The Place Where I Write Things.

Guests deserve beds.

traviswhalen — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 02:00:34 +0000

It was another night in the proverbial wood-shop… I’d really like a non-proverbial wood-shop by the way. When you acquire a new house it is most advisable to measure your current furniture before moving it into said house. I neglected to do so… Thus our queen guest bed’s box spring that needed to be located on the second floor did not boast the compatibility to make it up our narrow stairs. We had been running an operation in which the box spring rested upon a metal frame. That is simply not possible for the mattress alone. No worries though, it gave me something to do. I give you our new queen bed frame/Box spring in one!

As always, a night working with my hands yields a clear mind and fruitful labor! Now I can start on my much anticipated desk!

Doing work.

traviswhalen — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:32:58 +0000

Natalie and I have recently been blessed with a new place of dwelling… Parker came too but he seldom knows what’s going on… he also doesn’t contribute to our finances… he’s a squatter. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a place that we could truly make our own. We’ve always enjoyed doing projects but have lacked the opportunity… and time for that matter, to tackle any in a while. In the last few weeks that’s changed… honestly it was more due to better disciplining my time than it was our new place. Our new place offered many opportunities for projects but it was making the firm decision that I would

commit my time to doing them that ultimately pulled the trigger. So far I’ve built a storage bed (which was a huge necessity) and last night I somewhat finished some custom benches for our sun room.

It’s been so fun to do these projects… I really love doing work like this. I follow a guy on twitter who mention the other day that for him, as a guy who works with his mind, he finds that he best sabbaths by doing something physical. I thought about that concept a lot and it made sense… sometimes the best rest is to do the opposite of what you do when you work. I work with my mind a lot. Lots of studying, writing and communicating. A night where I am elbow deep in sawdust is just what I need sometimes to clear my head. Currently I am working mainly with wood but I have a few ideas to branch out. My projects are limited now to my tool collection, which is growing and will hopefully continue to do so, thus allowing my projects to grow. I truly believe when God designed my hands He had nights like these in mind. Nights when I would build the way He taught us to… nights when in the midst of that sawdust I would gain a bigger perspective of life, rest and work. I’m excited to keep building!

You are where you are.

traviswhalen — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:00:41 +0000

Wherever the providence of God may dump us down, in a slum, in a shop, in the desert, we have to labour along the line of His direction. Never allow this thought—“I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly can be of no use where you are not! Wherever He has engineered your circumstances, pray.

-Oswald Chambers

Volcanoes are always cool.

traviswhalen — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 17:02:07 +0000

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/06/volcano_erupts_in_chile.html

Whether they are made of paper mache or threatening the life of Pierce Brosnan volcanoes are always exciting. This is a volcano that is currently erupting in Chile and that is an ash cloud being struck by lightning. Obviously a once normal human being trapped within this mayhem is now becoming a super hero. Seriously, this might be the coolest picture I have ever seen.

Isaiah 55:12

traviswhalen — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:41:54 +0000

Plans.

traviswhalen — Fri, 20 May 2011 19:34:04 +0000

Natalie was out last night so Parker and I flew solo. We grilled some meat. Drank some juice. Played with some cars. You know, guy stuff. At bedtime Parker was busy wrapping himself up in the blinds so I waited for him at the bottom of the stairs. The normal routine is to let him climb the stairs and I follow behind because he really likes to fall down stairs and we’ve tried our luck too many times with that old trick. As Parker met me at the bottom of the stairs he was carrying one of his toy cars and his infamous “Lovie” which is some bear-blanket-thing. He realized very quickly that he couldn’t take these items up the stairs with him without tumbling to his doom. I would typically just take them from him and avoid all tough decisions… but this time I waited. I wanted to see what he’d do. Sure enough he looked up at me and handed me the car and then pointed to the table. I placed the car on the table and then he handed me Lovie and pointed to the top of the stairs. I threw Lovie to the top of the stairs and Parker immediately began making his ascent and was soon nestled into bed. He was a man with a plan. We carried out that plan and the results were satisfactory for all the involved parties. I was a proud father.

I thought about this situation a lot last night and on into today… how neat it is that Parker’s mind allows him to think things out like that. The more I think about it the more instances I see this happening, him making plans and those plans actually panning out. You see a true sense of achievement in him when this happens. However, I can also think of several times when the plan doesn’t pan out… times that it stalls or even washes out before he can even get started. Take for example Parker’s common plan of diving off the back of the couch… thank goodness he has not achieved it yet. There are plenty of other squandered plans as well… and each broken plan leads to the same outcome… meltdowns. Parker hates when his plans are broken. It’s honestly the most upset he ever gets.

It makes sense too. Nobody likes a busted plan… but it’s a big part of life. I’ve watched Parker begin to embark into one of life’s deepest wounds… our constant desire to create and control our plans and those plans constant tendency to fall a part. You see deep down we are no different than Parker… we are taller… but we are just as stubborn. We like to do things our way… at our chosen speed… and in our desirable timing. Sadly, it doesn’t work like that.

I learn a lot about God by being a dad. I think I have a better understanding of how He sees me. He sees me like I see Parker. He loves my potential… He gets excited about my triumphs… but he knows I’m not there yet. He knows I need Him behind me on the stairs. He knows that I am determined to jump of that couch so He needs to keep an eye on me. He knows I still need a whole lot of help. But… just like Parker, I don’t always know that I need help. I get so caught up in my plans that I seldom think about what’s truly best for me. It makes me appreciate grace that much more… but it also helps me feel the weight of obedience. Think how many setbacks I could avoid if I just listened… just followed… just submitted my plans for ones that were better. I’d be a lot better off if I depended more on my Father.

On Chaos, Peace and Connecting Dots:

traviswhalen — Fri, 06 May 2011 01:48:58 +0000

When you allow it to be life can be a very overwhelming thing. It can be tiring. Emotionally draining. Chaotic. But I stress the when you let it be part… because life is not supposed to be those things. Life is supposed to be something so much more. It’s supposed to have joy and contentment and excitement and peace.

Peace is the opposite of chaos.

Chaos is overwhelming, peace isn’t.

Essentially the difference between a life filled with the good stuff and a life filled with the not so good stuff is the ability to live in peace. That’s why this is really exciting to me…

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

These are the first two verses of what is probably the most famous of all the Psalms… number 23. It’s that Psalm people read when bad stuff happens and they want to make you happy… it’s the Psalm Coolio quoted in “Gangster’s Paradise”… it’s the Psalm George W. Bush read to the nation on the evening of September 11, 2001. It’s a famous Psalm. I have personally read it several times. It’s a nice Psalm. It says good stuff. Yesterday I think it changed my life.

I was having lunch with two people that are smarter than me and whom I try to spend a lot of time with. In this scenario I was in cahoots with one of the smarter people and we were gaining insight from the other smart person. We were telling him about something that is hard… something that is chaotic… something overwhelming. He quoted those two verses and in my head I called him a cheesy Christian… and then he explained those two verses.

He pointed out that the LORD… meaning the God of everything… the One who created… the One in charge… is MY shepherd. That means He is close. That means He is intimate. And He also says He is my SHEPHERD. Shepherds have a very defined job… take care of the sheep. Shepherds only take care of sheep… and they do it well. Now the smarter guy who was giving advice pointed out that if the LORD was MY SHEPHERD… what did that make me?

A sheep.

Sheep are dumb. Sheep are stubborn. If sheep don’t follow their shepherd and do what he says… they die very easily. God is my shepherd because I am dumb and helpless without Him. But what is really crazy is that once I give God control the very first thing he does with it is lead me into a green pasture to lie down… He has me sit beside still waters.

God wants me to have peace.

He wants me to be still. He wants me to be fed. He wants me to have water. He wants me to be in His care and out of the chaos. But here is what is literally blowing my mind now…

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

This is Revelation 7:17… and it was written a very long time after David wrote Psalm 23… and it was written specifically about Jesus and specifically about Heaven… a place where a Shepherd will lead each and every one of us to a green pasture… where there is living water… He’ll even wipe away our tears… because He loves us. He wants to take care of us… He wants to blow our minds with peace.

I need that. I need to think about that a lot. Most of all I need to live that. I want to be able to spend my earthly existence recklessly chasing Jesus because I know at the end of the day He will lie me down in a peaceful field by a quiet stream. Death can’t hurt me. Sin can’t have me. Evil won’t overcome me. I have Jesus… He is peace… and peace always overcomes chaos.

I don’t know if this makes sense to you… but it’s flipping my world upside down. The simple reality that in the peace of Jesus the light can overcome the darkness. It makes me very hopeful. Very excited. Very motivated.

Let’s change the world.

Instincts.

traviswhalen — Thu, 27 May 2010 17:19:14 +0000

I have developed a keen animal instinct… and what I mean by that is I can tame any animal instinctually… meaning I was given no formal training… it just comes naturally. The first picture that you see above was taken circa February 2009 in a desolate central Kentucky forest. A companion and I happened across a fierce wolf… our minds said run… but my heart heard the call of the wild, so i approached the beast and tamed him as you can clearly see. The second photo happened circa lunch time. Again a companion and myself were in a desolate park eating lunch when what could only be described as a rabid squirrel-like creature approached us. I must admit I was initially afraid, but my instinct kicked in quickly and I believe the picture speaks for it’s self. Tamed. So yah, I can tame any animal.

My Kid is Funny.

traviswhalen — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:16:58 +0000

Parker’s First Attempt at Cereal… from Travis Whalen on Vimeo.

Month 4.

traviswhalen — Thu, 06 May 2010 16:59:18 +0000

One year ago last weekend I preached a sermon about story. I talked about how God used your life to write a story about himself and along that story some good things happen and some bad things happen but no matter what happens it all points to God and leads to life. I talked a lot about loss and how I believed that if I stopped trying to live my story and started living God’s story than God would always bring new life. When I said that I was thinking more about teh idea of restoration… the same way spring brings new life each year. However, when I got home that day God showed me how serious He was about new life spawning from our brokeness… my wife showed me what had dominated her morning… three positive pregnancy tests.

We hadn’t planned on this. In fact in those first moments we were really freaked out. But as the day went on and we processed what had happened I came to a realization… I can’t preach brokeness without embracing restoration… I can’t accept pain without expecting new life. It’s crazy how often we’re shocked when good or bad God does exactly what he promises to do. God always shows up, God always redeems and God always turns the bad for good… even when we don’t think we’re ready… even when we’re scared. I laughed at myself for months after that day, reliving that moment of panic and fear. You see I was always looking forward to recovering from pain… I just thought it would happen on my terms in the ways I planned it out… but God had other plans… and His plans are better.

One year and one week later my son, Parker Tate Whalen, is four months old. Every parent makes the claim that their children are the best thing that ever happened to them… but it’s true. You want to understand your faith, love, responsibility, faithfulness, humility, patience and a thousand other emotions in a whole new way? Have a kid. Parker has changed everything. Our marriage is different, work is different, sleep is much different and life in general is much different. But it’s awesome. He literally makes everything feel new. Every experience seems so much more significant and memorable… as if everything is new.

That’s been the craziest part for me. When God introduced a new life into our old lives… those lives became new too. It’s as if new life is contagious… it seeps into the souls of everyone it brushes shoulders with. Parker has brought a new perspective with his brand new life and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of that life.