I dropped the ball on the last few days of the 31writenow challenge, but I couldn't let the last day of the month go by without a post. Maybe then at least I can say I fumbled the ball instead. (Look at me making a sports reference, the person who wasn't sure if the Jets played baseball or football)
Listen carefully and speak honestly. It sounds so simple, but it's so difficult to do. If you listen carefully to people, you might just hear God. If you speak honestly to people, they might just hear God. Jesus was all about being real. He listened carefully and with compassion. He not only spoke the truth, He WAS and IS the truth. Truth is life and learning to truly do these things will make life fuller and more real.
I'm going to make developing these things a priority. I'm not dishonest, but when I look back on some conversations, I realize that I sometimes say things for the wrong reason or that I misinterpreted something someone was saying because of the filter I put in through in my head. I fumble the ball of communication they pass me. If you think you could use some work in this area too, I invite you to join me in making some improvements. Let's learn to really hear people and speak honestly.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Friday, August 23, 2013
RT 280 and the Narrow Road
Route 280 West
ROAD NARROWS
Character grows
RIGHT LANE CLOSED
Yellow arrows flash you to the left and you regret taking this path
Tail lights ahead stay red
Patience grows
Experience grows
BUMP
UNEVEN PAVEMENT
Now, the bumpy road feels like a massage
RAMP TO 287 CLOSED
Life detoured
GPS recalculating
GPS broken
Faith grows
ROAD NARROWS
Faith grows
ROAD NARROWS
Faith grows
LIFE AHEAD
ROAD NARROWS
Character grows
RIGHT LANE CLOSED
Yellow arrows flash you to the left and you regret taking this path
Tail lights ahead stay red
Patience grows
Experience grows
BUMP
UNEVEN PAVEMENT
Now, the bumpy road feels like a massage
RAMP TO 287 CLOSED
Life detoured
GPS recalculating
GPS broken
Faith grows
ROAD NARROWS
Faith grows
ROAD NARROWS
Faith grows
LIFE AHEAD
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Grandma and Jesus
Today, my grandmother finally made her great escape. You see, she's been trying to get back to Hagley Gap, where she was born in Jamaica, for quite some time now. Almost on a daily basis (unless it was cold outside) she would devise her escape plan of walking to Jamaica from New Jersey, pack her bag, and make her attempt. Her plan never quite worked, but today, God devised the plan and His plans always work.
Thelma Roberts passed away this afternoon. If you go to the houses of several people she knew, you'll find hanging above doorways JESUS needlepoint art she made and gave to them. It's sewn in a way that you have to stare at it for a little while until you see the word, but once you see it, the JESUS pops out and you can't believe you didn't see it before. That is how I know she's okay. Even as her mind began to fail her, her spirit never did as I would still hear her singing hymns that signified her trust in the Lord. Jesus is so incredibly real to me because of seeds planted by people like my grandmother that I can't even believe I didn't see Him before. The most popular verse in the Bible says that God gave His only begotten son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. She believed in Him. She has everlasting life.
Thank you, Lord, for my grandmother and the effect she had on everyone she inspired and took care of. Thank you for every smile she put on a little girl's face when she presented her with the doll she'd sewn for them. Thank you for the courage you gave her to come to this country alone and start a new life. Thank you for the memories we have of eating the mangos she grew in her back yard that we always made a mess with. Thank you for your Holy Spirit being with her every moment of her life encouraging, comforting, and guiding her.
Dear Grandma,
You made it to Gap. Perhaps not Hagley, but definitely Heaven. Enjoy the sunshine and the palm trees. Tell Pa I said Hi. Thanks for introducing me to our Lord so that I can be sure I'll see you again. Love you.
Love,
Nat
Monday, August 19, 2013
Geese and Success
Today I learned that I'm a goose-killer. I kill geese all the time without realizing it and this goose-icide must come to an end. I'm not the only one. You might just be a goose-killer too.
In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, the author makes reference to the story of the farmer whose goose began to lay golden eggs. The more the goose laid eggs, the greedier the farmer got and soon, he became impatient with getting one egg at a time. He decided to kill the goose and get all the eggs at the same time, but of course, there was nothing there. The farmer lost his gold-egg laying goose and that was the end of the gold eggs.
Covey used this example to show what happens in life when we don't nurture the thing that brings about the results we want. When we ignore such things and just look at the product, producing becomes unsustainable. We need to nurture our relationships with others, take care of our health, and maintain the physical and mental tools that we use in order to achieve lasting success.
I'm still just reading the introduction and I can tell this is going to be a great book. If you haven't read it, join me and lets develop together! We'll break up the goose-mob.
In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, the author makes reference to the story of the farmer whose goose began to lay golden eggs. The more the goose laid eggs, the greedier the farmer got and soon, he became impatient with getting one egg at a time. He decided to kill the goose and get all the eggs at the same time, but of course, there was nothing there. The farmer lost his gold-egg laying goose and that was the end of the gold eggs.
Covey used this example to show what happens in life when we don't nurture the thing that brings about the results we want. When we ignore such things and just look at the product, producing becomes unsustainable. We need to nurture our relationships with others, take care of our health, and maintain the physical and mental tools that we use in order to achieve lasting success.
I'm still just reading the introduction and I can tell this is going to be a great book. If you haven't read it, join me and lets develop together! We'll break up the goose-mob.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Realness and Unfrosted Stale Cake
What does it mean to be real?
Does it mean that the barbed wire fence you put up around your heart where the barbs are tough words and veils has to be torn down?
Does it mean you can't allow your mind to wander back to yesterday or into tomorrow and live what you're doing at the moment?
Does it mean that your words are only used for communication and never for manipulation or to make someone think something about you that isn't quite true? Or make them believe that you think something about them that isn't quite true?
Does it mean throwing velvety stuffed words at people instead of bowling ball ones so that when they hit, it won't hurt?
Does it mean your eye color must stay the same every day so the filter through which you see others and yourself is consistent?
Does it mean you have to know about the plank in your eye? What if your eye is numb?
Does it mean no plastic is allowed to be attached to you? No more masks of makeup or deceptive speeches?
Does it mean throwing velvety stuffed words at people instead of bowling ball ones so that when they hit, it won't hurt?
Does it mean your eye color must stay the same every day so the filter through which you see others and yourself is consistent?
Does it mean you have to know about the plank in your eye? What if your eye is numb?
Does it mean no plastic is allowed to be attached to you? No more masks of makeup or deceptive speeches?
Does it mean that the emotional songs you write should be autobiographical? Or just other-relate-ographical?
Does it mean that your acting must remain on a labeled stage? That your characters cannot be tested on human beings?
Does it mean you can't top all of your bitter actions with sugar and ice them with frosting?
Does it mean that your acting must remain on a labeled stage? That your characters cannot be tested on human beings?
Does it mean you can't top all of your bitter actions with sugar and ice them with frosting?
Does it mean you have to intrinsically know the answer to this question?
I'm not making any statements. Just exploring.
I do know one thing though; to be real is God's will, so I desire to be it.
I'm not making any statements. Just exploring.
I do know one thing though; to be real is God's will, so I desire to be it.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Math and Attitude
In 7th grade, I failed to do my math homework so many times that my teacher made me call my parents from school and tell them. With my teacher sitting across from me, I dialed the home number knowing both my parents were at work, spoke to the answering machine pretending to be talking to my mother, then immediately erased the message when I got home that day. (Mom, if you ever read this, I'm SORRY!!!) I don't know how I got away with that, but I did... that day. Unfortunately, I didn't get away with it in life.
I'm still paying for not adequately building the mathematical foundation I needed that was taught in 7th grade. I had trouble with math starting that year and it all went down hill from there, right through college. I convinced myself I wasn't good at it, would never get it, and gave up in middle school.
Thank God for renewal. Lately, I've been changing my mindset about math and it turns out, an attitude change was all it took for me to begin accurately calculating things in my head that I never trusted myself with before. If there's something that causes you to automatically shut down because you feel like you can't do it, take a look at the history of that attitude and change it. There may just be some things that you're not good at because of a decision you made a long time ago. Re-examine. You might just be surprised and refreshed to find that the only thing blocking your progress in that area is how you think about it!
I'm still paying for not adequately building the mathematical foundation I needed that was taught in 7th grade. I had trouble with math starting that year and it all went down hill from there, right through college. I convinced myself I wasn't good at it, would never get it, and gave up in middle school.
Thank God for renewal. Lately, I've been changing my mindset about math and it turns out, an attitude change was all it took for me to begin accurately calculating things in my head that I never trusted myself with before. If there's something that causes you to automatically shut down because you feel like you can't do it, take a look at the history of that attitude and change it. There may just be some things that you're not good at because of a decision you made a long time ago. Re-examine. You might just be surprised and refreshed to find that the only thing blocking your progress in that area is how you think about it!
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
"Deep Knows" and Floppy Disks
I read an article today by writer Ronlyn Domingue about what she calls the Deep Know. She describes the moment when you're absolutely certain about what you're supposed to do. Whether or not you acknowledge and adjust your life to pursue that "deep know" is up to you.
This got me thinking about one of my own Deep Knows. Just like Ronlyn, mine involves writing. I remember writing a poem in the 2nd grade called "Draw and Write" that led to that moment I knew I was supposed to write. After writing that poem, my teacher encouraged me to write more poems and let me write them on the classroom computer while the other kids had to do other things. I saved them on a floppy disk that unfortunately, I don't have anymore... not that I'd have anything to put it in. All of my elementary school teachers were impressed by my creative writing and encouraged me in it.
It must have been around middle school that I lost the understanding that I was supposed to write because I stopped doing it and forgot all about my Deep Know. It wasn't until my senior year of high school that I took a film writing course and a teacher reminded me by encouraging me to pursue creative writing in college. I didn't do it even though professors in college would ask me if I was a writing major or minor after reading my papers. I did take courses that involved writing, but I never made it a priority because logic told me that writing was the least practical thing I could major in. So, I majored in Social Science, the second least practical thing I could major in.
The third time I was confronted with the fact that I wasn't focusing on what I should was a prophecy spoken over me at church. The pastor, who had never met me, said that I would shape people's lives with my creative words. It seems as if God's been screaming my Deep Know at me at various times throughout my life and I've responded with lots of "practical" excuses.
This morning, I realized that the last quarter of 2013 is about to begin and it feels like the year hasn't even started. There's no more time to waste. It's time to hit the accelerator and make up for lost time. Think about your own Deep Know. Are you in line with it? If so, great! If not, hop to it! Let's go, we're not getting any younger!
This got me thinking about one of my own Deep Knows. Just like Ronlyn, mine involves writing. I remember writing a poem in the 2nd grade called "Draw and Write" that led to that moment I knew I was supposed to write. After writing that poem, my teacher encouraged me to write more poems and let me write them on the classroom computer while the other kids had to do other things. I saved them on a floppy disk that unfortunately, I don't have anymore... not that I'd have anything to put it in. All of my elementary school teachers were impressed by my creative writing and encouraged me in it.
It must have been around middle school that I lost the understanding that I was supposed to write because I stopped doing it and forgot all about my Deep Know. It wasn't until my senior year of high school that I took a film writing course and a teacher reminded me by encouraging me to pursue creative writing in college. I didn't do it even though professors in college would ask me if I was a writing major or minor after reading my papers. I did take courses that involved writing, but I never made it a priority because logic told me that writing was the least practical thing I could major in. So, I majored in Social Science, the second least practical thing I could major in.
The third time I was confronted with the fact that I wasn't focusing on what I should was a prophecy spoken over me at church. The pastor, who had never met me, said that I would shape people's lives with my creative words. It seems as if God's been screaming my Deep Know at me at various times throughout my life and I've responded with lots of "practical" excuses.
This morning, I realized that the last quarter of 2013 is about to begin and it feels like the year hasn't even started. There's no more time to waste. It's time to hit the accelerator and make up for lost time. Think about your own Deep Know. Are you in line with it? If so, great! If not, hop to it! Let's go, we're not getting any younger!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)