Whatever You're Doing

Do you ever wonder at times what God is doing?

I often find myself thinking (I hesitate to say questioning here) about what God is up to in my life. I wonder about what story He is creating for me. I wonder how He is weaving together the miscellaneous strings that are in my life.

Right now, there is a lot of chaos and confusion in my life. I'm drifting, wandering, somewhat lost. That's where I am in my story right now. Trying to find my way.

There's a song by Sanctus Real called "Whatever You're Doing." It's about not knowing what God is up to in your life, but knowing that this mess of life is His and He is doing something with it.

"Whatever you're doing, inside of me

It feels like chaos, but somehow there's peace

Though it's hard to surrender to what I can't see

I'm giving in to something heavenly"

I believe that God knows what He's doing. Even when I can't see it or hear it or feel it. All I can see is chaos, but there's a bigger picture that is beyond my vision. My eyes are out of focus, and I can't see what He's up to.

But, I still trust Him...do you?

The importance of keeping track

One of the most recent topics that I have written about is related to goals. I talked about the importance of setting them. But I failed to mention something very important.

You need to find a way to keep track of your goals.

This is crucial, and I can't believe I forgot to comment on it. Keeping track of your goals is important for two reasons:

1. It helps you know where you are.

2. It helps you know what you need to tweak.

For example, one of my goals for August is to lose 5 lbs. When I weighed myself on Monday, I found out where I was. Which was far away. I also learned that I need to step up my game if I want to accomplish my goal. Which unfortunately means no chocolate pecan pie for me. (At least not every night!)

I always write mine down in my Moleskine notebook (you can find these at Target and Barnes & Noble), so that I can easily find them. My challenge to you is to find a method that works for you and implement it. You might find that you are more aware of where you are in accomplishing your goals and let you know what to tweak for future benefit.

Not if, but when

I’m a huge baseball fan. I’ve grown up playing it in the backyard with my brother and sister (mostly my brother). My mom likes to tell the story of how my dad sat me up when I was like 10 months old to watch the first ever night game at Wrigley Field. I bet that I have spent about 50% of my waking hours watching and keeping track of the Atlanta Braves. I love pulling for my team.

And right now, there’s a player for the Braves (Dan Uggla) who has a 31 game hitting streak. For those of you who are not baseball aficionados, this is an extremely long time. To play in 31 games and get at least one hit in each of those is very rare. He has the longest streak this season. One question that people are asking about this streak is:

When is it going to end?

Not if. Because there is no way Uggla can continue to get one hit in the remaining 50 something games. It. Is. Impossible. Thus, the question becomes about when it will end.

In life, there are many circumstances that can be answered by with an “if.”

If I get a job…

If we can have a baby…

If I go back to school…

I want to challenge you to change those “ifs” to “whens.” It can make all the difference in the world when you do.

Why You Should Never Give Up

This morning, I was reading in my Bible...I was in the book of John in chapter 5. It's the story of the sick man by the pool. Even in Bible times, pools were awesome...this one was particularly cool because it was a healing pool. This sick man waited all day every day for someone to stir the pool because right after that you get in and be healed. What a great pool!

(this is not the actual pool...do not be fooled by the awesomeness that is this pool)

Something important that can be grasped from this story is the idea of never giving up. There are 3 critical components to this story that make it worth taking a closer look:

1. The man desired change. He wanted to be healed. He wanted to get to the pool. He wasn't happy with his situation, and he wanted to try and fix it.

2. The man had tried many times, but someone else beat him to it. Someone was always quicker. His previous failures were interfering with his ability to achieve the present goal.

3. The man believed when told he was healed. Can you imagine what must be going through his head when Jesus told him to get up? "Yeah right, get up and walk. Like I haven't heard that one before." It's like when you are waiting on someone to unlock the door to a store, and this smart alleck comes up behind you and tries to open the door. Hello!! Obviously it's locked or you would've gone inside. Jerk. But the sick man decides to try it anyway with a sliver of hope running through his mind. And it worked. He picked up his mat and walked away. The door to the store was not locked after all. You could go in and not stand out in the cold.

There are many things in this life that we will find difficult. It may be finding a job, trying to have a baby, or stepping out into the world on your own. You will want to give up. You will want to turn around with your tail between your legs and run home.

DON'T.

The Power of a Dream

This afternoon I had a dream...no, I wasn't taking a nap (that was yesterday), but I was having a conversation with someone. This particular person told me that they had read my book review and thought that I was a good writer (not trying to toot my own horn here...there is a point to me telling you this). This person then proceeded to state five words that may potentially change my life:

"You should ______ ___ _______."

Ok, I can't tell you what this person suggested I do (nor am I going to tell you who this was, in case you noticed). Because if I tell you, then I might have to actually do it. I would be held accountable, and I'm not ready for that pressure just yet.

The point is (I know you're relieved I finally got here) that there was a dream planted in me this afternoon. I've become obsessed with it. I haven't been able to think about much else all day...it's incredible. I feel like a little kid. But dreams aren't merely ideas that float around in your head. You care about your dreams. They are personal. They mean something to you.

Dreams are powerful things. They challenge us to move, create, think. The power of a dream is that it calls you to action. I had always had this thought hanging around in the back, deep, dark depths in my mind. But when I heard it said out loud by someone else, it was as if something in my heart opened up. A dream was born. And it has a firm grasp on me right now.

What are dreaming about right now?

An "Untitled" Book Review

In exchange for writing a book review for this blog, I received a complimentary copy of the book.

            Blaine Hogan’s Untitled offers a refreshing look into the multidimensional world of creativity. Hogan works as a creative arts director for Willow Creek Community Church and has a background in theatre.

            Hogan begins the book with a metaphor of the blank page. “The blank page represents the murky space before the bubbling idea has enough form to be named…” Throughout the book, the underlying theme is that the creative process requires work. To go from a blank page to a story worth telling means that you have to be creating something. Hogan repeatedly states that execution is more important than simply having an idea, and execution is dirty work because sometimes you get rejected. At the same time, you can’t undersell your idea. That’s the cheap way out. You have to dig down and commit everything to your own ideas.  

            Hogan outlines the book in a way that allows the ideas to flow from point A to point B. There are no “chapters”; rather, there are “movements.” They all touch on important factors about creativity, like the necessity of having art come from your heart. The connection between art and God is a clear theme in this book. One with which I wholeheartedly agree. Hogan believes our expression or art reflects our relationship with God. Hogan states, “Our art…becomes our confession.” I think this is a beautiful statement. What better way to honor God than with something as precious as art.

             Untitled wraps up with the emphasis Hogan places on never giving up. He says that resistance is trying to destroy any creative ideas you may have. You have to face your inner critic and throw it away. Hogan includes a refreshing story about when he worked as a youth arts camp. He noticed the children were having trouble facing their inner critics. He told them to think of it as if it is there on their shoulders. Every morning, they would grab this critic and throw him out in the alleyway. Hogan suggests using a similar tactic when you start to hear your inner critic throwing some resistance your way.

            Untitled is an enjoyable, thoughtful, and unique treatise on Blaine Hogan’s ideas related to the creative process. It is wonderfully written and is full of humor and wit. Hogan weaves in personal anecdotes and stories to help clarify any ideas or notions that he presents. It is a thought-provoking piece that will challenge the way you think about creativity. 

Thoughtful Thursday

I'm addicted to reading whatever Don Miller writes. Seriously, he's that good. His words make me think, feel, laugh, cry, and wonder like nobody else's words do. They make me want to take action, do something, or create something beautiful.

Now this isn't a Don Miller praise session (although it may seem like it based on the first paragraph). But I do want to attempt to describe a concept that he writes about often. And that is the idea of “story.”

Story is what we do with our life.

Story is the ups and downs that occur in our life.

Story is how you react to those ups and downs.

You can have a good story or a bad story. It’s up to you.

What’s your story?