Wednesday morning

How are you today? It's a little wet out there, but that's OK. And I guess the wind is going to blow later - that's OK too. I thought this picture was pretty funny. There is a blog I read on a regular basis. His post this morning was particularly good: From Critic to Encourager. The author is one I know from a distance. We both went through the same doctoral program and share lots of friends, but I don't think we have met. I often find his posts lining up with what I am thinking.

We all need encouragement. Are you good at giving it? What about receiving it? I tend to let the voice of the critic drown out the voice of the encourager. It's easy to play, over and over again, in our minds the times of our failures and the words of the critics. Right? One of the names/characteristics of the Prince of Darkness is Satan/accuser. He loves to whisper in the ears of our heart, "You are not worth much; you failed again," etc. He accuses through the critics. It always wise to listen for the voice of God in criticism, I think, BUT to dwell there long leads to discouragement. If you messed up, fix it and move on. Do the next right thing right, thanking God for grace.

We need to hear the voice of God affirming our value as his image-bearer, his beloved son or daughter (if indeed we are - by being in Christ). We need to play video clips of encouragement, those times when we did well and were genuinely told so. I had a long conversation with a person yesterday who is struggling with all this. "It ain't easy." One of our roles as travelers through life is to provide real encouragement, moving beyond superficial flattery. That ain't easy either.

I got a nice 5 mile run in yesterday. The weather was so nice! I am moving toward getting started/focused on my Boston Marathon training plan. I am looking forward to it. I may not run today, setting up my bike trainer instead. Time on the trainer is going to be a part of my Boston plan, and it will help me with second big goal of 2012: to complete RAIN, doing all of the 162 miles on my bike. If you don't know what I am talking about, you can read my RAIN Report from last July. The third big goal for 2012 is to complete, without drowning, a triathlon. Boston. RAIN. Tri. It's going to be a great year.

Today's going to be a busy one. It seems like wall to wall meetings, engagements, appointments await me. Here we go...