I can certainly recognize in myself the tendency to do what Search for Significance (and everyone else) calls “The Blame Game.” Often I forget that the point of an apology is to be sincere and vulnerable. The article was a good reminder, one that I need more often than I’d like to admit.

I present to you, “How do you know when it’s time for a radical change?” This isn’t just about being organized—think of it as a reminder for all areas of your life.

I have picked up a lot of interesting things from the book, though, and it’s changing the way I look at the world around me. The book’s “big idea” for Christians is this:

I am deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully pleasing, totally accepted by God, and complete in Christ.

I always have a hard time internalizing things like this, but I have seen glimpses of these truths, and it’s amazing.

I’m also struck by how many people believe the lie (my self-worth = my performance + other’s opinions). I guess I shouldn’t be, since I believe it a lot of the time, but I was hit by it again this morning while reading people’s answers to a prompt in one of my dieting groups. The prompt was “I am proud of myself today because…” and almost every response was totally performance-driven. Either they were happy because of something they did, or unhappy because they didn’t do something. None of the answers were “be” or “are” answers; they were all “do”.

On a different but related note, I really like this quote from Karen Hancock’s blog:

Great messages lately in Bible class, particularly the one about how “God is able to make all grace ABOUND to you, that ALWAYS having ALL sufficiency in EVERYTHING you may have an ABUNDANCE for EVERY good deed.” ~ 2 Co 9:8

Just a reminder that I have everything I need — the talent, the wit, the time, the energy — to complete this task in accordance with His will. I am keeping myself focused on that, and not the scary speculations that want to raise their very ugly heads from time to time.

Focal Point: A Proven System to Simplify Your Life, Double Your Productivity, and Achieve All Your Goals (Hardcover)
by Brian Tracy
p.s. I like the following exercise in pg 128 very much.

I haven’t read the book cited, and don’t know where I got the exercise (though I’m guessing that it was from someone’s review… wait a second, if it is, I can probably google it… and bingo! Apparently it’s part of a review on the Amazon page. That answers that!)

In any case, I think this really is a good exercise. Maybe I’ll do it soon!

Sit down with your loved ones and ask them these four questions.
1. Is there anything I am doing today that you would like me to do more of?
2. Is there anything I am doing that you would like me to do less of?
3. Is there anything I am not doing that you would like me to start doing from now on?
4. Is there anything I am doing that you would like me to stop doing?

This book is not telling you that you “should” do this or “should” do that but it explains how keeping clutter can affect you so that you can make your own informed choice about it from here on in.

“Should” is one of the most disempowering words there is. When you use it you feel guilty and obligated. My advice is to dump the word from your vocabulary forever and use the word “could” instead.

Feel the difference: “I should start clearing my clutter today” or “I could start clearing my clutter today.” “Could” empowers you, gives you choice, and later allows you to take the credit for a job well done. “Should” depresses you, makes you feel at fault, and brings you little joy on completion of the task.

I suggest you also dump “can’t” and substitute “won’t.” Then you’ll really make some progress. Again, feel the difference: “I can’t decide whether to keep this or let it go” or “I won’t decide whether to keep this or let it go.” In the “can’t” example, you are helpless and hopeless. In the “won’t” example, you are expressing your decision as a being of free choice, and if you then ask yourself why you won’t let it go, you will discover it comes down to some subconscious block you never realized you had: “I won’t decide whether to keep this or let it go because it brings up all the feelings to do with my mother/father/spouse…” and so on. Well, there’s still work for you to do, but at least you are being honest now.

I think it’s probably a good idea to take this advice. What other words should (oh, wait, could!) I be substituting?

Rejoice always
From the author, Michael McCullough: “If your life is not filled with joy, ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit and to bless you with joy. Pray often — Paul says to “pray without ceasing” — and God will honor your prayers. As you grow in Christ, the fruits of the spirit will begin to develop within you. Fruit takes time to mature, and because we are not perfect, the fruits of the spirit also often take time to mature within you. Think of all that God has given you and thank him for them. When we realize what God has done for us, it’s easier to develop an attitude of joy, and with that attitude of joy, joy becomes part of our very nature.”

The ID debate – moving forward
From the author, John: “Presenting a new model for understanging the relationship between Creator and Creation that avoids certain pitfalls of conventional pictures.”
This is the third post in a series; the first and second are linked in the first sentence and provide groundwork that is well worth reading, but the the post I’ve linked is the one with the reasoning and the conclusions.

Motivating Volunteers in Ministry
From the author, Tom: “In Christian ministry we rely first and always on prayer, the direction of the Holy Spirit, and the motivation of Christ’s love. Even churches with that foundation often discover, though, that something still seems to be missing. The work is not being done and the people are not fulfilled. What’s going on?”

The Moon Is Not Enough
Charlie Duke, a former NASA Astronaut, was one of only 12 men who have walked on the moon. This is his story of faith.

A Few Words on Total Depravity
From the author, Ben Dueholm: “I’m putting the T back in TULIP with a brief introduction to Total Depravity at Habakkuk’s Watchpost.”
This is a good exploration of a topic that makes a lot of people uncomfortable (as evidenced in the lively comment discussion that follows).

Music, Math, and God
Freeman Hunt is prompted by a passage in “The Screwtape Letters” to consider the relationships between music, math, and God.

Walking in the Bible
From the author, Martin LaBar: “My entry for this week is “Walking in the Bible,” in which I muse about the occurrences of “walk” in various forms in the Bible.”
I like these kinds of explorations. I’ve just recently discovered Blue Letter Bible, which makes it easier for us non-Greek-and-Hebrew scholars to look at the words of the Bible.

Does the first testament support slavery?
From the author, Steve: “I examine ways of interpreting the first (old) testament law and apply it to the issue of slavery.”
This is a very well-researched piece, and does a good job at looking at the various arguments and considerations.

John Bunyan
John Bunyan turns otu to be a very interesting person, as Laurie finds out while answering an email question.

Teach me to pray oh Lord
From the author, Carl Holmes: “A short reminder on how to pray when we feel God is not answering our prayers.”
Bonus points for including a relevant comic!

An Emerging Statement of Faith?
From the author, Byron D. Harvey: “Should the Emerging Church movement have a Statement of Faith? Theologian LeRon Shults says “no”; Byron Harvey says, “maybe or maybe not”, but if Shults’ reasoning is taken seriously, then maybe the answer is closer to “yes”…”

Nerd Family: There is a Reason for Menopause
Bet you didn’t think there was anything positive, huh? NerdMom makes a good case for menopause as an expression of God’s plans for us.

The Vatican and the Da Vinci Code
From the author, Xyba: “Cardinal Francis Arinze wants Christians to take legal action against the film “The Da Vinci Code.”"

The fruits of persecution
From the author, Penitens: “A reflection on godliness, honesty, and the grace of Christ in a challenging world.”

The Temple as a House of Prayer
From the author, Richard: “I write about the purpose of the prayer delivered by Solomon at the dedication of the Temple. “

Peace on Earth
From the author, Chris Alexion: “Bono’s views on war deserve a hearing, but fairness also calls for the rest of the story.”

People come and people go
From the author, Anthony I: “This is a post about life and death. It is about how we should prepare for our own end and how we should face death.”

Eternality
From the author, Rebecca: “It’s a short discussion of eternality: what it means, and what it means for us.”

Into the Marketplace – The Debaters
From the author, : “One highlight of the current evangelical movement is the thrust into the marketplace by Christian colleges and universities. Formerly, they have seen themselves as training for the ministry. But recently, they see their role as preparing well-informed Christians to share their faith in the marketplace of ideas. The current Christian college award-winning debate teams are an excellent example of this.”

Harris Poll: 43% of Democrats Oppose Abortion, DNC Needs Bigger Tent
I wasn’t aware of the way this issue is shifting, and I found AmericanSage’s post very thought-provoking.

‘An ark for all God’s Noahs’ by Thomas Brooks
From the author, Johnnie: “My blog covers readings on protestant books. This one was on Thomas Brooks’ work on ‘An ark for all God’s Noahs’.”

Cain, Abel and Ability -tmp(Gen 4)
Rey examines Cain to see what exactly he inherited from Adam.

My Politics: Faith’s Place Therein (Part VII): Life
From the author, Ron: “Continuation of a series on politics, focusing on life issues (abortion and euthanasia) and seeking God’s wisdom in scripture and prayer when deciding whether abortion and euthanasia are wrong.”

Reflections from the Pool
From the author, Mark Olson: “I’ve just about finished reading a book, Following Gandalf and put to pen some of my thoughts which were shaken loose by that experience.”

Opheilema in Matthew 6:12
Kenny Pearce discusses the meaning and proper translation of the phrase “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” in the Lord’s Prayer.

ID Undermines Itself?
From the author, Jeremy Pierce: “Some people criticize intelligent design arguments, saying that they contradict themselves by making it both very likely and very unlikely that the evidence in question would occur. That criticism is a mistake.”

Thanks for reading, visiting, and linking! Tune in next week for more carnival-y goodness at Pursuing Holiness.

The posts mentioned in the title focus on our response to God’s hand.  The first one, Prairie Chickens, recounts a parable of an eagle raised as a prairie chicken—basically, us most of the time.  The second one, Soaring Eagle, talks about the alternative, the life we are meant to lead.  Hope you enjoy the posts and consider adding Karen to your reading list (and reading her excellent books!).

The analogy is this: there are four blind men who discover an elephant. Since the men have never encountered an elephant, they grope about, seeking to understand and describe this new phenomenon. One grasps the trunk and concludes it is a snake. Another explores one of the elephant’s legs and describes it as a tree. A third finds the elephant’s tail and announces that it is a rope. And the fourth blind man, after discovering the elephant’s side, concludes that it is, after all, a wall.

Each in his blindness is describing the same thing: an elephant. Yet each describes the same thing in a radically different way.

This analogy is frequently used to suggest that we can each have different opinions and experiences of God, but we shouldn’t put down anyone else’s (equally valid) viewpoint.

The EveryStudent article does a great job of showing why that is not actually something that can be logically concluded from the story. I found it very interesting. My logic skills aren’t as polished as I’d like them to be, and I like information that helps me develop better analytical thinking faculties.