My son, Jeremy, and Item84 will be performing at the Red Eyed Fly in Austin Monday at 8PM. Come join the fun if you can. I will be there and would love to hang out.
Item84 at the Red Eyed Fly June 23rd, 8am
Leave a reply
Author Archives: tboyum
Encore Careers
One of my current interests is exploring how God works in the lives of people to move them from one place to another. This interest has grown out of the work God has been doing in my life since 2000 – a restlessness in life that I am persuaded that God is using to prepare me for a new focus in the latter part of my life.
For a long time, I have tried to use the lessons that I have learned in the first part of my life to define, plan and move into a new direction. The is my normal mode of operation and has been very successful for me in the past but one of the learnings of this journey has been – what got you here will not get you to where you’re going – in fact that is a trap, a prideful archor that slows down progress. It’s taken me awhile to learn it.
Consequently, I have recently decided to quit focusing on defining, planning, and executing and shifted to enjoy exploring, experiencing and celebrating for awhile – trusting God to use this to guide me – removing it from my control and surrendering to only His. This category in Viewed Mercies will be a place where I will keep up with and share my exploration.
This morning – God shared with me an article that was very interesting:
Retired Bridge
I love old bridges. I don’t know why but I will go out of my way to travel on them. This bridge no longer knows the feeling of passing cars. It has been replaced by the new road on which I stood as I created this image. However, it is able to be walked upon (although I’m likely breaking some law to do it).
It is haunting and a bit scarey wondering about those that traveled it in the past while considering whether it will still hold me as I walk across the wood slats and observe those no longer there. Bridges connect us – from one side to the other. But in this world, they eventually must be retired as rust and the elements consume them. Everything in this world passes away.
It reminds me that God knows this reality and He knows we cannot create a bridge that does not pass away nor can we create a tower, stairway or bridge to heaven. For that to occur, would require material not of this world and it would have to overcome the decay and death of this world. And that is why He sent his son from heaven – because nothing of this world would do. And that is why Jesus had to die and be raised again – because the bridge He created had to span the chasm between death and life.
I love this old bridge, formed with the wood of the cross, that connected me with my heavenly Father and all of his creations forever.
Birthday Blessings
I decided not to let my birthday be just one more day this year. Celebrated in a variety of ways including hanging out with family and friends and getting a great massage from Stacie Lemire of Healing Touch Therapies. Until less than a year ago, I had never had a massage – I was always a little uncomfortable with the idea.
However, I met Stacie at a business network event a few years earlier and was very impressed with her. Still, it took me a few years to try it out. I tend to be more mental in my faith but I have to say that I have found a deep, authentic and very needed aspect of spiritual life though this experience in the few times I have now participated.
Of late, God is leading me more to experience Him then to just know about him – and working out, message, eating right — all that earthly, bodily stuff is surprisingly essential. This is why the Lord ate and drank with sinners, marveled at prostitutes that cried on his feet and whiped them with there hair, and gave us to remember him this ritual: eat this bread, drink this wine.
While other gods wouldn’t stoop so low as to touch mortal things, the Divine Jesus replies, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20
The Shack
Just finished reading, The Shack by William Young – highly, highly recommend you get a copy and read it. An amazing and beautiful story and portrayal of the reality of God’s love in pursuing us.
Psalm 111: God's Provision
Ps 111:6 He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations.
Psalm 111 is a beautiful praise to God, the holy one for all that he has done and given us and for all that he is ending with To him belongs eternal praise. Among this short list of his wonders to us is verse 6. Clearly a reference to the way in which God gave the promised land to the Israelites. But it was not supposed to be about land rather it was supposed to be about the Israelites being a audio-visual to the world.
It is not hard for me to see how God has done this in my life. For instance, I was hired to be a Imaging Product Manager at Dell in 2002 – a position that required an MBA (when I had no college at all) and had several qualified people already in the organization that had applied. How does that happen? I like to think it was my enthusiasm and understanding of certain job hiring practices, etc. but the reality is that it had God all over it – even in the way that I noticed the job was available and the timing of that. It is clearly an example of God giving me the position of others.
But it wasn’t simply to have that position – it was to become God’s audio-visual to the Dell S&P group. Some of that happened to be sure. God blessed me to see many people impacted by His use of me in that group but like the Israelites, I did commingle with my neighbors in some ways that minimized my witness and I didn’t give God all the glory and I didn’t fear him and take as seriously as I should have the work he had given me there.
Heavenly Father, I do praise your awesome work in my life and in the world – I praise you for all your wonders and mostly for your great love. Help me to be an instrument that effectively broadcasts the story of your glory. Give me the lands of others – but not their positions – rather the lands of their hearts – give them to me for you, Father. Help me to boldly enter enemy-occupied territory and route out the enemy and establish your son, Jesus as the Lord of many hearts. And Father, keep me pure and clean so that I will be an attractive vessel for you to use.
To You, Lord, belongs eternal praise.
Psalm 111: God’s Provision
Ps 111:6 He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations.
Psalm 111 is a beautiful praise to God, the holy one for all that he has done and given us and for all that he is ending with To him belongs eternal praise. Among this short list of his wonders to us is verse 6. Clearly a reference to the way in which God gave the promised land to the Israelites. But it was not supposed to be about land rather it was supposed to be about the Israelites being a audio-visual to the world.
It is not hard for me to see how God has done this in my life. For instance, I was hired to be a Imaging Product Manager at Dell in 2002 – a position that required an MBA (when I had no college at all) and had several qualified people already in the organization that had applied. How does that happen? I like to think it was my enthusiasm and understanding of certain job hiring practices, etc. but the reality is that it had God all over it – even in the way that I noticed the job was available and the timing of that. It is clearly an example of God giving me the position of others.
But it wasn’t simply to have that position – it was to become God’s audio-visual to the Dell S&P group. Some of that happened to be sure. God blessed me to see many people impacted by His use of me in that group but like the Israelites, I did commingle with my neighbors in some ways that minimized my witness and I didn’t give God all the glory and I didn’t fear him and take as seriously as I should have the work he had given me there.
Heavenly Father, I do praise your awesome work in my life and in the world – I praise you for all your wonders and mostly for your great love. Help me to be an instrument that effectively broadcasts the story of your glory. Give me the lands of others – but not their positions – rather the lands of their hearts – give them to me for you, Father. Help me to boldly enter enemy-occupied territory and route out the enemy and establish your son, Jesus as the Lord of many hearts. And Father, keep me pure and clean so that I will be an attractive vessel for you to use.
To You, Lord, belongs eternal praise.
Psalm 110: Now Rule! – 1/19/2008
Ps 110:2 – You were forged a strong scepter by God of Zion; now rule, though surrounded by enemies!
Clearly, this passage talks about Jesus prophetically though David was applying it to himself as well. In the sense of God establishing Jesus in Israel – he then says Now Rule even though you are surrounded by enemies. It doesn’t matter that Satan is not yet thrashed and destroyed. It doesn’t matter that Israel and the world did not receive him. God says NOW rule. He is to NOW rule that through many sufferings he will LATER obtain glory.
In fact, the ruling is for the purpose of continually taking out the enemies – to stand against them with his very life. David was given this reality too. Some say David was given this psalm after he had brought home the ark of the covenant but before he had his wars with neighboring idolatrous nations.
But clearly, as Christians – those whose very life is now Christ – those who are no longer themselves but are Christ in us and as us: is this not a strong statement to us.
You, Todd (Christ in and as Todd) were forged a strong scepter by God of Zion (of Christ) – NOW RULE, though surrounded by enemies!
I think we mostly live in limited faith – waiting for Christ to do something miraculous around us. But He has and he expects us to NOW RULE. Sometimes we do try but we do it in our own strength.
God, thank you for revealing Christ in me and giving me a fresh revelation of that reality today. You have forged the strong scepter of Christ in me – use me to now rule – even though surrounded by enemies. I confess that I have often not ruled because I calculated odds that I could not win – but you do not say go and you will win (at least not every battle) – you say NOW RULE – regardless of the fact that you are surrounded by enemies and the outcome is uncertain. You are asking me to have faith in you who formed Christ in me more that that which is in front of me – the impossible enemies – you are saying trust that nothing is impossible because Christ is formed in me. Forgive me for waiting for comfort and ease when you have told me that you have already forged me and I should NOW RULE.
Praise be the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Psalm 109: Transparent to the Lord
…but I am a man of prayer. Psalm 109:4b
This prayer of David is amazingly perplexing. In it, he pleads with God against an enemy and his pleading is disturbingly merciless juxtaposed against the mercy and favor he asks of God. He directly asks God to judge his enemy including his family, past, present and future with extreme prejudice. It is hard to believe this is coming from David. If he were a Christian in our prayer group praying this way, I daresay most would take him aside and counsel him that this was most unbecoming.
A few days ago, I made a professional mistake. I made a casual off-hand remark to my manager about some actions that some senior management at my work were making and she rebuked me for it later.
She did this in love because she knows that this type of remark would be career limiting. As we dialoged about it, I proposed several ideas to justify this event – such as me knowing her less formally so I wasn’t putting on the face I would with others and that we were talking privately – not publicly. Also, that I was not being precise in my language – I was frustrated by a situation and just expressing that.
But in thinking about it later, it wasn’t that simple. The reality is that this is a habit with me. It is unreasonable to think that others could translate my inner most fears and ramblings. It is a lack of faith to blurt my fears out in such a way. A man of prayer could trust these to God instead and that is what David is doing here. He knows God is just enough and wise enough so David can take his raw complaint there instead of raging in public like a fool. Lord, teach me to bring these thoughts before you.