Adrenalin Junkie

It’s been a great two weeks taking it easy with the family and being away from the office. I did make one mistake that I hope not to repeat again, which was to preach during my leave! Apart from that though, I have enjoyed the last two weeks. I realize that I live such an adrenalin soaked life that it takes at least that long to slow down and feel relaxed.

It’s so easy to rush through our frantic, fast and noisy world without taking time to refuel, reflect and refocus. Too much to do, too little time, too many meetings, too many responsibilities, too many friends, too many books on the shelf we plan to read. I actually woke up this morning with a start thinking ‘help! There’s soo much to do!’ and had to ask Carol to pray for me. Her peaceful nature has a great slowing down effect on me!

With God's help, I’m determined to keep practicing the following disciplines throughout my life…

Quiet Time – take some time every morning (when I’m not on vacation!) to give my day to God
Sabbath – take a day off each week to rest and relax. For me, that’s Mondays
Retreat – take three 2-night retreats annually to evaluate my life direction and refocus on what’s next
Vacation – take a week off three times a year (every holiday) to build family memories with our kids

In Mat.11.28-30, Jesus made an invitation: ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

When we listen to God, we actually end up doing less not more. But this less is more focused on what we are meant to be doing. Here’s a great mantra for all adrenalin junkies out there: ‘It’s not busyness but effectiveness that counts’.

Blessings

For the first time ever, Mavuno held two services this last Sunday. 9:00 and 12:00. Both went really well! It was great to hear comments from all the morning people at the 9:00 who were so glad they could be at church early and then have the rest of the day to do whatever they want to do. And then later to hear from all the not-so-morning people at the 12:00 who were oh-so-glad they could finally sleep in on a Sunday morning and come to church all relaxed!

Finally, off to the Coast this week with our kids for a much awaited vacation! We enjoyed the drive yesterday; the road’s quite good except for the strip from Daystar to Makindu, which you can evade by going through Machakos. It was the longest road trip we’ve taken so far as a family but we all held up pretty well. We’re staying with some good friends in Mombasa. Looking forward to making some great family memories!

This morning I’m counting my blessings. I thank God for my wife and kids whom I love very much. For our many good friends. For belonging to a great church. For fantastic co-workers at Mavuno. For an opportunity to be a part of what God is doing on our great continent. For the opportunity to take time off once in a while and relax.

There’s an old hymn that says, ‘Count your blessings name them one by one… and it will surprise you what the Lord has done’. Too true!

Issues

Had a really great weekend... Friday night was Mavuno’s first ever Date Night, a fun event designed to bring the spark back to our marriages. And how much fun that was! I won’t quickly forget the near riot when we turned off the music at 11.30pm so people could go home, and people began chanting ‘haki yetu’ (we want our rights!) so that the DJ had to play a few more songs! With marriages under so much pressure today, I’m very excited about this new ministry and look forward to seeing intimate and purposeful marriages in this generation.

Also this Sunday, Carol & I began our new series ‘The Dark Side of Greatness’. It was the first time we were preaching together (although we’ve team taught many times at marriage and family seminars and retreats). Very grateful for the enthusiastic response by people and humbled to see how many resonated with the first message; either cholerics like me or survivors of cholerics like Carol! Several people told me afterwards that they are going to bring their entire office staff to listen to the series (or at least their boss J). It’s been great to read the continuing conversation on the Mavuno blog (mavuno.wordpress.com). I look forward in the weeks to come to exploring together what the bible has to say about the other temperaments.

None of us is perfect, nor should we ever pretend to be. We all have ‘issues’, and as we deal with them, we position ourselves to be the people God created us to be. In acknowledging our weaknesses, we actually become stronger (2Corinthians11:10)! Understanding our temperament as well as how to overcome our dark side can help us become better leaders, employees, friends, spouses and parents. And hopefully, people around us will begin to agree with us when we say, ‘I’m not yet what I’d like to be, but I’m sure not what I used to be!’

Lastly, I like this poem that I found in my file of quotations (author unknown)…

If a child lives with criticism,
He learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility,
He learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule,
He learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame,
He learns to hide.
If a child lives with tolerance,
He learns to be gracious.
If a child lives with encouragement,
He learns to be confident.
If a child lives with praise,
He learns to appreciate others.
If a child lives with fairness,
He learns to be just.
If a child lives with security,
He learns to trust.
If a child lives with healthy discipline,

He learns to have healthy boundaries.
If a child lives with approval,
He learns to love himself and others.

With God’s help, let’s sort out our ‘issues’ so that we don’t pass them on to the next generation!