plan – Page 2 – John Markum

Unplanned Day Off

Posted on February 4, 2011 by johnmarkum

This week in the Quad Cities, almost everyone was graciously given a free day off of work, school, etc. courtesy of the snow. But for myself, many of our readers, and perhaps yourself, taking an extra day off just puts you behind. And some things must get done every week regardless of what the weather did, who got sick, or what kind of family crisis broke out. I couldn’t show up this Saturday for The Awakening and apologize for not having a message to preach since I couldn’t get into my office because of the snow. That’s just not good enough, and chances are that you have your own high demands that don’t take vacation days, sick days, or snow days. So to stay on target, you and I must have a plan for these unplanned days off. Most likely, your plan will consist of answering a few of the following questions:

What can I do from home? Obviously this depends on your resources since you’re not in your typical work place. You also have to manage distractions, and the fact that you should take some of the time to recuperate (especially if your unplanned day off is because you’re sick).
What can wait? Maybe some things can get postponed this week.
When can I make it up? Perhaps you go in early the next day. Or stay late. Or both.
Where can I cram? Maybe you take 2 hours preparing a certain report. This week you can get it done in 1 hour. Maybe not your most careful work, but it will pass this week.
What can I delegate? Your friend covers your shift this week and you get him back next time.
What can get skipped? Some things may be possible and necessary to skip altogether. If that’s the case though, you kind of have to ask, “Why do I do this any week?!?”

Hope you had a fun snow day and that no one got hurt out on the roads.

Blessings,

John

Can you see it?

Posted on January 9, 2011 by johnmarkum

Have you ever seen one of those “Magic Eye” pictures? They look like a bunch of textures and colors but seem to otherwise have no rhymn or reason to them. It looks kind of like a big mess on the surface. Once you’ve learned to see “into” the picture you figure out how it works and you can see that there is a design to the mess all along. Here, try this one. Different people have different ways of adjusting their eyes to see it, but it all boils down to depth perseption. Try to look about 3 feet past the screen:

If you can see a shark, then you figured it out! Now right now some of you are mad, cause you’ve tried but you can never make these things work for you. You can’t seem to find the trick to seeing what everyone else is seeing.

God’s word brings my life into focus. On the surface, my life is full of textures and colors and looks like some kind of big abstract mess. But through God’s Word I can see that “All thing work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” God’s Word gives me the advantage to see things from a different perspective, God’s perspective. And only then can I truly embrace the circumstances that God brings my way that look like a big mess on the surface level. Hidden inside all of my pain, failures, disappointments, hopes, dreams, and ambitions, is a masterpiece that is breath-taking, but only from the proper vantage point.

Are you getting frustrated because you haven’t seen anything of “masterpiece” quality in your life? Are your current predicaments making you think that your life is a big mess? Then spend some regular time in God’s Word and learn to see things from a better perspective.

The masterpiece that God is putting together in your life, has been there all along. You just have to learn to see it from His perspective.

Blessings,

John

B90X: Day 4

Posted on January 4, 2011 by johnmarkum

So after 4 days into reading the entire Bible in 90 days, I have finished reading the book of Genesis. The perspective that you gain from reading larger portions of Scripture at a time is unique. Whereas reading smaller portions enables you to dissect verses in greater detail, reading 11 – 16 chapter in a day tends to reveal trends, plots, and the bigger picture. Here are some of the observations I had to share after getting through the first book of the Bible:

Satan is a liar. In Genesis 3:4, Satan in the form of a snake, says to Eve, “Surely, you will not die!” The next several chapters include the genealogies of the first humans, each ending with the statement, “and then they died.”
Sin is serious. God killed a calf to make tunics for Adam and Eve after they ate the fruit and tried to hide from God. God shed the first blood. It must have been a ghastly sight for Adam and Eve. Some have the same view of the cross. “How terrible! Surely God could forgive mankind in some less drastic way!” As commentator, John Phillips says, “A radical disease, calls for a radical cure.”
God keeps His promises. Even when it may look doubtful from our perspective. One of my favorite lines throughout Genesis, and the whole Old Testament for that matter, is “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” God is essentially saying, “I know the promises I have made, and I will do good on them.” He doesn’t break His word, and He doesn’t break promises. Embrace it.
God is faithful,… period. Adam and Eve disobeyed – God promised redemption. Cain committed the first murder – God pardoned. Abraham lied (twice) about His wife – God protected her. He later took her bad advice and took a mistress in order to get a son – God still provided the son of promise through Sarah. Jacob committed the first identity theft – God gave Him a new, true identity. Jacob’s sons threw their little brother into slavery and told their father that he died – God used Joseph to save the lives of his brothers and theig families. God’s faithfulness is, likely, the only consistent theme in Scripture… that, and man’s unfaithulness.

Tomorrow I begin digging into Exodus, although I might take the time and get a little ahead tonight… we’ll see. Regardless, if you are looking into reading the Bible this year, you can find a reading plan that fits you here.

Blessings,

John