Parents, what will you do with today’s tabula rasa? In my office, I have a beautiful calendar that was given to me by my friend and DBC Chinese Pastor, Joshua Li. It reminds me to pray for him, his family and the beautiful Chinese congregation at Dublin Baptist. I also use it to remind me to continue doing the things that are important in my life. I had the privilege of working as a lifeguard at the University of Tennessee Faculty Club pool with a hilarious young man named Henry Cho. He is a Korean-American clean comedian with an East Tennessee accent, who brightened our day with laughter. During breaks from the guard stand, he and another guard would freestyle their comedy that left us all in stitches. The other guard surprisingly went on to become a Secret Service agent… I guess you need a sense of humor to do that too (I don’t know for whom or where he was a Secret Service agent because, it was, of course… secret). Henry was funny everyday and one of his friends and mentors, Jerry Seinfeld, says that’s how you get better at what you do...by doing it everyday. Seinfeld is known for the Seinfeld method or Seinfeld strategy for becoming better at something. He says he takes a clean calendar and for every day that he writes some funny material, he makes an X on that day. He says if you want to improve at something, do it everyday, make an X and don’t break the chain. So, on the beautiful calendar from Joshua, I make a different colored X for the important things in my life. There is an X for my devoted time in God’s Word and prayer, there is a different colored X for if I have in some way served my wife and family, there is a different colored X for exercise, there is an X for writing something, an X for reading something that helps change my life, an X for teaching someone something, an X for communicating with a friend, an X for other ministry activities. So, if I have been faithful to becoming better at the things that are important to me, my calendar should look like a rainbow chain. I’m still working on an unbroken chain for some of these things, and some days I only get one or two X’s, but it is one way to see how I have filled in the tabula rasa or clean slate for each day.
The writer of Hebrews encourages us to carpe diem or seize the day for loving God and encouraging His people. He says, “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.” Hebrews 3:12-14 (NIV) So, let’s make sure that on our tabula rasa of our calendar that we make an X for encouraging our own faith and the faith of those around us and that we don’t stop!
Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!
