Spiritual Disciplines: Fasting

Fasting must be everyone's favorite spiritual discipline. We're all about denial of self, aren't we?

Actually, I think that's what makes this discipline so difficult. It's denial of self in a way we're just not used to. Food is the last thing that many of us allow ourselves to indulge in completely, without restriction. Complete hedonism. It's tough to reverse that.

I did some calculations, and after going to church for 40 years, I figure I've heard somewhere between 2 and 3 thousand sermons. I haven't heard a single sermon on fasting. Maybe it's the particular religious tradition I grew up in. But what makes it weirder is that we have examples of the early disciples in doing it (Acts 13:1-3, 14:23), Jesus did (Matthew 4:1-2), He expects us to do it (Matthew 6:16-18, 9:15), and it's described as a form of worship (Acts 13:2, Luke 2:36-38) . If there's something that people would suggest is required of us, you'd think it'd be fasting. But I don't remember it listed among the "5 acts of worship" in the many sermons I heard on that topic as a kid.

Richard Foster suggests that fasting can reveal some of the things in life that control us, citing Psalm 69:10 ("I humbled my sould with fasting"). - and mentions that fasting can reveal the things in life that control us. This takes on even more meaning when I read 1 Cor 6:12 ("All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything"). We all have things in our life that control us. For a lot of us, food falls into that category.

This brings us full circle back to denial of self. Jesus says annoying stuff like, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mt 16:24) and "any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple"(Luke 14:33).

That's what this life is all about, isn't? Dying to self? I think that's why we don't commit. Ironically, we don't want to give up what little control we think we have over this life. It must look silly to God.

Spiritual Disciplines: Prayer

I hate that the intro to each of these blog posts is a comment about not writing blog pots. But, there you go.

Continuing going through the spiritual disciplines, we come to prayer next. This is a spiritual discipline that Christians everywhere seem to practice - in private and in public; it is talked about, preached about, and taught about.

But when I really got down to thinking about prayer, in all its ubiquitousness (is that a word?) it still seems as mysterious to me as meditation. (See previous post.)

I come from a cessationist tradition that denies miracles in the present day; but all my life, I've heard people pray to God asking for things like healing of the sick (and praising God when He's healed them). I have trouble putting these two things together. This past April, after the tornados in Alabama, I heard story after story of people saying that God protected them because they prayed. What about the people that prayed that weren't protected from the tornados? And just this morning in church, someone prayed about how he knew God loved us because of our material blessings. At times, I've asked God to help me pay the rent, and praised Him when I was blessed with the ability to make the payment. But a lot of people don't have material blessings, and can't make ends meet - but if they're asking for these things from God and He doesn't provide, does that mean He doesn't love them? (Of course, there's a whole other set of posts about our role in helping the less fortunate.)

It made me start to wonder how much praying was tied to meditating. I guess, when all else fails, read what Jesus said about it:

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20)

and

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. (John 15:7)

This really got me to thinking. We like to throw around trite sayings like, "God always answers prayer - sometimes he says, 'Yes'; sometimes 'No'; sometimes 'Not now'." I've always hated that saying. But my own preferences aside, maybe the problem with us and prayer is that we don't know what to pray because we don't know God. We're not in tune with Him. Maybe it's taking that time in quiet meditation to understand who He is and what He wants that we're missing. Sometimes I look around at our current Christian culture, witnessing the hate, the hypocrisy, the utter selfishness we tend to project, and I wonder if we really understand God.

People always ask for things in prayer, adding "if it's Your will"; but I'm wondering, based on Jesus said - shouldn't we know?

Spiritual Disciplines: Meditation

Yeah...I said I was going to start blogging again. Maybe I lied.

I've got a lot I wanted to put on here, but haven't had the time to fish it out of my head and put it on paper (screen).

But in our current church curriculum we're studying the Spiritual Disciplines for the next 2 months. I thought I'd follow Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster, and use that as a jumping off point for study and discussion.

Last week, we talked about Meditation.

Foster talks about a few different types of meditation:

• Meditation where you ponder a short passage or scripture
  
• Meditation where you turn your concerns over to God
  
• Meditation where you think about God's creation - seeing God's glory in the creation around us
  
• Meditation on the events of our time and understanding their significance
  

But if you look for the word meditation in the Bible, you'll have some interesting findings.

As Foster notes, David talks about meditation a lot in the Psalms. The first Psalm talks about the man who is blessed and says that he meditates on God's law day and night. I've actually been reading Psalm 119 recently (for example, look at verses 97-104). Here, the words translated from the Hebrew mean to ponder, study, reflect.

But try looking for it in the New Testament - you may not find it. The King James lists it in a couple places, but you won't find it in the English Standard Version, the New International Version, or The Message. (The ESV uses meditate once - to mean premeditate. And the KJV uses it in the same passage; but the only other place it uses the word, the ESV translates practice - 1 Timothy 4:15.)

Of course, we do see Jesus spending a lot of time finding a lonely place to be in solitude with God. Foster lists the following passages through the Gospels: Matthew 4:1-11; 14:23; 17:1-9; 26:36-46; Mark 6:31; Luke 5:16; 6:12.

So we see the example of Jesus; but I was curious if there were any teachings about it. All Foster talks about is "hearing the voice of God" (which confused me for a bit - I'll get to that in a minute). But the absence of the word meditate made me wonder - does Jesus ever tell his disciples to do this? He talks about prayer a lot, and while there seems to be some overlap between meditation and prayer, (meditation would use more contemplative prayer), they are separate spiritual disciplines.

But then I stumbled across the word consider which is used throughout the teachings of Jesus as well as the epistles. The first place I found it was Matthew 6:28.

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin...

The word that is translated into consider is actually a word that is a combination of two other Greek words: kata (meaning doing something intensely) and manthanō (meaning to learn or understand). It's the only time this word is used in the Bible; but I think it makes sense that we can say Jesus is telling us to "contemplate these things" or "meditate on these things".

And what's interesting about this passage - if you go back to the types of meditation Foster mentions, this seems to incorporate 3 of the 4: turning your concerns over to God, meditating on God's creation, and meditating on scripture (the last because, well, this is a scripture).

It gets even more intriguing if you look at the word used in Luke 12:22-29:

...do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing... Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

The word consider here is also two Greek words put together to make one word. But while the first part of the word is the same used in Matthew, meangin to mean doing something intensely, the second part of the word comes from a different word: noeō, meaning to observe, perceive or understand. So Luke uses a very similar, but different word to convey the same message.

These Greek words are translated as different words throughout the New Testament. I'll stop with one last example of the word that's translated as consider in the passage from Luke, above. It's used in Matthew 7:3:

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

Here, the word see just means "to look at". The word notice is the same word translated consider, above: to observe intensely. Personally, I think it's telling that Jesus tells us we see the problems in other people lives, but we need to really spend some time contemplating our own faults. But maybe that's just me.

Robert Foster states in his book that Christian meditation is the ability to hear God's voice and obey His word. This confused me at first - I was thinking "hearing God's word" as reading the Bible or being told about the Gospel. I thought, "how can meditation be about hearing and obeying God's word?" But he's talking about a more literal hearing of God's voice - and obeying that. He goes on to mention Bible passages on communing with God, including several from Acts that talk directly about Jesus guiding the early Christians.

I think that the Bible teaches us - through the example of Jesus, through the way the Holy Spirit led the Christians in the book of Acts, and through some of these other verses, that it makes sense to take time out to just sit and consider, or meditate on, or contemplate these things.

There's definitely history here - just look at Deuteronomy 11:18-19.

You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Should it be any different for us?

But my question is: can we literally hear the voice of God today?

I'll have to meditate on that.

Creation

As I mentioned yesterday, today we started our Bible class. After I talked about what I posted yesterday, I posed this light, easy question:

Is a literal reading of the first chapter of Genesis necessary to our faith?

I think the discussion that followed was a good start for the first class. Our church has people from a wide range of backgrounds. There are people who believe that the 6 days of creation were literal. There are people who believe that evolution was God's mechanism for creating man. I think it's going to be an interesing study.

A few things that I didn't realize - the idea that the first chapter of Genesis may not be literal isn't a new idea.

Origen, the church father, scholar, and theologian who was born about 150 years after Jesus died, wrote:

Now who is there, pray, possessed of understanding, that will regard the statement as appropriate, that the first day, and the second, and the third, in which also both evening and morning are mentioned, existed without sun, and moon, and stars— the first day even without a sky? And who is found so ignorant as to suppose that God, as if He had been a husbandman, planted trees in paradise, in Eden towards the east, and a tree of life in it, i.e., a visible and palpable tree of wood, so that anyone eating of it with bodily teeth should obtain life, and, eating again of another tree, should come to the knowledge of good and evil? No one, I think, can doubt that the statement that God walked in the afternoon in paradise, and that Adam lay hid under a tree, is related figuratively in Scripture, that some mystical meaning may be indicated by it. (On First Principles, Book IV)

Many medieval rabbis (and Torah scholars) considered the creation story to be symbolic rather than literal. From The Jewish Virtual Library:

Maimonides, one of the great rabbis of the Middle Ages, wrote that if science and Torah were misaligned, it was either because science was not understood or the Torah was misinterpreted. Maimonides argued that if science proved a point, then the finding should be accepted and scripture should be interpreted accordingly.

This can be found in the The Guide to the Perplexed written by Maimonides. See also the Maimonides entry in the Stanford Philosophical Encyclopedia.

Teaching

Tomorrow morning I'm going to start teaching a Bible class. I'm stepping into this with a bit of trepidation. I'm not qualified. And if I'm on a journey of faith, who am it to be teaching others about God's will?

So, maybe it'll be a chance for a number of us to start a discussion. To really look into what God says, and think critically about it. I'm nervous, but I'm praying I'm moving in the right direction.

I'm going to open tomorrow with my vision:

I want this to be a collaborative Bible study. That means that I want us all to be able to contribute to the discussion. I don't believe I'm qualified to be teaching - to impart my knowledge of God and God's word to you. We all have a lot to learn, and we all need to be better students of the Bible.

So, I'll lead the discussion. I'll tend to read and research, and guide the discussion. And keep us on track when we need to be focused. But, if we want to get off-track, and follow where the Spirit leads us, that's fine, too. I don't want to be all over the place, but if, when we're taking a specific path, you find that you've got something you want to understand, research, or discuss, bring it up. Maybe that can be our next discussion.

I'm hoping we can use this to jump-start some Bible study in our own lives. In addition to coming here and discussing these things, we all need to be able to go back and do our own reading and research. If I had a Ph.D. in New Testament Theology, maybe I'd be qualified to share the depths of my knowledge with you, but as it is, I think we all need to be studying and teaching each other. I hope that's ok.

So, we're going to use the Bible as our primary source. But - we all know that we all read the Bible a little differently. The greatest Bible scholars have read the Bible differently. And what we're working with here is a a translation of a copy of of a copy. So I think we need to be able to disagree, and have discussion, and read other sources.

If you've read something that contributes to the discussion we're having. - in a book, or a blog, or a Facebook status - feel free to bring it. I think that reading outside sources is important and necessary. Regardless if we disagree with them or not. They may be more important if we disagree with them - that will make us study harder and dig deeper into God's Word. And God's Word says that teaching is a spiritual gift - and I don't see anything that says that teachers can't be writers, bloggers, or friends on Facebook. Always keeping in mind what Paul said to the church at Thessalonica: "Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good."

St. Augustine (in the 5th Century) wrote something that I really like:

"In matters that are so obscure and far beyond our vision, we find in Holy Scripture passages which can be interpreted in very different ways without prejudice to the faith we have received. In such cases, we should not rush in headlong and so firmly take our stand on one side that, if further progress in the search of truth justly undermines this position, we too fall with it. That would be to battle not for the teaching of Holy Scripture but for our own, wishing its teaching to conform to ours, whereas we ought to wish ours to conform to that of Sacred Scripture."

Resurrection.

Back from the dead? I need to stretch some of my writing muscles. It's been too long. I'm back, as the creepy girl from Poltergeist might say.

Freak

I put my stupid hat on when I left work today. Just before I got in my car I noticed something hanging from the rearview mirror of another car. After I stood there for minute trying to read it and figure out what it was, I noticed two people in in the front seat of the car. They were probably saying, "Why the hell is that freak staring at us?"

Themes of the Individual vs. Society in the Film Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame

This is a speech I recently presented at a Toastmasters meeting. 

Victor Hugo wrote The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1831. It has been made into several movies, including a popular black and white classic in 1939 and the well-received Disney film in 1996.

The book and movies explore several themes, but I want to concentrate on one in particular – that of the Individual versus Society. This is a literary theme where a character's main source of conflict is with society, or with social traditions.

A sub-theme of the Individual versus Society that I identify with (and that I may have made up) is about the pressure by society to not be different. About compelling the individual to blend in. Sure, society pays lip service to “being yourself” but when you look around, everyone is asking you to look a certain way or act a certain way. Being true to yourself, regardless of what society thinks, is a timeless theme.

It's ultimately about the breaking of societal norms, when those norms are immoral or unethical. For example, society judges us on how we look. And here, the ideals of society are in direct conflict with what is good and right. All you have to do is turn on the TV, pick up a magazine, or watch a movie, and you can see how important outer beauty is. And yet, we all know deep, down, that that’s wrong.

In the early 1930's Alduous Huxley wrote Brave New World partly in response to a fear of losing one's identity as the world became more industrial and fast-paced. To highlight this them, one of the characters in the book compares being different with murder, coming to the conclusion that being different is much worse. He says,

“Murder kills only the individual...Unorthodoxy [being different] threatens more than the life of a mere individual; it strikes at society itself.”

In the Disney version of the film, our protagonist is Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame. He is hideous. He knows he is deformed and ugly. He has a bit of a phlegmatic temperament and tells his gargoyle friends in the Notre Dame cathedral things like, “I'd never fit in. I'm not normal.” From the very beginning of the movie, we see that he knows that with the importance that the world places on how we appear, he would never be welcome by the townspeople. As a baby, he was so disfigured, that the powerful Judge Claude Frollo, after accidentally killing his mother nearly threw him down a well before being stopped by the Archdeacon outside the cathedral. But Frollo persists, pronouncing “This is an unholy demon. I'm sending it back to hell, where it belongs!”

Which, upon reflection, isn't exactly the kind of scene I'd write for a children's animated film.

But Judge Claude Frollo, the story's antagonist, is convinced by the Archdeacon of Notre Dame to raise the child under his charge.

We see what type of man Frollo is in a scene of the movie that takes place soon after, when he sings to Quasimodo, “You are deformed, and you are ugly.” Since Quasimodo never leaves the cathedral, he wants to attend the annual Festival of Fools, which Frollo calls a gathering of “Thieves and hustlers and the dregs of humankind, all mixed together in a shallow, drunken stupor.” He sings to Quasimodo, “They'll revile you as a monster.” And Quasimodo echoes, “I am a monster.”

I promise this was a kid’s movie.

Frollo represents everything that is evil about our society, only existing to promote what he feels is right and ignoring everyone else's welfare.

Judge Frollo brings in Phoebus, Captain of the Guard, because he despises the gypsies who have infested Paris and wants to eradicate them. Frollo is the part of society that propogates these hateful feelings against anyone that deviates slightly from his idea of normal. He explains to Phoebus that his job will be to find the hidden sanctuary of the gypsies and bring an end to them.

So the Festival of Fools begins. Being a public official, Judge Frollo must attend, and is accompanied by Phoebus.

But Quasimodo, disobeying Frollo’s desires also comes to the Festival.

And there, he meets the beautiful gypsy Esmerelda, who shows him kindness. She is, indeed, the only person to ever truly treat him with any kind of love because everyone else is afraid of how repulsive he is. And when he is treated like a monster at the Festival, she is the one that comes to his rescue, in direct defiance of Judge Frollo, who demands that she be detained by Phoebus.

As Esmerelda leads the guards on a merry chase, Phoebus seems entranced by her. He chases her into Notre Dame, but cannot arrest her in the church, so he sets her free.

Quasimodo helps her escape the cathedral though guards are stationed at every door. He has finally found someone who can look through his outer shell and see who he really is. He is completely smitten with her, and his Gargoyle friends (remember, this is a Disney movie) sing to him and convince him that she's in love with him.

Now we cut to Frollo in his bedchamber, where we find out that not only is Quasimodo in love, and not only is Phoebus completely taken by her, but Frollo is also infatuated with the exquisite Esmerelda.

There he sings a song titled Hellfire, and this is probably the creepiest scene I've seen in any Disney movie. He sings about how he, too, is in love with Esmerelda, “Tell me, why I see her dancing there, why her smoldering eyes still scorch my soul.”

As an image of Esmerelda dances in the flames and smoke of his fireplace, he continues, “Like fire, Hellfire, this burning in my skin; this burning desire is turning me to sin.”

Seriously? I’m wondering now if I should have watched this with my 7-year-old daughter.

Frollo goes to find out what Quasimodo knows, mentioning to Quasimodo that he will have a thousand guards attack the hiding place of the gypsies at dawn. This tricks Quasimodo and Phoebus (who has now turned against Frollo) to go to warn them. They unintentionally lead Frollo there followed by all the guardsmen, who capture Quasimodo, Phoebus, Esmerelda, and the gypsies.

Quasimodo is sent back to his tower in chains and watches as Esmerelda is about to be burned at the stake. But, at the last minute, our protagonist breaks free, climbs down from the tower, saves the girl, takes her up to Notre Dame, holds her above his head and in his booming voice, cries, “Sanctuary! Sanctuary!”

In the chaos, Phoebus is freed, the gypsies are rescued, and probably all of Paris is saved from Judge Frollo. He of course climbs the church and attempts to kill Esmerelda and Quasimodo, but in his haste to murder them, falls to his death.

And so we come to our, uh, happy ending.

Does our protagonist, the repellent, revolting Quasimodo, going against all tradition, get the girl? Of course not!

Esmerelda marries the handsome captain of the guard. And Quasimodo's ok with it; almost as if he realizes that he is too much of a monster to be loved by someone so beautiful. And the worst part of society triumphs over the individual. In the end it's Quasimodo who saves Esmerelda's live, putting into motion the events that save all the gypsies and lead to the death of Frollo. But, alas, that's not enough to allow him to be a normal part if society and he lives his life alone in Notre Dame while the beautiful people live happily ever after.

Sparkly in Tuscumbia

Woohoo!

Lent, Addiction, and Failure

Today is Easter Sunday. Lent started on Ash Wednesday this year on February 17 - about 40 days ago, not counting Sundays. Many Christians take this time of year to think about the time Jesus spent in the desert at the beginning of his ministry, and his impending death at the end of his ministry (remembered on Good Friday).

This year, during Lent, I attempted to be more observant of the fasts, and to attempt to make it more of a season of confession, repentance, and reflection. Once again, I failed miserably.

I planned to observe the Friday fasts, which are, if I read correctly, a single normal-sized meal, as well as two smaller meals that don't add up to a whole meal. Plus, no meat. (Meat is considered warm-blooded animals, so fish is OK.)

Also, I decided I'd give up coke. So no soda. No pop. At all.

And, I made a daily commitment to read, study, and pray. To take some time to take a spiritual inventory. Of where I am, where I need to be.

I did OK on the first two. Just OK, because I messed up eating meat at least once on Friday, and stretched the "small meal" thing a bit. Also, I slipped up on the cokes a few times. But it was better than last year when I messed early on, and by the end, I was completely disregarding the commitment I made.

But that last one, I totally blew. I started reading the Bible through a while back - and thought I'd Twitter comments at @ChronoBible (Chronological Bible). I wanted to pick it back up during the last 6 weeks, but didn't really. And I didn't spend the time in reflection I intended, either. More than usual, I guess. Which is good. I guess. But nothing like I intended.

*sigh*

But I think I learned something. The Fridays were a real eye-opener. I've talked a lot before about food, and eating, and gluttony. It's a struggle I've had all my life. Although, I was a skinny kid, and it really didn't show up until I was in college. (By the time I gained the freshman 15 - and the sophomore 15 - people were saying I looked good. But then came the junior 15, and the senior 15, and the 2nd-year senior 15...)

Back to Friday fasts. I'm not sure what hole I'm trying to fill by shoveling piles and piles of food into my mouth. But for some reason, during this season, I realized the obvious. I just don't need to eat so much.

Well, duh.

But this is why I've always been fascinated by psychology. How can I know a simple fact, for many, many years, yet not fully comprehend, understand, and internalize the implications of that fact except through some weird spiritual discipline? It's things like this that give me faith.

The first two steps in a 12-step program are:

1. We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable

and

2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity

It's been this 40-day process that has given me a different way of looking at eating. I have to say it's that "Power greater than myself" that did the work.

Max Dances 2: Electric Boogaloo

The Blind Side (spoilers?)

The Blind Side was a pretty good film. But for some reason, I just couldn't enjoy it. I kept waiting for something tragically climactic to happen. I was nervous through the whole thing.

How Do You Communicate?

I recently joined Toastmasters - for several reasons. One being I need better public speaking skills. Anyway, I gave my first speech this week - it's intended to be an "icebreaker" - kind of a "get to know me" speech. I didn't expect this, but to my surprise, it ended up being about communication and grammar. Here it is, if you're interested...

I just recently figured out that one of my passions is communication. This is the kind of thing that sneaks up on you and you don't realize how important it is, because it subtly permeates every aspect of your life. Of course, having a passion for communication doesn’t necessarily make me self-confident or a good public speaker. That’s where Toastmasters comes in.

I've found that I place a lot of importance on the “how” and “what” of communication. First, how do you communicate? Do you communicate poorly? Do you communicate correctly? Since we’re all different, we’re never going to completely understand each other – this is why proper communication is so important to me.

Also, what do you communicate? Is it accurate? Is it true? Or is it based on rumor, urban legend, or outdated and archaic information? Of course, my wife might say that this isn't my passion for communication, just my passion for telling people they're wrong. But I think it's bigger than that.

I think that this passion is something I've always had. I remember being about 9 or 10 in a group of people, and my dad mentioning something about the state of IllinoiS. Wouldn't he want to know that the correct pronunciation of that state was Illinois? So I corrected him. In front of everyone. That didn't go over very well.

But this has helped me all through my academic and professional life. I enjoy writing. I enjoy editing.

And today, we are constantly communicating with people; whether it’s professionally – in meetings, in memos, in e-mails, in trainings; or socially – in person, on the phone, in chatrooms, on Facebook. Communication is a pervasive part of our lives. This makes the “how” so important.

I never cease to be amazed at how so many people on the internet – in email, blogs, or forums – have a problem telling the difference between there, their and they're. Or your and you’re. And BTW, “lose” – has one “o”. You didn’t cry last night when you watched The Biggest Looser. That was me crying when I read your Facebook status.

Or when people use the word “literally” for emphasis – instead of to mean “literally”. That literally drives me crazy. Well, no – I guess it just really drives me crazy. Literally is not a synonym for really. I was in a training once, where the trainer was finishing the last day and said, "we are literally sliding into home". I looked around wondering if I was the only one not playing baseball.

That doesn't mean I think I'm perfect – I make mistakes. Half the time I can't remember when to use “whom”. I know what the rule is, I just can never seem to conjure it up when I’m talking.

And this doesn't always help me make friends. Even here at Toastmasters, I sit and think, “hmmm...I don't think they used the Word of the Day correctly.” I'm wondering if I should stay away from the Grammarian role.

And, while the term “lectern” is probably preferred for “a stand used to support a book in a convenient position for a standing reader”, and the primary definition of “podium” is a “dais or elevated platform”, the secondary definition of podium is…“lectern”.

But I felt for Whitney's comment when she was grammarian several weeks ago and began with “Please don't hate me.” I've had some difficulty learning the importance of how to properly communicate these kinds of things without losing friends.

But not only is “how” you communicate important, but also “what” you communicate. I have a horrible habit of checking facts to find out if what people are saying is true.

In graduate school, I discovered Snopes.com – and sometimes for me a little info can be dangerous. I was sure to inform people that no – Craig Shergold was not a little boy with cancer collecting business cards – he was now 15, has made a complete recovery and had already collected so many greeting cards that the Guinness Book of World records would no longer update his old records with his new records.

This habit has resulted in me rarely get emails like this any more, telling me about the latest missing child (who most of the time is either a hoax or has already been found by the time you get the email), or about Facebook selling your cell phone number to telemarketers.

But it still happens sometimes.

More recently, I've seen interesting stories come through my work email. Amusing stories, being passed off as fact, though all fiction. The woman on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire who didn't know what was bigger – an elephant or the moon (the picture was photoshopped); the amusing story about Nancy Pelosi talking to a psychiatrist who makes her look stupid (printed in several joke books since the 60’s); and the hilarious video about the Australian politician being interviewed about a ship falling apart (it’s a comedy sketch from the early 90’s).

As difficult as it was, in the interest of peace, I let all of these go.

In the last few years, all of this has made me realize I have a passion for communication, and that I want to weave this into my life even more – probably as writing. I'd like to formally make this more important in my life. So I've spent more time applying it, with what little time I have. And every chance I get, I attempt to apply communication and writing to my job.

But I know I can always improve my communication. I communicate better when I've had time to think about it – that’s another part of the reason I joined Toastmasters – I need to be able to think on my feet. Hopefully, as time goes by, I'll be able to apply this love for communication and writing – and even allow it to help me become a better person and better leader. And I'm very much looking forward to hear what the Grammarian has to say about it my speech.

(A couple notes. In each Toastmasters meeting one person is appointed Grammarian and pays attention to all the speakers, listening for um's, uh's, poor grammar, repeating words, etc. Each meeting has a Word of the Day, and speakers are encouraged to incorporate it into their talk somehow. Also, several weeks ago, the President of the club made the point that you don't stand behind a podium and use it to hold your notes - that's called a lectern. I had to look that one up. And mention it.)

D&D Limited Edition Jones Soda

I know what you're all thinking.

I want to get Jim a Christmas present.

And I want to get him an early one. Like, maybe at the end of September.

Well - I've got the perfect gift!!

Jones Soda has Limited Edition Dungeons & Dragons Spellcasting Soda.

This is the coolest, nerdiest thing I've ever seen.

So if you find yourself in this predicament - problem solved!!

I knew the iPhone could do anything.

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net