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Table of Contents Breathe.... 4 Just Breathe....... 6 Busy, Busy, Busy....8 Breathe In, Breathe Out...10 A Deep Breath of Courage......12 Just Breathe...14 About the Author... 16 3
Breathe I m usually the type of person that spends the week between Christmas and New Year s doing some self-reflection and setting goals for the New Year. Not so this year! Circumstances did not lend themselves to taking that kind of time and effort. To be quite honest, I didn t even want to. I just didn t have it in me this year. My mind, spirit and body have been tired no, that s not the right word. They have been exhausted. Besides, I already have goals set and systems in place to help me meet those goals. I already know where I m at along the path and I know where I m headed. No this year I wasn t going to spend a lot of time reflecting and planning. I ve been trying to do that on a regular basis along my daily journey. So, between my circumstances, not feeling the need, and just not having it in me, I didn t go through the usual end of the year protocol. I ve been online reading reading blogs and articles written by those that are totally absorbed by New Year s resolutions and goal setting. There is nothing wrong with that! That s just not where I m at this year. Doing those things won t meet me in the place where I currently am emotionally, spiritually and physically. Instead, a word a single word kept buzzing around in my head. BREATHE. to inhale and exhale freely to pause and rest before continuing to feel free of restraint to instill by to make manifest to enjoy relief 4
to give rest from exertion to to send out by exhaling My word for 2014 Breathe! Over the next few weeks, I m going to be writing and podcasting about my journey with this single word Breathe. I have a feeling that this journey will feel like a breath of fresh air. 5
Just Breathe Breathing is a good thing! That s why I have chosen the word breathe as my word for 2014. Breathing is essential to maintaining life! It isn't just our physical bodies that require air and the act of breathing. Far from it! Our mental, emotional and spiritual lives also require us to breathe as well. Sometimes I find myself gasping for breath mentally because I m operating on information and detail overload. Too much is coming at me too fast and I can t find the time to process. Sometimes I find myself holding my breath physically because I m feeling too much stress and feeling pulled too many directions. That s when the definition to pause and rest before continuing comes in handy. At times I find myself gasping for breath because I feel completely smothered by the expectations of others. That s when the definition to feel free of restraint comes into play. On occasion I feel shriveled and dried up spiritually because I m just not stopping to be instilled by breathing in God s word and spending time with Him. Breathe! It s a concept a principle that I m studying this year. There is so much to learn about a single word. Take for example the hymn below. It s words have been filling my mind the last couple of weeks and that little word breathe carries quite a punch. Breathe on me, breath of God, Fill me with life anew, That I may love what Thou dost love, And do what Thou wouldst do. Breathe on me, breath of God, Until my heart is pure, Until with Thee I will one will, To do and to endure. Breathe on me, breath of God, Blend all my soul with Thine, Until this earthly part of me Glows with Thy fire divine. 6
Breath on me, breath of God, So shall I never die, But live with Thee the perfect life Of Thine eternity. Need some encouragement to breathe? To inhale and exhale freely? To pause and rest before continuing? To feel free of restraint? To instill? To make manifest? To enjoy relief? To give rest from exertion? To send out by exhaling? Then I d love for you to join in the weekly conversation about breathing at Heart of the Matter Online. Until then breath in breathe out! 7
Busy, Busy, Busy To Inhale. Professor Hinkle, the fast-paced character on Frosty the Snowman said, "Sorry to lose and run, but I've got to get writing, busy, busy, busy!" So many times, I m so busy. It may not even be a matter of being overcommitted. I just go and go, give and give! Sound familiar? This past week my son joined our community choir. It is full of rich adult voices and it is a great opportunity to sing with well-developed voices, something that he needs to do because he says he is headed towards studying music in college. Guess what? I had thought of joining too. I ve thought about it for several years. What an incredible joy it would be to make music with others. I teach, direct and mentor in music A LOT! In other words I EXHALE music a lot! What about taking the time to INHALE?...to feed myself in that same area. As my husband and son were talking about the choir and I shared that I had been debating for months about joining, my husband encouraged me to jump in saying, You are always in charge of things, directing choirs, teaching classes wouldn't it be nice to just go and participate? I think it would be refreshing for you. As I ve been pondering that the last few days, I realized INHALING is pretty important when it comes to breathing. If I expect to be full of air in my spiritual life, I need to INHALE. What a concept! It makes total sense. As I ve been studying the word breathe, I remembered just the first couple of lines of the song that I shared with you last week... Breathe on me Breath of God Breathe on me, Breath of God, Fill me with life anew. 8
That s what I need I need life anew. Just as God breathed into man the breath of life, I need that every day. I need to inhale Him who He is what He has done for me his amazing power in my life. I must do that before I can ever think of exhaling. So...today...I m going to inhale. 9
Breathe In...Breathe Out! There I was sitting in traffic and thinking through the events of the day and I found myself holding my breath. It sounds weird I m sure, but sometimes, when I m tense, deep in thought or stressed, I discover that I m holding my breath. I even do it sometimes when I m sleeping and wake up gasping for a deep breath. Now, this may not be the type of image that you want to dwell on. Nevertheless, it definitely emphasized something to me. One night, I was dreaming and working my way through various stressful situations in the process. I must have been holding my breath again, because I woke up suddenly gasping that nice big breath of air. I got that breath alright but along with it, I smelled something awful and by awful I mean sickening. Turning on the light, I discovered that our beautiful dog Oscar had left us a fresh present by the bed and not only was it fresh, it was putrid. I ve never smelled anything like it before and I hope I never smell anything like it again. While pondering this whole idea of breathing and the particular concept of inhaling. It dawned on me that it isn t that refreshing if you are inhaling the wrong type of air. For example, I may be confused, frustrated or even angry within a relationship and instead of following the instructions of Philippians 4:8 and inhaling what is true, lovely and excellent, I choose to inhale gossip, rumor or innuendo that doesn t prove to be a cleansing breath at all. Instead, that breath of air is full of filth, negativity, and bitterness. I may be struggling with discouragement and instead of finding a friend that will hold me accountable and offer encouragement and empathy, I am drawn to a person that will wallow with me in my discouragement and self-pity. So, once again, I am taking a breath full of thick, smoggy air that keeps me drowning in those same emotions. I have to be careful what I m inhaling mentally, spiritually and emotionally. The song I ve shared with you over the past couple weeks begins with this line: Breathe on me, Breath of God I've heard it time and time again...the importance of spending time in Scripture. Sometimes I've let it go in one ear and out the other because it is such a familiar piece of wisdom and advice. Let s think about this for a second. God breathed into us the breath of life and we became living souls according to Scripture. The word inspiration used to describe scripture means God breathed. Put the two together and we have a pretty vivid picture. God s breath gave us life originally and God s breath, through God s word continues to give us life. It provides us with the exact type of air we need to be inhaling on a regular basis. 10
It s not enough just to inhale. I have to inhale Him His character, His holiness, His love, His grace, His sovereignty, His presence there is SO much to inhale. It is the type of breath that you get when you stand at the top of a mountain and inhale deeply the kind of air that clears your head, sharpens your vision, and energizes your spirit. I need that type of a breath the type that refreshes my entire being. I ll get that type of breath, when I take the time to regularly inhale the breath of God. 11
A Deep Breath of Courage... It happened again this morning. I woke up, started my morning routine and when it came to the point where I checked my email for anything urgent, there it was a blazing, burning hot email to both John and I. It was full of criticism, innuendo, assumption and judgment. Now, don t get me wrong. I've been in and around ministry long enough to have made it a habit to always look at myself first as the originator of any problem within our ministry. There is always something to be learned from any situation or criticism that comes my way. I had gone through that same process with this email and all the other blazing, burning hot emails that came from this same source. However, at this point in time, I knew I had done everything humanly possible to do right in this ongoing saga. I also knew we were at a point where we simply had to take a stand, with a gracious spirit, and move on down the road, continuing to do what God had called us to do. I was offended. I was hurt. I was mystified as to what more I could do. Every day I try to face the opportunity and privilege of working in and around ministry with all the focus and energy I can. It is hard not to take things personally when nothing you do seems to make an individual happy. Nothing you do seems to satisfy them and their criticism continues to come your way. So, I had to stop myself and take a deep breath. The breath was not just to calm myself down or to gain perspective. I had to take a deep breath to gain courage courage to take a stand. There are times in life when people and circumstances come along that cause you to question if you are doing what God has called you to do. There are times for soul-searching to make sure you are headed in the right direction. Yet, there also comes a time, when you know what God has called you to and despite all the voices and pressure around you, you need to stand firm in that calling despite criticism 12
despite misunderstanding despite the naysayers despite the judgment despite self-doubt That s the time to take that deep breath a deep breath of courage. True courage isn't the absence of fear it is the strength to face your fears. It is such a comfort to me to know that the strength to face my fears isn't about me just pulling myself up by my bootstraps. The strength to face my fears comes from God and from His word. Joshua 1:7-9 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. I don t have to allow myself to be tossed around by criticism, gossip, distraction or peer pressure. I can stand, take a deep breath of God s strength and be very courageous. I don t know where you might be facing discouraging criticism or gossip. It may be in... Your role as a wife. Your role as a mother. Your choices in homeschooling. Your ministry. However, I can tell you that if you are confident in what God has called you to do, it is possible to take a deep breath of courage, God s courage, and move forward in confidence. God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. 13
Just Breathe I've been thinking a lot about how I invest my life who I am breathing into. This past week, one of the men I respect and admire most passed away. Dr. Dwight Gustafson was the dean of The School of Fine Arts at Bob Jones University for many, many years. He was a mentor, teacher, conductor, singer, actor, artist and so much more. His funeral is this morning and I woke up thinking about his life, his family, his ministry and his influence. What an amazing and talented man! However, more importantly and more inspirational to me than his talent, was the way he invested into the lives of countless students over the course of his long ministry. I am just one of those many. Breathe in Breathe Out! What an impact Dr. Gus and his wife had on my life both while I was a student at BJU and even after graduation. I will never forget what he said to me when he cam through the reception line after my senior recital. I ll never forget the conversation John and I had with him shortly after we were married. I ll never forget how he encouraged me to pursue my vision for Artios Academies. Words are a powerful thing a life well lived is a powerful thing and Dr. Gus is an example of both of these types of influences in my life. Not only did he breathe in he also breathed out into the lives of others. Real mentors are hard to find these days the kind that takes the time to invest in the lives of other by literally exhaling wisdom, experience, insight and inspiration. We need more mentors that are living examples, living textbooks, of a life well-lived. I wonder why they are so few and far between? Perhaps it is because investing in the lives of others takes time A LOT of time. Maybe it is because mentorship requires transparency. Possibly it is because the results of investing aren't always immediately seen. It could be because investing in the lives of others means risking being hurt, misunderstood and sometimes disillusioned. Nevertheless, investing in the lives of others is what we are called to do. It is what I am called to do. I am called to breathe in so that I can breathe out. As I have been reading and remembering about the life of Dr. Gustafson, I began to see an 14
even broader picture of his life s work and legacy. It was so much more than composing beautiful music, directing world class operas, and conducting orchestras. It was about investing in the lives of everyone who crossed his path. What is your life s work? What is your legacy? What is mine? My whole life I ve known that I was called to make a difference so are you! What better way to make a difference than to invest in the lives of others the life of my husband, the lives of my children, the lives of my grandchildren, the lives of my friends, the lives of my students in Artios Academies the lives of my faculty and staff the lives of other mothers and families. Investing takes time, thought, prayer, pondering, planning and then living it out with intention and focus. We can t just coast through life and expect to make a difference. We can t just go through the motions. We are investing in the lives of individuals, individuals who were made in God s image...individuals who will then go on to invest and breathe into the lives of others. Who can you breathe into today? 15
About the Author Lori and John Lane have been married 30 years and live on a small ranch in the beautiful Colorado Rockies. Lori and John work together in the ministry of Artios Academies and Heart of the Matter Online. In addition, John coaches the local high school baseball team and Lori works within the local arts community. They have four sons ranging in age from twenty-eight down to sixteen, two beautiful daughter-in-loves, and three precious granddaughters. Lori is the author of the book, Beginning With The End In Mind, and the founder and executive director of Artios Academies. You can follow Lori at The End in Mind where she blogs about a variety of topics including life on the ranch, arts education, a Biblical worldview of education, home education and more. Her blog also offers many free resources to encourage you on your journey. To find out more about Artios Academies please visit www.anewwayofeducating.com 16