Running on Empty

Been on somewhat of a blogging hiatus the last two weeks. No time, no energy, and nothing to say, I was frustrated and wasn't sure where to go. Then I looked into the notebook I carry with me full of random notes I take, and I saw this appropriate quote I recently wrote down: "Take it as a rule without exception, that to be able to overflow spontaneously you must be full."

And there it is. I am most certainly not full. In fact, I've been running on empty for quite a while. I have failed to fill myself with time for thought and reading and prayer, so I've had very little to give. Frankly, I've never been this mentally weary heading into a basketball season as I am right now. This week I've taken some steps towards refilling and refocusing - fasting, reading some Oswald Chambers, dressing less casually to improve my focus, taking a personal day - and I hope to come out of it more effective and overflowing so that I might better serve my students, my players, my family, any readers I've still got, and myself.

While I attempt to refill, I do have a few random notes to offer that I've collected over the past couple of weeks. Hopefully, in the absence of overflowing, something here might prove helpful to you:

• Some great perspective from Arthur Ashe: "If I ask 'Why me?' as I am assaulted by heart disease and AIDS, I must ask 'Why me?' about my blessings, and question my right to enjoy them."
• If one key to connecting with people is through questions about their lives, Christians as a whole have some work to do: "Because Christians tend to be answer people, we're not especially skilled at asking good questions; questions that aren't simplistic, leading, or downright insulting." (Tim Downs, in his book Finding Common Ground)
• I wrote recently about living a "live musician" lifestyle. Here's more commentary from a preacher that echoes that sentiment: "I would rather preach than do anything else I know in this world. I have never missed a chance to preach. I would rather preach than eat my dinner, or have a holiday or anything else the world can offer. I would rather pay to preach than be paid not to preach. . ." (Samuel Chadwick) I hope I can say something similar at the end of my days.
• "Prayer is taxing and exacting. Prayer means enduring and denying self, a daily dying by choice. It is wrong when, instead of praying, we do things just to please others." (Leonard Ravenhill)