The Sadness of Jobs' Passing

To some households Steve Jobs' passing doesn't mean much. He was just another CEO/Creator of a great product. But to our household the announcement of Jobs's passing had gravity to it. Yes, we are an Apple family, and it started years ago with my husband. Russ loved his Mac and had an Apple sticker on the back of his old Jetta to prove it. Years later our son, Luke, became an Apple addict, and has put his own Apple on the back of his first car, the Volvo. I say addict because he could never get enough, from the iPod, to the iPod Touch to the iPod Shuffle. Then it was the MacBook Pro and the iPhone. Why would we buy our 15 year old an iPhone when I still use an old out-of-date basic phone? Because we saw his passion for a product and an innovator that got his wheels turning.

Luke would want to get out of school early just to watch the latest stockholder address that was featuring a new product or some new announcement from Steve Jobs that would wow the country, and the world. He would sit for hours to watch the entire meeting, regardless of how long or boring it was.

Luke has said for the past year or so, that he wants to be the CEO of Apple some day. I'm not sure he'll feel that way in 8 years, but you never know. So as we reflect on a great innovator and leader and as we read about this "Secular Prophet" I can't help but think about what Steve Jobs left behind, and more importantly what he won't be taking with him.

I pray that Luke will do great things with the gifts God has given him, but I pray more earnestly that he will do great things for the Kingdom of God. That is something Luke will take with him when his time comes. Is there a better way to live...or, more importantly, to die?

Contentedness

I am re-reading The Art of Divine Contentment for the second time. I'll probably re-read it a third time. Contentment seems to be the one thing I can never get enough of. Just when I feel calm and content, I'm faced with a challenge that proves my lack of satisfaction with where God has me.

This week has been full of car problems, and there's nothing that gets me more agitated then that! I immediately go into, "We need a new car!" Today's reading has helped me focus once again on that affliction that causes sadness and grief.

"But when there is a leak of discontent open and trouble gets into the heart, then it is disquieted and sinks. Do, therefore as the mariners: pump the water out and stop this spiritual leak in your soul, and no troubles can hurt you."

I'm pumping away today, praying that I don't allow the water to drown me. After all, it's only ankle deep.

Super People? What about Character People?

The following article describes parents' role in helping their children get into fine colleges. It takes money, standouts and pure genius now-a-days for a kid to get into a top college. Long gone are the days when you had to simply be the president of a club or committee at school...

“It used to be that if you were editor of the paper or president of your class you could get in almost anywhere,” Mr. Singer says. “Now it’s ‘What did you do as president? How did you make the paper special?’ Kids file stories from Bosnia or El Salvador on their summer vacations.” Such students are known in college admissions circles as “pointy” — being well-rounded doesn’t cut it anymore. You need to have a spike in your achievement chart."

As Luke attends a hard charging prep school I am often reminded of the pressure he is under as I talk to many parents, parents who are putting the pressure on. Don't get me wrong, I want Luke to do well, maybe better the well, but not at the expense of stressing him out and charging him toward burn out. I still want him well rounded. Better yet, lopsided on one end, the end that says "not I, but Christ". Backwards thinking I know, but eternally sweet and eternally rewarding.

To read the whole column: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/opinion/sunday/meet-the-new-super-people.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1