Searching For The Well Done
Dr. Rus D. Jeffrey – Dec 2009
When all is said and done,
Shouldn’t the world be loads of fun?
But along the way we often stray,
Losing focus as well as our way.
The bumps and potholes we find in life,
Many times fill us with loads of strife.
We look to the left and look to the right,
Wondering why help is not in sight.
The path can be strewn with many friends,
Who just might help us with the twists and bends.
But first we must find the trusted One,
Who really knows how to find the fun.
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In Search of Balance
In Seminary I had a Professor once explain balance as something very hard to find and achieve. While we all want balance and are in search of balance, finding such balance is very difficult.
The professor explained it this way….
“It’s like being on a boat,” he said. “You have everyone gathered to one side of the boat looking over the edge at something fascinating when suddenly the boat begins to pitch to one side.” Why does this happen? “Because everyone is on one side of the boat. As a result, there is no balance at all, and the boat begins to take on water.”
As a result of the situation, “Everyone screams and they suddenly run to the other side of the boat in an attempt to bring balance. While one would think we understand that balance comes from the middle, no one stops in the middle of the boat.” Actually, the opposite takes place! “Everyone keeps running to the other side of the boat in an attempt to stop the tipping sensation.” Of course simply running to the other side of the boat does not bring balance. “Actually,” declared the Professor, “in the search for balance, the boat suddenly starts to pitch in the other direction.”
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Withdrawing To Get A Better Look
Dandelion Fluff
Have you ever looked at the life cycle of a dandelion? Those incredible yellow flowers, or weeds, which spring up all over the grass as soon as spring arrives. To some people, they look pretty. To others, they’re a menace to be weeded out and discarded forever. The first life of the dandelion consists of that little yellow flower that just seems to never go away.
Then, for those that do survive the first cycle of life, the dandelion suddenly and magically turns into nothing more than fluff. On the surface, this fluff looks very harmless. When a wind comes along, the fluff is blown away and the dandelion is never to be seen again.
At least for a season…
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The Week Starts on Sunday…
Have you noticed how a lot of business calendars these days have the first day of the week as Monday? Actually, calendars have been sliding that way for a while, but I’m beginning to notice it more and more these days. It’s like the entire world is shifting to the idea that the most important thing in life is getting up Monday morning and heading off to work.
But, this simply is not the case.
Job burnout and overall distaste for where one works at is at an all time high. Many people simply are not happy with their lives. Could it be a result of the fact that many are geared to think Monday is the first day of the week? If your mindset is one of work, work, work, then you may quickly discover the old cliche – “All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy.”
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He Leaned On His Staff
Through the years the way we record our family history has changed. In the Old Testament the patriarch of the family always carried a staff. Of course the staff itself had many uses. It was a shepherd staff to keep the sheep in line. It was also a walking stick helping the young shepherd make his way through the rocky hillside. As the years moved along, the staff even took on more of a cane use instead of just a simple walking stick. Whatever the case may be, one thing was sure, the staff stayed with the patriarch throughout his life.
But, the staff was far more than just a simple walking stick or cane. The staff also contained the geneology and history of that particular family. Etched along the patriarch’s staff were important events that took place in his life. Births, deaths, movements through time. All tracking and keeping a chronological order of the patriarch’s life.
The staff was how the Sojourner kept track of his journey as he made his way through life here on earth.
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Where Does Your Compass Point?
I’m not a big Pirates of the Caribbean movie fan. I liked the first one, hated the second one, and tolerated the third. Now with rumors of Johnny Depp signing up for a reprisal of his Captain Jack Sparrow character, I’m dreading the fourth installment of a Pirates movie. However, even though I don’t really like the movies, I’ve always been fascinated with Captain Jack’s compass.
Throughout the first movie Captain Jack is chastised because his compass doesn’t work. It never points North. Instead it spins around and goes in different directions. But never North. However, even though the compass never points North, Captain Jack always ends up where he wants to go. By the second movie we discover the secret of the malfunctioning compass. The compass may never point North, but it does point to something more important.
Captain Jack’s compass points “toward what the heart wants.”
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A Time For Family Tradition
What does Christmas mean to you?
It’s the time of year when there’s much activity. Many people run from place to place trying to find the perfect gift. Others run from place to place trying to see everyone they’ve neglected to see during the past 11 months of the year. Still others simply become overwhelmed with the thought of the Christmas season. I know that last one is hard to believe. But, many people really don’t like this time of year because they’re simply overwhelmed by all the activity.
When I think of Christmas, I think of family. As a kid we would all head off to the Christmas Eve Candle Light Service. Then it would be home with some friends popping over for a quick snack. Later in the evening, just before it was time to go to bed, our parents would allow us to open one present. It was a wet our appetite type thing so we would hopefully not try to get up at 1 o’clock in the morning on Christmas Day.
It was great fun, and I have many great memories of childhood Christmas celebrations. Christmas Day would find us up and moving, usually early, to spend time with the immediate family. Then it would be off for a larger family gathering with relatives.
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A Call For Help!
How many times do I have to yell, “Help! Murder! Police!” before you come to the rescue?
We’ve all heard the phrase, and maybe used it from time to time, “There’s never a cop around when you need one.” There are times when we wonder if anyone is hearing our cry for help. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about crime, or simply addressing a family or personal crisis. Sometimes many feel all alone. A friend of mine wrote a song a number of years ago called Lonely In A Crowd. It’s an alarming song about how many people wander this earth, feeling lonely in a crowd.
Have you ever felt like that? Lonely in a crowd?
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As a Pastor one of the most often asked questions I receive, especially from kids, revolves around pets. Kids always want to know if their pet cat, dog, or even bird, will end up in heaven after they die.
Now I’m an avid believer in having pets because they do bring a sense of calm and peace into your life. If you’ve had a bad day, your pet is usually waiting to greet you when you arrive home. If you have a cat, they curl up on your lap and purr. If you have a dog, they greet you at the door with tail a wagin’ and sometimes full of slobbery puppy dog kisses. If you happen to have a lap dog, that’s even better because they too can curl up in a chair with you at the end of the day. No one knows if Jesus owned a dog during His lifetime, but if He did, I’m sure He’d be very pleased with what’s going on at the Pilgrim Congregational Church in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Reverend Rachel Bickford is now allowing people to bring their four-legged friends to a special service on Sunday.
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This post is taking part in Brody Harper’s Positive Tuesday Blog Carnival.
Please Note: While this Positive Post Tuesday entry is not about one particular person, it does address the idea of how to stay positive in a stress filled world.
Where do you find your sense of calm?
Unless you never pick up a newspaper, listen to the news on the radio, or watch the news on TV, you’re well aware of the fact there’s quite a bit going on in the world these days. Just this morning there’s news of another overseas terrorist attack. In upper New York State there’s a story about a soldier from Auburn, New York who was killed in Afghanistan. A little closer to home, gas prices are up and down like a yo-yo. In some southern States, stations are actually running out of gas. Then, add on top of that the fact that the financial markets seem very unstable and for some reason, the government thinks throwing money at the problem will fix it.
In the midst of all those issues, personal problems can add to stress levels too. Maybe you have a newborn. Maybe you have a child getting ready to start school. Or, possibly you have a child heading to college, or even getting ready to join the work force for the first time. It’s easy to see many aspects in life can add to the stress level in ones life. What do we do relieve some of that stress? All too often most people wait too long to figure out what to do. Time and time again we hear of people having some kind of a breakdown. On the surface people say – “Why? How did this happen?” – But, when we go beyond just scratching the surface, we discover a number of events probably led up to the ultimate breakdown.
So, again, I ask – How do we keep a sense of a calm in the midst of life?
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