{"id":1587,"date":"2015-03-09T19:09:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-09T19:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=1587"},"modified":"2015-03-06T19:16:48","modified_gmt":"2015-03-06T19:16:48","slug":"food-for-thought-focusing-the-lens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2015\/03\/food-for-thought-focusing-the-lens.html","title":{"rendered":"Food for Thought: Focusing the Lens"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a>
Image Courtesy of Boykung\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So many times, we go through the day without a clear focus. Not that we don’t understand what we should be doing, or the way to accomplish the tasks before us. Nor do I think that we speak in jibberish and make a mess out of things, instead of a neatly ordered “pile of work.” What I do mean is that we might be scattered in how we look at the world and where we find our place within it.<\/p>\n

To feel more in sync with our purpose and more able to accomplish what God wants us to do, we often have to “focus our lens” more precisely.<\/p>\n

The next time you watch your favorite movie or television program, pay attention to what you see and consider all of the options the cameraperson had in terms of where and how he or she focused the camera lens. A close-up could have been a wide shot. An aerial view could have been a side angle. A soft-focus could have been sharply defined.<\/p>\n

We can look at our day’s activities in this way, too. Are we emphasizing something trivial to the detriment of something important? Are we focusing our lens in the opposite direction of where we should be looking?<\/p>\n

Just some food for thought today…<\/p>\n

Peace,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So many times, we go through the day without a clear focus. Not that we don’t understand what we should be doing, or the way to accomplish the tasks before us. Nor do I think that we speak in jibberish and make a mess out of things, instead of a neatly ordered “pile of work.”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[360,43,1242,1047,578,383],"tags":[1583,1580,1582,1581],"class_list":["post-1587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-determination","category-encouragement-in-life","category-food-for-thought","category-good","category-goodness","category-heart-health","tag-being-focused","tag-focusing-our-activity","tag-whats-important","tag-whwere-are-we-looking"],"yoast_head":"\nFood for Thought: Focusing the Lens - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2015\/03\/food-for-thought-focusing-the-lens.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Food for Thought: Focusing the Lens - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"So many times, we go through the day without a clear focus. 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. 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