It’s happening. Finally, after years of wondering & thinking & dreaming & rabbit-trailing, it seems like focus is coming.
A few years ago, we designated 2010 as the year of being in10tional. It didn’t seem like much at the time, but it seems as we have gotten more focused & intentional with ministry, friends, time, & stuff, things are seeming more convergent.
Not that all the ducks are in a row, but it’s starting…finally!
I’m having a convergence of thots/experiences/ideas that is quite enlightening.
Friday i read a great post on one of my new favorite sites - http://www.artofmanliness.com/2011/05/09/the-cure-for-the-modern-male-malaise-the-5-switches-of-manliness/. I’ve been thinking lately about the lack of manliness in our society today and this was a great look at that and how to get your manliness back. In response to that series of posts, i’ll be growing a beard down to my chest and sleeping in the woods behind my house.
Also on Friday, Casey Treat preached a great message on Hope and how Jesus in us is the Hope of Glory. Hope is all about our mindset. One of the most significant portions was on hope deferred and how it makes your heart sick and no good decisions can really come from a sick heart.
I also started reading The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson, a story about and ordinary guy and what it takes to pursue this dream.
It suddenly came all together this weekend as i worked in the yard - i’ve lost a bit of my manly confidence and let my dreams waver because of fighting a serious case of deferred hope. I knew this somewhere deep down, but it all came together.
My hope and dream have been slow and quite the long process - i don’t know if that’s my ignorance or God’s plan, it doesn’t matter. These are the cards i have in my hand right now and i’m to man up and play them to the best of my ability. I’ve let life and circumstances and situations bog me down and cloud my pursuit of that dream and lost a bit of hope.
It’s hard to see opportunities and openings pass you by for someone else, but men don’t lose Hope in self-pity and navel gazing. We use hardships and hard times to strengthen our heart, soul, resolve, strength and backbone.
i will use what’s in my hand to the best of my ability - right now, i’m a husband to an amazing wife, dad to three young ladies full of potential, a bass player, a creative thinker, a connector, a friend, a prayer, a reader, a social media-ite, a son, a brother, a brother-in-law, a leader. I have dreams of being a worship leader, a speaker, a teacher, a mentor, a song writer, a voice talent, a traveler - those are coming, i hope sooner rather than later. i just need to be ready and focused on the Hope with me - Christ, the Hope of Glory!
Contentment, blessing, abundance, ordinary, daily, calling, purpose, vision, responsibility, expectations, provision…
Just some of the things rolling around in my head the last few days. And then i was reminded of these verses:
1Tim1:6-12 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Phil 4:11-13 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
It seems like today, there are 2 extremes in Christianity: 1. Blessing, abundance, glory, strength to strength, every day is just another day to do more miraculous things and see the glory shine brighter and brighter on your face. or 2. i’m a wretched worm that is breathing only by the grace of God and don’t deserve these few crumbs that He may choose to let me find. i’m poor and sick and identifying with Christ’s weakness and brokenness, all the time.
There’s actually a bit of truth in both extremes. We see that in the second passage above. i’m trying to find the middle ground. i want to remember my wretchedness and brokenness and need of a Savior and also move forward in the power and blessing that He provides and have faith to know that i am son of God and blessed. A humble warrior, a broken conquerer, a man of God.
if you spend anytime on Christian social media circles, you would think that we are in the midst of a Christian superstar revolution - books, conferences, crowds…it’s kind of overwhelming to the 95% of Christians who are just living out their calling faithfully in their sphere of influence. i have big dreams to be a worship leader who leads stadiums in worship and connection to their Creator, but i also have a responsibility to be faithful to my job and bills and neighbors and dad to my girls and the best husband i can be to my far better half.
And there is my struggle - living out the mundane daily days with the same vigor and passion that i would have in singing to a filled stadium or fighting armies of demons at the gates of hell. To be a passionate, Spirit-filled man of God 24/7 no matter what i’m doing or who’s watching.
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 1Jn 3:17
Working for a Christian ministry, i get the chance to answer phones for telethon pledges and prayer requests a few times a year. Part of me loves it and part of me doesn’t look forward to it at all. After today, my total thinking has changed.
Normally, i get a few calls with people wanting to pledge money or wanting prayer for health or a wayward son or something. Today was different.
To start with, i’m reading a book by Tim Keller called Generous Justice which is all about how God’s grace and justice to us is cause to give grace and justice to all others around us. not justice as in punishment but what they are due - protection, care, love, grace, punishment, correction…it goes on and on. i’m on a chapter now all about the good samaritan and who is my neighbor and giving grace and care to all.
That said, i got a call from a lady in PA who the whole world is against. At first i thought she was just a victim and had that mentality, but God checked me quickly on that and reminded me she was my neighbor and His daughter. She’s staying in a shelter, trying to make ends meet, at odds with a couple of ex-husbands and stepkids, taken advantage of by men, employers, kids, government…she’s hopeless. And it was me on the phone with her with my bright little attitude and safety of a good job and family and church and friends.
Somehow, “God cares” and “God be with you” and “i’ll be praying for you” seemed so shallow without skin in the game. I tried to justify the fact that she was all the way in PA and i’m down here in warm, comfy VA Beach and there should be a church or shelter or organization to help her out there. That worked for a second.
The fact remains that there are people just like her right here where i’m at and how genuine is my care and compassion if i’m not doing something to help them out? Yes, i’m blessed beyond measure with a wife and kids and family and friends and church and job and finance and peace and joy and grace, but others aren’t and i can and should do something.
it really is true that ignorance is bliss. life is easier when you’re just cruising in your own lane with the blinders up. But my blinders have been removed and now yours have also. What are our next steps?
Yep, that’s me in 2013.
This is my year to get back to basics and make sure the foundation is solid & strong.
My only resolution is to do whatever I do well. No matter how big or small, large audience or none, I will do it all as unto The Lord.
Family time, God time, exercise, work, music, serving…whatever I’m doing, it’s my goal to be all in. It sounds so simple, but I’m realizing it takes a lot of concentration.
I worked for a Fortune 500 company that had “New & Better Ways” as 1 of it’s core values. i like that. new ways are good, new AND better ways are best.
Brook & i have regular pow-wows on how we can do life better - what needs to change, what needs to go away, what can we do differently, what can we do better? it’s what has helped to make our relationship to not get stale.
some people/businesses/churches go after new ways just for the sake of new. this isn’t always the best practice. just because something is working for someone else, it may not be the best for you. i appreciate those that try new things but give them up if they don’t work. our church has tried all kinds of new ways and kept some and changed back or tried other ways.
as i get older, i’m in a constant search on how to work and live smarter and better and more efficiently. time is precious and i don’t like to waste it or have mine wasted. it’s a constant search on how to maximize time & money to make the most out of every opportunity. time, money, stuff…they are all just tools for the real thing - people & relationships!
what can i do to maximize people? how can i help those in my circles be the best they can be? what new and better ways are there for relationship building? how can i help them live better and more fulfilled? yeah, even though i play Scrooge, i really do care about people!
here are a couple of tips for ways for improvement:
simple, but tried and tested. some may be new behaviors and i’m pretty sure all will be better and make people and situations better in your world.
check out www.solavei.com/chalfantcr or a new & better way for phone & relationships as well
i had the privilege of driving west a bit to Nashville with @KylieRae_ to attend the Quitter Conference hosted by Jon Acuff. Jon had held 8 different jobs in 8 years and considers himself an expert at quitting. (what a topic to be an expert in) In his last position, he launched Stuff Christians Like, a great blog & book, which then took him to Dave Ramsey’s organization and books and conferences and speaking and such.
All that to say “Quitter” is much more than a book/conference about quitting your job to go raise llamas, it about the dream inside of you.
The opening speaker was Al Andrews who started everything off by comparing how 4 year olds view the world as opposed to adults. it’s all about imagination & blue skies & possibility!! it was a great way to open our minds to dreams and what we really desire and were born to do. Al wrote a kids books which he is using all the proceeds from to help children all over the world in need.
i met some great people from all over who are doing all kinds of crazy and cool stuff. 1 of the best guys was a lawyer from Nashville who does weather updates by twitter for 2 counties in the area. he was happy with his day job, but he LOVED weather and informing people about their local weather.
Ky & i had a great road trip full of Christmas music, fog, social media & Swift semi trucks. it was great to laugh & talk & just experience a cool trip together. we had a chance to walk around Franklin & Nashville. Nashville was crazy with a big concert and the usual Saturday night crowds.
So what’s your dream? what wakes you up early or keeps you up at night? what would you do even if you didn’t get paid to do it? what drives you?
Sometimes something new comes along that is so different that you just pass over it at first. Change is hard. You don’t want any hassles. But then with some consideration, you realize some changes are very good and beneficial and not all change is a hassle.
I figure we all pretty much have a phone already, but in case you or your significant other or family and friends are in a position to switch to a different plan, you may consider looking at this.
Have a little look at this 6 minute video and you’ll understand why. It’s not just a more affordable plan with no contract, but provides an opportunity to make some money on the side simply by telling others about it.
I waffled for a while, but i think the thing that really sold me was being able to share this with others to help them out financially. There are those cheaper cell plans for $40-$45 a month, but they don’t pay you back for sharing the service. Other companies aren’t merging the whole mobile market with social media with marketing like this either, it truly is a new way of doing business.
Their tag line is “Mobile Service Powered by Relationships” and that’s what it all about. contact me for more info.
Trying to give a rip in a world that doesn’t seem to.
i’ve really been noticing lately how people just don’t say “hi” or acknowledge others. i work in a place with a lot of people i don’t know, but i thot it’s still common courtesy to acknowledge another human being when you meet them in the stairs or in a hall. i’m not looking to make everyone my best friend, but a bit of “niceness” might be just the thing to make someone’s day. that’s what i’m shooting for.
who’ll join me?
1. Truth is found in a variety of ways
2. Words used well are beautiful
3. The number of stories is endless
4. Creativity comes in many forms
5. A simple phrase can paint a whole scene
6. A simple phrase can give deep insight into a person/character
7. No country or culture has a monopoly on beauty, creativity or truth
8. I love starting new stories
I’m sure there is more but those are just things off the top of my head. I could fill many blogs if I went into detail on each book I’ve read and what has spoken to me and what I’ve gotten out of them…some other day.
What are you reading? what are you learning?
We took a little road trip to St Louis last weekend, a little 15 hour jaunt. We’ve been sponsoring Emily, a girl from Uganda, thru Watoto these past 5 or so years and she is finally on the choir tour of the States. They came as close as western Illinois so we had to go meet her.
Let me just say, a 15 hour car ride was well worth meeting this sweet girl. She grabbed Brook and would not let go. she kept hugging her and had to sit right next to her when we sat down to talk and get to know each other. He smile is so beautiful and though her English is a bit broken, we had a great chat with her.
Watoto had the run of the service in the evening and the overall theme was that we are not forgotten, God is aware of everyone and their situation. Yeah, this is a truth we all like to sing with Mr Houghton here in the States, but it takes on a new meaning when explained by Ugandan children who were left orphans by war or disease. When a 8 year old girl is responsible for her younger siblings and how they get food and shelter, it’s a bit more meaningful to know that God is intimately aware of all they go thru.
What Watoto and Gary & Marilyn Skinner are doing in Uganda and now South Sudan and soon other nations in Africa is nothing short of a miracle. To take in widows and orphans and child soldiers and give them hope and health and Jesus and food and shelter and a future is amazing. it was so amazing to hear these little ones who’ve been thru hell have vision and hope to give back to Uganda and Africa and see themselves as the generation of change.
The trip itself was a classic Chalfant road trip - fires in western VA, crazy laughs and jokes, music, rain, stiff backs, weird rest stops - all in a days travel.
we did get to go up in the St Louis Arch, eat a concrete custard shake at Ted Drewes on Rt 66, shop at a vintage record store, take a riverboat cruise up the Mighty Mississip, see the Wizard of Oz characters standing out on a street corner, watch mindless cable shows on bridesmaids, listen to Ad & Elle’s STL rap and come up with goofy nicknames for all sorts of things.
Bottom Line:
check out www.watoto.com and sponsor a child
enjoy time with your family
do something you’ve never done before
or go somewhere you’ve never been before
live and know God is watching & aware & closer than a brother
where’s you next road trip to?
So far this year i’ve read Grimms Fairy Tales, Frankenstein, The Jungle and The Scarlett Letter. Quite a combination. I’m getting ready to start The Man in the Iron Mask to bring a bit of swashbuckling adventure into my morbid list.
What are you reading?
going thru a bit of change lately…new year, new car, new dog, new part-time job, new schedule/routines, no more Scrooge/facial hair, new term for the college students in my house…looking for some fresh, new ideas for blogs, songs, studies
i’m really looking forward to a little getaway this weekend with Brook to plan, dream, re-align, pray, laugh, assess, prioritize. i love that i’m truly married to my best friend!
i’m also well into The Jungle - easy but gruesome, sad read. i see why it’s a classic but wow is it just plain nasty. i think i heard about it in high school, but don’t remember reading it. i think i go with something a bit lighter when i finish this one.
What are you reading? any big changes going on in your world?
NO, NE (but rooting for Broncs), Bal, GB in a nail biter. What say you?
Pittsburgh at Denver last weekend and the playoff games this weekend are far better than the Super Bowl will be. It’s gonna be a great weekend of football! here are my picks: NO over Niners in a tight one. i’m rooting for Tebow, but think NE will win. i’m thinking it will be tight until the 4th quarter and the Pats experience will overcome, dang it. Baltimore will beat Houston in the most unexciting game of the weekend. and finally, GB will beat Giants in another close one. it’s going to come down to a turnover or special teams play that’s the difference.
I finished Grimm’s Fairy Tales in my journey thru the classics the other night. After reading about evil dwarfs and spells and money or toads coming out of your mouth when you speak, Alice in Wonderland doesn’t seem so bizarre. I’m now reading The Jungle by Sinclair. it’s a long one, but seems to be going pretty quickly so far in spite of the Lithuanian he keeps throwing in.
Having Lyla is going so well. She is definitely growing and becoming more and more a part of the family. she’s getting better at potty training and loves to play and cuddle and just be generally cute. except for the landmines in the backyard, she’s a blast.
Wildcard weekend did not disappoint, although i slept thru most of the Giants/Falcons game. But Broncos/Steelers was one for the ages! Can they beat the Pats?
Got the music recorded for a new song last night. Still working on lyrics and melody but it’s coming together. slow building ballad that goes pretty full on at the end, i’m liking this one. 1 song a week!
Having a new dog has been a very fun experience…as long as you take her out often. She has quickly become a part of the family and seems to really love us all. She’s responding to “No” and isn’t whimpering quite as much when it’s crate time. She’s a playful thing but also loves to just crash at your feet or on your lap if she can swing it.
Still not sure about the GOP candidates…i just hope i have the chance to vote for who i want to vote for when it’s our turn for a primary.
played bass for South yesterday. i’m on for bass all month. i forgot how much i missed it with all the Scrooge/Christmas/Holiday stuff going on. i love to bring the thunder!
that’s about it for now, we’re just trying to get into the swing of things with new class schedules, work schedules, new puppy, a new driver and life in general in a new year.
Some words that keep bouncing around for 2012:
Serve with gladness, dig in, relationships, do it, produce
I think it comes down to do something not just talking about it, do it with a humble heart and right attitude and gladness, include other people and produce something lasting and meaningful.
When the girls were younger, our little mantra was to obey all the way, right away and with a happy spirit - TRUTH!
What’s your theme for 2012?
Random thots in no particular order:
I’m taking a Facebook/Twitter/Google+ break for awhile. i just need to prove to myself that i don’t need to be connected electronically for most of the day. i want to connect in real face time, not screen time. i realize the good of those tools but also see how consuming it can be. i’ll be back on, but will just record some thots from time to time on this blog (which feeds into Twitter and Facebook…)
We’re finally getting a dog for Addyson. She’s a real cutie, shepherd/lab mix, 8 weeks old. Ad’s going to name her Lyla. We got her a cage for Christmas and promised the dog for her birthday and went and picked her out yesterday. We’re all really excited!
Listening to some great music today: Phil Wickham’s Response, The Hawk in Paris, Kris Orlowski, The Killers
Speaking of music, one of my goals is to write a new song a week. i’m currently mulling over some lyric ideas in my head. Riffs and tunes seem to come easy lately, it’s lyrics and staying focused on a single thot for a song that are the hard part. hopefully with a song every week, i can concentrate on not trying to say everything that’s in my head and heart in a single song
The Iowa Caucus kicks off the official election season tonight. As a conservative, i’m not real thrilled with the field right now. i’m hoping Rick Perry can swing it back in gear now that Cain is gone and Newt is fading. i like Santorum’s stand on family and such but his history is one of spending. i like Michele Bachmann but don’t think she’s ready to be president. Not a Romney fan. i like his business background, but he’s to car salesman for my liking and his history is bigger gov than i like. Ron Paul has some good econ ideas but everything else is to out there for me.
IA prediction: Romney, Santorum, Perry slightly ahead of Paul, Gingrich, Bachmann and the rest of them
NFL playoffs are also upon us. Holy Moly, i have no idea who will be in the Super Bowl. I would’ve said the Packers, but the Saints are playing amazing right now and the Niners are something else this year. In the AFC, the Pats are always good but vulnerable, the Steelers and Ravens are good and average…it just depends on the week. i like Tebow, but don’t think they’ll go very far. CRAZY SEASON!
I’m picking NO, Cin, Pit and Giants this weekend
It’s coming…Scrooge…Scrooooge…SCROOOOOOGE!!!!
Summer is finishing, school will be back in session, Wave Conference was a huge event, earthquakes and hurricanes out of the way and now we start the Scrooge process.
Last year, a ragtag band of ruffians and thespians started gathering and practicing and building and blocking and in the end created something very amazing. i don’t think any of us thought we would fill the auditorium to overflowing and have the response to Christ that we did. we knew we had something good but God took that and made it something incredible.
i remember waiting backstage before the show started and getting word it was filling up and then there was the delay as more and more people came in. finally, we hit the stage and it was overwhelming to see that many people and feel the support. The most amazing thing was the altar call and to hear Pastor Steve just keep saying “more hands being raised”, “more hands.”
i’ve set it in my heart this year to pray for an overflowing house during the performances, but not for our egos, but for God to move and lives to change. There are some people who will only come to a church when a “non-church” event is happening…little do they know, they are still coming to God’s house and He’s waiting for them.
This year’s show will be amazing! we have some new cast & crew & some other new surprises in store. But it’s not about us, it’s all about Jesus.
Are you ready?
I’m taking a bit of a break from the classics to read a few other books. I’ve been working on From Good to Great by Jim Collins for a bit. It’s good but a bit businessy for me so I’m trying to pull out as much as I can.
There are some great business principles but I’m in the process of getting my brain to think in that way. It does break the main points down at the end of each chapter which is nice.
Next on the radar will be Stuff Christians Like by blogger/tweeter Jon Acuff. I’m really looking forward to this one but scared it will go by way too quick.
Soon Scrooge rehearsals will start & I’ll be immersed in all things Christmas Carol. Last year, I got the audio book & it was brilliant to have someone read it to you with the accent & different voices.
What are you reading?
We’ve been car shopping to find a great, reliable vehicle for Ky. Should be a fun and quick experience, right? How hard can it be to find a used Corolla or Civic or something like that for a great price? Uh…very!
At first i thought it was the economy - times are a bit tough, people are holding on to their rides for a bit or trading down for a more economical ride. Yeah, that’s part of it. The other part is something i thought about a while back and now seeing the fruits - Cash for Clunkers! Grrrrrrrrrrr.
Yep, that wonderful program where you could trade in your “old” car and pick up a new or newer car for a great deal. Trouble is, they took the “old” cars and trashed them which created a shortage in decent used cars. Add to this the economy and people holding on to their rides and it’s tough to find a good used car.
Did they really have to trash the cars traded in? That just seems silly when cars are being made much more reliable now. It’s not far-fetched for some cars to go 175-200,000 miles or more.
Sooo, i think we found a nice little Corolla that we’re pretty sure about after a couple of weeks of heavy Craigslist/Autotrader/Cars.com usage and playing taxi service in a one car family.
Can we do a Cash for Clunkers for some politicians that don’t think things through?
Well, i’m back at P90X…gotta do something to keep this temple humming along. It’s so crazy what age does to a body. I do have a couple of partners - Ky is doing it with me and Brook is waking up early and walking while we turn our garage into a gym. It makes a huge difference having others getting up early with you. I’m sure we’ll take turns playing drill sgt to get the others up.
I post updates as we go along…not sure about pics…but we’ll be getting up every morning at 5 to knock out an hour of Tony Horton and get lean.
In my quest to conquer the classics, i have consumed yet another one. I finished Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens a couple of nights ago and have a bit of time to think it over.
It was a harder read than i thought it would be. It takes me a couple of chapters to get into the groove of each book, especially those written in a different century and this one took a while to get that groove. It’s also much darker than i thought it would be. When i think of Oliver Twist, i think of the Artful Dodger, Fagin, Oliver, Please Sir may i have some more…you know, the musical. But the book had lots of deceit and seediness and death and revenge.
Dickens is excellent at capturing a character or situation with a well-turned sentence. He also used a lot of words for some situations. I’ve got some more Dickens on my list, so we’ll see how those go.
Next up: i’ve kinda started The Art of War by Sun Tzu. It’s pretty interesting so far. I’m thinking something much lighter when i’m done with that.
What are you reading?
So today was Brook & i’s anniversary and I had arranged a nice chill day down in the Outer Banks - relaxing on the beach, climbing the dunes at Jockey Ridge, a nice little lunch & key lime pie at Kill Devil Grill - a great day!
So, we decided to stop by the bank on the way out of town to deposit some checks & pull out some cash. But our account was frozen for some reason. So we spent some quality time on the phone & at the credit union finding out someone had gotten Brook’s debit card number to work in New Jersey & charged $662.46 at different stores up there. Card stopped & destroyed, paperwork filled out and now a trip to the police station to file a report.
Let me just tell you, police waiting rooms are more entertaining than airports for people watching. This one was a bit dingy & dreary.
“Can you tell me where I can get a my arrest record?”
“Misdemeanors just stay on your record for 7 years, right?”
Anyway, we made it back to talk to Detective Haughn who knew his stuff on fraud & shared a lot with us. Crazy business!
Finally, 3 hours later, we were on the road to OBX. It turned out to be a great day - it just started a bit different.
I finished Dracula by Bram Stoker - not at all what I expected. I thot it would be all Bela Legosi creepy but there was some great character development & plot. It wasn’t as “scary” as I thot it would be. There were moments of intensity but nothing causing nightmares. It wasn’t my favorite book so far, but it wasn’t bad.
Next up - Oliver Twist by Dickens. I’m looking forward to this one. I like his characters & this one has some great ones. It may be time for some more Twain after that or venturing in to some I haven’t read before…
1984 by George Orwell
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Aeneid by Vergil
Aesop’s Fables by Aesop
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Ambassadors by Henry James
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Arabian Nights
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man and Other Writings by James Weldon Johnson
The Awakening and Selected Short Fiction by Kate Chopin
Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Beowulf translated by John McNamara
Best Short Stories by O. Henry
The Bible
Billy Budd and the Piazza Tales by Herman Melville
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry by Christine De Pizan
The Bostonians by Henry James
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Bulfinch’s Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch
The Call of the Wild and WhiteFang by Jack London
Candide by Voltaire
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Catch-22 by Heller
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
A Christmas Carol, The Chimes and The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
The Collected Oscar Wilde
The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson
Common Sense and Other Writings by Thomas Paine
The Communist Manifesto and Other Writings by Karl Marx
The Constitution of the United States
The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volumes I & II by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Confessions by St. Augustine of Hippo
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
Daisy Miller and Washington Square by Henry James
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy
The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Dracula by Bram Stoker
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Emma by Jane Austin
The Enchanted Castle and Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit
Essays and Poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Essential Dialogues of Plato by Plato
Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe
Ethan Frome and Selected Stories by Edith Wharton
Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen
Far from Madding Drowd by Thomas Hardy
A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
The Federalist by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway
Founding America: Documents form the Revolution to the Bill of Rights edited by Jack N. Rakove
The Four Feathers by A.E.W. Mason
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Germinal by Emile Zola
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Great American Short Stories: From Hawthorne to Hemingway edited by Corinne Demas
Great Escapes: Four Slave Narratives Intro and Notes by Daphne A. Brooks
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
Heart of Darkness and Selected Short Fiction by Joseph Conrad
The Histories by Herodotus
The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
The House of the Dead and Poor Folk by Fyofor Dostoevsky
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Howards End by E.M. Forster
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Iliad by Homer
The Importance of Being Earnest and Four Other Plays by Oscar Wilde
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs
The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud
Ivanhoe by Walter Scott
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard
Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Writings by Washington Irving
Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Lost Illusions by Honore de Balzac
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets and Other Writings about New York by Stephen Crane
The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
Man and Superman and Three Other Plays by George Bernard Shaw
The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
Metamorphoses by Ovid
The Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Franz Kafka
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Moll Fanders by Daniel Defoe
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
My Antonia by Willa Cather
My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass
Narrative of Sojourner Truth
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
Native Son by R. Wright
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
Night and Day by Virginia Woolf
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Nostromo by Joseph Conrad
Notes from Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoevsky
o Pioneers! by Willa Cather
The Odyssey by Homer
Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
The Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Paradiso by Dante Alighieri
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
The Phantom of the OPera by Gaston Leroux
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
Poetics and Rhetoric by Aristotle
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners by James Joyce
Possessed by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Prince and Other Writings by Niccolo Machiavelli
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Pudd’nhead Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins by Mark Twain
Purgatorio by Dante Alighieri
Pygmalion and Three Other Plays by George Bernard Shaw
The Red and the Black (Scarlet and Black) by Stendhal
The Red Badge of Courage and Selected Short Fiction by Stephen Crane
Republic by Plato
The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
The Rise of Silas Lapham by William D. Howells
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Selected Stories of O. Henry by O. Henry
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
A Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Silas Marner and Two Short Stories by George Eliot
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner
The Strange Case of Dr. Jeekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Stranger by Albert Camus
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust
The Swiss Family Robinson
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
The Tenet of Windfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitgerald
Three Lives by Gertrude Stein
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Three Theban Plays by Sophocles
Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
The Time Machineand The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Tristan Shandy by Sterne
The Turn of the Screw, The Aspern Papers and Two Stories by Henry James
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Two Years before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana
Ulysses by James Joyce
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Utopia by Thomas More
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
The Virginian by Owen Wister
The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf
Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
Ward No. 6 and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov
The Waste Land and Other Poems by T.S. Eliot
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Winesburg, Ohio by Anderson
The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
what are you reading?
A year ago Christmas, i came across a list of classic books everyone should read. I did a bit of research (and have added to it since) and came up with 4 pages of classics to read.
I’m proud to say i just finished reading my 21st book since end of December ‘09! i just finished The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway and was it a sad, shallow story. The writing was fantastic which made it that much more sad. I think it’s pretty much Gatsby in Europe.
Anyway, 21 plus a few others i’ve read in the past down and a bunch more to go…i’m reading Dracula by Bram Stoker right now…sweet dreams!
My goal was to sit down and do a quick wrap up of my trip to Jordan in a nice, neat little package. But the more I thought about it…the people I met, the places I saw, the conversations, the impressions…my thoughts were way too many and muddled to be wrapped up easily. So, I guess I’ll just try to get as much out as possible and then see where it goes from there.
I’m currently in the “missing-the-journey-but trying-to-get-back-in-the-normal-routine” phase of the trip. It’s an interesting place to be. Getting outside of your normal, day to day, comfort zones opens and expands the world a bit more. It also helps you to see things in a new light. Here are a few more imagesl
First off, the people.
I was very fortunate to be on a trip with some great people. I honestly believe I made some true friends…which is good since we were in a bus for hours at a time. We came from all different ends of the spectrum – TBN, CBN, travel writers, Quakers, Catholics, American, Canadian, print, web, TV, first time traveler, seasoned veteran travelers, younger, not-so-younger…but we gelled like a some kind of strange, extended family. That tends to happen when you are together for the bulk of 10 days together. There were some lively discussions, a few pranks and a lot of laughter.
We were also privileged to have met some very interesting people during the trip. Brother Andrew, who ran the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf had such a calm, wisdom to him. As he gave us a tour of the facilities, he threw out some amazing nuggets of wisdom on serving and loving that I’m still chewing on. His love for people and especially those forgotten was refreshing and challenging and see so much in his interaction with the students and staff at the school.
Layla, a late 50-something, Canadian who came to Jordan through Australia and her love for camels, Wadi Rum and adventure was motivating. She is in the process of a totally new life in the Jordanian desert and has such energy and life, she’s contagious. Here’s a woman who would normally be starting to think about retirement and “winding down” but she’s got a ton of business ideas and seems to be just starting.
Rustom Mkhjian, the supervisor for the Baptism Site and his love for history and the sites was one of the most passionate people i’ve ever met. He would pull info from the Bible, the Koran, historical documents all from the top of his head. I don’t know how many people he’s led through the site, but I know he was with the Pope and other dignitaries and I’m sure he was just as animated and passionate with them as he was with us.
His Excellency Senator Akel Biltaji, who has served in a number of different capacities with the Jordanian government, sat down with us on our final night and just talked about the region and government and religion and change. He spoke with such authority and conviction. President Bush, T.D Jakes, Benny Hinn all came up in the conversation.
A Beautiful Country
The places we went to were inspiring in their own right. Amman is a hustling, bustling city that was safe and clean. The streets were full of people and vendors and there was a lot of construction and traffic was a bit crazy, but it was a great city. They have taken great care of some great historical sites, as well.
Petra, the Dead Sea, Wadi Rum were all fantastic and MUST see places on any trip to the area. The natural beauty of the mountains and desert was truly amazing! To describe these places just feels like you are over-using already over-used adjectives, but they ARE awesome, amazing, beautiful, breath-taking, overwhelming, wow…!!
The Biblical sites were great, but I think I expected to be moved more by Mt. Nebo and Jesus baptism site. I appreciate the history and their significance, but I think I was moved more by the size and scope of Petra and Wadi Rum. It was easier to see the hand and magnitude of God in the natural places more than the sites with churches and memorials all over them
A Muddled Mess of Thoughts and Impressions
As i mentioned before, I’m deeply in the “missing-the-journey-but trying-to-get-back-in-the-normal-routine” phase of the trip. Here are a few thoughts i’m working out:
I’m able to see the simplistic beauty of the Bedouin life vs. the American yearning for more and more.
I think about God’s majesty and His thoughts towards me represented in the desert of Wadi Rum vs. my own insecurities as I desire to “be somebody” and “accomplish great things” even in ministry and church.
I realize I’m not called to live in a tent in the desert or stay in 5 star hotels every night, but I am called to love people and serve where ever I am.
I’m called to humble myself and forget my own agenda and seek after and trust God, the God who created Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and my neighborhood and set the whole universe in motion.
I’m called to get to know fellow travelers on a bus on the King’s Highway and on this journey through life.
I’m called to love Christians & Jews & Muslims & Jordanians & Canadians & Americans & all people – God does.
Following our amazing jeep ride tour of Wadi Rum, we headed down to the port city of Aqaba on the Red Sea. It’s a great, booming city with lots of hotels and resorts and tourists. I walked around a bit and did a bit of shopping and felt totally safe.
After a night and morning in Aqaba, we drove north to the Dead Sea. We stopped once we got to the Sea for some pictures at sunset…so beautiful!
The Dead Sea is wonderful. It’s all built up with resorts all around it, but it’s still pretty cool. I went down this morning and lathered up with the black, smelly mud and let it dry a bit. it starts to burn a little with all the minerals and such in it. Then you head carefully down to the water and rinse it all off. i was trying to get my head down towards the water, but i was so buoyant, i couldn’t. the water just feels weird - thick and almost oily. it smells different also. there’s a haze coming off of it so you can’t really see to the other side very well.
Your skin definitely feels smoother when you get out and rinse off. i’m almost glowing right now.
We have our final dinner tonight and then head to the Amman airport tomorrow morning. This trip has gone by so fast and we packed a ton of activities and food in. I’ve still got a lot to process on this - the people i met, the places i saw, the discussions on the Middle East/politics/religion/culture…good thing i have a 12 hour flight home to think.
I posted a few pics from the Dead Sea beach if you wanna take a look.
Wadi Rum was a place I knew pretty much nothing about just a week or so ago. Now…it’s one of my favorites. It’s the desert where Lawrence of Arabia hung out and they filmed the movie. It’s vast and open and filled with mountainous rocks and everywhere you look is a picture waiting to be taken.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. We started our day going to a pottery shop that’s partially funded by U.S. Aid. Some local women make and sell the pottery to raise money for the community. They help to fund schools and other programs. It’s very cool pottery for a very great cause.
Then we drove an hour or so out to Wadi Rum. Our first order of business was lunch at Captain’s Camp, kind of a Bedouin hotel. They took us out back to watch them get the lunch…this guy grabs a shovel and starts uncovering a pile sand. There were a couple of blankets and then a large metal plate. They removed all of that and a pile of aluminum foil and pulled out a three foot, three-tiered rack with rice, chicken, lamb and vegetables. They light a fire and let it burn out and then slide this rack down in and bury it…kind of like a Bedouin luuah.
They threw it all together and brought it out to us and we ate and ate and ate…and then the fun began.
We were off for a jeep tour through Wadi Run and a stop for tea to watch the sunset. This whole trip has been full of experiences that I never would have imagined and this was another. To sit and sip tea with Bedouin as the sun set over the mountains was amazing!
We’re now in Aqaba for a bit and then off to the Dead Sea tomorrow. Aqaba is a port town down on the Red Sea. I’ll have a report on Aqaba and the Dead Sea tomorrow. Please enjoy the images from Wadi Rum until then.
Biggest lesson learned today: Petra is huge!! We took the most hilly, mountainous road into Petra, but we made it. I have no idea how much we hiked, but it was a lot, but also well worth it. The Siq you walk thru to get to the most famous face of Petra, The Treasury is a very cool entrance. When you can start to see the Treasury ahead, it’s an amazing sight.
I saw the third Indiana Jones movie, I thought I knew about Petra – NOPE! This thing is so huge…and there’s more below it.
From the Treasury, we walked/hiked on up to see the other parts of the city and ended up at the top to see the Monestary and the lookout. Let me just say, it was a ton of steps dodging mule droppings, but a very overwhelming sight to take in. I think they said they have only uncovered part of the whole city, it’s huge.
Tonight for dinner, we did something a bit different. We went to Petra Kitchen. It’s a place opened by a Texan woman who lives here in Jordan. She wanted to teach people how to make traditional Jordanian food, so you go and make part of the dinner under guidance from a chef and his team and then get to eat it. We got to make Baba Ganuj and Fatoosh. Afterwards, they gave us a copy of all the recipes used to make the meal – in English with American measurements!
Here’s a link to some of the pictures of the day.
Tomorrow is Little Petra, Wadi Run – where Lawrence of Arabia took place and then to Aqaba.
