What does FUTURE YOU want?

Earlier I was watching yet another youtube video... of someone cleaning their house... while mine is still a mess... and I'm not doing anything about it. The youtuber mentioned a motto that she was telling herself to get herself to do all her own cleaning:

"Laundry today or Naked tomorrow?" -Kathryn / Do It On a Dime

This struck a chord deep within me! This is my problem and probably many other moms' too!

You hear about delayed gratification and about not procrastinating... but I got motivated by the thought of pleasing FUTURE ME rather than just not pleasing myself!

I have had lots of times that I wish PAST ME would have done this or that or at least started it because I'd be so much further along now if she had... well, TODAY ME is the PAST ME for my FUTURE ME! I actually have the ability to make PAST ME do what I want!

Thinking of pleasing FUTURE ME is so much more motivating than "This is good for me" or even "I want to teach my kids to do this".
So armed with this knowledge:

What would make FUTURE ME happy?

• Doing these dishes instead of leaving them here another day?
• Soaking some dishes even if I don't actually wash them so it's easier tomorrow?
• Putting this random little thing away?
• Setting out baskets at the stairs for easily transporting things that go somewhere else (like I've been meaning to do for months)?
• Setting out dishes for dinner even though it's not for a couple hours still?
• Oh, yeah, and mastering a second language like I've always wanted to do!
• Stopping a bad habit, so FUTURE ME doesn't have to deal with it!

I really ran down this rabbit hole and realized that there's actual multiple FUTURE MEs... For one of them, I would bake a whole lot more often... so I can eat most of those baked goods of course! For another in a more distant future, I would not bake more because the results of all that dessert aren't so good.

I also realized that pleasing FUTURE ME does not mean I have to be busy being productive all the time either... FUTURE ME will appreciate if I get good sleep tonight and spend quality time with friends and family, because we will be even closer later. FUTURE ME will also benefit from TODAY ME taking breaks and enjoying a movie or game night now and then. That's where the key is!

FUTURE ME cares a lot more about balance than TODAY ME does. 

I struggle with extremes: one day, I am super motivated and do all the things and completely wear myself out and the next day, I pat myself on the back for being so productive before and feel I deserve to veg... all day!

Anyway, hopefully this was helpful and stated clearly... I have been thinking about this most of the day and I am so excited about this concept that I had to share it!
-> Now go do something that will make FUTURE YOU proud!

Open Doors

Preface: I must explain that the content here has not been spurred by current events. I thought of this years ago and someone made a comment recently about God opening doors that reminded me of my new way of thinking about open doors and that metaphor. I hope you enjoy even if you do not agree or use it.

"God will open another door for you" 

"When God closes a door, He opens a window"

These are common sayings in Christian circles. I'm sure there are secular equivalents about doors closing and others opening. But I think all of them are inadequate and a misrepresentation of real life and the way opportunities really work. I also think it portrays God in an improper light, against His true character. Let me explain.

Taking this metaphor extremely literally (mostly because I am extremely literal but also because that's where these things affect our views), when an opportunity arises, you see an open door. When you consider or decide to try out the opportunity and it works out, you walk through. When you  consider or decide to try out the opportunity and it isn't a good fit or things don't work out, the door closes.

Or at least that's how other people see it...

To me in this metaphor, trying out the opportunity or looking into it would be walking up to the door and trying to walk through. If it doesn't work, the door is slammed in your FACE! That's not the God I know and that's an awful way of looking at opportunities: it either works or UTTERLY FAILS and SLAMS in your FACE!

Here's an alternative to this metaphor that I believe makes more sense and doesn't break your nose:

• An opportunity arises: you notice a door. It might be a dark hallway and a light reveals a doorway you did not see before.
• You look into it, consider it, try it out: you look at the door, see if there's anything you tell about it from this side, then you try the handle.
• If it seems right at first but suddenly ends: the handle turned but the bolt kept the door locked and shut.
• If it is not right: the door is locked and handle will not even turn.
• If this is a good opportunity: the handle turns and depending on the situation, it may require a little pushing, but the door opens.

In this metaphor, there are many nuances that I believe are significant. The original idea hit me all at once and then the nuances came to me with some time after that. With each nuance forming, I have felt more and more confident in this metaphor. I hope it can help others think of their situations in a more positive light.

Anyway, here are some of the advantages in my opinion of this modified metaphor.

REVEALING and CONSIDERING an opportunity
In real life when an opportunity arises, you can't see everything about it at a quick glance, as if the door is hanging wide open. You may see the door down the hallway but ignore it because you do not want to try it. That choice is up to you, but you do not know everything before you even try it. Also what about those times when you feel like you have no options? If a door is hanging wide open, you'd think you'd see it, right? But what about if you're facing the wrong direction because you keep messing with the same door handle... or maybe you haven't walked down to the hallway enough to see that light shining on the door.

TRYING an opportunity
There has to be some sort of trying; it won't just fall in your lap (to borrow from another saying). When the door is open already, there is little effort that you put it in and you'd naturally expect it to stay open. When you turn a handle, you really don't know what will happen but you are putting in effort to see if this could work. Also you know how some doors stick and you might originally think it's locked until you give it an extra shove. Sometimes we give up early because we think it's too much work or that God is "closing that door."

WRONG opportunities
I must acknowledge that sometimes we try to force something when we know it is not right. Some might think that my metaphor does not allow for this situation, but this is when we try to pick the lock, kick down the locked door, or even break the proverbial window.
My final problem with the door being open already that I will address here is that it seems that the opportunity is open and available rather than just being noticed or realized. If the door closes, it's like God changed His mind or worse He is having a good laugh at your expense. This is not my God.


Again I hope you enjoyed thinking through this with me. Even you continue to talk about open doors and closing doors, I pray that this has shed some light on how the old metaphor can lead to misconceptions about what God is doing in your life.
Remember the Lord, like Aslan, is not tame but He is indeed good.

Q&A

I just re-read all of my posts on this blog (didn't take long; there are only 4!), and decided that I should post about the answers God has already provided since I last blogged. Here goes:

JOB
Yes, I got job offers and the Lord guided me in my decision which I now thank Him for continuously! I had two Skype interviews, followed by two job offers. Both jobs had things that I liked about it, and both had some disadvantages. It was a really tough call. I asked TONS of people for advice. Being at a camp with lots of people from my field and with more experience than me was an amazing resource for information and advice. Unfortunatley, it got to the point that I had too many opinions, too many stories, and too much going on that I could not discern what God was telling me. Finally, I took a break from all the noise, prayed like crazy, researched, pondered, and prayed some more. I called in my responses to the two school systems. I ended up accepting a job at a private school in my hometown (meaning I get to live at home still!).

I have met tons of students and pray that I have been a good influence on them. I know they are learning a lot. Our first Christmas concert is coming up, which is making me nervous as well as my beginner students. It's their first instrumental concert EVER after all!

FRIENDS
Along with meeting all the students, I have been meeting plenty of new people at church. This has been great! I love getting to know new people! This new network of friends has been such a blessing... and it's been great to have friends in the area after so many college friends travelled away from here.

As for my "old" friends, some of us are keeping in touch. It's a very small number (besides the "facebook friends") but that's ok, because we are creating tighter-knit friendships that way. It's also easy to sacrifice time for a few friends than a whole heapload. That just eats up all your time. I used to prefer having tons of friends, but I've realized that it's just not practical, and I didn't know any of them very well.

Well, I still have plenty of unanswered questions for God to make clear, but I look forward to the journey He has before me!

news.

New group of girls. (except for three who are staying from last week)
LOTS of new campers.
Fatigue for counselors and campers who are staying.
Financial dilemmas for the camp.
Job interviews.

As you can see, there is a lot going on up here at camp!
I am slightly overwhelmed by it all, but doing my best to trust Him with it all. There's no way I can do much of anything about most of the things on this list. Waiting to hear back from one interview, having another this week... Learning lots of new names, faces, and personalities. Trying to balance sleep and work, and help the campers do the same so that they do not get sick or miss out on anything.

Devotions were good last night with the new girls. They opened up much more readily, which was great! Now I'm really bonding with the girls who I have had for a couple weeks, and that is super exciting! I love my seraphim so much and will miss them like crazy. Of course I miss those who have already left.

Please pray for the camp as we are trying to figure out how to balance the finances. It's pretty tough right now... but trusting the One, Who it is all for, will provide and work it all out!

Beginnings.

First: an explanation for this blog

I consider myself weird... I have since I was about eight years old. My family always prided itself  on being unusual, and this definitely passed down to me. Even at a young age, I loved attracting attention to myself for doing crazy things, whether it was a crazy outfit or a goofy thing I did or something surprising that I said. When I was eight, Dad told me that we are the Weird Welchs and that if someone calls me weird, my response should be "Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment!" Since it happened so long ago, I don't remember how this conversation started, but it has stuck with me. In fact for most of my life, I have been known for this phrase. This phrase, along with being weird, is almost like a trademark!

 

Anyway, this blog is dedicated to any weird thing I did or noticed or just want to blog about! Another note: the word weird is spelled a lot of weird ways at the top of this blog to represent how so many people have trouble spelling it and think that it's a weirdly spelled word. This blog is also dedicated to teaching, so I figured it's a great way to tie it in... by showing many spellings of the same word like what you would see in a second grade classroom or something. 

Second: a new chapter

Not only is this blog new to my life... I'm in an entirely new chapter of my life. In May I graduated from a nearby university, and now I'm waiting to hear about and hoping for a JOB! It's so crazy to think about that in August I will not be moving into a dorm and buying books and reliving the college life. That is all behind me now. Not to say that I will never take classes again... I will, but not in that setting. It will be part-time, as a commuter (which I always warned against... hahaha), while working full-time. Yes, indeed, my life is changing a lot!

At the end of that paragraph, I was smiling... alas, now I am not.

A thought emerged and dimmed the mood: the thought of all the friends who I usually reunite with in August. I'm not leaving a bunch of people behind (some but not most)... we are moving on, but not together. I am turning a new page and penning a new chapter and I fear the loss of some dear friends. Already tension has crept in as times changes. It is no longer so convenient to meet up. It used to be a matter of "Hey, I'm hungry and you have to eat at some point too, so let's eat together". If any of us are to hang out now, we must plan and sacrifice. It must be intentional. This will be good, because that is how you show someone you really value their friendship, but it is a change that will take quite a bit of effort and time to adjust.

I peer ahead at the blank pages of my life, so to speak, wondering what is to come. What does God have for me, even in the next few months? Who will remain a part of my life and who will fall away as we drift apart? Who will I meet? How will He use me to impact them? What opportunities will God bless me with? What challenges will I face? Will I know which job is right for me? Will I  get any job offers?  Only the Lord truly knows the answers to all these questions and those which I still dare not to utter. Now I just have to wait until He fills those pages with places, people, events, and experiences... and trust His almighty and gracious hand to provide so that I shall not lack any good thing.

Third: Go be weird!