March 7

For Today's Forward Day by Day reading, Click Here.

As you may be doing now, I am still contemplating what some of the other tools might be in my bag. This seems like a very self-serving, self-centered, boastful exercise. But hopefully identifying some of these strengths will give you, and me, a better idea about how God has equipped us for our life's mission.

These are a few of the things I feel are my talents, or gifts, things I like or possibly things I might be good at doing, or that come naturally in some way. Again, please don't read this and think how much I must love myself. Just as a matter of exercise, I think writing these qualities down may help me better know what resources are lurking in my bag. I'm sure your list looks a lot different, and hopefully a lot longer!

Things I think I might be good at doing, things I like, or things that are perhaps natural gifts/tendancies:

Empathy/Sympathy
Listening
Learning
Loving on people
Giving gifts
Creativity
Music
Writing (some days)
Processing
Being respectful
Being helpful
Seeing the good in people
Being inspired by others' ideas
Pragmatic
Hard-working
Spur-of-the-moment-grabber
Presence
Team player
Good follower of instructions
Humble
Self-depricating
Tender-hearted
Introspective
People-lover
Feeler

This is a first stab at the list of tools in my bag, potentially. And still, I look into my purse and see a whole lot of other junk floating around. At first glance, these items look to be weaknesses. Perhaps those "negative qualities" skulking in the corners of my bag might include:

Hastiness
Fly-of-the-handleness
Judgementalism
Snarkiness
Scrappiness
Irritation
Impatience
Grrrrr-ness


...and a whole slew of darker descriptives that I dare not even write about for fear they may define me! Makes me wonder though, could our shortcomings or "areas of improvement tools" actually be helpful doo-dads when handled properly and in the right situation?

Not sure. So maybe for now, we leave our weaknesses where they are.

March 6

For Today's Forward Day by Day readings, Click Here.

This stood out to me today from the scripture readings. I love this promise that in suffering, we grow, and get better, and learn:

Romans 5: 1-11: "Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts (editorial side note: and bags!) through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us."

Today begins the part of this Lenten blog that we investigate the personal contents of our bag. It's a daunting task to reflect on our strengths and talents and define those as perhaps tools that God has given us to bless others. But it's do-able. It's especially do-able if you can find some quiet moments to think.

I looked for those moments yesterday. And when I found them, while the family and I were nestled in the couch after dinner watching "The Man With the 200-Pound Tumor" (can I insert here, yuck...and sad...a little inspiring...but sorry, totally gross), I fell asleep. Down time can do that to a gal. Determining a mental list of my strengths took center stage this morning, but there were fragmented periods of solace.

I did get a reminder, however, of one double-edged strength or personal attribute I have that perhaps fits in my tool box somewhere. It's sympathy and empathy. OK, so the man with the 200-pound tumor was a good reminder, it turns out. I felt really deeply, sickly sorry for this guy in Vietnman who has been lugging a 200-pound mass around for more than 10 years. And empathy? Sure enough...I imagined how that would feel, and I didn't like it for one minute. One of my gifts is feeling utterly sorry for people. Although perhaps that's a curse, who knows.

This morning empathy and sympathy rose to the top of my bag again when I heard about a friend whose child is struggling with some social challenges. I felt her pain in my bones. I was so frustrated and mad for her that my head felt hot. I felt a surge of compassion and anger, as if it were happening to me and my children. I am sympathetic and empathetic today for all the students, faculty and families of Episcopal School of Jacksonville who face the one-year anniversary of Dale Reagan's murder. These feelings rear up again when I think about how some of the seemingly small cuts we have to make at church might affect others. Dang empathy and sympathy!

Empathy/Sympathy. Tool or terror?
What about you, what did you discover during this morning's digging?

March 5

For Today's Forward Day by Day readings, Click Here.

Time for a little recap:

1. God equips all of us with a tool bag full of everything we could possibly ever need to complete the work he has in mind for us.

2. This bag might feel awfully dang heavy if we were actually wearing it. Imagine a fanny pack full of every tool you'll ever need.

3. Our bags all have names. Mine is "Very Present Help in Trouble Tote." Yours is ________.

4. Within our bags, God places a Complete Set. It's the same for all his children. We're born with our bag and this totally awesome, free to all, no shipping and handling charge included, Complete Set.

5. What's in the complete set? Glad you asked. The contents of the set include:

Faithfullness (A Thor-like hammer)
Love (A big wet blanket)
Gentleness (Leather kid Gloves)
Goodness (A Golden Halo)
Patience (A Proton Beam? Fingercuffs...your call)
Peace (A plug)
Self-Control (Handcuffs/Blindfold)
Joy (Rice)
Kindness (a Lei)

BUT THAT's NOT IT....

6. This Complete Set also includes a special BONUS GIFT...

Gratitude (80s lip gloss)

7. In addition to the Complete Set and Bonus Gift, God also gives each of us a distinct collection of strengths, gifts, personality traits and talents. These are different for each person on the planet. Not one bag looks the same when it comes to the ancilliary -- yet exceedingly important -- personal stuff floating around the the murse/purse. This is what we'll begin exploring next.

So while some of our bags may look the same on the outside and ALL of us have Complete Sets with a Bonus Gift, the rest of our bag contents look very, very different.

And here's the kicker: It's super easy to look into someone elses' bag and see what kind of strengths and talents and positives they have jostling around. But the more difficult task is being aware of our own shtuff. For example, I can tell you that some of my son's strengths are self-sufficiency, diligence, respect and intelligence. My daughter's are zest, sincerity, affection and playfulness. I can tell you that my dad has the gift of knowing what to say at the right time and how to make you feel better about things. My husband has the gift of organization and prudence and humor. While I can look into my bag and see a few familiar things, being aware of personal strengths does not come easy -- and I dare say that's the truth for most people.

So how do we begin discoveirng our strengths? Our other tools? First we ask ourselves. Then we poll others who love us and know us deeply. Maybe it begins with a heartfelt list, and quiet time during which to consider it. Perhaps we do what psycholgists and scientists do: test and research.

Take a minute today to reflect on your strengths, talents and gifts. Write them down. Need a little "professional advice?" Check out this website for some Myers-Briggs-like testing and feedback. I just did. I'm an ISFJ: introverted, sensing, feeling, judging. Not sure if that's good or bad, but it is what it is. Here's a link to the site: Human Metrics.

Over the next week or so, let's talk about what we find out...What's your bag, baby? What's in your wallet?

March 4

For Today's Forward Day by Day reading, Click Here.

It's at the tail end of yet another work day and I feel like I have seen and done nothing worth blogging about. Boring. Bo. Ring. I woke up in way-to-early-thirty after a two-dog night (burr! and yes, there were two dogs keeping us warm last night) to warm up and made it home in enough time to shower, manage the kids' a.m. lollygagging, take carpool and slide into my office by 8 a.m. — quitting time, as always, came quickly and it is no surprise at all that my day already is almost over now. Nothing exciting. Nothing to write the world about. Just, done.

Aren't days just a blur like that sometimes?

Today's reading talked a lot about how it feels when the days are anything but short and boring. In Jeremiah there's a lot of talk about how bummed they feel to be "cast out." The psalmist laments about whether the Lord's going to "cast me off forever." "How long will you be angry, Lord?" another asks. These days probably felt pretty dang long, lonely, and from the sounds of things the people boo-hooing about it saw no end in sight.

And still we're all called to weather the storm with the complete set and personal strengths in our tool bag— during our most mundane of days, and during the ones that seem interminable and dreadful. Maybe we use Patience. Maybe we clip into a little Self-Control or sling a little Kindness around somebody. And maybe, we dig down way deep to the dusty, gum-wrapper littered bottom of our bag and pull out the "Special Gift Included." Like any complete set, ours includes a little bonus feature. This little do-dad is so functional you can use it any time, any place and for any reason. In fact, we're supposed to use it — get this — in every circumstance. That's right, we're supposed to use this Bonus Gift every day, all the time in whatever situation. It's called Gratitude.

Gratitude comes with this instruction manual: It reads, "WARNING: 1 Thessalonians 5:18: "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Even when we feel like God's left us out to dry we should, that's right, be thankful. When our day has been so humdrum we want to indulge in a little Housewives of Beverly Hills for a little comparative therapy? Yup — it's time for a little Attitude of Gratitude.

Our Gratitude Bonus Tool looks like lip gloss. Maybe like this little blast from ye old past:

You have to keep applying it throughout the day if you want it to have avoid the parched, sucking on lemons, shriveling, Maloof Hoof lip look.

I just applied a thick coat of Gratitude and I already feel better. Thank you God for keeping everyone I love safe today. Thank you for giving me a job that I can manage and makes me happy. Thank you for my family who is well enough to eat my crock pot cooking. Thank you for the dogs who keep me warm at night. Thank you for making it possible for me to run in 30-degree weather. Thank you for peace this day when so many others can't find it.

What are you thankful for today?

March 3

For Today's Forward Day by Day readings, click here.

Well, we've just about finished looking at all the tools in the complete set God has packed for us in our bags. Our complete set includes the following items:

Peace — Plug
Gentleness — Kid Gloves
Love — A Wet Blanket
Goodness — A Golden Halo
Kindness — A Lei
Faith — A Thor-Like Hammer
Self-Control — Handcuffs/Blindfold (not the 50 Shades of Grey kind, right?)
Joy — Rice

The only one we have left to inspect is Patience. And you will have to practice it by waiting until tomorrow for a good description of this tool.

Mean, right? Truth is, I'm having trouble thinking of a good visual for Patience. Patience has so many facets — its instructions require the user to embrace the present, to be grateful in every circumstance and to put full trust in God's plan. Patience requires nothing of the user except to wait. The user of Patience  must be content to pause planning and doing and acting. Patience has no time for efficiencies or expectations or forward movement. Patience has no concept of the user's timing.

Now I ask you, what the heck kind of tool does that look like?

My first thought was finger-cuffs. Chinese finger cuffs.

If you have children, or were a child once, you know exactly what I'm talking about. They're those basket-weave tubes kids get at birthday parties. If you stick a finger in either side and pull as hard as you can, the thing gets really tight. Like, panicky tight. That makes you want to pull your fingers out even harder. But the harder you yank, the bigger the squeeze. The only way to remove your fingers is to relax, relent, and push your fingers together ever so gently.

But that doesn't capture the full extent of the Patience tool.

I also considered the Proton Stream tool from the movie, Ghostbusters. (here again, I remind you that this writer is an 80s sci-fi nerd) Perhaps Patience is like the electricity producing gun that captures wayward spirits and lowers them into the open Ghost Box below. But that doesn't really nail it either. It's all something you'd have to point at yourself, which wouldn't be altogether impossible...but could be challenging.

I guess the theme that emerges here with the tool of Patience is the feeling being trapped...but in the best way possible. Patience teaches us to be trapped by God's perfect plan for us. It requires us to sit still, to stop pulling with all our might, to get wrapped up in God's laser love and get lowered into a box where we shut up, sit and wait for God's perfect next step for us.

Next time you feel like pulling harder, or pushing forward with all your might, or striking back with angry words or exhibiting frustration, get your Proton Beam Finger Cuffs out and laser yourself into a place for safe keeping and waiting.

March 2

For Today's Forward Day by Day readings, click here.

Happy Saturday! The weekend is a great time to talk about one of the happiest little tools in our set: Joy. It has a short name. It doesn't take long to say. It even sounds perky when you say it. But this tool is nothing short — of amazing.

Today I am doing something I haven't enjoyed for a long time: I'm joining three friends to play a gig. We're playing prelude, processional and recessional music for a small wedding. I used to tote my cello around and play holiday parties and such during high school. I didn't do it as much in college because I realized it was much more fun to ATTEND the holiday parties and the ones through the school year. So it's been awhile. I'm actually excited about it, and I'm not sure whether I'm most happy to play the music or to see a couple get married — we have fallen off the wedding circuit during the past few decades as well.

Weddings embody joy. There's nothing sad about them. It's a celebration of commitment, new beginnings and love. Pure joy. Music is the same way, I think. But playing music is the act of expressing joy. Psalmists write of singing and making music and dancing throughout the book. In fact, there's one in today's reading: Psalm 27: 9: "Therefore, I will offer in his dwelling an oblation with sounds of great gladness...I will sing and make music to the Lord."

Bottom line: the tool of Joy reminds me of the rice people throw post-wedding ceremony. I'm sure there's a tradition or reason rice is thrown. And I'm pretty sure it's illegal now...I think it kills birds. Not sure on that though. But on a very surface level, throwing rice is so jubilant and carefree.

Who are you going to throw a little rice on today?

March 1

For Today's Forward Day by Day readings, click here.

Today's tool: Peace. And it couldn't come at a better time. I am now writing this at the tail end of my day, rather than in the morning when I'm fresh and in "my good place." Peace. The thought of it makes we want to do a million yoga ummmms, or take a Calgon bath. Or have some wine (now I'm talkin!). Or a few deep breaths. I think I'll do that now. Wine next, definitely.

If I were to describe Peace in terms of a tool, it would look very much like...a plug. Like this:

Peace's super power is forcing people to drop what they're doing, stop thinking, and plug in. It's only when we do this that Peace begins its mighty work. Once we're good and detained, Peace encourages us to breathe in, breathe out and consider one of the most important, peace-making facts out there. Today's reading from John 5:30 sums up Peace's marching order: "I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me." Peace fights back with a message that all this mayhem we create for ouselves is just that: something we create for ourselves. Real peace comes when we plug in and go with God's flow. His will. Not ours.

Then Peace.

This was my tool for plugging in, circa 1982:

Now it's all I can do to get myself and people around me to UNplug. Still, the thought applies. I like thinking about plugging into God's will. The coolest thing about the Peace tool, however,  is its appearance. Just a coinky-dink? Weird, isn't it?

Plug in. Peace out.