So what's your perspective

Have you ever been to Mt Shasta in California?  I took a vacation there the last 2 years, something struck me last year, it has to do with perspective.  As you are nearing Shasta National Park from the south along I-5.  Mt Shasta looms large over the rest of the mountain range you can see it from miles away.  As you climb I-5 past Shasta Lake the peak of Mt. Shasta is not necessarily visible as the other mountains eclipse it's view, but as you pass the lake and round a few corners Mt Shasta comes into clear view, but from this close its not as "large" as it appears from from away it actually seems not much larger than the surrounding peaks.  Its a matter of perspective.  The closer you get to something the different it begins to look.

I have often been challenged to think outside the box and have likewise challenged others to think outside the box as well. The question is how. How do we think outside the box. Especially when the box is of our own making.  I can remember times of prayer where I believe The Lord spoke to me about putting Him in a box and not trusting him or believing him to "show up" if you will.

So what does this have to do with perspective?  Have you ever been inside a box?  They are made of cardboard and aren't see through, depending how large the sides of the box are your perspective of things is extremely limited.  You can't see beyond the walls of the box.
Well if we are only seeing things from inside the box we may be missing something that is literally right outside. Without lifting our heads to see what's on the other side
Now don't get me wrong I tend to be one who is always looking for new ideas or opportunities but at the same time I can "lock" myself into a certain perspective and not see or hear new opportunities.

How is that so. Let me explain  this summer I had a lot of things converge all at once which caused me to take a break and stop to take a breath.   I graduated my oldest 2 from high school I also closed a 70 year old building both on the same weekend. Leading up to both events I found myself just going through the motions moving from one event or activity to the next just to get them done even church fell into this category. And that's not always a good thing.  Church should be a fresh experience where The Lord speaks and we hear and respond.

Well I was feeling quite overwhelmed and needed a break so I took a social sabbatical.  I determined not to see anyone I normally would meet with, switched churches (temporarily) and choose not to participate in any scheduled activity that I didn't need to be at. I was doing this just for a break just to take a rest thinking I would just pick up right where I left off at the end of the month. Well little did I know God had other plans. When we shut down the normal and allow for the unfamiliar our senses are exercised, and God has an opportunity to show up. We can be more receptive to His leading because we are more alert.

So here is a little of what he showed me.

1. When we over schedule our lives we don't leave room for God to speak or the Holy Spirit to interact with us.
2. When we try new things or things out of the ordinary our senses are exercised including hearing and seeing.
3. Gods world is bigger than mine and really there is no such thing as a chance encounter.
4. We may want something different...but without a positive disruption we may not see it.
5. When we try new things we don't know exactly what to expect, thus we are more open to God's movement because we are not mentally planning ahead and taking him out of the equation.

So where does this leave you?  Are you in a rut?  Same place, same thing, etc you know the drill, you follow the same route to work or sit in the same place in church petty much just by memory.  Maybe you need a break from the normal.  A change of scenery.  Different surroundings.  Try it just for a time give it a chance.  It will do you good and who knows God may show up and meet you where you're at, just like he did for me.

Today's Quote

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I've been thinking lately of the creative process and its impact on me and society.  Creative things, thoughts, and activities inspire me, I've always been intrigued by how a song writer or an artist comes up with their interpretation of a text or subject and how they communicate that element.  Sometimes when I actually stop to listen to the words of songs I'll say wow "I didn't think of it that way" or "that's a unique way to say that" or "that's so true".

It's a new year and a time for making resolutions or in my case setting new goals for the year to come.  Beyond that I always try to set a theme for the year that I try to follow or that I use to inspire me in what I do. Sometimes (actually most times) my theme just comes to me randomly I don't force it (anymore, I used to try).  Sometimes it comes before the year starts other times it comes after the start of the new year and other times I've just carried over the theme from one year to the next.  Well this year I wasn't even thinking about it when it hit me:  Studio, Sanctuary, Suburbia. 

I was pleasantly surprised, I hadn't been thinking about it, nor was I fretting it and it wasn't on my horizon.  I was just sitting there drinking some tea after Christmas and it came to me, and each word made sense and had a particular meaning.  I didn't know the exact meaning but I just knew it fit.  It fits where I'm at right now, and gives me something to go on for the year.  I feel inspired. Because, this year I'm expecting some changes to come my way.  I'm actually forcing some of these changes as a way to get myself out of this rut I seem to have gotten stuck in somewhere along the way.  So the theme just coming to me is in a way a confirmation that I am heading in the right direction.

So, today as I was walking to the garage the thought of creating a "sanctuary" occurred to me after discussing with my wife about cleaning the yard and making some changes to our plants and property.  I realized at that moment that these things don't happen by themselves.  My yard currently is the result of leaving it to it's self for too long, I will have to actively make changes to the yard or it won't happen, I have to purposely make it a place of peace or a "sanctuary" or it will remain an unruly jungle. 

Maybe this is how the artist comes up with their "works of art" part inspiration part active participation, and it is probably the moments of inspiration that carries them through the hours of perspiration.  So, I'm inspired to pick up some tools and get started, for now I'm going to focus on reshaping my garage into a studio and once Spring begins to kick in I'll start the process on the yard.  But tonight while drinking a cup of tea I'm going to get started writing down some goals for this coming year while I leave you with this thought:

"When we form good resolutions, God gives us every opportunity of carrying them out"

-St. Chrysostom

What do you remember?

I was sitting with an elderly friend of mine (I'm privileged to call him friend) the other day and we were discussing various random things as usual and we got on the subject of one of the ballot measures here in California relating to unions.  He asked me if he had ever told me about his first experience with unions.  In the neighborhood where he grew up in was a factory.  One day the union workers decided to strike and picket the shop.  Well some of the workers actually crossed the picket lines to work, and what ensued afterward has determined his attitude towards unions throughout his life.  What I thought was amazing about his story is not what he remembered (he was fairly detailed) but the fact that he was six years old when this occurred!  My friend just turned 90 this past summer.

This leads me to my title "What do you remember?"  What is your earliest recollection?  What kind of impression did it leave.  What actions by others has formed who you are as an adult?  Then take that one step further what kind of impact are you leaving?  What impression are you instilling in your children or their friends and your family.

My memory is full of things my parents said or did, things my grandparents said, places they took me, things we did etc.  Even beyond my family what about my neighbors, teachers, friends, or friends parents.  All of these have become points of impact that have formed who I am and what I think and do.  Will I remember these things when I am 90?  I don't know, sometimes I can't remember what I ate yesterday, but I do know that sometimes I have random memories of things long forgotten things that somewhere along the way made a lasting impact on my life.

We all make an impact, the question is what kind of impact are we making.  Are we making memories that are going to last 84 years?  And if it does last 84 years how is that memory going to be measured?  Is it going to be thought of fondly or negatively?  Or will it be passed along to make an impact in another persons life for another generation. Randomly, my friends did, how about you.

Log in my eye

God has a funny way of getting his point across.  This morning in my devotions I was reading through Matthew and I was in the part where Jesus is giving the sermon on the mount.  In Matthew 7: 1-5 Jesus is warning us to clear the "log" from our own eyes before attempting to remove the speck from our brothers eye.  Why is this relevant?  Well because I'm a dad and a coach and a boss that's what I do, I correct (sometimes).
I coach a boys volleyball team, a few of the players play with fear or timidly.  As they approach the line to serve and I can see the fear in their eyes, they're intimidated by the other team or the game itself I'm not sure.  They have a fear of "messing up"  yet during practice they nail that serve 75% of the time no problem!  So as I coach I try to encourage my players to step up and just play don't worry about the other team or of messing up, just hit the ball and get it over.
So as I was relaxing this evening and thumbing through a book the following quote caught my attention.

"Self defeating actions will continue to give us self-defeating results"

I immediately thought of my players, but then I thought what about me!  I'm no different... I allow fear to immobilize me from moving forward or grabing God's best for me.  I stare at the future like my players are staring at the net - with fear and trembling. 
But I'm the coach!  I'm supposed to encourage and help them through their fear, help them become better, improve their game etc.  Exactly!  God's not saying don't, but he's saying first examine yourself Ga 6:1-5 and then encourage one another.  So maybe then I should take to heart the encouragement I was trying to give to my player and apply it to myself and my situation.  Then maybe we can both grow together towards God's best for our lives.
What was that advise:

1. You know how to serve (you know what you are doing)
2. You can play as well as anyone out there.
3. Just relax and play the game.

Cooking for fun

I've always had an interest in cooking but mostly new things that I haven't tried before.  I figured this came from watching my dad cook odd things or try new combinations in the kitchen.  Or from enjoying the jam and preserves my Grandpa used to make every year.  But I just finished an article by Daniel Duane in WSJ that attributes this cooking tendency to my Gen-X-ness based on a study from the University of Michigan that is studying Gen Xers.  Well that's cool, either way the article inspired me to get back into the kitchen and try a few new things and write about it as well.  I figured I needed to write about something to get my momentum back (or started depending on how you look at it).  So this was a good start.  He even has a book coming out "How to cook like a Man"  Which I think I'm going to have to go out and buy, and try out a few new recipes.

Going Goalless?

Okay, so I posted a while back about my inability to meet my goals from year to year.  So for Christmas I requested a copy of Willpower: The lost human characteristic.  So far it's pretty good, in the first chapter it recommends focusing on one thing at a time, because the more we multitask the more our willpower decreases.  Interesting concept.  But looking at 2012 I have had a hard time setting any realistic goals for myself.  Oh I have things I would like to do or try (see previous post) but nothing concrete that says I'm going to do this!   Rather I have taken to focusing my energies to 3 "areas" that have more of an overarching impact on everything else I plan (or hope ) to do this year.  They would be Faith, Focus, and Follow through.
Faith because without it, it's impossible to please God, and a friend recently challenged me about stepping out in faith.  Focus because I tend to start something then set it aside for something else and lose focus when I add a third project and the first one falls further down the list.  Finally, Follow through based on my inability to complete projects once started or to expend needed energy to keep it moving forward once it is completed.  I don't know that these are particularly goals more of a philosophy of how I want to perform this coming year.   Oh and by the way I've done this before as well, I called it a theme for the year along with setting goals, but this year I think I'm just going to focus on implementing my theme. 
So you decide am I setting goals, avoiding goals or changing the way I do things.  Either way that's where I am at today it could change tomorrow, but we're almost a week into the new year and I think I'm going to go with it and see where it takes me after all it's only a year.