The Present of Fellowship

In December of 2010, I wrote about the present of the present: The gift of the moment and how staying in the present helps us to have peace. Currently, I’m thinking about another present that God gives us: Fellowship and how it is that I can be feeling down and spend some time with others and feel completely renewed. I’m not sure what it is that causes me to be pulled out of the blah’s, but something about being around others gives me a new outlook.

I remember, early in sobriety, feeling like I was about ready to give up. Then I would go to an A.A. meeting and come out pumped up, with a renewed sense of purpose in my life. I also can get that way when I help someone or just spend time with others. I think it has to do with getting out of myself. I can isolate easily and I don’t think that is good for me psychologically or spiritually. I’m really a people person and if I isolate and feel lonely it messes with my head. So I believe God gives me the present of fellowship to draw me out of myself and isolation. That refreshes my spirit and gives me direction in my life. It really is a gift.

Pressing on with excellence!

Keith

The In-Between

What do you do when you think something is going to happen and it seems to be taking longer than you think? I’m in that position right now. I’m almost stumped about what to do next. I don’t want to give up, and I won’t, but I guess I will have to wait awhile to see my answer. I may have to wait but I won’t lose heart because I know the one who has the play book. When the timing is right it will happen or God will show me something else he wants me to do. It is easy to become frustrated or impatient but it will not help the situation. It is easy to worry or fret but I will not do that anymore. I am done with that kind of thinking. I have already wasted too much of my life doing that. It is not productive. It will not help the situation. It won’t even make time go any faster. I am going to do what is right in front of me right now. I will not procrastinate I will just do the next right thing.

What do you do in the between?

Pressing on with excellence!

Keith 

Perspective

I think perspective is one thing that is amazing. Every one of us has a different perspective which causes us to act one way or another. When you hear one side of a story you may think a certain way, until you hear the other side. Then you might think entirely differently. If you are close minded, you may be blocking yourself from really knowing the whole truth. It is sometimes easy to act when you hear one side, only to find out that you were wrong. Sometimes that is a hard pill to swallow. I can’t count the number of times that this has happened to me. Then I have to suffer the consequence of my action, which is usually embarrassment. Because I didn’t know the whole story I said something that I shouldn’t have. 

I have learned, over time, to slow down, and to try to get all of the facts before I rush to judgment. The Bible says we should be slow to anger, but quick to forgive. But do we really do this? This is one thing I try to keep in mind when it comes to my perspective of things. Patient responses would be the best for me, but I’m not always as patient as I should be. This seems to affect all areas of my life; from settling a dispute between my kids, to conversations with my boss, or even in a leadership position at church. It is best to withhold judgment and get the whole perspective. Proverbs says one who keeps his mouth shut appears to be wise until he opens it and proves otherwise (Keith’s paraphrased version). My opinion is only my perspective and may be wrong depending on the facts.

Pressing on with excellence!

Keith

Expectations

Life was interesting in how others reacted to this past period of unemployment. My mother told me I need to get a job and I think “just over broke”. I wasn't looking for just any job any more. I can get any job but that’s not the point. I wanted to find work that has meaning, something that I love. It’s not like I was just sitting around not doing anything or not looking for work. I was just being a little pickier than I used to be. My brother said that I was lazy. He thinks since I didn’t have a job that whatever I’m doing is not productive or important. I think they don’t understand. That just because what I’m looking for doesn’t fall into their idea of normal, that it’s not right for me. They thought their expectations for me to get a job, for me to be normal, were high. But, for me, it seems that if I settle for just a normal job their expectations are too low and don’t have my best interest in mind. It’s sad really, because I think that if I had listened to them then I might never have found out what God really has for me. To me, it’s more important to find out what God has for me and do that, than to settle for normal. Does that make sense? I’ve begun a new chapter in my life and I will not settle for mediocrity any longer. This life is not like the past and it looks completely different. So I wrote this to say that sometimes we need to ignore some of the closest people around us. Not to spite them, but for our own good. Their expectations may not help us to get where we want and need to go or where God wants us to be.

Pressing on with excellence!

Keith Smith

HOT DOG

I heard a story about someone who locked himself in a closet for a long time, became hungry, and prayed that God would give him something to eat. The story goes that God won’t do for you something that you can do for yourself. I suppose that they were talking about unlocking the closet door and going to the fridge and getting a hotdog. I also think that might be true in most cases. But do you think there may be times that God might push a hotdog under the door? Times where we're so far out on a limb that only He can help us? I believe there are times when God does just that; pushes a hotdog under the door to keep us from starving to death while He works out His plan for us. If you have asked God for something and He hasn’t given it to you yet, you can take hope in Mark 11:24. Jesus says, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours". What does this mean? I think it means that, if we believe, then we need to act like our prayer has already been answered. What does that look like? How would you act if you knew that God has already answered your prayer? You wouldn’t be worried; you would have direction, and peace. Right? So why not act as if God has already answered your prayer? Isn’t this true faith?

Pressing on with excellence!

Keith

Questions

Have you ever wondered why you are here? You believe God has lead you in this direction; but then things don’t work out the way you thought they were going to and you doubt that you were even supposed to be here in the first place. Am I so stupid that I can’t figure out what God wants? Or am I just blind to my own self deception, and self-centeredness? We wonder why God would allow us to get here only to washout, to fail; but we get no answers! Why? What were we thinking anyway? I have more questions than answers at this point and I don’t know if I should continue for fear of offending the Holy Spirit with my questions. I have learned some things again. The right here and now is ok. I have money in my pocket, food in the fridge, gas in my car, and a family that loves me. I am learning to be content with very little. I’m better off than five years ago asking the same questions only buried in debt. I have very little now. Back then I had stuff, but was in the red. I trust God. He has a plan, but sometimes He feels so far away. Why is that? I love you Lord. Please don’t let us fall or let us go.

Pressing on with excellence!

Keith

EVERYTHING or nothing!

Have you ever thought that about God? Either he is everything or he is nothing. That thought alone could change your life. Think about it. If, when you're worried about something, you took that worry to God and said; "God, you are either everything or nothing. I give this worry to you," would that change your perception? You can take any problem to God and say your will be done; I accept whatever out come you have for me, Lord. When God is everything, any problem you take to God can melt before him instantly. You can know that he already knows and is already at work on it. How much time do we have to waste fretting over something that is nothing for God? If God is above all in your life, truly, then we should not fret over anything. Yet I do. I still waste precious moments of my life that I could be using somewhere else on something more important. When will I ever learn that God is either everything or he is nothing? I have been around long enough to know he is everything, yet I still forget that sometimes.

Pressing on with excellence!

Keith