Yearly Archives: 2014

Overcoming a Fall, even at the Olympics

overcoming a fall

I have now seen it half a dozen times and I’m amazed every time. When the Winter Olympics roll around, my girls are very into figure skating. We have watched at least three nights of figure skating competition at this point and the thing that impresses me most is how fast they get up after a fall! I’m thinking – these athletes are on a world stage, have trained for years, and are competing for one of the highest honors in this field; a fall must be super disappointing! I personally would want to crawl into a hole and never show my face again. But what I’m seeing is the opposite. They get up as fast as possible and keep going! Watching these athletes overcoming a fall is refreshing. I am realizing in their case that the only way to get points is to keep going. Quitting in response to a fall guarantees defeat, but getting back up means they may take a deduction or may just not get as many points as they were hoping. For their score is about the sum of an entire routine, not just the one move that resulted in the fall.

“for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again…” (Proverbs 24:16 NIV)

I feel like this is true in our spiritual lives as well. When we fall to a challenge or even to a temptation, our effectiveness will be based on how fast we get back up, get back in the game, and get back about God’s business. The enemy would love to have us focus on the fall and not get back up. But only by getting up will we be able to re-engage in God’s work and purpose for our lives. And our effort is going after something even greater than an Olympic gold. How well are you overcoming?

Lessons from Millie… Turning off the agenda

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We got a dog for Christmas. Yep, I finally gave in. Those who are closer to us know that I have been holding out on this one, while Adena and the girls have wanted a dog for years.

It hasn’t been a surprise that much of Millie’s regular walks are handled by yours truly. The girls are not quite to the point of doing it on their own. And when given the opportunity of staying home or walking with us, they frequently prefer the former, especially while it’s been cold outside.

To give Adena room to focus on homeschooling and starting the day well, I typically take Millie out for her morning jaunt around the block right before I head out to work. One of our recent strolls, I was struck with a revelation – Millie has no agenda and maybe it would be good for me to try turning off my agenda sometimes.

Too much on my mind

You see, when we head out, I have two or three things in my head.
1. Millie needs to take care of her, ahem, business.
2. We need to get around the block and back to the house.
3. What will I be moving onto next in my day? My first meeting, the pressing project, the unfinished work from yesterday, etc.

But Millie isn’t thinking about any of those things. She’s enjoying the sights and sounds of our neighborhood which somehow change every day for her, while they look exactly the same for me. She’s taking her time and if she wants to stop, just to sniff a patch of grass, she will do just that. In fact, I’m even starting to see that sometimes she is just happy to be WITH ME!

Turning off

And then it occurred to me, I might need to follow Millie’s example from time to time and try turning off my agenda. It isn’t necessary to have an agenda every moment of the day. Or even every day of the week. (I’ve written a post on the importance of margin here; guess I needed a new object lesson on that!)

Make some time today for turning off your agenda. Go for a walk and see the sights and sounds of your neighborhood. And try to do it with fresh eyes. Millie and I may see you there!

Finding Peace Despite a Chaotic Day

Starting off early, it already felt like one of those days. chaos in your world

The morning got off to a rocky start when a new tool I’d been hoping to use to save lots of time decided that it wasn’t going to work for me. Maybe work a little bit, but not as much as I was hoping.

And then I just had this weight hit me – the world is spinning out of control!

I’m nearly two months behind on half a dozen projects. Everyone on my team is running at full speed, which means I can’t give things away. I’m just not sure how to get anything more done.

Have you ever had one of those days?

I was talking with a friend the same afternoon about some of the things he was working through. Interestingly enough, I found these words coming out of my mouth. “You know, even when you feel like the world is spinning out of control, it’s still in HIS control.”

Wait a minute, where did that wisdom come from?

I didn’t have that confidence when I was facing my own chaos. Of course not, because it’s often easier to see clearly when you’re outside the situation. Imagine a tornado. From the outside of the funnel, it can almost be a thing of beauty. Outside the funnel, it seems like all things are calm. But inside the funnel, man, talk about spinning out of control!

The same night, I was reading in Joshua chapter 23 –

“One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as He promised.”

When you’re facing a whirlwind or a mountain of activity that you aren’t sure how you’ll get through, remember this. When God is in control, He works everything out for your good. And despite the look of things (one versus a thousand?), He will bring the victory.