Two words have been in the back of my mind for awhile. I'm beginning to think they are God's words for me in 2012.
The first word is ...deeper. I think it means to go deeper in the things that matter to God.
Deeper in those things that will make a difference in my own life and in the life of those I care about. Things that will help me to think, pray, and serve with more effectiveness.
In order to go deeper there are some things I need to deal with. They are things that prepare me to live quite well in the shallow end of the pool but totally unprepared to dive into the deep end. In other words, I have issues. For those of you who know me well that doesn't come as a huge surprise. It doesn't surprise me either. The big question is whether or not I will remain content to play in the shallows even though I know I'm being called to the deep. Maybe you can relate.
The second word is ...bolder. I have seen a distressing habit developing in my life. I'm holding back too often. I'm not saying what needs to be said. I'm not writing what needs to be written. I'm not acting decisively when decisiveness is needed. If there is a valley that needs to be crossed on the way to 'wimpiness' I fear I might just be smack dab in the middle of it. It's not a good place to be. It's a place of fear.
It's interesting, In order to be bold I will need to go deep. In order to go deep I will need to be bold.
Two words. Good words and desires for 2012. Let's see what God does with it all.
3 comments:
At the end of it, my wife said something very interesting (referring to Congress, the Teacher's Unions and the teachers... and all of us, really): She said, "The problem is, it's all about the adults isn't it?" (ignoring the kids real interests, or you could just insert any social problem here)...
She was making a striking observation about the evolution our American culture ... that our collective selfishness and need to gratify our immediate self-interest, and our fear of making any changes that may threaten our "piece of the pie"... was blocking meaningful reform... for decades! Reform that is so basic and so foundational, that without it, our economic security, physical security, national security and even our way of life (freedoms and all) are at risk.
Our failure to see this paradigm and to willingly and passionately shift it back to our basic foundational American values... to make a real sacrifice (NOW) for the sake of our collective future, is pretty big stuff.
Self-interest... preservation of our own interests. We all have issues!
M in Lombard
(Sorry Mike, I had to republish as my cut and paste from Word dropped the first couple of paragraphs)... so here it is again:
Mike, I read your blog every couple of weeks and find it a good place to find challenging and convicting words... and to find an interesting perspective.
You recommended a movie to my wife and I a couple of months ago as a must see and we finally watched it: "Waiting for Superman."
At the end of it, my wife said something very interesting (referring to Congress, the Teacher's Unions and the teachers... and all of us, really): She said, "The problem is, it's all about the adults isn't it?" (ignoring the kids real interests, or you could just insert any social problem here)...
She was making a striking observation about the evolution our American culture ... that our collective selfishness and need to gratify our immediate self-interest, and our fear of making any changes that may threaten our "piece of the pie"... was blocking meaningful reform... for decades! Reform that is so basic and so foundational, that without it, our economic security, physical security, national security and even our way of life (freedoms and all) are at risk.
Our failure to see this paradigm and to willingly and passionately shift it back to our basic foundational American values... to make a real sacrifice (NOW) for the sake of our collective future, is pretty big stuff.
Self-interest... preservation of our own interests. We all have issues!
M in Lombard
Thanks M in Lombard. :) I love what Rahm Emmanuel said about making Chicago work the right way. He said that everyone need to have skin in the game and that everyone would have to give something that they think is important. Shared sacrifice. 'Tis a missing link these days.
Post a Comment