This week was very good, actually it was great. Great is a relative term, so in comparison to all other weeks in recent memory, the current week stands out as amongst the best. Being a habitual ‘box checker’ (which means that I make a list of items to accomplish and then check them off the list when completed), this week encompassed many boxes that were checked. But the week also had a good feeling to it as well, and some excitement to make it special.
The weather cooperated by staying warm in the daytime to the mid 90’s and cool at night in the 50’s.
We reached some major milestones in the completion of my book, WARRIORS – Every Man Matters. The writing is essentially complete, absent only the table of contents, title page and a few needed Bible quotes. Of course, we are discovering that writing the book is only the beginning of the process; next comes publishing and selling. We also approved the cover design, and received two very good endorsements that we will include the book. (These were some very big boxes to check).
The kids had a good week, (That is code for no one asked for money) so we were relatively stress free on the family front. The kids even checked off items in their own boxes, advancing toward the bottom of the ‘to do’ list.
Finally, to top off Father’s Day weekend, Lea and I borrowed a 2006 Harley Davidson from a friend and went on a ride last night. Today we are riding to Lake Tahoe for lunch. There is nothing like the wind in your face, a blue sky above and your lady holding on tight. Excellent!
Like I said, a great week. So, why can’t all weeks be this great? How did this week turn out so good?
Being a planner, I figure that if I understand the confluence of events that influenced this week to be so great, I can replicate the same factors in future weeks and have a great week all the time. I know, some of you readers are saying, “What about all the things that happen every week that are beyond your control? Stuff we cannot control can screw up a week pretty fast.” You are right, we cannot control much around us; so control what you can, influence where you can, and forget about the rest. We have heard that statement, “not stressing over the things for which we have no control” many times before, the key is actually doing it. These three actions; controlling, influencing and forgetting, are ‘big picture’ ideas that apply to all life situations.
The three actions to having a great week every week are; planning, working, and praying.
Planning and working are two elements that are required to get anything done. Leave one or both out, and the results look like the dorm in the movie, Animal House; it may be fun for a short while, but like the Dean said, “Being fat and stupid is no way to go through life.” The Dean was a bit harsh, but he has a good point. I wasn’t able to check off those accomplishments from my ‘to do’ list without planning what must be done and working hard to get them done. TV’s and sofas (There are five TV’s in our house so I understand the temptation) are the biggest roadblocks to the working part of the equation. A lot of planning gets done on the sofa, but very little work. Just planning to work doesn’t count as actually working either.
Praying is the mortar that holds together the structure of a great week together. Stacking bricks one upon another can make what looks like a wall, but a strong wind, or even someone leaning on it, will cause the wall to fall down. The bricks need the strength and binding agents of the mortar to hold the wall together; its gives the wall the ability to withstand outside, unplanned forces, that would otherwise crumble the best planned stack of bricks. Through prayer, God helps us to focus on the right things to control and influence. God helps us choose the right boxes to check. When we trust in God we let Him control the uncontrollable, so we can concentrate on working on His plans for this week.
Have a great week.
Thanks for reading,
Michael Obermire