renewable

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We Are More Renewable Than I Realized

There is a big emphasis in society to use renewable energy rather than just consumable energy. 

More Renewable Than I realized

The other day I realized that we humans are maybe the greatest source of renewable energy.

The idea of the energizer bunny that keeps going and going is a nice thought … good advertising gimmick, but it’s limited. They would like you to think that he never runs out of energy – or batteries, that is – but we know that batteries do wear down. 

If they are rechargeable batteries, however, they can renew and be used again and again and again. Still, they need a time out on the charger to keep going.

… Have you ever thought of how little down time you need to be renewed enough to keep going? 

I was playing hockey last week and we only had one sub. I went off the ice to take a break, but another guy needed to come to the bench no more than 30 seconds after I sat down. 

I didn’t hesitate to get back out there. Even a 30 second rest renewed my energy enough for another shift. 

There is no battery in the world that can renew or refresh that quickly!

But it’s not just physically that humans are incredibly renewable. 

Yesterday I was writing my sermon and around 2 pm I hit a wall. I was tired mentally, had trouble focussing, and found myself being distracted by little things. Even more than that, I was looking for something to distract me so that I didn’t have to keep working on my sermon. 

I decided to take a break. I sat and read something that had nothing to do with my sermon or the subject I was going to speak on. I answered emails. I even got sidetracked on a YouTube video that I subscribe to. 

When I looked at my watch, I realized a lot of time had passed. It was now late in the afternoon and it didn’t look like I would be able to finish my sermon.

I would have to work on it on Saturday … and I hate having to write my sermon on Saturday. 

I had just a little time left before I had to go to an appointment, so I thought I might as well see if I could get a little more of my sermon knocked off.

I began writing again, and thoughts started coming; I started typing fast. I felt refreshed and inspired as I wrote against a deadline. 

I still shake my head a little because, although I ended up being a little late to my next appointment, I actually finished writing my sermon. That break that I took from writing in the middle of the afternoon renewed my energy. 

Human energy is extremely renewable. 

Here’s the thing: As renewable as we are, we don’t compare to God in this way. God is with us all the time. He is always working; He never takes a break. God never needs a break. There is never a time when His energy is low, or that He is not able to give to you His complete fullness.  God is also the source of energy, so when we need to renew and refresh, we can be charged by Him. Think about each day plugging into God to supply you fully, renewing your energy every day. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you seek being renewed by God? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Managing Your Energy Levels

Lately I’ve been thinking about how to best assess and manage my energy levels. … I should have been looking into this before now, but I guess it’s better that I do some research now than not at all. 

We need energy to do anything. And it seems like today almost everything requires some kind of energy to be useful.

Now-a-days we have more and more things that require renewable energy rather than constant energy. 

… Just so we’re all on the same page, when I say “renewable energy”, I’m talking about battery powered items – items that require batteries that must be charged when they are depleted as opposed to something that must be plugged into a constant energy source to function.

We humans run on renewable energy. We need to rest, and when we‘ve had enough rest we are ready to go again.

The problem with renewable energy is knowing when we need to renew it before it runs out. Otherwise, we may find we go to use an item and it doesn’t have enough energy in it to do what we want it to do. 

My watch does that sometimes. It can be 9 pm yet it doesn’t have enough energy to keep working until I’m ready to go to bed. 

They ran into the same problem on the Star Trek TV show. Captain Kirk would call down to Scotty in the engine room for more power. Scotty would yell back, “I’m givin’ her all she’s got. We don’t have enough energy to go into warp speed.” 

Sometimes it can be a quick fix when an item’s energy is low – you just slap in a new battery. 

I have several tools that all work with the same batteries. And since I have several batteries, I never worry if I’m using my grass trimmer and the battery dies. I just slap in one of my other batteries and keep on going. 

Some batteries come with indicators to how much energy is left in them – that’s helpful. 

I remember Duracell once had battery indicators on their double A batteries. You would press on two points with your fingers. There was a yellow line that would grow along the side of the battery. How long the line would end up was depending on how much energy was left in the battery. 

But sometimes I wasn’t sure it was measuring the energy in the battery or the energy I was employing to get that little line to reach the other side. My fingers were always sore after those tests.

Sometimes you can tell when your own energy is getting low. You feel it; you get tired and don’t function at your best. Measuring and knowing your energy level is pretty important when you are dealing with renewable energy. 

And as we get older, our energy levels are going to change. My energy is not going to last as long in my 60’s as it did when I was in my 40’s. 

So knowing how to assess and manage my energy levels is  something I need to investigate …before I run out of energy to do it! 

Here’s the thing: God never runs out of energy; He is a constant source of energy. When you are low, no matter in what area of your life, you can plug into God and find a power source to get recharged. Have you ever considered spending time with God for this purpose, that your time with Him recharges you? It does when you fully engage. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you manage your energy levels? Leave a comment below.