stop and then go, or go and then.. stop?

 relationship: love: joy: wisdom:  these nuances or skeletons to life, perhaps they’re acquired as we journey on through and as we need them… perhaps we’re to grow up under God and see what he adds unto us?!
i think that’s what people then follow with ‘that’s life!’ when you complain about having loads of responsibility ro loads of people to love and care for.  when we’re in relationship with each other, with God, we have roles and titles and expectations on how we act… ‘daughter’, ‘leader’, ‘teacher’

sometimes you have to learn on the job… even life might be called learning on the job, in times of action you do tend to catch yourself growing up or maturing as you see mistakes or beams of success plastered over memories or experience like giant billboards in your mind.
but there’s a thing i keep returning to: rest, not leisure so much as space, moments where we listen, think, abide.

lately i’ve discovered that i’m pretty passionate, probably at times some might call it overly so, which makes me love being a leader cos my heart beats to see others succeed or be cared for etc.  but here’s the crux – to be a leader, to be supple enough to learn from mistakes, i’ve had to have people watching over me- submitting to someone else- and i’ve had to slow down and listen to God, slow down and think, do that whole rest thing that we always forget. there’s a tandem… hand-in-hand-ness about life with God, and i guess life with leadership in that:stop and then go

be continually filled with His Spirit as a glass is with water. the best way to live is to follow God and to have him fill your heart with strength for the journey -with its responsibilities  et al, so that when something happens, when people nudge you, when you trip up, the joy of knowing Him spills out of the cup, onto everyone else so you direct their thoughts to him, rather than your own-self dribbling out of the cup… your resources are limited. i guess the ’stop and then go’ life isn’t just good for you… it’s better for those around you, here’s to blessing people by the way you live, lead.. love God.

i just read this article, and after contemplation, i don’t think stopping to lead or be responsible for things is the way to live – do we expect to be capable or ready after a set time if we just wait to grow up to flawless flair?  but, i hope we would live with a few more inhales of following before we exhale direction and leadership…  to wait on God before we charge off into the day to impact the world… the simple reason is, we need Him to make our work and lives of the eternal.

a festive decision

i have found a craving that i never knew was there before and will perhaps lead me to rather lazy days spent reading or indeed, an empty purse/wallet/bank…. since the nights began to draw in, and the leaves left the trees, and the mornings found a crispy beginning, Starbucks has refreshed us all with red cups, gingerbread lattes, and snowflakes on the window pane.  so, i’ve spent more time in there… i love a grande, soya latte with gingerbread syrup…  and i blame it on the beautifully peaceful surroundings and atmosphere of my local store.  maybe it’s all about the festive, cosy persona… who knows?

that was today’s first realisation.

the second has been a full list of questions, wonderings and frustrations about life.  as i can’t name them all, i’ll write one… i’ve been thinking about the world, how we as humans are Created Beings.. thus, how all our decisions and choices and options in life have been created for us to take, make and act.  i guess it’s time to realize that choosing,  and responding to the world by making decisions, is a human being’s right and responsibility.  This means that i am choosing to be decisive and to discern and learn about these decisions from the Creator of them.

confused?

thinking about this stuff, what to decide to live like, over the festive season… probably over a coffee in Starbucks – that’s lady’s choice at the mo!

crowded house

i realised that it is so hard to rest in this world. people are always here, bills and phones and laundry and shopping always need dealing with… we’re always learning and growing and thinking and mucking up… and…

this house is full of ’stuff ‘ that is always needing done. it won’t ever stop, but i think i’m learning that something’s got to stop. i think i’m learning that a crowded house, mind and diary will always get on top of you unless you create space and time for actual rest and recuperation. do you ever put ‘day off’ in your diary? do you believe it when it’s there… or is it rather too indulgent?! i think it’s hard to think of looking after yourself as a loving thing to do. but it’s probably best to rest enough so that you can recharge in order to help others…

i heard the quote ‘be selfish to be selfless’.. i’m not sure if it’s good to think like that, as it’s so individualistic, and my values contain this one – community. if we were all looking after one another, then it’d be akin to a triangle of selfs.. thinking, ‘i’ve got your back’ like a bundle of dominoes resting on each other. then a crowded house would be almost welcome, because we’d all be in it together, taking rest for one another, loving one another…

with a pack of cards, you can build a house (maybe not using all of them) making a house of cards.  in that house there is space,there’s support, there are different purposes and roles.  a pack of cards doesn’t result in a crowded house…

with a piece of music, there’s a few rests to differentiate between sound and silence because absence of sound makes the beauty of music even more powerful

so life needs to retain some space, some ‘rests’ too.  it’s right there in nature too.. ebbs and flows, spring and fall, night and day.i’m not saying the busyness will go away, but it’d sure be good for us to stop and smell the sweetpeas (preferable to roses)