Marbles Theory Safeguards

Part 2:

I encourage you to build safeguards.

Each of us has to look in he mirror and find strengths that will keep out weaknesses in check.

Clint Eastwood played Dirty Harry in one of his early movies. One of his most famous lines he spoke was, "Every man must know his limitations".

My point is this, keep your finger on your pulse to insure your life is healthy and not running out of control.

If it gets out of control, it will rob you of peace, joy, and quality of life. You will find yourself settling and surviving.

So what are some safeguards that I keep close at hand?
And these are in no particular order so don't try to read into the priority of listing.

#1. My highly intelligent wife knows me better than I know myself. I cherish her insight, counsel, and warnings. So find someone that knows you intimately, that will be honest with you, and that you will heed their advice.

#2. Never ever miss a day of Bible reading and prayer. More on this later. Just remember, if you are too busy for God -- then you are too busy and are out of marbles.

#3. Watch for a lack of joy. When the phone rings and my shoulder slump because I am tired and have little to offer -- I am running out of marbles.

#4. When your feel like others are living full and happy lives while you are cursed to function in survival mode, you ran out of marbles long ago.

#5. When you feel you are expending your best marbles on other peoples priorities and feel frustrated that you only have dregs left for things you are passionate about.... You are out of marbles.

I could do this for hours but I wanted to give you a couple words of encouragement.

#1. Journal. Not journal that it is raining and you went to the store. Journal (write out something you are struggling with) because the process needed to move a thought from your brain to your keyboard -- strains off the toxic emotions that distort and embitter you. Writing it down is an important step in shining light on the problem

#2. Friends. If you surround yourself with negative toxic lazy people, they will steal your marbles. I find it interesting that they seldom if ever shoot their own marbles but they will ride your horse until it is exhausted and has nothing else to contribute.

#3. Pray. This is vital and I WILL write a whole blog on this one topic. Prayer does not prepare you for great things -- prayer is the great thing we must do. I believe our power flows through the Holy Spirit and prayer. When you get so busy that you have to start cutting back on your prayer time -- you are out of marbles and in a deficit.

#4. Bible. God wrote you a letter. This letter reveals who He is to us. WHY? Because Almighty God wants you to KNOW Him. 1 John 5:13, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."
If you don't know God, then you haven't spent enough time reading His letter.

#5. Think. "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he..." Proverb 23:7 and Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Again, this is a topic worthy of its own blog. But the bottom line is, you can program mind to burn up all your best marbles worrying about things that may never happen. Or take the very best that God has given you for His service and push it down into the muck and waste it on nonessential drivel.

On that note I will leave you alone to process and I pray that God uses this to challenge and encourage you.

"Above all else, guard your heart,
   for everything you do flows from it."
Proverbs 4:23

Avoiding Danger

Twice today I was asked an interesting question.

Truth is, it had never crossed my mind until someone mentioned it. Once it was brought to my attention, well, the bell can't be unrung. Sort of like having someone ask you how you got a dent in the side of your car. Until someone pointed it out, you never noticed it. However, once you were aware of it, it is like a sliver in your brain.

The question is this: "How do I keep from becoming emotionally and spiritually
depleted after spending so much time meeting the needs of others?"

Pretty interesting question.

Because our society is built on the premise that: Busyness = Significance

Rather than explore the problem, which everyone is already aware of, I would like to take a couple minutes and talk about my personal "spiritual safeguard system".

I pray that the good Lord will lead you to consider a couple points I have learned. And these points will be used to increase your faith in God.

#1. I listen to God
I know there is much debate and controversy over how and when God speaks.
But I am here to tell you that if you own a Bible, you can hear God speak.
Step #1 is open your Bible.
Step #2 is read your Bible
Step #3 is study your Bible
Step #4 is memorize your Bible
Step #5 is meditate on your Bible
I guarantee if you follow these 5 steps, you will be well on your way to hearing God.
So, exactly what does God's voice sound like? I'm glad you asked:
"And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper." 1 Kings 19:12 NLT

#2. I listen to my wife
The good Lord provided me a wife that is much smarter in some areas than I.
And she is a woman of few words, so when she speaks, I pay attention.
And outside of the good Lord, NO ONE knows me better than Michele.
I believe with all my heart that God designed her with gifts to counsel me.
My point is this, Michele is my first line of defense against burn out.

#3. I listen to my dad
I am guilty of the age old tradition that says, the older you get -- the smarter your dad gets.
For years, I have went to my dad for counsel
and for years, he has calmed me down and
advised me to look at situations rationally and
from God's perspective.

#4. I listen to my Church Elders
Finally, I am blessed with Church Elders that love God
and are devoted to leading a Church that glorifies God.
I choose to submit to their counsel, leadership, and
vision. This serves as a safety net for both me and the
Church. By being accountable to them, I am obeying
Proverbs 15:22, "Plans go wrong for lack of advice;
but many advisors bring success"

I have many other safeguards in place to insure I don't
"burn out" or "go astray" -- but these 4 are my first lines
of defense.

I close this blog with one of my favorite passages:

"He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars and calls them all by name.
How great is our Lord!
His power is absolute!
His understanding is beyond comprehension!"
Psalm 147:3-5 NLT