...of Persistance

There's an old proverb that says a thousand mile journey begins with the first step.  How true! We all need to make a decision at some point to move from thinking about a project, or a relationship, or a job; to actually starting. Nothing happens until we start.

But for most of us, the paths of our past are littered with projects we have started, but failed to finish. That's because there comes a point where the energy from the enthusiasm of something new wanes, and we have to fall back on plain old commitment.

Malcolm Gladwell(  +Malcolm Gladwell Official Website  ) coined the idea of '10,000 hours to mastery'. It's a simple notion - as the best ideas always are - that giftedness can never replace persistent effort.

Of course, we need to learn what we are to practice, so our efforts make a genuine improvement. We need guidance, and mentoring. But simply put, there is no substitute for persistent effort. Want to learn the piano? Practice often. Want to master a new language? Practice often. Want to run a Marathon? Practice often.

Simple. Unfashionable. Essential.

... Of whole-hearted people

"And Levi left everything and followed him". Luke 5:28

Levi was a follower of Jesus. He was a tax collector when he first met Jesus. The more he saw of Jesus, the more he wanted to be someone different. And when Jesus finally invited Levi to join his band of brothers, Levi jumped at the chance. But there was a cost: one that Levi had to pay. He had to give up everything he had been, done and known up to that point.

Not some things: not most things; everything. 

We in the West live in a fantasy world where everything comes to us. Levi understood that the real world is different. To attain what really matters costs us all we have.

No problem if you don't want to pay the cost: just don't demand the prize.

Of Teams Structured To Fail

I recently attended a major event intended to mobilise a key part of the Christian movement in New Zealand to reach our diverse society. The leadership team were introduced: every one a middle-age, Pakeha male. 

In a multicultural, co-ed society with energetic and vision-filled youth, this is a recipe, not for success but for failure. 

A group becomes what it's leaders embody. Want to reach Maori, or Women, or Youth? Then your leadership must include and embrace them. Not as tokenism: they need to earn their place. But be pro-active and seek out quality people who represent those you want to reach.

... Of action

A short post, to return with. 

Never mistake activity for achievement. All the busy-ness in the world means nothing if you make no difference: be it growing a relationship, producing a new/ better service or good, or even advancing a hobby. 

More action is no substitute for a purposeful plan. 

...of Mark Twain

Mark Twain once famously stated: "The report of my death was an exaggeration".

At the time, a cousin was gravely ill, and a newspaper confused one man with the other. Yet it was understandable: the two men's names were similar, and Mark Twain had not written anything for some time.

Neither, I see, have I.

Lest anyone be concerned, let me restart my posting with an an assurance: I am still alive. Normal service shall now resume.

Whatever that means :-)

... Of Roadrunner

When I was growing up there was a cartoon called "Roadrunner". Roadrunner was always being chased by Wile E Coyote, who never caught him  (There's a blog in that, I'm sure: about chasing what we cannot catch. Another time, perhaps).

The song for "Roadrunner" had this one line: "Running down the road is his idea of having fun..."

I thought about that this week, after I had gone for a 20 minute 'run' (I'm being generous to myself: but stagger sounds so... old). As I stood at the door, panting and puffing, I savoured each breath. Somehow, my lungs could almost taste the air as I drew it in, and I could feel every breath as I took it.

It was simple. It was exhilarating. It was magic. It had been a while since I last felt so 'alive'.

Simple, innocent pleasures. God created so many of them that we can do and still be in His will. Yet each day, the world crowds onto us more and more overwhelming sensations: sensations that drown out the way we are meant to feel and connect with creation.

Why not find one of those innocent pleasures, and give yourself over to it for a time today. As for me, I'm looking forward to running again tomorrow.

To quote Roadrunner: "Beep, beep".

of King Henry's Table

Recently my beloved and I watched a series of cooking shows by Heston Blumenthal, in which he recreated the recipes of different times in history. One episode is set in the England of Henry VIII: the king famous for having six wives and taking England out of the Roman Catholic Church. Drawing on the cook-books of the period, Heston’s culinary skills ran wild, recreating outlandish dishes combining art and opulence to a height not seen before in ‘Merry Olde Englande’. All sorts of meats, sweet dishes, pastries and ales formed the backbone to a daily feast ‘fit for a king’. 

What was fascinating was how bad the diet of the wealthy was, compared to the poor. The poor ate vegetables, and simple stews. They had no sugar. The wealthy scorned vegetables and gorged on sweet food. The result: although it was definitely no easy life, the diet of the average peasant was actually far healthier than that of the aristocracy: there’s an irony in there somewhere!

This made me think of the old saying “You are what you eat!” and that had me thinking about our spiritual diet. Our modern Western has never had so much variety of things to ‘chew on’, spiritually speaking. Television, cell-phones, the internet: all provide a never-ending ‘diet’ of food for the soul. 

The challenge is to work out what is best for us, and to ‘chew’ on that. The Tudor aristocracy despised the humble vegetable, to their detriment; how many of us overlook the basic in pursuit of the exotic.

We are what we eat. Why not set aside games, reality shows, self-help sites, pornography; let’s instead enjoy worship music, nourishing on-line sermons, and interviews with real heroes (such as +nick vujicic : look him up – now that’s a story worth Googling). ‘Desperate Housewives’ getting you down? Sample ‘Bethel tv’ instead. Missed your favourite ‘Survivor Outback’ show? In its place, podcast +Andy Stanley, or +Joyce Meyer Ministries. Let’s really care for ourselves.

But wait: there’s more! What about the infomercials? The ‘Five+ a day’ rule: why not make it both five vegetables/ fruit and five chapters of scripture? Within 30 days I guarantee you’ll be healthier than you have ever been – or your money back...