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Dec 20, 08:09 AM by Mike Mitrovich

Blogging out of character

categories Priorities

comments 2 comments

duality

photo courtesy of mouton.rebelle

As I get ready to wrap up month 4 of this newly focused blog, one thing becomes clear to me: I simply do not have it in me to maintain this at the level I had hoped I would. At least not right now at this point in my life.

I believe I have some insights that can contribute to others’ lives, but not necessarily once a week or more. Not often enough to devote a whole blog to those insights.

Niche?

I started (re-started?) this blog because I felt my old site was too scattered… blogging, poetry, 3d art… all mostly unrelated to one another. So I thought I would separate them. Plus, I wanted people to read what I had to say! And all the blogging wisdom out there says you have to focus to draw readers.

Well, the truth is, I’m not a “niche” kind of person. While I have the ability to focus on one thing at a time, anyone who knows me would NOT describe me as a focused person.

I have been blogging out of character.

Back to the drawing board

I will re-integrate my poetry and 3d images. I will aim to maintain what I think is higher quality in my posts, but they won’t all be about “the journey”. Some might be about 3d stuff or a gadget I like, or a video game.

I want to thank everyone who has encourage me the past few months. I have had far more readers and subscribers than any previous version of this blog. Thank you for taking the time. Thank you for your comments.

Please, stick around. I have more to say… about my faith and about things that have nothing to do with faith.

Dec 12, 07:00 AM by Mike Mitrovich

Fasting: It's not just for Lent anymore

categories Holidays

comments 1 comments

Advent coffee
In my dozen years or so as a Christ follower, I have had very little experience with the discipline of fasting. My sole experience has been tied up in the idea of “giving something up” for Lent.

I think this must be true for many Protestant Christians, since when I tell people I’m fasting for Advent, I get responses such as:

“What? It’s Advent, not Lent!”
and
“Interesting… a Lenten approach to Advent…”

However, it seemed to me that Advent is a perfect time to consider fasting. It’s a time in the Christian calendar when we are awaiting and looking forward to the arrival of our Lord and Savior.

What better way to celebrate and remember that than to set aside something else that we normally await and look forward to?

So I’m fasting from coffee for Advent.

And, as it turns out, I’m not entirely crazy. Here are some interesting articles on fasting and Advent:

Dec 5, 08:07 AM by Mike Mitrovich

Who do you belong to?

categories Obedience | Faith

comments 5 comments

choose who to belong to

photo courtesy of Thomas Hawk

I want to learn more about the God I worship. I want to know more about Jesus Christ. About the Holy Spirit. I want to KNOW them… personally. Not just someone else’s idea or description of them. Not a pastor’s greek translation of them. I want to know the true God, the living God, the eternal King.

In the bible, God speaks clearly to His followers. I want Him to speak clearly to me.

I think that I am slowly catching on to the fact that He DOES speak clearly. I just need to learn how to listen. And part of listening to God has a lot to do with belonging.

With most things, there is either a choice to belong or their isn’t. My wallet doesn’t choose to belong to me. Nor does my car. However, I might choose to belong to something… like a gym or a club.

Like many confusing things about the trinitarian God, belonging to Him is kind of a “both/and” situation. On the one hand, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Or as it is stated more bluntly in Deuteronomy: “To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.” It all belongs to Him.

But in spite of that, there is a choice.

“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

Joshua 24:15

Every day, ever minute, I have a choice. Do I belong, am I owned by God? Or am I owned by my email client, my blackberry, the latest sports scores, my job, my hobbies.

Is my prayer time distracted by thoughts of these other things, or is everything I do interrupted and infused with prayer?

“He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

John 8:47

Who do you belong to?

Nov 25, 01:12 PM by Mike Mitrovich

Thanksgiving 2008

categories Holidays

comments 2 comments

cornucopia

Image from Flikr,
courtesy of riptheskull

With the Thanksgiving holiday this week and a teething daughter, the chances of having a blog post ready for Friday is looking pretty slim.

So, instead I thought I’d list some things I’m thankful for this year:

  • The love of the family I grew up in.
  • The love of the family I married into.
  • The love of my wife and daughter.
  • The love of my friends.
  • Not only having a job, but a really decent one.
  • Computers and technology that make hobbies like this one possible.
  • Getting an occasional good night of sleep.
  • Seeing the world’s cutest 5-tooth smile, especially after a night of screaming.
  • Open source software and the people who invest their time for my benefit.
  • Dogs… even the obnoxious brick-headed fleabag that shares my home.
  • Clothes to wear.
  • A car to drive.
  • Public transportation.
  • Written language.
  • Prayer.
  • The squirrels and birds that visit my back yard, much to the excitement of my daughter and my dog.
  • Music and dance.
  • Books.
  • People subscribing and commenting on this blog.
  • Camping trips.
  • Quiet morning jogs.
  • Past experiences that have taught me to be patient and kind and the wisdom that few people are either as good or as bad as they seem.
  • Encouragement from people I rarely (if ever) thank for their encouragement. Like my wife. My mom. The Rowles. The Keuss family. The Petits, Mom and Dad Hines. The Odells. Pastors Paul Strawn and Kurt Helmcke. (To name only a few).
  • All the people I’ll share a table with this Thanksgiving.
  • All those I’ve shared that table with in the past that can now only join us in spirit and memory.
  • Work benefits like… vacation, personal days, chances to work from home, health insurance
  • The Zoo
  • The children’s museum
  • The smell of my daughter’s hair, even when laced with traces of yogurt and cereal.
  • Kisses.
  • Hugs.
  • The dog versions of both.
  • Trader Joe’s Peppermint Jo-Jo cookies
  • Fresh drinking water
  • Relatively clean air
  • Owning my own home
  • Owning both our cars
  • The realization that this list is getting long and hasn’t even scratched the surface of all I have to be thankful for.

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