Thursday, June 7, 2012

Where are you on the Fume Radar??


So I don't know if it's a TouchGlobal thing or maybe a ministry thing or a life thing but one thing is for sure...if we are not careful, pretty soon we will start to "run on fumes." 

The Fume Radar

First, let me explain the radar...then we can get into the lesson of it over the next several blogs.

Think of the radar like the Engine temperature gauge in your car....cold is on the left and hot is on the right.  This radar is a little different in that it's a GOOD thing to be energized..that's the goal.  So if you are ENERGIZED, you are not running on fumes, you are well rested, and overflowing with energy to accomplish what is set before you...and to do it with joy too!  You are working in your sweet spot and holding onto tightly the passion vision and calling for your life.  STABLE means that you have perhaps lost some of your drive and energy but you are perfectly able to keep moving forward and only partly running on fumes.  The stable stage could mean you have lost part of your joy and aren't getting adequate R&R. If you are in the DANGER zone, that means you are operating completely on fumes, too many things coming at ya, perhaps operating outside your sweet spot more than you prefer, haven't rested, and you have lost the majority of your energy and joy.  Your drive now comes from "let's get this over with so I can collapse later." 

I, for one, will tell you I have been on every single part of this radar.  It didn't just happen when I came on the mission field either...I remember days like this in college when I would study "on fumes" for exams after a full day of classes, clubs, and meetings.  Those fumes just sneak up on you if you aren't looking out for yourself and them. 

Today in our staff meeting, I had each person in the room tell me where they were on the radar.  And yes we had some people in the "danger" zone.  This gave them time to share what's going on, why they were in the danger zone, and we then covered them in prayer.  This I pray will continue to remain on our white board throughout the next 9 weeks of summer teams.  We need this reminder and self-evaluation of "where are we on the radar this week?" and "I need to tell someone I'm getting close to the "danger" zone so they will pray for me." 

I want to come back later this week and go over how we end up in each zone and what can we do to stay energized in the midst of our everyday lives but today I ask you to stop and think and pray about....

where are you on the fume radar???
 

1 comment:

goingthrusamaria said...

thanks for sharing these thoughts, Katie! I remember hearing a sermon one time titled "Check Your Gauges" It is critical for us to be paying attention to our "gauges" We easily slip into survival mode because it's become important to be useful or busy. Taking time to be silent before God, to wait on Him for the renewing of strength, doesn't have an appearance of usefulness. So we often avoid the very thing we need!