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Driving Lessons

My oldest heads off to drivers education class this week.  And what a relief that is.  Teaching a opinionated young man to drive a speeding bullet is much more stressful than I ever imagined.  It’s pretty nice to be able to outsource a little bit of the finer details of this education to someone who must have nerves of steel! Seriously, just imagine if your job was to drive around in a  compact car with first time drivers all day long!

Of course, what I really dread about this, is that when he comes home with all this new knowledge in hand, I have a strong feeling that my driving will be uses as a place for him to critic and test the value of what he has learned.  I would love to say “do as I say, but not as I do boy!”  But for some reason, I don’t think that will fly… Just like it doesn’t in other parts of life.

6 Always remember these commands I give you today.7 Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 New Century Version (NCV)

 
Yep, we are to remember, teach and talk about these commands as often as well can.  And of course, the best way to make that happen is to make sure you are living it as well.
 
Watch your speed, and make sure your example is one that others should follow.
 
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Our Thoughts

I have been spending some time recently examining what I spend my time thinking about.  And let me tell you, I am not sure I like what I have learned about myself.

This little exercise started when I discovered this quote sometime last week

“Act the way you’d like to be and soon you’ll be the way you act.” – Leonard Cohen

After reading that I started to think about how I acted, but I decided to also take a investigatory look at what I was thinking about – especially since at this time I spend a lot of time alone in my office at work.

As I mentioned above it’s a little sobering.  I was surprised how little time I spent on certain topics and how much I spend thinking about other topics.  Even more surprising was how much time I spent thinking about me!

It’s even more sobering when the Proverbs echo the quote above ( more than likely its the other way around!!!)

 7For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Proverbs 23:7 King James Version (KJV)

Of course then there is this little diddy as well

 34For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 12:34 King James Version (KJV)

Hm.  The other day Alex was driving on the interstate for the first time.  We started to swerve toward the shoulder, and Alex said as he was straighten up the car, I was looking over there at that barn ( or whatever it was on the side of the road).  Yep, he learned an important fact, the car goes where you look!  And from that we know, we go where we think.  Spend a little time thinking about what you are thinking about!

 

 

 

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Driving Lessons

Last night I took my oldest son out for his first real driving lesson. So off we went to the Battlefield so that we could tackle several kinds of roads with limited traffic. Phew, I couldn’t believe how tense and nervous I was in the passenger seat. He was doing a fantastic job for his first real driving experience, but dad on the other hand….

So, I spent some time trying to figure out where my anxieties were coming from. I mean, this wasn’t the ‘send him off for the first time’ type of experience or the ‘driving on a crowded road’ type of experience. I think this had to do with control, or the lack of control. It is an interesting experience as a parent to continue to loosen the hold of control and allow your children to go on their own way. It’s really quite a painful experience – in so many ways!

But I think this goes further then the control of the parent, this was really turning over control, and I think that is a problem that we all deal with. In this case, maybe it was justified, I mean this is a case of an experienced driver turning over control to an inexperienced driver, allowing the inexperienced driver to drive the vehicle directly into a tree or something. But in our lives, we want to keep control, when we are more then likely the inexperienced driver. The experience of the Holy Spirit sits beside us ready to guide us, if we allow control to move over to it. So here is a simple lesson for a Friday.

7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

New International Version (NIV)

That’s correct give it over to Him, allow him to worry for you and there is a great deal of peace waiting for you!

That’s a pretty good bit of driving advice, and a great conclusion from the first of many driving lessons.