{"id":6075,"date":"2016-04-03T21:27:05","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T01:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=6075"},"modified":"2016-04-03T21:27:05","modified_gmt":"2016-04-04T01:27:05","slug":"making-me-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=6075","title":{"rendered":"making me good"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"8dcf83cb\"<\/a>So my family and I just spent ten days on a trip South. We boated and played in the ocean, saw friends from home and friends who have so beautifully stood the test of time. I am most thankful. We enjoyed the water, sunshine, and all the treats that come from such an extended time away.<\/p>\n

One of our favorite activities, renting a boat for a week, was taking the boat out, finding some small uninhabited island, carefully docking the boat, and then exploring the area together. Some of the animals and nature we saw were beautiful and intriguing. En route to one island one day, a trio of dolphins decided to playfully escort us along the way. There\u2019s just something about being that close to those animals for that long that is special and sweet \u2014 again putting life in perspective.<\/p>\n

Putting life in perspective, no less, \u2019tis time to go home. A week of leisure is a wonderful thing, but that week of rest, reflection, frolic, and fun prepares me for going home.<\/p>\n

There are disciplines embraced at home that for lack of better ways to put it, make me good.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now don\u2019t let me sound as if I am any better than I am, nor that I can perform or work my way into any good or heavenly entrance. The bottom line is that there exist disciplines embedded into my daily routine that help me be healthy, happy, and hopefully, a positive contribution to the lives of those around me.<\/p>\n

Years ago, I read a great book by author John Ortberg. He talked about developing disciplines \u201cfor ordinary people,\u201d which sounded like an achievable accomplishment for this semi-humble, striving blogger. But what caught my attention was that such was only the sub-title. First he identified his set of disciplines as \u201cThe Life You\u2019ve Always Wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Let me be clear\u2026 if all it takes is buying some $15 book to get what I\u2019ve always wanted, then that\u2019s a price I\u2019m willing to pay.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Ortberg eliminates the potentially accompanying stress almost immediately, saying that as with the marathon runner, \u201cthe secret to winning the race lies not in trying harder, but in training consistently and training with spiritual disciplines.<\/p>\n

The disciplines are neither taskmasters nor an end in themselves. Rather they are exercises that build strength and endurance for the road of growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who would not want such a road to growth?<\/p>\n

Why else would everyone crave those stinkin\u2019 26.2 stickers on their bumper?<\/p>\n

(Ok, ok, so the word \u201cstinkin\u2019\u201d is only included because I\u2019m jealous\u2026 and have come no where close to 26.2 yet\u2026)<\/em><\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not a marathon. It\u2019s not a singular race.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not one race\u2026 succeed or fail.<\/p>\n

The \u201clife you\u2019ve always wanted,\u201d so-to-speak, as identified by Ortberg, is one paved with humor and humility. It\u2019s encouraging and challenging all at the same time. It\u2019s not always easy\u2026 but it is always worthwhile.<\/p>\n

It allows us to live a deeper, more spiritual, connecting-with-others life, right where we are.<\/p>\n

As Ortberg says, it\u2019s \u201ca life on the edge that fills an ordinary world with new meaning, hope, change, and joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll take that\u2026 new meaning, hope, change, and joy… I’ll take zealously pursuing what that actually is.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll take the dolphins\u2019 escort, too\u2026 all putting life into perspective.<\/p>\n

Respectfully\u2026
\nAR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So my family and I just spent ten days on a trip South. We boated and played in the ocean, saw friends from home and friends who have so beautifully stood the test of time. I am most thankful. We enjoyed the water, sunshine, and all the treats that come from such an extended time … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “making me good”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-event"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6075"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6081,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6075\/revisions\/6081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}