Hurry, Hurry, Hurry

• Be still, and know that I am God
• Hurry kills everything from compassion to creativity.
• And it is our moment-by-moment sensitivity to the Holy Spirit that turns life into an everyday adventure.
• …too many people end up living for the weekend
• But only he who sees takes off his shoes…

-More quotes from Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson

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Even more than slowing down, I think, for me, I need to remember to slow down AND utilize my time wisely.  Otherwise, I’ll slow down and waste time surfing the internet, doing nothing.  I can honestly say that this weekend I’ve wasted time that I could have used to rest in God.  I have a couple more days of break so here goes.  How about you? Are you “resting” or wasting time?

Words

I can’t find the words or song or anything to fit my mood and thoughts.

Church

I don’t want to let the “church” ever become so contained and managed in my life.  I don’t want to think of “church” in terms of 8-12 on Sunday mornings or that plus 4-7 Community Group time.  That’s raping the essence of church right out from the inside.  Being “the church” should permeate every square inch of my life.  I don’t want to go, get my fill, call it good.  I want to invest. Build relationships. Spontaneously get together.  Naturally build an organic community that literally carries each other’s burdens in a meaningful and effective way.  

There’s my little rant for the night. And here’s my little confession.  I can put church in a box anytime I want, but I don’t want to!  But, I find myself doing exactly what I don’t want to do.  In my mental planner, recently I programmed church in for Wednesday nights and Sundays.  I’m working really hard to get out of this mindset in order to embrace and live out my desires and passions.

Do things Well

“I would rather pour my heart, soul, mind and strength into a few endeavors than do lots of things halfway.”

“Well done, good and faithful servant”

-Wild Goose Chase

I love to talk, dream, vision-plan, etc. (p.s. in my head et cetera for some reason ALWAYS wants to be abbreviated “ect” instead of “etc”).  Yet, at some point I have to get out of the boat and do something or I have to choose to not get out of the boat.  I loathe doing a bad job or even a mediocre job so much so that I’ll not want to embark on something new because of my lack of expertise.  I want something done and done perfect well.  When I’m given a task, my immediate response is to put aside whatever I am working on to complete the task before me.  I like making lists, but ideally I want nothing on my list so that I can do tasks as they come.  So, now that you’ve analyzed my personality type and strengthsfinder, we can move on.

So, here I am tonight asking some tough questions.  Do I hesitate from stepping into a new task because I only accept perfection? Am I prideful and fear failure? Where is my heart? Where is God in all this? Do I need to take that first step? 

Scenic Route

Here are a few quotes from WIld Goose Chase:

• He loves leading us down the scenic route because that’s where we learn our most valuable lessons
• “Alexandria, Minnesota” !!!!!! whoohoo
• Because we have a natural tendency to remember what we should forget and forget what we should remember.

I’m on the scenic route.  Although, let’s be honest, sometimes the scenic route toughing it out through the skunk, cow, or chicken smell.  There are valleys and mountains.  Somedays I find myself saying, “I’m done.  I don’t want to. I don’t want to do this anymore.”  Other days, the sun peaks out a little and I’ve got a speck of hope keeping me on the road.  I’ve learned some lessons so far, but I know more will come.  I’m learning to let go of the “whys.”  I’m trying so hard to differentiate between truths and lies.  I’m seeking Him.  I’m begging Him to tell me the truth so I don’t keep buying into the lies.  So, today, in response to a longing in my heart, I’m unplugging from the internet and going on an adventure. Alone. Because I don’t need to always have a boyfriend hold my hand. Not saying that I don’t desire one nor that they aren’t ridiculous fun.  Just saying that I need to learn another lesson. 

Signing off until I’ve gone on an adventure.

My Night

I’m loving it…I got to go on a walk with a friend for an hour and a half–yay for chatting about life and getting some exercise in!  Then I was going to go shopping, but decided to get the movie “August Rush” instead and cuddle in my bed with kettle corn and blankets. mmmmm, lovely.

Waking Up

I woke up with this song in my head:

p.s. Look below for the last day of a FREE book contest

Overflow

Wow.  I’ve finished the first three chapters of Wild Goose Chase and can I say that my cup runneth over with all sorts of blog posts.  Well, 5 so far.  I started making a list of quotes that ran my mind down a rabbit trail only to realize that hey wait a minute these quotes could be expanded upon greatly and provide some thought-provoking blog posts.  I also realized that they each deserved more than a simple bullet point in a list.  So, basically, I’ve got some thinking to do.  Then some writing.  Then some posting! Until then…enjoy this:

haha. no clue who these people are, but enjoy the youtube findings

FREE BOOK

Tomorrow is the BIG day.  This book goes on sale!  Except the awesome part is that I already have it.  And even better…I have an extra copy thanks to some great marketing!  I’m going to be diving into the book starting tomorrow.  I thought it would be fitting to start on the day it’s released (plus, I just finished Wicked by Gregory Macguire so this will be perfect timing.  So, here’s the deal…I have absolutely no clue if anyone reads this other than my sweet friend Carrie who puts up with me because we both love blogging and talking about blogging.  But I’m going to give this a try anyway.  Plus, I figure the word FREE gets a lot of hits.  So, leave me a comment by Friday, August 22, 2008–I figured I better put the year just in case .  Then I’ll use some super technical skills and choose a winner assuming there are comments.  So surprise me and let me send you a book.  Leave your e-mail and we can chat via that on how you’d like to receive the book.  I’ll post updates from my reading as well so check back if you’d like!

Summary:

Most of us have no idea where we’re going most of the time. Perfect. 

“Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something….

Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.” –from the introduction.

 

Author Bio:

Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of Washington, DC’s National Community Church, widely recognized as one of America’s most innovative churches. NCC meets in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the city, as well as in a church-owned coffee house near Union Station. More than seventy percent of NCC’ers are single twentysomethings who live or work on Capitol Hill. Mark is the author of the best-selling In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and a widely read blogger (www.markbatterson.com). He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Lora, and their three children.

 

Cover art:

 

Don’t forget to check this site out too!

Girlfriends

Tonight… I’m thanking God for a specific girlfriend that has stood by me through a lot of tough stuff especially the last eight months or so.  This post on Girlfriends rings home and reminds me of her.   Here’s to friends who listen even though they’ve heard the same thing over and over and still speak words of truth even though they haven’t been through it.

 

p.s. no more dwelling on things that bring me down.