Do the Right Thing

My son leans toward being an overachiever. His ultimate goal is to become a pilot. To get there, his current goal is to be accepted into the Air Force Academy. It's very competitive and he pushes his limits to achieve all he can to get an appointment and hopefully be chosen.

Leadership is one of the qualities the AFA seeks, so my son goes after leadership roles. This year he is the Secretary of the his high school's National Honor's Society. He's been very active and volunteered many hours for the group. This week were the elections for next year's officers. He ran for VP against a popular student who, only known by the other officers, was not truthful in recording volunteer time for his friends. My son and the other officers chose not to publicize the infraction.

On the morning of the club meeting, initial vote for VP was tied, so each was asked to address the group before a new vote. My son was declared the winner, but after everyone left, the club adviser indicated that the first vote was not a tie. My son had lost. They decided to open the vote up for a third time, running it until 3:30. The vote was tied again, however some of the votes were made by non-club members. The adviser had to remove those votes. In the end, my son lost.

It was tough for both of the kids to wait over 24 hours for a result, as well as be jerked back and forth regarding the winner of the election. I feel that the adviser handled the situation poorly, but I was exceptionally happy that my son took the high road and did not reveal the other student's poor judgment in order to win an election.

Colossians 3:23-25 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality. 

In the end, I truly feel like my son was not supposed to serve in the role. I think he's going to be very busy in the coming year.

Strategy

On Wednesday, my son ran in his last track meet of the season. He and three others were running the 4 x 800 Relay (that's 2 laps for each person). They were evenly matched against a second team from their school, but also had several visiting teams to race against. My son was the fastest on his team (2 min, 13 sec) and was slated to run last. When he saw the other teams, he looked up the fastest times of the final runners. There was one guy whose time was 10 seconds faster than my son's 800 time. He knew that it would be impossible to improve his time by that much.

That's when he began to look for a way to win the race. Just before the race, he changed the order of the runners. (His coach said he could do what he wanted.) He became the lead runner. He told his teammates that he would give them a big lead...and it was up to them to keep it. The race started and he ran 2:13, then the other boys ran their legs of the relay. As the last runner crossed the finish line, the new strategy paid off and they won the relay! 

My son didn't run any faster than normal, but by going first he was able to transfer that momentum to his teammates. He was a good leader, who looked at the situation and made a new plan. He had a good team, who listened to his counsel.

What if my life depended on the outcome of a race? What if I tried to do everything on my own, without any input? I don't have to worry about that because I have a good leader. All I need to do is listen to and follow Christ, my righteous leader. 

Proverbs 21:21 He who follows righteousness and mercy finds life, righteousness, and honor. 

Distractions

Every week is filled with distractions. I believe I noticed them more this week because they took me out of my routine. I accompanied my son to get his First Class Medical certification to begin training as a student pilot. I attended an opportunity meeting with the company that I'm currently working with on a home-based business. Finally, I had my annual physical.  

Individually, maybe these are not so unusual, but all in one week had me constantly checking my calendar to be sure nothing was missed. My son had no problem getting his certification. The business event was a success, and I saw how far I could take this business and the good I could do with it. The results from my physical were excellent. My doctor even lowered the dosage of my only prescription because my numbers had improved so much - due in large part to the supplements I've been taking as part of my new business.

Overall, the distractions this week were very welcome and needed. Getting out of my routine and seeing the successes helped me feel good about the direction I'm going. Thankfully, I'm back to my routine, including church today. Pastor Rick preached a great message for us to Draw Near to God, Hold on to Hope, and Watch Out for One Another. Even with lots of distractions, it is so important that I remember to draw near. 

Hebrews 10:22a Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith...

Pre-check

When flying out of Atlanta I have typically gotten to the airport at least 2 hours in advance. Five years ago, I would be hanging out in the gate area for over an hour before boarding. However, the security checkpoints have become more intense and I almost missed my flight the last time I flew. (We were actually the last two people who boarded the plane!) That convinced me to look into TSA Pre-check. The idea is that for $85, a background check will be done in advance and for 5 years you can go through the much shorter pre-check line. 

Since I was off this week, I decided to take care of it Tuesday. I found a place about 45 minutes from home and I showed up with my birth certificate and drivers license. Unfortunately, it was not enough. I also needed a certified marriage license to show that my maiden name connected to my current name. The next day, I spent $10 at the courthouse to get a certified copy of the license.

I tried again on Friday. I presented all of the documents and the person was distraught over the fact that neither of the certified documents had a document number on them. She was befuddled as to how to complete the application. She actually just picked numbers on the copies and added them to the application. After scanning the documents, she had me pay the $85 non-refundable amount and sent me on my way. Wow, I hope it will be successful!

I didn't think applying for TSA Pre-check was going to be so involved. I got to thinking about all of the hoops I had to jump through and still have to wait 30-60 days to see if it works. At that time, I'll be assigned a number that I can use to get where I need to go, but, it does expire. It's a good thing that God doesn't work that way. It's not a Pre-check, it's a Life-check

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. 

Revelation 3:5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

A Weekend of Blessings

The week before a vacation is always tough for me because I want it to hurry and arrive! I was going through the motions all week, just to get to Friday. That's when things began to turn. I wanted to go to the Good Friday service at my church, but had volunteered to work at my son's Track Meet - not realizing the date. I worked an hour and stayed to see him run. It was in the upper 50s, but the wind was ferocious and I was freezing, along with all the kids in tanks and shorts. My son had one race and I waited 2 hours to see him run. What a blessing! He ran a personal record of 2 min 13 sec in his 800m race and won the heat! I had never seen him win before and it was thrilling!

On Saturday, you could have labeled me a slug because the only thing on my agenda was a trip to the grocery stores. (Yes stores. I'm one of those.) I took my time. In fact, I actually stopped for lunch before I was finished. My son needed me back home to look at some calculus, and we did that before having steak and potatoes for supper. (I actually cooked!) Usually, he's out the door when done with schoolwork or supper, but he hung around for a while. We began to watch a movie together. It was a lot of fun and I don't recall the last time we did that. :)

Sunday arose with my thoughts on a Risen Savior and my Daddy having a birthday. After a great morning service, we met for lunch to celebrate. The whole family was there and actually stayed around for a few hours. It was filled with laughter and joy. I can definitely look back on this weekend as one that will stay long in my memory. 

And there is never a bigger blessing than this:

II Corinthians 5:15 And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.