Good morning.
We are in NY, so I’m having a bagel for breakfast. I mean… when in Rome, right? It’s pretty tasty. I’m glad I indulged.
Also, since it’s Sunday morning, I spent some extra time in prayer and meditation. I got a little surprise when I found verses from the book of Ecclesiasticus (also known as the Book of Sirach) in my morning bible devotion app. At first I thought it was some fancy way of saying Ecclesiastes but after a bit of research found out they are very different books. Who knew??? Apparently Protestants (actually it was Martin Luther) decided somewhere along the way that it should be deleted from the Bible. Catholics still seemed to think it was Bible worthy though, so they kept Ecclesiasticus and six other books in their Bibles that Martin Luther took out. Now I find myself doing a deep dive into Ecclesiasticus and why it was excluded by some religious folks but not others.
The more I learn about the history of the Bible - especially who, how and why it was put together, the more inerrancy is something I can’t hold on to. However, the magical mystery of it all is still completely intriguing to me - and somehow feels even holier than ever. The beautiful message of God’s love for mankind is still there for the ones who have eyes to see and ears to hear. Embracing the mystery has been so freeing and has deepened my spirituality in the last few years. I am enjoying the journey. :-)
I know I’ve been MIA here on my Substack page for a few weeks. I really did intend to write every week here, but then life got kind of complicated and I had too many plates spinning in the air for a bit. In order to NOT drop some very important plates, I had to set a few down. This blog was one plate that I gently set down, knowing I would pick it up again when the time was right. Putting pressure on myself to meet demands that only I alone set upon myself is something that I’ve been working on a lot. Do you guys do that?
I’m not talking about setting a goal. That’s different. I think setting goals (as long as they are realistic) can be highly motivating. But setting demands of yourself that honestly won’t matter in the grand scheme of things is a whole ‘nuther ballgame. I’ve tried to come up with a few questions to ask myself when I start feeling that pressure to live up to some demand or standard I set for myself, so that I can keep it in healthy perspective.
Questions like:
If I don’t do this, will someone else be hurt, harmed or let down?
If I don’t do this, will it negatively effect my life?
If I don’t do this, will it matter in a year?
If the answer to any of those questions is “yes” - then I take that into consideration. However, if the answer to all 3 questions is “no”, then instead of living in overwhelm, I just allow myself a break and realize that it’s just pressure I’ve put upon myself for no reason - other than to live up to someone else’s expectation of me, or to my own unreasonable standard. If you are feeling overwhelmed by life right now, maybe you could use those questions to figure out which plates you might need to set aside for a bit. It doesn’t mean forever. It just means that in this current season of life, you need to give yourself permission to juggle a few less plates. I promise, as soon as you set them down you will feel better.
Anyway, I’m sitting on our bus outside of our venue for tonight (The NYCB Theatre at Westbury) and felt the urge to write a bit, so here I am. We’ve been on tour since Aug. 7th and it’s been fun and hard and crazy and awesome and everything in between. However, it’s all worth it when we take the stage each night. Gosh I love the people I travel with SO MUCH. Sometimes I think I’m too old to still be out here doing this — but at the same time, I can’t imagine walking away. This is a plate I can’t bear to set down just yet. I know the day will come… but for now, I’m trying to take it all in and appreciate the travel, the friendships and the music that I’m so lucky to be a part of.
Before I go in and see what catering might be waiting for me inside, I want to go back to Ecclesiasticus for a minute. The passage I read this morning was Ecclesiasticus 3:17-20 and it talked about the gift of humility.
“My child, perform your tasks with humility; then you will be loved by those whom God accepts. The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favor in the sight of the Lord. For great is the might of the Lord; but by the humble he is glorified.”
*“The gift of humility, which this passage speaks of, is an excellent foundation for recognizing the unexpected God.”
The “unexpected” God? Yes, when I choose to look at others in the world, I am sometimes surprised at where I find God. Humility can be used to gauge whether someone has a godly character, or it could be used to know know if we ourselves are developing a godly character. Either way, a humble spirit is where God shows up and also where he is glorified. I believe that for sure.
I believe a humble spirit is a teachable spirit. Someone who realizes they still have more to learn. Someone who seeks to listen and understand rather than act as if they have all the answers. Why isn’t a humble spirit something we look for in our leaders today? I see such prideful spirits in so many of our political and religious leaders. It’s disappointing but it does keep me from attaching my hopes in men - choosing instead to hope in the Lord.
Ok.. catering is up and I’m starving so, I’ll wrap this up. :-) I might write again next week or I might not. Depends on how many plates are up in the air. Gonna take it one day at a time. It’s almost September and I do have some fall decorating to do! Priorities guys!
Love to you all…. M
*from the Pray As You Go devotion app, Aug. 28th