Path to Amazing

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I don’t quote people very often. I feel that in some way, I’m taking credit for their articulate way of conveying thoughts when I write them as my words – even though I give the author full credit.  Today is one of the days that I have to share the words of another. If you know me, you understand why I’ve been diagnosed with Information Junkie syndrome. I read! Blogs, magazines, books, labels, and yes – I’ve been known to read junk mail, just because it’s there. I read the Bible and at least one, usually more pages of a devotional every day. Someone once referred to me as a human sponge. Hmmm…only true to the extent that once saturated, I have to be wrung out. You see, as obsessed as I am with reading, that obsession carries over to sharing what I’ve learned. I’m sure 90% of what I share in email gets deleted before opened – not everyone has the same obsession that I have. Perplexing as that may be.  (OK that was where you laugh.)

But back to my story and what I read today that caused me to read and re-read the few paragraphs in Seth Godin’s blog. “If you set your bar at “amazing, it’s awfully difficult to start. The only path to amazing runs directly through not-yet-amazing. But not-yet-amazing is a great place to start, because that’s where you are. For now. There’s a big difference between not settling and not starting.” I don’t remember how Seth Godin came to be one of the blogs I read, but he exudes wisdom coupled with logic in nearly every post.  This is how Wikipedia describes him. “an American entrepreneur, author and public speaker.” Well that’s certainly characteristic of about one million breathing people today.

Just prior to reading that, I had been focused on Colossians 2.  I wish I could copy the entire chapter here, but read with me a few meaningful highlights – then go back and read the entire chapter for yourself.  Think of this as Paul’s blog. Seriously! He wrote these words in a letter because as he says in the very first verse, “Not many of you have met me face-to-face, but that doesn’t make any difference. Know that I’m on your side, right alongside you. You’re not in this alone.” Scattered throughout the remaining chapter are these encouraging lines. “I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God…. My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given…. Live out your faith in the Master….be deeply rooted in him….do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! … grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.”  Much of the chapter is missing from that paragraph. But it spoke to me.

Last night during the graduation ceremony, every speaker gave advice to the graduates, but listeners in the audience were challenged along with them to plan for the future, work hard, enjoy each season of life, and make their lives amazing. As Seth said in his blog, we can’t start at amazing and amazing has no chance if we don’t start.  Two thousand years before, the Apostle Paul – the ultimate encourager – counseled in his blog, Start living in faith, what you already know to be true.  In Colossians 2:19 Paul says “God is the head and we are the body.” With God as the head, we can be amazing – but we have to start.

I hope this raises you up for today and for always.  Ephesians 3:20 God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=God4uk1Avj8

Be still

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Ok everyone . .  .UP UP UP everybody up! Rise and shine! Good Morning !

Ya know? Sometimes technology is not my friend. Today is one of those days.  So now that you’re up anyway, here’s my thought on what to do when a day starts out less than optimistic.  Change the song going through my head from ‘oh brother, what now’ to Psalm 40:3 “He has put a new song in my mouth— Praise to our God.” Here’s my teachable moment. Sometimes things don’t go according to my plan. Today’s little irritations were just that; tiny inconveniences.  But I know how easily those little things can mushroom into – well – what are mushrooms?  Fungus.

That’s not happening to my day and don’t let it happen to yours. This is a day to be thankful for something. Think of one thing, even the tiniest pleasant thought and let it germinate.  Today is a day that 2 Thessalonians 1:3 really speaks to me.  “You need to know, friends, that thanking God over and over for you is not only a pleasure; it’s a must. We have to do it. Your faith is growing phenomenally; your love for each other is developing wonderfully. Why, it’s only right that we give thanks….you’re so steady and determined in your faith despite all the hard times that have come down on you.”

We have to be thankful – stronger faith in God is fed through the cycle of being thankful. Sir Winston Churchill once said “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”  Today I had to listen to my head until it told my heart to start by being thankful – just be thankful.  Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.”

I hope you enjoy this new song by Amy Grant today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYUmQduBPjg

Where do you want to go today?

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Does anyone remember the Windows operating system that greeted you with the message “Where do you want to go today” trickling across the screen upon boot up? That message no longer appears and I’m pretty sure we no longer ‘boot up’ either.  We restart!  New operating system, new terminology, new ways to do the same things, and more ways to do new things. Every day, something new.

Last night I attended the high school awards program for graduating seniors at our local high school.  Our school is relatively small compared to many, but talk about potential! The printed program listed three pages of scholarships and monetary awards for the college bound and even a couple for a kid whose goal it was to work in a profession that didn’t require higher education. There were recognitions of graduates entering the military. Last night was a celebration leading up to the ultimate celebration that flips the tassel from kid to adult in one easy step. Then what?

‘Where do you want to go today?’ will be on their minds every morning for a long time. How about the rest of us?  Where do I want to go today?  Where do you want to go? We joke about the little poem “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go” because it’s partially true. Way back in an Organizational Behavior class I was taking, I learned about intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. In case you’re wondering:  Extrinsic motivation means the reason you work is to do more things and have better toys.  Extrinsic motivation says “Money doesn’t buy happiness; it just lets you look for it in a lot more places.”  Intrinsic motivation means the task itself and the environment you’re in brings you pleasure and that motivates you. Intrinsic motivation says, ”Find a job you love and you will never work a day in your life.”

Ecclesiastes 3:22 says “So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?”  Not all work is pleasant; in fact take any day of the week and there will be frustrations, miscommunication, conflicts, and 12 hours of work to fit into 8 hours of time.  Some have a long commute, others travel away from home when they’d rather be at home. Real life is like that. Somehow we ended up where we are.

To the graduating seniors and to each of us, I would say this. Where do you want to go today? If every day we find ourselves on the same path and aren’t enjoying any of it, maybe it’s the wrong path. A few years ago a graduating senior pondered her future I remember repeating to her the same words I’d heard my dad tell kids in our youth group back in the 1960s. “If you get up each day and do what God wants you to do for that day and repeat that every day of your life, you will end up living a lifetime inside God’s will.”  It’s a daily commitment. We all get off track. Some of us are so off track at times it takes the equipment of a surveyor to guide us back.

Where do you want to go today?  I want to enter my mission field, equipped with wisdom, understanding, and joy.  James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”  I want to live like Philippians 2 “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,  not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

That’s where I want to go today.  Good morning, world!

 

 

There is never too much of this

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Ok everyone . .  .UP UP UP everybody up! Rise and shine! Good Morning

There is never too much of this ….

I woke up this morning to the sound of pouring rain. My first thought? The sliders are open I hope the floor isn’t flooded. My next thought? If you’re guessing it was ‘Ugh! More rain. Why?’ you would be wrong.  My next thought was sincere conversation with God pleading with him to stop the devastation of tornadoes in Oklahoma City and the surrounding areas. Thousands of people in that area have just lost everything and they won’t understand, nor do I understand why they had to endure two days of damaging tornadoes.  Nothing can change the past, not when it’s the weather that we have no control over, or when it’s the effects of a wrong decision.  The past is over.  What can I learn from it?

Here’s one thing I learned August 29, 2005. Don’t complain about the weather! That day and the days after when the destruction of Hurricane Katrina was assessed, I promised God that I would never complain about the weather again.  I might whine a little over cancelled plans due to weather and I might grumble about icy roads for my long commute to work, but when I remember the ruined homes, businesses and lives from back then, I am thankful for the rain and snow we have in Michigan and am grateful that we don’t have hurricanes here.  True, we have tornadoes and we recently had flooding…..tempted to complain but without falling into the trap.

In these times, especially for all of us who have not been personally affected by the ravages of weather, there is never too much of this – praying, caring, and love. Love of others helps us keep things in perspective because when we love people we want what’s best for them and have compassion, even when there is little we can do or contribute.  Thank God for the blessings in your life and ask him for what you can do to be supportive.  There is never too much praying, caring, and love.

1 Corinthians 13:2-10

“If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av8Nn1etlFE

When Shattered is Good

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I’ve always been fascinated by kaleidoscopes. When I was a little girl my grandma had one in the toy box. I still remember it was made out of a cardboard tube with a tin top and hazy plastic bottom.  Not much to look at, but out of all the toys in the box, it was my favorite. Back then, I didn’t know how a kaleidoscope worked; I just knew that it did.

Last fall at the annual ArtPrize event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I saw a life-size kaleidoscope.  You know what?  I was still fascinated.  I had the opportunity to talk to the artist about his quest to find the perfect ingredients to craft his object for ArtPrize. Did you know the makeup of a kaleidoscope is from very basic materials? A tube, a few mirrors, some glass and plastic – nothing remarkable. Nothing remarkable. Does this sound familiar?  That’s me. That’s us. Don’t we feel like that sometimes?

We feel a little like that tube, all shiny on the outside, but pretty hollow on the inside. Sometimes we’re shattered by the circumstances we’re living with and are exhausted in trying to figure out how to get through the maze. Inside the tube, it’s dark. The remnants of shattered glass are everywhere. There are mirrors, but in this position they reflect nothing.  Let’s work on that. We are like a kaleidoscope in the making. All the ingredients are there; now we need the Master builder to perform His work in us. Jesus said in John 8:12 “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Like the kaleidoscope our lives are a potpourri of events, decisions, activities, and situations.  Some of them are exciting, others are bursting with happiness, we love those times and grasp them firmly in our memories.  Then there are broken dreams, shattered opportunities and we want to forget they ever happened.  Did you know God uses all of that – the good and the sorrowful – to make our lives beautiful and significant? The key is in our positioning.  We have to get into the place where the Light of the World enters the dark, hollow tube and reflects off the mirrors of our hearts.  All those fragmented pieces of glass, those times when we feel shattered, point them to the light and turn the filter while they fall into a beautiful design. The colors change and illuminate in patterns, each one unique, each one beautiful. Your life is unique and beautiful. All those broken toys, all those shattered plans, give them all to Jesus. He is the Light of the World and will make your life beautiful.

The kaleidoscope – unremarkable.  But when the position is just right, the light comes in, reflects off the mirrors, and the shards of glass illuminate with unique beauty.  I agree with David.  Psalm 40:8
I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.

The sun is rising on a new day.  Yesterday in one of his many life enhancing truisms, our pastor quoted Colossians 3:17  ”And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
to God the Father through him.”  Today I’m thankful for hope through the good and bad, the ups and downs of how life happens. I’m thankful for light in a dark world. Now hand me that Kaleidoscope!

What’s up with Sunday?

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I woke up this morning with this pouring from my heart:   Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole; I want Thee forever to live in my soul; Break down every idol, cast out every foe; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies, And help me to make a complete sacrifice; I give up myself, and whatever I know; Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Words by James Nicholson, 1872 (1828-1876)/ Music by William G. Fischer (1835-1912)
This song talks about idols ; not the kind we prop up in plain sight and bow down to, but things that get in the way of our relationship with God.

Ezekiel 20:19 “I am the Lord your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”  We are no longer under the strict laws of the Old Testament, but we are still implored to live a lifestyle that pleases God.  Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.”  I have no gold, silver, bronze, or ornate wooden object that doubles as a god, but I have habits and things that I often put ahead of my time with God.  Ezekiel 20:20 “Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.”  One way to show my dedication to God is by attending church – but read into this more than it says.  When I spend time with God whether in a house of worship or sitting on my floor at home – God craves that time with me and that’s where my faith is strengthened and my servant’s heart constructed.  God teaches me what is best for me Isaiah 48:17 “This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”

It’s Sunday, a day to celebrate life in the most extraordinary way – in worship and in honor and in reverence to God, the creator, the keeper, the sustainer of all things.  Are you planning to be in the 25% of people who attend church 3 times each month? Or in the 40% who have attended church – um…sometime but the memory is vague? If you’re in the other 35%, why not try it today?  There’s a church around the corner.  Go to be encouraged. Go to be spiritually filled up after a draining week. Go because God loves you and longs to teach you what is best for you.

Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

1 Corinthians 14:26 “What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.”

Sometimes I wonder why God doesn’t take the desire from me to write this blog. Somehow I stumbled onto this passage of scripture and decided maybe it goes something like this:  Psalm 71:18 “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.”  So if you’re reading this and wonder too.  Now you know.

 

Honored by awards

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I was touched.  Wait! I am blessed!  Twice in one week my blog talkkindnesstome was nominated for an honorary award.  One is the Sunshine Blog Award and the other is the Super Sweet Blogging Award.  Now I’m thrilled to be spreading this encouragement and joy to you.  I hope it isn’t cheating to nominate you for both awards. I’ll include the ‘rules’ below so you can pass it on and feed your favorite bloggers a healthy dose of enthusiasm.

The Sunshine Blog Award

The rules of the game are as follows:
1. Link back to your nominator.
2. Add the award image to your page.
3. Share 7 facts about yourself.
4. Nominate 5–10 other blogs (and let them know).

My nominator for the Sunshine Blog Award is Miss Sunshine herself.  http://sunshinescrapbook.wordpress.com

The Sunshine image issunshine-blog-award

Seven random facts about me

  1. I have been blogging about 7 months.  My blogs are all about encouragement for each day.
  2. I don’t like evaluating anyone’s work or actions.
  3. My passion is writing and education.
  4. My goal is to live out my passion by writing online courses and blogging.
  5. I love working and the thought of retiring gives me hives.
  6. I’ve been happily married for 42 years and still going.
  7. My purpose:  Live my life in such a way that those who don’t know God will want to know God because they know you.

 Now here is the rule-set for the Super Sweet Blogging Award

To accept the award I have to do five things:

  1. Thank the nominator for nominating me.  Thank you, thank you, thank you arianazuber! http://arianazuber.wordpress.com/
  2. Answer the 5 Super Sweet questions
  3. Include the Super Sweet logo in this post. You’ll see it below.
  4. Nominate other bloggers for this award.
  5. Notify my nominees on their blogs

1. Thanks — Thank you arianazuber! I really appreciate your kindness.

2. Here are the Super Sweet questions:

  • Cookies or Cake??? –  I love cookies the most! I especially love snickerdoodles.
  • Chocolate or Vanilla?  Most definitely vanilla.  I love vanilla bean most of all.
  • Favorite Sweet Treat? My favorite sweets cinnamon rolls.
  • When Do You Crave Sweets? I don’t crave sweets often, but after a big meal is when I crave them the most.  Go figure. I think it’s because a big meal is usually consumed with family on a holiday and I don’t want it to end.  Having sweet desserts extends the time.
  • Sweet Nickname? Janie

3. Super Sweet LogoSuper sweet blogging award

4. Now for my Sunny and Sweet nominees.  And because I couldn’t decide which award was most fitting, I’m nominating these for both awards.  I’m very, very bad at choosing favorites.

 http://arianazuber.wordpress.com

http://sunshinescrapbook.wordpress.com

http://kathrynwarmstrong.wordpress.com

http://ellenolinger.wordpress.com/

http://boyslumber.wordpress.com/

http://exreligiouschristian.wordpress.com/

http://strategiclearner.wordpress.com

http://memoriesofsalvation.wordpress.com/

http://aholisticjourney.wordpress.com/

http://acaffeinatedbrunette.com