There’s No Place Like Home, Home, Home and Home…and Home

So, the Christmas madness has come to an end, and the regular, day-to-day madness can once more kick into gear. It is an accepted fact of life that Christmas around here is a multi-day and multi-location event. And along with the sheer number of places to go comes the knowledge that there will once again be an obscene number of gifts to haul. This year we actually took two vehicles to ensure we had enough space (especially since this is the first Christmas with two kids). My wife took the car with the boys, and I followed with the pickup truck which, I am almost ashamed to say, were both utilized in hauling the "haul."

This year's booty included books and bikes and the ubiquitous clothing. There were gift cards and appliances and all manner of other goodies. As I grew up, I really looked forward to all the different places I had to visit because I knew I'd be getting lots of stuff. Now that I'm married and have children of my own, the amount of gifts has grown, the number of places to visit has increased, and something a little unexpected yet important seems to occur more frequently with each passing year.

As I sit here in my recliner, trying to relax just a bit prior to walking the piles of pre- and post-Christmas trash to the road, I can't help but feel a bit awash in some level of what I would characterize as shame or embarrassment. Each Christmas most people in America have their "wish lists" and wait until Christmas morning to see how many of those little wishes go from the list to the gift pile. Some are disappointed, others are satisfied, and still others are surprised by the extravagance of things they never thought to ask for and, quite frankly, do not need.

I know in our family, extended and otherwise, we got far more than we need. And at moments like these, it almost seems wrong somehow. As I look above me I see a ceiling. Around me are walls, a floor, a refrigerator filled with more than we can eat. There is light, and heat, baubles of all kinds, and most importantly there are those who love me. What more does a person really need?

There are lots of folks in the world today who, unlike us, haven't spent two days visiting five different houses. They were lucky to have a warm meal or get a gift of any kind. The Lord has truly blessed me, has blessed all of us. It's a shame we take all we have for granted.

NOTE: I will be returning to a regular(-ish) schedule next week, writing each Monday on a variety of topics here on Soulscape. And while I have but a few regular readers, I would like to let you in on the possibility of an exciting and hopefully interesting venture. In the early days of the New Year I may be publishing an e-newsletter to be sent straight to your inbox. Whether this will take the place of this Soulscape Blog remains to be seen, but it most certainly will augment this blog's outreach and ministry. So be in prayer for that endeavor. Should I undertake it, you might just have to visit your Inbox for the latest Soulscape entry. At any rate, it's good to be back (in any shape or form) and I look forward to many more days with you! God bless.

© 2007, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by leaving a comment (with your request) which will be forwarded to Chris Keeton. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.

A Bonus Entry for Pre-Christmas

At Christmas, some families have a tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve, then the rest of them on Christmas morning. That I grew up in a "divorced" family, I had a full-blown experience on both days, because of spending time with both parents. Now that I'm a parent myself, and my kids have grandparents and great-grandparents, Christmas is spread out over several days. So while this tradition is good, it doesn't apply to us because, logistically speaking, it can't.

I have intentionally stayed away from the blog over these last two-and-a-half weeks, even though I have been tempted to dive in and write a few entries (blog withdrawal I suppose; I haven't had the time, but that hasn't stopped the desire to do it anyway!). So this morning, after I received a comment on my last entry, I decided that the aforementioned tradition would be a good thing to practice for Soulscape. So, with that in mind, I decided to write a little entry before Christmas, just one, then get back into the swing of things in a week or so. I guess the real issue is whether or not my readers will stop by since I pretty much said I'd be gone for a month!

Anyway, after checking the Soulscape visitor statistics, I found a reader had visited from a particular service provider. The city showed up as Cincinnati, Ohio, but that's just where their server is located (many service providers, even local, show up in other cities). I don't know exactly where he or she is from, or even their real name, but that's okay. I really enjoyed the comment, and wanted to share it with you, along with my thoughts.

So, someone with the screen name "Unhappy-Workaholic" left the following comment: "…Speaking of work, what should we think about it? Is it a necessary evil or a gift from God? Okay, perhaps that is extreme, but still, should we go to work everyday with a kind of – "arg. Time to make the donuts!" attitude or should we view it as a service to god. How do we find joy in the donuts—without eating them all… any thoughts?"

Why yes, Unhappy Workaholic, I do have some thoughts! Your great comment got the old brain cylinders firing and so I wanted to share my initial impressions (by the way, I would love to make the Soulscape blog a source of practical inspiration, so if you ever have any questions or thoughts about any topic, just let me know, because I'd love to do an entry on what you, the reader, are thinking about).

Staying within the confines of the comment quoted above, given the "extreme" choices I would have to say that we should embrace work as a gift from God and a service to God. I base this opinion first on what we read in Genesis. Prior to the whole "eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil" fiasco, God had given man the task of tending the Garden of Eden. So we see right there that "Paradise" was not a vacation spot, but a place to work. After man's fall, God tells Adam that the work of his hands will be much harder, that the earth will not be as cooperative as it had been in the garden, producing thorns and weeds, making the work very difficult.

But work remained. Unhappy Workaholic's comment uses the word "extreme," but that is what we find: extremes. Work was originally created as a gift from God; He gave man life and then gave man purpose for that life. That purpose was service. Now that gift and service continue, but yes, it is hard now. Even if we don't "tend the ground" as a farmer or herd the beasts of the field for a living, work is hard. In an ideal world we would all see work as a privilege an honor, a way to put our life to good use by doing for the glory the Lord whatever it is we do.

However, not everyone likes their job; truth be told, if everyone were completely honest we would all have to say that at one time or another we have despised our job. That is a by-product of Adam and Eve's sin. Work is hard. But work still serves a purpose. It all depends on our outlook, and that all depends on us as individuals. We have a choice how we will view our work. "Making the donuts," as it were, isn't always fun, but it can be rewarding, especially when someone is hungry. No job is perfect, because imperfect people are always associated with it (whether it's the boss, the co-workers, the customers, or [gasp!] even us!); still, our jobs serve to help us meet our basic needs. We get our money for bills and food, and maybe even some of the frills life can occasionally offer. Our work also helps us occupy our lives.

Every day I check out the Associated Press feature called "Today in History." At the end of each daily article there is a quote for the day. On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 (just a day before this blog entry) was a quote by Franz Kafka (1883-1924), a Czech author. His quote applies to this entry: "There are two cardinal sins from which all others spring: impatience and laziness." I believe that in essence this is a very accurate quote. If you go through Scripture you discover how often terrible sins (and even more terrible consequences) came from these two other "sins." Just a quick example from each: Abraham was impatient waiting on the promise of a son to be fulfilled, so he got into a mess with Hagar and Ishmael; and King David was lazy, laying around while he should have been leading his army in battle, when he saw and lusted after Bathsheba, and began a downward spiral.

Had Abraham and David been working, doing what God gave them the ability and responsibility to be doing, they would have been able to focus on the task and on God. Instead, they allowed themselves to drift, to forsake their work, and they got into deep trouble. Above all, our work is to be the very best Christians we can be, to serve God no matter what we do or where we go. When we approach our earthly jobs and careers with this attitude, that we will use it to serve God (even if it takes a little creativity), we will find that our work isn't really all that bad. Why? Because the Lord helps us through it all. I guess you could say that in this way we get to make the donuts, and eat them, too. Proverbs 28:25b (from the King James Version) says, "… but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat." This, of course, means "prosperous," but it's a good analogy. Let God work through YOUR work, and you can gain a greater appreciation for the Lord and the blessings He gives you, including the work. Or the donuts. Whatever you want to call it!

Thanks to Unhappy Workaholic for the comment, and getting me to thinking! I look forward to future comments, or feel free to drop me a line at Soulscape E-mail. I'd love to hear from you!

So, until Christmas, God bless you!

© 2007, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by leaving a comment (with your request) which will be forwarded to Chris Keeton. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.