Monday, February 20, 2012

Trevor's Top Ten Quotes!

Ok so there aren't 10 on the list and they probably are not my actual top 10 but I liked the alliteration so I went with the title (Though it prob should have been something like "Trevor 7 quotes that he happens to like at this particular moment)

So here they are (in no particular order)

- True religion and true philosophy must arrive at the same point. ~ S.S. Smith

A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. ~ C.S. Lewis

A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. ~ George Bernard Shaw

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” ~ C.S. Lewis

-  I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born.  ~Ronald Reagan

A real Christian is a person who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip. ~ Billy Graham

A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice. ~ Bill Cosby

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Beauty

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100. 


This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?



When I read this it got me to thinking. How often do we completely blow past the little glimpses of God's glory that he put out for us to see? Whether its a sunrise, a small flower popping up in the middle of a garden at the beginning of spring or maybe something kind someone say to us. A compliment or a word of thanks that might get missed in our ever busy and hectic world. 


It was funny. I actually read this this morning before I went to work but didn't have time to post it. While at work there were two separate occasions when 2 different 1-ish year old girls smiled at me, waved and said "HI". Now most of you know that I love kids. And both of those occasions brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart. 


Now I say that to say this. When you perceive beauty, stop. Smell the roses as the colloquialism goes. Take those moments to worship the one who made you and who made those moments.