that which inspires...
What inspires you? Maybe you've never really thought much about it. I think about it when I realize how UN-inspired I am...usually when I'm performing some daily task I don't enjoy. I quickly think of what I can add to the moment to make the task more enjoyable; like turning on some favorite music or lighting a candle with a pleasant scent.
On the grandest level, I am inspired by God, His word,and His creation. Next would be man's greatest writing ,man's greatest music, great film, great moments of heroism, etc. On a much smaller scale I can be inspired by as little a thing as new dish detergent! I LOVE the smell of new bubbly citrus or lavender soap filling a dishpan, preparing itself to take on the dirtiest of pots and pans. I can be inspired by the smell of clean laundry, filtering out into the air from some neighbor's dryer vent. I can be inspired by the bakery smells of the local grocery store too: CAUTION: This inspiration can result in high calorie consumption and the acquisition of unwanted weight.
All in all, inspiration itself is a gift of God. And He is the ultimate inspiration. If I lack motive or desire for doing something that I need to do, I can pray and ask God to help my desires change. Many times He will answer this prayer quickly, turning my heart toward a task that only minutes before seemed distasteful to me. But other times, I believe He waits for me to flex my will...to purpose my mind to do the thing I dislike and begin walking toward it. As I do this, I often find that I get into the task and forget that I ever struggled to start it.
I have been trying to train my girls in this. Purpose, will, self-control, desires. How we need these things to be in accordance with God's will. Happy is the man/woman who learns how to acquiesce to God's ways early in life. George Mueller said this: "I saw more clearly than ever that, the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about, was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man may be nourished...I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it." This simply sums it up. This is where we have to start each day. And if for some reason we get off to a start without taking time to be with God, we must break away as soon as we can that day and commune with the one who has sealed our hearts with his own. Having our souls happy in the Lord does not happen automatically. We must pursue Him as he has pursued us. Inspiration will only be as long-lasting as the source from which it came. Let your inspiration be God Himself.
On the grandest level, I am inspired by God, His word,and His creation. Next would be man's greatest writing ,man's greatest music, great film, great moments of heroism, etc. On a much smaller scale I can be inspired by as little a thing as new dish detergent! I LOVE the smell of new bubbly citrus or lavender soap filling a dishpan, preparing itself to take on the dirtiest of pots and pans. I can be inspired by the smell of clean laundry, filtering out into the air from some neighbor's dryer vent. I can be inspired by the bakery smells of the local grocery store too: CAUTION: This inspiration can result in high calorie consumption and the acquisition of unwanted weight.
All in all, inspiration itself is a gift of God. And He is the ultimate inspiration. If I lack motive or desire for doing something that I need to do, I can pray and ask God to help my desires change. Many times He will answer this prayer quickly, turning my heart toward a task that only minutes before seemed distasteful to me. But other times, I believe He waits for me to flex my will...to purpose my mind to do the thing I dislike and begin walking toward it. As I do this, I often find that I get into the task and forget that I ever struggled to start it.
I have been trying to train my girls in this. Purpose, will, self-control, desires. How we need these things to be in accordance with God's will. Happy is the man/woman who learns how to acquiesce to God's ways early in life. George Mueller said this: "I saw more clearly than ever that, the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about, was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man may be nourished...I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it." This simply sums it up. This is where we have to start each day. And if for some reason we get off to a start without taking time to be with God, we must break away as soon as we can that day and commune with the one who has sealed our hearts with his own. Having our souls happy in the Lord does not happen automatically. We must pursue Him as he has pursued us. Inspiration will only be as long-lasting as the source from which it came. Let your inspiration be God Himself.
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