Revamp

So...I noticed most of my posts stem from my life in Christ and my attempt to follow his lead. Nothing else seems important enough to justify the horrendous effort of writing a post. Making time to sit down at the computer, type out my thoughts, editing, editing, and editing...I could be living my life! I've got so much to do! But I also know the value of tracking where I've been, so I press on.

However, I do think a revamp is required on this blogger journey. I need a new title and mission to better reflect my intent and purpose. I want to live my life, but also reflect on key decisions and lessons learned. I want to focus on the bigger picture, God's picture. He has worked amazing grace in my life, and He is calling me to share it as He unfolds more and more of His master plan for my life. He does this for each one of us, and I pray that you will see God's good grace in your own life.

I will try to do more writing and less stressing about the editing. I'm not the best writer, but it's not about being perfect. God knows I'm not perfect, and I think it's awesome to see what a perfect God accomplishes with imperfect people.

Well..we'll see where this goes...

Ethics Course Evaluation

I took an ethics course through a major university and I was asked to fill out a survey about the course. Below are a few of my answers.

Most liked: Making a decision based on the possible negative perceptions of external parties.

Least liked: Distinguishing the origin and place of Professional Ethics.

Improvement: Don't let atheist religion dominate the ethics discussion. It seems a blatant contradiction to assert that there is no higher authority than humankind, and then to assert that society has placed these obligations of ethical behavior upon us. If humankind is the final authority, then no other human has the right to restrain my actions, declaring some “ethical” and some “unethical.” Our society uses the benefit of the assumption of God, but denies Him credit for establishing absolute principles. If this course is to properly explore the source of Professional Ethics, God must be referenced at some point, or risk appearing very bias in your worldview.

That's all for my survey answers. I don't know if they will change anything. God makes people uncomfortable because we are naturally opposed to him. But yielding to God and His word gives us perfect freedom, which is exactly what we want in the first place.

I can't help thinking about Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." We humans are constantly trying to see the big picture with our limited view. We learn as best we can with the time we are given, but we will never see the whole picture. I leave that up to God. I trust what He says in His word (on a good day). I still have the same natural inclination as you, to trust in myself. But by God's grace, we can be the smartest people in the world by remembering we aren't God.

2014 Life-A-Thon

Running to save lives! There is a walking option too, no training required. :) Check out my page to get event details, to learn more about WLFL , and to find out what you can do to help.

Les Misérables - Grace over Law

This past weekend I watched the movie Les Misérables (2012 version). Also known as Les Mis for short (and for people who don't quite know how to pronounce French). This musical movie is based on the book, Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862. I have to admit that I have not read the book. I have been looking for shortcuts to pare down my reading list.

What struck me most was the dichotomy of Law and Grace. Inspector Javert represents the destructive power of law while ex-convict Jean Valjean represents the restorative power of grace. Not one of us can hold up under the law. Even Javert was guilty at one point of breaking the law. Where would we be if we had only the law? Condemned until death. The law antagonizes us to fight back and break the law more. We each invariably break the law in some trivial way (i.e. speeding, littering, pushing on the playground). If we are only given the cold law, we push back with our justifications of our actions. We feel we don't deserve punishment. And when we feel we don't deserve punishment, we feel compelled to make our own law in which we are judge, and we can gain some sort of retribution for the "unjust" punishment administered by The Law.

But if there is a just Judge over all people who sees all offenses to The Law, then all people are held accountable to The Law and cannot escape, even if they create a fantasy world of their own law. What can save us from this world of law? Only grace. Don't get me wrong; the broken must be fixed; the offenses must be paid for, but not by us because we cannot. We are naturally opposed to The Law, wanting to do things our own way at the expense of others. But our offenses were paid by Jesus and His hyper-grace. He covers us completely. Through His grace we empower others to live by grace. We are all in the same boat-load of trouble, and we can only make it out through the same gift of grace. There is no life with The Law, and there is no death with The Grace. Thanks be to God!

Jean Valjean is truly a story of the transformation from sinner to saint. God works through him to accomplish much good, even though he is still an imperfect man who makes unknowing mistakes. He rescues a man from being crushed to death, gives to the poor, redeems Cosette, saves Marius from death, and shows mercy to his enemy, Javert. I echo Jean Valjean's own words as he contemplates what kind of a man he will be, "Who am I? Who am I? I'm Jean Valjean!"

Grace...

Over...

Law.

To those who know my wife...

Women, listen to my wife! She is full of wisdom. Heed her words, consider carefully what she says. Her husband cherishes her and craves her. She is his delight. Oh, that you would listen! Oh, that you would test and see the straight path laid before you. Avoid the thorn bushes and snares. Avoid the pit! Do not scoff at the woman who has her husband's praise.

I wrote this a while ago after reading a lot of Psalms and Proverbs (I know, it shows). I realized, yet again, that I have a wonderful wife! I see how she handles herself and how she offers advice after careful thought to other married women. Then I see that advice trampled on. I decided to share this, because I wish you all knew how blessed our marriage has been because of this woman. She is my Proverbs 31 woman.

Self-Advocacy

This article was found in the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Bulletin, Volume 23, Number 41, posted on October 3, 2013. This bulletin is geared toward informing state employees. Take a read through and see what you think. What jumps out at you? Is it good or bad?

Be informed: taking positive steps towards self-advocacy

This month we will explore “Being Informed” as a route to positive health and wellness. Our first topic is Self-advocacy. Self-advocacy is about getting the information you need, making decisions and assertively communicating your needs to others in order to achieve a positive outcome. Self-advocacy is all about looking out for yourself while still respecting and valuing the role others may play in your life.

Today, we all need to be much wiser consumers and to make the best decisions possible for our own welfare. Speaking up and advocating for yourself can help you to get the best product or service, save you money, save you hassles, and help you to feel competent and successful. Making informed choices and standing up for yourself can help you not fall prey to the many scams in today’s world. Every day we have choices to make and sometimes we can feel exhausted with all the decisions a day can bring. The art of discerning between various information bites and resources is a must in today’s world of information overload. It’s easy to grow weary and leave the decisions to others. Passivity is tempting but can lead to a feeling of powerlessness over your life. Take charge of your life with these steps down the road to self-advocacy:

·         Know your rights

·         Educate yourself

·         Believe in yourself

·         Determine your needs

·         Ask all the necessary questions

·         Trust your gut feelings

·         Think about your goals and what you want

·         Develop a decision making model that helps you to make good, quick decisions

Remembering to stay calm and cool when speaking up for yourself is a very important key to getting what you want. Self-advocacy isn’t about over-powering others, or taking advantage of someone. It’s about assertively asking for what you want and need in a strong yet appropriate way. If you find it’s hard in certain situations to stand up for yourself, try writing it down first or practice what you want to say with a friend or even EAP staff. Many people find it gets easier with practice. Taking care of your needs, standing up for yourself and identifying when something isn’t working and taking action is a key to self-care and self-power. Trusting yourself to take care of your own life, rather than leaving the decisions and choices to others is the key to taking charge of your destiny and creating the life you want. [name removed] and [name removed], reporters.

My thoughts: I agree with not letting others make decisions for you. We should all be responsible for our actions, but what is the motivation that is promoted here? Self-advocacy, self-care, self-power…these all fall under a more negative term of selfishness. Yes, we have done a great job of putting a positive spin on it, and we promote it as necessary in our society, because who is looking out for you? “No one” is the answer that our society wants you to believe. So we should be looking out for ourselves…right? Wrong! We are each called to look out for others and their needs. God looks out for us and we will always have what we need.

• Know your rights? Know your responsibilities.
• Educate yourself? Good, read God’s word, and teach others.
• Believe in yourself? Believe in God, the only one in complete control.
• Determine your needs? Determine your neighbor’s needs, and do something to help.
• Ask all the necessary questions. Like, “Why am I doing this?” and “Why am I here?”
• Trust your gut feeling? Only after examining yourself to God’s standard.
• Think about your goals and what you want. Is it God-pleasing? 
• Develop a decision making model that helps you make good, quick decisions. Do what you know it right.

Don’t speak up for yourself. Speak up for what is right. We keep struggling for more control over our lives when we should yield our lives to God and to others in accordance to God’s will. Goal setting is good; game planning is good; working to be more productive is good, but all is useless without the right motivation, the right heart. I am just as guilty as all of us. Selfishness comes naturally, but that doesn’t mean we need to accept it as good. That doesn’t mean we just need to be selfish more civilly. Usually we need to work for good, and our natural instinct is bad. Think about it. Pray about it. Talk to others you respect about it. Read God’s word and He will show you the way.

Move for Missions

"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news" 
-Romans 10:15

This Saturday, Oct. 5th, 2013
5k run/2 mi. walk wherever you are!

Do you have a mission? This is a great fitness event starting up this year to raise Christian awareness of spreading God's word to those around us. Our mission field could be Africa, but most likely it is just across the street as you look at your neighbor's house. God has placed each one of His people in a unique spot to impact specific people. 

"You are the light of the world." (Matthew 5:14) Shine for his glory. 

"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." (Colossians 4:6) Be the salt that flavors the world, not the salt that gets rubbed into somebody's wounds.  

About Move for Missions
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Daily Inspiration

I just want to encourage you to get into God's word, see what he has planned for you, and live for His glory. There are also many books available to know how to share God's word in our society today.