Slow Parenting

In an earlier post, I mentioned Carl Honore's book In Search of Slowness. Carl has a new book coming out soon on the topic of hyper-active parenting, and how parents today push their kids to to more, earlier, than ever before. It will be published later this year; meanwhile, you can read an interview with the author here which gives a nice preview. I'm looking forward to reading the book.

Class Notes and Follow-Up--Week 4

In addition to the class notes posted before, several of you asked for a link to the Peggy Noonan article that I mentioned on Sunday. You'll find it here.

Thanks to everyone for your participation in the class. I sincerely hope you took away both new thinking and some practical suggestions for living life in the present tense.

Because we may offer the class again in future months, I would welcome your suggestions/comments/ideas for how I can make it better next time. Email me anytime at dlcorts@gmail.com.

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CLASS NOTES

The Principles of Present Tense Living

1. God CREATED time.

2. God exists OUTSIDE of time. (Exodus 3:14; 2 Timothy 1:9)

3. When time doesn’t MATTER , then TODAY is all you have.

The River Raft Trip

Whitewater vs. Float

The difference: WHAT I FOCUS ON

How are you traveling down the stream of life???

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HOW TO LIVE LIFE IN THE PRESENT TENSE

1. CONTAIN your field of vision.

This is the DAY .

Take up your cross DAILY .

Give us this DAY our DAILY bread.

Ecclesiastes 6:3-6: ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE NOW--TODAY

HOW: practice an ATTITUDE of _ GRATITUDE .

2. Be DELIBERATE .

Phillipians 4:8: Choose what you FOCUS on. Slow down!

Ephesians 5:14-16: Make the _ MOST of every _ OPPORTUNITY .

HOW: Live in the PRESENT --start for just five minutes at a time.

a. PICK AN ACTIVITY YOU LIKE TO DO AND UPGRADE IT

b. PICK AN ACTIVITY YOU DON’T LIKE AND UPGRADE IT

c. DO AN ACTIVITY THAT YOU NORMALLY DO WITH TECHNOLOGY AND DO IT WITHOUT THE TECHNOLOGY

3. Pursue REM

R ELATIONSHIPS E XPERIENCES M EMORIES

­­ LOVE is the one thing we have that has no limits!

Class Notes--Session 3

“I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.” -Albert Einstein

How do we think about the future?

1. FEAR IT

2. ANALYZE IT

3. IGNORE IT

4. WISH FOR IT

HOPE vs. WORRY

Both are a form of _____TREND___ analysis.

Based on what has come before, we __PROJECT_______ into the future.

Can you transform __WORRY_____ into ___HOPE______?

What does the Bible say about the future?

1. Jeremiah 29:11: I know the ___PLANS______ I have for you.....

2. Eccl. 7:14: A man cannot _DISCOVER____ anything about his __FUTURE____.

3. James 4:13-15: You do not know what will happen __TOMORROW_________.

4. Matthew 6: 25-34: __THESE_____ ___THINGS______ will be given to you.

Radical application: God has given us __MORE____ than we need. What are you doing with it?

Deal with the Future: ___PREPARE but don’t ___PREDICT___________.

Christian hope: God has been there for me in the past, He is here now, and He will take care of me in the future.

HOMEWORK:

Think about a decision you face that will affect your future; a decision that you’ve been putting off because the outcome is uncertain or difficult and you’re afraid to make the decision and move forward.

Now, think about that issue, then ask yourself these questions, and write down the answers. Spend a few minutes on each question, and write everything that comes to mind:

1. Define your nightmare, the absolute worst that could happen if you did what you are considering.

2. What steps could you take to repair the damage or get things back on the upswing, even if temporarily?

3. What are the outcomes or benefits, both temporary and permanent, of more probable scenarios?

4. If you were fired from your job today, what would you do to get things under financial control?

5. What are you putting off out of fear?

6. What is it costing you—financially, emotionally, and physically—to postpone action?

7. What are you waiting for?

Questions taken from The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris, ©2007, published by Crown Publishing.

See more at www.fourhourworkweek.com