Thinking about It

Last night I went to a viewing for a friend who died unexpectedly this week. As the family gathered around there was a underlying quiet question, "why did this happen?"

He was to be married shortly to a close friend of our family. He was young-younger than my 47 years of life. He was the youngest of the three siblings. He had just retired and had so much to look forward to with a new wife and various opportunities.

As I left, I felt for this family and all the pain they are going through.

I also left thinking. Just thinking. Pondering. Wondering.

How often do I really do just that? Think. Wonder. Ponder. Examine.

A month ago I was in a similar place.

I was visiting the grave site of my grandfather and uncle.

They were buried in a cemetery in Pocatella Idaho near a golf course my grandpa built.

I had visited here before, maybe 6-8 years ago. But something was different this time. Maybe I am growing up or just getting older. Maybe it was that we some extra time to just wander around. Maybe it had to do with the previous day visiting a place my parents told me they would like to be placed when their years are done.

Or perhaps it is just because both my Uncle and my Grandpa have the exact name as me.

See, my name, my exact name, is on both those stones.

Not only that, but there is plenty of open space nearby.

If I don't pause here and now to think about IT, when will I?

It's beyond cliche' to say life is busy.

I can't be the only one to feel a sense that (my) life is going quickly in a direction that feels like a fast paced river.

What if I need to change boats?

Or even Rivers?

Sometime I even wonder if the river is going the right direction-this culture can have quite a pull on trying to live for God's kingdom values!

Ever feel like this?

You know, it's not death that scares me. What scares me is not living life.

It's not being true to be all I have been created to be. A human being. Not a human doing. Created in His image. Created to be His workmanship. Created to love Him with all my being. Every minute. Every day. To live a life of great adventure as His child.

I know I cannot control the day God brings me home.

But I do have a say, a choice, what gets my time, attention and energy this very day.

But I have to stop and think about IT.

whats important

In the middle of a trip right now in china.

Gonna talk out loud for a sec.

been planning this trip for 18 months and on point for close to 80 friends. Pressure. Not a lot of relaxing in my life this moment.

All this time I have had expectations of what I think should happen and what I think God should make happen. And I have invested a fair amount of time, thinking and money in this event.

So what happens? Very little of what I expected for sure. Change. Change. Change. More change.

What do I do? Recalibrate? Change? Be Frustrated? All the above and more?

What is important I am (re) learning again is to drop what I think is important and tap in to what God is doing. That will count.

In the midst of leaning in to this process I am amazed at what He does. I am having some incredible conversations. I am speaking some words I did not expect that have helped others. A new friends life, who was not in the "mix" is having his life changed. I am connecting in unexpected ways with my son. I am seeing some cool things come because of the different size of a group. I am seeing some team unity that is affecting many volunteers.

I am seeing things differently for sure. I am and will continue to recalibrate daily.

My report will look different from the goals set 18 months and even 18 days ago.

I am discovering what is really important-the hard way. It's cool.

Ocean

I am noticing that we, a humans, have an interesting relationship with the ocean.

I love the Ocean and this past week got a 24 hour "fix" with my helpmate.

There seems to be something in me that is drawn to the sand and the water when I have a choice for a day off or holiday. When I need to reconnect-or have my soul restored-I rarely choose the mall or downtown.

I do not think I am alone in this choice.

So last week I woke up early for the sunrise-a rarity for this late night porch boy.

The Ocean is speaking to me as I stare at this beautiful sunrise over Ocean City, Maryland.

This ocean is really big. Really big. In relationship to me...I feel soooo small.

There is some serious power out there. There is capacity for things like Tsunamis and floods, yet I can sit here on the edge and enjoy the "peaceful" waves. Sort of living right on the edge and it feels so right.

I am drawn to this power even though there is risk. It seems the risk is nothing compared to the restoration and connectedness as my toes touch sand and water and waves.

There is a lot of power harnessed very close to me. There is peacefulness in the sand and soft waves but danger may not be far away.

My place in this world, ever small, is clear. My relationship with God makes sense. He is great. I am small. He is powerful. I am dependent. There is a big difference between the two of us. Really big difference. Really.

Yet, as I gaze out to an endless big bucket of water, I understand Him a little more.

He wants me to see Him.
He wants me to acknowledge Him.
He wants to have a relationship with me.

He's full of mystery.
And it's a dangerous relationship.
And as I step my toe in the water, I experience and understand this relationship clearer.

Know what I mean?

The Ocean is revealing Him to me today. It's so beautiful.

Jim trusts

I loved this story about trust and am posting it for discussion.

‘Jim,’ a vendor in New York City, set up shop and sold donuts and coffee to passerby as they went in and out of their office buildings. During the breakfast and lunch hours, Jim always had long lines of customers waiting. He noticed that the wait time discouraged many customers who left and went elsewhere. He also noticed that, as he was a one-man show, the biggest bottleneck preventing him from selling more donuts and coffee was the disproportionate amount of time it took to make change for his customers.

Finally, Jim simply put a small basket on the side of his stand filled with dollar bills and coins, trusting his customers to make their own change. Now you might think that customers would accidentally count wrong or intentionally take extra quarters form the basket, but what Jim found was the opposite: Most customers responded by being completely honest, often leaving him larger-than-normal tips. Also, he was able to move customers through at twice the pace because he didn’t have to make change. In addition, he found that his customers liked being trusted and kept coming back. By extending trust in this way, Jim was able to double his revenues without adding any new cost.

Q. When you are trusted, it makes a difference, doesn't it? Don't you love being trusted?

This story was taken from The Speed of Trust by Steven Covey.