Dan Senf

"Who you are is speaking so loudly that I can’t hear what you’re saying."

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:40:18 -0600

“Who you are is speaking so loudly that I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Most of life is routine – dull and grubby, but routine is the momentum that keeps a man going. If..."

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:15:34 -0600

“Most of life is routine – dull and grubby, but routine is the momentum that keeps a man going. If you wait for inspiration you’ll be standing on the corner after the parade is a mile down the street.”

- Ben Nicholas

Check this out for all you iPhone users. http://tr.im/EBnR

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:48:38 -0600

Check this out for all you iPhone users. http://tr.im/EBnR

Self-Deception

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:34:51 -0500

The capacity for self-deception

The human heart has unlimited capacity to hide the truth from itself if the truth is too painful. That is our capacity for self-deception; it’s possible to know something and not really know it because if we did know it, it would be too painful for us to handle.

Self-deception is not the worst thing you can do, but it’s the means by which we do the worst things.

The structure of self-deception

What does self-deception look like practically speaking? Here are three examples.

There have been occasions when either my wife or I have asked my father-in-law about a certain noise we hear from the car. He knows cars very well and has lots of experience with them. His initial answer is almost always the same: just turn the radio up and that noise will go away. This is an outworking of self-deception. I know, but I don’t want to know because to truly know would be too painful to bear.
Father has son who is a terrific athlete. Everywhere he goes he one of the best athletes at each school. But everywhere they go, inevitably his son gets accused of stealing. So the father, in school after school, ends up storming into the principal’s office accusing the other kids of being jealous of his son because he is such a gifted athlete. Yet at home, the father has all his valuables locked up. He knows, but he doesn’t know because he doesn’t want to know. The truth would be too painful for him to bear. Defensiveness is often a sign of self-deception.
At the end of WWII, the first city the Allied forces entered containing a concentration camp, was the town of Ohrdruf. When the Nazi guards found out the Allied forces were on their way, they dug up some 2000 graves in order to incinerate the bodies to destroy the evidence. They had these bodies stacked by the dozens. Do you know who was leading this group of soldiers into Ohrdruf? General George Patton who was as tough and rough as they come. Patton came to the camp and saw the bodies stacked up. He promptly vomited. He interviewed the surviving prisoners in this camp and the prisoners reported that every night the guards would go into town drink, brag, and womanize. The prisoners had the impression the whole town knew about what was going on. So Patton called the whole town including the mayor and his wife to the camp to dig graves for the bodies. Upon completing their assigned duties the mayor and his wife went home and hung themselves. And they left a note saying, “We didn’t know, but we knew.” (Tim Keller)

We have an enormous capacity to hide from ourselves truth that is painful to us. But what happens if we can’t hide from that truth? What happens if that truth gets out into the open and then we have to deal with it?

When faced with the harsh reality of a truth too painful for us to deal with, we will trot out our performances in an attempt to cover up the truth that gives us a black eye.

The solution to self-deception

Why are certain truths too painful for us to accept? Which ones are painful and why do we hide from them?

If you get your sense of value and worth through parenting then you will not be able to handle the truth of a disobedient even rebellious child. Your child will never do anything wrong in your eyes, because you won’t be able to handle the truth if they did something wrong. Your whole sense of value and worth hangs on your kids being good and if they’re not, you’ll hide from that truth because it will be too painful to handle.

If you get your sense of value and worth from people you will find yourself very sensitive to criticism. If somebody says something even the slightest bit critical of you, you will either go on a seek and destroy mission or you will disassociate from that individual.

But if God, through Christ Jesus, is how you know you are great – if you know God honors you; if you truly know just how much God values you – then you can handle bad news about anything because it doesn’t change you at your core.

Is that where we get our sense of value and worth? If it is, self-deception is defeated.

(Taken from a teaching by Pastor Brian Dainsberg - Appleton Alliance Church, Appleton, Wisconsin. Visit www.appletonalliance.com

Starbucks with friends is always better than Starbucks without friends.

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:32:44 -0500

Starbucks with friends is always better than Starbucks without friends.

When things are right, they go right and when not, problems persist.

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 01:29:48 -0500

When things are right, they go right and when not, problems persist.

Getting it right in life is a life-long effort.

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 01:29:48 -0500

Getting it right in life is a life-long effort.

"I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing..."

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:31:09 -0500

“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.”

- Leonardo da Vinci (via minimalmac)

Sengata to Balikpapan is the best 6-hour roller coaster I have been on.

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 06:50:35 -0500

Sengata to Balikpapan is the best 6-hour roller coaster I have been on.

RT @tweetmeme 31 National Geographic Photography | Inspiredology http://bit.ly/15dWkt

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:53:47 -0500

RT @tweetmeme 31 National Geographic Photography | Inspiredology http://bit.ly/15dWkt

"When I was about 10, a stray dog came to live with us. We named her Barnacle because she attached..."

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:05:00 -0500

“When I was about 10, a stray dog came to live with us. We named her Barnacle because she attached herself to us. We called her Barney for short.
Barney was as gentle as a dog could be. We could do anything to her and she would take it patiently and come back for more. We dressed her up, including tying a scarf around her head. Though she had a forlorn look as if she had been tied up or was being punished, she cooperated fully.
One day she was run over by a truck. Her back legs were crushed and she died the next day. While she was yelping and pulling herself toward our house with her front paws, I ran out with a pillow. I wanted to put her on it so I could carry her gently to the vet. When I reached down to help her, she bit me! Why did she bite? Because she was a mean, vicious dog? No! She bit me because she was hurting so much.
I have often thought of Barney as I work with people. I have learned that when people hurt, they tend to bite. That has given me a different perspective when people bite. My natural inclination now is to ask myself, “How are they hurting?” We are generally too quick to judge biting and take it as a personal affront. “Who do they think they are?” we ask. Our immediate reaction tends to be self-centered rather than compassionate. We focus on how others inconvenience or hurt us rather than how they may hurt.
Somehow, in working with people, we must learn to look beyond their bite. Some who had a hard an abusive childhood bite more. Adults in an abusive situation bite more. Employees in a stressful work situation bite more. Parents whose children have caused them great pain bite their children. The children see the bite, not the pain.
A bite is like the steam from a tea kettle. We can’t stop the steam by plugging the outlet. That will cause it to blow up. We stop the steam by turning off the heat.”

- Dr. David R Osborn

"Life is hard; it’s harder if you’re stupid."

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:45:13 -0500

“Life is hard; it’s harder if you’re stupid.”

- John Wayne

at last someone is doing something about cow flatulence - http://tinyurl.com/ca833q The earth will...

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:37:40 -0500

at last someone is doing something about cow flatulence - http://tinyurl.com/ca833q The earth will be saved.

"To Steal: To seek ones advantage instead of a fair exchange."

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 10:12:00 -0600

“To Steal: To seek ones advantage instead of a fair exchange.”

- Dr. Mark Harris

http://iamsecond.com/

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 08:44:03 -0600

http://iamsecond.com/

http://tinyurl.com/c4kwy7 expresses my thoughts.

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:08:43 -0600

http://tinyurl.com/c4kwy7 expresses my thoughts.

"Love is the covenant commitment demonstrated in action in the interest of the other person."

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:53:03 -0600

“Love is the covenant commitment demonstrated in action in the interest of the other person.”

- Dr Daniel Block

"There is no future in any job. The future lies in the person who holds the job."

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:06:36 -0600

“There is no future in any job. The future lies in the person who holds the job.”

- Dr George W. Crane

"Many people succeed when others do not believe in them. But rarely does a person succeed when he..."

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 14:16:13 -0600

“Many people succeed when others do not believe in them. But rarely does a person succeed when he does not believe in himself.”

- Herb True

A Dad's Desires - Oaklan R Senf (1919 - 2009)

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 14:14:00 -0600

Being a father is a tough and challenging job. As an adult, I more fully appreciate my father’s crusade for my life when I was an all-knowing child and convinced my way was best. Now, being a father and grandfather, I understand and realize the competition for my kids lives from both peers and the world. The seductiveness of peer pressure and the world’s glitz endeavor to lure us away from the life that our fathers desire us to embrace. Reflecting back on how my father related to my brothers, sister and me, I realize two important aspects of his loving care.

First, my father wanted his children to be successful and provided us with experiences that would develop our character, common sense, skills, knowledge and understanding of the world in which we lived.

From my youth, I remember the numerous typical household chores, making our beds, doing the dishes, planting and weeding the garden, shoveling the show - and we had a long driveway, mowing the grass, painting inside and out, making electrical and plumbing repairs, feeding the dog, chickens, rabbits and the other animals we caught and collected. I remember building a camping trailer before they were commonplace and rebuilding an old Allis Chalmers tractor engine and transmission. I remember the yearly camping trips, fishing in lakes and rivers, catching frogs, snakes and turtles, food over an open fire, climbing trees to the top, swimming in many lakes, and exploring the forested acres surrounding our home.

These activities and experiences are valuable to our individual success journeys. My dad wanted us to:

dream about where we wanted to go and how we would get there,
grow to our full potential - which is a continuos process,
be content in all our circumstances,
be humble yet proud of our accomplishments, and
be loved and respected by our family and friends.

Second, my father wanted his children to have a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. He learned later in life that one could not know how to love until they experienced God’s love through Jesus. I know that the success journey is less of a struggle with this relationship. I love and respect my dad and now he is where he longed to be.