This is 6 minutes but well worth the time….when you have it.
“It’s a great moment when someone has character to step up and do the right thing at the right time.” Pam Knox, Head Coach Western Oregon
Category Archives: life
Touching them all.
Filed under life, Randomness
Freedom, I won’t let you down.
I promise not to continue titling my blog posts lyrics from random songs. Well, I don’t promise. But, I won’t make a habit out of it. I don’t think.
My favorite July 4th memory was 5 years ago. I ran the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta early in the a.m., hopped on the good ‘ol Beechcraft Duke with Kris and flew to Grand Lake. Only to spend it with two of our closest friends on their completely awesome boat watching completely awesome fireworks and F-14’s fly over. Life’s not bad.
– Thanks to freedom and the ability of free persons to pursue great things.
Charles de Gaulle said, “History does not teach fatalism. There are moments when the will of a handful of free men breaks through determinism and opens up new roads.”
Happy Fourth!
Do you have a favorite 4th memory?
Filed under life, Randomness
Cashing in.
I love a good poker game. I was a fan of poker when Texas Hold ‘Em wasn’t cool. I’ve always been able to relate many of life’s moments to a game of skill and chance.
Even Kenny Rogers related life to knowing when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em.
Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about.
· Sometimes we win. Sometimes we lose.
· Sometimes we aren’t sure but find the risk worth it.
· Sometimes we don’t pay attention to the table and make poor decisions.
· Sometimes we don’t pay attention to the table and really luck out.
· Sometimes we are dealt a bad hand.
· Sometimes it’s a good idea to cash in.
So, here is my point. How do you know when it’s okay to cash in?
Here’s my real life example.
During my tumultuous first pregnancy, I hung in there hoping that things would work themselves out between my husband and me. I’ll never forget my good friend telling me, “No one would blame you if you cashed your chips in now.”
And while I wasn’t quite ready to cash in, I always appreciated that statement.
Eventually, I knew it was time to cash in, and I did. But not after I had exhausted every resource, prayed every prayer, and allowed for a thousand opportunities. I had to know that I cashed in after playing the best game I could with the cards I had been dealt. To be honest, I feel like I did.
And, I would say to anyone….
Before you give up on your career, your children, or your marriage, play the rounds the very best you can. Give God every opportunity to deal you a couple of Aces in the hole. But also remember, God cannot affect another’s will. Well, I suppose He could if He wanted, but that’s not His style. And sometimes the choices of others force us to cash in even when we don’t want to. If at the end of the day, you have done all you can do, no will blame you for cashing in. And, if you remain faithful to Him, He is sure to deal you a better hand next time. When He does, it’s up to you to play it well.
Have you ever cashed in?
Filed under life
Do Over.
Remember when you were a kid playing one of those recess games, and someone would yell, “DO OVER!” And, usually he got his do-over? Life’s not always so simple. There have been many circumstances in my twenty-three thirty-three years I wish I could do over.
Like the time I told my parents I was going to see Driving Miss Daisy with friends, and I cruised up and down Taylor Street instead. My mom asked me which theater the movie was playing in….smart little booger….. “the left theater, center theater or right theater?”
“The, the, the left!” I answered.
How could I not know it was the center? After all, the movie was filmed in my hometown. Why wouldn’t it take center stage? I wish I could do that one over. It would have saved me two weeks of grounding.
I’d also like a do-over on the time I colored my hair orange, my last speeding ticket, and probably the chips and queso I ate yesterday. Oh, who am I kidding? I’d so eat the chips and queso again today.
Point is, we all have something in life we’d like to get a do-over on. For most of us, they are not things as trivial as mentioned above. We’d like a do-over on a friendship, a marriage, a job – you know what I’m talkin’ about. And, while we can’t get do-over’s on those things, we do get a do-over every day with God.
Many people think we serve a God who stands over us with a giant rock, ready to crush it on our little heads. A God whose wrath is fierce. A God who positions Himself to punish His children at a moment’s notice.
That’s not Him.
At the second we ask Him to create a clean heart in us, He does. He is a God who loves. A God who forgives. We don’t have to earn it. We don’t have to work for it. The price has already been paid. He freely gives, we freely receive.
I get a do-over every morning. I’m glad I do. I need it.
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
The Risk-Taker
I used to be this girl. No, I never sat on top of private jets. A Buick, maybe. But never a jet. Anna has this amazing quality in that she will pretty much try anything once. She fears little. Her only fears are ones that I’ve instilled in her, specifically a fear of frogs. I understand these nasty amphibians are harmless. I just prefer not to host a party for them in my backyard.
She is courageous for two simple reasons: 1) She believes the reward is greater than the risk, and 2) She has complete trust in her mom and dad.
As a parent to a risk-taker, I have to keep my eyes on her almost constantly, lest she put herself in danger. That is the tough part. But, I also have the incredible opportunity to help her appropriately channel her willingness to jump into things that will be for her betterment. That’s the cool part.
So, where did I lose my leap before I look temperament?
There was a day I would go all in at the poker table. Skydive? Bring it on. Had money been no object at 20, I feel certain I could have begun a successful business of some sort. But, somewhere along the way I was no longer under my parents’ covering, mortality became more evident, and then I became a mother. And that changed everything.
There are certain risks that I do not take out of fear of my children being without me. Then, there are risks that I do not take because of a lack of trust.
I can say that I trust God, but sometimes, my fears prove otherwise. Why don’t I write a book? Because, maybe no one will read it. It might suck! So, what if it does? What if I completely write some crap that never leaves a bookshelf? What if a publishing company turns me down? Great. Then I have a couple hundred pages written for naught.
If Anna is teaching me one thing it is to do it anyway – even if I skin my knees or have to go the E.R. to get my head stapled. Not in a careless kind of way, but with the realization that the reward outweighs the risk. And, nothing great comes out of playing it safe.
And, once we realize that we serve a God that always goes before us. Who said that we can do all things in Him that strengthens us, then we just might accomplish some great things.
I hope I am successful in one day transferring Anna’s trust in her dad and me to the One who created her. Then, her achievements through Him will be limitless.
Is fear keeping you from doing something? What are you going to do about it?
Rebuilding of a broken life.
If anyone could relate to this topic, it was Nehemiah. How we deal with adversity says more about our character than anything else. Want to know what someone is really like? Watch them when things go wrong; when they are inconvenienced; when someone cuts them off in traffic. We can learn a whole lot from Nehemiah in how he dealt with adversity – how he rebuilt a wall – how God rebuilt a life.
I count it one of my greatest honors to aid my dad in preparing for messages. Sometimes he incorporates my research and thoughts, and other times he kind of ignores them. Who does he think he is? A pastor who has been preparing messages all on his own for the past thirty plus years? Sheesh.
Well, since he does use some of my thoughts, I figured I could use some of his. To follow is an excerpt from some of his notes on Nehemiah. He is one of our greatest examples to dealing with adversity and rebuilding a broken life.
PRINCIPLES FOR REBUILDING:
· You need to set a time for completion.
5 I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.” 6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request. Nehemiah 2:5-6
· You need the right materials to rebuild.
· You need not give in to discouragement.
1 Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, 2 saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices?* Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap – and charred ones at that?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” Nehemiah 4:1-3
· You need to know that what you are rebuilding is worth the effort.
2 So Sanballat and Geshem sent a message asking me to meet them at one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But I realized they were plotting to harm me, 3 so I replied by sending this message to them: “I am engaged in a great work, so I can’t come. Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?” Nehemiah 6:2-3
15 So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun. 16 When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God. Nehemiah 6:15-16
How do you respond to discouragement or adversity?
Filed under life, Spiritual Journey
DustyTakle.com 