Finishing Strong

My body is fatigued and my mind wanders. All I want to do is sleep. Is there some way I can turn myself into Sleeping Beauty and rest for a century?

But I'm not done and I want to finish strong.

That's a lot easier said than done.

I imagine I'm not alone in desiring to finish strong. So what is it that sets apart those who actually finish strong and those who only hold to the words and not the actions of it?

Ah, yes... perhaps that's the key - action.

Lights, Camera, ACTION

Take for example a film set. We all watch the behind the scenes of what it looks like to be on some of our favourite film sets. For me it was watching the entire behind the scenes of The Lord of the Rings.

Hours and hours of people in action. Passionately doing what they love.

It became my dream. Sitting on my comfy couch and watching them in bustle around on the screen. I wanted to join them.

But it's different to actually be a part of the action.

I'm in the final weeks of principle photography for The Out of the Woods Project, the second feature film from The Initiative Production Company.

We're a small, independent company, which means we've got to be all hands on deck when it comes to creating.

As the weeks have drawn on and on. Filled with early mornings and late nights, it's hard to keep motivated and to finish strong.

But this is what sets apart those who live to finish strong and those who just say the words.

We have to keep active.

As soon as we start delegating more than what we should, we become lazy. The ironic part is when we live our lives this way, we'll find we start getting bored a lot faster.

I believe the reason for this is because we aren't doing anything.

Designed for action

Did you know our bodies were designed for action?

One of my good friends told me once there's a muscle in our buttocks that is only activated when we run.

Think about it.

That means we're designed to run.

I remember sitting in a lecture about worship. The speaker told us that when we raise our arms in worship it actually activates chemicals in our body making us feel more peaceful.

Again it's an active thing. We have to raise our arms in order for our body to activate these chemicals.
I'm reminded of the movie Legally Blond and how Elle Woods knows her client is innocent. She says, "I just don't think that Brooke could've done this. Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't."

It's like going for a hike and deciding to turn back when you're almost at the top of the mountain.
While my examples speak mostly about the benefits of working out, I think the principles apply to everything we do in life.

The more we are an active participant - especially when it gets tough or close to the finish line - the more we will be able to finish strong.

Because finishing strong also takes practice.

The more we follow through on the small things, the more we will follow through on the big ones.
When we don't finish something it creates a habit that makes us think we can get away with not finishing something else.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to create that kind of habit.

Here's to sticking to what I started. To being known for my follow-through.

For finishing strong.

Originally published on Christian Today.

Being Provoked To Be Holy By A Fountain Pen

One of my favourite tools when it comes to writing is the fountain pen. There’s something about writing with such an exquisite instrument that makes you believe everything you write with it will be a work of pure genius.

So when I sat at my desk yesterday, to put pen to paper, and found that my fountain pen would not produce the ink I knew it stored (I’d literally just put in a new ink cartridge the day before). I was disheartened and annoyed.

I didn’t have time to figure out what was wrong with it in the moment, so I had to leave it there. Alone and forlorn.

Later, when I had a chance to ask my good friend Google why it had stopped working, I found myself being spiritually challenged by the answer that popped up at the top of the list.

“Quickly dip the whole section into the water in your hand and remove it. Cap the pen and carry it in your pocket for an hour or so before using. If the writing is light in colour, touch a facial tissue to the nib and feeder a few times to remove excess water or watery ink. Fountain pens like to be used regularly.”

Fountain Pen Problems - Instructables www.instructables.com/id/Fountain-Pen-Problems/

Carry it in your pocket for an hour…

Think about the idea of having to carry the pen around in your pocket for an hour before using it.

In our microwave generation, this sounds like a lot of time before I can use something as silly as a pen. I mean, who wants to go into all that work, when there are so many others at our disposal?

The idea made me think of the parallel to the church being like sheep and how the shepherd (Jesus) will leave the entire flock for the one lost sheep.

I’ve heard that if a sheep was a consistent runner, the shepherd had to break their legs and carry them around while they healed. In that way, it forced the sheep to stay with the flock, but also meant an added weight to the shepherd’s shoulders.

This idea is pretty confronting. And I was tempted to water it down, but I think we, Christians, have done that too much already and we need to hear something that’s the whole truth. Otherwise, how will we really learn?

Sure, we can run to get another pen, but how much more satisfying is it to use one that will inspire us to be more creative?

Sure, we can water down the idea of a shepherd intentionally breaking the legs of a sheep, but will we really learn the lesson? Would the sheep learn to stay with the flock?

Fountain pens like to be used regularly…

What an outrageous thought! Who would think of an inanimate object liking anything?
But it’s true.

The whole reason my fountain pen stopped working, is because I hadn’t used it in about a month!

How true is this of the skills and talents we pursue? If we lay them aside for even a week, the skill and talent begins to rust and decay.

Again, I can’t help but think of the parable Jesus taught about the talents. He gave specific amounts to each person, but when he came back and found that one had buried theirs in the ground, he took it away and gave it to the first, who had increased what was given originally.

And again, this is a hard thing to hear. That Jesus is encouraging something to be taken away from someone who doesn’t use it.

When I was a little girl, people seemed to like my voice, so I sang at church and in the choir at school, but as soon as I graduated, something changed. I stopped seeking out places where I could grow in my talent and my voice began to reflect my disuse. It wasn’t until I put myself out there, stepped past my comfort zone and joined the Creative Team at my church, that my voice started to grow again.

The same principle can apply to my pen. If I use my fountain pen on a regular basis, I won’t have to google how to fix it again because it is less likely to dry up.

What about you? Are you using the talents you’ve been given? Or are you letting them rust and dry up?

It’s amazing the things we can learn from any scenario. While I hate that I let my pen sit there for a month of disuse, I am glad for the lessons it’s taught me… to stay close to Jesus, even when I’d rather run from the flock and to make sure I’m using my talents ever day so that I can increase their value.




Originally published on Christian Today.

How To Be A Culture Shaper

The words, ‘Culture Shaper’, stirs something in my soul. It’s the same feeling I get when Frodo, in The Lord of the Rings is declared as a Ring Bearer.

It calls me, like a mighty echo.

I envision standing on the edge of a cliff, the wind whipping through my unruly hair, the crisp outdoors waking all five senses until I’m fully alive and then raising my voice in a great warrior call and shouting, “I am a Culture Shaper.”

Maybe that’s a bit too dramatic for you, but I think we need inspiration to move from being ‘just dreamers’ to ‘active players’ in this game of life.

Culture Dies When You’re Perspective Is To Be Cost Effective

I was walking through the city when this idea came to me. I’d passed a large construction site for yet another skyscraper, when I turned the corner to see a building a hundred years older than myself.
It’s a beautiful old thing, huge doors with ironwork decals, there are intricate carvings at the corners, and around each window. In all, the building is a work of art, not just another cookie cutter block of real-estate.

So what am I rambling on about? What is a Culture Shaper? It’s someone who defies the norm to create and build something beautiful.

How often, in our own lives, do we go for the cost effective block over the old beauty?

We all want to save as much money as we can. We buy cheaply made clothes, sit in our own versions of the Ikea living room, and even celebrate momentous moments on a budget of not only money, but time.

While there’s nothing wrong with these things (life is busy for most of us) I still believe we need to start thinking about the things we personally create and the time we actually invest in those around us.

Creating Culture Takes Changing Our Perspectives On Daily Life

Let me get down to the nitty-gritty. And also, the less glamorous bits of being a Culture Shaper.
That image I had at the beginning, of standing on the edge of a cliff? Yeah, in real life I’d be shaking from the cold wind, my hair would be tying itself in knots and my stomach would be flipping at the extreme drop. Oh, and when I yell in my warrior whoop? My voice comes out strained and high-pitched, very unlike a warrior.

Being a Culture Shaper takes heaps of effort.

It comes down to how we choose to live on a minute by minute basis.

For example, I’m a storyteller. I can whip up a solid short story in no time, but it’ll lack the work and time the great stories take.

Likewise, I can pop down to Macca’s for a quick dinner, or I could stay home and learn to make lasagne from a friend.

Being a Culture Shaper, means taking the long road. Means slowing down a bit, actually taking time to smell the flowers. But most importantly, it means bringing others with us.

It can be relatively easy to change our own habits and daily routines, but you don’t become a Culture Shaper until you bring someone with you to smell the flowers.

For some, this may be a bit outside your comfort zone, but I promise you, it’s worth it. Have a think about where you can change your own perspective. For me, I know it’s time to start saying “Yes” to more of the activities I normally hide from.

I’ve become a bit lazy. If there’s something happening that sounds a bit draining or uncomfortable, I shake my head and say “Pass”. It’s time for me to change. To put in the long and uncomfortable hours. To invest in the people around me.

It’s time to be a Culture Shaper.

You up for the challenge?

Originally published on Christian Today.

I am Verity's Man

Over the Easter weekend I found myself volunteering for a large music festival. I slept in a tent, had no access to a mirror or soap & spent four sleepless nights, wrapped from head to toe in almost every piece of clothing I brought with me. My travel mug full of hot water became my impromptu heater, but still I tossed and turned on the cold, hard ground, only to wake from the few hours of sleep sore & so very tired, but I was a leader so I needed to be on top of my game. Look sharp, awake, joyful and not bicker about my circumstances. My hours were different from all my friends, so most of the time I was left alone and all I really wanted to do was sleep or cry. Then I watched Mel Gibson's The Passion. I've seen this film so many times, but with the unique experience of my own suffering, I saw with new eyes the pain Jesus experienced.

My appetite for the milk chocolatey goodness of Easter eggs suddenly lacked enthusiasm. 

I can only imagine the fullness of his experience and pain. Friends betrayed him with a kiss, he was wrongly accused, beaten, mocked and cursed. He called his friends to pray with him, but they couldn't even stay awake for an hour, he begged his father to remove the call on his life, but always came back to choosing his father's will and not his own, knowing it led to a cross. No wonder he was sweating blood. (Luke 22:44)

Can you imagine such crazy love?

He didn't let his pain or hurt lead him away from the road to the cross. Instead he fixed his eyes on Papa God and kept taking one step at a time toward the road to death.

Here comes the uncomfortable bit. We've been called to die too. Not a literal death, but a death to our self or flesh. That selfish place within each of us that demands we have our way. I for one fight my flesh on a daily basis and I don't always win... in choosing death however, we are called to a richer living. A living to God.

"Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."                                                                              Romans 6:8-11 (emphasis mine)

But the life he lives he lives to God...

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to teach on the subject of worship. I was so excited to really dig into the word and discover new hidden treasures of what it means to worship Him but not all of what I discovered was very comfortable and friendly like so many of the worship songs now a days make it sound. In fact one of the most often used words for worship comes from a meaning to give homage like a dog licking his masters hand. This imagery forced me to reevaluate what I think of when it comes to worship and living for God.

Homage. I like this word. 

There's something deep and hidden behind this simple word. To give homage is to belong to someone. In the olden days it was what happened to a man who lived on the king's land. In exchange of the land they were to live as the king's vassal, to be his man and give him homage, to go to war if called on or to stand with the king. It was a public declaration of belonging. When people came across these men, they would call them a "King's man" or the "King's vassal".

I came across an example of this in an unlikely novel I read recently, it digs deep into what it means to be the king's vassal or man. In this book, by Robin Hobb, a young boy who's the illegitimate son of king-in-waiting Chivalry, is given a promise by king Shrewd (his grandfather) that if he accepts his place as a king's man the king will make sure he has what he needs and will train him in swordplay, court manners, etc. The boy agrees to this promise and suddenly his life is no longer his own. 

It's the same with us. As soon as we choose Christ our lives our not our own anymore. When we choose to live our lives to Him we can no longer live our lives to our selves. Another example. When the boy in this novel is challenged to do a hard task for his king and everything within him is saying "no" he has to come to terms with the promise he agreed to, his life is to do the kings will. Anything less is treason. Even uttering a whispered complaint or challenge about the king's order is too close to treason for comfort. Likewise we no longer live for our will but for His. Anything less should be considered treasonous to our Papa King. Not because of some legalistic ideal, but because of our crazy love to honor and respect the King of kings.

Going back to the novel, this boy who has no name becomes known for his loyalty to king-in-waiting Verity, his uncle. He continually sets his self aside for the greater good of the kingdom, he submits his will to the king and because of this people call him "Verity's man".

I want to be Verity's man.  To be God's man.

It's not an easy road though. My self still shouts to be heard and demands rights it has no right to demand. I don't have any rights any more. I gave all that away as soon as I chose Jesus, because choosing Jesus means dying to my self and sin and living to God. Living a life of obedience, not because I have to but because I want to return some of that crazy love Jesus has for me.

I looked up what it means to "live to God." It comes from the Greek word záō which means* to live, breathe, be among the living, not lifeless, not dead. To enjoy real life, to have true life worthy of the name. It's something active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God. To live in the manner of the living and acting of mortals and character. It's a living water, having vital power in itself and exerting the same upon the soul. The metaphor is to be in full vigor, to be fresh, strong, efficient. As an adjective it is active, powerful and efficacious.

All that in one little word. Live.

One of my favorite lines in Lord of the Rings is when Samwise Gamgee is holding the One Ring and looking out at the vast wasteland of Mordor. The ring is tempting him with this barren landscape, and he knows that all he has to do is put the ring on and he can transform the dead earth to a living garden, the best the whole of Middle Earth will ever see. Sam is a gardener. The temptation is great. But then Tolkien writes, "But it was the love of his master that stayed his hand." It was Frodo's crazy love and Sam's desire to return that crazy love that kept him from temptation.

Oh that we would all be a little more like Sam and stay our hands from evil because of that crazy love Jesus has for us.

Life is full of difficulties and detours, but if we can keep our eyes fixed like Jesus and keep walking the road He has for us we can experience the crazy love in fullness and know what it is to really live to God.

So here's where I start. This is my public declaration, I am God's man. I am His vassal. I may not always like the things He calls me to, I know my flesh will fight because of the uncomfortable places I go because of obedience to Him, I will be ridiculed, mocked, wrongly accused and more, but how can I not return His crazy love for me, by choosing death to sin and self, for the living he has in store for those who choose it? What about you? Are you ready for this kind of adventure?

*meaning of záō can be found in Strong's #2198, http://www.studylight.org/lexicons/greek/gwview.cgi?n=2198