I am Surrendering To Balance In My Life

I am surrendering to balance in my life. I fought it well. I argued about the lack of balance even from a Biblical perspective with my entrepreneur friends. To be fair let me help put this in perspective. I love work. I am passionate about business. I enjoy challenges. This blog run is a challenge from God to be diligent to write for 45 days straight. (Doing something daily that is this unnatural is unnerving for me) I have an addictive and caffeinated spirit. When your spirit is dry and starts to focus on self instead of finding life pleasing God and others, then you can be on a path for death.

I was on that path 7 years ago. Pride and arrogance were wrapped in a thin t-shirt of false humility. In the fifth row of observers of life’s grandstand, Brian “looked” pretty good. Achievements in business seemed fairly easy. Circumstances around me changed in 2007 in the real estate market. I made stupid decisions mostly because my imbalance in life. What do I mean by that?

Well,… what is “balance”? I am not talking about Karate Kid on one leg in a stork position balance. Zig Ziglar called it the wheel of life. I understand the metaphor, but I see my balance more like a gyroscope. The gyroscope is me. Outside forces from life can poke it and rock it. Regardless of the disruption, I can stay balanced because at the center axis is God. Inside the gyroscope outer ring of protection is my wife and children. My responsibility as a husband and father is to provide and protect. Outside the gyroscope lies my work and others.

Frank Ramseur, (Pastor at Calvary Chapel Chattanooga) taught a good and Godly life is a filtered life. God comes through first, then Family, then Work, then Ministry. What does it mean to focus on God first? He gave the example of William Whiting Borden’s life. A remarkable man, Bill graduated Yale and Princeton Seminary. He died in Egypt at age 25 studying Arabic because he had a passion for Muslims. He gave up his Father’s fortune and work, lucrative job offers, etc. He wrote in his Bible, No Reserves, No Retreats, No Regrets. Read his story here.

My filter a mere 7 years ago was broken. Work was my focus and first priority. Because of that and my pride, I did not listen to others around me. I was not doing well with any areas much less the area I loved, work. Football coaches call it “reading their own press clippings”. Regardless of what you call it, my pride lead me easily to make decisions that cost me my integrity with God, my family, work and my ability to give or minister.

So, what is my response today? Work diligently to keep God my focus. Keeping fixed to a task is difficult for my personality, but I do respond to challenges. Pastor Frank challenged the congregation to read every day to keep the filter clean. That simple discipline helps. A teacher and mentor of mine encouraged me to keep a prayer journal. To make that unique, I bought a Go Dog Go spiral homemade notebook from a local craft store in Chattanooga. Reading, engaging, praying, listening with the Maker of the universe is an honor and privilege. Not to mention the only way to understand my direction.

So again, 45 days of consecutive blog posts is what I believe God asked me to do. My filter in life dictates that I am immediately obedient to His call. As I follow His lead He empowers me to serve my wife, and adult children, others in my work and others in ministry. My Maker is balance, peace, and life. He gives me the energy to “spin” as I am surrendering to balance in my life.

Yesterday, I wrote about the real estate market and Realtors enjoyed it. John Wilkinson, a real estate professional, asked me to write about the how interest rates are affecting investors as well as the apartment construction and rental rates. Are there topics that you are interested in me researching or sharing? If so, please respond and ask.

Thanks for reading!