I didn’t have time to write here last week…well the time that I did have was mostly spent running outside every time I heard a jet overhead. You see, the town of Brunswick hosted The Great State of Maine Air Show last weekend and these weren’t just any jets…these were the Navy Blue Angels along with Air Force A10. Starting Wednesday night, at various times during the day, these amazing planes would fly over town for their practices…including the church where I work. Now, I have seen the Blue Angels on at least 4 other occasions, and frankly hadn’t planned on going to the actually air show. Hearing and seeing them for 2 days, including standing just off of the runway for their Friday run through, got me excited enough to go sit and bake in the sun on Saturday to watch the whole show.

What I have determined is that I am still a kid at heart when it comes to, well many things actually, but definitely to jets. There is just something that amazes me at the speed, agility and sound of the jets the military uses to defend our freedom. I still don’t understand the precision of being able to fly so close together while performing the maneuvers that they do.  What I do realize is the vast amounts of time it has taken them to get to that point.  I am not just talking about the time them have spent together, which I know to be a lot, but the time that each of them has put in to have the ability to even be selected to fly with the Angels.

For me it raised a question.  Am I willing to do that with my life for something that is worth far more than being able to fly a jet 18 inches from another one without dying?  Am I willing to put the time in for the sake of my family, my church, my community?  The Lord brought this verse to mind yesterday…

1Corinthians 9:27  But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection,

lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.  ESV

One of the things I struggle with the most is discipline.  I am really good at setting a goal, and even making it attainable.  The self discipline to carry it out on the other hand…  This goes for physical things as well as spiritual.  I don’t know how many times have I committed to stop drinking Pepsi (hey, it could happen!), go to the gym every day, etc.

The same goes for the spiritual.  I know that there are things I need to be more disciplined to do in my own life to better lead those I have been entrusted to lead.  Unfortunately, knowing isn’t enough.  Often I think the failure doesn’t start with the lack of discipline, but rather the thinking that I can do it.  I think that I am capable of doing seemingly simple things on my own and in my own strength.  Even if I could, it is not enough.  I must rely on a strength that is far greater but must be yielded to.  The strength I have in Christ will not take over unless allowed and frankly I like being in control so much that I don’t allow it often enough.

Maybe you can relate, maybe not.  While I haven’t gotten it figured out, I know that it is worth it in the end.  Not only is the calling I have worth more than the skill of flying a jet, but if done the way that Jesus intends, it is more beautiful too.  People may just be compelled to stop what they are doing and watch too.

First, I was almost in an accident caused by someone trying to avoid a chipmunk.  Really!  I am all for treating animals well, but when it puts your life and others at risk, it is not worth it.  Second, I witnessed a Dump Truck over shoot a stop line at an intersection and proceed to back up.  All well and good…except for the pickup truck who had stopped behind him.  He was able to move before anything happened.  Finally, when I was pulling into the public parking lot adjacent to the church, I had to proceed very slowly due to a gentleman that decided to walk through the parking lot…directly through the middle of the driving lane.  He had no concern (or maybe even awareness) to the fact that someone could not get through.

These stories are entertaining and maybe even scary, but I dare say we are not far from this every day in our lives.  Now I am not meaning in our driving (though maybe that is you!) but in our lack of awareness of how our actions impact the lives of those around us.  I know that I have a tendency to be a bull in a china shop.  It is not even that I am not concerned for those around me, it is just that I am unaware of them and how my actions can/will be received by them.

Sometimes the answer to this is to just slow down.  We live in a very fast-paced, microwave ready world that has so much going on at once that it is easy to tune out others.  I think that we have all been “victim” to those who operate this way.  Do we realize that we can be doing it too?

Nothing to profound, but in keeping with the blog title, it is what has been bouncing around in my head.

This blog, though not high on the priority list, has been something that I have been wanting to get back to. I am going to re-boot it and as such have deleted all the previous posts that were at least a year or more old. I am not going to make any promises as to how often I will post, as I tend to be more of an ambitious thinker than a doer. I have been thinking through some things I would like to post tomorrow.