Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Thankful...
I'm thankful for you.
Are you thankful for you?
Hmm...I ask myself that question (if I'm thankful for me) & sometimes I get different answers. Not like in a 'schizophrenia multi-personality' sorta way, but in a sometimes-my-reality-is-not-grounded-in-Who-I-am or Whose-I-am sorta way. Make sense?
Please, please understand that you have intrinsic value just on account of who your Manufacturer is.
You have value.
You are valuable.
Sometimes I wonder (for me)...sometimes I doubt...do you? Do you ever wonder if you have value or wonder what it is that you "bring to the table"?
I am so amazed at the amazing & beautiful people that I am so blessed to be surrounded by and am SO incredibly thankful to have them/you in my life.
If I know you...YOU add value to me.
If I don't know you...YOU add value to your friends.
Be thankful...
a.) For your friends...and how God made them.
b.) For you...and how God made you.
I am thankful...for all the hundreds and even thousands of 'normal', 'average', 'mediocre', 'run-of-the-mill' people that I have met over the years, whether in a brief encounter or those that I've known for some time...that to the 'average' observer may only appear "as close to the bottom as the top"...only to discover such amazing, priceless, rare gemstones of life hidden amidst all their "averageness".
And that the more we "dig" in each other's gardens...the more we dig in the garden of that "average" person we may be talking to at the time in the brief encounter at the coffee shop or in line at the grocery store or sitting next to at the basketball game or speaking with on the other end of a customer service call getting our cable fixed or in the same aisle in the pet store looking at the same goldfish or squished next to in the middle seat of the plane flight to ATL...as the "dull, average and possibly raggity curtain" of your life slowly begins to pull back...we begin to realize we've got front row matinee seats at the greatest showing of all times...the character develops, the plot thickens, the villain emerges from the shadows, the 'average, no-name' hero (you) appears center stage...all within a brief conversation, in a chance encounter, with some person who not 10 min earlier wouldn't have thought twice about speaking w/you. And now they're possibly mesmerized by your story...enraptured by your life's pulse...in awe of the irony of your average "wrapping". By all external appearances you looked to be a normal 'book' covered w/life's dust that blanketed you like an old antique automobile forgotten in the barn...
...the 'title' of your life's book almost indistinguishable from the apparent human 'debris' that has accumulated & in-turn, coroded...and they just happened to walk by this particular "book" in the hustle & bustle of their very 'un-average' life...stop...blow a little dust off you by asking you a few questions, even if pretending to be interested in you...and then it happens...your story begins to unfold like the most exotic of flowers ever to be discovered...your petals begin to peel back...the glory of your splendor begins to shine forth.
Inside of you lies the sum total of all the beautiful, horrific, exciting, dull, loving, depressing, highs and lows that you've ever had...to include all the wonderful, terrible, dumb, wise, fascinating and enchanting people you've ever met...and the "average" of all those experiences and people...resulted in a very UN-average, amazing, real, gritty, powerful, living true-life novel that exists in YOU.
Please share your story.
You are valuable.
Thank you for who you are.
I am so very thankful for you.
Go.
Do.
Pursue.
I believe in you.
Are you thankful for you?
Hmm...I ask myself that question (if I'm thankful for me) & sometimes I get different answers. Not like in a 'schizophrenia multi-personality' sorta way, but in a sometimes-my-reality-is-not-grounded-in-Who-I-am or Whose-I-am sorta way. Make sense?
Please, please understand that you have intrinsic value just on account of who your Manufacturer is.
You have value.
You are valuable.
Sometimes I wonder (for me)...sometimes I doubt...do you? Do you ever wonder if you have value or wonder what it is that you "bring to the table"?
I am so amazed at the amazing & beautiful people that I am so blessed to be surrounded by and am SO incredibly thankful to have them/you in my life.
If I know you...YOU add value to me.
If I don't know you...YOU add value to your friends.
Be thankful...
a.) For your friends...and how God made them.
b.) For you...and how God made you.
I am thankful...for all the hundreds and even thousands of 'normal', 'average', 'mediocre', 'run-of-the-mill' people that I have met over the years, whether in a brief encounter or those that I've known for some time...that to the 'average' observer may only appear "as close to the bottom as the top"...only to discover such amazing, priceless, rare gemstones of life hidden amidst all their "averageness".
And that the more we "dig" in each other's gardens...the more we dig in the garden of that "average" person we may be talking to at the time in the brief encounter at the coffee shop or in line at the grocery store or sitting next to at the basketball game or speaking with on the other end of a customer service call getting our cable fixed or in the same aisle in the pet store looking at the same goldfish or squished next to in the middle seat of the plane flight to ATL...as the "dull, average and possibly raggity curtain" of your life slowly begins to pull back...we begin to realize we've got front row matinee seats at the greatest showing of all times...the character develops, the plot thickens, the villain emerges from the shadows, the 'average, no-name' hero (you) appears center stage...all within a brief conversation, in a chance encounter, with some person who not 10 min earlier wouldn't have thought twice about speaking w/you. And now they're possibly mesmerized by your story...enraptured by your life's pulse...in awe of the irony of your average "wrapping". By all external appearances you looked to be a normal 'book' covered w/life's dust that blanketed you like an old antique automobile forgotten in the barn...
...the 'title' of your life's book almost indistinguishable from the apparent human 'debris' that has accumulated & in-turn, coroded...and they just happened to walk by this particular "book" in the hustle & bustle of their very 'un-average' life...stop...blow a little dust off you by asking you a few questions, even if pretending to be interested in you...and then it happens...your story begins to unfold like the most exotic of flowers ever to be discovered...your petals begin to peel back...the glory of your splendor begins to shine forth.
Inside of you lies the sum total of all the beautiful, horrific, exciting, dull, loving, depressing, highs and lows that you've ever had...to include all the wonderful, terrible, dumb, wise, fascinating and enchanting people you've ever met...and the "average" of all those experiences and people...resulted in a very UN-average, amazing, real, gritty, powerful, living true-life novel that exists in YOU.
Please share your story.
You are valuable.
Thank you for who you are.
I am so very thankful for you.
Go.
Do.
Pursue.
I believe in you.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Are you living intentionally?
In case you were wondering where I came up w/all these questions that I shoot your way, they're ones that have already nailed me to the proverbial 'wall'.
Some I've asked myself...and answered incorrectly.
Some I've asked myself...and have partial answers.
Some I've asked myself...and hit them outta the park!
Some I've asked myself...and the clue bus still has yet to pull up in the driveway.
So...this will be a post that I will come back to & develop over time, but just in case you read this sooner rather than later...let me go ahead & just throw this into the mix...
ARE YOU LIVING INTENTIONALLY?
What does that mean to you?
How do you "live intentionally"?
Are there areas of your life you're living more intentionally than others? Why?
How do you get those areas of your life that you're not currently living intentionally back on track?
How long have you been off track?
What % of your life would you say you're living intentionally?
How many hours of any given day would you say you're living intentionally?
How did you get off track?
What phase of your life were you living the most intentionally? Why? Why that specific time in your life? What were the circumstances surrounding that time in your life?
What causes us to be intentional?
Who's the most intentional "liver" you know? ("liver"...not the 3lb body part beneath your diaphragm)
Is living intentionally important?
What does living intentionally "do" for us?
What are the consequences for NOT living intentionally?
Do the majority of people you know live intentionally?
Do the people you look up to & respect live intentionally?
Were intentional people "born" that way?
How did they get that way?
What type of friends do intentional people have?
Do you have intentional or unintentional friends?
Does God live intentionally?
Would He want His kids to live intentionally?
Who do you know that could benefit from some of these questions?
Are any of these questions helpful to you? How?
Is there one particular question that jumped out from the above list & smacked you in the nugget? Which one? Why?
Go.
Do.
Pursue.
I believe in you.
Take the 1st step. Now.
Some I've asked myself...and answered incorrectly.
Some I've asked myself...and have partial answers.
Some I've asked myself...and hit them outta the park!
Some I've asked myself...and the clue bus still has yet to pull up in the driveway.
So...this will be a post that I will come back to & develop over time, but just in case you read this sooner rather than later...let me go ahead & just throw this into the mix...
ARE YOU LIVING INTENTIONALLY?
What does that mean to you?
How do you "live intentionally"?
Are there areas of your life you're living more intentionally than others? Why?
How do you get those areas of your life that you're not currently living intentionally back on track?
How long have you been off track?
What % of your life would you say you're living intentionally?
How many hours of any given day would you say you're living intentionally?
How did you get off track?
What phase of your life were you living the most intentionally? Why? Why that specific time in your life? What were the circumstances surrounding that time in your life?
What causes us to be intentional?
Who's the most intentional "liver" you know? ("liver"...not the 3lb body part beneath your diaphragm)
Is living intentionally important?
What does living intentionally "do" for us?
What are the consequences for NOT living intentionally?
Do the majority of people you know live intentionally?
Do the people you look up to & respect live intentionally?
Were intentional people "born" that way?
How did they get that way?
What type of friends do intentional people have?
Do you have intentional or unintentional friends?
Does God live intentionally?
Would He want His kids to live intentionally?
Who do you know that could benefit from some of these questions?
Are any of these questions helpful to you? How?
Is there one particular question that jumped out from the above list & smacked you in the nugget? Which one? Why?
Go.
Do.
Pursue.
I believe in you.
Take the 1st step. Now.
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