Rick Nier...Woo!

I've told you recently that large amounts of drive time make me think. Then I gave you definitions and anti-definitions of insignificance. Having done that, we need to answer the nest question; why should you join me in my search for insignificance? If you look, you will find. This isn't like asking God for humility or patience, something every Christian knows you do not want to do. There is only one way to get those attributes and you do NOT want to go through that. I made the mistake once of asking for both of those things. Trust me, it wasn't pretty. But searching for insignificance is the same. If we're being honest, it's the same in both ways. You can be guaranteed that God will grant your wish and you'll most certainly not enjoy the process. On the other hand, isn't it nice to know that you can succeed at something? Success comes in failure.  I know, it's starting to sound like Jesus meets Confucius in here. Trust me when I tell you th...

I know, I know, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. But look at this cover. There's nothing to it. There's nothing glossy. There's no picture of the author, wooing us in, saying, 'Look at how smart I am. I can offer you wisdom.' I received this book as a gift from a friend. When I first read the title, The Little Red Book of Wisdom , I had some questions. Why is it red? Why is it little? Was there not a lot of wisdom to necessitate a larger book? And why did my friend give this book to me? Did I need some wisdom? Am I ... (gulp) ... dumb? Soon enough I left my insecurities behind and opened up this small book by Mark DeMoss, who runs a public relations firm. I submit that I have learned once again the truth about not judging a book by its cover. I was hooked by the first chapter. Mark is a Christian, but he does not use the Bible or his religion as a hammer to say why he's so smart or even that his smarts are better than someone else. It is simpl...

Last Friday we talked about what isn't included in a search for insignificance. But what is included? Just what is insignificance? Insignificance is understanding The dictionary definition of insignificance is lacking in importance or consequence. Sounds kind of dreary, doesn't it? I can almost hear you asking why we would be searching for this. In the interest of full disclosure, I heard you in the voice of my young son, who asks why he has chores and why he can't just play video games all day. Yeah, it's kind of a high, whiny voice, but I felt like I needed to be open with you. While I'm not going to attempt to redefine the word, I think we put too much emphasis on being important and having consequence. If we understand our real role in this life, then we will understand that we do not need importance or consequence to fulfill it. Insignificance is accepting What are we accepting? We're accepting our secondary role. And when I say 'secondary',...

On Tuesday , I started talking about the purpose of insignificance and this blog and how I can both achieve and fail at my goal of finding insignificance by building a bigger platform for this blog. And I was just about to sell you on joining me in this journey when I decided you'd read enough of my words for one day. So here we are now, and you're ready for some more words. Words of what? I'm not sure yet. I'll write some words, you read them. Then you can decide and tell me what kind of words they are. Then, if necessary, I'll cry myself to sleep. If I told you I was on a journey for some big treasure, you might wonder what kind of treasure. You might ask me questions about how long the journey would be, what we need to take along, or if I'd been watching too many Pirates  movies. These would all be great questions. But I'm going to start by telling you what insignificance isn't. Insignificance is not obscurity. This might be a huge load off o...

Ruin Your Life?  Sounds like a book I'd like to read. There's enough how-to books on succeeding. We need to know how to go the opposite way. I didn't even know what the book was about when I agreed to review this one by Chris Folmsbee and Nate Severson. The title alone grabbed me.  Imagine my surprise when I realized I would be joining the authors in writing this book. That's because it's a journal. Not just any journal. As they explain in the intro, this book is about discovering your thoughts and feelings through creative expression.  Each day has a creative exercise, then invites you to explore what you learned from that. We're also given a prayer, some scripture to read from the Bible and an inspirational quote. The original authors are not scared of what happens to the actual book along the way, as they believe that beauty can often come from messiness.  Sounds like a great idea to embrace.  My good friends at Youth Worker Journal have hooked me up wit...

Recently I had multiple meetings that required long distance driving with nobody else in the vehicle. This left me plenty of time for thinking. Thinking and listening to audio books. My thanks go out to Ted Dekker, Michelle Anthony and Jon Acuff for helping the drive time to go by more quickly. However, as quickly as the time goes by, I do happen to find myself drifting into thought from time to time. For as entertaining as Quitter  by Jon Acuff was, it was a book that generated ideas. Perhaps I'll review the book at another time, but for now, know that it caused me to think. This is both a good thing and a dangerous thing. See, Acuff was talking about how to pursue your dreams and, if needed, build a platform. This got me thinking about this silly blog I have and what I want to accomplish with it. And......as much as I'd like to hide it, I wouldn't mind having a larger platform. Yes, I'm aware of the irony. I post blogs about how searching for insignificance is...

I was just given a high honor. They chose me as an accomplished professional in my field. Yeah! Me!?! At this point, some of you are rejoicing with me because you realize I'm finally getting the credit I deserve. Others are shaking your heads, wondering who even knows I'm here, while also wondering just how big my head can get. The rest of you already know this was a sales pitch. Sigh. The things is, I'm ok with not being recognized. Because it's not about me. Even my own stated purpose on this blog is that I am searching for insignificance. But I must admit that I often find insignificance about as well as I see what needs to be cleaned around the house. According to my wife, I'm not very good at that. The funny thing is I didn't think I was feeling down on myself the day I got a call from this company, telling me I'd been chosen for their version of Who's Who. So after playing phone tag with them for a bit, they caught me. I wish they hadn...