Anchors don’t look back (Prayer devotional for the week of June 8, 2014)

/ faithsweatandtears / Leave a comment

Much of the time, the star athletes have the first turn. There are starting pitchers in baseball, starting point guards in basketball, starting quarterbacks in football, etc. In these sports, you want to get on the board first and stay in the lead.

A different strategy comes into play when the sport is a relay race, however. Certainly, the lead runner or swimmer needs to be a strong athlete, and those in the middle of the race need to maintain a swift pace, but the star—the one who will bring home the win—is the powerhouse anchor. The last one to leave the starting block is the one people look to for the finale. The anchor breaks the ribbon with one final stride; the anchor stops the timer with one final stroke.

In life, though, we don’t always like being last … do we?

When you are the anchor, you don’t start on 0:00. You start at whatever point your team made it to before your leg began. You might already be in the lead; you might be trailing everyone. Regardless, it’s your job to kick it in gear (pun intended) and either maintain the lead or earn it.

Likewise, we don’t have control over many of the circumstances that have affected our lives in the past. We can’t usually undo past mistakes. You can’t choose your parents; you don’t pick your siblings. You can influence but not force change in your spouse and children. You can’t single-handedly fix corporate lay-offs or the tumbling stock market.

You may be running the anchor leg in life, but don’t give up! God doesn’t expect you to run the whole race alone, but he does expect you to keep on keeping on. Check out Romans 12: 11-12: “Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder” (The Message).

So, if you are looking over your shoulder at the past, then you are not focusing on the race ahead … and anyone who has ever seen a horror flick knows that looking over your shoulder while running is a bad, bad idea. Stay alert; don’t quit.

Originally posted May 22, 2011

Packing detour

/ faithsweatandtears / Leave a comment
2014-06-06 08.43.01

Garage door opener brace

Evening-before-last, I pushed the button to close the garage door, which was soon followed by a horrific crash sound. The lawnmower was in the way of the door, but somehow it didn’t trip the safety light to keep the door from closing.

Thankfully, I think the mower is ok. Unfortunately, the brace that holds the garage door to the opener along the track was completely off. What’s weird is that there are holes for three bolts in the brace, but there were no bolts on the ground or anywhere in the vicinity! I don’t know how the brace was attached previously, but I couldn’t make odds or ends of it.

I was too tired to deal with it yesterday, and although my stepdad offered to come over on Saturday when he gets back to town to fix it for me, I decided that since I’m working half-days this week, I could just go to the store this morning and buy some bolts to fix it myself. Ta-da! It works like new.

I’m so tired from sorting, purging, and packing. I haven’t gotten nearly as much done this morning as I intended (obviously, since I’m sitting in my arm chair typing this post!), but fixing the door was a necessary detour.

The mover inventory guy also came over earlier this morning to take notes on all the furniture, estimated boxes, etc. It didn’t take long to walk through the house, garage, and yard, but it was eye-opening to go room to room and realize just how much there still is to do. Ugh. I tried going to bed early (before 10pm) last night, and I slept hard, but I’m still pooped. My summer class starts tomorrow morning, so that’s a few more hours that I won’t be able to work around the house. I’m grateful for the opportunity to teach, and goodness knows that the money will be handy, but zzzzz … I sure would like to sleep in! 🙂

This week’s devos

/ faithsweatandtears / Leave a comment

Well, dear readers, I got as far as sending the devotionals to my church media team and completely forgot to post them here. Oops, sorry! I decided to use the great suggestion that one reader offered of revisiting some previous posts, at least for the summer months while I’m trying to move and prepare for a new job. In case you’ve been holding your breath 🙂 , here’s this week’s new-again devo and daily posts through today:

 

Gather ’round the table (Prayer Devotional for the week of June 1, 2014)

What do meal times look like at your house? Do you have formal place settings with stemware, cloth napkins, coordinating dinner plates and [real] silverware? Do you have to-go boxes with plastic utensils, paper napkins and soft drinks? Do you have mismatched, hand-me-down dishes and plastic tumblers? Does it matter? What is the purpose of meal times? Meal times boil down to two things: eating and togetherness.

We have to eat; that’s a given. Cooking a meal can be a fun adventure in trying out new recipes. Figuring out what to make with what’s left in the pantry two days before payday can be a good exercise for the imagination! Even Leftovers Night can be enjoyable if you give it a silly name like “Buffet Surprise.”

Meal time is also an opportunity to pause and thank God for his provision. If you have kids, why not invite them to take turns saying a blessing for the meal? Even if they thank God for a litany of everything except the food, then it’s still a good practice to get into. Meal time is more than just shoveling food in our faces; it’s the building block of community. It’s a chance to unwind from the stress of the day, reconnect as a family and refuel our bodies. What if you don’t have a family to gather around the table with each day? You might consider meal time as your chance to invite God to join you at your table; set it apart as a devotional time with the Lord. As you refuel your body with food, refuel your spirit with prayer or reading.

The Old Testament – especially the books of Kings, Samuel and Chronicles – has many references to the king’s table. It was a place of honor, to say the least. Your dinner table can also be a place of honor – for your family and for your unseen guest. This week, let’s invite the Lord to be our unseen guest – not only at our dinner table, but throughout our day.

Originally posted April 3, 2011

Sunday:  If you don’t have the habit of praying at mealtime, try it today. Thank him for his provision.    Already pray? Say it a different way today.

Monday:  Jesus called himself the Bread of Life. He is nourishing to our spirit. He is satisfying. He fulfills our every need. Thank him today.

Tuesday:  Try something new at mealtime today. Use the fancy dishes; sit in different seats; eat with your   non-dominant hand. Be joyful.

Wednesday:  Think about someone in your life who needs a sense of community. Invite them over for dinner … to your Life group … to church!

Thursday:  Open your pantry. Even if all you find is beans & rice, thank God for it. We are richly blessed! Thank him today for his abundance.

Comfy couch

/ faithsweatandtears / Leave a comment

I’m sleeping on the couch because I’m too tired to finish dealing with the piles that I sorted on top of my bed for the sole purpose of making myself finish it before bedtime! 🙂 If my couch wasn’t so comfy, I might be a little disappointed in myself.

On the plus side, I took four more bags to Goodwill today and have almost emptied my garage! I’m working half-days this week to try to get it all done. I’d rather be spending my vacation hours in a hammock with a good book and a glass of Malbec. 😉

The boys have made a lot of progress with their rooms, as well. They’ve been cleaning, sorting clothes, and packing & giving away toys. There’s a mountain of clean laundry on my couch that needs to be dealt with, but it’ll still be there in the morning. G’night!