Petapalooza

Greetings faithful reader!

If you don't read Pastor Troy's blog...I highly recommend it. It gives you some insight into his thoughts and feelings that make him who he is. Yesterday, I was reading about the fast that he was going through and how he came to the conclusion that he was fasting from the wrong thing. His hangup isn't food...it's time. He is always busy. His schedule is complex and taxing and he struggles with making time for everything that he needs to do. He is working hard at remedying that condition and I applaud him for it!

I can relate.

Sometimes it seems as though I have to force myself to stop. It doesn't come easy. My native setting is full speed ahead. When I am working, I feel like I am making a difference in the world. When I am resting or experiencing down time...I feel like I am wasting time. I don't sleep very much and when I do it is usually peppered with thoughts about what I have to do later... My brain does not get much time in standby mode. My favorite line is: "Sleep is overrated"

I have started turning that ship around. I realize that my contribution to the Kingdom is not as a sleep martyr. It's not to be somebody who doesn't allow himself downtime so that I can feel like I am "more spiritual". I used to feel - "If they loved Jesus, they would work 100 hours a week, too!" How incredibly stupid. Not only is that thought fundamentally wrong...it's not scriptural. The creator of the universe valued rest and I have been thumbing my nose at the concept.

It is a daily battle. Some days I succeed and others I fail miserably. At least I am aware of the problem...

Which brings me to yesterday. My wife suggested we take our precious (read that sarcastically) dogs down to Markham Park for Petapalooza. Of course I had every reason well thought out to put the kibosh on this plan. But I relented. I had 100 things to do before last night's services, but I gave in. We loaded up the dogs (A Shih-Tzu and a Mini Dachshund) and headed over. I wasn't really happy about it, but at least it was some time spent with my family. I could feel my flesh telling me to sit it out. Object. Show my family that I wasn't happy about being there. I guess some people call it throwing a temper tantrum. I call it immaturity and a warped sense of what is important. Either way...not a good thing.

We went. It was fun. I reconnected with my family. Time well spent.

Why I fight these events sometimes is beyond me. They are always good times. They are always memory makers...

When it's all said and done, I want my family to remember me as somebody who cares about them...who loves them....who puts things aside to spend time with them...

I've failed at this. I struggle sometimes with this. But I am going to fix it.

Is that you I see in the boat with me? Let's change the course together, faithful reader. It's very important that we do.

BV