What Keeps You Going?

Today was one of those days. Nothing really went wrong. I had a pleasant cup of tea and snuggled my dogs before planning write. And then... nothing. Just not really in the writing mood.

I kept finding things to do to distract myself. Ever been there? Laundry, dusting the piano, watering flowers. Finally, after a few hours, I sat down in the office chair to try writing again.

It was hard. Like studying for an exam in college after you've just taken cold medicine. Nothing was wrong. I just wasn't feeling it. I've found that this happens sometimes.

We all have moments of elation in our callings. We go to conferences and get so excited as we catch a vision of where our writing might take us. We meet wonderful friends online and swap work, so happy to get positive feedback on our precious WIP from mentors and critique partners. We have those moments--those often quiet moments--where God whispers, and we know... we just know... the things ahead are nothing like the things behind. We know the calling is worth the work it takes to get there.

But then there are other moments--the everydays--when it's so much easier to sit back and not write. To turn on the TV, or grab a book, or get lost in Facebook statuses. Before we know it, another day has passed, and maybe we didn't pull up Microsoft Word at all. Maybe we didn't feed our calling. And maybe a little part of it dimmed.

If we're not careful, we can slip into this it's-still-my-dream-but-I'm-just-not-feeling-it-now routine, that, over time, undermines our calling. Whatever you feed, grows. All it takes is one glance at my weed-filled garden to prove that! So feed your dreams. Feed your calling.

But how do we feed our God-dreams? Through daily discipline. Through the mornings we don't want to get up early and the afternoons we feel tired and the nights we want to watch TV. I am so bad at this sometimes. I let myself get caught up in a bunch of distractions.

I would encourage you to write down your dreams and a timeline for when/how you want to achieve them. Pray about these goals, and ask God if He has more.

We have to be intentional if we want to dream big dreams. They aren't going to come true on their own.  How do you build a stairwell to the clouds? One step at a time. :)

What do you do to help stay focused when your daily routine seems busy or boring? How do you make yourself say no to distractions?

Perspective

Today has been one of those afternoons where things have been bothering me. Do you ever have those days? In my first class, one of my students was rude to me in front of the rest of the class, then I went to renew my campus parking pass, and it cost me $85! To park at my job. Students kept running out in front of my car as I was trying to get to and from class, and I just felt frustrated.

Then I looked around.

What a beautiful afternoon! Birds were chirping, the temperature was perfect, and things in my world were just generally good. Am I a little stressed this week trying to get everything done? Yes, but why is that? Because I have editor interest in my book. My book. How long have I been working toward this moment, and yet I allow my joy to be tempered by the most stupid things.

I had planned to blog about a different topic today, but I changed my mind when I began thinking about the power of perspective in our lives. Look at this picture I found of a subway stop. The stairs are called perspective art.

My question is... why spend so much time looking at the ground when God has built a staircase in front of us?

When we allow distractions to cloud our minds, they change our perspective and get it out of whack. We can no longer see what we ought to be seeing. We lose sight of our purpose, our heart, God's plans. We lose sight of the staircase we can only through faith be walking upon.

One of my best friends in the entire world is saying goodbye to her husband tomorrow for nine months because he is deploying to Afghanistan. She doesn't know how often she'll be able to talk to him because she won't know until he gets there what the internet and phone connections are like.

When I think of that, suddenly the rude comment my student made earlier seems so small, and I am humbled by the blessings God has allowed in my life.  

When we reframe our perspective, it allows us to see God's heart. I'm convinced this is why the Bible commands us in Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."

What we think about forms our hearts. And what's in our hearts forms our lives. If we're too busy looking at the problems in our lives, or our faults, or the faults of others, we will miss out on the big picture of what God wants to do through our lives. We'll miss out on opportunities, ministry, and the hearts He wants to change... including our own.

I love Rothko artwork for this reason. It challenges our perspective. When you look at this work, where does our eye go? How is this like our perspective on life?

Photos from http://haha.nu/creative/perspective-art-at-a-subway/ and
http://www.abstract-art.com/abstraction/l2_grnfthrs_fldr/g051_rothko.html