Sabbath Series 1: Quantum Sabbath

Quantum physics is rocking the scientific world.  At first, people thought that quantum physics describes what happens on the subatomic level - how our world works in its teeny, tiniest parts.  The sheer exploration of electrons and protons was shocking enough, but in the past decade, physicists have been discovering “that quantum behavior persists on a macroscopic scale.”  

I don’t really understand most of what is going on in quantum physics, but there is one point that makes a lot of sense to me: entanglement.  This is when two or more objects are mysteriously tangled together.  According to our normal reasoning, they shouldn’t effect each other, but they do.  “Even when the entangled particles are far apart, they still behave as a single entity, leading to what Einstein famously called ‘spooky action at a distance.’”  Sometimes, things are connected even when it looks like they aren’t.  

This doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to us when we’re talking about the super-microscopic level of what happens inside atoms.  Most of us don’t understand and don’t care about that.  But what physicists are discovering is that quantum physics are everywhere in our world - working even with larger objects.  There is “spooky action” all over the place.  Things are connected even when it looks like they aren’t.

Quantum behavior is counter-intuitive.  It “eludes visualization [in graphs and charts] and common sense.  It forces us to rethink how we look at the universe and accept a new and unfamiliar picture of our world.” (Vlatko Vedral, “Living in a Quantum World,” Scientific American, June 2011)

Social scientists are beginning to apply this quantum entanglement theory to family systems, organizations, and cultures.  Psychologists are applying entanglement theory to the inner workings of our minds and hearts.  Astronomers are exploring the possibility of quantum relationships in the largest parts of our universe.  We are quantum people in a quantum world.  Things are connected even when it looks like they aren’t.  

This forces us to rethink how we look at our universe and to develop a new picture for how our lives work in the world.  Sometimes we call this quantum phenomena irony.  How many of you have heard your mom or aunt say to some single woman, “You’ll meet Mr. Right just about the time you stop looking for him”?  There is some kind of quantum connection there between finding and not looking.  

Today, we begin our series on the Sabbath, with the basic premise that there is a quantum connection between our practice of Sabbath and the rest of our week.  Even our calendars experience quantum entanglement.  Good Sabbath practice leads to good weeks and good years.  Bad Sabbath practice has a “spooky action from a distance” that drags down our moods, our health, our spirituality, and our performance in school and work.  Some things are connected even when it looks like they aren’t.  

The Overload Syndrome - Review

I thought I was reading The Overload Syndrome for other people.
I realized I was wrong in the introduction.
People are stressed ... exhausted ... overloaded.  
"I feel like a minnow in a flash flood."
Margin is the space that once existed between our load and our limits.  Margin is the space between vitality and exhaustion.  It is our breathing room, our reserves, our leeway.  
We push the limits as far as possible.
We spend ten percent more than we have - and it no longer matters if one is talking about time, energy, or money.
Without margin, we are self-protective, painfully uninterested in an opportunity to serve our neighbor.  Without margin, we tread water and hang on by our fingernails, trying to survive an other day.  Without margin we are chronically exhausted, chronically late, chronically rushed.  Without margin, we are overloaded.
What about you?  Have you lost your joy and passion?  Do you suffer from work dread?  Are your relationships strained from stress?  Do you wish you could check into a hospital just to sleep?
Understand that you are not alone.
I am not alone.  You are not alone.  Many of us - if not most of us - are overloaded.  This book has been part of the beginning of my healing process.
You need to read this book.
The Josh rating: JJJJJ.

Success and Failure

Do not run to success
   For success may bring
      As much burden as blessing.

Do not run from failure
   For failure may bring
      As much blessing as burden.

Run only to God
   For God will bring
       All that we need.

Wild Blood

Wild blood climbing up a tree
Wild blood climbing up me
Thorns in the bushes
Thorns in the vines
Thorns in the rushes
Of unsettled times
Wild blood in the street
Wild blood on our feet
Forgot our shoes
Forgot how to lose
Rush out, rush in
Again and again
Thorns on the hills
Thorns on our hands
Thorns in the ills
Of unsettled lands
Wild blood roses unpreened
Wild blood roses unseen

How Overwork Happened to Me

I have preached against overwork for years.  I've condemned others (vocally and internally) for consistent overworking.  I've prided myself in my "structural preventions" for working too much.  In our house, we have a weekly sabbath, family night, and date night.  I arrogantly believed that these protected me from the increasingly common problem of overworking.

"Pride comes before the fall" (Proverbs 16:18).

As a pastor, I expect to work 50-55 hours a week.  If we expect church members to work 40 hours a week, attend worship services, hang out with church people, and volunteer, then it's fair to expect pastors to put in about the same amount of time.  I've thought for years that my structural barriers kept me at around the 50 hour mark, and that difficult weeks wouldn't push me too far overboard.

Difficult circumstances and a new baby have forced me to reexamine my schedule.  I was shocked when I counted my hours in a normal work week.  My normal - not so difficult week - totals 57 working hours.  That put a quantifiable explanation to my feelings of fatigue, depression, overload, imbalance, and inability to catch-up at home.  No wonder I've been tired.  No wonder I can't seem to do any of the things I've been wanting to do at home.  No wonder I haven't been doing any art.  No wonder I feel stressed and anxious.  I'm chronically overloaded!

How did this happen?  After preaching against overwork and being a staunch supporter of simplicity, how did I end up a victim of one of my own greatest enemies?