Traveling Light!

ghaH ra'ta' chaH vetlh chaH should tlhap pagh vaD chaj journey, except a naQ neH: ghobe' tIr Soj, ghobe' wallet, ghobe' Huch Daq chaj purse,


He commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a staff only: no bread, no wallet, no money in their purse, Mark 6:8

podcast version

Going anywhere this summer? This weekend my family is visiting a comet! As I mentioned before, I've taken advantage of NASA's offer to put names, like those of my family, on board a spaceship.

Space travelers know the value of what Jesus told his disciples: travel light. Pack your bags when traveling through life - but do it with care. Consider what you can afford to carry and what the cost will be.

You might guess I'm a space enthusiast (and you'd be right). Being a mathematically inclined space cadet, I can do some of the calculations regarding spaceflight. It is sobering to realize how much it costs to bring cargo into space. The mass ratio just to get to orbit is around 10:1 - nine pounds of fuel to get one pound of cargo into space. Going to Mars? The total cost could be as high as 43:1! (Take a look at my program "Joyride," http://joyride.mrklingon.org if you want to try some of the numbers yourself.)

"Running the numbers" can illustrate how costly it is to carry too much, even if we're only traveling on this planet. Considering such things can help us take just enough - carry only what we need, not all we MIGHT need..

Here's a trivial example of traveling light (yes, this is kind of the excuse for this "holiday travels" podcast) - here's how I work on my Bible studies for these podcasts. I'm fortunate to have plenty of resources - from commentaries and different translations, to a Biblical Encyclopedia. But (considering that I commute to work by bicycle) it isn't practical to carry them wherever I go. I've posted a picture at KlingonWord.org of what I use - take a look; I've found a way to carry "just what I need" in my pocket.


What do you need to work on your podcast?

Here's what I use to work on the Klingon word from the Word podcasts:

• Moleskine Notebooks to write in
  
• References printed out:
  
  
  
  • Hebrew Text
    
  • Three translations NLT, WEB, KLV
    
  • Reference Notes
    
  • Cross References

The core is, that I use the tools put together by the Crosswire Bible Society. Using their Sword Project, or the Online Bible, I copy into a word processor several translations of the text. I also copy some cross-references and notes from another Bible tool. I print this all small enough that it folds neatly into my pocket note book. Put together, in a package smaller than a passport, I have just enough to take a moment - whenever I have a moment - to work on my studies.

Oh, I'm probably too proud of my mini-Bible library. I enjoy it, and it (for me) is a practical way to do my Bible studies. But in truth, it is so hard to "travel light." I'm at a time in life where I am anticipating the "empty nest" and a house that is too big and filled with far more than I need. We need to pray that God gives us not just what we need - but the wisdom to know what we DON'T.

And traveling light is what we need to do, because we've got a promise that, in the long run, we have nothing to worry about:

'ach nej wa'Dich joH'a' Kingdom, je Daj QaQtaHghach; je Hoch Dochvammey Dochmey DichDaq taH nobpu' Daq SoH as QaQ.

But seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33