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Maybe its just who humans are. 

We like to change flat surfaces.  Add a decoration.  Or create a house.  Or construct a hill (or mountain, which we can name Blackstrap!).

A protuberance just seems to make things a little less boring.

I struggle to keep a balance between changing (I call it improving) everything I see, or just enjoying the view.

God doesn’t take sides on this one, as far as I can tell.  He did a great job of creating our world.  The prairies are a prize possession of his, I’m sure.

Every once in a while, a volcano may push up a pimple on the flat surface of our earth.  Or the wind creates a beautiful pattern in the sand deserts of the earth.

Which seems to imply that God wants us to keep our eyes open – at all times.  You never know what may pop up.

As a society we are intentionally a disciplined group.  At least, that’s what we portray to ourselves and others.

• We diet – to keep our weight down
• We attend seminars – to keep our minds active
• We set appointments – to keep our socialization complete
• We have timers – to keep our life pro-active
• And the examples go on and on.

Our problem?

We are not always so disciplined.  We overeat, miss appointments, stay home, veg out, . . .

I have noted two different areas in which our discipline breaks down.

Distraction – Our focus, or what we perceive to be our need for focus, is led down another track.  Children are notorious for this – we wonder how they ended up with a peanut butter sandwich when all we had sent them to do was get a fork for lunch. 

Our distractions are self-led.

Disruptions – Our focus, or what we perceive to be that which needs to be next in priority, is led unwillingly down another path.  Refugees are a supreme example of those who often do desire to determine their own destiny, but are forced in another direction.

Our disruptions are other-led.

The question for those of us who wish to be disciplined?

Am I being led into the ditch of my own accord, or is someone else leading me?

When we answer that, we will know where our next step should take us.

Mary’s birthday party was yesterday.  Her birthday is on Tuesday.  At 100 years you take whatever opportunity you can to celebrate. 

We were glad to be part of the party.

Mary began life in 1916.  During the middle of a war.  Her teens were during the middle of depression.  She had children in the post war years, was widowed, remarried and widowed once again.  Her sight is dim but her mind is keen.

I enjoy our visits.  They are times to reminisce, to hear stories and to laugh.

Perhaps that is one trait of a long liver! 

Life is a series of events.  Those events can be measured in terms of seismic consequences.  Emotional, physical, spiritual, mental.

The scars can be seen as disfiguring, or enhancing.  Scars can be loving reminders or weighing encumbrances.  Mary embraces her years with love.

Mary is a bit of a historian.  Anyone 100 years old is a living archive.  She has chosen to be lively, not deadly.  She could walk another 100 years and her attitude would still call us into her life – just to see what would come next!

Mary, you are an example for us all.

I’m reading through the Old Testament Prophets.  In respect for the religion I practise, and in love with the God I follow, I have a desire to read these books.

Now, reading these books is not a thing you would just take up on your own.  A few pages in, and you are wondering who on earth this God is.  And why in heaven these people do the things they do.

Actually, it’s probably just the opposite.  God is in heaven and is not one of us (oops, the story of the New Testament kind of changes that).  People live here on earth and act like it (oops, the story of the New Testament kind of changes that).

So, back to the Prophets.

For the most part, the Old Testament prophets are like politicians at election time.  They carefully lay out their policies (given by God) and then denounce the other side (the false prophets).  Although the people get to vote on who they like (which is most often the false prophets), the outcome is still that which is laid out by the OT Prophets.

In our daily lives in the 21st Century we don’t walk around calling people prophets.  As I was reading one of the OT Prophets I wondered to myself who are the prophets of today. 

The answer was fairly quick to come.  The 21st Century prophets call themselves consultants.  A consultant is brought in to asses the current situation and to strategize a future.  Not all consultants are bad, not all are good.

So, as with the OT Prophets and their nemesises (what a great way to write out the bad guys), we need to be discerning.  In our day and age we roll too easily with what would give us the good life – prosperity, success and comfort.   And we tend to crucify the consultants who cause us: to think new thoughts; to spend our time reflecting on the past; and to change our ways in order to see a better day!

I’m almost up to Daniel, the prophet who played with lions.  “The big cat plays with the big cats.”  That could be another interesting blog!