What I’ve Learned From Uphill Battles in the Past

Bill Couchenour | Monday, July 25, 2011

This has been a incredibly difficult economic time in the US. There’s not one of us that, if we haven’t lost a job, doesn’t know a family member or friend that’s become un or underemployed. It has touched us all. And, the truth is, no one knows for sure when or how fast we will rebound. When it does come back no one can be sure what will have changed permanently. What we do know is that, from a business perspective, it’s going to be an uphill battle for a while. I’ve been in some uphill battles before and here’s what I learned:

A) Prayer changes our surroundings: I had one of my most difficult years, personally, in 1995. I had moved my family during some economic uncertainty leaving behind all my business contacts and connections. It was a move that I was convinced God wanted us to do but scary along the way. It was touch and go throughout the year and that kept us close to God in prayer. That December I received the best Christmas gift ever! My brother had kept track of answered prayers from throughout the year a pulled them together into a single file. It was confirmation of how God had been working in very specific ways. That file started a “God folder” of answered prayers I keep in a drawer immediately to my right. God is not a Genie that is there simply to grant our wishes but prayer changes things. (BTW – when people get three wishes from a Genie, why don’t they ask for more wishes when they get to the third wish?)

B) Prayer changes me: – I learned that security outside of God is an illusion. I learned that our circumstances tomorrow are guaranteed by no one but the promises of God for joy, peace and wisdom are true. And, when we let him, he does use all things for our good. I was different, I am different because of prayer during those days.

C) There are 2 ways to live - Fearfully & Frustrated or Purposefully & Prayerfully: Often I am tempted to live fearfully (which usually means I’m trusting in something other than God). When that happens I get frustrated with everything and everyone around me. But I can live Purposefully recognizing the great opportunity/responsibility God has given me to serve. And I can live Prayerfully asking for God’s direction and wisdom and finding his peace and joy. I know the choice is up to me and I choose Purposefully & Prayerfully. I still wake up at 4:00 am from time to time tempted with fear. But, when I do, I use that time to talk as intimately as I know how with God. It’s a choice that becomes easier to make over time.

What do you choose?

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The Qualities of a Life Well Lived

Bill Couchenour | Monday, July 04, 2011

Several weeks ago I was thinking about the qualities of a life well lived. You know, one that has no regrets, is able to be present in the moment and builds a foundation for the future. Here are the attitudes/actions I think (at least my current thinking) produce a life well lived:

1) Prayer (asking and listening so that God may work through me)

2) Focus (Clarity on the broad goals and what they mean to me today/this week)

3) Wisdom (gathering promised divine wisdom as well as the wisdom of counselors)

4) Integrity (everything done with purity and wholeness; words, actions and attitudes line up)

5) Passion (not always expressed emotionally but a gut level connection with God’s purpose for my life)

6) Service (This is the posture God would have me take in my life and work)

7) Faith (a strong belief that God is passionate about my good regardless of what I see at the moment)

Let me be clear, these are what I aspire to, not what I live every day. But I pledge to you that I will, in God’s strength, live these qualities this and every week. If our primary purpose is to bring glory to God, this is probably a good start. But…

…what did I miss?

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Finding cairns, following God

Bill Couchenour | Monday, May 30, 2011

I love the backcountry, especially the mountains. There is something about trekking in remote areas with magnificent scenery that takes your breath away – literally and figuratively. But roaming in the backcountry can be dangerous if you’re not familiar with route-finding. The path can become obscured over rock, glaciers and other barren areas. To mark the way in those areas cairns are erected. Cairns are simply rocks carefully piled to form a marker. These markers have been used since ancient times to assist travelers or to signal special places.

The challenge is that, if you’re not familiar with spotting cairns, it’s easy to get lost. The cairns are made from indigenous rocks so they blend in to the surroundings. It’s easy to walk right past one if you don’t know what you’re looking for. (Can you find the cairn in the picture above?) In some places you can be completely lost after missing just one cairn. Yet, when you find one, you know it’s a cairn because you it’s clearly something someone intentionally erected.

I think that’s a little like what it is to follow God. He tends not to use neon signs or flashing lights. He has used writing on the wall in the past and even a talking donkey but, in my experience, his leading is much more subtle. The signs are indigenous so if I’m not paying attention I can walk right past them and even off a cliff. Prayer – listening prayer – seems vital for finding God’s cairns. I suppose that writing on the wall would make it easier but it wouldn’t do anything for our faith. And isn’t a relationship with God at the heart of why we’re created?

My guess is that there are cairns are all around us. Maybe we miss them because of lack of prayer, practice or the perspective that comes from being in the Bible. We can know that God has called us to join his mission. It is a journey that’s designed to spread love and hope, joy and peace along the way. If you feel like you’re at a place where the path is obscured, look for the cairns.

BTW – The cairn is in the lower left hand part of the picture between the bush and the boulder: