Contest closed! The winners are Southern Gal, Erin, Darleen, Alicia, and Jolanthe.
I jog on pavement wet from last night’s rain. Water drips from leaves overhead and a cool breeze drifts in from the woods to caress my legs. I follow the trailhead until it hits the greenway, like the stem of a T joining its top.
A glance to the right to make sure I don’t run in front of a bike or a dog walking its owner and then I veer left, following the path my kids’ cross country team took earlier and the woman who crosses before me as I approach the fork.
Since she looks neither 20-something nor in training for a marathon, I challenge myself to match her pace. I’m not a morning person—my name, Dawn, the great irony of my life—but I feel more alive during these early practices than when I sleep later, use folding laundry and cleaning house as forms of procrastination, and then force myself into the mid-morning heat to jog in my neighborhood.
Still, the beginning is the hardest part and I question the wisdom of choosing a wild card runner as my guide.
Before I started running two summers ago, I marveled at the number of devotionals and blog posts which center around it. Now I understand. It’s amazing how life experiences translate into running analogies.
One of our cross country coaches uses a C. S. Lewis quote in her email signature: “If one could run without getting tired I don’t think one would often want to do anything else.” Although I don’t fully agree—I want the satisfaction of a bone-deep exhaustion at the end—it’s no surprise that a gifted writer would also be an avid runner.
In that space where physical exertion and endorphins mingle, thoughts ferment, sentences string smooth, tangles unwind. My husband worked math problems in his head during distance runs in high school.
Mental distractions keep me from focusing on being tired and thirsty. Or wanting to quit. Or the fact that the woman ahead of me doesn’t stop to walk occasionally. Great, I chose to follow the Energizer Bunny.
I wonder if anyone follows me, but to look behind would feel like cheating. If no one’s there, I might be tempted to stop.
After all, it’s easier to push forward when you’ve got an audience.
This woman before me, unaware that she’s my leader, proves to be a good choice. We never know who, if anyone, follows us, who grits her teeth and says, “If she keeps going, I can, too.”
Seek wise examples but remember that human ones may fail. Will fail. Wisdom tell us not to follow a man, but to follow that man’s God.
Pink highlights cover the pages of my copy of Lysa TerKeurst’s new book The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands. It’s full of helpful, memorable ideas, but this one has affected my thoughts since I read it: “We have to put our hearts and our minds in places where wisdom gathers, not scatters.”
What do you think? Where does wisdom gather? Where does it scatter?
I’ve noticed how wisdom gathers when I sit down with Bible and journal, digging for wise words and writing them down, or when my husband and I talk about the future and examine where our choices might lead. But wisdom scatters—no, it’s tossed far and wide—when I get sucked into a debate with a willful and illogical teenager or play a game of Bejeweled Blitz when I’ve got a writing deadline.
Smart decisions can be difficult to make in stressful situations or under pressure. Lysa provides solid processes and practices for discerning your best yeses while saying no with less guilt, freeing you to use your time and resources in the wisest ways.
Saying yes all the time won’t make me Wonder Woman.
It will make me a worn out woman. ~ Lysa TerKeurst
Win one of 5 copies of The Best Yes!
For a chance to win one of 5 copies of The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands
The best YES for me today is to get off the computer and get to work sorting, purging, and organizing the stuff in my studio/room so that I can be ready to roll when the week begins a day late tomorrow. 🙂
The best yes for me today is to close this laptop and head into bible study and scripture memory with my 12yo before the beginning of the day. It’s something I need to say yes to everyday. Thanks for the chance.
I’m heading to his bedroom to wake him up now. 😉
My Best Yes today is actually to get back into my running program that I’ve avoided for a week. Glad you wrote about this to give me the extra push!
The best yes is choosing to workout in the morning even though there is nothing in me that wants to wake up at 5:45. I chose that today and now I need to choose to concentrate on my home and family environment.
Thanks for the giveaway chance.
The best yes for me today is to be led by God and not by fear. Busyness does not equal productivity.
My Best Yes today will be to keep focused and reminded myself they I can’t, but He can!
The best yes for me today is to slow down and really listen and engage with my family. I’m guilty of half-listening and barely hearing what they are saying sometimes. I just need to say yes to giving them my attention.
Made time for Scripture before my run this early morning so I could ponder it while pounding the pavement.
My best yes today is to stop what I am doing, look my son and husband in the eyes and really listen to what they are saying. To let them know I hear them, I care about what matters most to them.
My best yes is to enter this contest so I can follow along with my friends while they do this bible study!
My Best Yes for today is to clean the master bath with a joyful heart so that I can focus on my children the rest of the day without the distraction of all the things I need to get done floating around in my head.
“Seek wise examples but remember that human ones may fail. Will fail. Wisdom tell us not to follow a man, but to follow that man’s God.” Keeping God first, seeking to please Him and not humans is my best choice for today (and beyond). Thanks for your words Dawn.
Today, my best yes is taking time to rest and relax (and not feeling guilty about it), while I stand in awe of God’s beautiful and marvelous world that He has created for us to enjoy. Scripture tells us to “…be still and know that I am God.” Often in all the busyness of life we can miss out on what God wants to reveal to us.
My best “YES” was saying yes to our 2 little boys (foster sons) who needed a home 16 months ago. Our plan was to provide a home for a girl but as always, God had a bigger and better plan!
My best yes was starting my day off with prayer and meditation.
My best yes today is to be fully present for my kids – especially during school time. Not thinking of the next ‘to do’. 🙂
One of my best decisions it to rise early while it is still dark to spend some quiet time with my Lord, delving into His word, digging for hidden treasure. He never disappoints me – He always has a golden nugget for me to add to my collection or shows me another facet of one of the gems in my treasure chest! He is worthy to be praised!
I feel like the Lord has been whispering to me lately about accountability and community. I’m an incredibly private person by nature – a true introvert. I love the idea of community, but sometimes it means stepping outside my comfort zone. I want to honor this calling I’m feeling and work to build more in real life community around the calling the Lord has in my life.