New digs, new attitudes

So here I am on Blogger. I'm not new to blogging, but all the websites I use are all locked down (like facebook). I thought I'd open one of these for anyone who doesn't use those sites.

So I have a couple of thoughts for my inaugural post.
First would be my name. I chose Oak like Faith because one of my favorite verses is Isaiah 61:3,
"They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor."
I love that thought. I've always wanted to be something strong and reliable. I mean, Ethan means "steadfast". So this is Oak like Faith. Right now I'd say I'm closer to Pine like Faith, with shallow roots. But I'm striving for Faith as strong as an Oak.

The other thought was the whole reason I opened this blog. I started going back through my old Xanga posts today. This one is from well over a year ago, but it still rings true today. The only thing that's different from then and now is, I don't want to use this as an excuse anymore. God has a purpose for me, at a specific time. And even if I don't believe that sometimes, I have to keep drumming into my head. Or else, in a year I'll just have another long list of posts whining about my job.

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Mom was telling me about a dog whisperer episode that she saw last night where a family took in a German shepherd that had the unfortunate bad habit of chasing its tail... constantly. I mean without stopping. For seven years. The dog wouldn't stop, and nothing the family did would fix it. Enter the whisperer.

He explains to them that the German shepherd is a working dog. The family had given the dog no job. They walked it occasionally, but it had no job. So the whisperer takes it out for a walk, tied to their other German shepherd, and right when the dog twists around to start chasing its tail, he catches it. He slips a little doggie backpack on it and puts water bottles on each side. Instantly the dog perks up and settles down. It had a job, a purpose. And it went straight on, perfectly behaved.

Today in church, I have this bad habit of fidgeting when I sit. Mom constantly grabs my legs trying to get me to stop, but a couple seconds later it gets going again. I don't really have control over it, it just happens. And then mom says that I fidget because I have no job. That really got me thinking. Don't get me wrong, working with mom is great, she's a really good boss. But of course I don't want to paint for the rest of my life. When it comes down to it... I have no purpose. My life is wandering and vague. I keep trying to get to the next spot, the next job, but all I can do is fidget. I feel like I've been chasing my tail for a year, ever since I graduated.

It makes it hard to concentrate on things, and I become very unmotivated. Which makes it very difficult to write my book, which I really want to do. I need a Whisperer...


...so I can write my stories...