Say that ten times fast.
Seriously though, I’m a huge advocate of people tapping into
their God-given talents and living them out with exuberance. It can get mighty
tricky to do this if we’re spending our valuable time trying to do as so and so
says and live as such and such does.
We all fall prey to this behavior. Must have a Facebook fan
page. Pinterest is the new black. Man, those jeans make her look good. Where
can I snag a pair of those? What, I’m not a good mom if I don’t have each of my
kids enrolled in at least three activities?
How do we break the cycle? How do we become intentional
about not parading off the cliff? How do we lead a less lemming life?
8 Ways. Here. Now.
Remember Our
Assignment
Mystery of the earth solved. We’re here for one reason—to
glorify God. What does that look like? What the heck does that mean in your
life? Well how the heck should I know. That’s part of the assignment, figuring
out what that does look like in your
life. (Major hint: Not to get too kumbaya on you, but I guarantee it will
always start with, continue with, and come back to love.)
Pay Attention to Our
Footsteps
The past matters. We’re wise to learn from it. It’s worth it
to pay attention to where we’ve been as it carries the potential to strongly
influence where we’re headed.
Make Sure We’re Well
Fed
Desperate and hunger-starved souls are quick to follow any
crowd if there’s hope of being fed. Dive off that cliff? Well, golly sure.
Let Go of the Guy in
Front
No coattails coasting here. Pave your own way. Create a
path. Bushwhack if necessary. Don’t expect someone else to pull you along. Or
ignore this advice and have him pull you right off the cliff with him. Your
choice.
Appreciate the
Scenery
You’ll be less likely to jump if you’re taking in the beauty
all around you. The sky. The vast surging ocean. You’ll trust your instincts.
Discern with a sharp assessment of the situation. Hard to constantly compare
our walk to another’s when we’re constantly looking up with a spirit of gratitude.
Don’t Be Afraid to
Step Out of Line
Take risks.
Shake Your Groove
Thang Every Once in Awhile
Get in the practice of being bold. Jut a hip out every so
often. See how it feels when your body jiggles to the music inside your head.
Then shake, shake, shake senora. I happen to believe this is one of the steps
on the road to learning how to glorify God. I also happen to believe He’s
thrilled to watch us dance and move to the music he planted inside our souls.
Learn at Every Turn
It takes a long time to reach the edge of the cliff. Larry
Lemming taught us the value of gathering food back there. Lisa Lemming revealed
how essential it is to go against our natural instincts toward solidarity and
to stick together when she got eaten by that wild animal. Llama Lemming taught
us not to spit on other lemmings (ever). Okay, this post is taking an odd turn.
Time to wrap up.
There’s a reason you’re here. A significance. That thing you
do. That specific way you make others feel. If you’re still trying to figure
out the path you need to take here’s the best piece of advice I’ve ever read…
“You will seek me and
find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares
the Lord.” Jer. 29:13 (NIV)
or put another way
“When you come looking
for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it
more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” Jer. 29:13 (Msg)
And if you happen to leap with the rest of them off the
cliff, truth is, God’s arms are wider than the ocean. He’s a good catcher too.
He’ll put you back up on solid ground to learn this all over again.
Which less lemming
way spoke to you most today?
*note that the “mass suicide” of lemmings is actually a
misconception, but hey, it made for a creative post idea so I went with it
**photo by stock.XCHNG
