Just Enough Light

I recently came across a book in my local Christian bookstore called, Just Enough Light for the Step I'm On (by Stormie Omartian). I think the title of the book is enough. Sometimes that is all I need: just enough light for today.

Guarding Our Hearts

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23).

I think this text is most commonly used as a warning for singles to "guard their heart" from the wrong romantic partner or for married people to guard their relationship. Not bad advice, but if we left the text there we'd be remiss.

Guarding our heart is also about guarding our motivation, our passions, our drive.* What keeps us going from day to day? Are we guarding that? For example, last fall when I took on an teaching an extra writing class, I found that my life revolved around a never ending stack of papers--the constant grading withered my passion for teaching.

As much as is in our power to do, we need to make choices that keep us engaged in our lives. By taking time to rest, socialize, and exercise--we are guarding our hearts. By not letting life simply happen to us, we are guarding our hearts. By building a relationship with Christ, we are guarding our hearts.

Ultimately, it this relationship with Christ that guards our heart the best. "The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). Christ's presence and peace in our lives creates a powerful antidote for discouragement and it lays a foundation for living life well.

*I'll credit George McDonald's Ordering Your Private World for expanding this text.
(I highly recommend this book.)

Two for One

Recently, I was having a bad day. The little things were getting to me like the fact that I drove over a large curb in a parking lot and had a whole family stop their conversation to stare at me as I drove away (yes, people I'm fine; I meant to do that). Later in the day one of my friends called me. She told me she was having a bad day. I said, "Me too!" We commiserated some. I shared with her what was frustrating me about my day and vice versa, and by the time we hung up, both of us were laughing. I told her later, "This is what I love about friendship. You can combine two bad days to make one good day."

Yesterday's Adventure

I ended up in Kissimmee last night. I'm never on the Kissimmee side of town (it is southwest of Orlando; I live northeast of Orlando). But this is a very interesting place...it's where all the Disney tourists are. I went to a Walmart there and loved it! First off the Walmart was packed. I felt like I was back in TESCO-Lotus in Saraburi, all I needed was some really loud annoying Thai music and I would have felt 100 percent at home. Then the presence of all the tourists meant I heard accents from all over (British and New England or Canadian accents), and I heard languages from all over (Vietnamese, Hindi, and French--I'm guessing on the languages). But the best part was they sold food there that I wouldn't normally see in a grocery store. My favorite being Digestives from the UK. If you haven't had a Digestive (it sounds worse than it tastes), it is like a graham cracker but much much better; oh, and they sold Aerobars (mint chocolate with air bubbles in it).

I also stumbled across tamarind there. When I went to check out, the cashier said, "What is this?" I said, "tamarind". He said, "Is it a fruit or vegetable?" I said, "A fruit." He looked at his register, puzzled. So I spelled it out, it is spelled, "t-a-m-a-r-i-n-d". He typed it in but nothing came up. He handed me a chart with fruits and vegetable pictures on it and said, "Can you locate it on this chart?" (I felt like the tamarind was a suspect in a lineup.) I found the tamarind picture and showed it to him. Underneath the picture, it said, "tamarindo". I guess only Spanish speakers eat tamarind in Florida.

I had only gone into the Walmart to buy cake mix for a friend, but I walked out with a cart full of food. But now I know, if I ever crave British treats or tamarind I can make the long, 45 minute drive to Kissimmee.

A Sacred Calling in the Ordinary

I took a news writing class and I was assigned to work in a small group with Karen and Deeanne. Deeanne introduced me to Melissa, and Melissa introduced me to Grace; Grace introduced me to Shelly, and Shelly introduced me to Lavonne; Lavonne introduced me to Annelise, Leanne, and Ronni. All of these people are important friends to me, and yet they all came through the link of another friend. It is fun for me to consider how each person came into my life.

While I like thinking about how each person came into my life, it is as important to consider why they came into my life. I like to to think that people come into my life by divine commission. They were sent into my little world to teach me something, to give me joy, to challenge me to think, and because maybe, just maybe so I can give them back something as well. They were sent my way so that I can serve them in love.

My life is extraordinarily (if this is possible to combine these words) ordinary. I have many little tasks to accomplish and some days feel pretty similar, well, to other days. But in the midst of this extraordinary ordinariness I'm answering a sacred calling to love those nearest to me.

Thinking about Love

I like thinking about love, not necessarily romantic love, though that is fun to think about as well. I like thinking about how to love people.

I was reading earlier today that an author of a book called More Than Good Intentions signs his book, Heart + Mind = Good Giving. I think the same can be said of love. It's easy to think that just because I like someone that loving that person well will just flow naturally out of me (and yes in some ways it does), but loving a person well takes a lot more than just having nice feelings about an individual; I need my heart combined with my mind to love well.

I need to think about a person's needs, interest, history, comfort, mood. Some days it is nice to connect with a friend through a good conversation, but other days, well, a game of volleyball would be just as nice. Sometimes a friend needs a lot and sometimes a friend doesn't need much at all.

So how do I love well? I enage my heart, and I engage my mind. I watch to see how best I can show kindness, but ultimately, there's much I don't know about the people I interact with. This loss of knowing means that I pray much too.

This morning I knew I would see a friend, and so as I thought about her as I was getting ready for the day--I prayed, "Lord, give me your wisdom to love ___________ in just the ways she needs to be loved today."

I didn't see my friend for as long as I expected, and the only thing I ended up really communicating with her was a silly story about how I accidently spat toothpaste on my mom's arm (my mom reached across the sink just as I was spitting--the timing was impeccable!). But maybe that is all she needed today, a silly story about toothpaste.

A Thought On Time Management

Here's a great thought on time management that I got from another blog by Douglas Wilson, Blog & Mablog:

"The point is fruitfulness, not efficiency. You should want to be fruitful like a tree, not efficient like a machine.

But this fruitfulness is a function of God's blessing, and it is surrendered work that is blessed work. Seek that blessing, and seek it through concrete surrender. Such surrenders are not abstract. Put your Isaacs on the altar. Every interruption is a chance to surrender your work to the only one who can bless your work, particularly when the interruptions come from your kid wanting to play catch.

We can see the principle with the sabbath and the tithe. Less blessed is more than more unblessed. 90% blessed goes farther than 100% unblessed. 6 days blessed are far more fruitful than 7 days unblessed."

You can read the rest of the article at:

http://www.dougwils.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8681%3Aseven-thoughts-on-time-management&catid=62%3Agrace-and-peace



I was thinking about what Douglas Wilson said this morning. I was also thinking of one of my favorite texts.

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.... But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in season" (Psalms 1: 1-3).

I want fruitfulness at work, and I want fruitfulness in my life as well. I pray to be a Psalms 1 kind of person. I long have my roots sunk deep in the word of God so that I may bear rich, mature fruit in season.