|
SubscriptionsSites I Read
|
|
|
|
| Skiing, skiing, skiing!On Wednesday afternoon my sister Kristi and I left for Colorado. We spent Thursday shopping in downtown Boulder and then headed to Silverthorne where we're staying in a rental house with friends. Today we were up bright and early to ski at Copper Mountain. The road conditions were terrible. On my way to the mountain, I saw several vehicles in the ditch, but the worst part was the wind would blow the snow and for a few seconds everything was white. I'm used to driving in snow, but I had never really experienced whiteout conditions quite like this. The winds were so strong that around noon Copper closed all their lifts but one and by 2 pm the resort had received 11 inches of fresh powder. Sometime during the late morning I-70 was closed west of Copper Mountain up to Vail and also east of Silverthorne toward Denver. They didn't reopen the interstate until around 4:30 or so tonight. I'm so glad that we weren't planning to ski at Vail! The fresh powder was wonderful (to say the least)! Kristi boarded for her first time in Colorado (second time ever) and did extremely well. I was so impressed. | | |
| Thoughts from a Friday Afternoon ConversationLast Friday I had a conversation with a coworker that I’ve continued to ponder. It was around lunchtime when I headed down the hall from the administration suite to another part of the building. On my way I ran into one of the nurses, smiled, and said in an offhanded way, “only four and half hours till the weekend.” She said, “Oh, you do that too?!? _____ and I were just commenting on how we spend the whole week waiting for the weekend!” I laughed and went on my way. Yes, I was definitely looking forward to the weekend (in spite of having to begin rough drafts for two papers!), but as I had been walking down the hall before this conversation, my thoughts had been on how much I like my job, how non-stressful it is (as long as I don’t make a mistake and pay an employee too much or too little!!!), what great people I work with and for, and what a perfect fit it is for this stage in my life. It is an incredible blessing to enjoy your work!
Modern Christian and secular culture has placed an enormous emphasis on finding purpose and a lifework that is immensely fulfilling. There is definitely value in having a sense of purpose, knowing your own skills and talents, and finding something that is the right fit. However, I think that putting that much emphasis on it leaves people with a wrong set of expectations. I know that it did for me. It causes a person to expect to find a place in life where they will be perfectly fulfilled and completely happy. It causes a person to seek satisfaction and fulfillment in circumstances, relationships, achievements, a job, and especially in ministry and Christian service. While all of these are wonderful things and do bring a measure of fulfillment and happiness, true and lasting fulfillment can only come from a relationship with Christ. Because of sin here on earth, it will only be possible to experience it completely when we reach heaven and live in unbroken fellowship with God. I used to think there was something wrong with me when I couldn’t find total satisfaction in life. Now I know that I can attempt to seek it from many sources, but the ache and yearning is put there by God to draw me into an ever-deepening relationship with Him. Because of this, I want to live life to the fullest, enjoy the moment, and have a grateful heart for my job, friends, family, and the goodness of God! I want to “bloom” wherever God plants me!
Well, now it's time to stop rambling and get some sleep so I can work on those papers before work tomorrow morning . . .
| | |
| "Finding What You're Not Looking For"
From time to time the topic of success comes up for some reason or another and I reflect again on what it truly is. Normally I don't expect to be inspired by my textbooks. Learn, yes, but be inspired? Probably not. However, yesterday as I was desperately trying to finish up so I could go out to lunch with a friend, an article caught my attention.
The author, Michael Michalko, wrote, "Whenever we attempt to do something and fail, we end up doing something else. As simplistic as this statement may seem, it is the first priniciple of the creative accident or "serendipity." We may ask ourselves why we have failed to do what we intended, and this is the reasonable, expected thing to do. But the creative accident provokes a different question: What have we done? Answering that question in a novel, unexpected way is the essential creative act. It is not luck but creative insight of the highest order." The rest of the article gave examples from history of people setting out to do one thing and making a different important discovery in the process. Some of the stories had to do with failed projects being recycled into something new.
I was completely shocked to learn that Michelangelo's sculpture, David, was the result of a failed attempt by another sculptor. In 1463 a sixteen-foot-high block of marble was acquired by the cathedral of Florence. Two well-known sculptors worked on a sculpture, gave up, and the badly mangled marble was put into storage. Other sculptors were asked to work on it, but refused because of the shape the marble was in. They said they couldn't produce art out of a mangled block. Forty years later, Michelangelo took the marble out of storage and carved it into David within eighteen months. Although the sculpture is not a personal favorite of mine, it is widely recognized as one of the world’s greatest statues. What struck me were the attitudes that emerged from the account. How many times do I refuse to do something because it isn’t as great, wonderful, or lofty as I want it to be? Obviously I am not about to craft a masterpiece out of less than perfect marble, but I do wonder what I will miss if I’m not willing to accept opportunities that I deem less than perfect. God is not looking for perfect opportunities or perfect lives. II Cor. 12:9-10 sums that up when it says, “And he said unto me, . . . my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. . . . for when I am weak, then am I strong.” | | |
|
