What would you do if a theme has been running through your heart for many months now and you it starts showing up more frequently?

For a LONG time now diligence has been a theme that has run around my heart like Eric Liddell running around the beaches! The difference? This theme does not take the Sabbath off.

I must admit that I have never been very diligent and that is the root cause of many of the failures in my God-given life. This is something that I hate to admit but God has helped me to come to grips with it and confess it to forgiveness.

I subscribe to an e-zine from John Maxwell. Maxwell is an expert in the field of leadership and mentoring and he has written many books on these subjects. I have read, at least in part, a number of these books and he never fails to amaze me with his insights.

Today I received his monthly newsletter and the first article, the VERY FIRST article, was about diligence!

So many times I take these wonderful articles and file them away for a later date and time but I could not put this away without first reading the article.

Maxwell wrote the article based on a book by author Steven J. Scott called, "The Richest Man Who Ever Lived".

According to Maxwell the richest men today are Bill Gates, worth about $56 Billion dollars, and Warren Buffet, worth about $52 million dollars. These numbers stagger my imagination! I am amazed when I hear of someone winning or inheriting $10 million dollars, but $56 BILLION?!? WOW! I could afford to replace my electrocuted (struck by lightning last spring) dishwasher and get new tires for my truck with that kind of money!

But there is one eclipses these two by far. In fact, he eclipses them both added together! Who am I referring to? King Solomon, of course!

Solomon asked God for wisdom to rule God's people Israel and God granted to him not only the wisdom he sought and far beyond, but also great wealth. His estimated worth in present day dollars, is $1 Trillion dollars! That is $1,000 BILLION dollars! WOW!

Solomon, in his incredible wisdom, wrote this about diligence (or the lack thereof!):

"The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slack hand will be put to forced labor" (Proverbs 12:24).

"The soul of the sluggard craves, but he gets nothing." (Proverbs 13:4)

"He that tills his land shall be satisfied with bread, but he that follows vain persons is void of understanding" (Proverbs 28:19).

These are hard to accept, not that they are not true but I have spent so much time dreaming about what might be (being a sluggard) that I didn't ever start the engines and to get off of the ground.(diligence)

Scott gave some biblical advice for stimulating diligence:

1. Wake up to reality!

   "How long will you lie there," he asks. "When will you get up from your sleep?...poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man." (Proverbs 6:9-11)

    

2. Define Your Vision (I say to set goals)

   "Without a vision, the people perish." (Proverbs 29:18)

The bottom line is this: God has shown me, in various ways and with various means, that I need to strive to do my best and only then will I glorify Him in my life.

This started last year as He took me through the valley of darkness, which came about, I am convinced, because of my lack of diligence and I achieved nothing because I was so intent on dreaming about what might be that I never did anything to achieve it.

I am waking up! It is not an easy change since I have spent the last forty-two years cultivating this lifestyle, but I recognize the problem, have confessed it to the Lord, and am taking steps to add a liberal dose of diligence to my life.

I can't say where it will lead me but I do know one thing: It glorifies God when I do my best in whatever I do. This is my goal this year.

It has to start in the heart, my heart. You all can send me encouraging words and even whack me upside the head I do need both now and again) but until I fully engage diligence through discipline and self-control, I will never glorify God as I should and I will miss that wonderful blessing.

I have a lot of work to do but it brings me a measure of peace that I am actually facing my giants and not just burying my head in the sand in hopes that my problems will go away.

I have so many wonderful role models that God has brought into my life. Some are close and some are far away but in one way or another they have all impacted me for good.

The original question is "What would you do…?" and the answer is: Face the problem. It is not going to go away and it will fester and infect others if left unattended.

This seems simplistic when seen on paper but when the rubber meets the road it will not be an easy journey but a necessary one. I am excited because I know that God will be traveling this road with me, cheering me on, holding my hand, and strengthening me in the inner person. Praise His name!

It looks like the writing bug has bit me again so I will say, "Good bye"…for now!

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures of My New Haven—Jan. 13, 2008

Here they are! The pictures I promised of the progress of my new office. I really don't like the word "office". In my mind an "office" is the place where you work or pay bills or other such not-creative activities! I like to think of my space as more of a haven, a getaway, a place to create and study. I am very excited about getting to use it! My friend and coworker, Dave, helped get the furring strips and new wall up before he had to go. Thanks, Dave!

The first picture is of the room where my new haven will be created in after it has been cleaned out. (A project in itself!) I taped it off to give an indication of the size. Pretty small but it will work!

Here are a couple of picture with a chair to give you a better idea of what it will look like. In the end I will have a chair on wheels that swivels so movement will be efficient and easy.

The materials are here! Let's get building!

We started with the furring strips. The new wall is up and I'm doing a little clean up before I put up the drywall. Speaking of drywall…Oh look! The drywall is here!

The drywall is up inside the haven. The back wall is in a holding pattern as I made a mistake. I forgot that when you by 1x2 furring strips it REALLY means you have purchased 1/2 x 1-1/2 inch furring strips so the 1 inch insulation I bought is WAY too big!

Hre we see the mighty Logan Larson helping his dad with his surprisingly powerful muscles! (He's a real ox!) Looks like we'd better feed this beast!

It's obvious I enjoyed Christmas a little too much!

Here's my lovely wife just because I think she's gorgeous! And she said YES to my new little haven!

I also want to thank my dad for his phone advice and for the times he taught me to do this work. I am not in his league at all but as you can see I learned enough to get'er done! And I look forward to mom and dad coming over to help put in the all important desk area.

As The Weekend Nears…-Jan.11, 2008

This is not a revelation or anything but, I wanted you all to know that today is Friday. FRIDAY! Did you hear me? This is the end of another workweek and the hope of a quiet weekend. Honestly, if things go according to plans, Logan and I will be putting up the one wall and sheetrock for my new office. I don't anticipate it being hard but when it comes to Do-It-Yourself projects I get butterflies. This is not because I don't know what I'm doing, I don't, but because I don't want the end product to look like I don't know what I'm doing.

Actually, I am feeling pretty good about it and it will be fun to work with and teach, Logan. (Is this a GOOD idea??)

We almost have the room cleaned out and I started taking the old workbench apart. Once the bench is apart it will give us more room and I will be able to use some of the wood from the bench to add some shelves or something. I am excited to get it done and I really haven't started yet!

The creation of this office space is just a jumping off place for what I really want to happen here: Study\Writing. I just have to get thorough the building process first.

I am going to try very hard to remember to take pictures so you can see the progress, this should really spice up this blog and I may even have to move it onto its own server because the number of hits I'll get will be so great that I will bring the blogger site to its knees! HA! HA! HA!

Seriously, you all who have pictures on your site are the coolest people I know not to mention sooo tech savvy and your sites look sooo cool!

 

I want you all to enjoy your weekend and remember that each new day is a gift that God has given you and only He can give it. Grace upon grace, as the rain falls on all of our weary souls. Rejoice in the Lord always!

 

So long!

Date Fix—Jan. 9, 2008

It looks as though I have lost my mind! I thought today was the 8^th and it appears I am a day behind. So here is the fix: When you look at the dates of the last two blogs change the 8 to a 9 in your mind! LOL!

Thoughts In The New Year—Jan. 8, 2008

 

 

I had intended to write this at the beginning of the New Year but as I wrote and then read what I wrote, I did not like it so I abandoned it. Here is another attempt.

Today I read my friend's blog, he wrote about Yancey's view of living within our circumstances, and it triggered within me a reminder of how we are to live even if our circumstances are not what we would consider "ideal".

The past year was one that I am so glad is now behind me. Kim and I went through so much last year that, at least for me, rivaled the year Grady died. It was tough and we are still dealing with some fallout from the things that God took us through last year. Stress was a constant companion although we put on a good public face! It is good to be on the other side now. Circumstances came into play in a huge way and I believe we learned to look more to God than we ever had. I hate that we have to go through those things to learn what we should already know and practice but that is the way of it.

One thing I did last year was to take a hard look at all the ministry things I was involved in and assess what God would have me do. I did not do this lightly. I prayed and I sought godly council from several men of the church and when I came out on the other side I had removed about half the things I was involved with and the burden of that lifted off my heart. What a great praise! I would encourage all of you to do a "ministry survey" if you're feeling stressed, because maybe God is trying to tell you something. I think it's as much a sin to do too much as to do too little. You simply can't put your best foot forward and God always wants our best.

A new year.

I don't do "resolutions" per se, but there is something about that flip of the calendar, seeing the fresh new year that causes me to look at my life and say that I want to do something fresh and new in the New Year. I had goals set for last year but they fizzled shortly after takeoff but I learned from last year and I like to think that maybe I have grown some as well. This year I would like to ignite my desires into full-fledged passion and writing is on the top of the list. When I TALK about writing my heart races and my imagination soars, but I have tanked when it comes to writing what I really want to write and I want that to change this year. I know I have learned more about the craft and I plan, with the new tool that will be at my disposal, to get more writing done, Lord willing.

I also hope to drop a few pounds and spend some time with one of our new pastors. I have found it most enjoyable to talk with him about spiritual things and it seems as though he would be willing to go hikin' and talkin', one of my favorite things! (Yes I KNOW it looks like there are two activities listed here but when I am doing these activities, they mesh into one! Hey! YOU came to MY blog so deal with it! I can call two one if I want to!) LOL!

Ok I don't want to burn your eyes with the first blog in over two months but once I get started I have a hard time stopping! Bye for now!

A New Tool for A New Year--Jan. 8, 2008

So I'm looking back on the blog situation and I noticed my last post was…A LONG time ago! Bad me! NEVERTHELESS, I have not been idol! In fact, I have a neat little freeware program called "Keynote" that I use to journal almost every day. I have titled these missives "Greg's Psalms" because I pour all (I do mean ALL) my inner self into those. The design is for my eyes alone until after I go Home so I'm not too concerned.

 

I have been working with some new ideas in the story-writing arena and I am getting a new tool that I am hoping will help me to get more productive.

 

One thing that is distracting to me is the fact that when I sit down to write, I have a lot of stuff that I need and it gets scattered about my work area. Once I finish up for the session I can't just go away but I have to refocus on cleaning up and then start over the next time. This is all because my lovely wife insists on using the kitchen table for meals as well. It's most inconsiderate of her!

 

Well, there is now a solution to the problem! I have been granted, by the same wife noted above, a six foot by six foot area in our "catch-all" room to create an office space of my very own! (Greg, I wish you were closer! I would love your help on this one!) I am putting up a wall to create a cubbyhole and then I am going to make a wrap around desk that will encompass all three walls with the front left open. I will add a few shelves for books and the final phase, oh, fifteen or twenty years from now, I will add a laptop of my own! (Sound like a good idea, Kelly?)

 

My budget is about two hundred-fifty dollars and I have been watching HGTV so I have all I need! (Except the power tools! GR-E-E-E-G!)LOL!

 

Now whether I'm preparing a Sunday school lesson or actually writing I can spread out and I don't have to clean up! I will be ready for the next session and I can get to work.

 

I will try to remember to post some pictures of the progress and the final product.

 

 

 

Dreams From God of Peace – Nov. 9, 2007

I'd like to open by saying that I don't put a lot of stock in my dreams.

I mean that the dreams I have at night don't lead me to some cosmic logic or mystic knowledge or __________ (fill in the blank).

I believe God, at one time did use dreams and maybe once in a while He'll send us a bit of peace through a dream, but overall I am not convinced dreams are all that valuable.

Having said all of that I love my dreams! For the most part they are exciting and just real enough to prevent me from getting a good night's sleep. (Well, maybe that last one is not so much a benefit but the dreams are cool!)

There have been so many times I wish I could have written my dreams down as they are happening or, even better, had a video recording of those wild and wacky dreams.

I consider my dreams a blessing. In fact, I have learned to ask God nightly to protect my dreams so that sin will not run rampant in them as they can in my waking life. For the most part He answers those prayers. My dreams are usually pretty pure and just plain fun!

There are dreams that I have that are special in such a way as to be remembered for many years. One particular dream does not have any special feature that makes it extra ordinary but there are dreams that just stick out in my mind. Last night was one of those nights I considered a great blessing.

I dreamed that Grady was alive, still five years old and I had time to spend with him.

He was running around doing things and generally just being happy.

Kim was there and for some reason she was pretty neutral about him being around. (It was a dream after all!) Grady also was fairly neutral about being around. He seemed to enjoy our time together but he also was distracted by the activities he was involved with.

It's really hard to describe but I woke up after this dream feeling so happy to have seen Grady. I was not sad but glad.

Again I don't think this meant anything other than a time God gave me to be with Grady…a peace from God.
It was so fun to see him running around just like I remember!

…

Yes, a blessing from God.

I feel sad sometimes when I think about seeing Grady in heaven because one person I know believes when we are in heaven we will be perfect (I agree) and that means all of us will be in an adult form. I am not sad because of seeing Grady but because I still want to see him in the form I remember: him at five years old.

I held on to this belief about him being in adult form until lately as I've been reading the book of 1 Thessalonians.

In there, Paul tries to encourage the people of Thessalonica by telling them that the dead in Christ will be raised from the grave and beat us to heaven. As I look at that the conclusion that I come to is that the bodies that are in the grave are the ones the dead will rise in, although perfected.

I fully realize that I could be wrong on this and I don't mention it to stir up debate, it really is not important in the long haul, but what it does is just give me a tiny bit of comfort in this one ache in my heart.

If I get to heaven and Grady is a six foot three bronzed statue of a man I will rejoice greatly, but there is a part of me that hopes that I will still see the little four foot, five year old waiting to give me a big hug!

 

Keep fighting the good fight!