{"id":612,"date":"2010-08-30T09:08:25","date_gmt":"2010-08-30T15:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/raincitypastor.wordpress.com\/?p=612"},"modified":"2010-08-30T09:08:25","modified_gmt":"2010-08-30T15:08:25","slug":"surfs-up-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/richarddahlstrom\/2010\/08\/30\/surfs-up-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Surf’s Up…NOW!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u201cLet\u2019s go surfing\u201d<\/strong> I said to my wife and daughter (more pics here<\/a>), as we pondered what to do with the few hours we wouldn\u2019t be involved with family for my niece\u2019s wedding. \u00a0The girls were all \u201cyes,\u201d and so after calling a friend from a summer conference at which I spoke, we found ourselves on the beach this past Friday morning with surf boards, under the tutelage of a man who grew up in the waves, and taught us with the patience of Job!<\/p>\n

I grew up in Central California, closer to mountains than water. \u00a0When I attended college on the coast, those pesky architecture labs and physics classes left little time for the beach. \u00a0I\u2019d never surfed, though I\u2019d watched them from the shore, and even in the water as, at times, I\u2019d \u201cbody surfed.\u201d\u00a0 In my ignorance, I thought that since I skied and climbed rocks, surfing would be easy\u2013 sort of like the transferable skills of someone moving from managing a Starbucks to managing a Spaghetti Factory: different product, same skills.<\/p>\n

Nope. \u00a0I was mighty wrong! \u00a0It turns out the girls were, by the end of the day, better surfers than me. \u00a0We all managed to stand on our boards, but me the least often (once), and for the shortest time (blink..I\u2019m down). \u00a0What makes this sport so different than the others?<\/p>\n

Timing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is NOT me...it's my daughter. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With skiing and rock climbing, timing is basically nothing. \u00a0Take skiing:\u00a0 You get off the lift and then you adjust your boots, settle your poles into your hands, take a picture of the pretty snow, talk with your friends, ponder the snowboarders sitting in the snow all over the mountain, look down and assess the terrain, decide to descend, change your mind as your eye catches a bird in flight, change your mind again, and then go. \u00a0\u201cAnytime today\u201d is not an exaggeration.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s surfing. \u00a0Teacher Ted says, \u201cWhen the wave starts coming, you paddle like crazy, and then when you feel the full force of the wave carrying you, stand up. \u00a0Don\u2019t wait, or you\u2019ll miss the wave!\u201d \u00a0I try this, and when I feel the full force of the wave, I ponder: \u201cI\u2019m now feeling the full force of the wave \u2013 this feels powerful. \u00a0I need to stand up now. \u00a0OK, I\u2019ll stand.\u201d \u00a0I\u2019m now on a knee, but still thinking, \u201cThis is a bit intimidating, which is amazing because I\u2019m on a tiny wave in shallow water,\u201d and then BAM\u2026 the wave is gone and I fall over.<\/p>\n

This is me...thinking too much. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I did this a dozen times. \u00a0I\u2019ve come to discover that there\u2019s only about a two-second window in this sport, and if you miss it, that wave\u2013and all it could hold for you\u2013is gone. \u00a0The key: \u00a0NOW! \u00a0After trying and failing 11 times out of 12, I watch my daughter, who, after a try or two, is up on the board surfing. \u00a0Then my wife does the same thing. \u00a0I try again, think too much again, and fall again.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong. \u00a0I had more fun than anyone deserves to have. \u00a0But I learned things too, about my life. \u00a0Just one day earlier, I was sitting in a conference and the speaker said, \u201cIf you need to have the hard conversation with someone and you\u2019re putting it off, your leadership will fall short. \u00a0When you know the right thing to do, you need to do it, not later, but NOW!\u201d \u00a0Ouch, there\u2019s an ache in my stomach, for I know that there are times when I think too much, introspect too much, consider options too much\u2013 all as a cloak for avoiding the hard thing.<\/p>\n

Jesus<\/a> talked about this too, as did Peter<\/a>. The \u201cday of visitation\u201d in the Bible is a time that comes upon you, a time when you know the right thing to do because God is speaking with crystal clarity to you about your money, or your time, or a particular relationship, or your sexuality, or your addiction, or a hard conversation you need to have. \u00a0The point both guys are making is this: \u00a0When you hear God\u2019s voice, do not wait! \u00a0Act on it, because, like a wave that will pass you by, all the energy that will take you places you could never go on your own will pass you buy if you blow off the clear conviction of the Holy Spirit by ignoring His voice.<\/p>\n

Surfing was great fun but it also contained, for me, a great truth: When God is calling you to do something, don\u2019t think it to death. \u00a0Do it!<\/p>\n

There are people who will read this and, in the reading, be convicted that something in their life needs to change. \u00a0I have one word for you: \u00a0NOW!<\/p>\n

O Lord Christ; <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Some of us have been paddling in the surf forever, going to church meetings, and playing at godliness, but letting wave after wave pass us by. \u00a0No wonder we\u2019re tired, or bored, or bitter, or all three. \u00a0Thank you that you speak to us in the midst of our wanderings and failings. \u00a0As we hear, I pray that you\u2019ll not let us rest in delay tactics, or over analysis. \u00a0Give us the strength and faith to get up and do the right thing \u2013 today. \u00a0Thank you in advance for what awaits, as we follow. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Amen. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let this post pass you by without giving your Teacher a chance to speak\u2026adventure awaits.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cLet\u2019s go surfing\u201d I said to my wife and daughter (more pics here), as we pondered what to do with the few hours we wouldn\u2019t be involved with family for my niece\u2019s wedding. \u00a0The girls were all \u201cyes,\u201d and so after calling a friend from a summer conference at which I spoke, we found ourselves […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,9,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-creation","category-intimacy","category-life"],"yoast_head":"\nSurf's Up...NOW!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""Let's go surfing" I said to my wife and daughter (more pics here), as we pondered what to do with the few hours we wouldn't be involved with family for\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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