i find it funny that i have to ask myself if i want to go deeper with God.
shouldn't the answer be an automatic & resounding "YES!"?
yet i realize that such a decision creates consequences elsewhere:
going deeper denotes excavation,
and excavation causes other areas to get stirred up & disrupted.
see the helpful flowchart below:
going deeper ---------> knocking my ducks out of a row
i work really hard to get my stuff settled.
i don't like having to start over again.
call it laziness, i call it...yep, laziness works.
someone once said,
"some people say, 'Jesus came along & took my life & got it all straightened out.'
that's not what happened to me.
i had everything where i wanted it, and He came along & shook it all up!"
that's what going deeper with Him requires:
regular shake-ups.
not settling.
and when i feel that tug on my heart of the Spirit wanting to show me something new,
i instinctively go into the pro-con list to evaluate if i can risk learning it at this point.
i'm working to realize it's not about me "risking" to learn.
it's about me being ready to say, "yes Lord," whenever He shows up.
cuz He cares less about my duck rows & more about me never settling with where i am.
8.31.2008
8.16.2008
legos
when i look around at people, i am baffled by the vast array of differences that exist.
sometimes i ask (& have overheard others say),
"why didn't He just make us all alike?"
and then i see a pack of legos & realize that this is more like how God works.
we are not meant to exist alone.
a solitary lego is of little use other than to hurt a whole lot when you step on it.
but blend it with other colors, shapes, sizes,
and you get a colorful house or a pirate ship or a whole new imaginative construct.
solitary legos just can't get that far.
next time you decide it's time to just go it alone or find someone exactly like you to work with,
remember that the end result will be a lot less dynamic & effective.
we need the different strengths & perspectives that others bring.
that was in our Lord's lego blueprints, after all.
~independence? that is middle-class blasphemy. we are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.~
george bernard shaw
sometimes i ask (& have overheard others say),
"why didn't He just make us all alike?"
and then i see a pack of legos & realize that this is more like how God works.
we are not meant to exist alone.
a solitary lego is of little use other than to hurt a whole lot when you step on it.
but blend it with other colors, shapes, sizes,
and you get a colorful house or a pirate ship or a whole new imaginative construct.
solitary legos just can't get that far.
next time you decide it's time to just go it alone or find someone exactly like you to work with,
remember that the end result will be a lot less dynamic & effective.
we need the different strengths & perspectives that others bring.
that was in our Lord's lego blueprints, after all.
~independence? that is middle-class blasphemy. we are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.~
george bernard shaw
8.09.2008
kids these days
it was on my first mission trip at age 14 that i realized that being young could be a useful thing.
somehow, i had picked up on the message that a person could not do something of worth until s/he was an "adult".
seeing the zeal of my peers & the products of our Christ-focused teamwork convinced me:
Jesus really can use people under the age of 18!
what bothers me, though, is that there continues to be evidence of reverse ageism when it comes to leadership in the church.
i am not foolish enough to think that young people have the wisdom of their elders,
but i am idealistic enough to believe that they can accomplish a lot more than they are often encouraged to aspire to.
while there is ongoing dialogue focusing on the unfair attention paid to youthful appearance,
it misses the under-empowerment of younger leaders due to favoring established figures.
Jesus called the little children to Him.
the apostle paul told timothy not to let people look down on him for his age.
there are progressive, Jesus-following communities taking action to include & utilize the tweeners, teens, millenials, & gen-Xers.
these are the communities we spend time in & serve through.
it's time for ALL AGES to be valued & recognized as of worth to our King.
we can all teach & learn from each other.
somehow, i had picked up on the message that a person could not do something of worth until s/he was an "adult".
seeing the zeal of my peers & the products of our Christ-focused teamwork convinced me:
Jesus really can use people under the age of 18!
what bothers me, though, is that there continues to be evidence of reverse ageism when it comes to leadership in the church.
i am not foolish enough to think that young people have the wisdom of their elders,
but i am idealistic enough to believe that they can accomplish a lot more than they are often encouraged to aspire to.
while there is ongoing dialogue focusing on the unfair attention paid to youthful appearance,
it misses the under-empowerment of younger leaders due to favoring established figures.
Jesus called the little children to Him.
the apostle paul told timothy not to let people look down on him for his age.
there are progressive, Jesus-following communities taking action to include & utilize the tweeners, teens, millenials, & gen-Xers.
these are the communities we spend time in & serve through.
it's time for ALL AGES to be valued & recognized as of worth to our King.
we can all teach & learn from each other.
8.06.2008
title of the song
why would someone who is allergic to cottonwood consider it a blessing?
that's what i asked in order to get this exclusive interview...with myself.
Q: what's the story behind the title?
A: i was on a walk in my neighborhood several years ago, frustrated with the pain i was in & my perception of God's lack of intervention. i kept chasing after His approval & His gifts, and i came up empty-handed. i am a recovering type A, so this was not a pleasing result to me. as i argued with the Lord on this walk, i saw a cottonwood fluff float by me. i grabbed at it...& missed. bad aim. i tried again, closing my fist around the target. i opened it. empty.
Q: i think we get the picture.
A: well, i didn't. i was a bit too steeped in my own anger & hurt to think clearly, and i kept on chasing that fluff & grabbing at it. every time, i ended up with nothing.
Q: did you give up?
A: technically, yes. i reached a cul de sac, and i had to turn around. i was so upset at this point; nothing i was striving for was coming to me. and then i started to walk with the wind to my back, not reaching for the fluffs -- and a shower of them landed on me. i didn't even have to open my hands to grasp them. it was like God was saying, "I will provide. cease striving, my child."
Q: did you?
A: it took some practice (it still does), but i'm getting better. with the help of the One who makes the cottonwood, of course. i'm learning to rest and trust that He will bring the right blessings by His grace & in His time.
that's what i asked in order to get this exclusive interview...with myself.
Q: what's the story behind the title?
A: i was on a walk in my neighborhood several years ago, frustrated with the pain i was in & my perception of God's lack of intervention. i kept chasing after His approval & His gifts, and i came up empty-handed. i am a recovering type A, so this was not a pleasing result to me. as i argued with the Lord on this walk, i saw a cottonwood fluff float by me. i grabbed at it...& missed. bad aim. i tried again, closing my fist around the target. i opened it. empty.
Q: i think we get the picture.
A: well, i didn't. i was a bit too steeped in my own anger & hurt to think clearly, and i kept on chasing that fluff & grabbing at it. every time, i ended up with nothing.
Q: did you give up?
A: technically, yes. i reached a cul de sac, and i had to turn around. i was so upset at this point; nothing i was striving for was coming to me. and then i started to walk with the wind to my back, not reaching for the fluffs -- and a shower of them landed on me. i didn't even have to open my hands to grasp them. it was like God was saying, "I will provide. cease striving, my child."
Q: did you?
A: it took some practice (it still does), but i'm getting better. with the help of the One who makes the cottonwood, of course. i'm learning to rest and trust that He will bring the right blessings by His grace & in His time.
8.02.2008
being human
know what's great about God?
He doesn't expect superhumanism.
when He says to get along with others, it's always framed in a reasonable manner.
He tells us to take breaks & get rest.
and He only tells us to be peacemakers, not peacekeepers.
i like following a proactive, reasonable, caring Deity.
it makes me want to love Him back.
and keep working at doing what He says,
knowing He'll accept me regardless of my imperfections.
He doesn't expect superhumanism.
when He says to get along with others, it's always framed in a reasonable manner.
He tells us to take breaks & get rest.
and He only tells us to be peacemakers, not peacekeepers.
i like following a proactive, reasonable, caring Deity.
it makes me want to love Him back.
and keep working at doing what He says,
knowing He'll accept me regardless of my imperfections.
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