Getting in a Groove

Today I taught Life Group for the fifth straight week. I realize that, for those who teach an adult class every week, this would be situation normal. However, since our class is designed around me and my co-teacher teaching every-other week, this was a long stretch. Last night as I prepared, I found myself somewhat at a loss as to how to present the lesson, a lesson which I had to make up from scratch.

Following our "lives changed by the resurrection" theme, I went on to the next chapter of acts, Chapter 16. The life changed in this chapter was Lydia, the Greek woman from Thyatira who was in Philippi, dealing in purple cloth, and found by Paul at a Jewish place of prayer. She seems to have been easily convinced by his message. The second life changed was the Philippian jailer, who had a middle of the night conversion after a series of providential events.

As I was teaching, I felt that the lesson ran longer than it should, longer than I had prepared for. We ended a bit early, but we had also started early. While I enjoy teaching, I'll be glad for the break next week, even if it is just for one week.

One thing I didn't make as part of my lesson, which I thought of as I was at my computer on a Sunday afternoon, engaged in book writing, was that Paul seemed to be in a groove, even this early in his second missionary journey. He went to Philippi and, not finding a synagogue, as he would in other cities on that journey, he went to the place of prayer. He was already in his "by all means save some" mode. Lydia he led to Jesus by preaching, the jailer by singing with follow-up preaching. In between he healed the slave girl of the fortune-telling spirit that possessed her. His groove was that he was always at work for God, missing no opportunity to minister for Him.

I have not been in a groove lately. In fact, it's been just the opposite. I have been discombobulated from a schedule standpoint. Babysitting grandchildren for almost a week was good, but not good for establishing/maintaining a groove. My blog posts have been irregular. My writing has been according to the path of least resistance (i.e. whatever seemed at any given time to be the easiest to write). I've made excuses based on activities of others relative to what I need to do. I haven't done research into peripheral activities, such as learning G.I.M.P. or finding a new theme for my writing blog or researching a new computer and camera.

That's about to change. Trips and entertaining company are at an end, I believe. I'm about at a place where I can make good progress on all the things that I must do. This weekend I found a way to spend an odd moment to prepare for research into a future non-fiction book I plan to do. I made major progress on some much needed yard work, on paperwork, on housework. I'm caught up on budgeting, if not on filing. My attitude is good, my health is good, my weight loss is about to enter into another stage. I should soon be in a groove.

In fact, I think I'm already in the groove, based on measured progress this weekend. I need to accomplish another week of this type of progress, at which time I should be able to report back here: I am, indeed, in a groove.

Stay tuned.