Just Do It!

I’ve been looking at my waist lately. Can’t miss it. I’ve been thinking that I need to get back to that exercise thing I use to do. So, I’ve been wondering when I can fit it in. Let me see. If I got up earlier on Mondays I might be able to get in a twenty minute work out before I have to get the kids up. But then again, I wouldn’t be getting a quality work out and it wouldn’t be worth it. Monday evenings are family time. I won’t touch that. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning are already spoken for so I can’t go there. Tuesday and Thursday evenings are for study and research for the classes I teach. Wednesday ooohhhh, that day is already so long I could write a book about it. Friday is for writing, bloging, and sermon preparation. Saturday is to catch up around the house day. I am already so far behind on this day that I could use two weeks to catch up. Sunday is the Lord’s Day. I try to leave that day for worship and spiritual edification. It doesn’t always work but I try. That’s my week. There just isn’t time to work on my growth problem. Actually, instead of a problem, you could call it an investment. It would make me feel better.
Some time ago NIKE had a slogan. “Just do it” This becomes the definition for discipline. When we accomplish anything thing in our lives it comes down to the slogan “Just do it”. If I am going to read that book, work on my prayer life, learn more about God, earn my degree or burn this fat off my middle I have to just do it!
We all have excuses that keep us from “…doing it”. The fact of the matter is the “thing” hasn’t hit high enough on the priority list for us to do anything about it. True. All those other things that clutter my life are a higher priority than sweating and burning calories. I know this and yet I can’t get my "self" to embrace this new priority. It sounds and feels too much like work. Yet, I know after I get started that I will feel better and even enjoy it. But still…..You know they make pills for everything these days. Maybe they can make a pill for guys like me, a pill that will remove all my obstacles so that I can…”git ‘er done”.

Rainy Days & Fridays… In A Small Town

As I stepped out on the porch this morning with my coffee in hand, it was raining. Autumn’s chill is in the air… here in Wisconsin. Unlike the song, rainy days and Fridays don’t get me down. O.K., I know the song says Monday, but today is Friday and the rain is soothing to my soul. I sip my coffee, listen to the creaking of the runners on my rocking chair and the soft patter of the gentle rain. Life has slowed down, at least for the moment.
Before I came to live in Wisconsin, I asked around "What’s it like to live in Wisconsin?" I got a lot of different answers. The one that influenced me the most came from someone who lived here as a child. He said, "Wisconsin is a great place to raise kids." I don’t know if it is so much Wisconsin. Our tax burden is among the highest in the country. I think it is because most of Wisconsin is rural, small town-ish.
I have had the privilege of living in a metropolis with over two million people and a town with over 10,000. I now live in a burg with only 400.
Besides goods and services, the biggest difference from the largest place I’ve ever lived to the smallest is pace. The city just can’t seem to slow down. Not like here. I am reminded of this every time I get caught behind some piece of farm equipment on an impassible road going 3 miles per hour. Ain’t no since gettin’ in a hurry there.
I have traveled back to the city many times in the 5 years I have lived in this little burg. Each time I go, I notice more and more how difficult it is for me to keep up. Traffic is way too hectic. The malls are to crowded. The days seem to long. You can do just about anything 24 hours a day. The cell phones are always ringing, the computer is always running and you can always get something to eat. Go, go, go! People forget to "whoa".
Maybe that’s why folks come up here to vacation. Here you can’t go, go, go. There ain’t nuttin' to go to! Shoot, we roll up and put away the side walks by 5 p.m. And on a Friday like this, we don’t even get ‘em back out. So when you get out of the city, because there doesn’t seem to be anything to do. You just relax. For some folks, it is unnerving because we have poor cellular service and they’re cell phones don’t work very well. While I have met others who travel here for the peace of mind that comes from their cell phone not working.
I have tasted both sides. I must admit that I miss the goods and services. I miss a good steak. I miss the ability to run to the store to get whatever I think I need. I miss 2 a.m. coffee shops and breakfast anytime. It agitates me a little to have to drive an hour in any direction to go to a movie.
So I have traded all that for mornings like this. And I would gladly make the same choice again. You can’t put a price tag on this. Lets see… how does that commercial go? Cup of home brewed coffee - .50 cents. Comfortable rocking chair on the front porch - $55.00. Sound of gentle rain – free! The cost of having these few moments to reflect on my soul and drink in God’s goodness – PRICELESS.
TO THOSE OF YOU WHO LIVE IN A METROPOLIS: I hope that someday you would have the opportunity to leave and experience the peace and simplicity of a small burg (like the one I live in). It is a change. But, it’s a good change! Well, my time is up. My wife is telling me it’s time for breakfast. This morning is biscuits and gravy.

…About Sunshine & Labor

…About Sunshine & Labor
This morning I came out to the porch early. I made my cup of coffee and sat in the porch swing. I am tired of the rat race I have been running. So, I thought I would steal me a few moments on the front porch swing with a cup of Jo, singing birds and sunshine. What a gorgeous morning! I know I can’t sit here all day. But at this moment, I had better not be disturbed.
You know…it’s really about the sunshine. It makes you feel better. Did you know that Seattle, Washington has the longest rainy season of any major U.S. city? Did you know it has the highest mental depression rate of any major U.S. city? Did you know it also has the highest suicide rate of any major U.S. city? And yes, it is related to sunshine. Sunshine is one of our major sources of vitamin D. You have probably guessed by now that vitamin D helps fight depression. Do you ever feel blah after getting stuck inside the house or office all day?
It’s not just the sunshine, but also the satisfaction of accomplishment. Follow with me here. My wife is a stay-at-home mom. From the time she gets up until she goes to bed, her schedule looks the same. She feels like she spinning her wheels because when she wakes up tomorrow, she will do it all over again. As for me, my job is the same as a broker. I invest in people’s lives. Some days the stock values go up. Some days they go down. I don’t know if I have accomplished anything until I have tracked the investment for 5, 10, or even 15 years! So for me there’s no real sense of accomplishment.
That’s where we help each other out… the laundry. For a family of 7, the laundry is a never-ending mountain of work. And, I do mean a never-ending mountain. Therefore, I have relieved my wife of the monotonous task of the laundry… she is happy. That alone is worth it! Now, this is where I get my sense of accomplishment. Have you ever waded through a week of laundry from a family of 7? It can’t be done!
I am proud to announce that I have conquered a mountain of dirty clothes… and my wife is proud of me. She is happy… yes! Seriously, I can’t begin to tell you the satisfaction I get when I look around the basement and the mountain has been removed. My wife tells me of her sense of satisfaction that she doesn’t have to face it. You see, I think we all have a need to be satisfied with our accomplishments.
I hope that you can accomplish something today or this week. Stick with it until you do, then get outside and soak up some sun even if you live in Seattle (you might have to get a sunlamp). Well, gotta’ go. I just heard the wash machine finish the rinse cycle.

Thoughts On Vacations

I'm sorry. I've been away from my desk for a couple of weeks now. It has been literally impossible to write. So, now I'm back. For a few moments anyway to sit on my own front porch and catch my breath. Wow, it feels good to just sit here a minute. You see over the past two weeks I've taken teens on a 3 day two night canoeing trip and on an over-night trip too a Major League baseball game. At my church we have a school and we are currently doing placement testing for new students. We have had a special baptism service for 8 people. Through all this, our beloved churuch treasurer has had emergency open heart surgery at a hospital 64 miles away. Praise the Lord she came home this Tuesday (9/5/06)
I'm Tired
People say when I go on the youth excursions,"Did you have fun? Was it a nice vacation?" Let me see...running around with 16 teenagers 4 hours away from home... no! it wasn't nice. And you can't use the word vacation and teenagers in the same sentence. It's an oxymoron. In fact most people I know have to go back to work just to get rested up. Know the feeling?
So, I think I'll just sit here on the porch for a minute and ponder...what!? It's the car horn. I forgot something I was suppose to do. That's the other problem with going. When you get back you have to work twice as hard to catch up on the things you didn't get done because you were gone. It makes you wonder why you left in the first place. Oh, well I gotta' go.

Situations

Situations
I’ve been pondering an old theme. As I deal with people on a day-to-day basis, I wonder, "Is it the situations that we find ourselves in that shape us?"
I don’t know how you would answer. However, I do know that you would be foolish to answer quickly without circumspection.
As I ponder this question, many situations come to my mind. I’ve counseled with the pregnant teenager, the disappointed parent, the heartbroken housewife, the angry husband, the frustrated grandparent, the suspicious employee and the grieving loved one (just to name a few). In every case, the pressure from that situation left a mark on the person. No exceptions! At times, the mark is hard to see because the individual is trying to hide it, but it is there. All have markings and scars caused by the squeezing pressures of life. You have yours and I have mine. If the discussion were dropped here, it would be very depressing due to the nature of situations.
Have you ever noticed that some people are controlled by their situation and some people aren’t? The situation of life is applying pressure, and it will leave its mark, but the one who doesn’t get controlled by the situation chooses their response instead of just reacting. I think this becomes a great lesson of life. The situations that God allows us to handle in life will shape us. The difference is will you choose to allow the situation to control you or will you choose to respond to your situation?
In the 1800’s, the Africans brought to America in the slave trade found themselves in a situation that was harsh. They didn’t bring it upon themselves. Nevertheless, they were made slaves. Yet, despite the oppression, certain ones succeeded because they chose a response to their situation. The same is true for Jews in Europe in the 1930’s and 40’s and for South Africans in the 1980’s. Countless stories of inspiration are told about people who chose to respond to their personal situations.
Is there a situation of life that’s gotta’ hold on you, and its whipping you around like a dirty dishrag? What you probably need is a response to that situation. Handle it. Don’t let it handle you.