THE BEARD

Since posting my blog both last week something new has cropped up. Do you like it? Some people tell me it makes me look rugged but my son says it makes me look older. Thanks Bradley! To my surprise I haven’t heard any other negative comments, yet? What I have noticed are more second looks. It feels strange to look up and find someone staring at you. Maybe I had just become use to being taken for granted?

Yes, I do like the beard. I guess you could say it’s growing on me. The obvious benefit of not having to shave is nice but it also hides thinning hairline and age spots. Conveniently it also distracts others from noticing the bags and crows feet around my eyes. But yes it does have drawbacks. It’s ITCHY! Fortunately a little hand cream takes care of that issue. I thought it would be hot, working outside all day, but so far that haven’t been the case. It does have a tendency to attract dirt, but my wife said it just reminds me to wash my face more often, which is a good thing!

A weekly trim is essential but daily shaving has almost been eliminated. How nice! And YES color is required and but isn’t too expensive, yet?
The decision for or against facial hair is not an earth shattering decision. However as with any meaningful change, it had to be evaluated in light of cost, courage, and consistency.

The Cost of Change

The initial expense of facial hair might seem cheap on the surface, but other hidden costs were soon revealed. It’s the same with any change in life. It will definitely cost you something if you decide to develop a new friendship. Friends have needs, questions, and issues that can be costly if I don’t have much time. Changing a bad attitude or habit requires both the wisdom to recognize the negative one, and the insight needed for an appropriate replacement. Taking an educational course will entail its expense, time, and energy. Re-inventing yourself in a new career field will involve costs, time and a significant re-evaluation of your interests, work values, skills, and aptitudes. Interviewing and shopping for a good shrink is also time consuming and costly when starting the therapy process. Even a simple decision to be an instructor of a Sunday School class will require, preparation, time, and creativity. When I taught a Middle School Sunday School class, the Sunday afternoon nap became an essential part of my recovery!

Courage to Change

Once we’ve counted the cost of making a change, is it any wonder that so few people make the investment? Sadly it seems that only the courageous among us can attain the meaning, wealth, and healing which will last. Glenda Cloud reminds us that “change is inevitable but growth is intentional.” Why is it that mediocrity becomes more acceptable the older we get? When was the last time you deliberately calculated and planned a growth experience? If you’re having trouble remembering when, it’s a safe bet that it’s been too long.

Maybe “Stinkin Thinkin,” is holding you back from making a needed change? Do you indulge in thinking negative thoughts? Beth McHugh in her article by this same title gives us several of these negative thoughts patterns to consider. (1) Black-and-white thinking, that doesn’t take into account alternatives or long term benefits. (2) Overgeneralization – One single event overshadows your whole day, week or life. (3) Catastrophizing – Either blowing something out of proportion or minimizing the good things. (4) Mind Reading – Assume that people are reacting negatively about you without proof. (5) The Should Problem. “I should have..”
Norman Vincent Peale, referred to some as the Father of Positive Thinking, once said “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” But change is hard and usually painful. To make lasting changes we must reach deep inside and summon all the courage we have. John Henry Newman suggests that, “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.”

Constancy of Change:

Ask anyone who has made a true change and they will tell you it has required habitual practice. In 2 Timothy 4:5 we find the apostle Paul telling his apprentice to “be calm and cool and steady, accept and suffer unflinchingly every hardship.” Paul wasn’t challenging Timothy with empty platitudes. He knew what it meant to suffer. In 2 Corinthians 11: 23-27 Paul tells of his struggles:

“I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.” (The Message)

Thankfully most of us will not have to undergo the number of hardships Paul had to endure, but consistency is required for any change. Regular steady plotting brings the goal to completion. It’s the ability to see beyond the current pain to the aspiration that keeps us going. That’s what kept Paul going. He reminds us in Hebrews 12:1, “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us. (The Amplified Bible)

Thinking God’s Thoughts After Him:

Every great invention, program, or solution began with a thought. I’ve come to realize that my thoughts mean less with each passing day. But God’s thoughts are something to get excited about. You can begin making lasting adjustments each day that will change your life. I just finished reading a fantastic book by Mark Batterson entitled, “In-A-Pit-With-A- Lion-On-A-Snowy- Day.” When I summarized the story to my teenage son he asked, “So why has no one ever told me this story was in the Bible?” Here is a quote from Mark that challenges us to “stop putting God in a box the size of your cerebral cortex.”

"Astronomers have spied galaxies 12.3 billion light years from earth. To put that distance into perspective, consider the fact that light traveling 186,000 miles per second only takes eight minutes to travel the 93 million miles between the sun and planet earth. Sunlight is only eight minutes old. But the light from the furthest galaxy takes 12.3 billion years to get here. That distance is virtually incomprehensible! And God says that is about the distance between His thoughts and our thoughts. Your best thought about God on your best day falls 12.3 billion light years short of how great and how good God really is. We underestimate God's goodness and greatness by at least 12.3 billion light years. You know what the greatest tragedy in life is? It is someone whose god gets smaller and smaller with each passing day." Mark Batterson - “In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day. “