(October 2nd)
In my post on the Daily Prompt for Tentative, I wrote that my wife, Barb, and I had decided it’s time to downsize to a no-outside-maintenance-and-close-to-the-grandson townhouse.
In many ways, this kind of “foundational” move parallels that of my spiritual formation over these last nine years, and, I see, can be the cornerstone of a blogging adventure, as well. It’s a healthy source of building material to share about God’s story and our chapter in it.
In other words, I’m going to post about it. I invite you to read along!
Matthew 7:24
Therefore, everyone who hears these words and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who builds his house on the rock.
That “tentative” post was inspired by my struggles with finishing, with following through all the way on commitments. I’ve learned that “recovery” is just as much about forming generally positive behaviors as it is about overcoming the destructive ones.
Plan, now do.
Commit, then complete.
Faith, with action.
Patient, yet urgent.
(1) “Like [Jesus], we too must bear up against the pressures of the world, and not only for a while, but until the very end of our days. Though any one trial or temptation may be short-lived, there’s always something out there capable of our destruction…
“Perseverance isn’t innate; it’s learned… manufacture some pressure and train yourself. Push your limits physically, mentally, and spiritually… You’ll simply learn what you’re made of.”
(2) “When we move boldly in faith it demonstrates – with our actions, with our lives – that we do trust Jesus…
“For each of us there comes a time when we just must take action, must take risk. There comes a time when our faith mandates that action and risk are the only real options. And that’s when things begin to happen – big, breathtaking things – not because we seek them but because byproduct of lives that reflect faith.”
I should say here that this has already been proven to me, time and again.
When we moved back from Colorado, we made it a leap of faith, dropping our current jobs and just going. Within months, income was flowing again.
The same goes for this house. Twenty years ago, we gifted equity to Barb’s sister, Jan, so she could buy one, and in 2011 Jan gifted equity back to us so we could literally be neighbors.
These six years have been blessings.
But for us, it’s time again to be bold. My motto used to be “waiting for something to happen.” As a believer in Christ, it is becoming “with Him, I am making something good happen.”
