April 3rd - Power and Momentum

The story...

We moved to a home in the woods - lots of trees.  I worked a desk job so the strenuous physical activity felt good.  The lumberjack cycle includes tree felling, sawing, hauling, splitting, stacking, stump removal, and wood burning.  One of the transferrable skills was wood splitting.  You need to swing the 8-lb maul with momentum to split.  If you miss the mark, or swing with less than 100%, then ya got ta do it again - fatiguing and slow.  So, I became proficient with the splitting maul.  

We have a county fair site near our home.  One day my family and a few friends were strolling through the fair midway.  There they were!

One swing and I rang the bell. The strike felt natural, rather easy, and the sound of the bell ringing gave me a feeling of joy.  Oh, the sound of cheers from those I love.

Similarly, I hope that feelings of joy would occur frequently within the only church in town.  The cheers would be a witness to the power of God worked out through His people - the power of a new nature worked out in actualities.

Just for today...

"Who I am, not what I do, makes me worthwhile."  Hope for Today (p. 94)

February 28th - A ripe old age

The story...

"Abraham breathed his last and died at a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people." (Genesis 25:8 NASB). What does it mean to die at a ripe old age?

Katherine Kyle wrote a helpful article that listed seven signs that a banana is ripe and healthy to eat: 

1. brown spots
2. soft when squeezed  
3. no green on the stem
4. snaps off stem easily
5. easy to peel with no resistance
6. no sound when peeling
7. doesn't leave film on teeth

So, what are the signs that a person dies at a ripe old age?  I expect they'd be considered ripe if they fully worked out their life as their Creator willed.  Maybe they've used up their gifts and resources toward fulfilling their purpose - bearing fruit along the way?

How would people work out their life within the only church in town?  First they'd have an ongoing relationship with God through prayer and mediation.  Then, I expect that the community would offer, and encourage, the application of each members gifts in accordance with the will of God.  They'd  need to know, teach and affirm the knowable will of God.  Then, I expect we'd see the fruits of God's Spirit being worked out along the way.  Like the spots on the banana we'd sense: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Kindness, Faithfulness and Self Control within the people as they worked out their lives together.

What a joy it would be to know that I died at a "ripe old age."  Who would merely opt to die at an old age?

Just for today...

How might I best apply what's available to me within the next hour?  Pondering that thought seems good yet a first step of action seems better.   If you're down - walk alongside an encourager in truth.

February 27th - Rejection

The story...

A few years ago, I performed a personal inventory, an attempt of a searching moral inventory of me, and recorded my findings in a blue book.  The process was good for me mentally and also for those parts of me that are deep down inside - that stuff that's the essence of who I am. 

I periodically open my blue book to both reflect on what I learned and to make a few additions too. The big "aha" moment, from my personal inventory, was that I fear rejection and that fear works its way out in ways that I don't like.  I was surprised the first time that I considered the idea that "I feared rejection" - I was surprised it might be true.  Yet, I answered the inventory questions honestly and it did seem that this fear might be motivating me to behave in ways that I didn't want to.  So, I ordered a related book, Bouncing Back from Rejection, by Leslie Becker.  The book both confirmed this latent truth about me and taught me that I could reduce my sensitivity to rejection by bringing my awareness to it.

It feels good to be more honest with myself and less guarded too.  Strangely, it seems that just sharing this experience with others seems to help them to move towards a better way too - encouragement.  Yes, in the only church in town, we might best walk through life side by side rather than tending towards isolation.

Just for today...

"We can help one another find out the meaning of life . . . But in the last analysis, each is responsible for 'finding himself.'"   No Man Is an Island - Thomas Merton

Blueprint for Progress   ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0910034425