Initiative

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I am reading Erwin McManus’ book called Chasing Daylight:  Seize the Power of Every Moment. 

He begins the book by calling us to chose to live.  “Somehow we all know that to play it safe is to lose the game.”  The emphasis is on opening our lives up to God through Jesus, and in so doing we can live our lives wide open.   Lives wide open one moment at a time.  Don’t get stuck in a moment, live beyond a moment and make this moment a choice.

Be like Caleb from the Bible, who in a moment of truth for his life says (Joshua 14:10-12):

Today I am eighty-five years old. 11 I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. 12 So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.”

In the second chapter, we hit the thought of initiative.  Don’t be passive, but be passionate.  Don’t live in neutral.

This is the point at which I sat up (actually I was riding my exercise bike!), as McManus made the point:  “To put it crassly, when you are madly in love with God, you can do whatever you want.  I am convinced this may be the best contemporary translation of Psalm 37:4” (p. 50).

“There is a direct relationship between passion and initiative.  The more passionate you are, the more proactive you will tend to be. . . Here’s where the dilemma lies:  this can actually be paralyzing for a sincere follower of Jesus Christ.  You don’t want to passionately do the wrong thing.  You desperately want to do what’s on God’s heart, not just on your heart.  Here’s the liberating reality:  when you are passionate about God, you can trust your passions.   God uses our passions as a compass to guide us.” (p. 50)

Now, I can hardly wait to read the rest of the book!!

The wind doth blow

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Awakening this morning meant hearing the wind.  Not just a little bit, but one of those “big bits!”

Accompanying the wind was a small bit of snow.  Just enough to cover the driveway and the sidewalk.  As I shoveled, I realized that this was not the usual direction of wind.  Instead of heaving shovelfuls of snow into the wind, the wind was assisting me.

All fine and well if I was not on a corner lot.  The wind began to find ways to enter my parka.  A sneak breath of cold air here.  An unexpected pinch there.  Nothing you couldn’t handle.  If you only stayed outside for a few minutes.

I quickly wrapped up the morning’s exercise and got back inside.  Thankful that this was not a full blown blizzard, although full blown it was! 

I live in a country where the heat was on when I stepped inside.  The shower will be warm.  And I can drive on roads that are cleared.  After hearing a story of gypsies in Romania this past Sunday, I want to be sure my mind and heart both give thanks for all I have. 

A little breeze can blow in a reminder of a hurricane of blessings!

Timing

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Last night’s conversation was along the lines of timing.  Being engaged with a distance between means that the quick face-to-face is four hours one way!

But F2F (now I’m starting to get into the texting mode here!!) is important.  Skype or Google+ are helpful, but more often than not distracting for me.  I have trouble when a voice is not always synced with the mouth that is speaking.  I might as well just phone!  Of course, some days it can work well, but others . . .

So, yesterday meant that we tried to set up some times when we would be together over the next months prior to marriage.  Our rule of thumb (I’ve wondered if there is a rule of the toe!) is to try twice a month to touch base.  Setting these dates to coincide with special days – grads, Valentine’s Day, Easter, etc. – gives another reason to be together.

Now, with the scrap of paper in hand, I will try to put this into a calendar.  Not sure everything will come together, but best to plan ahead.

I wonder if other areas of life sometimes get left behind because we don’t plan ahead.  When the pen comes to paper – or is that keyboard ends in a spreadsheet – action often follows! 

At least that’s the way I find life!

Income tax time

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Yesterday afternoon I sat with forms in hand.

Working through this past year has been a new experience.  For 35 years I lived a shared life.  The paper trail of taxes over the years showed a time of building a new life, a time of studies, a time of parenthood and lately a time of exploring greater opportunities for giving.

But this year, I am preparing returns on my own.  With figures that remind me of God’s grace in my life. 

I have monies (that’s what income tax is all about) that have been a blessing to me.  I live with comfort. 

I have been able to use my monies to help others.  I looked over charitable giving and am thankful for the opportunities I have had.  I cast my mind to other opportunities to give that will never show up as a charitable deduction on the annual income tax form.

God is good.  And I am thankful.