Risky Business

It's been another six months since I wrote a post here!  How am I EVER going to be discovered as a writer/blogger if I don't put it out there for people to see? ;-)

The last post I wrote was about the earthquake we had here in August.  Honestly, those brief tremors were probably the last exciting thing that's happened to me this year.  But, you know after the past couple years of jostling and shaking, I'm okay with that. Job loss, leaving my church family, moving for what seems the 60th time, cancer, money problems, family illness--they've all been a part of the previous years.  So, I guess a lack of excitement has its perks. But it also has its risks.  It makes me think some very foolish and dangerous things, like:

1.  I'm okay
2.  Life is predictable
3.  I have everything under control
4.  I don't really need to rely on anyone else, including God
5.  Safety and security is all that matters
6.  God is finished with using me
7.  The most important person in my life is me

And the list could go on and on (add your own in comments if you like).

Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the respite. But I also know that it won't remain this way and I shouldn't desire for it to be so.  The thriving organism is the organism that is changing and adapting. So, as I think about this coming year, I am looking forward in anticipation to what tremors and jostles this life might bring me.  I am ready for my risky thoughts to be like this:

1.  What can I do to bless others?
2.  What can I do to change things near and far from me?
3.   How does God want to leverage my uniqueness for His glory?
4.  What is the new thing that God wants me to do, experience, see this year?
5.  How can I persevere and, even better, shine in the midst of where he has me now?
6.  How can I let go of my grip on it all and trust God more.
I hope you'll join me in responding to some of these questions.  May we all be more of what we were designed to be this year.