Over the past few days I’ve been doing an epic intervention in my study. Not “cleaning my office” but “rediscovering my study” (office doesn’t sound nearly so civilized or literary as study). I had considered calling it the library but I’m in the process of reducing the number of books so library would be pushing it.
Well, that’s the plan.
Anyway, I essentially took absolutely everything out of the room, dusted and polished, reduced the book population by twenty-five percent, emptied and reorganized the drawers, evicted some furniture, hung some art, and reclaimed the space as a creative sanctuary where my work will find a new lease on life.
What I need when I’m writing is an environment that is heavy, or suggestive – redolent may be the word – with layers of inspiration. Windows with a beautiful view, books by authors I admire, reference materials, photographs, works of art, music, an easy chair where I can read…
I can sense the stories hidden just below the surface, bubbling up from the photographs, the novels, rocks from our travels, my guitars, my cricket bat, carved figures from Africa, the teacher-of-the-year golden apple, the yamaka I “borrowed” from the WesternWall in Jerusalem, the box that holds paraphernalia from my schoolboy days in England, my dad’s old steamer trunk that was in turn his father’s steamer trunk…
My study is loaded, redolent with story. My life is rich with story too. I feel this urgency to live it well, to let it soak in, and then to share it in a way that will inspire the world to engage this Great Adventure with passion, faith, light, and love.
My study is loaded, redolent with story. My life is rich with story too. I feel this urgency to live it well, to let it soak in, and then to share it in a way that will inspire the world to engage this Great Adventure with passion, faith, light, and love.
Above all, love – without it there is no story to tell.
– DEREK
Commitment to an active life of faith in the context of a worshipping, missional, service-driven community is not only good for us but essential if we want to be more than one-dimensional as believers. Not just admirers of God but followers of the Living Way of Jesus.
So, while we root for justice, and stand against racism, and resist chauvinism, and work for equality, and watchdog our government lest power becomes reserved for one branch alone – we had best likewise take care that we do not emulate the excesses of change-agents like Robespierre in France, who encouraged denouncement at every turn, placing the terror of “Je dénonce” into the hands of the mob, the social media of its day.
I seriously did not intend to go paparazzi on my grandchildren this weekend. But then stuff happens, and my iPhone is right there in my pocket, and there you go.
I love the way these flowers take off on their own, appearing in unexpected places, peeking out from behind a bench, emerging between other plants who have gone to seed, or gathering in a joyful congregation under the fence.
For me – and Rebekah – our all-time favorite wedding present to give is the classic English teapot. Not a kettle, that’s for boiling water, but a real teapot.
Please read before preparing tea: Life is inherently difficult. As beings made in the image of God, our design encourages us to act on our environment with creative purpose. Each challenge we face is an opportunity to engage the intention of creation, and to live on the cutting edge of possibility. Marriage is loaded with such opportunity. Tea can help here.
