Eclectic Waters

First, no one gets to the place where he no longer needs wise counsel…Second, you will never reach your full potential without tapping into the wisdom of others. 

Andy Stanely in The Princinple of the Path (Thomas Nelson, 2009) Excerpt printed in Catalyst Notebook.

I really liked this quote.  It reminds me of the importance of continuing to grow - and especially (duh!) of learning from others!  Sometimes I think I can go it alone - i.e. just keep trying HARDER and then you’ll be successful - but that leaves me worn out.  BUT when I TAP INTO the wisdom of others and learn how to move ahead SMARTER - that’s when I really start growing and seeing positive change.

My reflection is short today - I’m off to have supper with friends.

Question:

What’s the last thing you learned from someone else (mundane/profound…)?

For me I learned from my friend Julie today, at lunch.  She shared how she sees my strategic strength at play in my position at work.  I had never realized that when dealing with angry/mad/crazy constituents in a calm way in which I present multiple options of how we can proceed falls under strategic. But it does.  Thanks Julie!

A cross hangs over the Emperor’s entrance to the coliseum =  The spread of Christianity is undeniable and unexplainable.

Notes from Andy Stanley at Catalyst West 2010

I had not heard this presented so clearly before.  Christianity should not have spread because: the gospel was entrusted to the disciples who, for the most part, were uneducated, poor and had little status in society;  both the Jews (who did not believe Jesus was the Messiah) and Rome tried to annihilate Christianity through the ruthless killing of the Christians;  the cultural context for the gospel was destroyed.  August 6th, 70 A.D. was the date of the last sacrifice in the temple before it was destroyed by Rome.  This was when ancient Judaism which centered on the sacrificial system and the temple ended.

However, despite this, Christianity has spread.  Despite the many instances in which Romans used crosses to crucify their enemies and criminals, the cross does not remind the world of Roman brutality, but when people see the cross, they think of Christianity and Jesus Christ.  Instead of being known as a symbol of death, it has become a symbol of life - the life we have through Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection.

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The application:  Nothing can thwart the purpose of God.  Ephesians 2:10 (NIV), For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  We can rest and dedicate our efforts to Him, knowing that He will prevail.  If God calls you to something, or entrusts you with a gift,  DO NOT worry about how it will happen, DO NOT focus on others who seem to have a stronger gift than you (or the same gift at a higher level), DO NOT compare.  DO NOT let life shrink your vision as it inevitably does.  RESIST and see what God will do!

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I found this to be incredibly encouraging The punchline - as much as the Romans tried to annihilate Christianity, the very place they dedicated to brutality and where many Christians were slaughtered, now has a cross hanging over the Emperor’s gate.

Is there an area you have been allowing life to shrink your vision in?  What has God been calling you to that you have been avoiding because of unbelief?

Maybe these questions do not apply to you, but when I asked them of myself, a number of areas came to mind that I want to GROW my VISION in (writing, my future - i tend to think small and have trouble trusting God’s purpose for my life to name a few).

You are called to lead. Sacrifice.  Jesus had selfless faith.  Raising up a generation of leaders (my own and the next generation).

notes scribbled during worship the first day of Catalyst.

As much as I sometimes loathe the gift of leadership I have been entrusted with, it remains.  At the beginning of the conference, quotes were put up on the screen and when I read “You are called to lead”, I almost began to cry because I know it is true, and yet it is hard.

Sacrifice.  This is why it is hard.  The more responsibility and leadership I am given - the higher the cost and the fewer ‘perks’ there are involved.  Leading is lonely and to be a good leader means being concerned with those you are leading.  It’s easier not to care and to be selfish,  but as a leader I have the responsibility to look beyond myself and to make sacrifices.   It is not about me.

Jesus had selfless faith.  When I think of his patience and the amount of wisdom, time and effort he poured into His disciples, it reveals to me what true leadership and true generosity and love are about.  While I will never be Jesus (no, really?!),  I want to continually grow and be changed into His likeness.

Raising up a generation of leaders.   I want to be that leader.  The person who listens to God’s call and obeys.   The call may be specific or it may be the general call he gives us all through His words in the Bible to love our neighbor, help the poor, spread the gospel…    I want to be available.  I want to learn and grow as fast as I can and as deep as I can.   My goal:  to be able to pass on and give all I learn away.   I want God to raise me up and then to show me how to help raise up other leaders.   My generation needs leaders.   The next generation needs leaders.

Questions:

When you hear the word LEADER what do you think of?

Who has been a positive LEADER in your life - who influenced you to be more than you thought you could be?

Living a radical life is not dependant on me: brainstorming and deciding how to be radical.  A radical life is absolute surrender & obedience to Christ.

Notes from Andy Stanley at Catalyst.

This statement hit me as I realized I have been trying to brainstorm and bring inspiration and a ‘radical life’ to myself.  The statement brought a sense of relief as the burden of my striving fell to the ground.  It’s not about me.  My only part is that of obedience and listening.   Waiting is active and while a brainstorm or time of reflection can be useful in sensing God’s direction and gaining clarity, I must remember that my place is within God’s Kingdom, I am HIS.  This means I can stop striving and instead remain watchful for His guiding and then simply obey.  There will still be work, but the burden is no longer on me.  It is on HIM and HE is GOD.  He holds true and meaningful life.

Does this resonate with you?  Do you struggle with this (surrender and not taking the burden/trying to control) as I do?

Lazy Sunday afternoon.

Walking back to the car after enjoying Sara Watkins music performed at the 37th Roots Festival on Adams Ave, San Diego, Kate, Brad and I stopped to enjoy lively salsa music being played. There was a dance floor. The beat was in my veins and I desperately wanted to dance.  Scanning the crowd, I tried to find someone who had the same longing as I did to dance and then thought about whether or not I had the guts to ask a stranger to dance.  The salsa song ended, and I thought I had found someone.

He was standing a few feet from us.  Tall.  Dark.  Handsome.   He listened intently to the music.  In the span of the song, he moved to the right side of the dance floor and stood watching.  Then he walked to the other side of the dance floor and again stood watching.  He moved slightly in tune with the music.  My gut told me he knew how to dance and wanted to.

I asked Kate if we could listen to one more song and when they announced they were playing a song from the Dominican Republic (I’ve been there and love their music), I knew it was now or never.   I asked Kate to hold my purse and bee-lined my way through the crowd until I was steps away from him.  Am I really going to do this?  And, taking a breathe as though about to jump into cold water, I approached him.

Excuse me, would you like to dance?

He looked at me in surprise and then his whole face lit up.  YES!

We walked to the dance floor and then he removed the work shirt he had over a regular shirt, and placed it, with his large soda, on the sidelines.  Then he approached me.   The song was a merengue.

I was right.  He KNEW how to dance and after my initial nervousness disappeared,  it was easy to relax and enjoy the dance.  I found out his name is Antonio and he teaches salsa and merengue.  He spoke little English.  I speak next to no Spanish, but it was easy to follow his clear guiding and to communicate flawlessly in the language of DANCE. I found out he was working a booth across from the dance floor and was on his break.   At the end of the dance,  I did my typical little curtsy and he thanked me for the dance.

I’m so glad I stepped out and asked a stranger to dance.

Nothing could have made the afternoon more perfect that ending it with a dance to my favorite type of music.