Herpes Zoster, Who Moved My Cheese?, CD-buying Habits, and Justin Taylor

a)

Well, I’ve got shingles, which is gross skin thing that is a result of the inconvenient revenge of chicken pox. He has been waiting patiently to attack, and has decided to ruin my holiday season by returning with a renewed strength (kinda like SuperShredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II). But, its not as bad as some people get it, so I should be thankful for that.

b)

I student I’m working with here lent me a copy of “Who Moved My Cheese”. Have you read this book? Apparently its sold like a billion copies. It was on the bestseller’s list for five years straight. I think I really need to be more aware of… the world.

Anyways, I read it (it’s a real short read). Its about these mice and these mice-sized people who have to get cheese. Anyways, summary is that the people find cheese, but then get so used to the cheese being there all the time, they take it for granted, don’t realize that there is more cheese out there, and lose their ability to find cheese. It’s a metaphor for change in life. The book then tells you to bring the good news of Who Moved My Cheese to your coworkers, family, and friends. It can completely change their lives, save their marriages, and take your business to the next level.

What was most disturbing was that I enjoyed it. I think there’s something wrong with me now. A lame self-help, corporate-leadership book that is the type of stuff that used to make me gag is now an endearing reminder of common-sense life principles.

I also have a copy of seven habits of highly effective people. So sad…

c)

Been thinking about purchasing the latest FIR album, Love Diva (a Taiwanese band who are dressing up as Star Wars characters during their current Asia tour). I am torn as of lately. I now have my own money – do I spend it on cds? This was my thought process in the store:

- “hmm, this is pretty expensive” (5 bucks)
- “its kinda an ordeal to bring it to the desk and pay for it….”
- “but I shouldn’t be cheap”
- “if I do plan on enjoying this music, I think it would be along with my convictions to purchase the cd”
- “but its not a cd I particularly feel a need for”
- “but then again… I don’t really need any cds”
- “maybe I should determine some kind of budget for cds”
- “I already did. I said I’d buy one a month. This is the one I want this month”
- “is that too many???”
- “should I get any?”

Anyways, if you have any thoughts on how to approach purchasing entertainment items such as cds with an attitude of good stewardship, I welcome your thoughts.

d)

A while back I listened to a talk from an even more while back by Justin Taylor (he’s with Crossway, a Christian publisher, and he used to be John Piper’s editor. He also writes and blogs) about the Emergent Church. Surprisingly, he was a pretty engaging speaker. I always thought he’d be a big nerd and unlistenable. Here are some things he said that I thought were insightful:

“I went to a secular college in Iowa. One of our feminist religion professors had a bumper sticker on her door that said ‘Question Authority’. I always wanted to just write ‘Says who?’ on top of it”

(speaking of how the emerging Church prides itself on how the quest for truth is about questioning and dialogue) “the first thing out of Satan’s mouth is not a lie but a question (Genesis 3:1)”

He also quotes this insightful thought:

“a half-truth masquerading as the whole truth becomes a complete untruth.” – JI Packer

Anyways, I’m not that interested in the whole Emergent Church thing, especially since I’m not in North America, but it’s an interesting talk on many levels.