The Pursuit of Contentment

Yeah, yeah, yeah... It's been MONTHS since I've posted to the blog. Time to change that. I hope. Stay tuned (and wish me luck).

Too. Much. Snow.
We've been hammered with some serious snowfalls over the past two months. One big one back in December left us locked up at home for several days until plows eventually reached our neighborhood. And even then we had to hire a guy with a bobcat to clear our long, steep driveway. Since then, every time it's snowed, I find myself going into "battle mode." I have this fierce desire to keep the driveway clear and not let it pile up, even if that means running the blade every hour or two all the way through the middle of the night. I feel like I'm fighting off the invading white horde (and sometimes losing the battle because we've had so much snow that there's just no place to push it).

As a result, I've missed out on some of the beauty of this winter. The truth is that snow is such an amazing -- almost magical -- event, especially the way it falls out here in Virginia with hardly a whisper of a breeze. Just big white softness falling everywhere making the world seem so very still -- as if the universe was holding its breath. During one of the recent storms, Margo and I enjoyed dinner with friends living a few blocks away. We bundled up and hiked through knee-high whiteness in the dark of the evening. It really was beautiful. But I've been so focused on fighting off the drifting banks on our driveway that I've overlooked the wonder of it all.

So, even though I'm not excited about any more snow this season (how many more weeks 'til the Cherry Blossoms?), I'm determined to "live in the moment" and just enjoy it all, even if that means getting snowed in again.

And even as I write this, white flakes are beginning to drift down outside my window pretty heavily. I guess I'll get to test out my new attitude before this day is done.


Logos Bible Software
Last week, I enjoyed a couple of days down in North Carolina at "Camp Logos," the training event for Logos Bible Software. I've been using the product for many years; it's my primary tool for research and study, and I was pretty proficient with the last version. Yet they upgraded the entire product last fall and since then I've found myself totally lost. The new interface (which is really powerful but not intuitive) baffled me.

Now all that's changed. After a couple of intensive days of hands-on learning, I've got a pretty good handle on how to access all the power of my updated software. The program is really amazing, and I can barely remember what research was like without it.

Of course, the seminar had another unfortunate effect on me: it left me with this uneasy discontent. Throughout the event we were shown all sorts of additional resources that will make our tools even more powerful. All of these resources are available in electronic format at an incredible discount, but they're also all big-ticket items. So, for example, I've enjoyed the print version of the Expositor's Bible Commentary from Intervarsity Press. But here in Virginia, there really isn't room in my office to unpack my full library. So these volumes are packed away in my basement, essentially unavailable at those moments when I might want to access them. The print version of all 12 volumes is available for around $350 on Amazon, but I could pick up the whole thing and integrate it into my Logos library for $130. Great discount, but it's still $130 bucks. And I'd also love to pick up the 28 volumes of the NIV Application Commentary ($775 in print, $380 in Logos), the 59-voume Word Biblical Commentary ($1200 in print, $500 in Logos), and a zillion other sets like that. And, of course, I'd love to upgrade my "Scholar's Edition" to the "Platinum Edition" (which is another $850 right there, though it unlocks thousands of dollars of resources and tools). Suddenly I'm wishing I knew the meaning of the phrase "money is no object." :)

Learning To Be Content

Oh well. I suppose it's a good opportunity to practice disciplined contentment -- for the snow, for limited resources, etc. Hmm. What did Paul tell his apprentice, Timothy? "True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content." (1 Timothy 6:6-8 NLT) Words to live by...