November Journaling Challenge: Day 7
Prompt: Imagine that you received a million dollars on the condition that you give it all away and keep nothing for yourself. To whom would you give it?
$50,000 each to People for the American Way
American Civil Liberties Union
the most effective gun control advocacy group I can find
$50,000 to Candler School of Theology
$100,000 to the United Methodist Committee on Relief
$100,000 to Assumption Abbey, OCSO, Ava, Missouri
$100,000 to the Nature Conservancy
$100,00 to Lexington, TN, First United Methodist Church
$100,000 to Forest Heights United Methodist Church, Jackson, TN
$200,000 to Hendrix College, Conway, AR
$100,000 to our daughter, Sara Tomblin
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Describe yourself with alphabetized adjectives
November Journaling Challenge: Day 6
Prompt: Describe yourself using alphabetized adjectives, A to Z
accessible
believable
curious
disciplined
easily-discouraged
friendly
gentle
humorous
imaginative
judicious
kind
loving
modest
nurturing
open-minded
peaceful
questioning
respected
skeptical
thoughtful
understanding
valued
worshipful
x
yearning
zestful
(which can mean full of life or full of beans)
Prompt: Describe yourself using alphabetized adjectives, A to Z
accessible
believable
curious
disciplined
easily-discouraged
friendly
gentle
humorous
imaginative
judicious
kind
loving
modest
nurturing
open-minded
peaceful
questioning
respected
skeptical
thoughtful
understanding
valued
worshipful
x
yearning
zestful
(which can mean full of life or full of beans)
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
What 5 Things Would You Take?
November Journaling Challenge: Day 4
Prompt: Imagine that you end up on a deserted island. All of the essentials of life are provided. What 5 items would you take to enhance your emotional well-being or bring you pleasure or offer you knowledge?
1. A bag of books, including the Bible, Walden and Thoreau's collected essays, a volume of Mary Oliver's poetry, collections of art by Monet and van Gogh, a book of prayers, and Shakespeare's plays and poems
2. a laptop with wireless internet connection and collections of music and movies
3. a telescope with guide for stargazing
4. a set of colored pencils and a pad of art paper
5. a bicycle
Prompt: Imagine that you end up on a deserted island. All of the essentials of life are provided. What 5 items would you take to enhance your emotional well-being or bring you pleasure or offer you knowledge?
1. A bag of books, including the Bible, Walden and Thoreau's collected essays, a volume of Mary Oliver's poetry, collections of art by Monet and van Gogh, a book of prayers, and Shakespeare's plays and poems
2. a laptop with wireless internet connection and collections of music and movies
3. a telescope with guide for stargazing
4. a set of colored pencils and a pad of art paper
5. a bicycle
Sunday, November 3, 2013
What Are Your Favorites?
November Journaling Challenge: Day 3
Prompt: What are your favorites?
Favorite Book - Walden
Usually categorized as 'nature writing,' it contains seeds of wisdom on many topics -- a new economics which values simple living and warns of the human costs of industrialization, the benefits of reading, and the necessity, on occasion, of civil disobedience.
Favorite Music
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Bach)
Favorite Movie
action - Duel, an early Steven Spielberg work starring Dennis Weaver, with the supporting actor never appearing on screen
character - The Color Purple
overall - The Shawshank Redemption
Favorite Color - ultramarine
Now synthetically produced for artists, it was originally handmade from lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone valued for its intensity. Vermeer used ultramarine for the turban worn by the Girl with a Pearl Earring.
Favorite Summer
1970. I had light training by the Navy as a would-be JAG officer. Becky, Sara and I were able to use the weekends exploring New England. Highlights included the Boston Pops July 4th Concert, visiting Walden Pond, seeing a Red Sox game at Fenway, and walking Cape Cod.
Prompt: What are your favorites?
Favorite Book - Walden
Usually categorized as 'nature writing,' it contains seeds of wisdom on many topics -- a new economics which values simple living and warns of the human costs of industrialization, the benefits of reading, and the necessity, on occasion, of civil disobedience.
Favorite Music
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Bach)
Favorite Movie
action - Duel, an early Steven Spielberg work starring Dennis Weaver, with the supporting actor never appearing on screen
character - The Color Purple
overall - The Shawshank Redemption
Favorite Color - ultramarine
Now synthetically produced for artists, it was originally handmade from lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone valued for its intensity. Vermeer used ultramarine for the turban worn by the Girl with a Pearl Earring.
Favorite Summer
1970. I had light training by the Navy as a would-be JAG officer. Becky, Sara and I were able to use the weekends exploring New England. Highlights included the Boston Pops July 4th Concert, visiting Walden Pond, seeing a Red Sox game at Fenway, and walking Cape Cod.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
What Do You Do to Enrich Your Mind?
November Journaling Challenge: Day 2
Prompt: What do you do on a regular basis to enrich your mind?
The most consistent practice I have for enriching my mind is reading. Reading is my passion, though some might call it an addiction.
Gretchen Rubin wrote in The Happiness Project, "What you enjoyed doing as a ten-year-old, or choose to do on a free Saturday afternoon, is a strong indication of your passion." Bingo!
My reading habit is rooted in the assignments I had in high school -- not only Great Expectations but also David Copperfield. Not only Huckleberry Finn, but also Les Miserables and Crime and Punishment . It's strange; I read so little fiction these days.
My usual pattern is to develop an interest in a topic and start collecting the best works I can find (and the most I can afford.)
When my interest was in haiku, for example, I amassed over 30 titles. Similar collections center on -
* poetry (Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry, Jane Kenyon, Donald Hall)
* art (van Gogh is my latest fascination)
* nature writing
*monastic spirituality (Thomas Merton and the Rule of St. Benedict
* World War I
I'm aware that none of this makes me smarter or even more knowledgeable than anyone else. I also know that reading is only one way of nurturing the mind. Someone has written that there are "eight intelligences." The life of the mind is only one.
I'm simply trying to be honest about my own life and to give you a brief glimpse into it.
Prompt: What do you do on a regular basis to enrich your mind?
The most consistent practice I have for enriching my mind is reading. Reading is my passion, though some might call it an addiction.
Gretchen Rubin wrote in The Happiness Project, "What you enjoyed doing as a ten-year-old, or choose to do on a free Saturday afternoon, is a strong indication of your passion." Bingo!
My reading habit is rooted in the assignments I had in high school -- not only Great Expectations but also David Copperfield. Not only Huckleberry Finn, but also Les Miserables and Crime and Punishment . It's strange; I read so little fiction these days.
My usual pattern is to develop an interest in a topic and start collecting the best works I can find (and the most I can afford.)
When my interest was in haiku, for example, I amassed over 30 titles. Similar collections center on -
* poetry (Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry, Jane Kenyon, Donald Hall)
* art (van Gogh is my latest fascination)
* nature writing
*monastic spirituality (Thomas Merton and the Rule of St. Benedict
* World War I
I'm aware that none of this makes me smarter or even more knowledgeable than anyone else. I also know that reading is only one way of nurturing the mind. Someone has written that there are "eight intelligences." The life of the mind is only one.
I'm simply trying to be honest about my own life and to give you a brief glimpse into it.
Friday, November 1, 2013
What did I expect?
November Journaling Challenge: Day 1
Prompt: Today focus on using each of your senses. Describe in detail what they notice.
The rough bark of the oak tree reaches upward 90 feet. As I strain my neck to see the crown, I feel a twinge from an old surgery.
I hear no wind this morning, and few leaves cover the ground. I lean my back against the trunk, seating myself on a patch of moss, and settle into a nap.
A blast of cold air wakes me and shakes a thousand leaves from the tree. My outstretched legs are covered, and still leaves fall.
The wind slaps a large one onto my face, covering nose and mouth. I can smell the decay of autumn. Sheepishly, I poke the leaf with my tongue, curious about its taste. What did I expect? Pumpkin pie, apple fritter, an oak leaf cobbler?
Prompt: Today focus on using each of your senses. Describe in detail what they notice.
The rough bark of the oak tree reaches upward 90 feet. As I strain my neck to see the crown, I feel a twinge from an old surgery.
I hear no wind this morning, and few leaves cover the ground. I lean my back against the trunk, seating myself on a patch of moss, and settle into a nap.
A blast of cold air wakes me and shakes a thousand leaves from the tree. My outstretched legs are covered, and still leaves fall.
The wind slaps a large one onto my face, covering nose and mouth. I can smell the decay of autumn. Sheepishly, I poke the leaf with my tongue, curious about its taste. What did I expect? Pumpkin pie, apple fritter, an oak leaf cobbler?
Thursday, October 17, 2013
10 Biggest Turning Points in My Life
Prompt: List the 10 Biggest Turning Points in Your Life, Ilene Segalove and Paul Bob Velick,
List Yourself
In chronological order:
1. Decision to attend Hendrix College
2. Marriage to Becky and birth of Sara
3. Decision to quit Law School after two years
4. Decision to be ordained in the United Methodist Church
5. Becky's health issues
6. Work on new mission and ministry plan at Lexington First UMC
7. Decision to retire at age 54
8. Opportunity to work with District Superintendents, Ben Boone and Joy Weathersbee
9. Marital difficulties and reconciliation with Becky in August, 2013
10. Decision to return to active status and serve Forest Heights UMC in 2009
11. Retirement in July, 2013
List Yourself
In chronological order:
1. Decision to attend Hendrix College
2. Marriage to Becky and birth of Sara
3. Decision to quit Law School after two years
4. Decision to be ordained in the United Methodist Church
5. Becky's health issues
6. Work on new mission and ministry plan at Lexington First UMC
7. Decision to retire at age 54
8. Opportunity to work with District Superintendents, Ben Boone and Joy Weathersbee
9. Marital difficulties and reconciliation with Becky in August, 2013
10. Decision to return to active status and serve Forest Heights UMC in 2009
11. Retirement in July, 2013
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