and let my mind be at peace. That tells me it is time for me to reorient my longing and hope to God, time to turn my striving for things to a striving for intimacy with my creator. God please remind me each time I want that my want should be for you.

Profile of the Lukewarm

2010-07-12T13:37:00.000-07:00

Have you read the book Crazy Love? Well, why not? Everyone's doing it. My sister had the book at the beach this last week and I read a good bit of it. Gotta stay up with the trends. Anyway, either the third or fourth chapter is a series of personality descriptions, all supported by scripture, of a lukewarm christian. After reading through the chapter I was pretty discouraged because I what I read was description after description of my life. Both the thoughts currently swimming around my brain as well as my daily happenings seem perfectly lukewarm. Awesome.

The chapter really has left me low, because I feel like I have been living as God instructs me to. (more on that below) It's hard to wrap my head around the thought that, while I may be moving in the right direction, I have miles to go.

Over the last couple of months I have encountered some challenges. To all these challenges the word I have received is I must wait on the Lord. Challenge one is work. The job isn't the most fun, but God has confirmed to me during prayer that I am in the right place. So I'll wait. Challenge two is loneliness. A new lady relationship sprang to life and then disappeared just as quickly. Looks like I'll be single for a while. So I'll wait. To that add the death of my car 1.5 months ago. After trips to four dealerships and countless internet searches, I'm still waiting.

I don't know what will result from all this waiting. It may simply be something that builds character, which I'm sure I could use. I like to think that maybe it is leading to something beautiful, that maybe at the end of this long road is unimaginable earthly joy. My mind likes to work like that of Mary Oliver who wrote that, "the hour of fulfillment is buried in years of patience." Or could it be that life is all about patient restraint and obedience, hoping only for the joy that death can bring? My faith is still so immature that the earthly joy is more attractive right now that waiting to die. Let's pray God can straighten out my thoughts.

All of the waiting has been frustrating, but it has driven me to know God more. Instead of defaulting to anger or indifference, I turned to God and prayer and friends. My relationships have become fuller. I feel as though I trust God more. His comfort is real, and I hear him speaking. I experience all emotions fully now. Tears of joy and sadness are my friend, and I'm quite alright with it.

God, continue to work. Forgive my countless faults. Give me strength to pursue you when all I can see is the gap between us. Take the frustration. Use it to draw me closer. Amen.

2010-06-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

My soul is brought low
And my strength fails me
Night is my friend
And tears my close companion

You have taken my hope and joy
These feelings I thought were from you
Let me not harbor anger

I will respond with praise in the morning
And I will trust in you
Even when your timing confounds
I will draw near

Work

2010-06-15T15:25:00.000-07:00

This week I have felt confident that I am moving to a point of accepting the working life. Days like today convince me otherwise. Interviews were boring and recurring computer problems just plain annoying. Something that many people would consider glamorous, traveling the country for work, is just frustrating. I mean, I love being able to see my friends everyday.

The hardest part of showing up for work everyday is that I lack motivation. I have no bold career aspirations, which is what I think drives many young workers. I'm also familyless, which I think is the other huge motivator for young professionals. A wife and kids are two things that many men, including myself, would take great joy in providing for.

Further complicating things is the fact that the companies we work for have making a ton of their money as their overall goal. Money is not something I can commit countless hours to pursuing. For me to spend these kind of hours working, I really need a better end goal.

Without motivation I think often of taking a job providing much lower pay but a much more relaxing lifestyle. When the time comes for me to buckle down I have no problem doing so, but it really seems pointless right now to do all this work. So, there's a lot more thought ahead of me on this topic...

1 hour 17 minutes

2010-06-07T21:20:00.000-07:00

Really. Was it that long? Didn't seem like it.

Oh Buddy

2010-06-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

still giddy....

Ps 26

2010-05-28T06:33:00.000-07:00

I start my mornings every day by going through the daily scripture readings from the book of common prayer. Its a habit that started when I started my job, and its something I need before I ever start the day.

Reading the verses has been getting harder for me recently. For the first time, and who knows why it has taken so long, I am beginning to realize my complete depravity. The gospel readings right now are from Matthew, and Jesus' teaching in the book provide me with more challenges than I know how to handle. If I consider my actions in light of the instructions of Jesus in Matthew, I am embarrassed. He says a tree is judged by its fruit. So, how's my fruit? Undeveloped and likely tart, not ready to quench hunger.

Troubling is that I know I need to change habits for fullness of life, but I continue on in moderate happiness. It really is time to grow up - to be ripened. I live in habits that bring my descent happiness but prevent joy and communion as God intended. Jesus, I want to genuinely know you, to know you as the mediator between God and man. The longing in my heart is getting more real each day. Shape my actions to match thoughts. Make me a man that hears your call and obeys.

Go read Psalm 26. God, I want to be able to pray this and know I mean it.

4/3/2010

2010-04-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

I would not categorize myself as a very emotional man. There have been times in the past where I have even prided myself on my even-keeled nature. My lows have typically been only shallow lows, and my highs are usually only molehill highs. Good luck phasing me.

Work has changed all of that. Strong evidence of that is that, over the last six months, I have found myself moved to tear four times. I feel that, for a man to cry, he has to be pretty in touch whats going on in his head. Not only does a man have to see whats going on inside his head, he has to be open to let those goings-on impact him. I think I am getting to this point.

The first two teary times were in my car. God came and sat beside me on the commute to work, bringing me immeasurable comfort in times of great despair. In the middle of the shitstorm known as an audit busy-season I was blessed with peace. The only reaction was one of praise and thanks.

Cries number three and number four happened just this past weekend. My family spent the weekend together for Easter, and I could not express my joy any other way besides tears. For about a decade now I have watched my family drift apart. My parents have not acted like a married couple, and my sister acquired some damaging habits that caused us all lots of pain. We couldn't get along when we were all in the same room if our lives depended upon it. I would often return to college after time at my parent's house enraged and devastated. The question of "why me"was never far from my lips.

Countless prayers and curses to God later I am seeing reconciliation and it is a beautiful thing. It is odd the timing that God chooses, odd but perfect. Praise Him for new beginnings and unending joy.

For Purposes of Documentation

2010-04-02T05:22:00.000-07:00

I saw something on Wednesday that I hope to never see again.

As David and I were leaving Sacred Harp, turning from Ponce onto Courtland, I witnessed a car hit a pedestrian. Not like a tap or bump, but a full on slam into this man. He got airborne - as high as the roof of the car and came down hard. The car slowed to a stop, then sped away. (asshole) We stopped and blocked traffic so this guy didn't get run over again. An ambulance came and took him to Grady, and I hope that is the last I hear of it.

The police man told me they would call me if the guy dies. No phone calls please. Honestly, the man was in surprisingly good shape for what had just happened. Didn't appear to have broken bones and wasn't gushing blood. Who knows about the whole concussion/head injury part.

Anyway, the scene played in my head all day yesterday. I've asked myself why I had to be the one to witness. So strange.

Ps 31:24

2010-03-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord!

6 months

2010-03-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

Monday is my six month anniversary with Deloitte, the nagging and needy mistress. She has required much of me, leaving me little time for life and meaningful friendships. Yet I stay committed and persevere.

In all the work I have found it very difficult to find any type of purpose. Why do I subject myself to this? What need to I have for all this money without time to spend it? Even more upsetting is the fact that I have no time to find a pretty little lady to invest in.

My body is young, and it itches for action that I deny it during most of my waking ours. Why do I do this to myself? There will be a time later in life to commit to work. Does it make sense to do this now when I am unfettered as a man can be? Time in an office has taught me that men are definitely made in the image of God - I need to be in the wild, to be free.

I know I am in my job because God has led me here, so I am trying to ride my doubt out. I do not need to know God's reasoning, but sometimes I think it would easier if I did. The most I know is that this is where I need to be. He even told me so one day last month as I was driving to work. He said, "Son, this is there I have put you." What comfort that gave for a day or so! Oh that I would have more faith, that I would trust more.

Work

2010-03-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

My perch up in the 16th floor provides a new perspective. We've been working out of our Atlanta office this week, which is a welcome change. The office itself its brand new, and from my seat I stare out at Stone Mountain all days long. Sun pours into through the window, warming my soul.

Being so high up sheds comical light on peoples' interactions. I've seen pedestrians nearly run over, numerous traffic accidents, and slow moving interstates. Everyone is so dead-set on colliding with one another - despite the massive expanse of untamed land surrounding us. Why don't we spread? Why do we maintain this proximity?

I can only guess that God looks down from his perch on high and chuckles at us from time-to-time. We do so many silly things, neglecting his goodness and love? If only we could see the big picture our actions would lose the weight we give them. We would worship more, without question.