The Seeing

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

I have written many posts on this blog about taking risks, exploring unknown places and launching the proverbial boat towards deep waters. And I have meant every word I have written as I feel passionately about not settling for status quo. That being said, I have been thinking a great deal about air travel and the altitudes at which different aircraft fly. And I want to share some thoughts that I have about this in relation to the topic of risk-taking.

Different aircraft are assigned particular altitudes based on a number of factors; direction, distance being flown, and the size of the plane. The ideal altitude for each craft is the one that has them flying most efficiently and thus using less fuel. Passenger jets typically fly between 31,000 and 37,000 feet. Smaller business jets operate up to 45,000 feet. And the Concorde has flown as high as 51,000 impressive feet, a height at which one can often see the curvature of the earth. Air traffic controllers determine when, where, and how high planes will fly based on all of these factors with the goal of getting people where they need to be safely, efficiently and without hurting others in the process.

My point here is that risk for the sake of risk is a life of madness. Risk for the sake of obedience to God is life at it's very best. And risk looks different for each individual. Some will be required, in the tradition of Star Trek, "to boldly go where no man has gone before", to hit the heights of the Concorde. For some, the greatest risk will be to stay the course, cruising at a normal altitude, when running off impulsively is easier. No one can define what is risk for another. Some will see risk and call it irresponsible while others will view a sound decision and say it lacks the vitality of adventure. Only the person taking the next step, in harmony with the heart of God, is capable of making that call. One thing is most certain...we were all created for high adventure, for ardent, technicolor living, and for, as Mark Batterson calls it, "refusing to allow your human responsibilities to get in the way of pursuing the passions God puts in your heart." Technicolor living is the full embrace of your own life, wrapping one arm securely around whatever risks He calls you to take and wrapping the other arm tightly around the beautiful mundaneness of the everyday. The ability to see the heaven and the fire that is right in front of you only happens when you are seeing your life through His eyes. The key is in the seeing.

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Dust Buster

Last night I saw 75-year-old grandma do stand up comedy, a 35-year-old cancer survivor sing opera like an angel and a nine-year-old electric guitar player who made my chin drop. I am NOT a fan of reality television but I caught a few minutes of America's Got Talent last night and I went to bed feeling inspired. The world is full of people who say "you can't" every day. Bruce Wilkinson, author of The Dream Giver, calls these people border bullies. And because most border bullies are well-meaning people who cling faithfully to the obviously attainable, they can be very convincing as they seek to keep dreamers "grounded".

But I love seeing people at least try to go somewhere that others say is impossible. That show may be a vehicle I would not necessarily choose, but I love to see a dreamer step out of the everyday to shoot for an extraordinary moment. I have a teenage son who dreams some pretty big dreams and I am not about to tie his feet to the ground. Someone's son has to grow up to be the rock star...why not mine? The world is full of nay-sayers, and disappointment and circumstances alone will challenge hopes and threaten dreams--why should I stand on my own child's border and ask "why?" when I can shout "why not! "I believe one of my strengths is helping people, my own sons included, to dare to believe they can do whatever they love. There are too many people getting paid to do what they don't love while their passions sit on a shelf and collect dust. And I love to do some dusting and see people really love their lives and pursue their passions!

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Are You Willing To Risk It?

I found this video of a dance tribe forming on Seth's blog this past week. This is a pretty typical group dynamic...once more than a few people join in something, people come in droves to do the very same. But as I watched the first strange man dancing all alone, and in a most bizarre way, I couldn't help but admire his freedom. The truth is, when you act in a way that is different from the norm, people will gawk and laugh and point. Many will feel very uncomfortable with your freedom and your willingness to express it. Others will feel contempt and usually that is because they secretly wish they had that kind of nerve and rather than be challenged by it, they will judge it instead and usually loud enough for others to hear.

Obeying God is just like this video. At times, you are going to look crazy and unstable in all of your ways. It could be that your actions start a revolution and, in time, others will be running to do what you had to work up the nerve to do. But sometimes you will dance alone. It is a risk of obedience. Are you willing to risk it?

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Expect the Unexpected...And Then Laugh

So, I try to write posts with valuable content, offering helpful or at least encouraging information. But I can't be helpful all the time and I really just want you to see how awesome I look on the back of a tow truck.

I made 40 deviled eggs and my husband made a huge dessert to take to a family gathering on the other side of Georgia. We had all of that, our luggage, three boys and one small dog crammed in our little van and we were headed out of town. Until.....
Until our van started running hot, the engine began smelling like waffles, and smoke billowed out from under the hood....miles and miles from civilization. And why not? So that was when the nice police officer pulled over and asked us what was the problem. As if we looked like people who would have any idea what they are looking at when peering under the hood. Puh-lease! The kind officer took pity on us and called a towing service because clearly we were in danger of blowing up our engine. Uh, sure, we were aware of that. It seems that it is illegal to do what you see pictured here, but the four out of five Taylors that would NOT fit in the cab of the tow truck voted and decided walking 30 miles back to town was clearly not an option. I, of course, did what I always do in situations like this....I took pictures and cracked jokes. I made my oldest son jump off the tow truck and take this picture while my husband was inside paying the nice tow truck driver a small fortune. It seems that jumping off of the tow truck once you have been "attached" is frowned upon. Who knew?

Here is a picture of what it looks like to ride down the highway from the bed of a big tow truck. I realize that many of you may never have this important life-altering experience and I feel it is my responsibility to allow you to "see" from this perspective. I do what I can to broaden your scope of experience, people.


















And, finally, here is a picture of two of my little punks enjoying the ride. Okay, they really weren't thrilled about the turn that the day took, but I try to teach them to find fun in any circumstance. Except a root canal. No fun to be had there, my friends.


So that was my exciting weekend. We find out today if we have a cracked radiator or if a resurrection occurred and our van was miraculously healed. A girl can dream...

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Midlife Crisis...On Hold

It occurred to me today that I am middle aged. By definition I suppose that this means I am at the halfway point of my life. If I live to be eighty or more, that is. So I was thinking how I would like to start planning my midlife crisis...you know, lose those extra pounds, drastically change my hair color, buy an expensive sports car (that only seats two) and plan a trip to Europe where I will frivolously roam the English county side, reading poetry and writing the great american novel while I consider if I want to sky dive or bungee jump on my next birthday.

And then it hit me. Even if I were serious I cannot afford my own midlife crises because of this inconvenient recession (or depression or whatever "ession" it really is) and the tiny little fact that we still haven't sold our home in Florida. Not to mention that this recent diversion in our life path has slowed our Dave Ramsey steps to financial freedom so technically, we have a few other goals to reach before I can start my midlife crisis. Not to worry. If, like my grandmother, I live to be ninety-three, then I have approximately six more years to get the party started and begin living recklessly. I hope our house sells soon...there is a black 370 Z with my name on it.

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Crash & Burn? I Don't Think So!!

I have taken a leave of absence from my favorite news channel.  Or any news channel for that matter.  I have had it with all of the doom and gloom.  I have never been a "stick your head in the sand" kind of girl.  I want to know what is going on and stay informed about what is happening in the world around me, but as of late I am on sabbatical from negative hype and this whole "crash and burn" mentality that is the national media.  

I am in the middle of major life changes...career, church, home...heck we are even changing states. We have chosen the seemingly worst time to change careers, try several new ventures, sell a home and move to a new place.  The media would love us to believe that we should all hunker down and freeze everything.  Just hang on until the better times come.  Bull stuff!!  The people that are succeeding in their businesses right now are the ones who are approaching their clients with a positive attitude, encouraging them in their ventures and helping them believe that all is not bleak.  The economy is a cycle and this is just part of it.  The ups and downs, the ebb and flow...these are systems that are not new and what is currently down WILL go back up.  We have to choose to live, grow, take chances and explore new territory regardless of what we see around us.  Walt Disney created a whole magical world by believing in what he couldn't see with his eyes.  And we can do the same if we will dare to be positive and choose to believe.

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Transformed

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"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed."       Carl Jung

When I was a kid, I had my future all figured out.  I was going to be a world-renowned psychologist with many books to my credit and a full speaking tour.  And I was going to do it alone-just me and God.  Growing up I saw very little that drew me to the idea of marriage.  And yet, when I was nineteen, I met Eddie Taylor and in him I knew I had found my home. One year later I married my best friend and today we celebrate twenty years of profound "heaven on earth".  These two decades have been filled with adventure, excitement, peace, passion, love and a little heartache.  Three sons, six fish, two cats and two dogs later, I wouldn't have my life any other way.  God's love has transformed me and His catalyst has been my husband.  I tell him that he is diet coke and I am mentos and that together we are infinitely better and entirely transformed, reaching heights that alone would be impossible.  I love you, Eddie Taylor!  Happy Anniversary.

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Everybody Limbo!!!

I looked up the word limbo in the dictionary and I found the following definitions:  suspended, on hold, up in the air, on the back burner.  This is a good description of what limbo is.  

 The other definition of limbo is the Indian dance in which the dancer bends backwords in order to pass under a horizontal bar that is progressively lowered.  I think this definition is a more accurate picture of what it feels like to be  "in limbo".  You feel like if you bend any further, you might snap in two.  And the fire is a nice touch in this picture.  Nothing like the fear of incineration to help you bend backwards even further.  Funny but there is no one standing around in festive hats clapping for me right now and I am bent way backwards!

 

Limbo is a most unusual "unplace" in which to find yourself.  Have you ever found yourself there for an undetermined amount of time?  How did you cope?

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Risky Business

Following God can be risky business.  Sometimes the thrill of adventure is exhausting and I just want to take a little nap and pretend I'm not hanging out on a limb.  Sloths eat, sleep, and even give birth while hanging from tree limbs and I have never understood that as "hanging" anywhere is not comfortable for me.  But you do get used to the view and you even begin thinking, after a while, that you might just be hugging a small space forever. I reminded myself today that I am not a sloth, but a daughter with a destiny and that this "hanging" is not a permanent condition.  Oftentimes I don't listen well to my own advice.  I am great at giving pep-talks to others but I am not a good listener when I am the only one in the conversation.  This is one of those times when I find myself yelling my own words in my own ears, hoping like crazy that they will penetrate my heart.  I am reminded that when Peter stepped out of the boat onto the water, he was fine until he began looking at what was around him.  Taking your eyes off of the face of God is never a good idea.  Why do our eyes like to wander so?  Why does the heart doubt what the head knows so well?  When will I ever be like my friend, Jesus, who could sleep so peacefully in the middle of a raging storm?  Someday.  Someday.  

If you,too, are finding yourself hanging in an uncomfortable place for an uncomfortable amount of time, just know that you are not alone.  And it is not forever.  And He will never, ever leave you alone.

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The Adventure Continues...

"People cannot discover new lands until they have the courage to lose sight of the shore"--Andre`Gide

Someone said to me recently that she couldn't wait to see where God would throw us next. She said that what she loves about us is that we are "throwable"(this may be a code word for "crazy"...not sure). This is true...we are throwable (certainly crazy) and it seems that God is throwing us back to the great state of Georgia and into the unexpected. We have been in North Florida pastoring a really fantastic church for the past four + years and much to everyone's surprise, He is now taking us into the marketplace. Eddie will be heading up the sales department for the West Georgia Xerox agency, Digital Technology Solutions, which is owned and operated by his sister and brother-in-law in Columbus, Georgia. I will be pouring my energies into getting my writing off the ground, hopefully making it a source of income for me.

I love the breathlessness that comes with following God and chasing dreams. I think He always meant for life to be, at times, adventurous and surprising, like a voyage on a ship in uncharted waters. The explorers of yesterday would have never known the wonder of seeing a strange, new land on the horizon if they had not left the shoreline of the familiar. This certainly doesn't necessarily require a physical move. Sometimes it simply means stepping outside of what is comfortable and well-worn to do something new that pleases God. Most people love pictures of the vastness of a horizon where the sky and the ocean appear to kiss each other but it is another thing entirely to pull your anchor in your own ship and launch out towards the unknown. There is always that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach that comes and goes...it is just part of the process. Someone asked us yesterday what we plan to do if we fail. We told him that we would check our compass and see which direction He was pointing to next. The adventure would continue.

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The Beauty of the Process

Zig Ziglar once said, "What you get by reaching your destination is not nearly as important as what you will become by reaching your destination." Many of us get so caught up in the goal that we miss completely the beauty of the process. The funny thing about that is that the process seldom looks very beautiful up close. It is only in the rear view mirror that we catch a glimpse of how great it really was. I want to fall in love with the process and embrace it for what it is rather than dash through it wanting desperately to see what I get at the end of the race. I don't want to look back on anything and scratch my head trying to remember what happened. All of this "becoming" happens on the road-not at the end of the road. God, help me to see the beauty of the process because it is not what I get that matters at the end of it all, but whether I look more like You.

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Classic Christian

Today is my 25th birthday!! On September 3, 1983, at the tender age of fifteen, I went down to the altar at a Petra concert and prayed with Greg Volz to receive Christ, snot-crying like a little baby and dang glad I wasn't going to be empty anymore. And it has been a "saddle up my horse, what's gonna happen next?, You want me to do what?" adventure ever since! Wow!

I passed by a classic car show not long ago and was shocked to see that some of the cars on the lot were cars that my friends drove in high school. What??!! Eddie was good enough to enlighten me with the revelation knowledge that a car becomes "classic" when it reaches 25 years old. So, I guess that makes me a "classic Christian" today. When I was fifteen I would imagine what I would be like at the place I am now and I remember thinking how wise I would probably be when I got to be old and forty. Silly me. I don't feel so very wise. With each passing year I just grow more thankful that He loves me and more keenly aware of how desperately I need God. Hmmmm. I guess that is wisdom.

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