Disturb Us, Lord

When a friend asked me to make a lifestyle blog, I was like, "Uh, so what should I write about?"  I mean, lifestyle is such a broad subject, with different people living such a diversity of it.  To each his own, that is what I believe in.  No, wait!  That WAS what I believed in.

Why WAS?  Well, let's just say I didn't know any better then.  Not that I know much now.  Nor am I better than anybody else.  In fact, I have lots and lots to learn.  And it's not about what I know, but Who I know.  So in this blog, I will just try to share everything I learned from my Mentor and Teacher.  It took 10 years of knowing Him to learn these lessons, and I pray that you, dear readers, could pick up a few here and there.

I just want to make a few disclaimers, though.  First, these are MY lessons.  They may or may not apply to you.  But here's hoping some of you will say, "Oh, that's exactly where I am  right now!"  Next, my experiences may or may not have anything to do with you.  But, there might be a friend or someone in your family who is going through the same.  So feel free to share my blog with them.  (Haha!  Any chance to promote!)

Okay, seriously, what should I write about?  When I was writing for a lifestyle magazine, my EIC left me with this snippet of wisdom: "In the publishing business, only three things sell: relationships, money and sex!"  Being the newest kid on the writer's block, I was disturbed, especially with the last word.  When I transferred to a more "wholesome" publication, I discovered that the same rule applies.  So here in my blog, I will also write about those three subjects.  But from a perspective that will hopefully not traumatize anyone.  My writing may disturb you, but I pray it would be one of holy disturbance, a disturbance that would move you to do something that could make a positive impact, whether in your life or someone else's.

And with that, just allow me to share with you a poem/ prayer by Sir Francis Drake.

Disturb Us, Lord

- Attributed to Sir Francis Drake

Disturb us, Lord, when

We are too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when

With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision

Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas

Where storms will show your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push into the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.