One of “those” days

Clarity in the midst of Story.
As the saying goes "some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield." Anything happen, events or circumstances,  in the last week or so that really just didn't make sense?  And we really, really need 'our stuff' to make sense.  As a matter of fact – don’t we need everything  to make sense?  But everything does not and 'my stuff' does not  – because it is Story!

I think I can help.  Not every answer to every issue every moment – that’s not help that is hype.  But let me offer perhaps some better questions and begin some dialogue with you.

My motive: multiply Truth by eliminating error; strive to reflect Grace; be a Fountain not a drain.

I love my wife Kathy.  In a recent ‘nesting binge’, she replaced a picture in our home that was the first thing you see when you came through the door.  Totally changed the room – partly because of the picture – but maybe even more so because of the picture frame.  Dark, rich wood frame that just absolutely sets this picture alive.  Waycool!  More expensive than a hairy legged recovering redneck like me would have hung in his ‘cave’ – but still Waycool!

Point is: what kind of ‘frame’ is around the last week, last months, or even the last season of events and circumstances? Whom have you allowed to influence the frame?   Ever tried this one simple thing; think about what you are thinking about?  
A very popular author puts it this way: "You gotta be careful with that thinkin thing..because, a lot of people don’t understand, you can’t always believe what you think”! Andy Andrews

Ever heard or thought something like this: "I live for the weekends" or "TGIF"?  In my oh so humble, but ever so accurate opinion, way too many days are written off just because of how close they are to Friday-Saturday. Well, 20ClearDays was inspired by my favorite author - John Eldredge (read an excerpt here)

The lack of Clarity is why I am writing.  Our lives comprise a story made up of events, seasons and times summed together. At any given moment or season, our life story may seem to have about as much clarity as your average legal document! Or maybe it is as simple as one of those mornings just prior to dawn where your mind is telling you “it should be getting lighter” but it is not. But what are we supposed to do with darkness? It is in my story, how about yours? Seasons? Weeks and/or months? Maybe your story stopped being simple and started to hurt. Perhaps a dark time of tragedy, a cancer screen/scan where they say “we need you to come back in”, or maybe a deeply personal soul wound you’ve suffered.

I promise not to leave us there but for just a moment I need you to do something. Reach back into your own personal history and grab one of those emptiness-and-confusion-invoking times of darkness. The kind of “inky black” darkness that penetrates deeper than perhaps you want to remember right now – but try. Where you not only see nothing but darkness – but one where you can actually literally feel the dark. That’s where I need you to go for just a moment. Here's why we are doing this. Logic starts to lose. The withering assault of emotions stored in the vault of our soul begins to shake our very spirit to the core. We are left with “Why is it so dark”?

The Power of Light.  Recent stories from our nations’ war on terror tell us that our most elite soldiers on the battlefield sometimes rely on this kind of ink dark blackness.  So dark that an enemy can’t possibly see them, but, more importantly than it just being dark, the enemy literally feels the dark.  The result: empty; lonely; confused; discouraged; defeated.

Then it happens.  One of our soldiers accidentally scrapes metal against rock.  An ever-so-tiny spark of light is given off.  No big deal, right? Wrong – it is a big deal.  That spark of light could be all it takes to reveal a plan about to unfold; an attack about to be launched; a strategy about to be revealed.

The Desperate Need for Clarity

Twenty clear days a year is probably the most accurate phrase I have found in my 54+ years of life experience to describe one’s average year. A settled, joy-filled abundance of options going on in our lives. Clear choices and a sense of some control. Striving to produce Clarity with our lives while eliminating those things that prevent it. That's what I meant on my home page with the disgusting bug juiced windshield! How have you “framed” your personal history?
What was the reason behind…..
...that relationship that terminated?
...that season that I wished wouldn’t end but did?
...that financial failure or hardship?

To coin my favorite author John Eldredge, “why is life so dang hard?” Read J.Eldredge Excerpt

Clarity in our faith.  Clarity in our finances.  Clarity within our Families.
I think I can help. Tell me your story – and I’ll tell you mine!
Here are some resources.
C