Prepare Yourself

I have a co-worker who ran into a curb this morning with his car. It slid on ice and bent his rim. He didn’t have a car jack or tire iron, incredibly. He also was only wearing a cotton hoodie though it was 5 degrees out (yes, that would be Fahrenheit).

The Boy Scout motto is, “Be Prepared.” Anyone who knows us Middleton guys is aware we oft take this overboard. For instance, right now I’m carrying in my pockets a flashlight, knife, jump drive, and band-aid, among other paraphernalia. I use it all regularly. For instance, was exploring an underground culvert recently and the flashlight came in handy. As it did when I was searching under my car seat the other night for a lost item but instead only found oldish French Fries. Left them there for later, never know when I’ll get stuck in a blizzard and need extra carbs. All part of being prepared.

Failing to plan is planning to fail, they say.

In our Christian lives, preparing involves prep work in the Word and time alone with God. Was listening to a message titled Read Great Books by Chip Ingram where he said one of the most common questions he’s asked by young people is, "How can I know God’s will for my life?" Chip said he counters with, "How much time have you been spending in the Word?" to which he usually gets the response, "What does that have to do with anything?" Everything, really.

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27)

Chip’s message was emphasizing the value of reading in general, which I wholeheartedly agree with. Right now I’m in the middle of two books, while continuing to digest contents from several previous. See Chip’s message notes, which includes his recommended reading list.

Along the lines of "cultivating the garden of our minds," Donald Miller had a short and witty write-up on the value of filling our minds with high octane fuel rather than spastic junk food.  Here’s an excerpt:

If you are wondering why there are no more C.S. Lewis’ in the world, no more stories as good as Tolkien’s, no cathedrals as great as the gothic’s, no music as moving as Pachelbel’s, it may be because the writers of these books, the tellers of these stories, the architects of these buildings and the composers of these symphonies are sitting on their couches watching television. I wonder what’s on tonight. (Miller)

I’m wondering, what am I doing now to prepare myself for the future?