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We All need A Fresh Dose of Inspiration

Sometimes a break from old habits can be a refreshing change that leads to new inspiration.

This morning I am writing my blog from our deck. The sun is shining and there’s a slight breeze causing our Canadian flag to do a little dance in the air. 

I don’t normally write my blog from here. Usually I write in our basement, stretching out on our chaise lounge with minimal lighting overhead.

I think our seasons naturally provide that same sense of new inspiration four times a year.  

It’s the change in temperature, scenery, even smells that create a freshness about each new season. But once the season is well established, we lose inspiration and settle for the comfort of familiarity … like hearing an old tune on the radio that stirs your memories and warms your heart. 

But there is still nothing like a fresh sense of inspiration to change things up.

From fall to summer, the small group I’m in meets on the same night in the same home. We’ve been doing that for several years now.  

The other day we decided to get together one more time before we broke for the summer. The original plan was to have a potluck at the home we normally meet in. It would have been great. 

But a day before we were to meet, one family suggested we meet at their home on the lake,  on Sunday afternoon and evening for a BBQ.

That’s what we did. We enjoyed the peaceful presence of cottage life for a few hours. We went for a boat ride around the lake, and I got to take the sea doo for a spin. It was the first time I used my boating license since I got it two years ago.

After dinner we roasted marshmallows over the fire and sat around talking.

We need those fresh touches of inspiration from time to time. In some instances they come along seemingly by accident or just perfect timing. At other times fresh inspiration must be planned for, arrangements set, decisions made – like my decision to write my blog this morning on the deck. It took some thought because when I had finished my devotions, I had certainly planned on writing from the cave as usual.

But there was something about the sun outside the kitchen patio window that was calling me … something about breaking out of my normal routine. 

The end result is that, once I committed to it, I had new inspiration to write this piece. 

You may not be able to tell that this post is any different from other posts I’ve written, but I know from where this article has emerged – from some new inspiration.

I certainly can’t write my blog outside on the deck in the middle of winter, but I also don’t have to write it all year long on a couch in a climate controlled environment.

Sometimes the best thing to do is to find some new inspiration.

Here’s the thing: Maybe you need some new inspiration with God. Is your relationship getting a little stale? You talk to Him but don’t feel like your are hearing back from Him? You don’t have the same passion or desire to spend time with Him every day? Things have gotten comfortable, even a little stale?… It’s time for some new inspiration. Find a new place to meet with God. Go outside; talk to Him in a new way; ask Him a question and don’t just go on talking; wait for Him to give you an answer. Find some new inspiration and enjoy a renewed, refreshed relationship with Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Where will you find some new inspiration this week? Leave your comments below

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Real Time Adjustments Keep Life Enjoyable

I’ve been thinking lately about my body, and how it has changed since I started taking medication. It’s been three and a half years of swallowing foreign substances and I figure that will continue the rest of my life.

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I realize that I need to take the concoction of pills I down every morning. They are helping my body – at least they better be helping!

I never took medication until I was 56. I used to like filling out medical forms and checking “no” beside all the questions. I very rarely took even an aspirin.

But the other day at the dentist’s office, the hygienist was updating my file. She asked if I was taking any medications; my response was, “Oh ya; I sure am”.

Compared to many people, I don’t take that much, but to me, I feel like I’m taking a ton. It’s four pills a day, but I like to call it 3 1/2 because I got my doctor to reduce one pill in half.

For all the good these little formed chemicals do for me, there are a few drawbacks. One of them is with my muscles.

When I play sports – especially hockey – I feel that the circulation in my legs and feet is restricted. It was really bad at first. I couldn’t skate for more than a minute without feeling like I needed to sit down and allow the blood to flow through my veins again.

When I mentioned it to my doctor, he looked at me like I was making it all up, but told me to take a break from one of the pills for a week and see what happened.

That week I had no symptoms at all; it was great. I concluded from that experiment that it was my cholesterol pill that was creating the problem.

When I went back on that pill the symptoms didn’t return as strongly as before. I began to notice that how tight my equipment or my skates were made a real difference to how I felt on the ice.

So I didn’t tie my skates as tight, and I was gentler when it came to wrapping shin guard tape around my pads. It made a significant difference.

But this year my feet are in great pain when I come off the ice. I can’t sit down they hurt so much. But I noticed that about halfway through the game my feet stop hurting.

I’m realizing my skates naturally give a little the longer I am in them. Possibly what’s happening is that my skates get looser.

So, for the next outing, I won’t tie my skates as tight and see how that feels.

It’s little adjustments that I find I have to make to keep me doing the same things I’ve been doing and not give up on some of the things I like in life.

Here’s the thing: As natural as it is for us to have to make adjustments for our bodies as time goes on, in order to keep doing things that are meaningful to us, we also have to make adjustments to our time with God as life stages and circumstances change. These adjustments are necessary to keep us having a meaningful time with God. Don’t give up or hope to get back to God later. Make adjustments now and keep your relationship with Him fresh and enjoyable.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What adjustments to your quiet time with God have you made in the past year? Leave your comment below.