Response-Able...

If asked what and who adds value to your life, what would you say?

How is value defined in your mind?

There is a children's book I love, Miss Rumphius. As a child she is challenged to figure out how she will make the world a more beautiful place. As she is growing up, she does not know how she will do it. I love this book for so many reasons, but mainly because it implies the truth that we each have something to contribute to this world - even if it takes us time to figure out what it is. It also seems to me to imply we have a responsibility to do so. (Looking around, it seems to me people who live merely unto themselves often find themselves unsatisfied and insatiable even if surrounded by great wealth.) When the child in the book grows up to become Miss Rumphius, she makes the world more beautiful in a very simple way - she plants lupine flower seeds all over her town.

And it is beautiful.

Contributing does not have to be big or hard. It does not need to look like anyone else's contribution. I like to break words down, so I think of responsibility as response-ability... We all have an ability to respond to our world in some positive and generous way when we see a need... writing an encouraging note, buying a friend lunch, planting flowers/vegetables to share, giving a hug, serving at a soup kitchen, buying gloves for the homeless, listening to someone's sorrows, and on and on. Most people have the ability to do at least one, if not many of these things.

Note: One cannot give what one does not have.

But. One can add to what one has.

This addition multiplies as the one who adds value to his own life shares it with others.

Our youngest son's parked car was hit and totaled during the night on Friday. The youth pastor our son works for was willing and able to respond by offering our son the use of his second car until the situation is resolved. He is able to do this of course, because he has a second car - which is likely most beneficial to himself. Yet now it will greatly benefit our son. And in less direct ways, it will benefit those whose lives are impacted by our son's ability to get from one place to the other - be it the church where he interns, or students he transports, or activities he can participate in with his friends.

John Maxwell (author, speaker, Minute with Maxwell daily emails/podcasts, etc.) often talks about adding value. He often states one of his primary goals in his aging years is to add value to the lives of others. Likewise, he shares how he invested in himself in his youth. As a young adult he used a large portion of his limited savings to attend a series of leadership classes. He is now, many might say - the top leadership expert in the world. He invested what he had that he might gain and give more later. He invested his resources much like a farmer or banking investor.

When a farmer plants a seed he has faith it will grow and develop to a harvest in the future. For weeks he will water and tend the ground, maybe to see sprouts finally spring up a month later. Compared to fast food, he seems to be getting nowhere... There is more tending and more watering. Months go by. Some of the plants die for reasons beyond his control, but he has mouths to feed; he continues to water, weed, and fertilize the plants.

And eventually there is a harvest! Fruit and vegetables multiplied and available for nourishment for many! Consider a pumpkin and think of the field it came from... Open it and see how that one pumpkin holds enough seeds to replant so much of the very field where it grew. I find this to be amazing and good.

I heard a similar example from Darren Hardy (Success magazine, DarrenDaily emails/podcasts, etc.) in which a person doubles the savings of one penny a day for one month. To clarify, this would entail saving .01/day 1, .02/ day 2, .04/day 3, .08/day 4, .10/day 5, and so on. By day 9 the savings will amount to $256. By day 12 it totals $2048. By day 30, a single penny saved and doubled every day for 30 days will amount to $5,368,709!! … And .12 to begin again :)

I realize most of us do not have that many pennies to save. That is not the point.

The point is: what can we each do with what we have? The point is not to overlook the small. How can the current resources be invested/developed/grown in such a way as to increase our individual value for our own and others' benefit?

Which brings me to the two resources that are most precious.

The first is required for most every investment and is equivocally distributed to all:

Time.

And a second like it:

Self.

Time cannot be managed but it can be used well, or not; it is more about management of self. Sometimes its about the realization that minutes saved or well invested are like the pennies adding up over 30 days. Pennies and seeds are excellent examples because they are small - seemingly inconsequential. At first these examples of investments and returns are quite small. Yet small deposits are do-able. Small is within reach... and ripe with possibility for those who stretch out their hands...

For small grows surprisingly large and abundant in time.

Small beginnings may also be less uncomfortable to think about and follow through on. This is particularly true in sensitive areas like health and finances. It's not my intent to cause discomfort or squirming; nor am I saying this is the thing(s) to grow and develop. I use them as examples here because they are highly impactful areas of our lives. Progress in either of these areas often changes one's life trajectory. It is power-full; positive changes in these areas bring empowerment and confidence for other achievements. So for example, and perhaps consideration, here goes:

Think how three 10 min. walks a day (or two 15 min. walks, etc.) four times a week is multiplicative in benefits. Walking (or any form of increased physical activity) lowers blood sugars. It improves mental clarity, even in the aging. It improves cardiovascular health. It improves balance. It burns calories. It increases ATP, resulting in more energy and endurance for day to day activities. It is one of the best ways to improve quality sleep. Done consistently, over time it decreases stress and improves mood. For all of us, but particularly for those over 60, it allows one to keep a higher level of physical and mental functioning resulting in better quality of life. Use or lose it is not just a cliché...

Of course, check with a doctor first. And if need be, start with 10 min./day. Don't expect to see or feel results at first. The walking may be okay. Or it may be uncomfortable. Depending upon one's level of dis-ease, it may very well take 30-60 days to have any noticeable benefits. But like the seed opening up under the earth, they are there, gathering energy to sprout and blossom. Have faith and keep moving.

Finances are another area that lends well to the idea of small and doable. Most people may not have 5 million dollars worth of pennies to save or thousands of dollars to give away, but many of us can deny our present self of some small pleasure to use in a more value-adding way. (Plus many of the "small pleasures" that come to mind add no lasting value, and are even detrimental to bank accounts and health.) Ten dollars a week is approximately forty dollars a month or $520/year. This is enough for many common car repairs, a modest replacement for a broken appliance, or even a couple days vacationing. It is more than enough to go for a needed doctor's appointment and get antibiotics if needed. It is roughly enough to get certified as a STNA or medical coder which could add further value. It is enough to sponsor a child or help support a cause. Many possibilities and abilities to provide come alongside of $520 in savings....

Obviously, there is an endless list of ways in which one can use and invest time, self, and other resources such as money. I chose these examples - increasing our health and financial wellness - because they are common to most people. They are common in being desired, common in the struggles, common in impact, and common in the management or mismanagement thereof. After all, who hasn't at some point dismissed extra spending of calories or money as "just something special for today" only to find the scale rising or the accounts falling at the end of the month? As I've heard my children quip, "You can't outrun your fork." In other words, if one doesn't have it to spend, don't spend it! Furthermore, one might find something one likes (or needs) more to spend it on later in the day/month/year.

(Sidebar: Joyce Meyer says simply, "Give some, save some, spend some." I have found this to work very well both for emergencies, long term goals, and short-term pleasures, be it finances or calories.)

Similar to the pitfall of overspending, who hasn't decided to start an exercise/diet or savings regimen that is unrealistic to maintain for more than a month ( or day?) and then become completely disillusioned to the point of utter inertia? Its the all or nothing trap. We all need to be set free from this thinking in any area it enters uninvited, because it just isn't value-able, but instead works against us!

Instead consider Darren Hardy's recommendation to begin a valuable change in one of two ways: 1. Do something relatively small and realistic (for YOU) that can be done consistently over the long haul - perhaps even building gradually after maintained success. OR 2. For the "Go Big or Go Home" types - start big with a realistic end date in sight - somewhere between 30 - 60 days, then continue at a more reasonable pace. It reminds me a bit of the concept of HIIT exercise - warm up, then go hard, actively recover, and repeat. It also mirrors a concept from Steven Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People." Steven Covey believes there are limited seasons to decisively choose to live an unbalanced life in order to move forward on a particularly valuable goal. This is the premise behind debt-buster and financial expert, Dave Ramsey's program, "Financial Peace." It strikes me how the same principles show up over and over again in so many different arenas of life and success.

On a final note, a bit of a twist: Today our pastor spoke about the rhythm of Sabbath rest. I whole-heartedly agree. We each need time to reflect and refresh. To find where our rest and strength lies. I find it very difficult and tiring NOT to rest and refresh a certain amount on a daily basis. As I've shared before, I like reading and learning. I like praying as I clean or do yardwork. I like moving, often touching base with loved ones as I go. I like playing music and worshipping. I really like ending the day with time with my husband. All are important pieces in my day. They add value that makes me spiritually, physically, and spiritually able to do the other things I do, hopefully enabling me to pass along value to others as well.

What will you do/are you doing, in your own unique way and circumstances, to respond with your abilities and increase your value for yourself and others? If this is a new thought, or one previously brushed aside, where and how, like Miss Rumphius, will you begin to figure it out?

May you be enabled to begin with reflection and rest, and with insight and discernment, to strengthen you and give you good success.

Zechariah 4:10 Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin...

Matthew 13:32 "It {the mustard seed} is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a the tree, so that birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." (Emphasis mine)

Proverbs 8:12 & 14 I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion... I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength.

Matthew 6:28 "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."