As you all know I am a movie buff, a connoisseur, if you will, of listening for good lines. I am highly selective, as is right and fitting, I do believe. We have to be wise about what we say, do, see, especially since God sees everything, Jesus is beside us, and Holy Spirit is inside. Personally there are some things I don't want to see and definitely know Jesus wouldn't want to see. But yet, He sees all.
I love Pinterest, because not only can it be creative and inspiring, it is fun and relaxing...at times! The more following you have, the more emails come, and that can become a bit overwhelming, but I have learned to glean and trash! I love my beautiful boards and the group boards I follow. This may sound foreign to many of you who do not know what Pinterest is, so I say to you, it is a friendly escape. Like anything you do, it can become addictive, so be forewarned. This is why I am not really a Facebook follower, as I simply do not have the time. Even if I didn't work a full time job, I would not linger on the page visiting too long. Got too many other irons in the fire, too many priorities.
The blog suffers for days sometimes, but it is only because my thoughts are so focused on my prime objective, being In Christ's Image course work. Then, too, I have my "list" of things I need to do in order to "take back my life". Become "me" again. Regardless of my disability at this time I am going forward, full gear to line it up, my focus true and non-negoitiable, even when it hurts. Contrary to others' beliefs or concerns, I do not need any person to help me stay focused, only One. My constant, my one "True North" to quote from another movie. Hey! If people can flop around Bible verses at will, gimme a break! These are only movie quotes, and they're good ones! We can glean, can we not?! Scripture, however, is another matter, take it in context!
So here we go with the "quotation of meaning" for this blog:
"There will always be those who mean to do us harm. To stop them, we risk awakening the same evil within ourselves. Our first instinct is to seek revenge when those we love are taken from us. But that's not who we are. When Christopher Pike first gave me his ship, he had me recite the Captain's Oath. Words I didn't appreciate at the time. But now I see them as a call for us to remember who we once were and who we must be again. And those words: Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."
James T. Kirk - Star Trek Into Darkness
Okay, first let me say this, I do not live in Roswell, and I am not a proponent of aliens in space, but we do have a mission, a Captain, and we do need to go boldly. It is the beginning of this quotation that bears meaning and purpose, "There will always be those who mean to do us harm. To stop them, we risk awakening the same evil within ourselves. Our first instinct is to seek revenge.... But that's not who we are." Now, don't you think those are some pretty awe-inspiring truths?
Each day hurts will come from several directions, at once sometimes. We become offended, depressed, undaunted, paralyzed, and crawl down into our pits of despair, self-pity, rejection. I know, I've been there. Not a happy place and subject to even more condemnation or self-loathing. So how are we called to respond? In kind? For me, I have already lived through so much judgment, condemnation, misunderstanding, stupidity and pointlessness that I do not want to waste any more precious time. My focus is on responding in love, in prayer. I shared last night that Jesus didn't have to take any of the abuse He received while here on earth. After spending this three year ministry loving others, setting them free from sickness, demon possession, forgiving them, accepting them, changing them, these same people, these very same friends fell asleep, ran away, or stood in a crowd hurling sticks and stones and crying "crucify him". His human suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane was so intense his capillaries burst! After everything He endured so that we could have life, He died alone, the face of God, His Father, tuned away, and yet His last words were, "Forgive them for they know not what they do."
I see and hear so much. My chosen vocation is not an cake walk, but it is becoming easier, my part in it clearer, more in tune these days. God is using and has been using the things in my life and the people to perfect me, to bring me back around to being who He called me to be. I still slip and stumble a bit over the same issues, but my response is improving. Many times pain, as hideous as it can become, can become a reason to complain, to lie down and give up. But for me, it has been a time where I can focus on the concerns I see around me, to focus on praying for the needs of others. I make the choice to focus on prayer rather than myself. It is often difficult, especially with all this rain increasing the agony, but we need the rain, so why complain?! Through it all I have not yet missed a day of work, and my work remains current. My ability to endure is thanks to God! Thank You, Father!
My "bucket list for summer" has been re-directed, although it has been disappointing. I was so looking forward to white water rafting! But because of the crises in my life, the taffee pulls, I have chosen to stop putting off certain goals, and brought to rest the necessary endings. I have started "doing something!" I have stopped wasting time! After my appointment on Monday, I will have a clearer picture of my "next step" in this road less travelled. Regardless of the verdict, I will continue forward. This misfit toy is rediscovering myself.
My Bible study I began is my first installment of the Island of Misfit Toys. The goals are simple:
- To destroy the lies
- To be set free
- To live a life of victory
- To "pay it forward"
To those in the study who read my blog, I added the 4th one just now, but I did mention our spiritual purpose which, once more, is similar to the above movie quotation:
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations...."
Matthew 28:19
So, tell me...using one adjective, how do you describe yourself? Using one adjective how would you describe your life? And finally, using one adjective, how would you define your focus? This is a different way of seeing yourself, other than searching for a word within a puzzle, as those I have shared on Facebook. It is a better way to "focus". I'm not great on "processes" as those who work alongside me can attest, but I am a great proponent of "the game". That is my more accurate synonym for "the process".
Okay, enough of the cynical me. See I told you I need work and focus. But I am committed to seeing change in my life! Care to join?
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