Alt,Z

I’ve often wondered how different my life would be if there was a three-second delay between my actions and when their results would be manifested–like an ALT,Z for life.

Much like the radio shows that operate live, instead of Alt,Z to comply with regulations, language codes, and patron consideration.  I could use the two or three second delay to view my actions within the context of personal values, goals and perhaps just building stronger relationships.

The use of this capability could help me to avoid paying the “stupid tax” for behaviors that were a bit too spontaneous or self-centered.

Think of the possibilities!

In the end, I suppose with my analytical nature, I would likely spend my entire life on rewind trying to predict the long-term consequences of my actions. Looking back there have been times when I was smack dab in the middle of a stupid horizon that lasted months…without the slightest inkling of how that period in my life would truly unfold through time. In this case, the effect of Alt,Z wouldn’t be enough, and if I used it I would risk loosing some little gems that were intermingled in that span of time.

I’ve planted some stupid, and reaped some desperate as the result, but I still think for now Alt,Z wouldn’t be the best option for life on the whole. I best stick to learning by mistakes, making improvements and moving forward to the future that I plan for; one I invest in day-by-day through a balance of measured discipline and dreams.

Unusual Service Opportunity

I came across an unusual service opportunity today as I was leaving for work.  There smack dab in the middle of the sidewalk lie a beetle in distress-—all limbs flailing about in an effort to right itself.  I nudged it with the side of my foot without much effect, then offloaded my stuff in the car and came back to help. In the end, it was a banking envelope and a finger nudge that got it flipped and on its way-—but, then it started heading for the street!  When I left, it was safely on my lawn, heading in which direction, I’m uncertain.

In life, there have been many times that no matter how I approached a situation, how much I sacrificed for a desired outcome, I felt helpless to fix something.   So, odd as it may seem, I could actually empathize with that beetle.

I’m now wondering, if in the times I struggle the most, perhaps, I’m actually spinning around on my back-—not realizing I can get started in the right direction ONLY after I’m flipped over onto my feet.

I’m grateful for this opportunity to show compassion, and I would like to ask, should you ever find me spinning about on my back-—seemingly unaware of my predicament—-please feel free to remind me of the “beetle experience!”

There’s no guarantee that I’ll head for the yard, but at least I’ll be on my feet again.

Rewards?

One of the greatest joys in my life is currently named Oliver.  Oliver is a small Pomeranian / Chihuahua mix, with long, golden hair.

Helping Oliver fit into the family has naturally required some training.  While we give him treats occasionally, just for the fun of it, typically they are reserved for potty training.  However, there was one area that the use of treats resulted in unintended consequences.

One day when leaving for work, I grabbed the child gate that we use to block him from the carpeted areas.  He heard the rattling and came running.  Skidding around the corner he practically dove into the kitchen.  I thought that was strange; I’ve never seen a dog so eager to be caged… and it got me to thinking, “What is this all about?”

It wasn’t long before I had my answer.

Initially, our son was home early in the afternoon, and would keep Oliver company.  When Nick entered college, his days became longer and I felt the pain of guilt leaving little Oliver home for longer periods of time.

It was then that I began to give him “the best” treats on my way out the door to console him, but it was really me I was consoling.  As you can imagine, it wasn’t long before Oliver associated the treat with the cage rather than my leaving.

The idea of him running for a cage rubbed me the wrong way, but the pattern was established and I wasn’t sure how he would take it if I suddenly withdrew the goodies.

It was a powerful lesson for me to see this process, because it offered an analogy for my own life.  After all, how many cages do I eagerly run into time-after-time because of the “reward?”  And, is it really  a reward or a penalty that just happens to taste good?  Have I learned to associate a reward with the wrong things?  What are my underlying motivations?  Am I obtaining outcomes I desire?  No; most certainly not—at least in the areas where treats are concerned.

So, what is it that I should do to change this aspect of my life?  Should I look for the hidden trap, or fencing that I’ve been overlooking?  Perhaps, if I keep an eye out for the negative consequences, I will have more resolve to resist these negative pursuits. Keeping my focus outward on the bigger picture is likely to reveal more of the subtleties that I’ve been missing, which I’m hopeful will lead me along a new direction to increased freedom in my daily life.

Trucking With Dents

I busted up laughing as I came along side a big rig the other day. What I saw was not so much funny as ironic. The front fender was clearly rippled and just painted over without being repaired. Who ever saw a big rig with a bent fender? It doesn’t say much about the company’s ability to deliver cargo safely. Wouldn’t that be a worthwhile investment, I wondered?

I’ll probably never know why the company did this, but it got me thinking.  Many of us traveling life’s highways are doing so with damaged fenders. We might know of areas that need to be dealt with, but life is so demanding, we resist the added distraction of walking through another unresolved issue. So, we pretend it isn’t there—not realizing the full impact it is having on our life and those around us.

Pretending a problem isn’t there is much like the trucking company throwing a fresh coat of paint over the dented fender. Even if we manage to live life uprightly, when it comes to the condition of our heart—that is where Gods wants to see change the most.  God desires for our hearts to be transformed, so that we can experience the fullness of His love, and begin to walk in truth and love without being restricted by our past.

It might sound obvious when stated so plainly, but Christianity is less about a set of outward behaviors, and more about the internal process of seeking Him and becoming willing to move beyond limitations and toward release and deliverance.

Gates of Heaven

I am now convinced that the gates of heaven–the gates into God’s presence–are not that of sculpted iron, but of flesh and bone, and take the form of hands and arms raised in praise to the Almighty.

Bruised Soul

I was eating an apple today.  When I looked closely at it, I saw a bruise that ran from the skin fairly close to the core.

The Lord showed me that the bruise in this apple was very much like a recent bruise in my soul.  Knowing that bruised fruit soon turns to rot and decay, I immediately felt saddened by this picture.  Until that is, He reminded me that, as children of God, we have not been plucked from the vine as this apple had been; rather, we are still connected to the Tree Of Life.  Because of this, God can exact the wounded area and restore it with His loving process.  Therefore, any new thing that grows in its place will be a reflection of Christ.

Lord, I thank you for this revelation as it allows me the peace to enter back into your presence—knowing the healing process might not be comfortable, but with the trust that you will work a positive change.

How Are You Wired?

What are you wired for?  What is your particular bent?  Are you drawn to working with numbers, scuba gear, children or paints?

What is your passion in life, and what are you doing with it?  How are you helping and working and giving and expressing and climbing and presenting and becoming a better more productive, more excellent you?

Tells Us About You!  What Do You Have To Offer?

Life is short, you know.  You must accomplish something magnificent and memorable for your life to be counted.

Whoa!  Overload!  Wait A Minute!

I’m valuable in the eyes of God regardless of my talent or profession, and regardless of what I do with it.

Mind you.  God is thrilled to see us blossom and grow into people who actually want to give.  I wasn’t a naturally giving person in my twenties.  Some people reach that point very early on and you hear about children making blankets and delivering goods to the homeless. He continues to develop a generous heart within me, but this process is ongoing and He loves me where I am at.

I wasn’t a naturally confident person in my twenties either; in fact I was a nervous wreck.  Today, I am reaching out and the Lord has helped me to walk beyond many of the old fears.  More importantly, I recognize His companionship in the trying times, even when I get a little sideways.

Perfectionism has also been a problem for me.  When I earned a D in my Junior High drawing class, it wasn’t because I had no ability.  It actually had more to do with me erasing every imperfect line before a picture could form on the page.  Now I seek out projects and mediums that prohibit perfection, so that I don’t get stuck so easily.  God has had a big part in my moving through many trouble spots.

There are two points to be made here.  First, it is about process, where we began and where we finish—growing closer to God and people along the way.  Second, God doesn’t give us a passion or appointment, so we can turn around and use it to justify our existence; He loves us despite our abilities and inabilities.

The passion or appointment is so we can find a place of service in the body of believers.  He knows that any society needs different things accomplished.  It doesn’t make sense to have everyone with the same skills.  He wants us to need each other, so that we will be drawn to protecting and growing community.  Where one is weak the other is strong.  It has nothing to do with status, title, recognition or accomplishment; it has everything to do with building relationship!

Hidden Trees

Sometimes we have hidden trees in our lives that are growing behind the scenes.  I suppose this is true of good and bad. It can be after years of coaching by the Holy Spirit that we begin to recognize the spiritual fruits in our lives. The affect of sin can also take years to fully manifest.

Behind the colored glass in the image above, there is an ink drawing of a tree.  The only place the entire tree can be seen is through a pin-whole bubble in the glass; and that pin-whole bubble can only be seen at very close proximity with a macro lens.  In reality, the tree is as large as the glass, but the color in the foreground camouflages it.  In most areas only glimpses appear as simple shadowing behind the lighter more translucent areas.

We are likely to be more aware of the shadowing of sin in our closest relationships and in areas where the light of Christ is applied more intensely. This is due to the proximity of those relationships and also as the truth of Christ creates translucency in our soul—allowing sin areas to be revealed in contrast.

It might show up as a fleeting moment of darkness in our hearts, or a disruption in a relationship, but over time, surely as in this picture, a larger reality could be developing. It is important to heed the shadow areas as they are revealed.  Because, every good and evil thing in our lives will either grow or die as it receives nourishment.

The goal is to feed those things, which are of the Spirit, and allow truth, accountability and honest confrontation to choke out the rest.

Webbed Feet

I was in a fast-food parking lot when this fellow approached me for some free fries.  When I was growing up, Seagulls were a common occurrence at the beach, and while I noticed them closer to home, I never quite understood what their lure would be to the parking lots across suburbia.

I recognized it as odd behavior, but I didn’t fully understand just how odd until I watched this bird gingerly walk toward me on asphalt with its webbed feet.

Animals are usually suited for one environment over another.  Walruses can lumber across the land, but they are much better swimmers.  A duck’s body seems better equipped for floating.  While they might spend long hours in the sky, they don’t forget their ultimate destination.

This Seagull, in contrast, has webbed feet.  Why the heck is he living miles from the water?  Does he even realize he is out-of-place, or is he just going for the easy food—not even realizing water is available?

As Christians, we have a special appointment from God through the infusion of the Holy Spirit. We do need to be able to operate in the world to win others to Christ.  That doesn’t mean, however, that we need to be so comfortable in the world that our nourishment comes from the same source as those around us.  To thrive as Christians, and to be transformed, our sustenance needs to come through communion with the Father.

In other words, we can fly to the parking lot, but we shouldn’t hang out there too long.  With regard to “lifestyle,” we need to be careful not to support the unhealthy habits of Christians close to us.  Even more importantly, we need accountability in our problem areas, so that sinful patterns are not allowed to continue.  This process hinges on the word and letting it feed us, so that we can recognize truth from error.

The alternative is to become like the world.  As this Seagull, we’ll be living a life outside of our appointment and the glory-filled one that God intended for us.

Release

As with any abstract art, you can usually see different things depending on the orientation of the image.

When looking at the image above, I can see a vibrant cross, with the center beam made of rope.  This makes a lot of sense to me when I think about how tied up I can get without Christ in my life.  The vibrancy is symbolic for the freedom and peace often found when walking in harmony with Him.

Yet, when the image is rotated to the left, it looks more like teeth biting down on a rope.  The clenching of teeth is how we can feel when caught up in worry and the spiritual penalties of sin.

This image provides two very opposite references to our inner state of being and how that is tied not only to how we live our lives, but how closely we orient ourselves to the Father.

As Christians, sometimes, we live separate from God and then try to catch up in the quite moments.  This isn’t because we want our hearts to be distant from Him, but because we haven’t quite figured out how to incorporate Him into our every-day life.  In this scenario, we end up flip-flopping; kind of like rowing a boat with one oar in the water–we don’t get very far.

There isn’t a snappy close to this post, but rather an invitation to prayer.  Perhaps we can start by asking for reminders throughout the day.  When we commit to do this, we will learn to connect with Him often, and not just when we manage to break away from the business.

Leaning Tree

When traveling, My husband and I stopped at a small public park.  While there, we came a upon a row of three trees.  The furthest two had an interesting story to tell.

The first one was leaning severely, and we could tell it had fallen over before it was established.  Considering its predicament, it seemed to be a strong tree.  It was sad knowing that one catastrophic event would leave it to grow unnaturally.

It wasn’t as obvious in comparison to the toppled tree, but the second one was also growing abnormally; this time, from about the middle up.  Since this was a public park both were probably planted with proper soil and scheduled watering, so why in the absence of a significant event was the second tree growing crooked?

The answer was found when looking at its relationship to the first tree.  You see, tree one had fallen over and was blocking the sun.  Tree two adjusted its growth pattern to navigate the disruption.  It needed to contort itself slowly over dime to adapt to the dysfunction of the first tree.

It is much the same with human relationships.  We all tend to have wounds and unresolved issues, especially from our early years when we might not have had the understanding to process hurtful experiences.

Sometimes memories and feelings are so intense that we spend our entire lives trying to avoid them in an effort to “survive.”  Keeping our minds and lives overly busy with constant distraction to distance the pain.

Deep wounds can also distort our perceptions and cause us to be harsh with others; demanding that everyone adjust to our temperament and social requirements.

The important thing to emphasize is that unresolved wounds continue to create more wounds, within and without.  Because of this, it is important to seek guidance and support from God and those ordained to help, so that we can move into a healthier future.

We have a loving and compassionate Father who knows us inside and out.  He actually wants to reach into our lives and help us to the other side.  Let us seek Him continually, so that He can breathe new life into our souls and bring healing to the unrest.