Day 23: Youth

DAY 23: YOUTH

 

No, I'm not throwing away my youth (that ship has sailed).  I'm throwing out a bunch of old binders and videos that are outdated.  These all have to do with youth ministry.  One of my favorite quotes about youth comes from a Toby Keith song: "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then."

I'm always impressed by the joy of young people, especially these days when they are so over-scheduled and expectations are so high.  I pray that they have lots of opportunities to genuinely enjoy the opportunities of their youth.

Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for the believers in your speech, your conduct, your love, faith, and purity.
                                                                                            - 1 Timothy 4:12

Day 22: Window Shades

DAY 22: WINDOW SHADES

There are 33 windows in this 84-year-old house.  When we moved in, every window had the original wooden blinds.  They have lots of character, but are quite delicate, and some were broken.  These are beyond repair.

I'm not a big fan of closed curtains.  I like lots of light to come in.  Do closed blinds keep light out, or keep people from seeing in?

You are like ligt for the whole world.  A city built on a hill cannot be hid.  No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket; instead it is put on the lampstand where it gives light for everone in the house.
                                                                                                                     - Matthew 5:14-15

 

Day 21: Pope John XXIII

DAY 21: POPE JOHN XXIII

In a box of magazines, I found a Copy of Notre Dame Magazine dated October, 1982.  The portrait of John XXIII caught my attention; I will be in Rome next month for his canonization on April 27.  The cover story is "Aggiornamento at 20." Aggiornamento is the Italian word for modernization, for the act of bringing something up to date to meet contemporary needs.  Pope John XXIII used the word to describe the goal of the Second Vatican Council, which he convened in Rome, now over 50 years ago.

The the three articles in this 30-year-old issue betray its closeness to the council:

• An Inspired Choice
• The Disaster of Vatican II
• An Agenda for Vatican III 

Biographer Peter Hebblethwaite records that, in October of 1958, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli of Venice wrote in his diary: "We are not on Earth as museum keepers, but to cultivate a flourishing garden of life."  Three weeks later, he was elected Pope.

I wonder what Good Pope John XXIII would have to say about 40 Boxes for 40 Days?

Then the one who sits on the throne said, "And now I make all things new!"  He also said to me, "Write this, because these words are true and can be trusted."
                                                                                                - Revelation 21:5

Day 20: More Video Tapes

DAY 20: MORE VIDEO TAPES

Halfway through my 40 Boxes for 40 Days, I turned back to my office, and uncovered more VHS tapes.  You might remember from Day 3 that we are replacing or just plain discarding old VHS tapes, as we replace our aging videocassette players with DVD players.  As I looked through this set, I couldn't find anything worth replacing.  One of the problems with relying on video "instructors" is that fashion eventually catches up to the point of distraction.  As captivating and informed as the lesson may be, it just gets too hard to look past the wide ties and shoulder pads.

I also recognize that there was a time that we looked for the perfect lecture on tape to edify and (dare I say) entertain learners.  We popped in a  Michael Himes tape and sat back, much like we might sit a toddler down in front of an episode of Sesame Street.  Maybe it's time to return to the tried-and-true witnessing...and listening.

Were not our hearts burning within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?
                                                                                                                                 - Luke 24:32

Day 19: Bedding

DAY 19: BEDDING

This foam mattresss pad and feather pillow were SO comfy when I first got them, but eventually the bed got too squishy, and I got a whole new mattress.  The pad and pillow ended up in the attic.

A few random facts about sleep:

• Humans are the only mammals that willingly delay sleep.
• Most healthy adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a night.
• Sleep is just as important as diet and exercise.
• Newborns sleep a total of 10.5 to 18 hours a day on an irregular schedule.
• People who don't get enough sleep are more likely to have bigger appetites. 

As I lie in bed I remember you; all night long I think of you, because you have always been my help.  In the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
                                                                                             - Psalm 63:6-7

Day 18: Odds and Ends

DAY 18: ODDS AND ENDS

Stuff scattered on the attic floor, way past their prime.  Jigsaw puzzles, Christmas cookie tins, a toilet seat, a magazine or two and a frying pan are all ready for a much-needed retirement. 

We are going to our final resting place, and there will be mourning in the streets.  The silver chain will snap, and the golden lamp will fall and break; the rope at the well will break, and the water jar will be shattered.
                                                                                                   - Ecclesiastes 12: 5-6

Day 17: Desk Papers

DAY 17: DESK PAPERS

When people say, "Mark, you're so organized," I just smile.  Anyone who's seen my office on a typical day knows why.  I'm a devotee of the "pile" system of organization.  In this day of electronic files, I'm still a fan of printing out papers I need (and those I don't need) -- often several copies -- and putting them in the perfect place on my desk, so that when I need them they are right there at my fingertips.  The trouble with my system, of course, is that everything gets buried and I can't find anything.  Then, I end up printing it again, and...well, I think you get the idea.  Every several months, I get fed up, and play Italian Postal Service (translation: I throw it all away and start over again). 

This box is all the useless paper that was on my desk.  The good news is that I found one item that I have literally been looking for for almost a year!

The bad news is that chaos is waiting right around the corner.  Embrace it.

When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest.  If it can't find one, it says to itself, "I will go back to my house."  So it goes back, and finds the house empty, clean, and all fixed up.
                                                                                            - Matthew 12:43-44

Day 16: More Files

DAY 16: MORE FILES

I inherited this box of files from my predecessor at Radisson.  I've never even looked at them.  She got to visit some places that I'd like to see:

San Juan, Puerto Rico
Paradise Island, Bahamas
Fort George, Belize

...along with hotspots like Huntsville, AL, Lynchburg, VA, and Camp Hill, PA.

Folks who know me know I love to travel.  There's something interesting about being on the go, seeing where other people hang.  Exotic or not, it's a wonderful world.

Sing for joy to the Lord, all the earth; praise God with songs and shouts of joy!
                                                                                              - Psalm 98:4

Day 15: A Trophy

DAY 15: A TROPHY

The trophy says :
"R.C.F.L. (Richmond Catholic Forensic League), 1975: Dramatic Interpretation: First Place."  I remember that I performed a scene from Archibald MacLeish's Scratch, a play based on The Devil and Daniel Webster.

One of the great gifts I received at St. John Vianney, the high school seminary I attended, was my involvement in speech and drama.  I gained a real confidence in public speaking, a talent which has stayed with me over the years.  That voice is better than any trophy.

Your speech should always be pleasant and interesting, and you should know how to give the right answer to everyone.
                                                                                                    - Colossians 4:6

Day 14: A Gym Bag

DAY 14: A GYM BAG

No, I haven't given up on exercise.  This very dusty locker bag has been rotting up in the attic for years.  Today, my workout clothes travel in a much less ambitious mode, but this year has led me back to a renewed commitment to regular workouts.  As I get closer to 60 than 50, every little bit helps.

Those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed.  They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.
                                                                                                                 - Isaiah 40:31

Day 13: Calendars and Memories

DAY 13: CALENDARS AND MEMORIES

All the stuff in this box is over 30 years old, including a daily planner from 1988, when I was on staff at St. Joseph Church in Petersburg, VA.  My favorite entry, from Saturday, February 6:

"RCIA Discernment: bring wine."

Was it going to be a particularly rough discernment?
Was the wine for me, or the candidates?

Whatever the reason, I'm sure it went well.  Again, I wonder why I kept all this paper.  None of it triggered any significant memories, although I look back fondly on those years at St. Joseph.  Thanks for the memories.

But the Lord says, "Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago.  Watch for the new thing I am going to do."
                                                                                                              - Isaiah 43:18-19

Day 12: My Training Manuals

DAY 12: MY TRAINING MANUALS

If you've been reading this blog, you know that on Day 2, I mentioned that I worked for several years as a Regional Training Manager for Radisson Hotels and Resorts.  Much of my time was spent working with hotel managers, discussing how to effectively hire, train, and manage employees.  Radisson, along with many Fortune 500 companies, has done a lot of work with the Gallup organization, a leader in the Strengths and Engagement movement.  I learned a lot in this job about the errors all of us make in starting with what's wrong with someone, and trying to fix it, rather than starting with the unique talents of an individual, and helping them to build on those talents.  What a lesson for us in Church.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if Church could help us do what we do best?

I praise you, because I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works!
                                                                                                                           - Psalm 139:14

   

Day 11: Hiding Under the Bed

DAY 11: HIDING UNDER THE BED

I don't have dust bunnies under the bed; I have dust monsters.  The stuff under the bed lurks in the darkness, hiding the monsters that wait to get us while we sleep.  Get rid of the junk, and the monsters go away.  Time to bring the monsters into the light, where they have no power.

You yourselves used to be in the darkness, but since you have become the Lord's people, you are in the light.  So you must live like people who belong to the light.
                                                                                                         - Ephesians 5:8

Day 10: The Junk Drawer

DAY 10: THE JUNK DRAWER

Everyone has it, usually somewhere in the kitchen: the Junk Drawer.  That not-so-special place where stuff get swept from the counter when we want a clean kitchen but don't want to deal with pesky decisions.  Full disclosure, I have two junk drawers, side-by-side.  I always think I'll go back to retrieve that note, those three odd paper clips, those 43 pens and pencils.  Before I know it, though, the drawer won't close unless I press down on it.

I was looking for something that I thought I had placed in the junk drawer tonight, and in frustration, I dumped it out on the floor.  Voila, Box 10. 

It didn't surprise me that I filled up a box with junk.  What did surprise me was that I found stuff that I know I have gone to those drawers in search of:

• The other day, I couldn't find a single band aid; in the drawer I found an entire box, plus a couple of dozen loose ones.
• I can never find a postage stamp when I need one; here I found a whole sheet of them (plus 3 37 cent ones).
• Need a fingernail clipper?  I found three!

That's what junk does: it just gets in your way, so you can't what's right before your eyes.

How can you say to your brother, "please, brother, let me take that speck out of your eye," yet cannot even see the log in your own eye?  You hypocrite!  First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
                                                                                                                   - Luke 6:42

Day 9: Socks Without Partners

DAY 9: SOCKS WITHOUT PARTNERS

When I was growing up, we had the "sock pan."  It was a simple concept: all the socks went in the plastic hamper.  In the morning, the kids would come downstairs, dump the socks on the floor,  find a pair, then scoop all the others back up in the pan.  My dad used to joke with my mom about the "sock pan" lesson that was part of the Home Economics class at Cradock High School. 

In the end, the sock pan system worked in the chaos that is a household with 8 kids.  Truth, be told, I've carried on the tradition in my household.  Every once in a while, I get ambitious and pair up the socks swhile I'm watching TV.  I did that the other night as part of my 40 Boxes for 40 Days, and found 48 socks with no partners!

Where do all those lost socks go?

Sucked down the drain?
Alien abduction?
Do they go dancing?

And why do their lonely partners hang around so long, waiting for their lost ones to return?

I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below -- there is nothing in all creation that will be ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.
                                                                                              - Romans 8: 38-39

DAY 8: A WHOLE DESK OF NOTHING!

DAY 8: A WHOLE DESK OF NOTHING!

In the spare room is a vanity/desk with six drawers.  I have a habit of absently sticking things in those drawers that I really want to keep, but I don't know where to put them:

Name tags from former jobs,
bumper stickers and buttons with inspiring slogans,
a bag of steel wool!

When I started going through these drawers, I was CERTAIN that I would find countless treasures that had been long forgotten.  When I finished, aside from a few photographs, I kept -- nothing.  I'd like to think that this experience will teach me to make the decision to let it go on the spot.  I know, though, that I kept that name tag because I had just left this or that job, and needed time to really leave that experience.  I needed that bumper sticker or button to help me incorporate the truth it proclaimed.  The steel wool?  OK;  I think I was just lazy that day.

In a sense, that desk is the purgatory of my stuff.  It allows time for purification of the memories, so they become part of me, and I can let the object go.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.   But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

                                                                                                   - Matthew 6:19-21

DAY 7: A WHOLE DRAWER OF USELESS PAPERS

DAY 7: A WHOLE DRAWER OF USELESS PAPERS

I'm beginning to notice a theme as I journal about the 40 boxes of stuff that's going out of my life during Lent: Why did I keep all this stuff in the first place?  This full box came out of one drawer in my bedroom.  A lot of it is old tax and financial records, but are so old they have no use.  Like much of the stuff that I'm getting rid of, I literally haven't touched it in years.  Now, I have one more empty drawer.

That's what fasting is all about: letting go of something in your life to make room for God.

God does not want us to be in disorder, but in harmony and peace...Everything must be done in a proper and orderly way.
                                                                       - I Corinthians 14:33, 40

DAY 6: A BOX OF COATS

DAY 6: A BOX OF COATS

I collected these yesterday, but couldn't post until today.

There's variety here:

2 thick leather jackets that kept me warm on my Triumph,
A wispy, polyester jacket that I bought in Boston because I was cold and it was cheap,
and a lovely camelhair full length coat that belonged to my dad, but is now too small.

I haven't worn any of them in years; they actually had a layer of dust on the shoulders.

May they keep someone else warm soon.

The people asked [John the Baptist], "What are we to do, then?"  He answered, "Whoever has two coats must give one to the man who has none..."
                                                                                                       --Luke 3:10-11

DAY 5: MY FATHER'S KNIGHTS of COLUMBUS REGALIA

DAY 5: MY FATHER'S KNIGHTS of COLUMBUS REGALIA

Don't panic.  I'm not throwing this away; I'm giving these items to the St. Paul's Council in Portsmouth, in case one of their brothers can't afford them.

According to their website, the Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal society that  was formed in 1882 "to render financial aid to members and their families. Mutual aid and assistance are offered to sick, disabled and needy members and their families. Social and intellectual fellowship is promoted among members and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and public relief works."  My father, George Francis Hoggard, was Grand Knight of the local council back in the 1970's.  The hat, cape and sword are worn over a tuxedo by the highest level of Knights on ceremonial occasions.

In many ways, I am the person I am today because of my father.  I think I see more of him in myself as I get older.  I think he would appreciate these items being used by someone in need, rather than them sitting unused in a closet. 

The Lord your God will lead you, and he will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt and in the desert.  You saw how he brought you safely all the way to this place, just as a father would carry his son.
                                                                                  - Deuteronomy 1:30-31

DAY 4: A Box of Old Schoolbooks

DAY 4: March 12, 2014

A BOX OF SCHOOLBOOKS

When I moved from Petersburg to Newport News, I started looking for a new job.  I got a job at the Radisson Hotel Hampton, and later as a catering manager at the College of William & Mary.  A degree in theology doesn't make you too marketable in the world of foodservice, so I decided to get
an A.A.S. in Hotel/Restaurant/Institutional Management at Thomas Nelson Community College.  These are my textbooks:

Introductory Foods,
Front Office Operations,
Foodservice Facilities Planning,
Supervision in the Hospitality Industry

... among others.

There are also class projects, book and restaurant reviews, sample menus, tests and quizzes.  I was a good student!  These courses served me well, but the books haven't been touched in 20 years. 

It's interesting how things come together in life.  English, Theology, Hospitality: they all served me well at different points, and they converge now to make me who I am today.

There is no end to the writing of books, and too much study will wear you out.
                                                                                                          -  Ecclesiastes 12:12

DAY 3: A Box of VHS Tapes

DAY 3: March 11, 2014

A BOX OF VHS TAPES

On day three of 40 Boxes for 40 Days, I cleaned out the shelves of some (not all -yet) old VHS tapes.  Somewhere in 2004, DVD sales surpassed VHF tape sales.  I'm not sure what surprised me more, that fact or the fact that VHS technology is over 60 years old.  I remember when I was a high school senior in 1975, the school had a top-loading VHS player/recorder roughly the size of a Volkswagon.  Today, folks can download and watch movies on their mobile phone, slightly larger than a credit card.

I've seen so much in my life.  What's next?  I wonder as I wander...

People from all nations, tribes, languages and races will look at their bodies...and not allow them to be buried.
                                                                                        - Revelation 11:9

Day 2: A Box of Files

DAY 2:  A BOX OF FILES

On day 2 of 40 Boxes for 40 Days, I put a box of files in the recycle bin.  They've been in my attic since February of 2002, when I began working at the Church of St. Thérèse in Chesapeake,Virginia.

Before St. Thérèse, I was Regional Training Manager for Radisson Hotels and Resorts.  My job was to travel to hotels that were becoming Radissons, and teach our guest service standards.  Each of these files represents a different hotel in a different city:

from Kitchener, Ontario...
to Natchez, Mississippi...
to Palm Beach, Aruba...
to name a few.

I loved this job for a number of reasons, one of which is that I love to travel.  It doesn't really matter where I'm going; I just like to go.  I like the bustle of airports, the differences of each city, and the people I meet.  I especially like the unique experiences.  One I recall often is singing "Immaculate Mary" with a congregation in Lihue, Hawaii on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, accompanied by a ukelele.

Being in different cities at least 2 weeks out of every month, though, also gave me a deeper appreciation of home.  As much as I loved "going," I grew to love even more where I "stay."

If the Lord does not build the house,
the work of the builders is useless;
if the Lord does not protect the city,
it does no good for the sentries to stand guard.
It is useless to work so hard for a living,
getting up early and going to bed late.
For the Lord provides for those he loves,
while they are asleep.
                                         - Psalm 127

  

Day 1: March 9, 2014, A Box of Old Shirts

A BOX OF OLD SHIRTS

Today begins the 40 Days of Lent.  Each day, I will fill a box with stuff that is going out of my life.  On this first day, I chose shirts that I know I have not worn for over a year.  Many of them don't even fit anymore. 

Several were from NPM Conferences I have been to over the years.
One I bought at a souvenier shop on the island of Kawai.
One I bought at an outlet store in Pidgeon Forge, Tennessee, on my way to my niece's high school graduation.

All of them have memories.  But I don't wear them anymore.  They're just taking up space in a closet that's too small.  Time to go.

Then he sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick, after saying to them, "Take nothing with you for the trip: no walking stick, no beggar's bag, no food, no money, not even an extra shirt."
-Luke 9:3