I am at the place in life where some parts wake up quicker than others every morning. Years of “hey let me try this” and attempts at sports I was not deemed to play have taken a toll. However, I still wake each morning with exercise. If I wake on my face I do a push-up. If I wake on my back I do a sit-up. It is easy to wake and find reasons to complain as the body responds slower. It is easy to find reasons to complain as the TV is turned on and the morning news is gloomy. However, it is easier to find reasons to rejoice when one reads and listens to words from the one who created me.
He tells me to “Rejoice always”. I Thessalonians 5:16 is the 2nd shortest verse in the Bible (‘Jesus wept’ is the shortest, found in John 11:35). The commandment to ‘rejoice always’ (it is not a suggestion…’give a shot to rejoicing always’) is not only short but it is effective in changing your entire outlook. It is followed by a second verse that helps me know how to rejoice, “Pray always”. When I find it hard to rejoice I am reminded that I can take all my cares and concerns to a higher authority who has power and wisdom well beyond me to take care of all things in perfect order according to His power and wisdom. Philippians 4:6-7 tell me, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” In other words, don’t worry about anything but pray about everything and you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will then protect our hearts and minds as we live in Christ Jesus.
Without a deliberate decision to rejoice or celebrate constantly one can find reason to despair in almost every direction in this sin scarred world. However when one follows God’s command one develops a new perception. I have discovered the following truth, 'When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change'. One can find a reason to delight as the third verse of the important trilogy in I Thessalonians 5, verse 18, guides us to be thankful in all things for this is God’s will in Christ Jesus.
It is truly impossible to be thankful ‘for’ everything in life however, it is possible, helpful and commanded by our loving Father to give thanks ‘in’ the midst of all things. In everything we can find a reason to look up and be thankful. I am thankful that my aching body is able to get up each morning. I am thankful for the breath of life that starts my waking hours. I am thankful for the fun and life I enjoyed (which is better than I deserved) and now can look forward to exulting (“Rejoice always”) in the day ahead because no matter what faces me I am not alone. I can share it with the creator and ruler of the universe (“Pray without ceasing”). When I commit my life and day to Him I know that whatever happens is in Hands and I can be glad (“in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”)
Gonna be a good day!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
If You Have To Swallow A Frog...
I have a poster in my office with a picture of a large ugly frog and the following caption, “If you have to swallow a frog, don’t look at it. If you have to swallow a bunch of frogs, take the biggest one first.” Looking an ugly frog in the face with the knowledge that you have to swallow that sucker does not make the unpleasant task easier. Hopefully none of us will have to take that phrase literally but we know what it is to have unpleasant tasks staring us in the face. Putting things off rarely helps when dealing with an unpleasant task.
It was my day off. I wanted to spend the day doing something enjoyable. I already had experienced a long week and knew a heavy work weekend was waiting. However, the leak under the sink (due to a leaking garbage disposal) needed to be remedied. I prepared to ‘swallow the frog’ of replacing the disposal by getting everything ready ahead of time. They did not teach plumbing in seminary but I knew I could handle the task…after all I am a man as well as a Doctor! :-)
I woke ready to begin the task by doing something that humbled me…reading instructions (after all I am a man. We shouldn’t have to read instructions or ask directions!). In a few minutes I was finished with no leaks, cuts or bruises. Now I had the rest of the day to enjoy myself and it was only 7:30 AM. Putting off unpleasant tasks is rarely helpful. “If you have to swallow a frog, don’t look at it. If you have to swallow a bunch of frogs, take the biggest one first.”
Psychologists call this delayed gratification. It is a system of doing the less pleasing things first to have something pleasant waiting ahead. For example, if you enjoy pie but the crust is not as enjoyable as the point of the slice where most of the flavor lies, delay your gratification and save the most flavorful bite for last. People who live following a system of delayed gratification are usually happier and see more hopeful results ahead. They get the least favorable work over first and look forward to enjoying more pleasant tasks ahead. Putting unpleasant tasks off is rarely helpful.
Putting unpleasant tasks off is also rarely helpful when the unpleasant task involves getting something corrected in a relationship. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:22-25 to settle matters quickly when there is a problem in a relationship. The unresolved problem in the relationship will usually get worse if we put off or delay resolution and reconciliation. It also negatively affects our relationship with God as we cannot connect with Him properly until things are resolved with our brother or sister. He tells us to go and be reconciled with them then come back to Him.
Are there unpleasant tasks staring you in the face? Are there unresolved relationships that need to be resolved? If you need to forgive someone, don’t put it off or wait, go ahead. You will enjoy putting it behind you and enjoy the gratification you have been delaying. If you need to ask forgiveness of another and apologize don’t put it off. “If you have to swallow a frog, don’t look at it. If you have to swallow a bunch of frogs, take the biggest one first.”
It was my day off. I wanted to spend the day doing something enjoyable. I already had experienced a long week and knew a heavy work weekend was waiting. However, the leak under the sink (due to a leaking garbage disposal) needed to be remedied. I prepared to ‘swallow the frog’ of replacing the disposal by getting everything ready ahead of time. They did not teach plumbing in seminary but I knew I could handle the task…after all I am a man as well as a Doctor! :-)
I woke ready to begin the task by doing something that humbled me…reading instructions (after all I am a man. We shouldn’t have to read instructions or ask directions!). In a few minutes I was finished with no leaks, cuts or bruises. Now I had the rest of the day to enjoy myself and it was only 7:30 AM. Putting off unpleasant tasks is rarely helpful. “If you have to swallow a frog, don’t look at it. If you have to swallow a bunch of frogs, take the biggest one first.”
Psychologists call this delayed gratification. It is a system of doing the less pleasing things first to have something pleasant waiting ahead. For example, if you enjoy pie but the crust is not as enjoyable as the point of the slice where most of the flavor lies, delay your gratification and save the most flavorful bite for last. People who live following a system of delayed gratification are usually happier and see more hopeful results ahead. They get the least favorable work over first and look forward to enjoying more pleasant tasks ahead. Putting unpleasant tasks off is rarely helpful.
Putting unpleasant tasks off is also rarely helpful when the unpleasant task involves getting something corrected in a relationship. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:22-25 to settle matters quickly when there is a problem in a relationship. The unresolved problem in the relationship will usually get worse if we put off or delay resolution and reconciliation. It also negatively affects our relationship with God as we cannot connect with Him properly until things are resolved with our brother or sister. He tells us to go and be reconciled with them then come back to Him.
Are there unpleasant tasks staring you in the face? Are there unresolved relationships that need to be resolved? If you need to forgive someone, don’t put it off or wait, go ahead. You will enjoy putting it behind you and enjoy the gratification you have been delaying. If you need to ask forgiveness of another and apologize don’t put it off. “If you have to swallow a frog, don’t look at it. If you have to swallow a bunch of frogs, take the biggest one first.”
Monday, October 4, 2010
Eat More Ice Cream & Less Beans
Sunday evening I shared God’s wisdom from the book of Ecclesiastes. This ancient book is as contemporary as today’s newspaper, in fact it is more current as it is scripture that is alive and applies to each of us in our daily life. The writer of Ecclesiastes shared his reflection from his experiences in his life that would seem ‘rich’ to most but actually was empty without God. Whether we realize it or not or choose to admit it, all of us are in a daily pursuit of fulfillment, purpose and joy in our lives. We, like the author or Ecclesiastes, seek this fulfillment in many ways. Sadly enough, many come to the end of life with regrets as the pursuits did not give us the life we thought they would. Others overlook and miss the daily joy of life as they have a desire for other things, as Jesus described with the seed sown among thorns in his parable of the soils.
Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote “When All You Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough” based on Ecclesiastes search for a life that matters. I loved one sage piece of advice he shared from an unlikely source when he wrote, “I remember reading an interview once with an 85 year old woman from the hill country of Kentucky, who was asked to look back over her life and reflect on what she had learned. With that touch of wistfulness that inevitably accompanies any statement beginning ‘If I had it to do over…,’ she said, ‘If I had my life to live over, I would dare to make more mistakes next time. I would relax. I would be sillier, I would take fewer things seriously…I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles but fewer imaginary ones. You see, I one of those persons who never went anyplace without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute. If I had it to do again, I’d travel lighter.’”
Jesus says it this way in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." The writer of Ecclesiastes searched for meaning in life and became obsessed with death. He saw the grave as the great equalizer awaiting all. He never knew anyone who came back from the grave, therefore much of life seemed to be meaningless and a great burden from his perspecitve. The 85 year old from Kentucky looked back and thought of a more enjoyable way she could have traveled along life's journey.
Jesus tells us to learn from him. He has experienced life, death and came back to share the way to find meaning in this pressure packed life that often overburdens us. When we come to him and learn from him taking his mission as our undertaking we find rest for our souls. As we look for purpose and meaning in our journey let us learn to lighten the load by trusting all completely to Jesus. So when you feel as if the pressures of life are so heavy to the point that it seems as if you are under a personal attack take a breath and look to Jesus who tells us in John 10:10 that there is one who comes to rob and deprive us of life but “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote “When All You Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough” based on Ecclesiastes search for a life that matters. I loved one sage piece of advice he shared from an unlikely source when he wrote, “I remember reading an interview once with an 85 year old woman from the hill country of Kentucky, who was asked to look back over her life and reflect on what she had learned. With that touch of wistfulness that inevitably accompanies any statement beginning ‘If I had it to do over…,’ she said, ‘If I had my life to live over, I would dare to make more mistakes next time. I would relax. I would be sillier, I would take fewer things seriously…I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles but fewer imaginary ones. You see, I one of those persons who never went anyplace without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute. If I had it to do again, I’d travel lighter.’”
Jesus says it this way in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." The writer of Ecclesiastes searched for meaning in life and became obsessed with death. He saw the grave as the great equalizer awaiting all. He never knew anyone who came back from the grave, therefore much of life seemed to be meaningless and a great burden from his perspecitve. The 85 year old from Kentucky looked back and thought of a more enjoyable way she could have traveled along life's journey.
Jesus tells us to learn from him. He has experienced life, death and came back to share the way to find meaning in this pressure packed life that often overburdens us. When we come to him and learn from him taking his mission as our undertaking we find rest for our souls. As we look for purpose and meaning in our journey let us learn to lighten the load by trusting all completely to Jesus. So when you feel as if the pressures of life are so heavy to the point that it seems as if you are under a personal attack take a breath and look to Jesus who tells us in John 10:10 that there is one who comes to rob and deprive us of life but “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
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