Sunday, December 27, 2009
Comfort Zone
If you didn't see Elf (again) over the holiday season, you're missing a few free laugh out loud moments. And to me, those are rare! I've posted a video clip above of Buddy's trip to the mall; the escalator scene is especially near and dear to my heart because I experienced the tramautic ride in Dilliards at Broadway Square Mall in Tyler almost 30 years ago. I don't remember much about the episode except my mother's face--filled with horrr and embarassment. How she managed to free me from the grips of that moving staircase will always be a mystery, but I'm sure of one thing: my flexibility and perfect high kicks (a la Southern Belle) are mainly attributed to early splits training.
How true this image applies to our lives: We want to flee from our present situation, but getting out seems impossible....even when an exit strategy is mapped out for us. We make excuses because we don't like change. It's not the airplane ride we're scared of, it's not knowing what to expect once we land. I mean logically, we all know the odds of dying in a car crash on our daily commute is much more likely to happen, right? But, it's routine....we know what to expect once we get to the office, school, or wherever you're going that you've been time and time again. Think back to that first day of work, or even further (strain really hard) to the first day of kindergarten. That's got to be the most horrible day for children and parents alike. If you were observing this event for the first time, you would swear the kids were going off to Auswich concentration camp and sweet little Miss Jones was really Hitler. But that's our fear at an all time hyper pitch.
Fear can be debilitating to the point of paralysis even if it means staying in a bad position. John 5 narrates a historical recount of Jesus healing the sick one Sunday (regarded as the Sabbath in Jerusalem).
"...Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches.s5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years.6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, "Would you like to get well?"
7 "I can't, sir," the sick man said, "for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me."
8 Jesus told him, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!"
9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking!....
I love how Jesus asks the question, "would you like to get well?", to emphasize it's OUR choice. We can take it or leave it. Astonishing is the answer of the sick man, "I can't, sir". As if his handicaps were too large for Jesus to heal. This is glaringly true in my own life everyday. I can't count the times I've not accepted Christ's eager attempts to deliver me. I even know what's on the other side of the escalator, and I'm still wired to stay put because I think (scratch that, Satan thinks) I get caught up in doubting myself. It's easier to stay wounded and use it as a crutch vs. accepting grace and living with purpose. Why? Because Satan tells us so.
Next time God asks you a rhetorical question like, "you want me to help you Whit?"....don't say "no thanks, I'm ok".....say, "yes sir, I'm yours....take me to the top!"
Friday, December 18, 2009
Prayer
"Father,
Please don't let me be so impatient with myself. I fret, I scold, I deplore my many shortcomings. Why am I so messy? Why do I get myself into so many complicated situations? Now why did I say that? Won't I ever learn?
My mind carries on an idiot monologue of self-reproach. Or I lie awake bewailing the day's mistakes. I wince before them. I call myself names I would never call other people. I am stung and tormented by these self - lacerations.
I know all this to be useless. The more I berate myself the worse I seem to become. And it gets between us. It is unworthy of the trust I should have in You who made me as I am, and who loves me despite my faults. I know that You want me to be aware of them and to improve as best I can. But help me to forgive myself a little more quickly, to be a little kinder to myself."
by Marjorie Holmes, For Women Only: The Fine Art of Being a Woman
Please don't let me be so impatient with myself. I fret, I scold, I deplore my many shortcomings. Why am I so messy? Why do I get myself into so many complicated situations? Now why did I say that? Won't I ever learn?
My mind carries on an idiot monologue of self-reproach. Or I lie awake bewailing the day's mistakes. I wince before them. I call myself names I would never call other people. I am stung and tormented by these self - lacerations.
I know all this to be useless. The more I berate myself the worse I seem to become. And it gets between us. It is unworthy of the trust I should have in You who made me as I am, and who loves me despite my faults. I know that You want me to be aware of them and to improve as best I can. But help me to forgive myself a little more quickly, to be a little kinder to myself."
by Marjorie Holmes, For Women Only: The Fine Art of Being a Woman
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Slipping
Psalm 40:12-13 NLT
For troubles surround me--too many to count! My sins pile up so high I can't see my way out. They outnumber the hairs on my head. I have lost all courage.
If you've read Beth Moore's book, Get out of That Pit!, you'll find yourself nodding your head and saying, "you go, sister!" But if you've never heard of the book, get it, it changed my life.
Recently, I've faced the music and re-visited all the slimy pits I've either been thrown into, unknowingly slipped into, or repeatedly jumped...(scratch that) DOVE into. Everyone can relate to their own dark, stinky pit, but they all have 2 things in common:
1. Satan wants us to believe there's no way out. (enter guilt....I deserve to be here....God is punishing me)
2. Satan makes us feel like we're all alone. (enter shame....embarassed to reach out for help....even worst, embarassed to ADMIT there is even a problem to ourselves)
One of my favorite quotes directly from her book: "Ironically, nothing makes us feel more alone than being in a pit, yet we've got enough underground company there to displace the overpopulation of West Texas gophers and leave them homeless for years!"
Everyone one of us is carrying around some secret, horrible pain. From the alcoholic bum begging for quarters to feed his addiction (eventually leading to death) to the beautiful stylish neighbor, married to a doctor, mom to 2 children, always smiling, always impeccable, always on time. She's also carrying a secret: prescription pill addiction. Whether it's a brown paper bag or a $5,000 Hermes Birkin purse, they hold the same thing: JUNK
Let me end with these absolute truths:
1. Satan wants you to stay right where you are. And he is a smart, smart cookie. I could go on and on about all the different tactics he manipulates to make you believe that you're right where you need to be. (another day, or book!)
2. God wants you out! He's got incredible things waiting for you to accomplish!! Do you know your experience in that pit can be a gift to keep others from slipping? What do you think I'm doing right now? I've got to share the GOOD news. What is possible through all the pain and darkness that seems to last forever. (that's Satan too, b/c mine only lasted short term, but it SEEMED like eternity)
3. God still loves you just as much as he did before. Of all Satan's lies that I believed, the one I grabbed onto most was that there was no way that God would punish me, pull away from me, could love me anymore. We are surrounded by a world filled with conditions: the prettier we are, the more attention we get; the more successful and money you make, the more friends you have. Even in mother-daughter relationships AND marital relationships, you see the constant conditional love doses that are given contingent on what one perceives as "good enough". Stay with me here: GOD LOVES US UNCONDITIONALLY NO MATTER WHAT! In order to understand "unconditional", you must delve into the Bible. But, rest assured: you are absolutely secure in the unchanging love of God.
I would encourage you to go get/order the book by Beth Moore "Get out of That Pit" because it's an easy, uplifiting, honest book that will change your life no matter what pain still lingers.
Look forward to hearing more success stories as we move through this "thing called life".
For troubles surround me--too many to count! My sins pile up so high I can't see my way out. They outnumber the hairs on my head. I have lost all courage.
If you've read Beth Moore's book, Get out of That Pit!, you'll find yourself nodding your head and saying, "you go, sister!" But if you've never heard of the book, get it, it changed my life.
Recently, I've faced the music and re-visited all the slimy pits I've either been thrown into, unknowingly slipped into, or repeatedly jumped...(scratch that) DOVE into. Everyone can relate to their own dark, stinky pit, but they all have 2 things in common:
1. Satan wants us to believe there's no way out. (enter guilt....I deserve to be here....God is punishing me)
2. Satan makes us feel like we're all alone. (enter shame....embarassed to reach out for help....even worst, embarassed to ADMIT there is even a problem to ourselves)
One of my favorite quotes directly from her book: "Ironically, nothing makes us feel more alone than being in a pit, yet we've got enough underground company there to displace the overpopulation of West Texas gophers and leave them homeless for years!"
Everyone one of us is carrying around some secret, horrible pain. From the alcoholic bum begging for quarters to feed his addiction (eventually leading to death) to the beautiful stylish neighbor, married to a doctor, mom to 2 children, always smiling, always impeccable, always on time. She's also carrying a secret: prescription pill addiction. Whether it's a brown paper bag or a $5,000 Hermes Birkin purse, they hold the same thing: JUNK
Let me end with these absolute truths:
1. Satan wants you to stay right where you are. And he is a smart, smart cookie. I could go on and on about all the different tactics he manipulates to make you believe that you're right where you need to be. (another day, or book!)
2. God wants you out! He's got incredible things waiting for you to accomplish!! Do you know your experience in that pit can be a gift to keep others from slipping? What do you think I'm doing right now? I've got to share the GOOD news. What is possible through all the pain and darkness that seems to last forever. (that's Satan too, b/c mine only lasted short term, but it SEEMED like eternity)
3. God still loves you just as much as he did before. Of all Satan's lies that I believed, the one I grabbed onto most was that there was no way that God would punish me, pull away from me, could love me anymore. We are surrounded by a world filled with conditions: the prettier we are, the more attention we get; the more successful and money you make, the more friends you have. Even in mother-daughter relationships AND marital relationships, you see the constant conditional love doses that are given contingent on what one perceives as "good enough". Stay with me here: GOD LOVES US UNCONDITIONALLY NO MATTER WHAT! In order to understand "unconditional", you must delve into the Bible. But, rest assured: you are absolutely secure in the unchanging love of God.
I would encourage you to go get/order the book by Beth Moore "Get out of That Pit" because it's an easy, uplifiting, honest book that will change your life no matter what pain still lingers.
Look forward to hearing more success stories as we move through this "thing called life".
Sunday, December 13, 2009
How to lift a stain from your heart.
Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, let's settle this", says the Lord.
"Though all your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow
Though they are red like crimson, I will make them white as wool."
Will you ask Him to make you clean?
Psalm 51:1-7 (David's repentance)
"Have mercy on me, O God, because ot your unfailing love....against you, and you alone I have sinned....Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."
"Come now, let's settle this", says the Lord.
"Though all your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow
Though they are red like crimson, I will make them white as wool."
Will you ask Him to make you clean?
Psalm 51:1-7 (David's repentance)
"Have mercy on me, O God, because ot your unfailing love....against you, and you alone I have sinned....Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Bored from Information Overload?
There are plenty of books and websites dedicated to starting a new project, whether it's organizing your home, sharpening your time management skills, building a nursery, starting a blog, joining a Bible Study, getting married and staying married. All of these "projects", big or small, have the same key elements: Set Goals. Establish Priorities. Develop a Game Plan. I completely agree that motivation to start the task is imperative, but what about finishing? None of these books address the forks in the road each one of us encounters along the way. When the fun and "newness" wears off, or an urgent email from your boss demanding you scratch the business plan you're almost through with and focus on another plan. Or, Being just as determined in the 4th quarter as a losing team fan as you were at kickoff. (I’m talking to you Cowboy fans)
Nobody understands boredom better than me—I was diagnosed with ADD just one week ago. Since then, I’ve delved into the widely diagnosed disease that has spread like wildfire over the past decade.
This excerpt was taken from John Spalding’s article you can find here: http://www.somareview.com/boredom.cfm
(great read after you read my entire post, of course)
It may be an entertainment overload that’s boring us. “When stimulation comes at us from every side,” explains Winter, “we reach a point where we cannot respond with much depth to anything. Bombarded with so much that is exciting and demands our attention, we tend to become unable to discriminate and choose from among the many options. The result is that we shut down our attention to everything.”
You wonder why advertising companies spend millions of dollars on 30 second commercials. The emails I write and receive today have no grammatical accuracy whatsoever; the texts are shortened to abbreviated acronyms, phrases, numbers, that I usually have my 8 year old neighbor interpret for me. I often refer to the Cheesecake Factory Menu being a joke. There are too many choices from pizza to pad thai, and after flipping through their book of choices, I’m too exhausted to eat. Take me to Houston’s, where I’ve tried all 8 of their entrees and it’s always good. KISS…Keep it Simple Stupid is my motto. Because brain overload is destroying us.
There are 2 types of boredom (in my opinion):
Lack of Stimuli: you’re in a doctor’s waiting room and have left your blackberry/ipod/whatever in the car. The only thing to read is Highlights for Kids and Diabetes Management, and the colorful pharmaceutical pamphlets that always convince me, “I need this…I’ll ask my doctor for a sample.” (That’s another topic, but pharm companies have brilliant marketing campaigns)
Too much stimuli: too much distraction can actually cause boredom. Sounds extremely contradictory? Not really. (another excerpt taken from link above)
“The brain is always adjusting to new stimuli,” says Augustin de la Peña, a psychophysiologist who has studied boredom for 30 years. “Once the brain has seen something new a few times,it no longer finds it interesting. The brain’s ante for stimulation is always being upped, just as a drug addict needs larger and larger doses to get high.” ……“We live in an ADD culture, and the effects are crippling. Students today are very good at retrieving information. They can scan the Web quickly and find what they need. But to get them to read just a paragraph in a text, to really mull it over and make sense of it, is increasingly difficult. As a result, some of their cognitive skills atrophy.”
The RESULT: EMPTINESS (Stay with me here, this is important!!)
Boredom has been considered taboo to study in Psychology since the 1930’s. It’s impossible to measure boredom in the way that you can a rat’s success in finding cheese in a maze. We want to think that we do most things in life out of a sense of nobility, and not just because they’re bored and have nothing better to do. (Another excerpt from the link above)
But maybe being bored is exactly where God wants us to be. Quiet. Examine our life. Pray to Him. Read His Word (Bible) for encouragement. If we listen, He’ll whisper, “you’re bored because you’re not seeking me to fill your time, entertainment, pleasure, and struggles….24/7.” After 32 years of filling my emptiness with different worldly choices, I am finally understanding boredom = emptiness of Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 4:25 NLT
Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.
Nobody understands boredom better than me—I was diagnosed with ADD just one week ago. Since then, I’ve delved into the widely diagnosed disease that has spread like wildfire over the past decade.
This excerpt was taken from John Spalding’s article you can find here: http://www.somareview.com/boredom.cfm
(great read after you read my entire post, of course)
It may be an entertainment overload that’s boring us. “When stimulation comes at us from every side,” explains Winter, “we reach a point where we cannot respond with much depth to anything. Bombarded with so much that is exciting and demands our attention, we tend to become unable to discriminate and choose from among the many options. The result is that we shut down our attention to everything.”
You wonder why advertising companies spend millions of dollars on 30 second commercials. The emails I write and receive today have no grammatical accuracy whatsoever; the texts are shortened to abbreviated acronyms, phrases, numbers, that I usually have my 8 year old neighbor interpret for me. I often refer to the Cheesecake Factory Menu being a joke. There are too many choices from pizza to pad thai, and after flipping through their book of choices, I’m too exhausted to eat. Take me to Houston’s, where I’ve tried all 8 of their entrees and it’s always good. KISS…Keep it Simple Stupid is my motto. Because brain overload is destroying us.
There are 2 types of boredom (in my opinion):
Lack of Stimuli: you’re in a doctor’s waiting room and have left your blackberry/ipod/whatever in the car. The only thing to read is Highlights for Kids and Diabetes Management, and the colorful pharmaceutical pamphlets that always convince me, “I need this…I’ll ask my doctor for a sample.” (That’s another topic, but pharm companies have brilliant marketing campaigns)
Too much stimuli: too much distraction can actually cause boredom. Sounds extremely contradictory? Not really. (another excerpt taken from link above)
“The brain is always adjusting to new stimuli,” says Augustin de la Peña, a psychophysiologist who has studied boredom for 30 years. “Once the brain has seen something new a few times,it no longer finds it interesting. The brain’s ante for stimulation is always being upped, just as a drug addict needs larger and larger doses to get high.” ……“We live in an ADD culture, and the effects are crippling. Students today are very good at retrieving information. They can scan the Web quickly and find what they need. But to get them to read just a paragraph in a text, to really mull it over and make sense of it, is increasingly difficult. As a result, some of their cognitive skills atrophy.”
The RESULT: EMPTINESS (Stay with me here, this is important!!)
Boredom has been considered taboo to study in Psychology since the 1930’s. It’s impossible to measure boredom in the way that you can a rat’s success in finding cheese in a maze. We want to think that we do most things in life out of a sense of nobility, and not just because they’re bored and have nothing better to do. (Another excerpt from the link above)
But maybe being bored is exactly where God wants us to be. Quiet. Examine our life. Pray to Him. Read His Word (Bible) for encouragement. If we listen, He’ll whisper, “you’re bored because you’re not seeking me to fill your time, entertainment, pleasure, and struggles….24/7.” After 32 years of filling my emptiness with different worldly choices, I am finally understanding boredom = emptiness of Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 4:25 NLT
Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.
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