Because we leak

Ever heard the phrase, “He’s forgotten more than you’ll ever know” about someone with great knowledge or wisdom or ability?

Our minds and souls leak.

Maybe that’s why I make so many notes of things I hear or read or think of.  I want it to become part of me, I don’t want it to get away.  Just writing it down can help – it’s part of the absorption process, like meditation.

But our minds and souls leak.  And what do you do with the notes you make?  I hang onto them because they say things I want to know or become or that seem valuable for others.  They end up in a pile on my desk, then in a drawer, then maybe a box and over time in the attic or garage.

Then when you clean out the garage you come across them and the process starts all over.  Cleaning out the garage this week, here’s what’s on top of a new pile of old notes.

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“Small groups are not rocket science.  You don’t have to have a whole bunch of special training.  Get people together often enough that they get comfortable and know each other and share and trust and help each other.” – Tim Hawks

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“We do not hold weekend retreats, or two-week conferences in churches, etc, but rather it is a matter of settling down with small groups of believers who are keenly aware of their need, meeting with them every other week (time for truth to soak in) for about threee years.  We have found this means by far the most effective in producing lasting results.” – Miles Stanford

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“As the Gospels are the transition from Law to Grace, so the Acts are the transition from Judaism to Christianity.” – (don’t know where I got that)

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“Leadership: (don’t know where I got this either)

• high level of persistence
• overcome significant obstacles
• attract dedicated people
• influence groups of people toward achievement of goals
• guide thru crucial episodes

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“In all fields, even those of culture and art, other peoples’ judgment exercises a paralyzing effect.  Fear of criticism kills spontaneity; it prevents men from showing themselves and expressing themselves freely, as they are.

“Much courage is needed to paint a picture, to write a book, to erect a building designed along new architectural lines, or to formulate an independent opinion or original idea.” – Paul Tournier

Comments

[alyson]

i write down a lot of things, too. Mostly because i have a short term memory problem and a serious one, as in i can recall my fifth birthday party but not what i had for lunch yesterday.

i'm terrible at organizing these notes and lists and flashes of insight, but i find that just the act of writing them down at all helps. The very fact they are not all neat and tidy actually means that just by chance i run into them all the time.

So, now and then i come across a couple of lines scribbled on a napkin and because my memory is so poor, it may take me a minute to even realize that i wrote it, but when that happens, it nearly always changes my day.

i find God spills small things, puts them in my path at just the time i need them. i just have to make sure to make the notes and the lists that He can use later. i even catch myself smiling at times as i write, wondering how He will use it one day and the very act of putting it on paper can make it more memorable to begin with.

Funny how little shortcomings can sometimes work out pretty well, huh?