40

I am a to-do list girl (not hard to imagine if you know me or have read my blog). I have actually been known to plan to plan for things (e.g. “Let’s plan to sit down this Saturday and plan our trip to Philadelphia”).  I like to think of things that need to get done, and I’m really good at thinking of things I want to do.  Unfortunately, I’m also really good at not always doing them.  You could assume I’m more of a “strategist” and less of an “executor,” but I don’t actually think that’s true.  Praise God that we don’t (always) have to live in labels.  Sometimes I am really good at being the one who gets things done, and other times I am the planner.

When it comes to changes I want to make in my life or things I want to pursue, though, I am more of a thinker and less of a do-er.  I want to get better at that. 

In one of our classes in The Fellows Program we were challenged to determine the eight most important areas of our life, evaluate our current status in each of those areas, and then make an action plan for how we are going to get from where we are to where we want to be in each of those areas.  At first, the thought of planning out every area of my life seemed daunting and almost anti-faithful.  Shouldn’t I be trusting God to make changes in my life through the power of His Holy Spirit rather than planning them myself?  But as I went through the process, I realized how important it is to make sure I am doing all that I can to be a good steward of everything I have in each arena of my life.  We must be “alert and sober-minded” (1 Peter 5:8), and to do so I need to think critically about the different areas of my life.

Anyways, I was running through the city the other night (something I love to do), and I decided I need to write more.  And I don’t want to just talk about needing to write more, I want to do it.

So I decided I’m going to write in my blog for 40 days straight.  Perhaps my posts will not be eloquent or verbose, but I will write each day.

There are a few reasons why I’m doing this:

One is because I like to write—I think.  And I think a lot of times the Holy Spirit can bear fruit from the things we really like to do, because there is passion involved and passion gets things done.

The most important reason I’m writing is because when I write, I have new eyes.  I’m a little ashamed to admit this, but when I know I’m going to/when I want to write in my blog I look at things differently.  I notice the significance of things more.  But I don’t doubt that God can use something like a blog for that very purpose.  There is so much glory and truth in everyday life, and it’s easy to miss it if I’m not looking for it.  All of creation groans (Romans 8:22), but I can walk through creation any given day and not hear a thing.  I’m hoping that writing will help me to see a little bit more.

Lastly, I’m going to write for 40 days because really important things in the Bible happened in 40 days (see Noah surviving the flood after it rained for 40 days and 40 nights and Jesus fasting in the desert for 40 days)…so I’m hoping to get on that train.  All aboard!