I do all kinds of things that I know I ‘shouldn’t’ do.

Fact: Today, on a certain level, I knew that I shouldn’t try to replumb the gas lines of our restaurant kitchen and install a new commercial six-burner range in the middle of the day, while we were open. I did that anyway.

The reason why I ‘shouldn’t have done that was obvious. It took waaaay longer than expected. We almost didn’t have it all reconnected in time for the dinner shift. We could have made a lot of people very very mad! Also, It caused me to question my own sanity several times.

Overall though, it did work out and transformed a normal boring afternoon into an exciting game of beat the clock! When we were just lighting the new pilot light on the oven and throwing in a batch of potatoes to cook, it was 4:00 on the dot.

That was something I shouldn’t have attempted at all, today. (Monday, when we are closed, would have been much much much much much smarter)

Anyways – there are lots of actions I take, that I shouldn’t. There are thoughts I dwell on, that I shouldn’t. There are confrontations that I avoid, that I shouldn’t. There are exercises that I don’t do and meals that I do do, that I shouldn’t…

You get the picture, right?

I’m amazed by true wisdom. I love hearing stories about ancient inventions and discoveries. The Bible is an awesome source for ideas that resonate deep within, that my own mind couldn’t conceive itself. Every week I enjoy the podcasts from Rabbi Daniel Lapin. He uncovers the hidden true meanings woven into the Hebrew language and the words of the Old Testament.

Recently I’ve been watching a series on Netflix about The Story of Maths. There, the host walks through the earliest recorded instances of numbers and their interplay. He shows the points at which it seems somebody first came up with methods of expressing quantities and measurements in character form. He shows the birthplace of concepts like the 1-9 numbering system, algebra, geometry and the origin of zero. There were people, in history who began using negative numbers, when none existed before.

Did all the wisdom of our world arrive thousands of years ago? Is there any left for us today? I don’t seem to possess much of it. No, really, I am dumbfounded by the volume and complexity of cultures and civilizations from world history. Long ago, humans were on the leading edge of such monumental concepts as the births of math, literature and architecture. In an un-electrified world, without means of instant mass communication, there were souls who were such an intense conduit for God’s word that somehow we are still reading their writing today.

Not one person alive in two thousand years will ever come across my blog pages, I’m certain!

In fact, today’s world seems to be depleted of wisdom, of adventurous invention, of real spiritual presence even. Of the generations living today, what is our legacy to leave to future? Not our kids or grandkids, but a couple hundred centuries from now? Will they look at us, as the pioneers on the leading edge of technology? We’d probably like to think so. But really, there are ancient structures existing right now, that we cannot claim to be able to replicate.

Will they think we existed in a dark age, before enlightenment returned again, in its cycle. Will they admire anything of note we accomplish, that benefits them then? I hope it’s not some disgusting perfection of the art of consumerism. I pray that we don’t just inspire only ever greater household gadgetry. Our timestamp will be on the beginning of the world of electronic communication devices. These mindsucking parasites do eat our consciousness away, and excrete it into a virtual space for our own personal pleasure. Is that really a positive breakthrough, to be proud of?

The wisdom of God, is woven into the fabric of the universe itself. It existed first, actually.

Wisdom herself, speaks to us, through Proverbs in the 8^th chapter:

“The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,^[c][d]
before his deeds of old;
²³ I was formed long ages ago,
at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
²⁴ When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
when there were no springs overflowing with water;
²⁵ before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
²⁶ before he made the world or its fields
or any of the dust of the earth.
²⁷ I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
²⁸ when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
²⁹ when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
³⁰     Then I was constantly^[e] at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
³¹ rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.

So why do we still struggle to even acknowledge this wisdom exists, let alone follow it? Why do we actually posses the fruits of so many before us, yet squander them? Why do I literally know, the where to find the keys to my life, yet choose to keep God’s book closed almost every day?

Well, this is a mystery I won’t solve today. You see, I do things that I know I shouldn’t do. I am like, an expert, at doing that. I don’t want my personal legacy to be one, all about choosing to ignore the magnitude of the wisdom in front of me. That is a fear that could serve me well. I hope today, to find reason to believe that we too, can be groundbreakers and cosmonauts and lightning rods struck by the Holy Spirit.

Maybe the pages of history can have a place for us too, etched deeply and boldly with stories we will be proud of.

Until next week, God Bless You My Friends

Sincerly,

Aaron Nichols

My cell phone knows what I’m thinking! It is spooky how it can be so accurate about what words are coming to my mind next as I type out a text message. It is like it can read my mind!

Well, actually I don’t think it can do that. At least not quite yet… maybe soon though.

On the keyboard app I use for all of my texty transmissions , the app serves up possible words that I may want to use, based on the first letter I type in. If I type an ‘H’, it gives me the single letter option, or How or Hey. If I type a ‘V’ it gives me the single letter, then Very or Volleyball. If I type an L, then Lindsay immediately pops up.

The app has been recording and remembering the words I frequently use. It then offers these most used words and phrases to help me more quickly create the message I want. It starts out just remembering the words themselves. Then it learns over time about the order of the words and who I am texting them to. After several months with this app, it knows a lot about the sentences and phrasing I repeatedly send.

Speaking of repetition, I do a LOT of repeating myself by text message.

I type out orders each week by text for our restaurant. These orders have product names that I have used over and over. The phone learned them and now it is easy to send a list of Budweiser products to my salesman Joe. When I start a message to him, and type the letter ‘B’, the phone gives me Bud – Light – Bottle, as the first three words, just after typing the simple single letter ‘B’.

I joke with people about being short on help at the restaurant. It has happened so many times, and I’ve sent the same SOS notice out every time. At this point my phone knows what I want to say. If I type the letter ‘A’, the app does the rest… Any – Chance – You – Would – Be – Up – For – A – Shift – Tonight – At – The – Iron.

Really… I all I have to type is an ‘A’ and all the other words are immediately served up in perfect order.

This is a helpful device, my phone. This specific app assists me in the ‘work’ I do with it. There are a lot of detailed and specific communications that it enables me to accomplish very quickly. (And just like anyone else, I waste a lot of time with it too!)

Anyways…

There is another piece of technology that must utilize the same code and programming features. My brain, my mind or lack thereof, seems to rely on the same predictive logarithmic structure. If I look at the first letter I type as corresponding to almost any number of thought triggers that occur in my everyday life, I see the same domino effect plain as day.

I could notice a negative scene played out in front of me, or recall some issue from my past. I could start the day later than I’d like to, or hear some news that discourages me. Any initial trigger it seems, (just like the first letter I type) can immediately link to another similar and even increasingly irritating prediction for the immediate future.

“Crap! – Now I’m behind, my day is started late. – I will have to fit more stuff in less time. – I probably won’t get everything done that I need to before the afternoon. – I really can’t get ahead like I wanted to today! – Dang! Now I was in a hurry and I crunched my finger, and broke my sunglasses. – Dammit! Now I knocked over this cup and have a mess to clean up too! – I’ll never get everything done!” (which is only always a true, no matter what, and actually a helpful statement to become okay with)

Well… You get the idea, right…

I suppose there are happy times too, when one thought leads directly into another and another, each more uplifting than the one before. I would love to say this is the majority of my inner mental world. Buuuuuuuut… Truthfully, it’s not.

The real question is this: Am I as much of a broken record, constantly repeating myself over and ever over, as it appears on the predictive keyboard app on my phone? Do I express a range of interesting ideas covering topics far and wide, with dynamic personal diversity? Or, more likely, do I get too comfortable in the cycle of the same ol, same ol. Do I want the rut that lay before me, one that I trod previously, and already before? Is there a way to notice and be aware of my constant choice and options, as I move through my life?

Even on my phone – that prompts and almost rewards the same ol story, told again and again, for convenience and efficiency sake, I have a choice. I can always there, switch things up. I have the whole alphabet to play with. I can write any story I want, at any time I want. I can pray for guidance on what story may be God’s will. I can slow down and discern a new route hidden just on the edge of my periphery.

I don’t have to keep regurgitating the same speeches over again, just because that is what I have always done. At least that is what I would like to think. It is easy to think things. Doing them seems to be the catch. Committing to action, making new things happen, even if we don’t know what to expect next, is thrilling. A scary thrill maybe, but so what…

We already know the same ‘ol story. The spin created by it’s constant monotone revolution is the only life it has. An old wooden toy it is. Well worn, we pick it up over and over and over again… while all around us, God’s creation is available. It may be work, yes, it may be rewarding too.

Rigging up our sails and preparing for a new voyage takes more effort than hanging in our hammock watching the same scene day after day from the guarded security of the harbor. One of my favorite quotes, I have mention here before

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” ― William G.T. Shedd

Until next week, be well my friends – take a new chance, good luck and Godspeed!

Sincerely

Aaron Nichols

For a lot of years, I wanted FUN to be the main priority of anything I put my effort into. If it wasn’t fun, then what was the point of doing it? I had a lot of it too. Fun, that is. I partied all the time, I was laughing and carousing most every day of the week. In fact, I probably had too much of it. It’s possible that I overdosed on fun.

These days, fun isn’t my first priority, definitely not the same kind of fun that I used to have, for sure.

I was just telling some friends the other night, that there are aspects of my life and personal commitments that I engage in, that are healthy for me but not real fun. These things seem to help bind me to a cause larger than myself. In this instance, I’m talking about my involvement at our church. I was speaking to that fact, that this volunteer effort and attendance at various events, don’t titillate and sizzle with the electricity of a wild party. Nope, not even close.

My point really, was that I am okay with that. I find a different sense of gratification, knowing that it is not just my own personal satisfaction that I am seeking to soothe. This ironically, soothes, in and of itself.

Our restaurant can be a downright madhouse at times. Last night in fact, we were operating at near meltdown capacity. The kitchen kiddos were trying their hearts out, and early on, they had a big table to deal with. This is stressful, yes. I am personally responsible for making sure we do our best job as a team. It is not really a fun experience, to be between a rock and hard place with the walls closing in… BUT! When they sent out plate after plate after plate, and fed this family that had gathered within our walls… I slapped them a big high-five and honestly was a little choked up, as I turned and walked out the swinging kitchen doors.

Damn, I was proud of them! These guys had a really bright moment among the chaos. Soon thereafter, we were bombarded by a hundred more people and yes the fun factor faded further. We grilled and cooked and yelled and fried until the grind finally subsided. We accomplished something wonderful actually, while looking stress and challenge, right in its ugly face.

I guess I have ‘matured’ into appreciating a modified version of fun, at this point in my life. It used to be that my personal entertainment was all about tickling the receptors connected to ecstasies of the body. Fun only meant that I was escaping the present moments of the real world, living in a fleeting fantasy enchantment. When the hangovers hit, and I landed back on earth, the headache did it’s best to remind me that I wasn’t in fact, invincible. My attempts at the evasion of reality were a bust. I was caught and awaiting extradition to the hell of a jail cell, my actual life.

These days, looking at those same bottles and cans, behind me at the bar, instead of in front of me, is a proper perspective on them for me. ‘Look at my backside! You dogs! You chased me around long enough!’ Actually, I’m not always that brazen. But again, even the demented challenge of avoiding even a simple sip of cold beer, well deserved, after a long hard exhaustive night of restaurant work, invigorates me.

Saying no, seems to enchant and intoxicate me. Much more than the liquor itself could.

So then, I must retract my messages from before. In a sense, I am still driving after a personal enjoyment in almost everything I do. A glutton still I remain. Now though, instead of feasting on the fantasy of a fleeting moment of buzzed bliss, I am thrilled by intense frustrations. Attempting to scale steep and sharp rocky cliffs, instead of floating easy breezy around a circular lazy river… I wonder what we’ll find if we keep on reaching?

Hopefully, strength and stamina are building up. Ideally, this exercise produces fruits of the character, of the spirit. I see it happening in our church family, in the team at our restaurant. I hope maybe, they can see some of that in me too, through sober eyes, working shoulder-to-shoulder, toward something larger, than our own simple self-gratifications.

Until next week, Be well my friends and God Bless You.

Sincerely,

Aaron Nichols