RUNNING INSTEAD OF WALKING?

It’s been a long time since I posted, partly because I’m barely keeping my head above water with my health, my job, & other responsibilities. It is so draining to deal with constant complications, when I so much want a simpler life. My heart longs to imitate the verse Micah 6:8: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, & to walk humbly with your God?”



But it seems as if there are so many trivial things that get in the way of this. Somehow, it is always the urgent, trivial things that seem to impede the important things. Many years ago, NavPress published a little booklet called “The Tyranny of the Urgent”, & I have always felt that the title is an accurate description of the things that tangle my feet daily. Dealing with day to day trivialities, I neglect the things that edify the Body, & draw me closer to my Father. It is a constant battle to put the IMPORTANT things first.


I am blessed to be able to listen to music while on the job. Just today, I was struck by a song that has had a strong influence on me: “Running Just to Catch Myself” by Mark Schultz. I love the humor & the truth of it for those of us who must work the standard “business hours” of 8am - 5pm (or MORE!).


Here are the lyrics, but in order to get the REAL DEPTH of the song, I suggest that you go to iTunes or Amazon to download the song.


Here is the Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/Running-Just-To-Catch-Myself/dp/B004V7EKUO/ref=sr_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1340204183&s=dmusic&sr=1-30

I am driving

I am late for work

Spilling coffee down my whitest shirt

While I'm flossing and I'm changing lanes

Oh Yeah

Now I'm driving

Through the parking lot

Doing eighty,

Hey, what the heck, why not?

Watch it lady, Cuz you’re in my spot

Once again.

It's early to work

And here's a surprise,

I got a McMuffin for

just 99 cents today-

I think they ran a special

CHORUS:

I can't stand still!

Can I get a witness?

Can you hear me?

Anybody, Anybody?

I think I am running just to catch myself!

Maybe someday I could fly away

Go to Key Largo or Montego Bay

Sport my Speedo, maybe grab a tan

DREAM VACATION, WILD ELATION!

Now I'm running

Straight into my boss

And he's angry,

Oh, and he calls me ‘Ross’

Which is funny, cause that ain’t my name

And that’s lame!

I'm still running

Running very late,

For a meeting

Wait, that was yesterday!

Guess I'm early for the one next week,

Oh how sweet

I get on the ladder, I corporately climb

I wave at my life as it passes me by everyday

My name's not Ross!

I can't stand still!

Can I get a witness?

Can you hear me?

Anybody, Anybody?

I think I am running just to catch myself!

Life in my cubicle’s discreet, Life in my cubicle is neat

I've got some pictures of my friends

Some sharpened pencils...where's my pen?

Ten O'clock I'm in a meeting

Paper cut, I think I'm bleeding

Check my hair it's still receding,

Hey what a life!

Break for lunch, there's nothing better

Run outside and don my sweater

Like Fred Rogers, let's be neighbors

I've lost my mind!

I'm overworked, and underpaid, and unappreciated

It's just a perk of being of being middle class and educated

One... spinning circles in my chair

Two...win a game of solitaire

Three... and I ponder where my stapler's gone to,

Four O'clock and I stare at the door,

And I stare at my watch, then I stare at the door.

I stand by my desk like I'm going to war.

There's just one thing that I'll be needing

Grab my paycheck as I'm leaving

Oh oh oh oh oh oh ohhhhhhh

Five O'clock, it's time to go

There's crowds to fight and horns to blow

It's talking fast on my cell phone

Hey, watch out! That’s reckless driving!

Five O'clock, it’s time to leave,

Hit the couch and watch TV.

Set the clock and go to sleep.

It's 8 a.m. on Monday morning

Again and again and again and again and again!

Driving around, nowhere to go,

So I hang with my lady,

Oh, and I chill with my bro,

It's okay, in my Cabriolet

I can't stand still!

Can I get a witness?

Can you hear me?

Anybody, Anybody?

I think I am running just to catch myself!

When I meet God, I will have a question.

I just forgot the question.

I think I am running just to catch myself!

Wishing you a blessed day!

Perspective #2

Recently I wrote about perspective. I thought I had gained some good insight into how God sees things, but in the past few weeks, I've encountered other things that have challenged me to an even deeper understanding.


It all started with me being a stressed-out mess a couple of weeks ago. Somehow, in the middle of a normal conversation, I busted out crying. I knew that the cause of all the noise was work-related issues looming on the horizon, but I hadn't expected them to affect me so much.


After I calmed down a bit, I tried to apologize, but when I tried to speak, I just began crying again. While all this was going on, I felt so guilty about burdening someone else with my "baggage". It wasn't her fault that I was a stressed out crazy person due to work pressure and chronic insomnia.


But my listener didn't criticize me or try to get out of the situation. Instead, she gave me a huge hug and let me get over my tears and drama. As we talked, she gently chided me for trying so hard to be a "super Christian" with no problems or struggles.


She also challenged me to be more open with you, my readers, since ALL Christians have struggles in their lives. If I was waiting until I was a "spiritual giant" with no problems BEFORE I wrote any blog entries, the blog would quickly become extinct!!


I must admit that my pride took a blow at being so "weak" in front of another person. But as I thought about it, I realized that it was JUST my pride. That's always been a weakness of mine, & here it was, rearing its ugly head again!


I was also apprehensive about considering vulnerability in a public forum like a blog. Security has always been a hot button issue for me, because I used to work in criminal justice. So I tend to keep my personal "gunk" private. But I also feel called by God to write this blog, which means that sharing my personal stuff is part of the deal.


I know that, when it comes to TRUE security, that can only come from God. I remembered Psalm 91:4-7: "He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and a bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not approach you." [NASB]


I see now that, if God has called me to this, then my security lies in HIS hands. So I guess that means that you, my readers, will get to know more about me, my personal struggles, and hopefully some of the victories along the way.


In case you're wondering, the work-related stuff worked out OK, although it was a difficult and challenging situation. I was in a scenario where I could easily have failed, but managed to make it through without crashing and burning. My insomnia, which is due to a medical condition, played a major role, but God gave me the strength to endure and emerge victorious. My tears over the whole situation were wasted water.


Sometimes, even as Christians, we experience victory "by the skin of our teeth ", but it is still a victory nevertheless. In my case, it was a near thing, but it was NOT an "epic fail", for which I am sooooo grateful. Failure could have meant serious consequences for me professionally, but as it turned out, my reputation and my Christian witness have remained intact. Which means that I "live to fight another day."


I think that God still has much to teach me about His perspective. If you'll keep "tuning in", I'll keep on sharing what I learn.

PERSPECTIVE

To say the least, it’s been a long week. Even on Monday night, I was feeling plenty sorry for myself. I felt terrible physically, & mentally I was just wiped (out). Altho it’s one of my favorite shows, I almost didn’t make it thru watching “Dancing With the Stars”, & collapsed into bed soon afterward.


You could say that I have a complicated life. Working full-time, with a house “up north” & another “down south”, my sis & I share 12 dogs (yes, I said 12!), 6 sheep, 30 chickens, 4 parrots, & “a partridge in a pear tree”! Of my dogs, one is almost blind & going deaf, one is old & somewhat senile, one has brain damage from seizures, & one is starting to show dementia. Their needs are great, & I always feel inadequate in trying to meet them. Not to mention everything else!

In truth, I don’t suppose my life is any more complicated than most parents with a house full of active kids, & and all of their needs. I was just feeling sorry for myself. Put upon. Unappreciated. Bummed out.

The Word always has something to say, even when it gets bad like that, & that night was REALLY bad. I can always find comfort in Psalms, but one of my all-time favorite places to lift my spirits is in the Isaiah 40’s. Yeah, I know, real specific! But this is gained over years of going back to reading these passages, & the blessings they have brought to me.


So here are a few nuggets from these wonderful passages:

Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes. [40:11]

Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing. [40:26]

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. [40:28-31]

Now, this is just Isaiah 40! Let me tell you, there’s even more to lift your heart as you read thru these chapters! So give it a try! And don't lose heart. "The battle has already been won, beloved! Now it's time to start ACTING victorious!!"

Finally, here is a classic to lift your hearts. If you’re having a tough time, let the cadence of these stanzas bring joy to your soul:

There is a land of pure delight
Where saints immortal reign,
Infinite day excludes the night,
And pleasures banish pain.

There everlasting spring abides,
And never-withering flowers:
Death like a narrow sea divides
This heavenly land from ours.

Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood
Stand dressed in living green:
So to the Jews old Canaan stood,
While Jordan rolled between.

But timorous mortals start and shrink
To cross this narrow sea,
And linger shivering on the bank,
And fear to launch away.

Oh could we make our doubts remove,
These gloomy doubts that rise,
And see the Canaan that we love,
With unbeclouded eyes.

Could we but climb where Moses stood,
And view the landscape o'er
Not Jordan's stream, nor death's cold flood
Should fright us from the shore.

~~“A Prospect of Heaven Makes Death Easy” by Isaac Watts

How Do YOU Measure Up?

We often tend to measure ourselves against the performance of other people. We’re more intelligent, or dumber, or prettier, or more musical or artistic. 

But God measures us in other ways. The psalmist phrases it so:

O Lord, who may abide in Thy tent?

Who may dwell on Thy holy hill?

He who:

*  Walks with integrity

*  Works righteousness

*  Speaks truth in his heart

*  Does not slander with his tongue

*  Does no evil to his neighbor

*  Doesn’t take up a reproach against his friend

*  Despises a reprobate

*  Honors those who fear the Lord

*  Swears to his own hurt and does not change

*  Doesn’t put out his money at interest

*  Takes no bribe against the innocent

He who does these things will never be shaken.

[Psalm 15]

In the New Testament, Paul tells us:

The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God.

[I Corinthians 1:25-29]

So, on this day of rest, my brothers & sisters in the Lord, how do you measure up?

At your service in His service,

KenaniahSings