Cleaning House

Listening to the purr of the trash truck stopping and starting in our neighborhood this morning reminds me that we need to purge our home of unnecessary stuff real soon. Brenda just reminded me that as we add new things, the old stuff being replaced needs to be trashed, sold or given away. The propensity to hoard can make home a place where we no longer find rest.

I think my life is that way, too. There are only so many things I can focus on at one time, anyway. What about those pesky habits and bad relationships we keep nursing--like a stale drink at a dull party? I saw a presentation on PBS the other night about multitasking. I didn't realize it, but on any given day, we may be dealing with four separate layers of tasks at one time. No wonder we fail at making deadlines, crash the car too often, and perform poorly in our jobs.

I guess there comes a time when we need to purge our lives of unnecessary clutter. A recent study from Oxford University indicates:

"People who have a large number of Facebook friends might be kidding themselves. In fact, the study said it's impossible for your brain to handle more than 150 real or online friends. 'In this particular study, the researcher defined friends as somebody you have contact with at least once a year,' said Dr. Ken Robbins, a psychologist at Stoughton Hospital. He said it's hard to get to the root of this study because it all depends on how one defines the word "friend."

The question we need to ask ourselves--like the preceding "friend" question--is what number of things in life can we effectively manage on a daily basis? We hold on to stuff (people) because we think we can use it (them) someday (ouch!). Isn't that what we hear those crazy hoarder people say on TV? We need to size-up our lives and make a true evaluation. My dad took the "I'm gonna be brutal" stand when deciding what to keep and what to toss during his recent move.

Maybe it's time to be just as brutal in our personal lives as well. Brenda always says: "Only have things that you cherish and cherish the things that you have." So cleaning house by focusing on what's cherished may be a great way to welcome spring.

The Passion Test

With finding one's purpose in life, passion is a key ingredient to seeing your purpose lived out. I ran across 12 questions that help define one's level of passion when it comes to starting a new business, project, opportunity, etc. I believe we need to ask ourselves hard questions before we get out and try and run with the bulls. This query is truly an eye-opening activity. Rosabeth Moss Kanter is a professor at Harvard Business School and an author. This test comes from her blog entry of March 29, 2010. See if your passion is up to snuff:


1. Do I feel strongly about the need for this?
2. Does the idea fit my long-held beliefs, values, and convictions?
3. Have I dreamed about something like this for a long time?
4. Do I think that this is vital for the future of people I care about?
5. Do I get excited when I think about it, and convey excitement when I talk about it?
6. Am I convinced that this can be accomplished?
7. Am I willing to put my credibility on the line to promise action on it?
8. Am I willing to spend time to sell it to others who might not understand or support it?
9. Can I make this the major focus of my activities?
10. Am I willing to devote personal time, above and beyond organizational time, to see that this happens?
11. Do I feel strongly enough to ignore negativity and fight for this?
12. Am I committed to seeing this through, over the long haul?


Passing the passion test doesn't guarantee success, but without it, the journey can't even begin.

Let The Field Go Fallow

Sometimes you've just got to stop what you're doing and make a change. I felt that way last spring as I came just short of my seventh anniversary as a worship leader at our former church. The job was a blessing and the people there made my tenure a joy.

The problem comes when the job takes over and the calling of God takes a back seat. The mindset, then, is feeling financially locked-in, making it seemingly impossible to leave. For me, it was the right time to leave; I knew it without a doubt. I had to take a break, trust God for our household expenses and make the leap of faith. After all, isn't God our provider and not our employer?

I read an article in Premier Guitar magazine yesterday about Bonnie Raitt. She is releasing her first album in seven years this April. The interviewer asked what took her so long. Her answer rang true in my own heart as I pondered the past year of relative quiet, obscurity and time spent as a normal, every-day guy in the congregation of our new church (that's a whole other blog entry!). Bonnie replied:

"Sometimes you need to clear the deck and let the field go fallow...being home is a real vacation you want to have. So I got to balance some of the other aspects of my life and be with family and friends and really enjoy some time at home."

Letting the ground go fallow--plowing it and getting it ready for the seeds of a new crop-- is a gift that God gives us every so often. It's the physical, spiritual and emotional rest we receive during the down time that restores us and prepares us for new opportunities. I think of this past year as my "Year of Jubilee" (Leviticus 27:21).  What a wonderful year of restoration it has been!

 

"Break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till He come and rain righteousness upon you."(Hosea 10:12).

Woody Allen's Midnight In Paris

One of the year's greatest movies for me was Woody Allen's Midnight In Paris. I loved it for several reasons, but mostly for the journey on which the lead character takes us as he becomes a special guest to noted personalities who lived in the 1920s. I loved the cars, the clothes, the Woody Allen dialogue, the beautiful cinematography--but mostly the message of the film.

The original screenplay won Woody Allen an Academy Award a few weeks ago, deservedly so. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Allen said the script was written for star, Owen Wilson. He knew the story would be set in Paris, but he didn't know what it would be about. The legendary director then said, "I went for a couple of months without being able to come up with anything. Then one day it occurred to me — if I had my protagonist walking around Paris at midnight and a car pulled up and they said get in and they took him on an interesting adventure. So that’s how it formed."

One of the early scenes in the film involved Wilson's friend, who was described later in the film as pedantic (a person displaying of useless knowledge or minute observance of petty rules or details). Every time the friend comes upon a famous painting or an historic place, he seems to know everything about it. As Owen takes his adventure into 1920s Paris, he meets famous artists such as Picasso and Salvidor Dali, and writers Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein. Owen's character, a writer himself, is strengthened by the wisdom and critique these great artists offer him on his first novel. When he leaves his 1920s friends behind each night, he is transported back to his modern-day hotel, his preoccupied fiance, and her shallow, wealthy parents. The know-it-all friend continues to give Owen history lessons on the great artists he actually visits each midnight. Owen then begins to correct his friend on inaccurate details, surprising him by showing the hopeless pedantic that he may not know as much as he thinks.

I've met many a know-it-all in my day; they obviously have a deep need to validate themselves by spouting their superior knowledge, and obviously seem to enjoy the sound of their own voice in the process. As I watched the movie unfold, and Wilson's character began to gain the courage to stand up to the pedagogic friend, I thought of a favorite quote by Tom Waits: "The bad thing about history is, that the people who were there are not talking, and the people that weren't there, you can't shut them up."

Midnight In Paris takes the audience on a wonderful escape into an idealized world and a lost era. A Daily Mail Online article summarized it like this: "The real message of the movie is not the one that it seems to be laboring — that nostalgia is a trap — but that life and art are both worth the most meticulous re-examination and a life without art or romance is one that’s only half-lived."


Whatever the conclusion, Midnight In Paris is a wonderful movie--fully entertaining, warm, wise and sure to sell plane tickets for vacations to France this summer.

Robert Sherman: Singable, Simple and Sincere

The Disney universe--not to mention the songwriting galaxy--lost a bright star Monday when songwriting legend Robert Sherman died at age 86 in London. The loss prompted the Disney company to dim the lights on Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre marquee Tuesday night, where "Mary Poppins" is currently playing.

Robert and his younger brother, Richard, composed scores for The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, Mary Poppins, and the non-Disney Chitty Chitty Bang Band. We can also credit them for the tune stuck in the collective heads of Baby-Boomers everywhere: "It's a Small World."

The family dynasty in songwriting started with their father, Tin Pan Alley songwriter, Al Sherman. Papa Al's songwriting mantra, according to Robert's son, Jeffrey, was to, "...keep it singable, simple and sincere." That's great advice! Robert Sherman, you will be greatly missed.

I wrote a tribute to the Sherman brothers last December. Click here to read it .

A Deadly Paradox

"Too big to fail" or "We'll be here forever" are famous last words for many. Just ask Kodak, the 131 year-old mega corporation that filed for bankruptcy in January.

While reading a compact history on my new hometown of Spring Hill, Tennessee, I learned of the burgeoning horse and buggy business that once supported many blacksmiths and repair shops in this area. Even as the automobile was making an introduction into rural, agricultural areas in the early 20th Century, the horse-drawn wagon was still at the heart of farming and transportation; roads were vulnerable to rain and ruts, so automobiles were only useful when the sun was shining. The blacksmiths had so much work, they probably never saw an end to their industry. I don't think a single blacksmith is open for business here today.

Last night I watched a documentary on the history of Sears, Roebuck and Co. Richard Sears, a railroad agent from Spring Valley, Minnesota, procured a rejected shipment of watches and made them available to railroad workers for a fraction of the normal retail price. The watches were quickly sold, and Mr. Sears eventually saw an opportunity to supply rural communities with more items through his now-famous catalog. Early on, Sears hired Alvah Roebuck, a watch repairman, to help warranty the watches. In 1893, Roebuck soon became a partner, and together they established Sears, Roebuck and Co. in Chicago.

Roebuck parted ways in 1895 as the high-risk mentality of Mr. Sears proved too much for his highly-conservative sensibilities. That same year, key financier and future president/ chairman Julius Rosenwald came aboard to help stabilize and--after Sears died at age 50 in 1914--guide the company through the Great Depression and beyond. Though the company made many incredible business decisions that would ensure their unchallenged retail presence in the U.S. for years to come, they would eventually be assaulted by new retail outlets like K Mart, Wal Mart and Target. The competition proved devastating to this once powerful giant. Who could imagine Sears stores being a thing of the past? To date, Sears has not made a yearly profit in 10 years and is slowly struggling to compete.

The problem with corporations, churches and people is that just when least expected, someone comes along with a better idea or a better delivery system. In the case of churches, the fundamental message must not be altered (God forbid), but the method of delivery must come under scrutiny in response to the needs of a changing society.

I'm reminded that nothing or no one is impervious to progress. I don't want to become stagnant as a person, a businessman or a minister. My prayer is to be open to change, willing to listen to new ideas, learn how to more effectively reach people, and never fall for the deadly paradox: "I'll be here forever."

Hearts With Hands

My dad's home was filled with several generations of family memories and mementos. Our task was to move his household items from western North Carolina that he and my mom collected from over 50 years of marriage, within one weekend. It was a daunting task. But with my brother Jon and his family, my wife Brenda, our children and their spouses there to lend a hand, we worked until every box was packed, taped and marked. All-in-all, it took an accumulation of several months just to get everything to where we could load the two trucks on Saturday: one going to Birmingham with Jon, and the other heading to Nashville with Brenda, dad and me. That's where Hearts With Hands came in and saved the day.

Hearts With Hands crew, Tom Harvill's move, March 3, 2012

Hearts With Hands is a ministry of Cornerstone Fellowship, based in my dad's community of Forest City. Cornerstone has been my dad's church home ever since we helped charter it back in December, 1997. It's a lay-led ministry, with outreach to the needy, elderly and others--extending the love of Christ in Rutherford County and beyond. Their designated project in March was to help move my dad out of his home.

With approximately 15 volunteers, the house was cleared and swept in under 2 hours. They even pulled up a trailer with a gas grill on the back to prepare hot dogs and hamburgers for everyone. If it were not for their help, we would probably still be here working at Easter! Their love for my dad was so evident. He has sown much over the years in the lives of so many, and it was a natural expression of the church to help him in this great time of need.

I am so thankful to Cornerstone Fellowship, Hearts With Hands, and all of the volunteers who lifted, cleaned, packed, cooked, fed and, most importantly, served the Lord on behalf of my dad this weekend. It was truly an out-pouring of Christ's love through service, and has greatly touched the hearts of my family. Bless you all!