"Take Your Time" - by Heidi McLaughlin

I am fixated on the British Open Golf Tournament taking place in Scotland at the Royal Troon Championship course.  It’s the 3rday of the tournament and Phil Mickelson, my favourite player, is in the lead. I focus on his drives, short pitches, brilliant putts and the interaction between him and his caddy. “Jim Bones” Mackay has been Phil’s caddy since 1992 and they have established a trusting relationship.  

This part fascinates me.  On every tee box both Phil and “Jim Bones” go through the routine of Phil’s next shot. They establish wind velocity, precise yardage, angles and hazards. Conversation takes place back and forth; they pick the right club, Phil steps up to the tee and then I hear Jim Bones' last words, “Take your time.”  With that simple, yet powerful send off for success, it feels like everyone can breathe again.

We need to hear “take your time” more often. We live in perilous times where we take pride in how much we can pack into one day.  Taking our sweet time about anything is simply not an option. It might even be considered laziness.

Little children teach us to savour the moments. They love to take their time playing with Lego, sitting and listening to stories. We are the ones who teach them to hurry. I can still hear myself, “Get your coat on we’re running late.” “ Quit fooling around, you need to eat your lunch so we can get out of here.” I wonder if subconsciously we learned that it’s bad or wasteful to take our time.

Our relentless pursuits to find fulfillment and success cause us to become weary, overwhelmed and sometimes cynical. I don’t think we were designed to hurry our way through life. Jesus modeled simplicity. “Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-29 MSG)

I confess I am also a card-carrying member of the rat race of blogging, tweeting, posting articles, Facebook memes, Instagram, Pinterest and on and on. But with all that we've invested in becoming writers and speakers I would like to suggest that we pause and “take the time” to learn from Jesus and enjoy our journey. We are to throw off all those things that are “ill fitting” and focus on the things that will bring us joy on our pathway to success. So I have to ask myself, “What do I need to take the time to throw off so that I can live freely and lightly?”

Not many of us have a “Jim Bones” to help us become successful and remind us to “take your time.”  But we have Jesus who says we are to watch and learn from Him how to live freely and lightly.  Jesus never hurried. He took time to interact with people and model The Father’s love. He focused on His purpose. He changed the world. What can you and I learn from Jesus that will help us to stop hurrying,  “take the time” and enjoy our privileged season as writers and speakers?

Heidi McLaughlin lives in the beautiful vineyards of the Okanagan Valley in Kelowna, British Columbia. She is married to Pastor Jack and they have a wonderful, eclectic blended family of 5 children and 9 grandchildren. When Heidi is not working, she loves to curl up with a great book, or golf and laugh with her husband and special friends. You can reach her at: www.heartconnection.ca

Heidi's latest book RESTLESS FOR MORE: Fulfillment in Unexpected Places was released July 14th, 2016 and can be purchased on her website or amazon.com

A Tale of Two Clocks by Peter A. Black

By the time my parents and sisters arrived home the clock was still in pieces. I reckon this was the inception of my ‘fix-it career,’ when as a nine-year-old I was off school with flu’ (at home alone – yep, that was both common and allowed then).

The clock’s demise came once I’d begun to feel better and my eyes alighted on the wind-up alarm clock. A sudden brainwave: That clock needs fixing! It keeps losing time. . . Yeah, and the bell inside  sounds dull, as though something’s blocking it? And so, I started the job that ended in disaster.

A brand new wind-up Westclox “Baby Ben” alarm soon took its place. Fifty years later in 2004, my sisters entrusted it to me following our Mom’s death – and it still works!

I’d win no prize for best fixer-upper and handyman. Even so, I’ve tackled various fix-it tasks around the numerous homes my Beloved and I have shared over almost half a century. My attempts haven’t always worked out well, but good advice from experienced folk has rescued quite a few projects.

Recently I was at it again. We have a small glass-mounted Seth Thomas clock bearing an “In Appreciation” plaque inscribed to us; a gift from a former congregation. It always lost time but had no control for increasing its pace. We fed it quality batteries, yet the thing would stop after only a few days. Lately my Beloved suggested we scrap it.
 
Reluctant to do that, and curious, I decided to give the clock one more chance by opening it up. No harm done if I couldn’t make it work or get it back together; it was otherwise doomed, anyway. However, my layman’s eye couldn’t spot anything wrong with the innards; everything appeared pristine. I couldn’t even see a speck of dust inside. To be sure though, I air-blew then reassembled it.

My heart sank. Left on the bench was one small cylindrical pin, three millimetres long by about one millimetre wide. I’d no idea where in the clock that tiny piece belonged. With resignation I put batteries in and set the hands to the time. That clock has kept perfect time ever since and is still going – I just checked! Perhaps that piece had been an obstruction.

My boyhood inquisitiveness has never left me. A child’s inquisitiveness must have suitable outlets for learning and creativity to blossom. Of course, monitoring to ensure safety may be necessary, depending on the activity. Even so, it often seems that life randomly casts many of its best, if not risky, learning opportunities. Still, inquisitiveness can lead us into trouble, as our human progenitors found out; the rest is history.

Credit: Free Google Images

Humpty Dumpty was all head. He sat high, perched on the wall, but then he had his great fall. For him there was no recovery, for “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again.” Pride is an obstruction. Wisdom tells us, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud” (Proverbs 16:18-19 NIV).

Now is the time.

The pre-Easter Lenten season offers a spiritual space and time to acknowledge our own prideful falls, our weakness and brokenness.

My hope and prayer is that you and I will experience more fully the forgiveness and healing of our hearts and minds, and the wholeness God has secured for us through our Lord Jesus’ sacrificial death and His blood shed for us on the cross.

 

~~+~~

Peter is an author, inspirational columnist and songwriter living in Southwestern Ontario. He enjoys singing and playing sacred music and praise songs – especially for his friends in a number of residential care facilities and in area congregations.

~ Raise Your Gaze ... Mindful Musings of a Grateful Heart

~ Parables from the Pond

raisethegaze@execulink.com

 

Two Sides of the Cross: Humility and Pride by Rose McCormick Brandon

Humility acknowledges the sufferings of Jesus and accepts that He suffered for us. Pride glosses over His sufferings and refuses to think about them.

Humility acknowledges that only the cross erases sin. Pride says, "There are many ways to holiness. I'm not so bad, no worse than anyone else."

Humility confesses sin. Pride says, "I'm as good as the next person."

Humility embraces the cross. Pride turns its head in embarrassment.

Humility throws its arms around Jesus and thanks Him for salvation. Pride ignores Him.

Humility kisses His feet. Pride slaps His face.

Humility weeps. Pride smirks.

Humility is undone by the sadness of the crucifixion. Pride says, "what's all the fuss?"

Humility walks to the foot of His cross. Pride walks on by.

Humility calls Him friend. Pride pretends not to know Him.

Humility comes to the cross alone. Pride runs off with the crowd.

Humility admits to being a sinner. Pride says, "Nobody's going to point the finger at me and call me a sinner."

Humility admits to needing Him. Pride calls Him a crutch.

Humility breaths, "Thank you Jesus." Pride is silent.

Remembering where we came from and considering where we'd be without Jesus helps us to stay humble.

***

Rose McCormick Brandon's books, including her latest, Promises of Home - Stories of Canada's British Home Children, are available at her website, Writing from the Heart.

A member of The Word Guild and The Manitoulin Writers Circle. Rose and husband, Doug, summer on Manitoulin Island where her pioneer ancestors settled and the home of his favourite fishing holes. The rest of the year, they live in Caledonia, Ontario, near their three children and two grandchildren.

 

 

PARK YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR-By Heidi McLaughlin

“Everything is wrong with this place. We don’t have all the tools we need, not enough billable work hours and even the air conditioning is not working.” Those words whizzed through the air like scud missiles! I knew they were intended to shock and intimidate me; but in that emotional moment I knew I was simply the target for the release of someone else’s frustration and unresolved anger. Years ago I learned that to be a woman of Godly influence, I had let go of my own insecurities and display integrity and grace in my workplace by learning to “park my ego at the door.”

 For thirty years I have been the only woman in the board room. For ten of those years I was the administrator of a large law firm, and prepared the agenda and chaired the monthly board room meetings. For the past twenty years I continue to be the Controller of two automobile franchises and again, I am the only woman in our weekly board room meetings. I have had to learn that when we allow selfish, pleasure seeking egos to dominate the agenda and conversations; an ugly tension permeates the room.  When our egos are threatened, we have a tendency to feel stupid, shamed, rejected and insignificant.”

 Nine years ago I put my fragile ego to the test. I am blessed to have two accountability partners that allowed me to engage them in an exercise that was intended to bring clarity into our biggest ego struggle; the idol of pride. We made an agreement that each time something or someone chipped away at our idol, we would record the words “ka-ching”. After an entire month of this humbling and revealing exercise, we met and shared the number of “ka-chings” we had recorded.   I was shocked and horrified to find that I had allowed my ego to sabotage my thoughts to propel feelings of being stupid, misunderstood, not heard or even rejected.  Somewhere on my spiritual journey I had forgotten that God makes us all unique and He has a plan and purpose for each of our lives. This little “ka-ching” exercise affirmed for me that everything in life is not about me, I am not the savior of this world and not responsible for everything that goes wrong.

 To be a woman of Godly influence in every area of my life, it has become my personal goal to value people over process. I am a task oriented person and no one knows better than I that there are goals, agendas and deadlines to be followed and adhered to. But if I allow my brittle, flimsy and selfish ego to rule my days, I will miss out on the joy of achieving success and accomplishments that I believe God wants me to enjoy. But I must always remember that my greatest goal in life is to pour God’s love and grace onto everyone I meet. That means taking a deep breath, parking my ego at the door, and remembering that we are all God’s creatures trying desperately to find our value and place in this world.  

 

Heidi McLaughlin lives in the beautiful vineyards of the Okanagan Valley in Kelowna, British Columbia. She is married to Pastor Jack and they have a wonderful, eclectic blended family of 5 children and 9 grandchildren. When Heidi is not working, she loves to curl up with a great book, or golf and laugh with her husband and special friends. You can reach her at: www.heartconnection.ca