Lofty Goals

This weekend Steve and I were discussing a goal he was setting that I thought was far too lofty. Here's how the conversation went:

Julie: "Which would you rather have -- a goal you can attain or a goal you know you'll more than likely never reach?"

Steve: "I'd rather fail at a huge goal than attain something that wasn't even a challenge."

This has been interesting for me to ponder. Do I want to have a life full of victories that are never challenging or never stretch me? Or do I want a life with many failures because I tried for what seemed impossible? And oh the feeling of victory at the perceived impossible! Theodore Roosevelt said it this way:

"The credit belongs to those people who are actually in the arena...who know the great enthusiasms, the great devotions to a worthy cause; who at best, know the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

Mayhem...Night #2...And Serving Others

A couple of months ago a friend told me she and her husband had a rule in their house: the little people couldn't outnumber the big people. Ah, very good -- until they had their 3rd baby that is. I thought it was particularly good advice only in our case it would have to be that the 4-legged "people" can't outnumber the 2-legged people. So, as crazy as Monday night was, it was okay because there were enough 2-legged people around.

Last night, however, the little people outnumbered the big people in our house. A couple weeks ago I mentioned our new Tuesday night friend. Well, last night we had some more little friends which together totaled 3 so we were clearly outnumbered! And it was crazy. See, when you're used to 2 adults the house is generally quiet and without a lot of drama (remember, I said generally) so even just adding 1 little person into the mix upsets the cart.

Don't get me wrong -- these are not naughty children; rather they are just, well, children in an environment where adults are company far more often...and dogs. It's just a matter of what you're used to. The reverse is also true -- one night my friend Tonya, the mother of 5, came over to get some books and she was so overwhelmed at the quiet of our house that she had to leave before she fell asleep. Obviously her house is rarely quiet. Neither are bad, just a matter of what you live with every day.

But in the midst of all this mayhem was the bigger realization that we were truly serving these parents. One set gets to attend small group because we watch their little one and the other set got to go on a real, bonafide, no-kids-allowed-for-parents-only date. And often that is missing from so many marriages. The parents sacrifice their own relationship and not only is that bad for them but it's bad for their kids too. The sad thing in all this is that anybody can serve someone like this but many rarely do. We're filling our pews with people who don't look outside of themselves to serve others and they are raising children who have no idea what it means to serve others. And so those of us who do know have the responsibility of showing them how to do it by example.

And when we serve others, all of a sudden our inward focus is outward and our lives aren't as bad as we think because we aren't focusing solely on "me". Someone wrote a book where the first sentence was "It's not about you."; well, I'd go further and say "It's not about you at all, ever." And by the way, this reminder is more for me than anyone else.

Mayhem...And The Joy of Unexpected Visits

Last night around 8 p.m. Steve got a call from Jim who said they were in the neighborhood walking their dogs and wanted to stop by. I could go off on a huge rabbit trail about how crazy Jim & Brandi are to walk their dogs in this weather at that time of night but I think I've already sufficiently covered that I think it's crazy!

So, Steve went to open the door and as soon as Jake saw what was on the other side, he went NUTS - he always does when he sees other dogs. They all poured in and once the leashes were off, mayhem ensued! For those who don't know, Jim & Brandi have a beagle, Kaycee (posted several months ago with Sam & Jake) and a 6 month old black lab, Hunter. Add that to Sam the Golden Retriever and Jake the Pekingese and, well, I'm sure you understand. It was hilarious!

They all went outside but of course Jake came back into the house in no time - not only does his little body despise this weather, he just couldn't keep up. He sure tried, though! So, we let them back in the house and pure pandemonium -- again! Streaks of dogs everywhere! When Hunter started in on Sam, Jake was not pleased....believe it or not, he kind of came to the rescue of the big oaf. But, oh, they had so much fun -- at least I think they did. I'm no "dog whisperer" but I do have eyes and a brain.

But for the fact that Hunter took an unnatural liking to Sam, all went well. In spite of all the laughing we did at the 4 stooges, the better part was the unexpected visit. It was so reminiscent of my childhood where Saturdays at our house were a constant stream of people just stopping by for coffee and 20-30 minutes of conversation. Nobody does that anymore and it feels like a missing piece.

A New Tradition

This was the first Thanksgiving in 11 years that Steve did not have to work the night before and sleep half the holiday. So, I thought to myself, what can we do to commemorate? Well, Steve and I started a new Thanksgiving tradition this year and it was an unbelievably solid foundation for the remainder of the day. Maybe it should be a daily tradition and not a Thanksgiving one!

First we took turns thinking of 10 things each we were thankful for with the only rule being one couldn't say, "yeah, that one for me too." My logic behind that rule was that I could see Steve doing that very thing...yep, that's a good one, count that for me too. Amazingly enough, only 1 thing was repeated. As I stated in my previous post, we do indeed have a lot to be thankful for and I need to remember that more than ever right now.

Secondly Steve chose a scripture (I Chronicles 16) of thanks, in this case David's prayer of thanks after bringing the ark to Jerusalem. It's the bulk of the chapter but really worth the read for all types of occasions, not just thankfulness.

Finally we spent some time in worship through song, actually 4 of them. It was amazing. I don't even know how long it took but all I know is that when it was done, I realized I had very little time to boil my potatoes. But in light of what had just taken place, did I even need to care anyway? Probably not but as you might imagine, I did.

I'll end today with one of the verses from I Chronicles 16 (it's verse 25):

"For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods."

Full of Thankfulness

There is much to be thankful for during this holiday weekend and I pray you will have many blessings for which to give thanks. And may we all remember that it's not just in the good times and good things we are to be thankful. As the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 5:19-20:

"Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes, we have much to be thankful for and today I will choose to verbalize just two; salvation through Jesus Christ, and the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. I close today with words from an oldie but goodie.....the hymn titled We Gather Together (if you know the tune, sing it out!).

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known.
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our Defender will be.
Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

Amen...and Happy Thanksgiving!

What We Are Today

I was particularly intrigued by the quote below. Talk about spiritual implications!

"These roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones; they are for what they are; they exist with God today." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

If only we would grasp the deep moments and relationships of today our lives would be so enriched! Remember and cherish yesterday, dream about and plan for tomorrow, but truly live today. I dare say there isn't much we'd miss in a life like that.

Funny For The Weekend