Informally From The Heart
Sometimes I'll be writing in my journal and think, "snikey, what is this coming out of my brain? I didn't know I thought that! This would be better placed as a blog post rather than in an obscure notebook. Why don't I just journal online?"
Of course, this thought is closely followed by the reasoning that whatever is on my blog is open to anybody who, accidentally or not, cares to read it. No, I wouldn't want that.
But I want the feeling, the unrestricted freedom of posting as if I was writing a journal. Informal. Sincere. From the heart.
Looking at the small amount of posts to date, leaves me feeling obligated to always write an article, or insight, or post of some life lesson I've learned (hopefully) because of the content/layout of all the others.
Not that I don't like writing that type of post, it's just that the idea that I have to because all the others are that way, actually keeps me from starting a new post because I don't want to put in the work of writing an article-like post.
Even as the saying that what you value most will most likely be the first thing that pops to mind is true, so is the thought that is expressed without having actually pondered it. Am I just trying to be a wimp of work, in my resistance of conforming to article-like posts?
Interesting as that is, it's not really where I was going :-)
Having said all that, one thing I do like to have is a point, or something applicable to life, or something that just makes the post worth reading. And that usually means a logical, or at least organized approach to some conclusion. Bah, organization. Bah, logic. (at least for things that don't need immediately visible logic)
For this post I really just wanted to share a cool little "God moment" that happened sometime in march, I think. It does somewhat relate to everything I've mentioned, albeit in a way that's not so close fitting as a glove, like some of my other posts.
Due to the ice storm, barely a single tree around these parts got through without losing one, or several branches. We have a grove of trees in our pasture, which is lots of trees, resulting in lots of broken branches. As there was no-one else around with the time, or maybe even the desire/capabilities to clear it up, I decided, hey, why not?
So hefting an axe, a trimming saw, and music through my earbuds, I went out. I wasn't particularly systematic, orderly, or efficient, but it's looking better now. To my dismay, now that I'm almost done I've discovered we actually do have a chainsaw, *forehead smack* I just have to change the blade and mix some more fuel for it.
Anyway, without a jacket to cover my earbuds cord, the axe handle and random branches like to snag it, and yank them out sometimes when I'm working. It was only a minor setback, as I simply stuck them back in. Perhaps I was being slow to see a bigger picture here. (sarcasm)
The next time my earbuds were yanked out, one of the little gray rubber pieces that keeps the bud in my ear came out and disappeared somewhere on the ground. After looking for five minutes and feeling sad about this minuscule bit of material matter, I gave up.
I said, "Alright God, I get it."
"I'm going to look one last time, and whether or not I find this thing, I promise I'll talk to you and listen for the remainder of the time I'm out here."
You know, God must love it when we finally get things straight, or finally see what he's trying to show us. He loves demonstrating his grace, too.
Within a minute, I had found the thing. I had the sudden fleshly urge to put my earbud back together, slip it in my ear and resume my roughly interrupted song. Notice the repetition of my.
I quickly jammed the thing in my pocket instead, and found that informal, from the heart talk, is really more worth it than sticking with what I've always done because I've always done it.
God doesn't just want conversation at a time, or in a way that's designated by me, even though that's good for building habits of prayer. He wants all our time no matter what we're doing, or where we are. More than that, he wants all our time to be his time, because if we're really trying to live our lives for him, and he lives inside of us, how can we expect to do that at all if we smash what that life is supposed to be, into preconceived notions of what we used to do just because we always used to do it that way? We can't expect it. Or shouldn't.
Becoming a little less formal, a little more from the heart, and letting God lead his spirit in me to direct my lifestyle will help me, oh, just a little more than I might think right now.
Of course, this thought is closely followed by the reasoning that whatever is on my blog is open to anybody who, accidentally or not, cares to read it. No, I wouldn't want that.
But I want the feeling, the unrestricted freedom of posting as if I was writing a journal. Informal. Sincere. From the heart.
Looking at the small amount of posts to date, leaves me feeling obligated to always write an article, or insight, or post of some life lesson I've learned (hopefully) because of the content/layout of all the others.
Not that I don't like writing that type of post, it's just that the idea that I have to because all the others are that way, actually keeps me from starting a new post because I don't want to put in the work of writing an article-like post.
Even as the saying that what you value most will most likely be the first thing that pops to mind is true, so is the thought that is expressed without having actually pondered it. Am I just trying to be a wimp of work, in my resistance of conforming to article-like posts?
Interesting as that is, it's not really where I was going :-)
Having said all that, one thing I do like to have is a point, or something applicable to life, or something that just makes the post worth reading. And that usually means a logical, or at least organized approach to some conclusion. Bah, organization. Bah, logic. (at least for things that don't need immediately visible logic)
For this post I really just wanted to share a cool little "God moment" that happened sometime in march, I think. It does somewhat relate to everything I've mentioned, albeit in a way that's not so close fitting as a glove, like some of my other posts.
Due to the ice storm, barely a single tree around these parts got through without losing one, or several branches. We have a grove of trees in our pasture, which is lots of trees, resulting in lots of broken branches. As there was no-one else around with the time, or maybe even the desire/capabilities to clear it up, I decided, hey, why not?
So hefting an axe, a trimming saw, and music through my earbuds, I went out. I wasn't particularly systematic, orderly, or efficient, but it's looking better now. To my dismay, now that I'm almost done I've discovered we actually do have a chainsaw, *forehead smack* I just have to change the blade and mix some more fuel for it.
Anyway, without a jacket to cover my earbuds cord, the axe handle and random branches like to snag it, and yank them out sometimes when I'm working. It was only a minor setback, as I simply stuck them back in. Perhaps I was being slow to see a bigger picture here. (sarcasm)
The next time my earbuds were yanked out, one of the little gray rubber pieces that keeps the bud in my ear came out and disappeared somewhere on the ground. After looking for five minutes and feeling sad about this minuscule bit of material matter, I gave up.
I said, "Alright God, I get it."
"I'm going to look one last time, and whether or not I find this thing, I promise I'll talk to you and listen for the remainder of the time I'm out here."
You know, God must love it when we finally get things straight, or finally see what he's trying to show us. He loves demonstrating his grace, too.
Within a minute, I had found the thing. I had the sudden fleshly urge to put my earbud back together, slip it in my ear and resume my roughly interrupted song. Notice the repetition of my.
I quickly jammed the thing in my pocket instead, and found that informal, from the heart talk, is really more worth it than sticking with what I've always done because I've always done it.
God doesn't just want conversation at a time, or in a way that's designated by me, even though that's good for building habits of prayer. He wants all our time no matter what we're doing, or where we are. More than that, he wants all our time to be his time, because if we're really trying to live our lives for him, and he lives inside of us, how can we expect to do that at all if we smash what that life is supposed to be, into preconceived notions of what we used to do just because we always used to do it that way? We can't expect it. Or shouldn't.
Becoming a little less formal, a little more from the heart, and letting God lead his spirit in me to direct my lifestyle will help me, oh, just a little more than I might think right now.
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