Disqus - Latest Comments for Tom

Re: Sharpen the Steel and Do It Do It

Tom — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 23:34:28 -0000

Mark: I've been meditating on this post, and the ensuing comments, all weekend. I couldn't hold back any longer. Thanks for a wonderful discussion thread and a sliver of eternity, something so much bigger and more important than the urgent of the here and now.

What God is teaching me right now is that all the experiences I've had, the lessons I've learned, the moments of truth I have experienced, may very well be exactly what I need when life comes barreling at me. The mundane of the relationship with my wife was exactly what I needed when she was diagnosed with cancer several years ago. The mundane of family game nights are exactly what I need now when the big, bad world comes after my 14-year-old daughter with fangs bared and claws extended. It is in those moments that I get just a small glimps of what God must see all the time, and can connect the inconsequential minutae that has flown by with the times that define us.

I couldn't agree more with the sentiments that Mr. Bruce offered about do it do it do it, because if you don't, you'll quit too soon and quite possibly miss the one piece you need when it seems that there is nothing else to cling to.

Thanks so much for stirring this up!

Re: Five Types of Editors… and One Strong Warning

Tom — Thu, 03 May 2007 22:22:41 -0000

Mark: Having never needed editing, one doesn't see how one could presume that copyediting of any sort would be needed, let alone paid for. Certainly since copyediting is not needed by me, I can't help but feel sorry for those for whom copyediting is a foregone conclusion. Besides, most editors apparently aren't inciteful enough to see the suttle quality of my pros, anyhows.

P.S. - But if ideas are had by you of why I am not published oftener, it would be appreciated by me. Gratis, of course. :-)

Re: What Is On Your Shelfari?

Tom — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 22:10:44 -0000

Marcus: I think "friended" should be added to the OED. Do you mind if I identify you as the word's originator?

Re: The Person Responsible for this Morning’s Whiny Post Has Been Shot

Tom — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 22:22:22 -0000

Marcus: I was struck reading your posts, the responses, then your responses, of the presence of two pillars - vulnerability and universality. I never really understood the concept of an on-line "community," until now. You're allowed to have those times of frustration - we clearly all do - but by being open about what you're feeling, you've created a space where Christ's model can be lived out. I'm getting goosebumps!

Re: How My Kindergartener Learned to Read Chapter Books

Tom — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 10:03:58 -0000

I was going to do lots of things to be the perfect parent before my kids were born; drag them to a different museum every weekend, sign them up for every possible volunteer opportunity, teach them how to manage their money. But I quickly discovered I couldn't sustain all those "do-gooder" activities, because they weren't truly part of my core.

Ah, but reading. There is one area where it was easy for me to model passion. My kids see me getting excited about reading, and they make a connection in their own lives.

Not every parent has such a passion for reading (but given that this is a writing blog, it just feels like it here!) so I don't want to make any parent feel guilty that they don't approach reading with the virulence that my wife and I do. In the same way, I bristle when a colleague tells me his little Janey has already mastered basic interest rate calculations. "Yeah," I think, "but can she read 'An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations?'"

Somehow, I've also taught my kids to be sanctimonious (and misuse big words.)

Re: Spurs Preseason Game Is All About Play

Tom — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 22:50:05 -0000

Hey Marcus: I'm just a tad tardy on catching up on my favorite blogs, but this entry struck a chord for me.

Now that I have taken a demotion at work, it is fascinating to me that my peers apparently see me in a new light. I didn't think we were "competitors" previously, but now that I moved from the fast track to the daddy track, people have opened up to me in very surprising ways. They seem comfortable telling me what's really going on in their lives, where their jobs stink, and what is tearing them down. I thought I was always the kind of person that someone could share honestly with, but I've noticed in the past few months that people are much more open than they have ever been. Apparently, now I'm "safe."

It's sad, when I think about it (so I don't!) Anyway, apparently there is more competition at work than I realized.

Blessings! Tom

Re: Ignite the Average Joe, One Slob at a Time

Tom — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:32:51 -0000

Good discussion Marcus. It ties into one of my favorite non-fiction books, "Made to Stick," by Chip and Dan Heath. The authors make the point that there's a reason some stories, facts and concepts take on a life of their own, and some don't survive. They use the example of how many people can recite "facts" in the urban legend about visitors to a big city who wake up in a bathtub of ice with a kidney missing. Yet many people can't identify the year that Berlin wall fell, an event that many of us lived through. (Unless you are too young to remember..."Uh, there was a wall in Berlin? Why did it fall down? Was anyone hurt?")

The authors assert that things that "stick" are
1) Simple
2) Unexpected
3) Concrete
4) Credible
5) Emotional and (something that should excite all of us writers...)
6) Stories.

And I find it very interesting that Jesus utilized all of those attributes as He introduced the Good News on earth.

Take care! Tom

Re: Intentions Matter More than Law and Culture

Tom — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:46:24 -0000

Sorry, I hit return too soon. Here's the rest of my thought:

I am always gratified that God is capable of seeing my motives in the midst of my fumbling actions. There's good and bad to that, I suppose, but it keeps me accountable to keep my motives pure. That's not an easy task in this carnal body I occupy.

Re: Stressed out? Read this.

Tom — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:00:10 -0000

Whoa, dude. I'd appreciate it if you stopped getting inside my head!

Here's the most recent chapter to my story. My boss got promoted. Her boss looked out and say that I would be a good replacement. It would mean more responsibility, more money, more money and, if I didn't mention it, more money. Only one problem. I'd have to uproot my family and move, live my job instead of my life, and still possess and demonstrate the very qualities - kind, generous, helpful, smart - that brought me into the consideration set to begin with. I looked at it for all of 45 seconds and realized I couldn't do it. And then I had the strength of my convictions to actually say, "I can't do it." I live my life. I want to keep on living it.

And you know what? The sun came up the next day. The kids kept going to school, having good days and bad days and wanting me to live it with them. And my wife smiled so sweetly and waited patiently for me to find my place.

Moral of the story: Have the courage to do what your heart, your conscience, and probably the Holy Spirit tells you to do. You will be happier on the other side. And it sounds exactly what the Spirit is telling you to do.

You're my hero Marcus! Tom

Re: Google says books beat websites in credibility

Tom — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:50:52 -0000

OK, so I am a book purist. I love the feel of the book, relishing its broken binding, knowing how many pages remain before the book comes to its climax, and being able to throw it across the room when I've finished it. (I'm pretty sure only guys do that.)

I'm a library and Half-Price-Books connoisseur. There's nothing like wandering the stacks and coming across that "bluebird" find that I didn't expect. I hold it tightly and caress it gently, whispering "my precious," ala Gollum, all the way home.

But then Santa brought me a Kindle. And overnight my world is upside-down.

Suddenly, whatever I feel like reading, is instantaneously (or faster) available. Read a book review that sounds interesting? WHAM! I own it. Hear an author speak on NPR? BAM! I own his entire collected works! Make small talk at a party and someone mentions what they're reading? I sneak off to the corner and order it. Suddenly, I have the power to own anything my heart desires!

And my reaction? I'm freaked out! Way back when I delivered newspapers, I scrimped and saved for every Hardy Boys mystery in my collection. I spent hours in the library until I discovered Michael and, later, Jeff Shaara's historical accounts of American wars. And then I languished in each volume. But that is all such foolishness now. What a colossal waste of time! Today, Amazon tells me what I should read. And everything else that everyone else read when they read what I read. We've moved even beyond instant gratification. It's like simultaneous gratification - think it, and it's yours.

Is this a good thing? I love it, but yet... I can't help but feel I've been able to satisfy my desires at the expense of something greater. When something doesn't really cost anything, how valuable is it?

I love my Kindle. It's makes reading very efficient. But where's the joy?