Fall Break

I'm sitting at my computer this morning in a quiet house. My 13-year-old is off to school but the boys are still in bed. No, nobody's sick. Their school has a week off for Fall Break.

Why have a Fall Break? Why not? After all, why does Spring get to have a break and deprive Fall of the opportunity? It's about halfway through the semester, the leaves have turned colors, and the air is crisp with the changing weather. And it's a long haul ahead until Christmas vacation.

So, in honor of Fall Break, I'm taking a week off, too. A week off from blogging. I still have a mostly-full-time job workload to finish this week. Not to mention the usual household duties, but I hope to use any free time I glean to build relationships and recharge my batteries.

What about you? If you had a week off for Fall Break, what would you do?

Football Friday - Believing Your Press

One thing I've noticed, now that my husband is a part of football at the college level, is that there is at least one newspaper article covering some aspect of the team every day. Every day. Not to mention the numerous radio and television reporters and commentators with their pre-game, game, and post-game coverage. Add in the mid-week coach's show and daily sports talk radio.

That's a lot of press. And a lot of chances, as a player, to see or hear your name mentioned.

Leading to today's dilemma. Is everything the press says accurate? No. They've been known to make the occasional mistake or misquote. Is everything they say flattering? Usually not! But suppose for a moment that it was. Would an all-positive press report be truly accurate?

The bottom line is that we all hear good and bad things about ourselves. The tricky part is learning what press to believe. All good and I risk an inflated ego. All bad and I wallow in self-pity.

The real truth lies somewhere in between. I do some stuff well and drop the ball when it comes to other things. Some days I'm a patient mother. And other days? Not so much. By listening to the good and bad -- the praise and the criticism -- I can identify areas for improvement and receive encouragement for the journey ahead. After all, we all need a few tidbits of praise to keep us going on the tough days.

What about you? What has the press been saying lately about you? Which variety do you tend to believe? How much credibility do you give the critics?

B is For Breathing

Did you know that I briefly considered pursuing a medical profession like nursing? In high school, I had a wide variety of interests ... and ultimately decided to go into Elementary Education because I could teach a bunch of subjects.

But the remnants of curiosity remain. So, when I started reading Breathing Grace, by Dr. Harry Kraus, my overactive imagination easily pictured the emergency scene when a patient experiences a spinal cord injury severe enough to paralyze the diaphragm. Under normal conditions, this muscle pushes down on the stomach and other guts, lowering the pressure in the chest region and causing air to rush into the lungs. If the diaphragm is paralyzed, air isn't pushed in and out and the patient needs an external machine to help.

The airway may be free of obstructions, but the patient must be able to move the air in and out. Hence, the second letter of the ER priorities - B is for breathing.

Last week, we looked at the importance of keeping the grace-way open by acknowledging our need. Today, we move on the next step in restoring the flow of God's grace into our lives.

B is for Believing the Gospel.

The Scriptures clearly teach that we are saved by believing. By faith. Period. (See John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-9) However, we also continue to walk the walk ... by faith. By putting our beliefs into action. Or, as James wrote, "I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:18b) Faith in action yields fruit.

So, while I have to put aside my pride and acknowledge that I can't do life by myself, I also have to look outside myself for the solution. I must believe. I choose to believe the promises and the good news found in the Bible. I look to Christ ... and then act on it.

What about you? Is there a difference between believing and acting on it? What does belief in action look like?

Scrambled Brains

. . . And I'm not talking about that disgusting-sounding dish my mother tells of eating as a child. (Pictured for your benefit.)

I'm talking about the brains between my ears. The ones trying to juggle the ongoing stress of getting all the kids to and from their school activities and sports with the necessary equipment while maintaining a semi-sanitary home, keeping the laundry baskets nearly empty, providing semi-nutritious meals, and refereeing the constant whining and fighting. I knew it would be hard single-parenting while my husband coaches football at the college level this fall. That's why I cut back on several other commitments this fall like leading a Bible study and singing in the choir.

But, these same brains are also required to read, process, and summarize thousands of pages of legal depositions on tight deadlines. (Not to mention watching my personal writing goals fall by the wayside.)

In the way-too-brief lulls in the action, I can hear the szzt...szzt...szzt of neurons misfiring and signals getting crossed. I can almost imagine the sparks flying as the connections short-circuit. At night, I wonder if what's left of my brains might be in danger of leaking out my ear.

So, my question to you. How does one un-scramble brains?

Lots of prayer? Followed by a nap? Send the kids to Grandma's house? Take a day off from work? Meet a friend for lunch? Set up rewards? Do a brainless, repetitive task like putting together a puzzle or crocheting an afghan? Have a "Come-to-Jesus" meeting with the kids and divide up the chores ... again?

What about you? Have you ever felt mentally scrambled? How did you sort things out? (Or at least, how did you try?)

Football Friday - Picking Your Fantasy Team

My husband and son are part of several (free) online fantasy football contests. Every week they check up on their chosen players, bench the injured ones, and occasionally trade a few out for someone with better on-field statistics. Then, every weekend they follow the sports news to see how their teams did.

How did they pick the players on their team? By carefully analyzing past performance and health histories. Are they coming off an injury or are they strong? Are they getting most of the carries on their team or are they sharing the load with a group of running backs? How strong is their schedule this season? Will they be playing outside in Chicago or inside a dome in Minnesota?

After juggling the variables and adjusting for the fictional salary cap (in a few games), they lock in their selections for the week. And hope that collectively the team comes through with a good game.

What about life? I'm part of several teams. My family at home. The company I work for. Writing critique groups. Each member of the team has strengths and weaknesses that affect their particular responsibilities. Hopefully, we balance each other out.

For example, I'm the organized one in our marriage, so I keep track of the family calendar, finances, and taxes while my husband's frugality keeps me accountable in the spending department. I'm horrible (but getting better) at punctuation and grammar rules, so I rely on a couple of my critique partners to catch my blunders. I read fast with good comprehension, so my boss sends me the largest cases because I can get them done quickly while others can glean full reports from minimal information.

So, here are a few questions to consider as you pick your real-life fantasy teams:

Who's on your team? Or who do you want on your team? And why? Do you seek after people because of their contributions? Their consistency? Their ability to push through the hard times by your side? Their willingness to go the extra mile? Or do you end up on teams with people who are takers, whiners, and easily injured?

And, perhaps most importantly, if given the choice, would your teammates pick you?

A is for Airway

The first priority in the emergency room is to secure access for oxygen. ER doctors are taught the A-B-C acronym to prioritize their actions and A is for airway. Being surrounded by air doesn't help the patient whose throat is swelling shut unless that breath of life has a way inside. So, the staff takes immediate action to insert a tube and keep that pathway open.

What about me? Am I cut off from the life-giving flow of grace that my soul needs? The first step in the treatment plan is to open up the graceway.

A is for acknowledge your need.

As Dr. Harry Kraus points out in his book, Breathing Grace, pride is the main obstruction to grace. It shuts off the avenue and blinds me to my need. Pride causes me to take control of the steering wheel in life and think I can handle things on my own. Pride leads me to conceal my sin and weaknesses.

Instead, if I recognize my extreme need for God's grace and lay down my pride, then I have re-opened the "airway" for the fountain of God's riches to flow into my life. (And I'm the first to admit that I have to do this daily if not more often!)

What about you? Do you wrestle with pride? Can you think of anything else that cuts us off from the supply of grace?

Tension All the Time

My local writers group, Front Range Christian Fiction Writers, is currently working our way through Donald Maass' book, The Fire In Fiction. And I'm the first to admit that I've been reading ahead. All the way to chapter 8 where he talks about having layers of tension in the story.

Tension all the time.

As a writer, it's a way to keep the reader invested in my characters. Who will win this verbal exchange? Will they achieve their goal? Will they find peace or will they continue to be tormented by that nasty antagonist?

But in real life? I'd LOVE a tension-free day.

I have three kids at home (ages 6, 12 and 13). Factor in the sibling squabbles, homework delays (and excuses), messy rooms, whining, interruptions, and broken rules. Tension? We're full of it.

Not only that, I live in a constant state of tension as my goals and desires stack up against work demands and limited time. Should I work first or write? Scrapbook or watch my favorite TV show? Take a nap or exercise? Edit this or critique that? Or shelve it all and read a book from the to-be-read stack before it teeters off onto the floor?

And underlying it all? The constant longing for heaven. This fallen planet -- full of chronic disease, genetic mutations, and sinful mankind making their own selfish decisions -- is not my home. I hold joint citizenship and this is not my final destination.

Hmmm. Maybe tension all the time is a good thing after all.

What about you? What level of tension do you have? Is there such a thing as "good" tension?

Football Friday - Protecting From Injury

Life, like football, hits hard and so you'd better be protected.

In my book, Pigskin Parables: Reflections of a Football Widow, I spent a chapter comparing football pads and the spiritual armor listed in Ephesians 6. I won't rehash the topic other than to say "PUT IT ON." Salvation, righteousness, truth, peace, and faith will cushion the inevitable blows in life.

But just because a player is wearing all their pads doesn't mean that injuries can't or won't happen.

Take for instance my 12-year-old son. While playing quarterback in a middle school game, he came down on one foot in time for a linebacker to plow into his lower leg. Rolling his ankle and resulting in a severe sprain.

What's the solution? We started off with the tried-and-true "R-I-C-E" method. Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation. And after a weekend of treatment, he could walk semi-normally and jog a little.

Before he returned to practice, he strapped on a pair of ankle braces. For support while he continued to heal. And protection from future ankle-rolling incidents (of which there have been several more opportunities).

In life, no matter how well protected we are, we still get hit. Blindsided. Knocked off our feet. Buried at the bottom of the pile. And beyond the bumps and bruises, we might even get injured in the process.

But we can rehab the injuries in similar ways. Prayer to reduce the inflamation and pain. Rest in the Father's loving arms. Lifting the injury up to let God do the healing. And wrapping the pain in a cocoon of faith that shores up our weaknesses and protects us during the healing process.

What about you? Have you been injured by life's hits? What did your healing process look like?

Like Oxygen Debt

On Monday, I wrote about running long distances and pushing across the finish line. Well, have you ever watched such runners cross the line? A moment of victory followed by a staggering walk, stopping to lean over with hands on their knees, and a gasping for air.

Why? Oxygen debt. The cumulative deficit of oxygen resulting from intense exercise.

Every cell of the body demands oxygen for survival. And when deprived? The body goes into shock. Muscles scream and cramp as lactic acid builds up. The only solution? Extra oxygen intake through deep breathing and rest.

What's that got to do with life? Well, I've just started reading a book called Breathing Grace by Harry Kraus, M.D.. Dr. Kraus is a surgeon who compares grace to oxygen. Consider his subtitle: What you need more than your next breath.

That's right. We need a constant supply of God's grace as much as we need oxygen. And when we turn to other sources instead of grace, our souls begin to experience what he calls gospel debt.

Like the medical field, we can diagnose our gospel debt by asking the tough questions. Am I restless? Am I critical of myself or others? Am I irritated by the needs of others? Am I consumed by outward appearances? Can I do good things without needing to get the credit? Am I indifferent to my sin or justify it? Has political correctness taken priority over obedience? Do I make excuses?

We can also check our vital signs regularly and look for the trends. Because we all have our moments of need. The real question is whether we are living grace-deprived. And if so, what can we do about it.

(Don't worry. We'll take at look at Dr. Kraus' ABC's of Resuscitation next week.)

What about you? Do you suffer from any of these symptoms? Is it a chronic (long-term) or acute (sudden onset) condition? What treatment do you think the doctor will order?

Three-Fourths Of the Way

I used to be a distance runner and later a coach for both track and cross country. In the longer distances, I passed along a mental strategy to help carry my team across the finish line.

Advice like no jackrabbit starts. Don't go out too fast or you can't maintain the pace and will fall back. Keep a steady pace on target with your goals. Push up the hills and use the downhills for recovery without slowing down. And at the three-quarters mark, put yourself into position for a strong finish. Start picking off the competition, close the distance, and pick up the pace. Get ready for the final kick.

What's that got to do with me? We are three-quarters of the way through 2010 and it's a good time to re-evaluate how far I've come and to put myself into position to finish the year strong.

For example, one of my goals at the beginning of the year was to pay down a debt of $6000. After about a month of extra hours at work, I began to think I might be able to pay it off by the end of the year. By steadily chipping away at the balance, I actually wrote the final check in August. So, now I'm putting that money into savings instead. A strong finish on the year.

Another example. After years of being behind on my scrapbooks and feeling guilty that my kids can't see how they've grown or relive memories, I set a goal to get caught up (or at least within 6 months of current events). I started out with only an hour a week, whittling away at my list of events to document. Then I skipped a week. And then another. By summer, I had only added to the pile of pictures to process and had only started on 2008. This fall, I made a plan to attend a monthly "Craft and Crop" work day at our church. I marked my calendar and scheduled other things around it. After two times now, I'm almost halfway through 2009's pictures and on pace to be into 2010's pictures by the end of the year. (At this rate, I might even have time to work on other crafts instead of just scrapbooking in 2011!)

Exercise? I've joined a gym and now work out five days a week.

Writing? I finished the rough draft of the book I wanted to write this year and only have three chapters still to send on to my critique groups. I'm on pace to finish the rewrites by December.

We are three-fourths of the way through the year. How are you doing with your goals? What adjustments will you need to make in order to finish strong? Can you see the finish line or is it still hidden around the bend?

Football Friday - Strategize for Success

One of the things my husband loves about coaching football is the strategic planning. Studying the opponent for tendencies and weaknesses. And designing corresponding play calls to capitalize on that information.

Despite only having a few kinds of plays (run, pass, kick), the team's playbook is filled with endless possibilities and variations. Some are used frequently throughout the game, while others are held for specific situations.

And all must be defended against.

Much of the practice time during the week is devoted to preparing the appropriate response, teaching it in team meetings, and rehearsing it against the scout team. When they do such-and-such, we will do such-and-such. Over and over until the time comes to take the field and put the strategy into action.

It's the same in life. But instead of rushes and passes, we face deception and temptation. How will we respond in the heat of battle? With the rehearsed response. And the simpler the better so we can remember it.

I have a basic defensive strategy. Respond in love. Speak the truth. Say "no" to temptation. Honor God in all I say and do. My offensive strategy is simple too. Love God. Love others.

So, when the six-year-old comes tattling because his twelve-year-old brother just tackled him? When I'm leaving the gym after a good workout and drive past a McDonald's with the smell of french fries wafting on the breeze? When I've pushed hard all day to meet work deadlines and my husband asks me to do one more thing?

The secret to strategy is knowing what you may face and having a prepared response.

(Based on Chapter 4 of Pigskin Parables: Reflections of a Football Widow)

What about you? What tendencies and weaknesses do you have in life? How are you defending against the attacks?