Things One, Two, and Three

In one of my favorite pictures of Lydia, she is standing on a stack of books that she has made...standing on her tip-toes as the stack is sliding away from under her...reaching for a Russian nesting doll that is just barely out of reach. Lydia is doing everything she can to get the toy that she wants that she isn't supposed to have...and she has on her "Thing Two" onesie...

Yes, like the "Thing Two" from the Cat in the Hat... Thing One and Thing Two were set free from their box by the Cat in the Hat and craziness and messes ensued. The children were bothered by Thing One and Thing Two and didn't quite seem to know what to do with them.

What things bother me that I just don't know quite what to do with?

Thing One - Lack of Self-Discipline
Spiral bound books with a reading plan and detailed study notes. Learning about God. Organized, intentional discussions. Godly facilitators. Specific meeting times. A clear beginning and a clear end. These are some of the things that I love about Bible studies.

Erratic family and work travel schedules. Losing a book. Forgetting to read. Intentionally not reading to make time for something else. These are some of things that impede my success when in a Bible study.

So...the things that others take care of are things that I love and things that I have control over are the things that get in my way. It seems a no-brainer when I read what I just wrote...but it's so much easier to go without using my brain when self-discipline is required.

Thing Two - Relying on Someone Else to Lead
Several years ago, a dear friend challenged the folks in her email address book to read a specified Bible passage with her each day and make 1 comment about the day's reading - and to "reply all" so that we could all benefit from each other's comments. LOVED THIS! I kept up with daily reading better than I ever had...and as an email addict, learned from the hearts of some neat, reflective women...but if CB didn't read and post, I surely didn't. I was dependent on her nudging and example.

Thing Three - Longing for How Things Should Be
Two verses have been niggling at my brain and weighing on my heart lately...

• Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
• Luke 6:45b: Out of the overflow his heart, his mouth speaks.

Things One, Two, and Three from the "box of me"...a need for self-discipline, a need for someone else to direct what should come from self-discipline, and a sense that the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart are often not in line with Psalm 19:14. Really, these Things are out of my box and running amok...leaving disorder behind and around them.

Like Lydia in that picture, I'm standing on my tip-toes, reaching for things that are out of my reach and that I probably don't need to be reaching for: an ideal "whatever", a particular moment or experience, things that distract me...I'm standing on a stack I've made of experiences, things I've read, emotions...and it's slipping out from under me. My heart's t-shirt has my Things One, Two, and Three on the front.

I need to step down off that stack and work to put Things One, Two, and Three in their place...A task that is appropriately in my reach if I rely on the One who is greater than I am.

Thing One will probably continue to mess with me - enticing me to play or read something else or check FB. Thing Two will mess with my mind - CB is amazingly self-disciplined and I am really not. Thing Three will weigh on my heart - two scriptures that direct my daily life and that leave me feeling inadequate more often than not.

Help me bring Things One, Two, and Three together and repurpose them for His purpose in my life. I'm going to use CB's daily reading plan to get back in the groove of reading to provide something for my heart to meditate on. This blog will allow me to put the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart "out there" so you can check on me to make sure that I am being consistent and faithful.

I'd love for you to join me. I'm keeping it simple - posting the readings for the day and then a thought or a question. Feel free to respond to a post and please respond when I don't.