Learning Along The Way

Excuses!

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I’ve been considering all the ways I make excuses to not do things I know need to be done.  Do you ever catch yourself going down the excuse path?  I know we are all unique but we also have some similar traits and making excuses is one of them!

I hear myself saying, “I don’t really have to do that right now, I can do that later.”  Or “I don’t feel like getting that done today.  I’ll do it tomorrow.”  Sounds like classic procrastination to me.
What is the point of procrastination?  I know some of you have studied the human condition far more than I have and can probably tell me all the deep seated psychological reasons one makes a habit of putting things off, but I have a feeling its origins are far deeper than early childhood!
Procrastination or shifting responsibility goes all the way back to Adam and Eve.    Think about them.  Eve: “The serpent told me….” Adam: “the woman You gave me”  Yep. We have a genetic predisposition to make excuses and shift blame.  Whew!  Aren’t you glad to know you have an excuse?  Haha!
Truly though, since the Fall, humanity has been pointing fingers, shifting blame and making excuses to not take personal responsibility.  When I look at my procrastination in this light I realize I am living below my calling as a follower of Jesus.  Putting something off that can be done reasonably today doesn’t honor God.  “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
So what have you made an excuse for today?  I am off to fold laundry and PUT IT AWAY!

To Remember Those Who Have Gone Before…

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On this Memorial Day remember those who have died in service to our country. We are standing in front of the panel of The Wall, the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. where my mother’s brother’s name is engraved. I was 10 when he was killed by a land mine. Uncle Buddy left a wife and two small children behind. Our family, like many, knows the sacrifice serving our country is. Please pray for the families who are even now mourning the loss of a loved one.

What Kind of Person Am I?

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I had to have help putting this picture in place because it was huge!  In the process I learned how to change the size in html without changing the aspect ratio.  All that thanks to my husband the engineer!  I asked him if he could tell what kind of person I am from this picture and he said “A duck follower!”  He may know how to manipulate pixels accurately but “getting the hint” is not high on his list of skills.  Not to mention he has lived with my obsession of control for 18 years of wedded bliss, poor man.

Yes it’s true; I would love to have all my ducks in a row and going in the same direction all the time.  But unfortunately that has yet to happen.  My literal husband and son would promptly say “You don’t have any ducks.”  Perhaps that is really the problem, not my lack of control over life but the fact that we don’t own any ducks!
Seriously though, I have had to be undone in this area of control so many times  that you’d think I would have learned the truth about my small circle of influence in the universe by this season of life.  But since I am in the middle of a series of unfortunate events right now, I am recognizing yet again that I don’t have control.   It’s all in God’s hands.
He is so extremely patient with me, the slow of learning.  He is also extremely gracious in the lessons I seem to need repeating.  Truly, at this point in life I just laugh and say, Oh yeah, I forgot again, didn’t I Lord?  He gently reminds me and I willingly take His hand, as I  brush off my skinned knees from my stumbling.
So I shared what kind of person I am.  How about you?  What does God have to teach you again and again?  Or are you one of those vicarious learners who benefits from the open mistakes of others like me?  Please, please don’t let me be the only one who needs repetition!

Mid-Air

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I don’t know what season of life you are currently in, but I have the best of both worlds in my family.  We have two sons: one at home getting really excited about starting high school and one in college really excited about his studies and what God is doing in him while at Biola University.
At Biola they have chapels to attend; a required 30 for the semester.  This is the last week of school before finals and graduation.  Wisely the theme of chapels this week is “God’s Call on Your Life”.  Our son’s a great communicator and is often willing to share what he’s been learning (see previous post to know where he got that!) and today was no exception.  He called me right after chapel to tell me how great it was and that I need to get the recording.  I wanted to know why it was great and he shared some tidbits that made me think of things that God is teaching me right now.
The speaker talked about our common desire to know God’s plan for our lives, rather than simply trusting His good plan.  He used an illustration of a trapeze artist at the moment of letting go to just prior to grabbing on to the next bar.  He called that mid-air.  He challenged the listeners to live life mid-air; trusting God without knowing for sure what is next.
The image reminded me of something this very same son made me do two years ago when he was working at Hume Lake Christian Camp as a High Adventure guide.  They have trust building activities that are optional for campers to participate in, but for this visiting mom, there was no option.  Check this out and then I want to tell you what happened to me.
That’s not me in the video, but I did what she did.  42 feet up in the air stands the platform.  That’s really high especially when you look down!  While on the platform you get locked into the harness and the cables.  The guide is hooked up to the platform in case any wild camper or mom grabs them for “safety”.  So there I stood, just like Jessie in the video, getting ready to go off backwards.  My son was holding the harness to drop me whenever I gave him the okay.  It was a very frightening moment for me and he knew it.  He was not trying to rush me or goad me on, he really wanted me to make the decision to fall backwards.  I told him I was afraid.  He said, ” I know Mom.  But this is your chance to know you are in God’s hands.”  With that I took a deep breath and said Ok.
Then I felt it.  Crazy adrenaline! Weightless falling.  Micro-seconds of unseen support.  Mid-Air.
When Matt shared what today’s chapel speaker had said of trusting God’s plan  and living mid-air, I was immediately reminded of that sensation.  It scared the bejeebees out of me in the waiting, but once I was mid-air I was fine.
What does that mean for us in the waiting for God’s plan to unfold?  We have to face the fear of the unknown.  Fear is an emotion and like all emotions is intended to bring us to our Abba to share it with Him.  We don’t know what is around the bend or off the platform, but God does.  He knows the plans He has for us, plans for welfare and not calamity, to give us a future and a hope.
Can you risk mid-air?  I am.  And God’s carabiners are strong and perfect and His cables go for eternity!  What a ride!

Inspiration

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“It is never too late to become what you might have been” George Eliot

I mentioned earlier that I love to collect quotes; I find inspiration through the written word. But inspiration comes in lots of forms: sights, sounds and memories can all play a part in inspiring us to change and grow. The quote above comes from a Mary Engelbreit picture I have framed. I look at it to remind myself that the new skills I want to learn are not beyond my reach; I look at it to see that the things I already know and love can be made use of in new ways.

This has been an inspirational week for me: I spent time pondering my own question “what difference does the Resurrection make?” ( a lot! more on that later); I had tea with a dear friend and her very inspiring mother; I am writing and writing and writing some more!

But the greatest inspiration came with the third reference in as many days to this wonderful, plain woman who had a dream to sing on a big stage. Check this out and let me know what you are now inspired to do!

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