Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Roots

I taught the preschoolers at VBS this week. 

I already knew the Bible stories we talked about and acted out with the help of puppets, but teaching those kids always reminds me of the truths I base my life on.

Our theme this week was "Rooted."

On Monday I brought a plastic rose in a vase. Is this rooted? "Yes!" they all sang out. "No," I told them as I pulled it out of the vase and showed them it wasn't real and it wasn't rooted. That day we learned to be rooted in grace.

On Tuesday I brought a single rose in a vase. Is this rooted? "Yes!" they called out. "No," I explained as I pulled this rose out, too, and pointed out the lack of roots. That day we learned about being rooted in Christ.

On Wednesday I brought a little plastic container of pretty pink impatiens. Is this rooted? "Yes!" They were finally right, and I got my hands dirty as I pulled one out to show them the little roots. That day we learned to be rooted in Faith.

On Thursday I brought in a whole tree. Nah, just kidding. I had to settle for some pictures. I showed them what a rose can do when it has good roots and room to grow.

I showed them a tree on a hillside with roots you could see.

I showed them a huge tree that would be strong enough to hold a dozen treehouses.

That day we learned about being rooted in Truth. They had fun throwing "temptation socks" at me, and then I pulled out a sheet with "Word of God" written on it and used it as a shield against temptation.

The cut rose I brought on Tuesday is drooping and dying, but I'm going to keep it around for a few more days to remind me of how important it is to be rooted. If we're not rooted in grace, Christ, faith, and truth, we'll eventually die.

I hope those kids remember how important it is to be "rooted." 

I know I sure will.

"So then, continue to live...in [Jesus], rooted...in Him, and overflowing with thankfulness." (Colossians 2:6-7 NIV - preschool version. You can read the entire verse here)

Are you firmly rooted, or are you cut off from God? How can focusing on God help you to stay rooted and grow in Him?

Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Excellence

Last Friday Gary and I saw the opening night performance of "Dancing at Lughnasa" at Northwestern College. Our son Blake plays "Father Jack" alongside seven other talented actors. 

He was nervous, we were nervous. Had they practiced enough? How would they do? 

They did just fine. We enjoyed the play so much, especially because it was fun to see Blake shine.

As I looked at the back of our program later, I realized why we could enjoy it so much.

I think it all comes down to this line: "...excellence honors God."

Blake and the other actors, as well as everyone involved behind the scenes, worked hard to make sure they were presenting the very best performance they could. 

I've been thinking about this all week. I realize that I haven't been honoring God with excellence in many areas of my life.

When I play the keyboard for worship I often don't take the time to practice enough and it sounds pretty rough on Sunday morning.

I often wait until just before our Fresh Hope support group to pick a topic and decide what we're going to talk about that night.

I usually look at my Sunday School lesson on Saturday and then finish getting ready to teach on Sunday morning.

I write my blog posts at ten p.m. on Friday nights instead of starting earlier in the week.

Now, these things are understandable if I've had a busy week and can't find the time, but usually I have plenty of time and I just put them off.

What's the big deal? People understand when I goof up on the songs, they aren't upset. My friends at Fresh Hope don't mind when we just chat about something unstructured. The kids in Sunday School seem to enjoy the lesson and learn something. People usually like my blog posts even though I write them so late.

The big deal is that I'm not honoring God when I put off all of these things and do a mediocre job. 

I think of my friend Nancy and how she would often talk about doing things with excellence when she directed our handbell choir back in Chandler, Minnesota. She made us keep practicing until we could play a song well. It felt good to do our best and bless our listeners with an excellent performance.

I feel myself being called to focus more on excellence in the things I'm doing. 

To practice until I can play confidently.

To spend some time preparing for our Fresh Hope discussions.

To start my Sunday School lesson early in the week so I have time to prepare those special activities or crafts that the kids love so much.

To spend a little more time on my blog posts and make sure they are the best they can be for my readers.

Of course, there's grace. We are all going to make mistakes and fail sometimes, even when we take time to prepare. God loves us and people will usually be understanding.

Oh, but just think of how much it can honor God and point others to Him when we take the time to do things with excellence.

"But since you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you--see that you also excel in this grace of giving." (2 Corinthians 8:7 NIV)

Do you strive for excellence in all that you do, or do you settle for mediocre? How can focusing on God help you to do your best and honor Him?

Super Sorry Saturday: Let's Focus on Better Late Than Never

We went to Rock Rapids yesterday to celebrate Gary's birthday with his mom and siblings. It was nice getting together with them and enjoying a nice meal at Pizza Ranch. 

We stayed at Denny and Holly's and stayed up late talking after we got home from supper. I had planned to do my Focus Friday around ten or eleven (as usual), but I looked up and it was 11:45! We went to bed and I decided to make it a Sorry Saturday.

Well, it has become a Super Sorry Saturday because I didn't sit down to write during the day today, either. So that's our focus for this week: getting something done even if it's late.

It was tempting to just say "Oh well, I'll just skip my blog this week" but I didn't want to disappoint my loyal readers and break my streak of posting every week.

I think we can apply this to other areas of our lives, too.

Just because we feel like we've missed the right time to do something, it can still be worth it to complete the task or project.

I have a pile of Christmas letters that I am going to send out this week. I know it's very late. It would be easier to just forget about them, but I did that last year and I really want to connect with my family and friends. They will probably sigh and shake their heads at my tardiness, but hopefully they will be glad to receive it.  

Maybe you've been putting off a project because you are uncertain about it. What if it doesn't turn out like you hope it will? What if people don't like it? What if....? What if...? What if...? If you have been prompted over and over to do something, it's time to get at it, even if it feels like you're too late.

Send that birthday card even if it's a month later. Write a short letter to go with it. Your friend will enjoy hearing from you.

Read a few days from your One Year Bible, even if you're not caught up to today's date. Over time, reading two days' worth each day will get you back on track.

Most of all, show yourself grace when you realize you've missed getting something done on time. We're all busy and we do the best we can. 

Sometimes you have to do something late (pay that overdue bill you found in that stack of papers), at times you can choose to do something late (send the birthday card you wrote out and then misplaced for a while), and other times you can let something go (household chores don't always have to be done every single week).

Doing things on time is a good goal to have, but doing things late can bring blessings, too.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9 NIV)

What have you put off that you feel like finishing even if it's late? How can focusing on God help you to get things done and show yourself grace when you miss a deadline?

Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Failure

It's Friday again. Time to focus...on failure? That doesn't seem very productive, does it? Stick with me. I think we'll all learn something if we focus on failure for a while and then move on.

That's the key, I think. Moving on. When I got home from the hospital I felt great for a couple of days and then I started to feel worse as I started to worry a little bit about people's reactions to letting my teaching job go. 

I felt much less stress because I didn't have the job to worry about anymore, but I also felt a different kind of mild anxiety because I had to admit to myself that I had failed at something. This is not a comfortable feeling for me. I've never liked to fail. Usually when I put my mind to doing something, I get it done and I do it quite well. Teaching was a big commitment and I didn't go into it flippantly. I fully intended to do a good job, be a great teacher, and succeed.

It didn't work out. I did the best I could at the time but finally decided that the job wasn't for me after it led to too much anxiety and depression.

Failing doesn't feel good. I can remember being with a group of people in a store once a long time ago and we were looking at those Magic Eye posters that have a 3D image hidden in the picture. I couldn't see it. Someone else in our group stared at the poster for a few seconds and announced with delight, "Oh, I can see it! That is so cool!" I felt extremely frustrated and upset because I considered myself smarter than this person and I couldn't figure out why she could see it and I couldn't. 

I realize how petty that sounds. I know it related to my pride and I still get in trouble with that when I compare myself with others. We can't do that! We have to stop judging others and just focus on the journey we are on as we go through life.

We are all going to fail at times. We will fail in big ways and we will fail in small ways. I think we get stuck emotionally when we focus on those failures and can't move on. 

How do we move on? By focusing on Grace. By forgiving ourselves for our failures - big and small. By learning from our failures and determining to do our best in the future. 

I was puttering around in my craft area one day and I had a CD playing in the background. I stopped and really listened as one song caught my attention: Daughter of Grace by Twila Paris. The second verse seemed to resonate deeply with me and I had to play the song again to let it soak in:

     She spent half her life working hard to be someone you had to admire
     Met the expectations and added something of her own
     So proud of all that she had done
     (Where was the glory?)
     So proud of all that she had not done
     'Til she knelt beneath a wall that will could never scale
     Broken and discovering that she could fail
     There she found the end of herself
     Heard her own voice crying for help
     And she was

     Carried in the arms of love and mercy
     Breathing in a second wind
     Shining with the light of each new morning
     Looking into hope again
     Unable to take another step
     Finally ready to begin
     Born for a second time in a brand new place
     Daughter of Grace

Grace is there for our failures. We can move on, secure in the knowledge that God loves us unconditionally and we can feel hope and joy and peace as we begin again after failure.

Do you have any failures that are holding you back right now? Do you see how focusing on God's Grace can get you "unstuck" and let you move on with hope? 

Focus Friday: Let's Not Forget to Focus

I've had a bit of a rough week. What it all boils down to is a supreme lack of focus. You would think after all these weeks of talking about focus that I'd have it down pat by now, but apparently I still have more to learn and practice.

At the end of last week we had to scramble because the fee was due for our daughter Allison's study trip to Greece. Getting it in the mail and hoping it would get there quickly caused lots of stress - for Allison and for me. If I had been focused I would have sent it in several weeks ago when Allison gave me the paper copy of the bill.

On Tuesday afternoon I was puttering around the kitchen at about 3:20 and said out loud, "Oh, it's time to get ready for my physical therapy appointment. Our son Blake piped up, "Wasn't that at 2:20?" Apparently he looks at the calendar more than I do. I had gone through the whole day thinking my appointment was at 4:20. I called the office and apologized, nearly in tears, and they kindly rescheduled. I'm sure it inconvenienced them and caused a ton of stress for me. If I had been focused I would have looked at the calendar in the morning and realized the correct time.

Later that evening we sat down for supper and Gary asked innocently, "Didn't you say you were going to make mashed potatoes with this?" Yes, yes I did...but no, no I didn't. It wasn't a huge deal but I gave myself a few emotional lashings before I let it go. If I had been more focused we would have enjoyed some tasty spuds with our supper.

Little things and big things. When we aren't focused we make mistakes and disappoint ourselves and others. Thank goodness for grace. None of us would survive if we were required to be perfect all of the time. There are going to be errors in our human lives. We have to make peace with that and move on.

Experiencing these failings can be a reminder to us about how important it is to really focus. Focus on the details we need to keep straight in our lives, of course, but also focus on the most important things. We need to focus on our relationship with God and make sure we're not forgetting to read His word, talk to Him often, and live for Him so that others can see it. Missing a doctor's appointment once in a while is sad, but missing a divine appointment with our Lord would be tragic.

"I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds." (Psalm 77:11-12 NIV)

Have you been forgetting to focus lately? What can you do to make sure you are not forgetting to focus on God?