Affirming my life in Funemployment

Thursday was the last day I left my place of work of 7 years. It was definitely a strange feeling to know I wouldn't be walking in those doors again. Was this bad news? No, just a change. I am stepping into my new life as a full time student, getting by on part time work and slowly but surely working my way towards seminary so I can become a pastor. What is my plan to do it?

My Affirmation -

"My job is to spend my time improving my mind, body, and spirit through regular, organized work. I am professional, relaxed, balanced, and flexible and will serve God through my actions and choices".

Guidelines:

1. I will fill my time with regular study first, if I have large deadlines for class I will spend 1 hour a day being extraordinary, working on the things that garner the most resistance.
2. Each day will include Bible study, daily devotions, and proactive study of Concordia Theological studies curriculum.
3. My free time will be spent at the gym my fitness goals are to attend Yoga 3 times a week and to work daily towards being able to do 1 pullup.

My Prayer:

Dear Lord,
Thank you for all the events in my life this year. Thank you for providing the resources of family and friend support and bringing events together at this right time in my life to make a commitment to becoming a full time student possible. Please help me to be responsible, and focused, help me to be the man you want me to be. Dear Lord, I have many doubts and flaws and I feel like you are wrong about my calling sometimes. Please help me to trust you and to follow my path and to remember that the path is where you are calling me to, help me to remember that I am still on the path even if you are carrying me. I love you my Father and I thank you for calling me to this journey.
Amen.

A few thoughts on taking notes

I have seen people take notes, at work, and in their personal lives; people take notes. When someone is trained on a new procedure at work they will write it down in a notebook, when someone wants to get in touch with a new contact they write the phone number down; notes cover our desks, cork boards, and fridges. But what do you do with note? What good does having the note on that piece of paper do for you?

A couple of habits can come in handy:

• Drop all your notes into one place at the end of the day, go through them every day or two and either do them if they or short, save or file them if they are reference, or through them away if you don't need them.
• Add phone numbers into your phone the second you get them
• If you don't have paper to write with e-mail yourself or leave yourself a voicemail, process the notes when in a place you can add them to a todo list.  

The best tip I ever got related to notes - Read Getting Things Done, the Art of Stress Free Productivity by David Allen and put it into practice, if you put the methods in the book into practice you can free up a lot of clutter in your life. 

My Hair is pink! How to Keep it Pink through November

Every year, in October I dye my hair pink for Breast Cancer awareness. This year is very special. My good friend Tara is attempting to raise $3000 to walk in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3 day in November in San Diego. If she reaches her goal I will not only keep my hair pink throughout October, it will be pink all through November and I will meet her at the finish line of her race ready to cheer her on!
Tara has already raised $1,242.15. This leaves $1757.85 to go. If you would like to help please visit this link: http://tinyurl.com/tarapink.
Also I am walking in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k in Temecula, CA on October 17th. If you would like to walk with me please register at http://komenie.org and send me an e-mail at darnellster@gmail.com to let me know so we can meet up.

Do not worry about Tomorrow

I was reading Matthew 6 today. That's the one with the Lords Prayer and a lot of stuff about being humble and not making a big deal about good deeds to man. The end of the chapter struck me today to the point where I believe it is God speaking to me.

²⁵"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life

I am losing my job at the end of the month and these are definitely things I have been worrying about. I have read this before and read it now, the thoughts that come creeping up are "Who is God to tell me not to worry!? I am losing my job!?"

I quickly realize how foolish a statement this is when I think about it. The Bible is God's word for me and this is God flat out telling me not to worry, because I don't have to worry because he is with me. I may suffer trials in this world but I can take comfort in his promise to me.

Here is a little more from Matthew just because I love it so much.

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Dear Lord,

I thank you for being my Lord and King who takes care of me. I am a weak sinner who let's sinful thoughts get into his head. I know that I do not have to worry and I have faith in you yet I still continue to worry. Thank you Lord for forgiving this sin. Please help me to be strong, to be faithful and to cast thoughts of worry from my mind no matter how bad it gets! Please Lord fill me with your spirit, help me to surrender my will and follow yours.

In your Holy name.
Amen

Finding Peace in Imaginary Chaos

I am grateful I made it to work early this morning, at 5am the building was empty and the silence was golden, it is amazing how quick I forget what true peace is like, my body gets jittery and moves around and tries to respond as if everything is chaotic; like I am so accustomed to it that when experiencing the opposite I crave the chaos and even try to create it. Peace is a worthy pursuit and is easily attainable though hard to quantify when my mind works so hard to break that peace in total silence.

Dear Lord,

Please help me to remember to stop to slow down, to breath and to enjoy the peace that I have in my heart knowing that I will spend eternity with you.

Amen

Planned Spontaneity

If you plan on being spontaneous does it still count as spontaneity? Webster defines being spontaneous as arising from a momentary impulse. So if I block out a few days on my calendar saying I will step out the door and do the first impulse that comes to mind am I still being spontaneous?

I think so; I won't only be being spontaneous but I will be improving my ability to be spontaneous.

I don’t believe that spontaneity has to be spontaneous itself but it definitely can be. Like any desired behavior, spontaneity can be formed with practice.

Ways to practice spontaneity:

• Set a block on your calendar to do the first thing that comes to mind
• When driving, pick a route never taken, put a note on your dash that says something like “Take a new route” or “go the long way” or “try an unknown road - if you don’t know where it goes, the better” the worst that can happen when taking an unknown route is you have to turn back.
• Go through the phone book and pick a local store, restaurant, park, etc that you have never been to. Either go then or make a note on a free block on your calendar.
• When you pray make a point of praying for random people, places and things that come to mind.
• Write the first thing that comes to mind
• And my favorite, spontaneously plan, pick the first free weekend on your calendar and commit to doing the first interesting thing that comes to mind by writing down that you will do it on your calendar, make it fun, make it daring and don’t think just plan. For example I see Saturday is free on my calendar and the first thing that comes to mind is hiking so I typed go hiking.

There are lots of other ways to be spontaneous but when it comes down to it, do it, beat resistance and do something daring, the key to being more spur of the moment is to fight resistance. Fuel your inner explorer and hit the unknown at any moment and importantly don’t think, do. As you do this more, planned or not, this will come more naturally so planned spontaneity will spawn spontaneous spontaneity.

My challenge to you, plan something spontaneous and commit to it in a comment here.

Obedience Prayer

My devotion today (http://www.lhm.org/dailydevotions.asp?date=20100806) talked about entering the narrow door (Christ) and asking God for help to remove temptations.

Here is the prayer it ended with:

Heavenly Father, remove us from the temptations and bad influences going on around us. Help us to lead others on the right path, walking with You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

My Prayer:

Dear Lord in Heaven please fill my heart with your holy spirit so full that nothing is left, overflow through my every pore so that no sin can be left within in, break me down Lord no matter how much it hurts and take that sin away and whenever I need it please help me to be willing to be torn down again because you are worth more then any temptation to me. Dear Lord, please give me the strength to pray this prayer and ask you to take my will away whenever I stray, dear lord please fill me up and allow me to honor your holy sacrifice by spreading your word, and loving you by doing your will in complete obedience.

Please Give me the will to fill my life with your word and your love.

In Jesus name,

Amen