by Susan
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At the start of the New Year, my dentist had the following
advice on the sign that is in front of his building: "Forget resolutions. Make a revolution." That got me to thinking about what would be
revolutionary for me. One thing kept
popping up: fail better. My New Year's
revolution is to fail publicly more often and with more grace. Strange?
I suppose it is.
As an academic, there can be a lot of pressure-both internal
and external-to know everything (or to at least appear to!). I've experienced that awkward moment in front
of a classroom full of students were I suddenly am compelled to do anything but
admit I don't know the answer to a question.
Of course, these awkward moments are not confined to the classroom. For example, how about sitting in a business
meeting and someone defers a question to you which you are completely
unprepared to answer? Or what if you
made a mistake by punishing your child for something he or she didn't do? Or how about insisting you are absolutely
right about the fact that you put the batteries in the remote correctly only to
find out six months later that the remote really isn't broken because you did
happen to put the batteries in backwards?
From big to small, life is full of moments that test our
ability to admit we might be wrong. I
don't know about you, but it is a struggle for me to say in front of anyone
that I am wrong. It just doesn't come
naturally. I so get Eve's reaction in
the garden because she was confronted with a pretty big question of fault. It was a question she answered by passing the
buck with a finely phrased claim, "The serpent deceived me." I'm pretty sure that I would have been having
a fruit salad party with her and I don't even really like fruit salad!
One of the reasons Eve ate the fruit was because it appeared
desirable for gaining wisdom. So often I
think that I am slow to fail publicly because I don't want to give up my
position of control-one that can be easily equated with being intelligent. Who wants to appear dumb? Yet, in the midst of constructing some
response that makes me appear to know what I am talking about, I'm pretty sure
I am not a shining beacon of wisdom. In
1 Corinthians 1, Paul reminds us that God was more than willing to frustrate
the intelligence of the intelligent and to call the wisdom of the world
unwise. The scholar's wisdom kept him
far from understanding the cross-something that seemed quite foolish. Failing publicly seems foolish given the
academic world I live in on a daily basis, but following God and not my own
wisdom leads me to the throne of grace, a place where God can retool my unwise
mind to reflect His wisdom.
A student recently said to me that he thought people can be
pretty ridiculous when it comes to arguing philosophical positions. I asked him if ridiculous people know that
they are being ridiculous. He sat
puzzled for a moment and responded, "I guess not." My experience has been that people who are
being ridiculous don't know they are being ridiculous which is why the rest of
us think that they are being ridiculous.
I don't want to camp out in the ridiculousness of being
ridiculous about boasting in anything other than Christ. So, let me launch my
personal revolution by noting: I'm the
one who put the batteries in backwards in the remote.
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 Joy in the Word |
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Psalm 5:11
"But let all those who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice;
let them ever sing and shout for joy, because You make a covering over
them and defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in
You and be in high spirits."
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See the Joy
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Upcoming Events
________________________________________________
Whole Woman Conference
Keynote Address
Woodside Presbyterian Church
February 21, 2009
8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
For more info call 215-493-4145
www.woodside-church.org
"In the Light of Grace"
Crossroads Presbyterian Church's Annual Women's Retreat
St. Mary of Providence
Retreat Center
April 24-26, 2009
[stay tuned for contact information]
Are you or someone you know looking for a speaker for a 2009 event?
Please consider Defiant Joy Ministries.
Check out the topics page to learn more about available presentations.
Any of these presentations can be adapted to fit your group's needs and time requirements. Does your group need a specific topic
addressed?
Feel free to contact Susan with your request.
ways to keep in touch
See the Joy - Topics - Journal the Joy Blog
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Joy Moments
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Dr. Sassy and the Word.
My feline friend's name is Dr. Sassy. Dr. Sassy? It's a long story, but she worked hard in graduate school and prefers to go by the title of Dr. What can you expect from a cat whose first name is "Sassy?"
Here she is sitting on my Bible. The look on her face displays how serious she is about the Word. I think the photo below sums up the joy moment quite well.
Look around you--joyful moments abound! Click here to share yours!
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Joyful Resources
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Hear the Joy!
NEW! Listen to "The Ultimate Christmas Gift: You Matter!"
Want to hear a Defiant Joy message? Cruise on over to the Hear the Joy page and check out the messages. The archive is small but will be growing in the near future.
Want to share a joyful resource? Send us a message.
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eNewsletter Archive
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Read past issues.
Missed reading a past eNewsletter? No worries! You can read past issues by accessing the eNewsletter archive.
Click here to get caught up on past Defiant Joy news.
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Prayer and Thanks
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I'm Giving Thanks...- For a refreshing Christmas break.
- For a new semester.
- For a surprise financial gift to the ministry.
- For strength to continue to choose defiant joy
Please Pray...- For my willingness to fail better with a gracious spirit.
- For the women who will be attending two upcoming events.
- For speaking opportunities.
- For continued reflection and insight as I meet with my ministry coach.
- For wisdom about establishing an advisory/accountability team for the ministry.
- For insight about making some design improvements to the website.
It would be a privilege to pray for you. E-mail Susan.
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With Defiant Joy,
Susan
Susan M. Ward, Ph.D.
Founder | Defiant Joy Ministries
susan@defiantjoyministries.com
If you would like to receive occasional mailings delivered the old-fashioned way to your door step from Defiant Joy,
please take a moment to add your address information to our database.
You can do so by clicking on the Confirm link located at the very top
of the eNewsletter and then entering the e-mail address you use to
receive the eNewsletter. Just follow the directions on the screen.
Thanks!
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