How does a mother Eagle get her Eaglets to fly? You got it! She takes the padding out of the nest.
Let's face it, if you are a baby Eagle in a nest way, way, way high in the air are you eager to learn how to fly? Not when there is a cozy nest to rest in and a tender momma Eagle to snuggle up against. Why leave such comfort and security if you don't have to?
Momma knows how to motivate: it starts with one comfortable piece of the nest at a time until baby Eagle is trying to find rest on a pile of poky sticks. At last, when the onetime place of comfort and security is no longer desirable the baby Eaglet is motivated to fly! Out they go!
Momma Eagle takes her frightened Eaglet on a mini flight and then drops him. It's not that big a deal, only a free fall from a cliff crashing down to the ground way below! No big deal! As the Eaglet is sinking at top speeds to earth below, momma Eagle swoops below and picks him up. AHHHHH! At last~! Back to the nest...
Nope! This time momma goes higher and drops the Eaglet again... On and on it goes until the Eaglet learns to fly.
When the Eaglet learns to fly, it SOARS to great heights!
You know another interesting thing about Eagles: When a storm comes, they don't fly away and look for shelter. They turn and face the storm and fly right into it. You know what happens? The wind of the storm gets beneath them and lifts them up above the storm to greater heights! Have you ever heard the phrase, "He lifts you up on Eagles Wings?"
What kind of day are you having?
Are you comfy in the secure nest, or is it starting to get a bit uncomfortable?
"Wanna Get away?"
Be encouraged: If the nest is starting to get uncomfortable, you may be about to SOAR to new heights!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Saturday, June 06, 2009
INSPIRATION - Do You Have it?
Are you inspired?
Or, like so many, are you just going through the motions of duty and obligation void of passion, hope and life?
One thing I must confess right up front is this: I love to probe beneath people's outer facades. I am not much for shallowness, posing, or fake behavior. I have been there and done that, and it's a waste of time. I spent 19 years of my life living in locker rooms, full of insecure athletes trying to prove to ourselves that we were something more worthy than we felt within. Nothing wrong with athletes of course, it's just that nothing can fill the void of insecurity no matter how great the world may view it. It's a painful place to live. With that in mind, let's begin by being real. OK! (As if I am actually sitting here talking to someone, right~! :-)).
Are you inspired? Really?
I awoke this morning with something bothering me, but I couldn't identify it. As I began to journal (my way of exploring my inner wrestling's), I came to the word inspiration and I could hear the echo of it's void deep within my soul. I had to admit the lack of inspiration I feel in my daily existence. Ouch!
Let me clarify: I am inspired by my wife and children, their love, life, smiles, hugs, activities and their potential. I am especially inspired to have such wonderful people to love and live with. I am fulfilled there. It's in the area of purpose, daily focus and motivation that I feel the void of inspiration.
To throw on suit pants, shirt and tie 5 days a week to do something that does not inspire me on a daily basis is painful. Nothing wrong with what I do, but it just doesn't inspire me. Many would say - and have said - that does not matter. To them, maybe that is true, but to me my heart knows differently.
So what do you do about it? Pack up and leave where you are in search of inspiration? Maybe, maybe not. Been there and done that too, not sure I would recommend that either. Yet, there is something to be said about exploring the true longings of your heart and making needed sacrifices to live the life you were created to live. It is at least worthy of exploring the subject of inspiration in hopes of living a more meaningful life of purpose and fulfillment.
God did not intend for us to live a life mastered by duty and obligation void of purpose and inspiration. Despite many religious rebuttals, God did create us to live from a place of passion, desire, and fulfillment. Let's not blame our apathy on the one who created us. Apathy and complacency is not what God created us for. He created us to be inspired!
In fact, the very word inspiration, comes from Him!
Inspire, according to Webster, means "[in-spirare, breathe] 1. to inhale 2. to stimulate or impel, as to some creative effort 3. to motivate as by divine influence 4. to arouse (a thought or feeling) in (someone) 5. to occasion or cause."
In other words, if I can take some liberties, inspiration means to be breathed on by God to stimulate, impel, motivate, arouse, cause... us to live out some creative effort.
In the beginning, "The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7
The word Breathe here means "spirit"
God imparted His Spirit into mankind and man became alive!
To Inspire means, to breathe life. When God created us, He inspired us by breathing the life of His Spirit within us.
"God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be Fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over.." Genesis 1:27-28
Blessed means, "to cause to prosper, to make happy, to bestow blessings on." (Vines Expository Dictionary)
Get the picture? When God created you and I He created us to be like Him, He blessed us causing us to prosper and be happy. He breathed His Spirit within us to give us life. HE INSPIRED US!
Unfortunately man walked away from this great beginning, and we continue to reap the results of an unfulfilled and uninspired existence, constantly searching for something or someone to fill the void.
We tend to live lives of meaningless existence, looking forward to Friday so we can do something "fun", only to get right back on the treadmill of misery come Monday. Is that really the way we were intended to live?
NO!
We can do something about it you know. We do not have to live the mundane, "nasty now and now" of eat, work, sleep and one day die excited we made it to the finish line! That's not life, my friend! That is death!
We were created for much more!
THERE IS MORE!!!
Listen to these words of Jesus, the one who died that we might find life and return to what God intended for us in the beginning: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" John 10:10
Some of you reading this may not consider yourself a Christian, while some of you probably do... let me start by saying this: As one who calls myself after the name of Christ, I want to apologize for my peers. We have not done a very good job of demonstrating His true identity. We have not done an adequate job of revealing the real reason He came and died. We as a group at large have lived in such a way that depicts Him as mean, unloving, judgemental, religious, boring, rigid, uncaring and uninspiring. Many have compromised and lived lukewarm lives, satisfied with much less than what Christ came and died for.
Christ followers: It's time we repent, which simply means turn and go the right way, change our way of thinking, return to the pentacle/high place, and begin to live and represent God for who He really is.
It is not God who wants us to live uninspired lives. It is the thief himself who came to steal, kill and destroy. Christ came to bring abundant life and Joy!
In the beginning, God breathed His life and Spirit within mankind and blessed us to live, and prosper! He created us to be fulfilled and happy!
It is time we live the way God created us to live. It is time to live inspired lives!!! When we do, we will be able to inspire the world to greatness!
Enjoy The Journey!
Or, like so many, are you just going through the motions of duty and obligation void of passion, hope and life?
One thing I must confess right up front is this: I love to probe beneath people's outer facades. I am not much for shallowness, posing, or fake behavior. I have been there and done that, and it's a waste of time. I spent 19 years of my life living in locker rooms, full of insecure athletes trying to prove to ourselves that we were something more worthy than we felt within. Nothing wrong with athletes of course, it's just that nothing can fill the void of insecurity no matter how great the world may view it. It's a painful place to live. With that in mind, let's begin by being real. OK! (As if I am actually sitting here talking to someone, right~! :-)).
Are you inspired? Really?
I awoke this morning with something bothering me, but I couldn't identify it. As I began to journal (my way of exploring my inner wrestling's), I came to the word inspiration and I could hear the echo of it's void deep within my soul. I had to admit the lack of inspiration I feel in my daily existence. Ouch!
Let me clarify: I am inspired by my wife and children, their love, life, smiles, hugs, activities and their potential. I am especially inspired to have such wonderful people to love and live with. I am fulfilled there. It's in the area of purpose, daily focus and motivation that I feel the void of inspiration.
To throw on suit pants, shirt and tie 5 days a week to do something that does not inspire me on a daily basis is painful. Nothing wrong with what I do, but it just doesn't inspire me. Many would say - and have said - that does not matter. To them, maybe that is true, but to me my heart knows differently.
So what do you do about it? Pack up and leave where you are in search of inspiration? Maybe, maybe not. Been there and done that too, not sure I would recommend that either. Yet, there is something to be said about exploring the true longings of your heart and making needed sacrifices to live the life you were created to live. It is at least worthy of exploring the subject of inspiration in hopes of living a more meaningful life of purpose and fulfillment.
God did not intend for us to live a life mastered by duty and obligation void of purpose and inspiration. Despite many religious rebuttals, God did create us to live from a place of passion, desire, and fulfillment. Let's not blame our apathy on the one who created us. Apathy and complacency is not what God created us for. He created us to be inspired!
In fact, the very word inspiration, comes from Him!
Inspire, according to Webster, means "[in-spirare, breathe] 1. to inhale 2. to stimulate or impel, as to some creative effort 3. to motivate as by divine influence 4. to arouse (a thought or feeling) in (someone) 5. to occasion or cause."
In other words, if I can take some liberties, inspiration means to be breathed on by God to stimulate, impel, motivate, arouse, cause... us to live out some creative effort.
In the beginning, "The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7
The word Breathe here means "spirit"
God imparted His Spirit into mankind and man became alive!
To Inspire means, to breathe life. When God created us, He inspired us by breathing the life of His Spirit within us.
"God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be Fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over.." Genesis 1:27-28
Blessed means, "to cause to prosper, to make happy, to bestow blessings on." (Vines Expository Dictionary)
Get the picture? When God created you and I He created us to be like Him, He blessed us causing us to prosper and be happy. He breathed His Spirit within us to give us life. HE INSPIRED US!
Unfortunately man walked away from this great beginning, and we continue to reap the results of an unfulfilled and uninspired existence, constantly searching for something or someone to fill the void.
We tend to live lives of meaningless existence, looking forward to Friday so we can do something "fun", only to get right back on the treadmill of misery come Monday. Is that really the way we were intended to live?
NO!
We can do something about it you know. We do not have to live the mundane, "nasty now and now" of eat, work, sleep and one day die excited we made it to the finish line! That's not life, my friend! That is death!
We were created for much more!
THERE IS MORE!!!
Listen to these words of Jesus, the one who died that we might find life and return to what God intended for us in the beginning: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" John 10:10
Some of you reading this may not consider yourself a Christian, while some of you probably do... let me start by saying this: As one who calls myself after the name of Christ, I want to apologize for my peers. We have not done a very good job of demonstrating His true identity. We have not done an adequate job of revealing the real reason He came and died. We as a group at large have lived in such a way that depicts Him as mean, unloving, judgemental, religious, boring, rigid, uncaring and uninspiring. Many have compromised and lived lukewarm lives, satisfied with much less than what Christ came and died for.
Christ followers: It's time we repent, which simply means turn and go the right way, change our way of thinking, return to the pentacle/high place, and begin to live and represent God for who He really is.
It is not God who wants us to live uninspired lives. It is the thief himself who came to steal, kill and destroy. Christ came to bring abundant life and Joy!
In the beginning, God breathed His life and Spirit within mankind and blessed us to live, and prosper! He created us to be fulfilled and happy!
It is time we live the way God created us to live. It is time to live inspired lives!!! When we do, we will be able to inspire the world to greatness!
Enjoy The Journey!
Friday, June 05, 2009
WHO ARE YOU?
Who Are You? If I was to sit down with you one on one and ask you who you are, what would you say? Think about that for a minute.
Who or what defines you? Who do you think you are? Who do your peers think or say you are? Who do your parents... say you are?
"Who are you? Who, who, who, who?..." The song from the music band, "The Who", now rings in my head. "WHO ARE YOU?" Do you really know?
In order to really know what something was intended to be it would be wise to consult the one who made it. For example, a light bulb: What did Thomas Edison create the Light bulb to be?
Allow me some latitude to engage our childlike imaginations a bit: Let's imagine a light bulb had feelings and could communicate. Who would he say that he is? If sitting in a box in a store, the light bulb might have a difficult time expressing who he is. "I am a decoration?"
Let's pretend for a minute that the light bulb was brought up with a family of balls. He was among the football, baseball, basketball, soccer ball.. you get the picture... Who would he say that he is?
A little boy reaches into the bag of balls and grabs the light bulb and begins to toss it in the air. What would the light bulb be feeling about now?
A wise lamp whispers from the corner of the room, "Psst, what are you doing? Don't you know who you are?" The light bulb looks down at his disfigured body, then over at his peers of well shaped athletic equipment, "Yes, I know who I am. I am a ball!" The lamp knows better, "A what? You are not a ball!" Having never heard such words before, surrounded by balls all his life, the light bulb denies such a claim and protests, "How dare you say I am not a ball! I was raised in this family of balls and I am a ball!" The lamp probes deeper, "Really? How do you feel as a ball? Don't you feel a bit fragile, scared, unworthy...?" The light bulb tries to deny it, but his heart cannot. He bows in painful defeat, feeling the deep pains of his own inadequacies. "My peers are so good at this stuff, but I am not... Maybe I need to work harder to become a better ball!... I feel so fragile, so unworthy..." At last, a moment of truth. "That is because you are not a ball, my friend! You are a light bulb!" Having no idea what that means, he looks away in disgust. "Here..." The wise lamp leans over, "let me show you something." At this, he connects with the disillusioned light bulb and to his amazement a deep feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment overcomes him as a beautiful white light fills the room. Now the balls applaud him and the lamp rejoices with him as the once dense lit room radiates with the bright light that exudes from this amazing light bulb! At last he knows who he is and everyone around him benefits!
What about you? Who are you? What were you created to be? What is the world longing to see come from you?
It may be wise to ask the one who created you, and to connect with the right people, so that you too can fill the room with amazing light!
Enjoy The Journey!
Bart
Who or what defines you? Who do you think you are? Who do your peers think or say you are? Who do your parents... say you are?
"Who are you? Who, who, who, who?..." The song from the music band, "The Who", now rings in my head. "WHO ARE YOU?" Do you really know?
In order to really know what something was intended to be it would be wise to consult the one who made it. For example, a light bulb: What did Thomas Edison create the Light bulb to be?
Allow me some latitude to engage our childlike imaginations a bit: Let's imagine a light bulb had feelings and could communicate. Who would he say that he is? If sitting in a box in a store, the light bulb might have a difficult time expressing who he is. "I am a decoration?"
Let's pretend for a minute that the light bulb was brought up with a family of balls. He was among the football, baseball, basketball, soccer ball.. you get the picture... Who would he say that he is?
A little boy reaches into the bag of balls and grabs the light bulb and begins to toss it in the air. What would the light bulb be feeling about now?
A wise lamp whispers from the corner of the room, "Psst, what are you doing? Don't you know who you are?" The light bulb looks down at his disfigured body, then over at his peers of well shaped athletic equipment, "Yes, I know who I am. I am a ball!" The lamp knows better, "A what? You are not a ball!" Having never heard such words before, surrounded by balls all his life, the light bulb denies such a claim and protests, "How dare you say I am not a ball! I was raised in this family of balls and I am a ball!" The lamp probes deeper, "Really? How do you feel as a ball? Don't you feel a bit fragile, scared, unworthy...?" The light bulb tries to deny it, but his heart cannot. He bows in painful defeat, feeling the deep pains of his own inadequacies. "My peers are so good at this stuff, but I am not... Maybe I need to work harder to become a better ball!... I feel so fragile, so unworthy..." At last, a moment of truth. "That is because you are not a ball, my friend! You are a light bulb!" Having no idea what that means, he looks away in disgust. "Here..." The wise lamp leans over, "let me show you something." At this, he connects with the disillusioned light bulb and to his amazement a deep feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment overcomes him as a beautiful white light fills the room. Now the balls applaud him and the lamp rejoices with him as the once dense lit room radiates with the bright light that exudes from this amazing light bulb! At last he knows who he is and everyone around him benefits!
What about you? Who are you? What were you created to be? What is the world longing to see come from you?
It may be wise to ask the one who created you, and to connect with the right people, so that you too can fill the room with amazing light!
Enjoy The Journey!
Bart
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