Tag: Focus Friday

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Crashing

Monday morning started out so nice. It was a beautiful morning, so I rode my bike down to the bakery and had coffee with two of my friends. After that I rode over to one of their houses to see her new puppy. Such a cutie!

I took the long way home and pedaled across town. I got a block from home, started to turn the corner, and CRASH!

All of a sudden I was lying on my side in the street, wondering what had happened. I gingerly got to my feet and lifted my bike from the ground. My entire right side was covered in mud and I realized that I had landed mostly on my shoulder.

I had tipped just a bit too far to the right while I turned the corner, going through some mud and water (it had rained the night before). Just like that, my bike had slid out from under me and I had landed – hard – on my right side.

When I got on the bike I found out that the chain had come off, so I got off and walked my bike slowly down the block back to our house.

I peeled off my muddy clothes and took a shower to get the gravel off my bloody hand (just a little scratch), my arm, and out of my hair. I found out I had a couple of bloody scrapes by my right knee and a bit of road rash on the back of my arm, but other than that, I was fine. It could have been so much worse.

As the day wore on, it was worse. It was surprising how I gradually got more stiff and sore as the hours went by.

And the next day proved to be even more painful. I was popping ibuprofen quite a bit, and I even had to ask Gary to get me some when I woke up at 5 a.m. on Wednesday and could hardly stand the pain. I developed a really pretty purple bruise on my right thigh (sorry, no picture, you’ll have to take my word for it).

I’ve been thinking about how much I used to take my pain-free, healthy body for granted.

Every time I try to raise my arm to do something and my shoulder protests – loudly – I realize how much I just expected that I could work and play so easily.

I think of friends who have had shoulder surgery and think about the years of pain they had to endure before they had the surgery, and the time they spent recovering.

I’ve also been thinking metaphorically about crashes and how often we don’t feel all of the pain at the time of the “crash.” It might take a little time before the shock wears off and we feel the full effects of what has happened.

After I had my bike crash, I thought I mostly hurt my shoulder, but in the days since then I have felt more pain in my entire neck. All of those muscles were jarred, and they’re all going to complain a bit until I heal.

When we have a figurative “crash” in our lives, we may think just one problem occurred: one person’s job was lost, one person’s health suffered, one person passed away, one person made a poor choice that resulted in some sort of crash.

It doesn’t take long to realize that those crashes produce all sorts of pain in other people’s lives and other areas of our own lives. We have to be aware of where we hurt and be prepared to do something about the pain if we need to.

At this point, I’m pretty sure I just have sore muscles, but if I had had excruciating pain in my arm or shoulder I would have gone to the doctor to get checked out. I need to take some medicine for the pain and make sure I’m not overdoing it with using my right side until it heals.

If we have emotional pain from sort of crash in our lives, we also have to get it treated if it’s severe or if it lingers for a long time. We need to cut ourselves some slack and take it easy while we heal from any kind of “crash” in our lives.

We may have some visible (or invisible) scars from our crash, but with some time we’ll be able to move on and continue life’s journey.

My bike seat will never be the same after my crash.

If we live life at all, we’re probably going to experience some crashes. They’re so difficult, but they also teach us. They teach us to get back up. They teach us to empathize with others. They teach us to have compassion. They teach us to slow down and then keep going.

And they teach us to make sure we’re careful and riding straight when we go through a muddy puddle on our bike.

“My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. ” (Psalm 119:28 NIV)

Have you experienced a “crash” in life lately? How can focusing on God help you to get through it and move on after you’ve healed?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Doing the Work

This is probably going to feel like a rerun for most of you. Taking action seems to be a frequent theme for these Focus Friday posts. I know I need constant reminders, maybe you do, too.

My mind is on “doing the work” because I attended a writers conference last weekend and pitched my book idea to agent Cynthia Ruchti. (The book is about my experience with depression and how we can all stay healthy emotionally.) She expressed an interest in seeing my book proposal when I get it finished. Exciting, right? You would think I would have rushed home, opened my computer, and finished that proposal immediately.

But no, that’s not how I roll.

I did spend one to two hours working on the proposal this week, but that’s the extent of it. There were some other things I had to work on, but I have to admit that I also wasted quite a bit of time doing things that weren’t really necessary.

If we want to get things done, we have to do the work.

If we want to clean and organize our houses, we have to schedule time to clear away the clutter, put things away, and put some elbow grease into making things shine. It won’t get done while we sit on the couch and watch Netflix.

If we want to lose some extra pounds, we need to move a little more and eat a little less. We might need to figure out why we run to food when we aren’t really hungry. We have to do the work or we’ll never see a difference in our waistline.

If we want to write a book, we need to get our bottom in the chair, open a document, and write. The words won’t magically appear just because we think about them once in a while.

If we want to improve a relationship, we need to make some choices about what we’re saying, how we’re acting, and why we love that person. We want it to be easy, but relationships take work.

Whatever you want to do in life, you might as well admit that it’s going to take work. As Proverbs 14: 23 says, “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” This could refer to financial profit and poverty, but I think it could also be talking about the profit of good results in our lives (a clean house, a healthier body, a book, a better relationship) as opposed to the lack of results (a pigsty, extra pounds, no book, a poor relationship).

As soon as I get this post done, I’m going to go schedule in some writing time for this weekend. That proposal is not going to get done unless I make sure I’m doing the work.

“May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands. ” (Psalm 90:17 NIV)

Do you have something that’s not getting done because you just aren’t doing the work? How can focusing on God help you to take steps to do it instead of just thinking about it?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Getting Started

Getting started on something is seldom easy.

There is uncertainty, hard work, and lots of change.

Our son Blake graduated from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa in May. His dream is to live and work in Chicago and do some acting. And so, here we are in the Windy City, riding the “L” and city buses as we’ve looked at all sorts of apartment possibilities for him. Today he made his final choice and he was approved!

The apartment hunt has taken up most of our time, but we also have been doing a bit of sightseeing.

Here we are on Navy Pier…we were so busy looking at apartments that we didn’t take more pictures!

We’ll be back on August 1 to help him move in and get settled.

As a mom, I’m excited for him, but it’s also pretty scary to know he’ll be working and living in such a big city. I have a month to teach him everything he doesn’t know yet! (Thank goodness for Google)

Now that he has a place to live lined up, he can begin his job search in earnest. I don’t know if he’s nervous or scared, but I know he’s willing to do whatever it takes to pursue this dream and get started in Chicago. That will probably mean some kind of day job and trying to get into some acting on the side.

I’m proud of him. The safest route would be to pick a smaller city and get an easy job. Instead, he’s embarking on an uncertain and scary journey, but one that will also be exciting and hopefully rewarding.

All of us need to look at our lives once in a while and think about where we are. Have we slipped into comfortable patterns in our jobs, habits, and relationships? Do we need to get started in something new?

Is God calling us to a new job that will help us stretch and grow?

Are there new habits that will serve us better than the ones we turn to mindlessly?

Will new ways of communicating help us grow closer to our spouse or other family members?

Getting started can be hard work. It’s scary. We can’t be sure of our results. What we do know is that God is with us all the time. We can step out in faith, trusting Him to guide us and redirect us if something isn’t working.

Gary and I know that God will be with Blake as he makes this move and gets started in the next chapter of his life. How exciting!

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9 ESV)

Is it time for you to be getting started with something new in life? How can focusing on God help you to do that bravely, knowing He’s with you every step of the way?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Speaking Up

When I was very depressed* back in September of 2014, I made lots of mistakes in how I was thinking and acting.

One of my biggest blunders was failing to speak up. Gary knew how much I was struggling, but I said very little at the high school where I was getting more and more stressed and upset about the teaching job I couldn’t seem to handle.

Looking back (and isn’t it always easier to see what we could have done in hindsight?), I might have been able to handle things better if I had spoken up and talked to the other teachers about my worries and frustrations.

I could have gotten more help with the technology problems with the online textbook, instead of being determined that I should be able to figure it out myself.

I could have asked how the other teachers handled disruptive students, instead of just heaping more shame on myself because I couldn’t keep everyone happy and attentive every day.

I could have been more open with people at church and asked them to pray for me as I adjusted, instead of keeping it all to myself and slipping more and more into that dark place.

I learned from the mistakes I made back then when I got so sick.

Now I’m much more willing to speak up when I’m going through something difficult. I talk to God about it, and I talk to other people who can help.

I was reminded of speaking up earlier this week at VBS. In the midst of a busy day of herding a group of 3rd and 4th graders through their various activities at Vacation Bible School, I heard one of the other volunteers admit that she had a meltdown one evening as she thought about a commitment she had made for later this summer. She had doubts about whether her faith was strong enough and if she was the right person for the job she had signed up for.

How brave of her to voice that doubt in a group of peers. We could encourage her and now we know how we can pray for her as that commitment approaches.

We all need to get more comfortable speaking up. Let’s not keep our troubled thoughts to ourselves. Let’s talk to God about them and practice speaking up to people in our lives who can pray for us and give us help and encouragement for whatever we’re going through.

God knows our thoughts, but people aren’t mind readers. We have to speak up.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15 NIV)

Do you feel comfortable speaking up, or do you keep your thoughts and feelings to yourself? How can focusing on God help you to be more willing to talk to God and others about your troubles?

*You can read more of my posts about depression over at robynmulder.blogspot.com (search for “depression” or “mental health” to find more posts)

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Spelling

I didn’t expect God to speak to me during the Scripps National Spelling Bee this year, but He did.

As I settled in to watch the finals on Thursday night, I was just expecting to enjoy watching a group of amazing kids spell incredibly difficult words. I love spelling, so I try to give my guess before they show it on the TV screen (I’m usually close, but also usually wrong).

The first round of the finals began:

frailejo’n, Stakhanovite, jabiru, Tophet, alloeostrophe, scuppaug…

I got excited when Dr. Bailley gave the next word: kairos. I knew that one! I had heard it during my studies at Northwestern College. It had something to do with time, I thought, but as he read the definition, I was completely convicted:

A time when conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial action: the opportune and decisive moment.

Alice went on to spell “kairos” correctly, but I was stuck on that word for several minutes.

It hit me because I think we miss our kairos so often. We let that moment go by and waste our opportunity to do something significant. And then we do that over and over again, because of fear or uncertainty.

It hit me because this is my kairos. Our children are grown, I don’t work outside the home, I have the time and the talents and the desire to accomplish several crucial actions. I don’t want to waste any more opportunities.

On Thursday night, it felt like God was saying, “Do I have to spell it out for you? It’s time.”

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17 NIV)

Is it the kairos for you in any area of your life? How can focusing on God help you to “seize the day” and take crucial action?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on PTSD

I’m admittedly diving into an area of mental health that I know very little about, but I got a tiny taste of it this week.

I took our garbage out to the dumpster and came up to the wet spot you can see in my Focus Friday graphic. I slowed down and stepped cautiously into the water, and felt an instant surge of adrenaline. I took another step and I was through it, and I continued on to the dumpster.

I chuckled and shook my head, feeling silly for my reaction, but as I turned around and had to go through the water again, I realized that I had just experienced a very small episode of PTSD.

A few months ago, I had carried my garbage through that very same spot, but that day there was a thin layer of ice on top of the water. Before I knew what was happening, I was flat on my back and my head hit the cement with enough force to make me see stars. I was okay, but I cried because of the pain and the shock.

So this week I felt some fear as I took that step, even though I knew it was just water. The unreasonable fear I felt, the surge of adrenaline I felt as my body tried to prepare me for a fall which would never happen, and the shakiness I felt after I passed that spot were very real symptoms. I’m sure my symptoms will disappear after a few more times walking through the water without incident, but for many people it’s not that easy.

PTSD is a serious disorder, causing a multitude of distressing symptoms for the people who deal with it. I can only imagine the feelings and emotions experienced by someone who develops PTSD after being in combat, facing a traumatic situation, living with chronic pain, experiencing the sudden death of a loved one, or being in a car accident. Not everyone who faces those situations develops PTSD, but many people do.

If you or someone you love suffers from PTSD, I highly recommend an article I found (https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-PTSD.html ) that addresses the topic and offers some biblical counsel for those who have it.

Of course, as with any mental illness, we can’t make it go away with just a Bible verse and a prayer, but meditating on scripture and talking to God about it can be part of the recovery process.

My mini-PTSD episode will always remind me of the seriousness of this illness and how real those feelings are to the people experiencing it.

“…whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” (Proverbs 1:33 ESV)

Have you ever experienced PTSD? How can focusing on God help you to move forward in faith as you recover from a traumatic experience?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Spoilers

We’re going to see Avengers: Endgame tonight. It released on April 26, but we decided to wait to see it until it came here to Platte.

By some miracle, I haven’t heard any spoilers, even though our sons have both seen it. They’re so nice.

I haven’t accidentally run across anything online, but I’m glad we’re going to go see it tonight. I don’t know how long people typically wait before they start blabbing about plot points in movies they’ve seen.

Our daughter Erin teaches 4th grade in Lincoln, Nebraska. The other day one of her kids got into trouble because he told a girl in his class something from Avengers: Endgame and she got really upset.

Erin took him aside and tried to help him see the error of his ways. “That’s really not nice to spoil a movie for someone else,” she explained patiently.

“How was I supposed to know that she didn’t know that _____________?”

“Hey!” Erin yelped. “I haven’t seen it yet!”

“Oops, sorry Miss Mulder.” The poor kid felt horrible and he kept apologizing to her throughout the day. But the damage was done. He had spoiled it for Erin without meaning to.

I was going to write this post tonight after the movie, but I decided to get it done before we go, so there’s absolutely no way I can spoil the movie for any of you.

We don’t like to have surprises ruined for us, do we?

And most people don’t enjoy spoiling a surprise for someone else.

I recall one time when I accidentally said something about a Christmas present for my brother-in-law. I can’t even remember what I wasn’t supposed to say, but my sister-in-law jumped in with a “He’s not supposed to know that!” I was crushed and I went off to cry somewhere.

We have to be careful with our words, that’s all there is to it.

Sometimes it may just be a movie spoiler that we let slip and we make someone angry. Hopefully they get over it in time. But often we aren’t careful with our words and we do deep and lasting damage to another person’s soul.

Do you think I’m being overly dramatic?

Take a minute and think about some of the things people have said to you over the years. Do any of them bring back massive amounts of pain, even years later?

Now think about something mean you said to your spouse, your child, a friend. Can you remember the look that came over their face, the sadness in their eyes, the time it took for them to feel close to you again?

Hopefully, we apologize and ask forgiveness when we talk to someone that way. There’s grace and forgiveness and healing, with God’s help, but the sting may never completely go away.

Keep that in mind as you choose your words each day. And by all means, no Endgame spoilers, at least for a few more days.


“A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating .” (Proverbs 18:6 ESV)
[I’m going to quote that verse to any middle schooler who dares to rattle off any spoilers while we’re waiting for the movie to start tonight!]

“Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.” (Proverbs 21:23 ESV)

Have you ever been upset by hearing a spoiler before you wanted to? How can focusing on God help you to watch your words and speak carefully, apologizing and asking forgiveness when you blow it?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Keeping On

Some weeks are harder to get through than others.

This was one of those weeks, for so many people.

Last Tuesday we received the horrible news that a dear friend’s daughter had died suddenly. I want to tell you more about that, but I just don’t have the words yet. Maybe on another Friday.

For now, let me just remind us all that we must make the choice to keep on going, even after we suffer a shocking loss.

Our friend and his family were constantly in our prayers after we heard the news. I can’t imagine the intense pain all of them are feeling right now.

As for me, it felt wrong somehow to just keep doing what I always did, day after day. My body even rebelled a bit, staying in bed several mornings and just letting the alarm clock ring for close to an hour before I could drag myself out of bed to shut it off.

I guess I just needed that time to ignore the demands of the day before I could face it. Once I got up, I succeeded in carrying out my normal routine, for the most part. A part of my heart was hurting for our friends back in Iowa, but life went on.

And life went on for all of them, as well. We watched on Facebook as they grieved their loss, but they also kept on living. Roller skating after the prom, celebrating another son’s birthday, posting Bible verses of comfort for themselves and friends.

Whether we have heartbreaking losses or minor annoyances in life, we all need to practice keeping on. God understands when we need to stop and grieve and scream and cry because we don’t like or understand what’s going on in our lives. But then we need to get up and take the steps that are in front of us, leading us to whatever God has next for us.

God is right here with us, loving us and giving us the strength to keep on keeping on.

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV)

Do the hard times of life keep you paralyzed in place sometimes? How can focusing on God give you the strength to keep on going?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on New Growth

It’s finally starting to feel like spring around here. I was so happy to see a row of pretty tulips blooming in front of our house.

I’ve been helping my neighbor clean up her garden this week.

(In case you can’t read it, the sign hanging from the arbor says “Garden of Weeden.” Isn’t that cute?)

Candi and Gerry have a huge garden with lots of fun little surprises sprinkled throughout. All through the spring, summer, and fall there are flowers blooming along paths between displays of petrified wood. It is a sight to behold!

Right now, though, it needs a little extra attention. The old growth has to be cleared away to make way for the plants that are already starting to grow even at this early date.

So Candi and I have been gathering up the dead grasses, leaves, and plants and making big piles.

As I moved from bed to bed, I was impressed once again by God’s great eye for detail and design. Each plant that has begun growing is so unique. Each needs to be cared for in different ways. Some need lots of rich soil, while others thrive with just a bit of dirt in the cracks of a rock.

I took some pictures of one of the peony bushes I was cleaning up. At first it just looked sad with the old stems and leaves hanging, dead, over the wire cage around it.

But when I looked in from the top, I could see new shoots sticking up already.

I leaned over and cracked off the dry old stems and pulled them out, tossing them in a pile behind me. A few more swipes to get rid of the old peony leaves and I was left with just the new growth.

(I think I missed some leaves!)

With the old, dead stuff removed, the plant has access to the sun and room to grow and thrive.

If only we could think of ourselves like all of those plants. We need to get rid of the old, dead stuff in our lives. We can’t do it ourselves.

I’m sure some plants can and do thrive in spite of barriers, but most of them need a caring gardener to make conditions ideal for their growth.

We have the Holy Spirit to help us get rid of bad habits, negative thoughts, and many sins that can keep our growth stunted.

With all of those things removed, we have even more access to the Son and room to grow and thrive. We’ll see new growth in our lives and we can look forward to what will bloom someday.

(We aren’t finished cleaning up the garden yet, but soon it will be beautiful and blooming!)

“But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.” (Ephesians 4:20-24 The Message)

Do you see any new growth in your life? What do you have to let the Holy Spirit help you get rid of so that you are free to grow and blossom?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Black Dots

Gary and I went to a Pastors’ Retreat at The Cove in North Carolina last week. We had a wonderful time meeting other pastors and their spouses, listening to the inspiring speaker, and enjoying delicious meals.

After some free time on Tuesday afternoon, we got in line for supper.

We visited with the others at our table, including one couple we had eaten with on Monday evening. Afterward, we figured we had a little time before the next session started, so we went to the basement bookstore for a while. Neither of us had our phones with us, so we asked a man in the hallway for the time. He held out his phone and we saw that it was 6:07.

We walked away. Oh good, we thought, we have over an hour before the session. But then we said, no that can’t be right. Our supper time was at 6:05. His phone must be an hour off (we were further confused because he had said that his watch was an hour off before he showed us his phone). Poor guy, we thought. He has no idea what time it is.

We went upstairs, but no one was heading into the auditorium for the session. We walked across the lobby and then we saw people in line for supper. And it suddenly dawned on us: we had eaten at the wrong time!

It really was 6:07 and we had eaten at 5:00 instead of waiting until our assigned time of 6:05. A black dot on each of our name tags marked us as “second group” eaters. Oops!

Such a little thing, but my mind spun as I tried to figure out how that had happened and dealt with the guilt of my sin.

We got on the shuttle and went back to our room to hide in shame (just kidding, but it did take a little work for me to let it go).

Why didn’t the cafeteria staff person point out our black dot and ask us to wait til our correct time to eat?

Why didn’t our tablemates notice? The couple from Monday night must have eaten at the wrong time, too! Was it on purpose, or accidentally, like us? (The next morning we saw that their name tags had no black dots, so they must have eaten late on Monday night)

I started pondering some comparisons between our mistake and the problem of sin.


We were completely oblivious to our mistake. Could it be that some people are completely oblivious to the sins they’re committing? They think they’re doing the right thing so they have no reason to feel any shame or guilt?

Sometimes people don’t believe the truth when they hear it, like we did with the man who told us it was 6:07. He can’t be right, we reasoned. But he was.

People may be very willing to change if they are just made aware of their sin. If someone had pointed out our black dots when we were in line, we would have quickly gotten out and waited until it was the right time to eat.

Rules are there for a reason. The name tags with and without black dots divided our group in half so we all fit in the dining room. It was a good policy. Too bad we didn’t follow it. And while our infraction didn’t hurt anyone, there are many sins people commit that do damage relationships, property, and our relationship with God.

People need to be more willing to point out sin, gently and with love. I’m glad the staff didn’t point at us and yell: BLACK DOTS! BLACK DOTS! But if they had lowered their voice and reminded us of our eating time we would have gladly complied. Can we figure out how to do that with the people in our lives?

On this Friday, this Good Friday of Holy Week, how wonderful that we can focus on Jesus’ death on the cross. His sacrifice covered all of the black dots of sin in our lives.

And when the time is right, we’ll join him for that incredible feast in heaven.

“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14 NIV)

Do you believe that Jesus’ death on the cross takes away all of your guilt and shame? How can focusing on God help you to notice any “black dots” of sin in your life and confess them so you can be forgiven, completely and forever?