It's Football Season!

I get excited this time of year. Early Fall air is crisp and fresh, and excitement builds in small towns and large cities across the country as the weekend approaches and young football teams prepare to take the fields. School colors streak hallways, car windows, and local businesses. It's football season!

I grew up in Carlinville, IL, where life seemed to stand still on Friday nights. I didn't know a single person who wasn't at the game. We dressed head to toe in cardinal red and royal blue. Many cheered on our team until our throats hurt. Men travelled up and down the fence as the team moved on the field, compared notes on how the team would do this year, what players would get college offers, and when the best (and worst) years of CHS history were. Young boys played football behind the bleachers. College students returned to catch up on friendships while supporting those "left behind" in high school. On Monday the community was still buzzing about last Friday's game and by Tuesday most were anticipating next Friday's game.

We were usually in the state playoffs which raise the energy and involvement up a notch. If it seemed the whole town came to regular season games, the entire county must have shown up to playoff games. The town would virtually shut down for a few hours during a home game or the entire day if everyone caravaned to a far-off town.

When I was about ten years old, we made it to the state game. The day before one of the last playoff games I went home from school with strep throat. Technically, I wouldn't be allowed back to school for 24 hours, but the next day was Saturday...and a playoff game. This was serious stuff. My parents couldn't leave me home, because everyone we knew would be at the game several hours from home. So I bundled up and went along!

Tonight I went to the first game of the season in the town where I live. This town isn't quite as football crazy as Carlinville, but there's definitely a community feel to the experience. People of all ages were there. Young kids with painted faces, high school kids decked in school colors, parents with their kids' names on their shirts and many dedicated older supporters who have seen more games than the players can imagine. The crazies were yelling at refs. Young kids were playing football in the mud or cheering with the cheer squad. Parents were selling sweatshirts and refreshments. And people were sitting in the bleachers, catching up on community news.

Each person had different tasks and responsibilities all day...but by this evening, all of us came together for a football game. We became a crowd with a common focus.

The next time you're in a crowd, ask yourself what the common focus is.


Jesus went out to the lake with his disciples, and a large crowd followed him. They came from all over Galilee, Judea, 8 Jerusalem, Idumea, from east of the Jordan River, and even from as far north as Tyre and Sidon. The news about his miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see him. - Mark 3:7-8 (NLT)

Adventurous Routine

Routine stabilizes yet bores me. Adventure thrills me but can also wreak havoc on my focus. I not only have to balance the two; I have to blend them. Like this morning.

I'm a walker. I try to walk every day, usually around eight miles. Some days are more, some are less, and some days I don't fit it in at all, but the general routine is to walk first thing in the morning. I love the sights and sounds of the morning. The freshness inspires me. And when I walk in the morning, I don't have the pressure of "fitting it in" as my day gets busy.

In addition the routine of when I walk, I'm consistent in where I walk. I live in a small town, and there aren't many options to walk as far as I do. I skirt the town and create loops to add miles. I walk with a focus: I push myself physically, but I relax my mind. My walking time is one of the most inspiring and uplifting times of my day. (And I've decided it's a good thing that I haven't figured out how to write while I walk. Even though I'd likely be creative, I'd then squeeze work into yet another block of my day!)

When and where are you most inspired and uplifted on a regular basis?

This morning when I set out I knew God was telling me to step outside my routine and be adventurous. Walk a different path. I know all the roads around town, so there aren't "new" roads, but there are definitely paths that take me out of my routine. And I knew it wasn't about the path I took. I was supposed to listen for fresh thoughts. New challenges. God knew what was in store for me today and wanted to pour into me a fresh perspective.

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. - Isaiah 43:19 (NLT)

In the midst of your routine, seek adventure. Drive a different route to and from work. Fold your towels in a new way. Sit in different chairs at the dinner table. Your adventure doesn't have to be drastic...just enough of a twist within your routine to open your ears and eyes to what God is trying to say to you. Perhaps you're so focused on your routine, you're taking God for granted.

Church Signs

I typically don't like phrases on church signs. They seem contrite, giving unsolicated advice or simple solutions to life's problems. People who drive by might be experiencing chaos and read something like...

• Don't wait for 6 strong men to take you to church.
• Give Satan an inch and he'll be a ruler.
• God answers "Knee Mail."

Here's what annoys me the most. 1) Signs that ask questions but don't provide answers. 2) Signs that include mispellings or incorrect word usage. 3) Signs that sound superior, assuming the sign-maker has all the answers, and the passerby is being enlightened.

In my opinion, church signs should be kept simple: worship service times, sermon topics, community service, program opportunities, and basic Bible verses. Let's quit trying to reword what God has to say in cutesy and humorous ways and just say it as God says it.

Okay, now that I've slammed most church signs (and potentially offended many of you who enjoy posting them), I have to admit I was caught off guard today when I drove by a church and saw this sign on the marquee:

Give your life to Jesus. He can do a lot more with it than you can.

Well, it made me pause and consider what I'm holding back from God. How I'm a barrier to my own purpose because only when I'm willing to give everything about myself to him so he can shape and use me however he intends am I really going to be fulfilling my pure purpose.

Other people who drove by the same church sign today probably had varying responses. They might not know what "give your life to Jesus" means. They might have been wounded by someone in a church at some point, someone who said similar words but didn't live them out. So the sign stirred up anger. And others might have seen so many contrite comments on church signs, they now easily ignore them.

But I realized today that God speaks to me in ways in which I thought I'd closed my ears and eyes.

• When do you tend to not look and listen for God and therefore don't expect to see and hear from him?
• What are you holding back from God?
• Do you believe: "Give your life to Jesus. He can do a lot more with it than you can."?

You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. - Deuteronomy 30:20 (NLT)

Dark Chocolate

I think my taste buds are dying. Seriously. Why else would I now prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate? (By the way, whomever decided to put dark chocolate on my favorite candy bar, Reese's, deserves a bonus!) In my opinion, bitter has become better. And it's not a decision I've made because dark chocolate is healthier than milk chocolate. I prefer dark and will (usually) pass up chocolate if no dark chocolate is available.

I makes me consider other perspectives that have changed as I've aged:

• My strengths can become weaknesses when misused.


• Healthy confrontation is essential for most resolutions.


• I don't deserve respect. I earn it.

What has changed for you?

Dark chocolate may be bitter, but it's also decadent. I wouldn't want to go back and relearn the lessons I've already learned. I'm too busy learning new lessons! The bitter experiences of life have added richness of it. I can't separate the two, because without the bitterness, without the trials of life, the richness wouldn't exist. The two are intertwined just as the experiences of my life blend together to mold me.

Bitterness on its own is less than palatable. But mix it with smooth and creamy, and you have a treat to be savored and appreciated.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. - Romans 5:3-4 (NLT)

Intersections

It's official. My daughter has moved to college. Her room seems empty. My heart's a little empty. And yet...I can't help but be excited for the adventure. Sure it's scary to see her standing with her toes on the precipice of her future, but I can almost see the adrenaline rushing through her as she jumps...

This is what I've been preparing for the past 18 years. So while it's the end of her childhood and sharing the same house, it also means we reached a goal, together. Milestones of life are the point where endings and beginnings intersect, a collision site of strong emotions. The birth of a child, first day of kindergarten, first loss of a tooth, first date, graduation, college, new job. Each new beginning is dependent on an ending.


Think about your life. Do you remember a time you were particularly excited about something new? What had to end or what did you have to give up in order to pursue that something?
What about a time when something in your life ended? A relationship, job, school. Looking back, can you see what new beginnings grew from the ending?


Celebrate the intersections. Allow joy to grow out of your sadness. Watch for opportunities to emerge from your pain. Let beauty bloom through the ashes. (And have a box of tissues available at all times.)


Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. - Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT)

Through the Fog

Driving through the wispy fog at night might be dangerous, or at the very least, distracting. The road was straight and familiar, so I had no fear of veering off the road. I hoped a deer or other critter wasn't hidden by the fog. I hoped the fog wouldn't become denser as I met oncoming cars. But any concerns I had were soon replaced with an appreciation for the beauty of the wispy fog.

Sometimes my car seemed to slide underneath a thin veil. The fog streamlined over the top like the aerodynamic tests I've watched on car commercials. Other times my car seemed to float as I had a clear view over the fog but lost sight of the road for a moment. As the road dipped, I thought of being on a plane, rising through clouds and dipping below them.

The fog was beautiful.

And yet as I drove, I realized I was focusing on the fog. My vision had become short-sighted. I no longer focused on the horizon of the road. I anticipated approaching edges of fog.

Look straight ahead,and fix your eyes on what lies before you. - Proverbs 4:25 (NLT)

What is your fog? Situations, people, or things that distract you from your destination.

Perhaps you've been distracted for so long, you're not even sure of your destination. But God has a purpose for you. Even when you're not sure where the road leads...even when your eyes are tired of searching what's ahead...even when what surrounds you is breathtakenly beautiful, remember God has a purpose, just for you. Persevere, and focus on your purpose.

...I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. - Philippians 3: 13-14 (NLT)