Mission in the moment

The big picture is important, but individual moments are what counts:

The Mission in the Moment (Jeffrey Dean) from gotandem on Vimeo.

Thinking back on yesterday

Funny how a month and day can seem completely normal and mundane to one person, and yet hold year-to-year meaning for another...

It's amazing just how much can occur in the time frame of just one revolution around the sun. And yet, if today is in the context of just yesterday, or the day before, I don't see much change. I have to flip the pages of my journal all the way back to February 24 of last year and see just what has been recorded since then.

The question is posed again: Am I any different than I was last year? My journal reminds me that the answer is yes. Absolutely yes. Lessons learned, challenges embarked on, new burdens placed on my heart, all morph to change the very core of this body and mind that is me.

God has changed me. It's not the end of the journey by any means, but I am encouraged to see His working so clearly.

This year's goal: surrender. To know Him more, so fully that nothing can separate. To be able to read my journal a year from now and see once again that God has molded me to be an even closer resemblance to His beautiful character of love.

Day Nine: Difficulties

Oops.

I did think about blogging, but I had a sermon to finish preparing on Friday evening, and Sabbath evening was busy too. And then Sunday was busy. And Monday was too. So even though today is busy too, I don't really have any excuses to not write again. :-) So, I shall start back up where I left off, and try to catch up as I go.

Today's (er, Friday's) theme: Difficulties God has brought me through.

As I looked back over this year, I realized that I haven't had terribly many difficulties this year. Well, I have, but smaller kinds. So I'll share a few of those seemingly insignificant ones, and how God has, once again, shown His miraculous power in each scenario.

Spiritual down times. These come somewhat often, but each time I can know that God is near me, and that each time teaches me more about Him in a different way. Oh for the day when I have a constant connection, and my selfish heart doesn't get in the way!

Stressful press weeks. Each year we have four of these! I actually enjoy some of the stress that happens during these weeks. But usually at some point, whether at the very beginning when I realize just how much I have to do, or sometime in the middle when I have a late night or two at the office, a different kind of stress envelops me. And at those times, if I choose to let Jesus take control, He will give me perfect peace in my heart, and the strength I need to keep going and get it all done.

Drama. Oh yes. We've had our share of it around here. I can't really go into detail about the drama, but I'm so glad that my God is such a calm one. :-) He's always there with simple solutions, and never-ending grace to make it through emotional trials.

Friends leaving. I've discovered recently, to my chagrin, that I am an extremely nostalgic person. It can't be all bad, but sometime in the middle of this year, I decided that I definitely needed to learn how to get past the "good old times" and live joyously in the present. Two of my close friends have left YD this year (actually, one of those just left yesterday morning), and God has been teaching me through this difficulty that He is always there, and that life ahead will be full of just-as-good times and blessings.

Day Seven: T Blessings

T is a good letter. There are plenty of blessing-ful things that start with T. :-) So I shall list them . . .

Tea. Quite nice! I don't drink regular tea but herbal tea is nice. My most recent discovery is rooibos tea, a South African "red bush" tea that is quite tasty. I've already instructed Melissa to bring me back a couple of boxes when she goes over there in a week. :-) There's nothing cozier than a mugful of tea by a crackling fire, or while sitting on a couch with a good book!

Truth. In a class I took once (from Pastor Leroy Moore), I learned the definition of truth: Jesus. The only way to really understand truth is to look to Christ. Truth is what He thinks. Everything He thinks is truth. When He speaks, what He says materializes. God cannot lie! That is such a special thought to me. This means that every promise in the Bible is pure power. God is with me. He will protect me. He will change me. He can do (and will do) all He says He will. What a blessing indeed!

Trust. There's nothing like the knowledge that you are trusted. I have experienced that blessing this year, and I treasure it. Not that I'd intentionally do things that would betray the trust of my friends, but I have learned not to take it for granted. It is something to be guarded carefully, a blessing to hold safe.

Time. It's a blessing that it often seems like there's not enough of. It seems as though I'm constantly re-checking my priorities to make sure that it's not wasted. The time I am given is a gift, and it is needful to use it in the right way. I am thankful for the time I do have!

Thankfulness. Yes, thankfulness itself is something to be thankful for. :-) It gives peace and happiness to my heart. I have a running list on my iPod of those everyday things that bring me joy, and I love looking back at them and being reminded of the happy things in life!

Transformation. I can't change myself, so what a happy thing that God can transform me!

Technical support. As I sit here pattering away on my iPod, my friend Tony is working on my computer. I have a good knowledge of the software that runs on my computer, but the inner workings are a bit of a different story. So, at times like these, I'm thankful for willing friends who gladly fiddle with life before the welcome screen. :-)

GreaThings

I haven't been here since July.

Since then, friends have moved away, magazines have gone to press twice, I've gone on camping and hiking trips, new YD staff have arrived, and the church evangelism training class has ended.

And yet, a little over three months' absence is only a quarter of 2012. Time has dashed by and I don't often get a chance to stop and think about what it has produced.

And so, it's only fitting that I begin blogging again with a time of reflection over the past year. A friend of a friend is leading a blessing-a-day challenge, called GreaThings - two weeks of specifics to ponder and remember.

What has God done for you? Will you join us?

Safeway musings

It feels odd not to be at work this morning, but here I sit. I'm at a little round table in the coffee shop/bakery section of Safeway, enjoying the array of colors and smells, and watching customers walk by. My car is at the doctor, getting fixed, and I get to wait for awhile. I've already wandered up Main Street, and after I write this I may head back to some of the stores that are probably open now.

With this extra time, I find myself with a release to take the morning a little slower than I probably would have otherwise. I've got time to enjoy the little things...

Time to notice how small Colville really is.

Time to notice the great design inspiration a grocery market offers.

Time to observe people at work.

Time to organize my internet bookmarks.

Time to listen to the words of songs.

Time to enjoy color.

Time to, well, write a blog....

And I've even got time to think.

It's a luxury these days to find more than just a snippet of quality time where I can sit outside or on the couch and do nothing but think. It's great to be busy, but I've realized the need for time to simply think about the immense and marvelous topics of life, and of the amazing character and salvation of Christ. If I don't take time to train my mind in this direction, my thoughts wander off to other things... and I'd much rather learn to discipline it the right way.

So yeah. I've enjoyed the last hour and a half of time.

I'm now off to explore the town more...

Distracted...

If you look at the last date I posted, you'll notice that it's been two months since I last wrote. Other than busy-ness, there's not really a whole lot of reason for that.

Except that I've been distracted.

A few days ago, I came here and wondered where the time had gone. After all, so much has happened between now and then! And then I realized what happened... A few weeks after I wrote, I re-joined the world of facebook, thus sending me into a new sphere of activity. It was fun for awhile, and actually still is! But I've decided that there are better things in life. For example...

- Time with friends is so much more valuable when you find out information from them first-hand.
- There really are other things on the internet besides facebook. Places where I can actually learn something.
- I get a lot more done. Even though I don't have internet at home, I get status updates on my phone and can connect with the cyber world that way.
- Instead of checking my phone first thing in the morning, I can take time with my Creator.
- Happy-birthday wishes? In my opinion, they're much more special when your friends actually remember your day and shoot you an e-mail, instead of being informed by an automatically generated calendar.
- It's so freeing to be away from it....... those of you who have done the same thing as me know what I mean. :-)

I wrote those off the top of my head, but if I stopped to think more, I could come up with several reasons.

In short, it was a distraction.

I'm glad to be undistracted by it now! I plan to use the time to spend with my heavenly Prince, and grow closer to Him and His ideal for me. And... while I'm off facebook, I think you'll probably hear more from me, here. ;-)