mysteries

photo from morguefile.com

I love mysteries.
I like reading mystery stories. I like watching mysteries on television and movies. Trying to decipher the clues to figure out who done it.

But more than that, I love real life mysteries. Not murders, so much, but mysterious things.

Crop circles. I am fascinated by crop circles. See, I don't believe that they are all man made. There are too many unexplained factors in real crop circles. And I love that!
I love that we don't know everything. We think we do. We get pretty arrogant about it. Reminds me of the guys who arrested Galileo because he believed the sun was the center of the solar system.
They thought they had it all figured out. Thought they knew so much. Thought they were the center of everything.
Just like us.
Maybe someday, in a few centuries they'll be laughing at the foolish things we believe. They may have a very sensible scientific explanation for crop circles that makes us look idiotic for not seeing it.

But for now, they are mysteries.

But not to everyone.
That's why I love mysteries so much. Because they remind me that there is Someone who knows all about them. God knows what's behind crop circles and the like. He's not mystified by animal mutilations, black holes, or women. He knows. He is the center of everything, not us, and He keeps allowing things to remind us of this. For those of us with eyes to see and the humility to accept, anyway.

That's the theme of the novel I'm writing. There are things we may never know and we have to learn to be okay with that. We have to trust in the One who does know.
It's okay for God to have secrets.

whimsical wednesday - crop circles

I've decided to try to blog each day to a theme. Wednesdays will be whimsy.

Today I want to share some of my favorite crop circles.

Many crop circles are fractals and many use Fibonacci numbers.

Regardless of whether these are created by man or by something more mysterious, you can't deny that they are beautiful. And whimsical.

the will of God

Photo from morguefile.com

I have spent many hours in my life praying and doubting in turmoil and angst about what God wants me to DO.
Because it matters to me. I want to do His will. I want to be where He wants me to be, doing what He wants me to do, how He wants me to do it.
I'm a believer that God has specifics in mind for us. That He has a "best" for me.
I want the best.
So I've wrestled a lot with trying to find it.

But then I got this little picture in my head:
A father takes his daughter for a walk through a deep and tangled wood. "Stay close, follow me," he says. Then he runs and hides.

Right....

God wants us to know His will. He's not hiding from us. He's not making it obscure as some kind of test.
"Let's just see how badly she wants this."

No. We want to be in His will. He wants us to be in His will. Could it be any simpler?

Yet, it's complicated. But I don't think the complications come from Him.
The devil would love for us to be far out of God's will, so I'm sure he tries to confuse things, but our hearts are in the right place and he can't do anything about that.
I think the biggest complication comes from our own flesh. Our doubts. Our insecurities. "Surely God wouldn't ask me to do that. Doesn't He know my limitations?"

The thought I've had before is that I don't doubt God's ability to reveal His will, but I doubt my ability to see it.
Maybe there's some truth to that. Maybe not. Maybe if we just keep walking, with our eyes on Him, we'll find ourselves in His will. We see a door, we take it. We hear a suggestion, we heed it. Keep walking.
If we approach the wrong door, He'll close it. He won't chide us. "I can't believe she thought I wanted her to do that!" He knows our hearts are for Him and He will see that we end up where we need to be.
That I have no turmoil or angst about.
Or better yet, what if we just hop on his back? Let Him do the walking? We just hang on for the ride?

Still, I know I'll go through it again. I know I haven't got the "keep walking" or the piggy back ride down. But maybe I'm getting closer?

it ain't easy being a dad

morguefile.com

I don't know what it's like to be a father, obviously. But fathers and fathering are on my mind today.

Seems like dads get the bum rush on this day set aside to honor them. "Dads should step up." "We love our dads but they really could do better." That kind of thing. Have you noticed?

I think that dads are great. Not all of them, but not all moms are great either and we tend to overlook that fact on Mother's Day. Why can't we over look the rotten dads on Father's Day? Why can't we just praise the dads who are doing the hard work and being the best fathers they can?

Moms have maternal instinct, making it natural for us to do what we do. It drives us to nurture and listen and participate in our children's lives.

Ever heard of paternal instinct? I guess it exists, but I think it takes the form of providing and protecting. Dad's are wired to love their families, but they show it differently. They love us by taking care of us from a distance.

That's why I think that every dad who makes an effort to engage on a relational level deserves special thanks. Every dad who spends time with his kids, who listens to them, who shares with them, deserves honor.

Being that kind of dad may not come naturally. Maybe it involves intention. Maybe it involves choosing.

Maybe I'm wrong (I don't mind if some of you guys want to correct me). I'm just thinking about how our dad's dads were compared with dads of today.

Either way, I think being a dad is hard work. Seems like we keep raising the bar. Demanding more of them before they qualify as a "good" dad.

I think we should get rid of the double standard: every mom is fabulous and no dad measures up. On Facebook and Twitter this morning I've seen it. Men admonishing other men to be better dads. Women saying thank you, but tagging on the request for more.

Why can't we just say thank you?

Thank you, dad, for going beyond, for being a part of our lives.
Thank you, hubby, for being intentional about spending time with our kids.
Thank you, all you dads. The world needs you. Thank you for what you do.

passive-reactive, or why i don't make a plan

Michael Hyatt, the Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers, has a plan. He regularly sits down with his wife and they plan out their lives. He even has an e-book called Creating Your Personal Life Plan to show you how to do it yourself. And he's giving it away. Free. Go check it out. I'll wait.

I think it's wonderful--for him. And maybe for you.

But for me? It sounds like torture. Then prison. Then maybe a ball and chain. But that's just me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing it. It obviously works for him. The man is productive. He's accomplishing things.

What I am saying is that it takes all types and I'm not that type.

I'm not really that interested in climbing ladders. I don't look back on my day and measure my productivity. I'm really more about being than I am about doing. My focus is on relationships and being available. I go with the flow. Where ever the wind blows.

In college a friend asked if I was more active or passive. I didn't understand at the time, but now I know that I am definitely passive. For sure. No question.

Being active, goal oriented, productive, and driven is highly valued in our culture. Ambition rules!

But that's not me. And you know what? I'm ok with that. Because I'm ok with being me.

I guess you would say I'm reactive rather than proactive. But I prefer the word responsive.

Things happen; I respond.

I have no idea of where I'll be in five years. I have some things I'd like to accomplish by then and I work toward that, but I'm flexible. I don't even know where I'll be in six months.

Michael is prayerful about his life plan. God is involved.

I am prayerful about my responses. I am prayerful about my dreams. I think we have the same end, but different ways of travelling there. He's a jet, I'm a balloon.
He goes where God tells him to, and so do I.

It takes all types.
Maybe he and I are on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Perhaps there are many other types in between.

What about you. Are you a planner? Are you a responder? Are you ambitious and driven? Do you go where the wind takes you? Or are you a combination? Tell me about you.