Quietly

Stepping carefully and quietly along a darkened pathway in the fog,
not wanting to trip or stumble.
This path was not always this dark.

Encountering moments of clarity and light,
ever so briefly, in the dawning of a new day.
There is hope of openness 'round the next bend.

Not wanting to wait until the mist has fully cleared
or until the day is fully bloomed,
pressing on until the lights of home are visible.

Peace.

Joseph

The story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50) has been the subject of teaching the last six weeks at church. We have explored the highs and lows of Joseph's life. From being sold into slavery by his brothers to being named the highest ranking official under Pharaoh in Egypt, Joseph experienced extremes in his life that we probably will not come close to. However, we do experience the reality of ups and downs. Life is never all good or all bad for us.

I have taken two things away from these last few weeks. One, God is always with us, no matter where we are. Genesis 39 says that the Lord was with Joseph when he was put in charge of his master's house and the Lord was with Joseph when he was falsely accused and sent to prison. Regardless of our circumstances, God is with us.

The second thing I have recognized through this story is that, though it seems that Joseph is the main character, the main character is God. He is directing events for His purpose, which happens to be more than what we get to see in our everyday life. Joseph couldn't know that when he went to prison, he would meet a man who would introduce him to Pharaoh two years later. He didn't have any idea that he would eventually be in charge of preparations for a famine in Egypt. (Crazy that he even knew that there was a famine coming so that he could prepare for it!) Joseph didn't have any way to know that prison would be part of the process of his dreams as a seventeen year old boy coming to fruition thirteen years after he had them. All of this served the purpose of God preserving Israel and preparing the way for Jesus to come to earth.

Joseph obviously didn't see that far down the road. We don't either.

My story is not my story. It is God's story. Same for you. Can you trust Him?

Peace.

Been Awhile

January was a long time ago, wasn't it?

I did really well with posting for a month and then I not only fell off the blogging wagon, but I was crushed under the weight of the wagon and spent almost nine months wondering around the wilderness of the internet.

I am back. Probably sporadically for a while but my wife is starting a blog so I have been inspired to get back to this one as well as possibly starting up another one.

Here's to taking another shot! (At blogging, that is)

Peace.

Subtle

Quiet. Sly. Stealthy.

Much of life and what we learn fits this mode. Some of it hits us like a punch to the chest and we lose our breath. Most of it slides into and out of view in the mundane details of the day to day.

What are you catching and what are you missing?

Peace.

Right

Man, I want to get it right. All of it. Even though I know it won't all be right, I still want it. I still want to try. I still get disappointed when it doesn't happen. More often than not, I don't get it right. I'm caught between knowing who and what I should be here on earth and who and what I find myself being.

Seems like the perfect place to be reminded of the grace of God in my life. Jesus got it right.

Peace.

Hairball

When I find myself at home, eating a meal by myself, I need something to read. I can't sit and just eat. There has to be some words in front of me...a book, a magazine, a cereal box; I don't really care just as long as it is written in English.

Lately,I have been picking through a book that I read last year called "Orbiting the Giant Hairball". I have to admit, I am a sucker for a unique book title.

The book, in a very short summary, is about surviving the corporate tangle of policies and politics while maintaining creativity. The author, Gordon MacKenzie, worked for about three decades at Hallmark, taking on various roles in that time. The "hairball" of which he speaks is "...making business decision after business decision, creating procedures and generating policies. And in so doing, they have been adding countless hairs to the Hairball. Intricate patterns of effective behavior have grown around the lessons of success and failure, creating a Gordian knot of Corporate Normalcy (i.e., conformity with the 'accepted model, pattern or standard' of the corporate mind set)". The Hairball has a gravitational pull all its own and strives to pull all into its labyrinth and bids us to take up residence within it. MacKenzie encourages people to be aware of the hairball but to remain in orbit around it so that life and creativity are not squelched by those who dwell within.

As I said, I read the book last year and now it sits on the bookshelf closest to the kitchen. I have been picking chapters to reread for the last several weeks as I have my Corn Flakes for breakfast. Today, I came across one of my favorite chapters, Chapter Nineteen. I would like to reproduce the entire chapter for you here.

Chapter Nineteen

"Orville Wright did not have a pilot's license."

For a couple of reasons, I love this chapter. One, I love that it is only one sentence. Few words, clear point. Two, I love what he is saying. Orville Wright didn't have, and didn't need, the proper certification or permission.

This is not a shot at education or training or licensing at all. We need that. I want my doctor to have been trained at a good medical school and for him to have paid attention in class and to have completed all of his training before he starts checking out my systems. It's very necessary.

What I do like though, is the thought of not waiting until everything is just right before we start making the effort to move forward. Orville Wright had an idea and he pursued it. He tried it. He literally took a flyer.

I think we (and by "we", I mean "me") tend to wait until we are old enough or smart enough or financially secure enough. Maybe we wait until we're "established" before we start to get the word out about what we are doing. Maybe we wait until someone else tells us that it's ok to pursue the dream.

What if you start pursuing it now? Find out what needs to be done and how you can do it and then go do it. Don't wait for everything to line up, because it's not going to. Do all that you know to do to get ready, then launch it.

Orville Wright took his little unlicensed self, climbed onto a crazy contraption and let it go.

What are you waiting for?

Peace.