What a whirlwind week! Iowa to Orlando and back led to many different people and places to see, food to eat, and miles to walk; a wonderful not as planned trip. I have had so many different blog ideas from the trip, but I wanted to start with one that struck me as we went to some Disney parks. The theme Celebrate Today is on the banners as you approach. I love that phrase – Celebrate Today. In two simple words, this sums up a very complex idea.
Celebrate, take the saved for important and special occasions eat on the good china mentality, and apply it. It is an appreciation of the small and big things, a mentality that seeks out the good. When we look for the good, it is often that which we see. If I celebrate something, I am often looking forward to it. I anticipate the enjoyment of the moment, the sharing of a time or purpose with others.
Today, notice the immediacy of that – really stop and take notice. Today, not tomorrow where we are looking forward to something which has not arrived. Today, not yesterday when we are looking back on what was and cannot be changed. Today, the immediate moment, the time we have and can change.
Celebrate today. I am going to challenge myself to keep that Disney mentality moving forward. I hope you do to.
Showing posts with label future. Show all posts
Showing posts with label future. Show all posts
Monday, November 8, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Winding Down the Clock – Winding Up the Fire
This week kicked off a life changing event for around four thousand teens and their youth leaders in Columbus, Ohio. It is called Challenge, a national youth event put on by the EFCA church denomination every two years. Imagine a conference/concert/mission trip/team building event packed into one week and you have a glimpse of Challenge. I went to something similar in high school, called Life. Life was a yearly event brought by the Christian Missionary Alliance denomination. These events are intended to be more than just a big youth party, a frenzy of speakers and stuff – they are intended and purposed to be life changing moments for those in attendance.
Imagine that life goes along and then something pivotal happens. You can choose to what angle it will move you, to a large or small degree, but you are in a moment where movement can occur. And not just any movement, but big movement, this is the moment that all of those who have worked so hard in speaking and performing and preparing are really striving toward.
Saturday, they are heading home. Packed into buses, vans, airplanes, and cars, all of those who spilled into the city to partake of this time are now leaving. As the group I know moves back across the US in the vans, I have been thinking about their prayer requests and about how they will have a life change.
A substance used to exist, for the most terrible of battlefield tools, Greek fire. Greek fire was a chemical reaction; put a series of materials together, mix, add air, throw it onto something and it would catch into a brilliant flame of searing heat. It was not put out with water, but burned until it was out of fuel. As the teens and leaders come back, they will have a new life and enthusiasm with them. How could you not with that kind of environment? For a whole week, speakers, helpers, and leaders have poured themselves into you, with the express purpose of loving you as God loves you.
The return home is the time when you start finding out if the fire within you is a regular fire or Greek fire. You start facing daily challenges, must now decide to put changes into practice, deal with adversity, face disappointments and frustrations, and experience life. Along the way, there are buckets of water and various other substances that are thrown onto your fire. Other methods are tried to put you back as you were. Don’t be fearful of running out fuel for the fire, God is the ultimate provider and is the creator of all. The fuel will not be removed, though it certainly may change over time.
I am so looking forward to hearing the stories of this week. I want to hear about the songs and stories, the hotel and city, the unexpected and delighted. But even more, I am looking forward to hearing the stories in five or fifteen or twenty five years. I want to hear stories of what the changes were in a life from pivotal change, what kind of fire was lit, and how life was altered, altered forever.
Imagine that life goes along and then something pivotal happens. You can choose to what angle it will move you, to a large or small degree, but you are in a moment where movement can occur. And not just any movement, but big movement, this is the moment that all of those who have worked so hard in speaking and performing and preparing are really striving toward.
Saturday, they are heading home. Packed into buses, vans, airplanes, and cars, all of those who spilled into the city to partake of this time are now leaving. As the group I know moves back across the US in the vans, I have been thinking about their prayer requests and about how they will have a life change.
A substance used to exist, for the most terrible of battlefield tools, Greek fire. Greek fire was a chemical reaction; put a series of materials together, mix, add air, throw it onto something and it would catch into a brilliant flame of searing heat. It was not put out with water, but burned until it was out of fuel. As the teens and leaders come back, they will have a new life and enthusiasm with them. How could you not with that kind of environment? For a whole week, speakers, helpers, and leaders have poured themselves into you, with the express purpose of loving you as God loves you.
The return home is the time when you start finding out if the fire within you is a regular fire or Greek fire. You start facing daily challenges, must now decide to put changes into practice, deal with adversity, face disappointments and frustrations, and experience life. Along the way, there are buckets of water and various other substances that are thrown onto your fire. Other methods are tried to put you back as you were. Don’t be fearful of running out fuel for the fire, God is the ultimate provider and is the creator of all. The fuel will not be removed, though it certainly may change over time.
I am so looking forward to hearing the stories of this week. I want to hear about the songs and stories, the hotel and city, the unexpected and delighted. But even more, I am looking forward to hearing the stories in five or fifteen or twenty five years. I want to hear stories of what the changes were in a life from pivotal change, what kind of fire was lit, and how life was altered, altered forever.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Row of Flowers
Sitting in church Sunday, in the pew row directly to my front and right there were several little girls sitting together. Made up of sisters and friends with the age range spreading throughout elementary school, the pew was soon covered with a variety of toys, coloring, and other little girl things. They were such fun to watch. During the worship, they were combinations of movement as they sang and danced, colored and wrote. My mother referred to them as a row of flowers. In many ways, they were just that.
A row of little lives, small but important, precious and unique moments caught and made up in their movements and actions. Planted in the love their parents have for each of them, watered as people pour themselves into them, fed with care and hope – such a beautiful little row of flowers indeed. Perhaps a hyacinth, a lupine, a daisy, a lavender, and a peony all in a row. Each has its own color, fragrance, structure, and distinctiveness. But, they are each beautiful flowers in the garden.
Looking at these little flowers in the row, I found myself wondering who else would water them, prune, weed around, and feed them. Who else will recognize their beauty and potential and pour themselves in, in an investment of future of growth? They are special flowers, will you help them to grow?
A row of little lives, small but important, precious and unique moments caught and made up in their movements and actions. Planted in the love their parents have for each of them, watered as people pour themselves into them, fed with care and hope – such a beautiful little row of flowers indeed. Perhaps a hyacinth, a lupine, a daisy, a lavender, and a peony all in a row. Each has its own color, fragrance, structure, and distinctiveness. But, they are each beautiful flowers in the garden.
Looking at these little flowers in the row, I found myself wondering who else would water them, prune, weed around, and feed them. Who else will recognize their beauty and potential and pour themselves in, in an investment of future of growth? They are special flowers, will you help them to grow?
Friday, May 14, 2010
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, and It’s not superman?
Remember the old Superman movies, the Batman television show with the giant cartoon words scrawled across the screen, and the other myriad of comic book characters? Each of the characters, even with their moments of declaring that they just want to be normal, would not give up their very unique ability. And that is the key isn’t it? Unique! We all want to be something different, something super or unique, something that no one else is.
At the same time, and you have to love humanity for its dichotomy with this one, at the same time we crave and strive to be unique we also seek normalcy and blending in. We want to look like, sound like, and fit in (or at least feel like it). I just love how strange we are, such a jumble and wonderful puzzle.
Do I want to be unique? Sure I do. I loved the Bewitched show growing up, just wanting to wiggle my nose and have things clean up or move or be able to travel with a wave and a twitch. But it’s really much deeper than that, I want to be me, the me I was meant to be. I think that God must have realized that we would seek our unique and normal turns. That must be why we find people who we can relate to, to be friends with. That must be why we seek out people we can understand and understand us, or at least want to. On the other hand, it’s important to acknowledge that God did make us distinctive. Note that the life I have, the plans that God has for me are not the plans and life God has for you. He wants you to have something wonderful and specific for you!
We don’t really need to be Superman or Wonder Woman. Thank goodness! All those crazy schedules would kill my sleep patterns. But, to God I hope you find that you are already that unique and wonderful.
At the same time, and you have to love humanity for its dichotomy with this one, at the same time we crave and strive to be unique we also seek normalcy and blending in. We want to look like, sound like, and fit in (or at least feel like it). I just love how strange we are, such a jumble and wonderful puzzle.
Do I want to be unique? Sure I do. I loved the Bewitched show growing up, just wanting to wiggle my nose and have things clean up or move or be able to travel with a wave and a twitch. But it’s really much deeper than that, I want to be me, the me I was meant to be. I think that God must have realized that we would seek our unique and normal turns. That must be why we find people who we can relate to, to be friends with. That must be why we seek out people we can understand and understand us, or at least want to. On the other hand, it’s important to acknowledge that God did make us distinctive. Note that the life I have, the plans that God has for me are not the plans and life God has for you. He wants you to have something wonderful and specific for you!
We don’t really need to be Superman or Wonder Woman. Thank goodness! All those crazy schedules would kill my sleep patterns. But, to God I hope you find that you are already that unique and wonderful.
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