I can’t remember how many times I’ve started working out – again.
Seems like at least once every year.  Sometimes spurred on by a New Year’s resolution.  Other times just by the size of my gut.
OK.  Mostly by the size of my gut.  But that’s beside the point.

I’ve been wanting to start again for a while now.
But I’m full of excuses
Evening won’t work ’cause I won’t be able to sleep.
Morning just won’t work. Period.
I don’t want to take time away from the girls.
I want to spend time with Regina.
I’m too busy with the church.
Blah. blah. blah. blah. blah…

Then, this morning I woke up at 6:15.  I just woke up.  I knew I should go downstairs andwork out.  But I decided to lay back down in bed and work on convincing myself that I should try to sleep.
Didn’t work.Instead,I felt like a wimp.
I don’t like to feel like a wimp.
Ever

I must admit.  There are days when I just don’t feel like coming in to the office.  I’m sure you’ve got those days too.  Days when you just don’t want to do it all over again.

The weekend is never long enough to truly give refreshing.

But especially after a working weekend, it can be increasingly difficult to push through the fog and remember why you do what you do.  So, it’s easy to just pray that God will help you get through.

This morning – still haven’t had my coffee yet, so the fog is still pretty thick – I was reminded of a concept that God pointed out to me a couple weeks ago in my study.  In Nehemiah 4:7-9, one word changed my view of this passage.

AND

You see, Nehemiah and the remnant of Jews were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.  A difficult task in itself.  And they were facing opposition and threats.  But in the middle of this difficulty, in the midst of the fog and confusion and doubt, they redoubled their efforts.  They committed to accomplishing the task that needed to be done.

Verse 9 says, “But we prayed to our God AND guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.”  My emphasis on “AND.”

The remnant building the wall knew that they needed God’s help and blessing.  They knew that God could and would join them in their situation.  But they also knew that they had to do the hard work.  They had to give God the chance to JOIN them.  He can’t join you in completing the task if you haven’t started, if you haven’t dedicated yourself to it first.

AND.

So, today I will pray that God will help me in the midst of the fog.  Help me to see.  Help me to focus.  Help me to overcome and triumph in the daily tasks that lead a step closer to completing the greater calling.

I will pray.  AND.  I will work.  I will redouble my efforts so that He has somewhere to join me.  I will push through the difficulty and into the joy of collaboration with God in His purposes.
What do you need to do so that the AND of prayer will give God the opportunity to join with you?

After a hiatus of well, a long time, recent events have pushed me back into the blogging world.

The need for a space where my thoughts can be expressed with the understanding that they are mine alone.  If you choose to read them, do so at your own peril.

I cannot promise to pull punches.

I simply do not subscribe to political correctness.There are times when the truth hurts.  And it should.

There are also times when controversial statements bring out the best dialogue.  And dialogue can lead to some pretty cool things.
Growth.
Motivation.
Activation of the mind and the will.

Sometimes it’s as though our senses have been dulled.  Or we’re living in the Matrix, needing (but not necessarily wanting) someone to wake us up.
Challenging preconceptions and wrong actions can help serve as the proverbial red pill.

Open up.