Lent Day 26: Always the same thing

I blogged 391 pages in 2008. I was astonished, scanning in the writing that amassed.

"When did I have time for that?" I asked myself. That year, I set up the first NU groups on Facebook, wrote looong gossipy alumni enews each month, and kept my private journal. I was stressed between work and courses for my doctoral studies (including 4 big papers and a few projects). I probably wrote myself out of insanity that year.

Dad prints out my blog ramblings so my mom can read it. I have posts going back to 2006 and earlier. I'm scanning them to my computer, and compiling the paper copies into categories for future publication.

I peeked at lines from the blog posts while I was sorting them. Several things are constant:

• I love change, the new thing. 
• I'm like a heat-seeking missile on a hunt for information and I delight in passing it on. 
• I enjoy connecting people to resources they need (especially if someone else feels good about sharing their abundance or knowledge.)
• I've always hated being micromanaged.
• People function best in their gifts and strengths, not their weaknesses. Demanding that someone work hardest outside their gifting creates chaos internally and organizationally.
• Secure people create realities that enrich the world, regardless of what others say. In contrast, insecure people think everything is a negative reflection on them.
• Follow your intuition! Just because someone says it can't or shouldn't be done doesn't mean they're right.

I learned a lot of other things that year, but those are a few things I'll be mulling over in the next few days.

What lessons from a few years ago have stuck with you and shaped what you do or how you think?

Read more:
*Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Psalm 16:5-8 NIV

*Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing. Psalm 92:13-14 (NKJV)

*That in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance. Luke 8:15 NLT

Moravian Prayer: Creator of all that is, we pray for this remarkable, fragile planet: your gift, your creation. Today may we plant seeds of gratitude and hope so that your world will flourish for generations to come. Amen.

Lent Day 1: Word wrapped in flesh

It's the first day of Lent, time to pick up words as a spiritual discipline. Sign up via email or Reader feed to get this year's blogs.

This morning I met with a gifted group of writers. Our critique group allows a half hour of discussion on each person's work. The variety of interests, stories, and vantages on life amazed me.

• Leona publishes blogs on revitalizing "the rest of life" for Boomers (target group: aged 55-65). 
• Lydia writes regular tea columns, devotionals, and has a wonderful book on grandparenting. 
• Barbara's writing goes around the world in her Journeys in Prayer (available by subscription).
• Donna asks questions about life and theology. 
• I'm thinking about compiling some of these blogs into a devotional series.

Our backgrounds include vocational ministry, music, home economics, prayer leadership, and other jobs.

From diverse backgrounds, we each love Jesus, the Word made flesh (John 1). We cherish words. And we're grateful that God chose to invest his creativity in writers like us.

How is God wrapping his words in your flesh? Which words do you speak to God? To others?

Read more:
*The Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him. 1 Samuel 1:27

*My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. Their deepest desire is to destroy others. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with flattery.

O God, declare them guilty. Let them be caught in their own traps. Drive them away because of their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy. For you bless the godly, O LORD; you surround them with your shield of love. Psalm 5:9–12 NLT

*But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water, that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8 NIV

*Jesus said, "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24

Moravian Prayer: On this holy Ash Wednesday, Christ Jesus, we pray that you will be with us as we enter this time of self-examination and repentance for all the ways in which we have failed to believe or act on our belief. Amen.

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