Open Waters

This is my contribution to the Christian Writers Blog Chain (please check the sidebar) for MARCH (insert day job between blog and deadline...sorry readers). The theme is "open", and my blog is all about opening up to God and our own callings.

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We're all on this journey we call life. Some of us have plans, some don't. If I've learned one thing in the past year that's worth sharing it's this:

A plan is vital for success.

Without a plan, there will be no getting there - in fact, there'll be no destination! I'll exist in survival mode, and end up with a lot of unfulfilled dreams I never "had the chance" to carry through on.

Here's some food for thought.
God makes a lot of promises to the people who will consciously decide to follow him. In some cases, He even tells us to put Him to the test. He promises to not abandon us, to heal us if we return to Him and to bless us by giving us back more than we give Him. He sent Jesus to die for our sins, which allows us to spend eternity with Him. In Revelation, God leaves us with a list of promises for those who persevere and win. Embracing those promises feels a bit like setting sail out into the open sea.

Open waters don't have visible boundaries, but sailors follow the shipping lanes that have been mapped out so that they don't take a chance on a collision. The second thing I've learned worth sharing is that we have to think carefully and CHOOSE our boundaries, otherwise we'll be all over the place.

Protective boundaries include bedtime, personal hygiene habits and a healthy diet ("diet" means "food intake plan" not "starve to death on things that taste terrible"). I've realized, though, that most of my boundaries are provided by other types of choices: my profession, my friends, my philosophy of life, and so on. I think of these boundaries as "rudders" that keep me focused and "lanes" that help me avoid overflowing into areas where I don't need to waste time.

We need to reset "unhealthy boundaries", which manifest as mental blocks and bad habits. They can also be the results of conscious or unconscious choices.

Unhealthy boundaries often start out as defense mechanisms, but they evolve into a framework for mental and emotional prisons. Captives of these mindsets seem to be snagged on something that is just under the water's surface, leaving them unable to more forward. They drift with the current around that spot and the movement of life around them gives them impression that they are also moving on. Jesus came to free the captives and release the prisoners from darkness, so we don't have to live that way.

Planning and boundaries amount to structure and decision, but getting from point A to point B requires one more thing: a reference point to steer by.

As sailors used to navigate by the stars, we also need something to guide us that will help our decisions be on target. Out in the open water, there are no road signs or landmarks - just the sky and the weather - and we have Word and His teachings to keep us on course, and above all that we have the opportunity to have a relationship instead of just following directions.

Jesus came so that we could have abundant life, and that includes fulfilled dreams. I'm charting my course right now. I'd love to have you aboard.

Opportunity knocks .... sometimes

This month I've joined the Christian Writers Blog Chain, and our theme is "opportunity", so that's what I've decided I'll write about all month long. Please check out the sidebar!

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They say opportunity knocks, and it's a good idea to be ready to open the door if it does. We get new chances every day, but if we lack something - such as knowledge, time, energy or resources - we cannot take advantage of opportunity. In general, we cannot rise to the moment if we are not prepared. I can't bake a cake if I'm out of sugar, and I can't have lunch with my friends if I don't have the time or money. I can't accept a job if I have a prior commitment, or lack the knowledge to do it . 

The second point is the aspect of waiting for the right opportunity - or even the right time to take advantage of that opportunity. There are things that we know are right for us and we have enough time (or knowledge, energy or resources) to go ahead with the project, but something isn't on target. Just like planting a vegetable garden in November isn't a good idea if you live up north, sometimes it is necessary to wait for the right conditions to start a business or take a vacation.

My third consideration is that there are mindsets that block opportunity: mainly fear and procrastination. Success entails risk and work. Being set in our ways protects us from both.
Do you want to open a business? Do your homework, check the math, then decide and carry through.
Would you like to learn a new skill? Tell yourself that you will do fine instead of being afraid of failure. Too much of life is wasted on procrastination.

Occasionally, I've felt like time was running out, and it turned out to be true. Opportunity does not last forever, and often it's like a window opening with a very limited timeframe for the decision.  

But where is God in all this? He is the one making the opportunities, and He wants us to act when we've understood his will and got his approval. We often want Him to "help" us before we start and throughout the entire project (in other words, do it for us) but God wants us to courageously step out onto the waves even as we trust in his assistance.

The best example of that is Moses, standing in front of the Red Sea with the Israelites while the Egyptians were catching up fast. 

¹³ Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. ¹⁶ Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. Exodus 14:13-16

Like Moses, we often sit there waiting for God's mighty hand to intervene, but if we were listening, we would hear Him say "quit waiting and get started". Sometimes God's plan is for us to kick the door open and step into the action.

 Bible verses taken from the New Internation Version, www.biblegateway.com

Ripartiamo?

Tutti parlano di nuovi inizi durante la prima settimana del nuovo anno, e anche se mi piacerebbe potere "ripartire da zero" ogni tanto, il meglio che si può fare è prendere un paio di giorni per pensare a cosa abbiamo fatto e ai programmi per il futuro. Ma non è certo un nuovo inizio.

Semplicemente, continuiamo il nostro cammino dal punto a cui siamo arrivati.

Nelle traduzioni in queste ultime due post, possiamo leggere il pensiero dell'apostolo Paolo su questo argomento. Vi suggerisco di consultare più traduzioni perchè ogni traduttore interpreta il testo secondo la propria sensibilità e, anche se le traduzioni non sono ispirati come la prima versione della Parola in lingua originale, Dio usa tutte queste versioni per darci informazioni sulla Sua natura divina. 

Naturalmente, nel brano proposto, Paolo parlava della fede e la comprensione di Dio, ma io credo che possa essere applicata a qualsiasi situazione che cerchiamo di migliorare. La cosa fondamentale è di andare avanti, imparando dal passato senza soffermarci troppo a rimuginare.

Non che io abbia già ottenuto tutto questo o sia già arrivato alla perfezione; ma proseguo il cammino per cercare di afferrare ciò per cui sono stato afferrato da Cristo Gesù. Fratelli, io non ritengo di averlo già afferrato; ma un cosa faccio: dimenticando le cose che stanno dietro e protendendomi verso quelle che stanno davanti, corro verso la mèta per ottenere il premio della celeste vocazione di Dio in Cristo Gesù.

Sia questo dunque il sentimento di quanti siamo maturi; se in qualche cosa voi pensate altrimenti, Dio vi rivelerà anche quella. Soltanto, dal punto a cui siamo arrivati, continuiamo a camminare per la stessa via.

Filippesi 3:12-16 NR

Ready, set, go!!!

Everyone talks about new beginnings during the first week of the new year and, though I agree that it would be nice if we were to get a clean slate once in a while, the best that we can do is take a couple of days off to think about where we've been and where we're planning to go. However, we can hardly call that "a new beginning".

 

We just continue on from the point in our walk where we have arrived.

 

In the passages in these last two posts, we have Paul's slant on this concept. I encourage you to consult more than one translation because each translator interprets the text according to his/her own understanding, and though the translations are not inspired as the original language version of the Word is, God uses each version to give us insight into His divine nature.

 

Naturally, Paul was talking about faith and understanding of God, but I think it can apply to any situation where we are trying to improve. The important thing is to keep going forward, learning from the past without dwelling on it.   

 

 

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

Philippians 3:12-16 NKJV