surprised

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I’m Surprised Every Time I’m Asked For More

When I’m asked for my input, I’m always surprised more is expected of me.

I'm surprised every time I'm asked for more

We’ve all heard the statement, “This isn’t what I signed up for.” Usually we make that statement because there is more to be done than we had initially thought.

… Like when a friend asks you to help him move out of his small apartment, in your mind you estimate a quick job, thinking it will be simple. So you agree to help.

But when you get to his apartment, you’re surprised. Nothing has been packed and your friend doesn’t have enough boxes. This means that the truck will not be loaded in a neat uniform, stacking format. Odd shaped individual items will create a haphazard, uneven load … and the move will take twice as long as you thought. 

This type of scenario happens to us repeatedly. And we are surprised every time.

As much as we don’t want it to happen, we can’t seem to learn from the previous experiences.

There have been times when I’ve gotten a phone call asking if I would complete a short survey. They promise it will only take five minutes … but it never does. 

Then they ask you to use only the words they give you to describe your answer. So your answer isn’t really how you feel. You want to answer “fine” but they will only accept “substandard” or “outstanding”. “Fine” doesn’t fit with either of those two options.

What bugs me is I fall for these asks over and over. I’m surprised every time and have to slap myself on the back of the head because I’ve gotten sucked in once again.

Apps are famous for asking us to rate them. They offer 5 stars to pick from. But when you do, they take you to another page with a series of questions they want you to answer.

This week I got an email about a product I purchased from Amazon. I saw the five stars and, like some kid who’s repeated grade 9 math four times, I hit the star of my choosing. Instead of accepting my rating, I was whisked away to a site that not only wanted a star rating but also a title for a review.  

“Great”, I typed. But that was not enough. They wanted a picture of the item … probably a picture of me holding the item with a big smile on my face. 

They also wanted a review of up to 200 characters. Without providing all this information I was not able to submit my rating. 

I spent another two or three minutes trying to get around having to provide all their requirements and finally quit the rating review all together. 

What a waste of time. No one was satisfied. They didn’t get a rating and I spent way too long attempting to give one.

The worst thing is that in six months I’m probably going to get a request to rate another purchase or an app that I used … and I will have forgotten the whole experience, expecting to click on 4 stars out of 5 and be done. 

Here’s the thing: There is more to our life than we realize. When you put your faith in Christ, He accepts you as you are, but He will ask you to grow deeper with Him and it will require more of you. The difference is the more you get to know Christ, the more you trust Him. You will give more of yourself to Him because you want to. Giving to God comes from a desire to enjoy Him more.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What has surprised you lately? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I’m Surprised Every Time I Remember It

If you’ve ever wished you could remember a person’s name or the list of things your spouse asked you to pick up, I’ve found a way to make that happen!

In my last

post (you can read it here), I discussed what I learned about memory from a book I read.

It involves using your long-term memory and your short-term memory to produce a mid-term memory you can use for something specific.

I have been using this method to remember my sermons over the past few months, and no longer feel as tied to my notes when I preach.

It’s like the difference between walking a dog with a fixed leash and walking a dog with an expandable leash.

With the fixed leash, the dog gets pulled back hard when he reaches the end. But on the other leash he can keep going a little farther away and the tug back isn’t as harsh.

Here’s how it all works:

You start with your long-term memory of something familiar. For example, I will use my knowledge of the rooms in my house. I know where all the pieces of furniture are; I don’t have to think about them. I can picture the rooms and know what’s in them.

Then I associate the parts of my sermon with the various pieces of furniture in a room. I use multiple rooms for the different points in my message.

For instance, a verse I want to use will be associated with perhaps a chair in my living room. If I’m telling an illustration or story next, I associate it with the next piece of furniture in that room.

I walk my way around the room in my mind, stopping at each piece of furniture for the next bit of my sermon.

The downside is that it takes a while to assign the different parts of my message to the furniture.

I do that by drawing a square on a piece of paper and then boxes for the various pieces of furniture. I then jot a few things down beside each little box and I review that sheet a few times.

The result for me is I am able to walk away from my notes for large portions of time. I know what’s coming next because I have this hook from my long-term memory.

It’s really worked for me. I’m amazed every week that by doing this, I can remember so much of my sermon.

I can’t explain how it works, it just does.

If you have a grocery list and use this method, you could leave the house without the list and remember what you needed to pick up.

In the book, they suggest you make some crazy, outlandish association with the list items and the object you are connecting it to.

But I have found that, for my purposes, it’s not necessary.

Now I just wish I could remember if I wrote about this memory method before.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes when we have sinned, we question whether God will forgive us. Remember that God’s love for you is locked into His long-term memory; you don’t have to think about that or even question it. He also promised that if we confess our sin, He will forgive us. Apply His long-term memory of love of you, with your short-term confession of sin, and it will produce confidence in your forgiveness.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How would an improved memory help you? Leave your comments below.