Help Set The Table

Okay. My hand is raised. High.

Raise yours if you’re one of the ones who loves to sit down at a table that’s already been made. Me too.

The food’s been cooked. The plates are out. The drinks are poured and all you have to do is wash your hands and sit down.

Isn’t that great? You don’t really have to do anything but come to the table with your God-given appetite and eat what’s before you. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone that could turn down such a generous scenario. I couldn’t, I’ll admit.

But where is it written that we deserve such treatment? I’ve found recently in my job search that I might pass something up because it doesn’t live up to what my idea of a “great” situation should be or look like. “But it’s not even a Fortune 500 company…”, I might say to myself. Or it may be, “Your salespeople only make how much??”, I’ll ponder somewhat disappointedly. I’d like to find the place where everybody’s making $100k a year and looking for people like me to add to their team. I want the ready-made success where all I have to do is come into an already great situation and make it greater. It’s only human nature. We seek the path of least resistance. The set table.

I heard overheard a teacher at Wal-Mart agonizing over the phone about how she was going to see about changing schools at the end of the year because her students were “too much to handle”. ” You mean they don’t come pre-behaved and stuff?” Would it be too much to affect change?

Or the married couple immediately ready to call it quits because it’s “just not like it used to be”. There’s often a disconnect  between how much we like to be the one submitted to and how much we want to be the one doing the submitting.

Or the athlete who wants to be traded to a good team because they’re tired of losing. “I never asked to be the leader of this team.”

The examples abound. We seek “easy”.

But who said that it’s to be so?

What if God wants us to be there sometimes to help set the table? Would we not be prouder of our achievements? Would our faith be stronger as a result? I think so.

I had the thought spoken into my head earlier today and have been thinking about it ever since. Maybe my calling isn’t to find the sure thing and then go bet on it. That would be too easy. Perhaps I’m cut out for a few battles and built for off-roads as well. Maybe with my assistance they become a successful business. Maybe I can be the first to break the $100k mark. If I’d just take my blinders and expectations off for a moment, how much more would I have access to, and impact upon?

I’m divinely built for the struggle. With support when I need it. I just need to remember that.

Maybe then the meal will taste that much better.

PS – Our pastor says “Life Takes B-Zone Muscle”. Awesome message here. Click on the service from 1/27/08.

Just Stop For A Moment.

Count your blessings.

Right where you are.

In this moment.

Look around at your family and friends and give thanks. Give thanks for the time you’ve had with them. Don’t count on tomorrow or beyond. Just count yourself privileged to have been blessed with their presence…

To have met them. To have known them. To have been related to them.

Whether good or bad, long or short, happy or sad, in sickness or in good health. In the sliver of time it takes you to read this sentence, search your heart and mind and find the value in the time you were given with them.

Perhaps you’ve got someone on your mind, but for some reason you’re not on speaking terms with this person or these people. Why not? First – Imagine they’ve got one more day left here in this world. What would you say in the urgency of that moment? Second – Why can’t you say it now?

Life is fragile – and short. All you’re given is time. All you can leave is legacy. Legacy is built through relationship. How are your relationships fairing nowadays?

Be happy today, for tomorrow is nothing more than an assumption.

I’ve been led to post this in response to a couple issues some friends of ours are facing. I’ll ask you all to keep Jen and her family in your thoughts as she faces her mother’s battle with cancer. Also, the family of another friend named Jen with whom I worked at the radio station in Florida is facing a very difficult time. Follow this MySpace link and click on her “What’s been going on with me…” blog entry. If you can’t see it, the transcript follows:

” What’s been going on with me… Hey : ) So, I have been in a total funk lately and have missed several days on the air. I mentioned briefly that we had a ‘family emergency’ because I just wasn’t ready to talk about it. But, I wanted to let you know a little bit about what’s been going on. Thursday night, Feb. 21st I was on my way to McFaddens to head up the Starting 11 Girl tryouts. The roads were bad… my cell phone rang… wasn’t going to answer because I wanted to concentrate on the road. But, I noticed it was my stepfather calling and he doesn’t normally call me… so I thought I should pick up. I’m glad I did. Even though I hated hearing what he had to tell me. My sister’s husband (39 years old) was killed in a car accident. All six of my nieces and nephews were in the car with him. All he knew was that Kevin was dead and all of my sister’s sweet children were in the hospital. Two were in the trauma unit. Frantically, I drove home. Matthew and I were able to get plane tickets to Maryland and flew out about an hour later. That was the worst plane ride of my life. As quickly as I wanted to get there… there was a part of me that just didn’t want to get there because then the horrible news would become a reality. Over the next five days we came together as a family and tried to make sense of this horrible, horrible tragedy. My brother-in-law wasn’t just my brother-in-law. I have always and will always consider him to be my brother. He guarded and guided me just like a big brother should. He and my sister met while she was in high school… I was 12 when he joined our family! Times sure flies. Praise God… the kids are all physically going to be fine. Isabella was the last to be released from the hospital but she is recovering and will be totally fine — physically. Mentally… that’s another story. They miss their daddy. My sister misses her husband. I miss my ‘brother’. Our family will never be the same. Anyway, that’s what’s been going on with me. I try to share a lot on the air… but I just wasn’t ready to talk about this one : ) Please keep my sister and nieces and nephews in your prayers. They are a beautiful family and we all have faith in God. I truly believe God has a plan for our lives and although it’s hard to understand this one right now… I know Kevin is in a better place. Thanks for caring… talk to ya soon. : ) Jenny “

I found the perfect song to go with this post. Click on the John Mayer video in the sidebar.

I Do My Little Dance On The… Freezer Aisle?

Have any of you been to Wal-Mart lately? Of course you ALL have, but have you been down the freezer aisle and noticed the new lights in the freezer cases? Well just in case you’re stuck somewhere in the dark recesses of this world, they have these new eco-friendly LED lights in their freezer cases that not only use less energy when on, but turn off when not in use. They have motion sensors above the doors that automatically light the case when the sensor detects motion within a certain range. Well the other day I had a unique experience. I happened to be at the end of an empty aisle (no freezer lights on) during a slow (Is Wal-Mart ever slow?) weekday afternoon and proceeded to stroll down the aisle, thus turning every light on as I passed by. I felt like I was in some fashion show. Like some cool music video. Only I was searching for Lean Cuisines in my sweats. Or was it sausage links?

Wal-Mart has always been at the forefront of eco-friendly, cost-saving measures in their stores. Their trademark skylights have sensors that are tied into the lights, where brighter outdoor light will turn some of their indoor lights off.  Also, have you ever noticed how the water in their sinks is already warm? Supposedly, we waste more water waiting for it to get warm enough to wash our hands. It’s more cost-efficient to heat the water first.

Now only if they’d act as responsibly in all their affairs.