{"id":2623,"date":"2012-04-30T05:22:28","date_gmt":"2012-04-30T09:22:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2623"},"modified":"2012-05-01T10:27:38","modified_gmt":"2012-05-01T14:27:38","slug":"wiggle-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/wiggle-room.html","title":{"rendered":"Wiggle room"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Several years ago, as a few staff from Special Gathering were driving to lunch, we saw a man with a broken leg. \u00a0His cast extended from his toe to his hip. \u00a0With great difficulty, he was loading a lawnmower into a trailer. \u00a0There was a edger on the sidewalk, patiently waiting to be reloaded on to the trailer. \u00a0A couple of people in the car said, \u201cThat man is a small business owner.\u201d \u00a0We all agreed.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure how many folks are willing to do the kind of work demanded by the entrepeneur. \u00a0In many ways a pastor is an entrepeneur. \u00a0Our primary goal is always spiritual. \u00a0We are hoping to make an impact on lives, educating them about the most important thing in the world. \u00a0Nevertheless, we deal with staffing, volunteers, raising expenses, balancing and making a budget and many other financial and business matters.<\/p>\n

Each of us who are building a ministry need some wiggle room. \u00a0Recently, at Special Gathering, we\u2019ve been working with a new staff person. \u00a0She is wonderful and one of the most teachable people I\u2019ve ever met. \u00a0There are so many things that a person who desires to excell in ministry must learn.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Perhaps the first is where is the wiggle room. \u00a0At Special Gathering, it was a great adjustment for me to learn where there was NO wiggle room. \u00a0I am the kind of person who has 17 irons plugged in ready to utilize. \u00a0My personality lends itself to having many projects going all at the same time. \u00a0The first year I was at Special Gathering, I maintained my positions in our church as Missions Director. \u00a0For twenty years before that time, I had at least one new book that I was authoring while planning magazine articles. \u00a0Music was a priority. \u00a0My list can go on and on. \u00a0One day, our executive director took me out to lunch. \u00a0After we had eaten, he folded his napkin and placed it on the table and folded his hands in front of me. \u00a0\u201dYou need to decide if your priority will be Special Gathering or the 15 other things that are important to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

In short, he was saying that my life goal must not have wiggle room. \u00a0I must decide\u2013and decide quickly\u2013what my first priority will be and stick with it. \u00a0If God has called me to ministry to people with special needs, then I must continue on the path that leads me to that goal. \u00a0There are so many scriptures that teach this principle that my mind was immediately filled with pictures of men going to battle with an adequate army.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I could see my husband drawing detailed plans before we started an addition to our home. \u00a0I could remember negotiating with the bank to be sure that we had enough money to complete a project we were beginning. \u00a0I saw our family sending off our first son to college confident that we had the financial reserve needed to complete his education expenses.<\/p>\n

While wiggle room is vital to maintain a healthy outlook, \u00a0a life\u2019s goal cannot have wiggle room. \u00a0When did you discover your life\u2019s goal? \u00a0How easy is it for you to keep your life\u2019s goal paramount in your life?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several years ago, as a few staff from Special Gathering were driving to lunch, we saw a man with a broken leg. \u00a0His cast extended from his toe to his hip. \u00a0With great difficulty, he was loading a lawnmower into a trailer. \u00a0There was a edger on the sidewalk, patiently waiting to be reloaded on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,40,186,49,4],"tags":[690,21,688,7,385,699,715,701,6,384],"class_list":["post-2623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-simple-truths","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-entrepreneur","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-wiggle-room"],"yoast_head":"\nWiggle room - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/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\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/wiggle-room.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wiggle room - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Several years ago, as a few staff from Special Gathering were driving to lunch, we saw a man with a broken leg. \u00a0His cast extended from his toe to his hip. \u00a0With great difficulty, he was loading a lawnmower into a trailer. \u00a0There was a edger on the sidewalk, patiently waiting to be reloaded on…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/wiggle-room.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-04-30T09:22:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-05-01T14:27:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/05\/lawn-mower.jpg?w=180&h=135\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Wiggle room - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/wiggle-room.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Wiggle room - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"Several years ago, as a few staff from Special Gathering were driving to lunch, we saw a man with a broken leg. \u00a0His cast extended from his toe to his hip. \u00a0With great difficulty, he was loading a lawnmower into a trailer. \u00a0There was a edger on the sidewalk, patiently waiting to be reloaded on…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/04\/wiggle-room.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2012-04-30T09:22:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-05-01T14:27:38+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/05\/lawn-mower.jpg?w=180&h=135"}],"author":"Linda G. 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