Sunday, June 13, 2010

Chores & Comfort

As a child, I had to leave the warm confines of the house with the burning wood stove for the bitter cold outdoors to do chores, consisting of feeding and watering the livestock, cutting wood or other responsibilities Dad placed upon me. The chores often seemed long and tedious.

While outside my finger, toes, and ears became painstakingly cold; some of the worst pain I have endured, at times nearly causing tears. Relief was occasionally found inside the barn, the pick-up with the heater turned on, or on the tractor with a comfort cover blocking the wind while capturing a fraction of the engine’s generated heat.

While completing the outdoor chores in the torturing cold temperatures; my body pleaded for relief. Especially when the hands or feet became wet; amplifying the frigid temperatures. Yet, I remained confident my family membership; and my parents’ continual love. Despite the torture, I knew every evening a delicious hot supper would be on the table and along with a bedroom with a comfortable bed and pillow for sleeping.

Similarly, the Lord sends us out into the world for chores, feeding and caring for his creation. This time frame may be viewed as both as fractions of our earthly life and as our entire earthly life. For this discussion we will view from the perspective of portions of our earthly life. We are tortured, we cry out in pain; only minor temporary relief is found. Yet, we remain confident of our membership in Christ’s family, of our Heavenly Father’s continual love. We know Jesus provides rich, scrumptious, spiritual meals, and physical meals. We know that in the evenings of our earthly days and our life; our precious Savior provides a comfortable place of rest in His loving arms.

When are sent to complete chores in the world for our Lord; finding the environment torturing, know you remain in the Heavenly family, a Child of God, chosen and ordained (John 15) for the tasks at hand. Know Christ’s love for remains eternally strong and pure. When you struggle to find temporarily relief from the torturing environment during your chores that at the end of the task, know our Lord welcomes you back into comfort of His arms, providing nourishment and rest.

The chores may seem long and tedious. Remember Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding.” This reminds me of the last meaningful conversation I had with my dad as he commanded, “Always trust God, remember that son, Trust God always.”

See Christ’s chores, Believe Christ’s power and comfort, Achieve with Christ.

In Christ,

Rick E. Meyer
www.rickemeyer.com

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Altitude & Wisdom

I boarded the plane for a United Airlines flight to Albany, finding my seat next to the window. The view out window on while sitting at the gate offers a limited perspective of the surroundings. Based solely on this view, Chicago’s O’Hare airport possesses about a dozen boarding gates, with limited airplane traffic.

As we taxied to the runway, I was able to a better view seeing dozens of additional gates and airplanes; although the airport’s size still appeared modest at best. I would have been a less than adequate ambassador for O’Hare airport; due to my limited perspective. If someone sought my advice for O’Hare’s capacity; I would have been very confident, and very wrong. A limited perspective provided the foundation of my assessment.

Approximately twenty minutes after boarding, the pilot announced over the intercom, “Flight attendants please prepare for take-off.” The jet engines roared as we zoomed down the long runway; with nature’s law of lift collaborating with the law of gravity our ascension commenced. My perspective increased exponentially with altitude. Quickly, O’Hare’s vastness became apparent.

As our ascension continued the logistics of the entire Chicago landscape became significantly more apparent from the air. After reaching 36,000 feet altitude other cities appeared as a speck on the map, including Detroit and Windsor, Canada. Lake Huron seem not so great; Niagara Falls appeared simply as a ‘nice stream.’ I now had a greater understanding of how everything fit together geographically. With a view from great altitude, I could have answered any geographical question with much greater accuracy than when on the ground.

When asking questions about O’Hare airport, the city of Chicago, or Niagara Falls; would my answers reveal my altitude? A higher altitude, among many things, allows one’s awareness of possibilities to drastically increase.

Would our decision making ability increase in quickness and accuracy if we had ‘altitude’ in life? What is life’s equivalent of altitude? Wisdom provides ‘altitude,’ greater perspective, in life.


Does a person’s answers reveal their ‘altitude,’ their wisdom? Does greater wisdom allow an exponential increase in awareness of possibilities?

Scripture states that if we desire wisdom, we simply must ask and believe. Attain wisdom for greater understanding.

See Christ, Believe Christ, Achieve Wisdom with Christ!

In Christ,


Rick E. Meyer
See, Believe, Achieve Inc.
www.rickemeyer.com

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Oxygen & Lessons

Blood is to Oxygen, as a Story is to a Lesson / Point.

Blood carries oxygen to the muscles, providing fuel for achievement. Stories carry lessons to the mind, providing fuel for achievement.

Is it any wonder, “heartless” people despise stories? The heart pumps oxygen enriched blood to the muscles, the “heart” pumps lesson enriched stories to the mind for wisdom, knowledge and understanding.


The human body is designed for breaths of air to fill the lungs, the lungs filter off the oxygen, releasing it into the blood stream. This is a very simplified explanation. The blood saturates the muscles, carrying and depositing oxygen and nutrients in the appropriate spots. The oxygen is internalized for use. Oxygen allows muscles to grow, improve and achieve. Muscles do operate anaerobically for a short period of time, depending upon conditioning. Most people, the sane ones, would put up a strong fight if someone attempted to inject oxygen directly into their muscles. Direct injection lacks attributes of long term feasibility.


Just as oxygen is most effective when carried to the muscle by the body’s blood; a lesson is most effective when carried to the mind by a story. Stories saturate our mind, depositing the lessons in the appropriate spots. The lesson is internalized for use. These internalized lessons allow us to grow, improve and achieve. Most people, the sane ones, put up strong mental fights if we attempt inject a point directly into mind.

Jesus spoke in parable, stories carrying eternal lessons. Often times, the disciples and others around him failed to initially grasp the parable’s meaning.

Share your lessons with family, peers, and colleagues with stories.

See Christ, Believe Christ, Achieve with Christ!


Rick E. Meyer
www.rickemeyer.com