Last week I wrote about the connection, the two sides of the same coin, of wishing and working. Part of my thinking more about this topic arose from reading Jeff Goins’ new book, The Art of Work – a Proven Path to Discovering What You were Meant to Do. This is a book I have enjoyed slowly reading, picking different chapters, gaining new insights and leaving more encouraged and inspired. Jeff’s words stir inside of me a courage to state my dreams and take the risk to go after them. This is a book about discovering your life’s work and the task you were born to do. The Art of Work is packed with personal stories, case studies and current research on the topics of what motivates us and if talent is that all important. Each page will lift your spirit and make you think more about your life’s vocation, not just making it to the next pay check or to when you finally retire, but to do what you really want to do. “The process of finding and claiming your calling is a journey, one that … [Read more...]
She Did What She Could – Lectio Divina
Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper. While he was eating dinner, a woman came up carrying a bottle of very expensive perfume. Opening the bottle, she poured it on his head. Some of the guests became furious among themselves. “That’s criminal! A sheer waste! This perfume could have been sold for well over a year’s wages and handed out to the poor.” They swelled up in anger, nearly bursting with indignation over her. But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why are you giving her a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives. Whenever you feel like it, you can do something for them. Not so with me. She did what she could when she could—she pre-anointed my body for burial. And you can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she just did is going to be talked about admiringly.” Mark 14: 1-9 (The Message) She did what she could when she could. What a … [Read more...]
Friendship – Embrace the Present Moment
Time stood still for me twice this past week - brief moments of tranquility, gratitude and rare awareness of how precious life can be. I held these treasured memories, took a photo with my heart and tucked the vision away to keep forever. I breathed in friendship this week. I ate my birthday dinner with a friend from sixth grade. We have known each other for more than 50 years – a journey we traveled together transcending life stages and unexpected detours. You can’t put a price on this relationship - so precious. She is a lifelong friend transformed into a sister for me. I looked at her across the table and smiled. I held that moment and said thank you, Lord. I am blessed. On Sunday, ten of us gathered together to share our photos, laughter and recollections of our pilgrimage to the Holy Lands together. Not only do our travels connect us but also our shared beliefs. God’s presence in our relationships adds depth, flavors our conversations and cements our link with one another … [Read more...]
Wishing and Working – Two Sides of a Coin
Funny how sayings from your mother stay with you. I can still hear my mama’s voice on quite a few words of wisdom, though the oddest one is this: “You can pee in one hand and wish in the other and see which one you get filled first.” Yep, she really did say that. I can’t remember but I must have “wished” a lot as a child cause I heard that quote quite a bit. A good reflective practice is to listen to the language you use. What does your vocabulary say about you? I have been trying to hear the words I chose in daily life during this Lenten season. I have discovered I continue to “wish” frequently. I wish I would lose more weight. I wish I would finally be a multi-book author. I wish it were summer. I wish I could hear God better. I wish…. I wish… Wishing is easy; work is harder. Wishing and working though are two sides of the same coin. We need to wish, to dream, to imagine the what if’s. Wishing gives us hope. Wishing fuels our motivation. Wishing … [Read more...]
God’s Engraving – Lectio Divina
I will put my instructions within them and engrave them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Jeremiah 31: 33 (CEB) Will it hurt, Lord? When you engrave my heart? Engraving implies a deep insertion of your word. Heart surgery is always serious and risky. I will be vulnerable. I will be transformed. To engrave means to carve into a hard object. Forgive my closed heart. Soften my dense inner world. Chisel my false casing and scrape off the dead shell covering my spirit. May I be more like soften clay in an Artist hand than concrete. I hear your soothing promise to be my God. My heart melts at the invitation to be your people. When I turn to you, my fear is gone. There is comfort and peace within your promise. Pour your wisdom and instruction within me, Lord. I stand before you, Great Engraver – open to receive and unmasked in your presence. … [Read more...]
Trusting God During Transitions
Transitions. Changes. Crossroads. All times that can be challenging and full of emotions – joy, sadness, fear and confusion. “I guess all endings hurt a little even when you need them” – words of wisdom I heard last week from one of my daughters as she changes jobs. Good insight. We all go through changes and life shifts often facing them with faith and fear and probably some self-doubt. We chose a direction, then wonder if we made the best decision. We step out… no, we often leap into the unknown, not 100% sure where we will land. Williams Bridges wrote a classic book on this concept called Transitions. He writes there are three stages to every change: Ending – every transition begin with the ending. Of course there is sadness, loss, letting go. Allow yourself time to grieve. The Neutral Zone – that confusing muddle of the middle, in-between time where we feel disconnected and not belonging anyplace. We often feel lost at this stage. The New Beginning – where we … [Read more...]
Growing Older – Maybe
“Don’t regret growing older; it’s a privilege denied to many” is my mantra this week. I am trying focus on this blessing but it is hard. You see Wednesday is my birthday – a significant year. A “get the red, white blue card in the mail from the government type of birthday.” A year beyond “will you still love me, will you still need when I’m ____?” song being played kind of celebration. See I can’t even write out the numbers. I don’t feel that old. There is a place inside of me that totally denies my age. I think some cruel trick has been performed – a wizardly magic that catapulted me into the future and into a distant age. I fully believe that my mother made a mistake on my birth certificate, writing down a 5 instead of a 6 or 7 or even 8. My kids tell me that would make me younger than them. What’s wrong with that? My internal clock accurately says I’m in my 30’s, okay perhaps 40’s. I used to say the decade of my 50’s was one of the best ones as I felt at that age I … [Read more...]
Serving A Life Sentence Or Choosing Words to Live By
Do you have a life verse? A Bible verse or quote that resonates in your heart? Words that hold special meaning for you and perhaps guide you in times of decision and difficulty? I have found discovering special key words ground me and offer me light on my path. If I am not quite sure what to do, I reread certain phrases. I would hope once I am gone somehow people who knew me and loved me, would remember me in these ways. Here are words that impact my life: We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete Hebrews 12: 2 My favorite Bible verse. I find that when I focus on God, things become clearer. When I allow my eyes to be distracted by sin, the world and my ego, I become lost. I need to remind myself of these life-giving words daily. For 2015, this verse is strong in my daily prayers: One thing I ask from the Lord, This only do I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life. To gaze on the beauty of the Lord And … [Read more...]