Take delight in the Lord and He will give you your heart’s desires.” Psalms 37:4
Is It Time to Appeal to Heaven?
There are times when we all need a proverbial, if not a literal, kick in the pants to remind us of something we know to be true despite the voices in us and around us screaming to the contrary.
O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. Psalms 139:1-12 (ESV)
Photo Courtesy of Brittany Castillejo
A word fitly spoken and in due season is like apples of gold in settings of silver. Proverbs 25:11 (AMP)
Photo Courtesy of Brittany Castillejo
There’s No Place Like Home
Like a well-trained soldier marching in formation, time with its steady and consistent beat marches on in a very predictable order.
“Time waits for no man”, the saying goes.
Moments or experiences once held close to our hearts come and then go, eventually dipping below the horizon like the sun at the end of a spectacular autumn day.
One never knows where a rabbit trail may lead.
One simply has to follow the trail to see where the path may unfold.
I was in rabbit-trail mode earlier today and the journey was worth the time spent.
In the course of surfing some of my usual websites this morning before I left for work, I came across the following quote:
“Employees dread the work week and live for the weekend. Their world is made up of two spheres, work and play. The rich don’t know the difference. Their work is their play because they’re passionate about what they do.” – Robert Kiyosaki (author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad)
Given it was a Monday morning and the work week awaited, it was an invitation to ponder a few thoughts which are out of the norm.
I certainly aspire to my work being my play.
I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad several years ago but the quote escaped my memory.
I decided to Google the entire quote and was lead to this article, written by Robert Kiyosaki.
Running a little late to get out the door, I postponed reading it until later in the day.
Good move. It allowed me time to think.
There are times, if I allow it to consume me, where I think about the traction I am making on my efforts to write content for my blog.
The content for the most part comes easily.
It is making the time amidst a busy schedule which is the challenge.
I read about many bloggers with thousands of subscribers. At this point, that ain’t me!
Yet!
However, if I allow it to consume me the thought can be discouraging.
Not this time.
The rabbit trail lead to much encouragement.
Kiyosaki’s article highlighted a story about Caine’s Arcade.
I will defer to you to watch the video on this post to catch the story.
Although the article, and rightfully so, is about Caine’ passion for what he does it spoke a different message to me.
It reminded me of an obscure yet powerful verse found in the Old Testament:
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin….” (Zechariah 4:10 NLT)
For me, it is putting one foot in front of another (and repeating the process over and over and over) which matters.
It is the advent of small incremental steps toward a sustainable and realistic goal which counts.
I may not be reaching thousands at this point, but I am reaching more than one.
Your feedback and comments are testimony to it, which I sincerely appreciate and in which I am often encouraged.
What about you?
Are there things in your life where you might be tempted to wonder why you are doing what you set out to do in the first place, becoming frustrated by the “slowness” of the process?
If so, I would encourage you to “not despise the day of small beginnings” and to gain some perspective by carving out some time to listen and learn from Caine’s story.
Not only is the story heartwarming, there is a lesson for all of us to absorb.
- Take the first step.
- Put one foot in front of the other.
- Repeat the process, over and over and over as you walk the road toward your destination.
- Enjoy the journey.
- Forget about all those you may not be reaching and focus more on those you might be reaching.
- It’s not about you and it’s not about me.
- It’s really about those with whom we share our stories and lives.
In what ways can you see yourself getting past the concern of your small beginnings and focusing more on enjoying the journey?
Anything You Say
Sometimes the weirdest things seep through the stratosphere called “my world” and flow into my brain cells, often at a most unsuspecting time.
Such an instant occurred yesterday on my drive home from work.
Are there times in your life where the seemingly impossible is staring you in the face and will not disappear?
Is the path before you laden with obstacles, small and large, which stop your forward progress before you dare to take the first step?
Does the inaudible voice inside your head scream to get your attention, “Don’t even try to do this, it cannot be done!” ?
Has the weight of self-limiting thoughts squeezed you so hard that every bit of imagination and desire to think in terms of the “possible” vanished?
If so, you are not alone!
Without going into great detail, I have been bombarded lately with wave after wave of thoughts telling me:
- “It’s useless, nothing is going to change.”
- “Try all you want, you won’t succeed”.
- “You are stuck with your situation; it is what it is and there is nothing you can do about it.”
Unless I intentionally change the tuner to a different frequency, the thoughts will morph into actual beliefs.
I cannot allow that to happen.
I can recall many times encouraging the ladies on my basketball team, “do not let what you cannot do, interfere with what you can do!”
Perhaps it is time to down some of my own medicine.
Thank God for the input of others and timely answers to my prayers.
I read a post earlier today written by my friend, Jen McDonough. A nugget she shared had the effect of nudging my thoughts in a more positive direction.
Jen states, “Stepping into your fears will bring you to the most thrilling achievements in your life.”
I was also reminded of a book I read last year, Do the Work, by Steven Pressfield.
In the book, Pressfield asserts the following:
“There is an enemy (which he identifies as the Resistance). It is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is enormously powerful. It saved my life, and it will save yours.”
Recalling the book allowed me to take aim at an identified target and begin the process of moving in the direction of the “possible”.
As beneficial as these thought vitamins were to me, consuming a visual anecdote tipped the scales in favor of destroying the aforementioned thoughts determined to take me down.
I’d like to thank my son-in-law, Jeff, for passing along the video I share with you today. It turned the tide for me!
As you begin to watch the video if your thoughts are anything like mine you might be saying, “this guy is nuts”.
You might have a point.
Danny MacAskill, the mountain biker, returned to his native home on the Isle of Skye in Scotland to take on a death-defying ride along the Cuillin Ridgeline.
At the outset of the short film Danny states:
“Growing up in Skye, the Cuillins for me have always been a very inaccessible place…I always wondered if it would be possible to ride my mountain bike up there”.
I do not think I will be saddling up with Danny anytime soon!
However, he allowed me to travel with him in the theater of my mind to many, many places.
In thinking of his quest, it hit me like a ton of bricks.
He entertained “the possible” instead of succumbing to the impossible.
As you watch the clip, allow the scenery to overwhelm you.
It will!
More importantly, let the “possible” drown out the “impossible” circumstances you may be facing.
Step into your fears.
Do the work.
Allow what’s possible to take you to places you otherwise thought were impossible.
As you do, consider this truth:
“Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Matthew 19:26 (NLT)
What seemingly impossible thing in your life can be overcome be entertaining what might be possible?
When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.” – Psalms 84:6 (NLT)
Photo Courtesy of Bruce R. Cross
Learn to find joy and fulfillment in service to others and you have removed one major obstacle on your road to success…the secret to learning how to love serving others is to develop the character trait of humility.” – Rabbi Daniel Lapin
Photo Courtesy of Brittany Castillejo
Thou Shall Prosper, 2nd Edition, Ten Commandments for Making Money
(Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010), Pages 84-85