What is the definition of endurance?

According to thefreedictionary.com

1. The act, quality, or power of withstanding hardship or stress: A marathon tests a runner's endurance.

2. The state or fact of persevering: Through hard work and endurance, we will complete this project.
3. Continuing existence; duration.

Pursue endurance: you may live to be 100

My 100 year old friend knows what it means to pursue endurance.  Physical, emotional, spiritual and social challenges continue to change as we mature.  Endurance in all these aspects makes a big difference when it comes to staying joyful with life's ups and downs. 

Pursue gentleness: Power under control

I am ashamed to say that, out of all the things in life I am trying to pursue, gentleness has not been on the top of my list.  I don't believe I have thought of gentleness as something to chase after.  However, 1 Timothy 6:11 encourages us to pursue gentleness.  The idea, here, is to actually try to grow in our ability to be gentle.  Gentleness is also one of the fruits of the spirit.  What kind of gentleness should we pursue?

According to http://kevinmartineau.ca/our-world-needs-more-gentlenes/, the Greek definition of gentleness is "power under control."   This definition does not imply that we pursue passive behavior in life.  We know we are to live with zeal, perseverance and to stand firm in our faith.  In humility, we understand our power comes from the Lord, but we work at controlling the power we have been given.

The floating axhead

God's math is not bound to the rules of our math.  God can make an iron axhead float.  I love the story in 2 Kings 6:1-7.  Some guys were out cutting trees down and a borrowed axhead flew into the water.  Elisha did an act of faith and God honored his act and made the axhead float to the top of the water.

Sometimes when I am running, I like to focus on this story.  I remember that my God is big enough to make an axhead float.  If He can make an axhead float, then He can make things that I perceive as impossible... possible.

Don't forget to laugh!

It never fails, my son can always make me laugh.  He always finds new ways to bring joy and happiness.  His laugh is contagious.  When he laughs his face lights up the room and brings joy to all those around.   His joyful spirit reminds me of the power of laughter. 

My son never seems to miss an opportunity to find joy in his circumstances.  He reminds me that I often forget to laugh.  His happiness teaches me how happy and joyful one can actually be.  Of all the things we forget to do...we shouldn't allow ourselves to forget to laugh.

Money Money Money Money

With all this talk about keeping our jobs our mission it seems appropriate to talk about how getting paid comes into all of this.  In prior entries, I commented that health care began as a free service provided as a mission by Nuns in people's homes.  I also suggested that we have to be careful not to allow money to cause us to lose focus that our job is not about us, but about helping others. 

Yet, I recall reading a book, Thou Shall Prosper by Rabbi Daniel Lapin a few years ago.  He stated that when people are willing to pay us for something it means that we have something that is valuable to share.  He suggested that too many people look at moving money from one person to the next as an evil transaction.  He stated that when we are able to provide a service that others are willing to pay for, we should work to improve upon providing that service.  He also stated that we should learn to love what we are good at doing if what we are good at doing is valuable to others.

What makes a job a mission?

I have been contemplating this question now for about three weeks and have several ideas.  First, I don't think "a job" is necessarily a bad idea.  There is a fundamental need we all have that is to provide for our families.  It is therapeutic to work and our jobs are healthy ways to grow and provide for others.   When our job becomes our mission, however, I believe we work for a higher calling or for a bigger reason than just to provide for our families. This should make our days more fulfilling.   Here are a few thoughts on what makes a job a mission:
1.  The person working determines whether or not the job is a mission.  I suppose if we interviewed missionaries some would say they have witnessed "missionaries" treat their mission like a job.   In other words, just calling something a "mission" will not necessarily bring about the deeper sense of engagement or fullfillment one might expect as they pursue the goal of helping others.
2.  The motivation behind the work.  If our work is focused more on ourselves, our work may become mundane and we may become selfish with our behavior.  When our work is focused on helping others, we may work harder to go above and beyond to assure satisfaction and that goals are met.
3.  Whether or not someone is paid...actually, even "missionaries" get paid (usually) to do their "missions."  I think working for money can create a tendency toward selfish behavior that we must overcome to maintain a more pure selfless frame of mind.