If a person is singularly focused, honed in like a laser on a certain objective, do they see all other things that fall by the wayside as sacrifice? Or do they recognize that things must be done a particular way and that some things must be given up in order to achieve the goal?
From a distance, it looks like sacrifice... so much has been given up from the perspective of the outsider. On the inside though, the things given up are trifles in relation to the end objective.
I fully understand that this can be a very slippery slope when it all comes down. We can dismiss people, our reputation, our health and much more in the pursuit of a goal. I realize that this can be twisted terribly and that it could all end in disaster.
It just struck me today that some things we see as sacrifice from the outside are not seen as sacrifice by the ones in the middle of living them out.
Thoughts?
Peace.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Now
The older I get, the more I realize that none of us get to see the whole picture.
I blame it on the way God made me but, I spend a lot of time looking down the figurative road and saying things like "Wouldn't it be cool if..." and "Someday, maybe we could...". Depending on who you talk to, this is a huge blessing or a crippling disability. I love to venture into the future and ask what if...? and dream and discover and wonder. It's tons o' fun!
The drawback is that sometimes the present will suffer while the dreamer is out doing his thing. It becomes difficult to see the value of the moment or the activity right under your nose. So much time is spent wondering what will happen in the future that the present is lost.
The opposite can be true for the practical, in-the-moment person. There is so much to be done right here, right now that there is no time to sit down and get excited about what may be coming. There is no joy of anticipation because the now is looming so large.
We don't get the whole picture; we all only get a piece of it. That's why we need each other. God didn't make us to be alone. People around us see what we don't. Maybe we get to show others a little something that they may have missed.
I had a moment this evening when I was fully aware of the present...and I loved it. As I was typing this, Rachel was playing a game with the Middle and the Little. Brady was doing something artistic and creative. Pandora was providing the soundtrack for the scene.
Lord, help me be who I am, who you created me to be, but don't let me miss the moments along the way.
Peace.
I blame it on the way God made me but, I spend a lot of time looking down the figurative road and saying things like "Wouldn't it be cool if..." and "Someday, maybe we could...". Depending on who you talk to, this is a huge blessing or a crippling disability. I love to venture into the future and ask what if...? and dream and discover and wonder. It's tons o' fun!
The drawback is that sometimes the present will suffer while the dreamer is out doing his thing. It becomes difficult to see the value of the moment or the activity right under your nose. So much time is spent wondering what will happen in the future that the present is lost.
The opposite can be true for the practical, in-the-moment person. There is so much to be done right here, right now that there is no time to sit down and get excited about what may be coming. There is no joy of anticipation because the now is looming so large.
We don't get the whole picture; we all only get a piece of it. That's why we need each other. God didn't make us to be alone. People around us see what we don't. Maybe we get to show others a little something that they may have missed.
I had a moment this evening when I was fully aware of the present...and I loved it. As I was typing this, Rachel was playing a game with the Middle and the Little. Brady was doing something artistic and creative. Pandora was providing the soundtrack for the scene.
Lord, help me be who I am, who you created me to be, but don't let me miss the moments along the way.
Peace.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
So Much and Not Enough, Dos
Yesterday was about seeing what we have and not getting caught up in what we don't have; having so much and not enough.
This "so much and not enough" is not a totally negative thing. It really depends on what we are talking about. I have three amazing kids and a wife who is way out of my league. In some ways, I get plenty of time with them, lots of laughs and love. The reality is that I will never be full of them.
Following Jesus is the same. I have been a Christian for more than thirty years (dang!) and I have come to understand Him, to a point. I will never, though, be able to fully comprehend all of Him. I have so much and, still, not enough.
I'll keep trying to get more. More of Jesus, more of my kids, more of Rachel...it is a never ending quest.
What do you have so much of but it isn't enough?
Peace.
This "so much and not enough" is not a totally negative thing. It really depends on what we are talking about. I have three amazing kids and a wife who is way out of my league. In some ways, I get plenty of time with them, lots of laughs and love. The reality is that I will never be full of them.
Following Jesus is the same. I have been a Christian for more than thirty years (dang!) and I have come to understand Him, to a point. I will never, though, be able to fully comprehend all of Him. I have so much and, still, not enough.
I'll keep trying to get more. More of Jesus, more of my kids, more of Rachel...it is a never ending quest.
What do you have so much of but it isn't enough?
Peace.
So Much and Not Enough
I don't know how it happened, but I have come to the place that I have so much but still not enough.
My guess is that most Americans live in this place but we tend to skip over the first part and go right to the "not enough" part. Our tendency is to look around and see what others have and we don't or maybe we get sucked into the advertising all around us and it makes us realize that maybe, just maybe, we don't quite measure up.
And it doesn't have to be possessions and wealth and "stuff". It can be opportunities or friendships or talents...anything that can be seen in someone else that they have and you don't.
Call it jealousy, covetousness, greed;whatever it is, it can be ugly.
What if, for a moment, you stop and look at the "so much" that you have. If you tend to be cynical and pessimistic, it may take a greater effort. Look at what you do have and not what you don't. See where God has blessed you and be content with what He has given you.
It doesn't mean that we settle and give in to our lot in life. It does mean that we become grateful for the good. It does mean that we stop looking at those around us and envying what they have. It does mean that we choose to thank God for the blessings He has bestowed on us and not get caught up in what He seemingly has not done.
What do you have so much of? Write it down.
More to come on this tomorrow.
Peace.
My guess is that most Americans live in this place but we tend to skip over the first part and go right to the "not enough" part. Our tendency is to look around and see what others have and we don't or maybe we get sucked into the advertising all around us and it makes us realize that maybe, just maybe, we don't quite measure up.
And it doesn't have to be possessions and wealth and "stuff". It can be opportunities or friendships or talents...anything that can be seen in someone else that they have and you don't.
Call it jealousy, covetousness, greed;whatever it is, it can be ugly.
What if, for a moment, you stop and look at the "so much" that you have. If you tend to be cynical and pessimistic, it may take a greater effort. Look at what you do have and not what you don't. See where God has blessed you and be content with what He has given you.
It doesn't mean that we settle and give in to our lot in life. It does mean that we become grateful for the good. It does mean that we stop looking at those around us and envying what they have. It does mean that we choose to thank God for the blessings He has bestowed on us and not get caught up in what He seemingly has not done.
What do you have so much of? Write it down.
More to come on this tomorrow.
Peace.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Exercising my Option
At times, writers just write. There is no purpose, no end result they are trying to achieve. The writing is the purpose. The process really is the end result. Whatever words end up woven together are just that...words woven together or, as Donald Miller puts it, just a pile of words.
It seems to be the equivalent of "just showing up". You sit at the computer, you allow your mind to start working, you press the keys in a certain order and you generate your pile of words. It may not be coherent or really worth much, but you, as a writer, have done your duty. You have written.
It doesn't feel very productive. It seems to be a waste of time on the part of both the writer and the reader. But it needs to be done. It's like exercise and eating right. It is a choice. You can choose to exercise or choose to sit on the couch and down a third of a package of Oreos while you watch "The Biggest Loser" on TV. Writing is the same. You can choose to sit down and write something, anything or choose to polish off the last two-thirds of the Oreos while you watch "Modern Family" on TV.
This post has been my "pile of words". I have exercised tonight. It is discipline. It is not always spectacular and deep but there is something to be said about showing up. Right?
It seems to be the equivalent of "just showing up". You sit at the computer, you allow your mind to start working, you press the keys in a certain order and you generate your pile of words. It may not be coherent or really worth much, but you, as a writer, have done your duty. You have written.
It doesn't feel very productive. It seems to be a waste of time on the part of both the writer and the reader. But it needs to be done. It's like exercise and eating right. It is a choice. You can choose to exercise or choose to sit on the couch and down a third of a package of Oreos while you watch "The Biggest Loser" on TV. Writing is the same. You can choose to sit down and write something, anything or choose to polish off the last two-thirds of the Oreos while you watch "Modern Family" on TV.
This post has been my "pile of words". I have exercised tonight. It is discipline. It is not always spectacular and deep but there is something to be said about showing up. Right?
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Ignorance
Watched "A Christmas Carol" with the kids tonight and the movie left out one of my favorite lines from the book.
Scrooge's time with the Ghost of Christmas Present is coming to an end and he notices a foot barely visible under the fringe of the ghost's robe. He asks what it is and two horrid looking children are revealed. He asks whose children these are. Dickens takes it from here.
"They are Man's", said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware of them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased."
Ignorance, and the willingness to remain firmly entrenched in it, has a way of destroying life, rupturing relationships and continuing Want. Sometimes the best thing to do is to be quiet and listen. Learn. Open your heart. Put yourself in the other's shoes.
The grace of God, freely given to us, puts us in a position of knowing that nothing has been achieved on our own accord. There is humility that comes with that knowledge. Ignorance cannot survive in the presence of such humility.
Love your neighbor.
Peace.
Scrooge's time with the Ghost of Christmas Present is coming to an end and he notices a foot barely visible under the fringe of the ghost's robe. He asks what it is and two horrid looking children are revealed. He asks whose children these are. Dickens takes it from here.
"They are Man's", said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware of them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased."
Ignorance, and the willingness to remain firmly entrenched in it, has a way of destroying life, rupturing relationships and continuing Want. Sometimes the best thing to do is to be quiet and listen. Learn. Open your heart. Put yourself in the other's shoes.
The grace of God, freely given to us, puts us in a position of knowing that nothing has been achieved on our own accord. There is humility that comes with that knowledge. Ignorance cannot survive in the presence of such humility.
Love your neighbor.
Peace.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Distraction
There is no greater distraction in the world than whatever keeps you from doing what you need to do in any particular moment.
I'm not sure that sentence makes sense but I will try to clarify.
You have started a project and this is not just any project...this is THE project, the one that will crush all previous and trailing projects. After much hunting and gathering, you have all your materials, you are fully fed and hydrated, everything is set to begin when, suddenly...
It doesn't really matter what it is that "suddenly" appears on your radar; it has served its purpose to pull your mind away from the task at hand and your body will soon follow. If someone had "suddenly" entered the room and unloaded a suitcase filled with $100 dollar bills, that would be an understandable distraction. It would be reasonable to get up and go investigate.
The unreasonable, but still very powerful, distraction would be noticing that you have a hole in the sock on your right foot. It isn't even an annoying toe hole, it is a harmless ball-of-the-foot hole and yet you (ok I) could turn it into a thirty minute ordeal trying to figure out how it got there, checking to see if you have any clean, unholey socks and finally having a few (eight) Chips Ahoy cookies to refocus your mind on what needs to be done on your project.
The point is that the distraction doesn't have to be huge and it doesn't even have to make sense for it to be a distraction. Sometimes the slightest thought or sound in the room or even a different project can serve to pull you away from what you know needs to be done.
This short little post took me several hours because I needed a shave and a haircut, a bowl of Rice Krispies and one episode of "The Office" to get me primed to write. See what I mean?
What's your distraction of choice?
Peace.
I'm not sure that sentence makes sense but I will try to clarify.
You have started a project and this is not just any project...this is THE project, the one that will crush all previous and trailing projects. After much hunting and gathering, you have all your materials, you are fully fed and hydrated, everything is set to begin when, suddenly...
It doesn't really matter what it is that "suddenly" appears on your radar; it has served its purpose to pull your mind away from the task at hand and your body will soon follow. If someone had "suddenly" entered the room and unloaded a suitcase filled with $100 dollar bills, that would be an understandable distraction. It would be reasonable to get up and go investigate.
The unreasonable, but still very powerful, distraction would be noticing that you have a hole in the sock on your right foot. It isn't even an annoying toe hole, it is a harmless ball-of-the-foot hole and yet you (ok I) could turn it into a thirty minute ordeal trying to figure out how it got there, checking to see if you have any clean, unholey socks and finally having a few (eight) Chips Ahoy cookies to refocus your mind on what needs to be done on your project.
The point is that the distraction doesn't have to be huge and it doesn't even have to make sense for it to be a distraction. Sometimes the slightest thought or sound in the room or even a different project can serve to pull you away from what you know needs to be done.
This short little post took me several hours because I needed a shave and a haircut, a bowl of Rice Krispies and one episode of "The Office" to get me primed to write. See what I mean?
What's your distraction of choice?
Peace.
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