The Weekly Review: Vol VII Issue 11
Hello friends,
How have you been of late? The days continue to march on, yet things feel very different from the norm. I suppose people through history have weathered storms of great change and, eventually, adapted to what is new. And I know we’ll do the same.
But as time marches on and attention shifts from civil unrest and injustice, as people begin to do the things they used to, as the curve begins rapidly increase (in certain countries), it is hard to decide where to put my attention and energy. And school has just ended and the kids are all at home every day for another 10 weeks, and they’ve already been at home for 3.5 months so it doesn’t really matter where I want to put my attention because, you know, there’s enough conflict right here that needs attention.
Breathe.
The truth? It’s not so bad. We’ve learned to find new rhythms, we have things to do, we can get out in nature, and we have our health. That’s so much more than many can say. And we have a hope that is greater than anything this world can put in front of us.
I try to remember all that on the hard days.
And so I wanted to return to writing this newsletter. I hope it brings you something interesting or inspiring, or simply something that catches your attention. Thanks for reading!
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10+ years of getting someone else’s email
Yeah, you’re right — this is an odd topic! But it’s an experience I’ve had for many years. So many I’m not sure how long it’s been. More than ten years, but less than twenty (since Gmail didn’t exist yet).
Anyway, I’ve been the owner of a Gmail account since it was first in a private beta back as I was just starting my career in IT. When I chose my username, I went with one that matched my work address (just with a different domain, obvi). And that included a period.
It wasn’t until several years later that we learned that Gmail didn’t recognize periods in email address (and maybe still doesn’t all these years later). I started to get emails that didn’t look like spam, but that were not related to me. Emails related to gaming accounts, or replies from contractors about house maintenance. But occasionally, they would be of a more important nature. Replies to a job application, details about a mortgage or a house sale, or questions from my mom.
But not my mom.
Weird, right? Anyway, over the years, I’ve started to get a decent picture of this other Chris Bowler. We share the same name, but some of our interests are varied.
- He’s a gamer and seems to spend a lot of time on various gaming communities
- He plays airsoft
- He’s involved in the Anglican Church, perhaps in an official role
- But he also seems involved in more technical roles — does he have two jobs?
- He’s plays a musical instrument and is in several bands
- He has kids and I know which school they go to 😳
- He’s from the Chicago area
- Or, maybe from the UK
- No, Utah
- He’s opening a restaurant…
One odd aspect is I don’t get all his emails. Just some. Only a couple per month. And could this be more than one person — am I getting emails intended for multiple Chris Bowler’s? There’s too much variety of location and vocation to possibly be one man.
I’ve replied to some of these emails over the years. I’ve forwarded them to his Gmail address, hoping to let him know I see some of the details of his private life. I’ve replied to others to ask the sender to inform this person they must know at some intimate level that a stranger is seeing his emails.
And yeah, I’ve corresponded with his mom. We got to talking about the family name and where their version of the Bowler name came from and where they settled in the US. She seemed far more interested in that than the fact that a stranger was getting her son’s emails.
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Items of note
Marius Masalar shares a few thoughts on what link posts are good for.
I prefer to embrace my role as a curator and share peeks into other interests of mine, links to off-topic pieces that made me think, or unusual stuff that fascinates and delights me.
There was a time I stopped including these on my own site, but I agree with him that they’re a worthy part of a healthy blog. And good newsletters!
A few years back, on a trip to see the Wildbit team in Philly, I had the chance to meet Jeff Sheldon in person. I believe it was at that time that he shared the beginnings of an idea for a paper-based productivity tool.
Months and months later, Jeff finally shared that idea with the world. I’ve had the chance to try a few different versions of the cards he designed during those months, and I can say they were good from the start. If you like paper, and you enjoy uncomplicated ways to manage your life, Analog is for you.
It’s funny to think back to how Jeff was unsure whether this was a viable idea. He launched the idea on Kickstarter and met his goal in less than an hour. A couple days in and it looks like Analog might be a bigger success than Gather was. Which is saying something. Give this project a look!
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Quote of the week
An unsegregated America might see poverty, and all its effects, spread across the country with no particular bias toward skin color. Instead, the concentration of poverty has been paired with a concentration of melanin. The resulting conflagration has been devastating.
Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Case for Reparations This six year old Atlantic article is an important read for anyone who hasn’t suffered as black (and indigenous) people have in Canada and the United States.
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The importance of meeting together
If you’ve read any of the newsletters I’ve sent in 2020, you know I have a lot of great things to say about Drew Coffman. He’s an awful smart chap, and seems to have that magical touch with whatever he makes (videos, podcasts, websites…). But he said something a few weeks back that sat wrong with me.
A real bummer about not attending a church is that when you tell that to Christians they assume you’re a burnout.
What if you just…don’t…like church? The fact that we’ve so intermingled the concept of “person of faith” and “church-goer” is troubling
I’m not here to tell you Drew’s experience is wrong — who am I to judge another’s servant? But his experience is far different than mine.
I didn’t grow up in the church, or a community of faith, or whatever else you may want to call it. I grew up in a very loving home where the golden rule was taught, if not always lived out. Certainly not by me — I was pretty much a big jerk most of my younger years.
But as my mistakes piled up and I came to the end of myself, to start to seek God, I finally learned that Christ was the only way forward. And that included going to “church”.
Now I don’t know exactly what Drew means when he says church. There’s church (the building you go to, or the event that happens on Sunday (sorry, Adventist friends)), and then there’s the Church. This is why words are so important, and I so wish I could visit Drew in person, maybe at the café he built a couple years back, and we could discuss this face to face. But the internet does ok in a pinch.
But I’m pretty sure Drew means little c church. I’d bet he really likes big C church, the fellowship comprised of the children of God spread across the globe and across time. It’s a pretty important group if you are a follower of Christ. It’s not a place, but the spirit of God indwelling in hundreds, thousands, millions(?) of people.
And the Bible is pretty clear that if we are a follower of Christ, we’re to spend time with others like us. If you’ve spent any time in the North American church, you’ve likely heard this passage in Hebrews 10 many times:
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (ESV)
Yeah, it’s an author speaking to a persecuted group of people at a specific point in time. Yet, does it not speak a truth that we need to hear today? How easy is it for us in our culture of abundance to choose to holiday or enjoy recreational activities instead of meeting with others of our faith? To be encouraged by others, to hear their own confessions of faith? This is why I love witnessing a baptism so much
Maybe what Drew means is that he dislikes the trappings and traditions of the little c church. Which is understandable — much of what we do is truly tradition and maybe the commandment(s) of men, not from God. Plenty of people have tired of the traditions and tried other ways to not neglect the gathering together. Maybe it’s a house church. Maybe it’s primarily a small group atmosphere.
Whatever the case, my experience has been that nothing can replace being with others to worship God, to join in the public reading of God’s word, and some Bible-based preaching. I didn’t grow up in a church, and in my early years of seeking God, I thought I could seek him on my own. I didn’t need a group of people to help me with that. Maybe that’s a little of how Drew feels.
But I learned over the years that is not the case. There is great power in hearing the testimony of others. There is so much opportunity to learn and grow when you spend time around people of ethnicities and generations different than your own, but grounded in the same hope. And there is so much blessing in serving a group of people.
Even when they do things that frustrate you.
Over the years, I’ve been reminded of these truths several times. We’d go away for week long a holiday and leave on a Saturday or Sunday. By the time we get back to our normal routine, we haven’t been to church in three weeks. But once there, as I hear people around me lifting up their voices in praise, I remember. I need this.
I’m guessing Drew agrees with a lot of what I’ve said. But whatever the case, I know whatever detriments there are with going to little c church, belonging to and fellowshipping with a local group of believers is essential to the being a child of God.
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Until next time 👋