Start the day with S.I.P.

Let me clarify. By S.I.P., I do not mean hauling out some booze to help start the day. However, there are days when it does seem like that would be a valid way to work out some issues.

I was thinking of this recently. The days that I do not just jump right out of bed to start dealing with the day? My day goes better. If I take just 5 - 10 minutes to ease my way into the day? I'm guessing it doesn't change the things that will happen during the day, but it does help me in dealing with it.

I was kind of doing each thing individually. Not really naming it or anything, but those little phrases that remind you of other things make it easier to remember. (Lesson for the day, who knew? I thought it started with a "p":
mnemonic - something intended to assist the memory, as a verse or formula.)

SO: *S - Stretch *I - Inspiration *P - Pray

Stretch - Technically, you don't even have to get out of bed. Just stay there for a few minutes. Reaching up and out. Pulling your legs toward your chest. Whatever feels good. Think about it. Once we get up and on the move those muscles remain cramped especially if you do not have a physical job. We jump into our cars, hunch over the steering wheel to rush into an office where we sit in a chair probably on a computer for way too long. Trying to remember good posture.

Inspiration  - Can be combined with stretch if you pick music or listening to a devotional, etc. My phone has some music selections that I find inspirational. This has been one of my nicest things to do with my "smart" phone. I can download a short devotional or song and play it back whenever. Some of them have become my ring tone and bring me some peace during the day.

Pray -  Something else that can be done while doing something else. However, finding SOME focused time during the day when you can do more than just sentence prayers can really help put things in perspective. If you drive to work, try leaving the radio off. At first, it seems kind of awkward. When you get really into it, you might start talking out loud to God just like you would to a good friend. It may look odd to passersby, but face it there are worse things you could get caught doing in your car! ;)

I think my biggest insight into all of this though is it takes being intentional. I know all these things in my head. Exercise even a bit is better than not doing any. Finding some inspiration can be beneficial for me and for others to encourage them on their walk. Prayer can take care of a lot of the worries that don't ever happen. The "if" factor.

Life - Prepare by taking a S.I.P. than diving in!

Psalm 3:4-6 (MSG)
3-4 But you, God, shield me on all sides;
You ground my feet, you lift my head high;
With all my might I shout up to God,
His answers thunder from the holy mountain.
5-6 I stretch myself out. I sleep.
Then I’m up again—rested, tall and steady,
Fearless before the enemy mobs
Coming at me from all sides.

 

2 Timothy 3:16 (MSG)
There's nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.

 

2 Timothy 2:22 (MSG)
22-26 Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God’s servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil’s trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands.

YOU are a gift. Share It!

This week, I was reminded of gifts. Spiritual and otherwise. The gift of friendship. The gift of just being there and being able to know that others were sharing the stress and pain of life even if they were not physically present with me. A gift of knowing that when I was feeling battle worn that there people standing in the gap with me....for me, praying when I did not feel the strength to even issue an amen.

Often, we think of gifts as being physical. We think of gifts as something that have to be purchased. Something that we give a person to open. Maybe we used fancy, expensive wrapping paper....or in my case when in a pinch....comics have done the job. :)

There can be times in life when we don't feel gifted or even beneficial to the universe. It is at those precise moments though that God works His best.

I was also blessed this week to attend a healing room. We often think of physical issues that need healing. We often neglect or fail to take the time to recognize the full value of mental and emotional healing as well. Many times healing takes just that....time. We want an instant fix. Sometimes it is instant. Sometimes healing takes a bit longer or looks different than we expect.

In this moment though, I want to acknowledge the fact that we have each been given gifts that are unique to us. Gifts that we need to acknowledge to be able to help others and often though helping others, we are blessed as well.

1 Corinthians 12 7:11 (NIV) Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,  and to still another the interpretation of tongues.11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

1 Corinthians 12:25-26 (MSG) The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

Galatians 5:22 (NIV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Cloudy days - Cloudy mind

Recently, we had storms in Michigan. The picture below does not show how dark the lingering clouds actually were. What I like is that there is an obvious distinction of where the clouds stop. You can see a light ahead. It is an excellent visual of what depression feels like. Like clouds, depression can dissipate. Unlike clouds, sometimes it takes more than just waiting for it to pass.

It is incredibly difficult to watch someone head under the clouds. When all they see are clouds. Dark ones.

For the days that may be more than just days. When you don't see the road going anywhere. When you don't see the light ahead. When your mind feels cloudy and rainy and just generally yucky. For the days when you realize that you may need more help. When you need to reach out, but don't feel like you can. May you know that there are friends and family waiting along the sidelines to bring you into the light. May you know that there is a God that loves you through anything.....especially the darkest days.


Isaiah 40:30-31 (NIV) Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Don't "DIS"miss....discuss.....

I like to play with words. Sometimes because English is SO confusing. Sometimes because I'm kind of nerdy like that, but Hey! worked for Dr. Seuss! :)

I remember hearing the phrase, "Don't diss me". Usually this was used as a way of saying don't be disrespectful.  Recently, I was thinking of the way that using the prefix dis really changes the whole meaning of a word. In fact, in most of the ways I can think of, using the word dis makes the word become more negative.

I had a list kind of going in my head, but I admit I "googled" to find some examples. There were more than I had thought of. A few examples:

Read right side first:

 

If you focus on the list on the right, the words seem pretty positive. Go back and read them again though putting dis in front of the word. Discouraging!

One of my favorite things to harp on lately seems to be communication. This does not mean I am good at it. I can knock out a piece of writing....talk to me and I feel like I trip on my tongue. Call me on the phone. I may not answer. Some people are excellent talkers and not so great at writing. Sometimes communication just seems to come to a halt. To keep with the dis theme here, DISCUSS. Whatever way you have to do it. Blogpost, whiteboard, text, letter, over coffee. Find a way that works and use it! (Just try not to do it when frustrated when it is WAY to easy to say things we don't mean and turn things into a disaster)

In our lives and in our communication, we can be encouraging or discouraging. I know which one I want to be.....to others and myself. However, too often I find words of discouragement creeping in. Do your best to find a way to keep it positive and to be empathetic realizing that the person you are dealing with might be having a really disgusting day and creating a disgusting mood. Do your best to see past that and find the real reason for the attitude. (ESPECIALLY with teens.....and don't take it personally) At my house, usually I disregard (!) the first few things out of my loved ones mouths....especially if it involves mornings!

Be blessed. Be a blessing. Find a way to take care of yourself so you can take care of the others that come across your path. A little kindness goes the distance. :)

Class dismissed....for now. ;)

Job 4 (NIV)
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled;
you have strengthened faltering knees.
5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;
it strikes you, and you are dismayed.

Proverbs 17:27-28 (NIV)
27 The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered. 28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.

But HOW do you KNOW?!?!?!?! Who moved?

My early AM pondering is leading me, as usual, to thoughts of belief....and unbelief. I was raised going to church (2x most Sundays). My dad (God bless him!) read a devotion for us at dinner.....where we all sat down and ate together. In later years, grandma V.V. was there too. The T.V. was off. We talked to each other. Do I remember about what? Not necessarily. Do I know I miss those days? YES!

I have felt guilty that I let myself get too busy, too distressed and too depressed to carry on our family tradition. I did much better when our kids were little. It was "easier" then. It seems that with all the time-saving devices and technologies we would have MORE time. Sure doesn't feel that way though. More time wasters maybe.

I don't remember ever really questioning my faith. I guess I always just accepted it as true. I remember that I didn't think/know/realize about the personal relationship part of faith until much later. I know that even though I now understand the relationship better I still don't spend time doing things I think I SHOULD do, but find plenty of things I WANT to do! One of our pastors used to say his wife got frustrated that they did not sit as close to each other in the front seat as they used to when they dated, etc. He was driving. So he said, "Who moved?"

I see this in my relationship with God also. He's driving. He's in the same seat. IF I'm not as close as I want to be? I'm the one who moved....and needs to slide back across that seat.

I used to be surrounded by friends and family that did not question their faith either. This makes it MUCH easier to know what I believed. Lately, I have been around many more people that would consider themselves atheists or agnostic. I've been to classes and heard talks about "evangelizing". When you are around people of your own faith and beliefs, you can get out of the realization that everyone may not believe as you do. I think this is what is happening to me.

Someone very close to me is one of those people. A couple of the things he asks me is what if you had not been raised "that" way? What if no one had told you about God? I try not to think about it, but my mind keeps getting drawn back to those questions.

I would LOVE to think that if that were true, I would look around at the nature around me....at my own body...that has held and produced a little bundle of joy.....at his body and how he was grown from my baby to full grown son. The fact that my heart beats, my lungs breathe and my eyelids open and shut without me ever thinking of how those things happen. I would like to think of the people that I have been blessed to know. I would like to think that I would KNOW that a piece was missing in this puzzle of life. I would like to think that someone would give me reading material, a Bible so I could form my own opinion.

Thankfully, since I had a foundation to build on, I have found that easier. Many have not been given that opportunity. I have great respect for adults that come to faith. By the time we are adults, we have formed opinions on information. We have logical minds that try to override a loving, not so logical heart and soul. We have to ponder if we even have a soul and where does it go?

I have to admit I don't have ALL the answers and I'm grateful that I do not have to. In the meantime, I will continue to pass on the insights I've been given, plant the seed if you will. I will leave it up to others along the paths of life to help take care of it....to take care of you. I will pray that you will find a way to KNOW that works for you. I will pray that if you are feeling the need to move back or find that missing piece that you actively search for answers that will bring you peace....and understanding....that you can know.


Colossians 4 (NIV) Further Instructions
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.