A moment for enjoyment

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What gain have the workers from their toil? I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 (NRSV)

What if we operated at 80%?

We live in a world where we are taught to give it our all.  In the words of Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights   “If you are not first you are last.”   We have wonderful expressions like, “Hang in there,” “Be strong,” “Keep fighting,” and “Never give up.”  So, we press on and try to present an image of being tireless.  Yet we are all quite tired, aren’t we?  We have set our goals at the highest level.  “Reach for the moon, and you will fall among the stars.”  That all sounds great.  Except, I don’t have rocket boots.  And, I am tired.  As a result, the unattainable goal of the moon just makes me feel deflated and unmotivated.

But, if I am shooting for 80%?  Well, that is doable!  In school, 80% is a “B.”  “B” is above average.  That’s a good grade, right?  Quite possibly, at the end of an 80% day, I have successfully achieved what I set out to do.  I am calmer.  And, I have a little left over for someone who might need me.  The friend who called.  The spouse who had a rough day.  My kids who need a last minute hand with a project.  Or, even better, a slow, relaxed dinner with a great conversation about our 80% day.

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. Ralph Waldo Emerson

A moment of resolution

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Come they told me
A newborn King to see
Our finest gifts we bring
To lay before the King
So to honor Him
When we come
Little baby
I am a poor boy too
I have no gift to bring
That’s fit to give our King
Shall I play for you
On my drum
Mary nodded
The ox and lamb kept time
I played my drum for Him
I played my best for Him
Then He smiled at me
Me and my drum.

New Year’s resolutions are about self-improvement.   We look at the new year as a starting point for being better than we were the year before.  We, like the boy in the song,  feel we are not enough.  We look around and see the deficit.  We will make resolutions to improve the deficit we see.  It is said that 40% of Americans will make resolutions, but only 8% will succeed.  To me, these are not good enough odds to make it worth my time and effort.
What if we changed our focus?  What if, this year, we decided to give the best of whatever we have? We have all been given something we can offer.    If we take a moment to look at ourselves through the eyes of our Creator, we will see the abundance in our lives and our hearts.  It may not seem like much to us,  but it just may be the blessing that brings a smile and lifts the hearts of others.   I imagine the odds of our success will improve if we shift our focus and offer the very best of even our smallest gifts.
All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:4

A moment of vulnerability

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For to us a child is born,

As we move through the Christmas season, it is easy for many of us to lose ourselves in the busyness of it all.  We can become self-centered, snarky, and nervous about family relationships that are already tense much of the year.  Is there anything about this baby in the manger that can really change all that?  How do we cope when those family members are up close and at our Christmas dinner table? 

In this Isaiah passage, we hear a message of hope.  A vulnerable child is born and he will be a Wonderful Counselor and the Prince of Peace.  This is a big expectation of a small child.

Moving forward in the story though, we see that this baby will celebrate an important meal with family and friends, some with whom he had a trying relationship.  Peter and Judas were both at this table.  He knew they did not have his best interests at heart.  They were self -absorbed and caught up in other things.

Jesus, in this moment, wasn’t unkind.  But, he did tell the truth.  He told the group that one of them would deny him and one would betray him.  He knew they would hurt him.  He understood his vulnerability.  He understood the human condition and he understood their vulnerability.  Therefore, in love, he focused that evening on teaching his beloved friends and family about servanthood and showing them what love looked like.

Be kind, for even the people who can’t be trusted to look out for our best interests can still be loved.

Be honest, tell the truth about your own vulnerability.

Be forgiving, it is often their vulnerability that makes others hurt us.

 to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

A moment of fear

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“let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts…For the trust reposed in me I will return the courage and the devotion that befit the time. I can do no less.”  Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933

Fear is a powerful force that can stop us in our tracks.  Whatever we are moving toward,  may be completely avoided when we justify our fears and give them power.

Identifying our fears by naming them might be our first courageous act.  What is the enemy that you are going to battle today?  Is it loneliness, despair, guilt, abandonment?  Spend a quiet moment asking God, “What is the source of my fear?”

Today, the source of my fear is the idea that I have not done what I should have done in the past and the future of others will be forever tainted by my failure.  That statement is full of guilt.  And there is nothing I can do to change the past.  So, having named it, I have two choices, wallow in the past (punishing myself) or move toward a better future.

I spend a quiet moment with God and ask, “What have you entrusted to me today?”

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.  We love because he first loved us.     1 John 4:18-19 (NRSV)

God has entrusted to me those whom I love, and though I may have failed them in the past God’s love for me is unending and I must have the courage to overcome my fears and extend that love to them today.  “I can do no less.”