The Adventure Begins…

“Ya’ll” know I’m slightly obsessed (Okay, so more than slightly.) with the whole DoAhead thing. It started about three years ago.It didn’t matter whether I was minimizing the crazies with a crock-pot or implementing DoAhead thinking because I felt like a crack-pot.

DoAhead mentality became my mantra as I sought balance between the perspiration and inspiration in my life. It also marked the beginning of my constant ogling through search engines for anything that had anything to do with Doing Ahead.

I wanted to know what other folks had to say on the matter. Online searches for books lead me down one of two paths. One trail was saturated with books that addressed organization and time management. The genre bulged with publications. Some of them were so enticing I ordered them. But they still didn’t touch on Doing Ahead, at least from the angle I had in mind.

No, I wanted a book that would address——–

Vision. The key to a true DoAhead.

As I looked under that rock I found books crafted by corporate motivators that promised to help me look to the future. I also found plenty of literature written with a bent towards mysticism. Neither type of book reflected what this chick is about.

My research left me feeling like a fool waiting for their divining rod to vibrate. Finally, I was struck by this thought, “I wonder if the Bible talks about vision and ‘doing ahead.’” (Mercy, God is so patient.) Turns out He has quite a bit to say on the matter.

It doesn’t make any difference whether we peruse the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, or Prophets. God’s word is full of wisdom on Doing Ahead. My research found me paring down the Bible’s prolific DoAhead wisdom to five primary principles. Today I’ll talk about just one.

Doing Ahead Awakens Expedition

This principle finds its roots in the writings of Paul, as well as an unlikely but sagely source…Winnie-the-Pooh.

Simpleton would be the polite adjective for Winnie-the-Pooh. Let’s face it, the sweet bear’s bulb was on the dim side. Of course, that’s one of the things that made him so endearing. Perhaps it’s also one of the things that made him wise.

Leonardo da Vinci said,

Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication.

Sophistication implies worldly wisdom and I believe Pooh was an undeniably wise bear.

We read in chapter eight, In Which Christopher Robin Leads an Expotition to the North Pole, “Christopher Robin was sitting outside this door, putting on his Big Boots. As soon as he saw the Big Boots, Pooh knew that an Adventure was going to happen, and he brushed the honey off his nose with the back of his paw, and spruced himself up as well he could, so as to look Ready for Anything.”

I love the way Pooh understood it wasn’t about his boots. Good things happen when we’re not caught up in our own boots or bootstraps. Pooh was smart enough to know that real adventure was about to begin if He followed the guy in the Big Boots.

Those words are also true for you and me.

Paul put it this way:

“This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” Romans 8:15 MSG

I don’t know where you are at in life. Words like ‘adventurously expectant’ may seem like an unrealistic and perhaps even unappealing stretch. If you’re like me there were plenty of days that I would have settled for food in the fridge, clean underwear in the house and obedient children. A lack of those things was about all the adventure I could handle.

Never fear. Doing Ahead doesn’t mean you have to pack your Parka and head to the North Pole.  It’s more like a dance than a climb. But it’s not a stoic, stuffy dance. It’s a Gene Kelly Singing in the Rain kind of dance.

Can you see it?

The cool rain is exhilarating and it makes God’s warm smile even more inviting. He pulls us in. Head on chest. Arms around waist. And then He whispers “Stand on my toes.” We glance up and spy the twinkle in His eyes. We can only ask, “What’s next Papa?”

Our legs are superimposed on His as He begins to move. Before we know it we’re not where we started. But because we’re so enamored of our partner (and He of us) we know the goal had little to do with the destination. The dance was far more about the relationship than the journey.

The biblical principles of vision, decision and submission that accompany Doing Ahead will inevitably result in dancing on His feet. That’s the expectant adventure Paul is talking about.

How about you?

Feeling restless?

Unsettled?

Nudged?

Perhaps you’ve simply spied the boots. If so, I’m certain it’s because He made sure you’d see them. The nudge may be a trip to Haiti but it could be an equally adventuresome jaunt across the street to take a casserole to a stranger.

My prayer for each of us is that we’ll be wise like Pooh. I hope we’ll lick the honey off our paws and know that His boots are a sign “to be Ready for Anything.”

Join me and others today as we share more about living adventurously at Suzie Eller’s #livefree community!

Your (Expectantly Waiting for Adventure) DoAhead Friend,