Doug Van Pelt

Leaving

Ah, walking the grounds of the HM Ranch this morning was good. Our dog, Biscuit, loves it out here. I brought a couple tennis balls to the ranch, so he could play fetch with me. He's a good dog. I staked out our "yard," so the farmer I've contracted to farm the land will know where not to plow as they get the land ready for planting. I chugged a Monster Energy drink while placing the stakes in. I walked down to our broken pond and noticed that it's full of water again. The former owner of this land said this was a runoff pond and won't hold water without some work. I'm curious what would need to be done. My guess is that it "leaks" underground somewhere, because it goes from empty to full in a sudden manner.

The first chapter of Donald Miller's Through Painted Deserts (which was first published as Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance) is about their journey's beginnings. A group of guys in Houston play around with the idea of a cross-country road trip, but only Don and this guy named Paul end up having the courage and minimal ties to allow them to cut and run across the country.

It's funny to note the difference between a traveller like this and those who stay behind with their jobs, families and commitments. I often look back at my college days with a fondness, as they didn't hold me to the same constraints and deadlines and daily hours that I now face. However, when I was in college, I looked forward to getting out.

I probably miss the looseness of being able to run my schedule around the few hours (usually 12 per week) of classes, budgeting when I'd do homework and such. I do regret not having the ability to have sweet quiet times with God every day, where I'd often incorporate worship, prayer and reading of the Word into a good hour more days than not. I gauge the worth partly on the closeness I felt during those times. Reading and studying the Word was usually a chore, and praying through a list of friends and requests was sometimes dry, but I remember often my worship time leading me to cry tears of joy. While emotions are a fragile thing that can't be relied upon, seeing them as a gauge to measure whether I "entered into" worship seems fairly secure to rely on for that mild judgment. There are other, less emotional ways to engage our Creator -- that's for sure -- but those were special times. I know that.

My idea of a break from the routine would be to rent a hotel room and sleep for a week. I laugh, because this shows that I haven't changed much from my days as a student. I've always appreciated laziness and sleep. ha ha

Like Don Miller, I realize that this is a leisure that has to be kept under control and discipline, as the Bible makes pretty clear that laziness isn't a fruit of the Spirit; and sluggards aren't spoken of too well in the Scriptures.

"Hill Country" is the title of the next chapter, which is the jargon used to describe West Austin's hilly terrain. I can't wait to dive into that one!

Oh, two more things:

I need to go on record and state that Prison Break is an awesome show. It's like the perfect fix for my 24 (the tv show) addiction, which is in between seasons right now. The writers have to figure out how they're going to use Jack Bauer's banishment to China in a boat will play out. Meanwhile, Prison Break offers a similar edge-of-the-seat thrill each week. I can't believe how exciting these shows are. I am wondering what's going to happen to Lincoln and TJ, who ran into some trouble on this week's episode.

Posted by Doug Van Pelt at November 1, 2006 11:57 AM