Silence is Golden?

Earlier this week I blogged on an Newsweek article about silence. The article explains that C.S. Lewis mentions in his book, "The Screwtape Letters," that he envisions hell as a very, very noisy place and that the Devil dests music and silence.

In the Middle Ages, Christian scholars believed that Satan did not want human beings to be alone with God, or with each other, fully alert and listening.

I was intrigued with that statement. I decided to not listen to the radio or music while in the car. I also committed to not listening to my iPod Nano while working out or watching TV while on an elliptical or arc trainer.

Three days into it....so far so good. Weird, but good.

With that little bit of silence or escape from noise I've discovered I am thinking more, thinking more of other people, singing or humming songs from Sunday and planning more. In my commute, I'm also hearing a variety of noises I never heard before. I've heard the sounds of other cars, the rattles and creaks of my '97 Honda Accord, how the road makes different sounds depending on the lane or type of road.

How about you? Do you have moments of silence to flow over you during the day? Time to just sit and think or observe life, without noise washing over you?

Hell is very, very noisy

At least, that is what C.S. Lewis states in his book, The Screwtape Letters. Mr. Lewis describes Satan as one who detests music and silence and whose goal is to make thewhole universe a noise.

Julia Baird in her Newsweek article "The Devil Loves Cell Phones" adresses an issue we all struggle with. Silence. Whether it is music playing in the car, iPod, or via Muzak or the tendency to have the TV as white noise - we are daily emmersed in noise.

This past week I have been hunting. Which entails sitting still in the woods for hours on end. It has been during those times that I have had time to think, evaluate, pray and reflect on life. I have seen nature flow before me, I have seen shadows move and stars shift in their heavenly positions. It was for the most part - a worshipful experience.

Time at first crawled by minute by minute. However, after several days of hunting and sitting, time started going by fast and I eventually was surprised that an hour had passed by without once looking at the time.

After hunting and reading this article, I have decided that for the next few weeks I am going to keep the car radio off and look for opportunities to say no to filling my life with noise. I'll keep you updated on my progress in grabbing nuggets of silence.

Random thoughts

Its been a busy week with a two day district denominational meeting and working on a message for Sunday and a wedding Sunday afternoon. However, I do have some random thoughts from this week.....

1. I'm preaching this Sunday on how David in II Samuel 16 handled criticism. Because of my reading and studying, I am wondering if our society is increasingly becoming a critical society or if there is more freedom and opportunities to express our opinion. You can email me at: stevew@cccomaha.org or go to my Facebook page to wade in with your opinion.

2. I stood in front of a couple bathroom sinks this week waiting for the water to turn on automatically.

3. I have stood in front of a couple paper towel dispensers waiting for a towel to appear.

4. I love having the opportunity to preach - its just the time and effort for me [I'm not saying I'm slow, but I'm not that brilliant either] to hear what God wants me to say and put it in a logical, understandable way.

5. I love doing weddings. I get to officiate on Offutt AFB for a couple with one who is in mid-60's and the other is in early-70's. What a privilege and celebration!

What is important in life?

The same day that my oldest daughter was married I read in the October 24th Omaha World Hearld some interesting "information."

Now, you may be wondering how could I read the paper on the day Bethany was to get married? Easy. I'm the FOB [Father of the Bride] whose job is to put on a tux, show up for pictures and walk down the aisle with, if I might say, the lovely bride. I'm there for moral support and to stay out of the way. I did both and had time to read the paper that morning.


I digress.

On the opinion page there was an article about "wackiest places to visit" in this wonderful nation. I was relieved to know that Nebraska's own Carhenge near Alliance was second place.

First place was the Toilet Seat Museum in Texas, honorable mention Pez Memorabilia display in California, and the tension between who has the biggest ball of twine. Darwin, Minnesota has a 12 feet in diameter and 17,400 pound ball, yet in Cawker City, Kansas there is a ball of twin weighing 17,980 pounds and 40 feet in circumference. I sense a conflict.

I tell you of the wacky tourist spots and twine ball wars article because I realized in an amazing way what is truly newsworthy. Love and family.

We had a wonderful weekend with family and friends seeing Bethany and Jared marry. A couple that obviously love God and each other very much. Where two families are now in-laws to each other and where the parents are happily married to their "original" spouse.

As I stood up at the reception to thank people for attending, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and was humbled to think that people from around the nation came to celebrate this wedding.

I wish there was more attention to weddings and marriages than toilet seats and twine.