Make Up My Mind
One of my favorite stories from my daughter's childhood is a conversation I overheard from her
as she was playing alone with her little doll babies and stuffed animals.
First, let me say that I never planned to be a mom. Some women dream of the day they will
have littles under their feet, prepping for birthday parties, arranging play dates, and imparting
their life experience to the next generation. Um... No. I had no desire for that life! I dreamed of
the corporate life, and working outside the home, and doing things that were polar-opposite of
to my mother did.
I mean no disrespect. I was raised by an amazing, godly, hard-working, stay at home mom...and
we lived on a farm. My dad worked a job off the farm, and then he came home in the evenings
and worked another shift, often 'til midnight, on the farm doing tractor work-mowing, turning
ground, hay bailing/hauling, all the hydraulic stuff-and the hard labor my mother couldn't
physically do. Mom did everything else. All the gardening, feeding and milking the cows-yes,
twice a day she trekked to the barn and hand-milked the cows-mucking out stalls, canning,
preserving, grading tobacco (google it), all the farm things until and with my brothers and sister
and I when we got big enough to help. Her work-ethic was off the charts.
She also cooked from scratch every single day -like FULL breakfasts, gravy and biscuits,
eggs, bacon, jams and jellies, all raised and preserved by her-and she cooked supper every
day, complete with cornbread expertly baked in her cast iron skillet, except one day a year when
we traveled to Tennessee for Decoration Day where Daddy's people are buried. One day a year
we got cereal for breakfast! Corn Flakes, thank you very much. Not Frosted Flakes, not Fruit
Loops. Maybe Rice Krispies if bananas were on sale. Mom liked bananas with Rice Krispies,
and it's still a treat for me today! I first ate Fruit Loops in the hospital after I had Emily. I
remember thinking it was ambrosia, the food of the gods!! Oh my word, where have you been
all my life? Not with the Corn Flakes. That's for sure.
She was a practical mom, no fru-fru stuff. We got a homemade cake on our birthday, and
because her love language was acts of service, her labor-making beds, and laundry, and food,
and cake on our birthdays-was how she expressed her love for us. I saw her toil, and I wanted
something different. Motherhood seemed burdensome. I didn't think I was equipped.
So college, marriage, and a career trajectory moving up, and surprise! We're expecting!
WHAT!? NOW!? I remember sitting in my office, in the first rung of the corporate ladder I was
climbing, and alternately laughing and sobbing. Oh, the irony! As the old saying goes, Man
plans and God laughs. Motherhood was sorta thrust upon me. And like most working new
moms, I struggled to find the balance or the harmony of it all.
Being a reader, of course, I read parenting books, and "What to expect when..." books, and one
talked about giving your children choices to equip them to make decisions. So little toddler
Emily was asked to decide. This outfit or this one? This doll baby or this one for the day with
the sitter? Go with Granny or stay with Daddy? All the things. Choices.
And when time was tight, and I felt the push of hurry! I would say to little Emily, "You better
make up your mind! We need to GO!"
Apparently, that scenario played out all too often. Because, imagine my chagrin and
amazement, when I walked in on Emily playing alone with her little baby dolls and stuffed
animals, and she's shaking her little pointer finger at them, and saying in a stern voice, "You
better make up my mind!"
Is that the most pathetic and hilarious thing you've ever heard? Pathetic because we always
practice on the first-born child. I sometimes quip in our dark family-humor that, as a parent, I
got two out of three to adulthood (listen to last week's episode about Sam to understand), and
that the jury is still out. Either of the two remaining kids could turn out to be serial killers. God
be praised! Not so far! (And that's how you know He's full of Grace!!)
But also hilarious, because, literally, out of the mouth of babes Wisdom is often spoken. "You
better make up my mind." As if her decisions should be coming from somewhere outside of
herself. We think such an idea is silly.
We hear a lot about mindset in the work world. A growth mindset vs. a fixed mindset, an open
mindset vs. closed. And based on the number of books available on mindset and how we think,
I believe we are, like Emily, asking for someone to make up our mind. Somebody, tell me how
to think. As a culture, we spend countless dollars investing in programs to expand or improve
our way of thinking, from how we can manifest everything we dream of with the power of our
thoughts to how our thought life impacts our habits, relationships, and faith. Ah, Lord Jesus,
You better make up my mind!
We think it would be easier if there were a 5-step formula for success and well-being
physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially, so that if we just say the right magic words
or plant the right magic beans everything will work out for us! But magic beans and formulas
are not the way of Jesus.
I was reading this week in the gospel of Matthew. The Kingdom of heaven, Jesus says, is like a
man who sowed good seed in his field. Or like a mustard seed, or like a treasure hidden in a
field, and when a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and
bought that field. (Matthew 13:44). It's like a net that was let down in the lake, or like a king
who wanted to settle accounts with his servants, or a landowner who went out early in the
morning to hire workers. (Matthew, chapters 18 and 20). And Jesus concludes one session by
telling his followers, "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and
whoever wants to be first must be your slave-just as the Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:26-28) Even those
closest to Him weren't clear on exactly what He meant, and they asked often that He explain it
to them.
Jesus didn't offer a formula, or a detailed map for us other than to say, "Follow me." His
kingdom thinking was outside the norm of both the culture of His day and ours. It requires
relationship. Only by walking with Him can we attain a Kingdom mindset.
So if we want to be like Jesus-and I'm assuming every true follower of His will want that-
what does this Kingdom mindset look like for the business owner? The entrepreneur? Can we
even attain such a thing when God tells us that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and
His ways higher than our ways?
Paul thought so, or thought that if not attainable, it should be our striving focus. "This one thing
I do," he wrote, "Not that I have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that
for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." (Philippians 3:12-14) Our goal is always reaching
toward God's matchless thoughts and ways. Progress not perfection, as we say. Getting closer
every day. Being a little more like Jesus every day!
And what about those Kingdom parables? Sow good seed in good soil, but seed gets scattered.
Roll with it. A little bit invested returns volumes. Buy the field, cast your net, and let God honor
your obedience. Have a forgiveness default. Trust God as the Source of your seed, your sowing,
and your success. This is a life characterized by love, by service, by serving instead of
expecting to be served. In fact, it is a life characterized by Jesus serving YOU in relationship, as
your co-heir and co-laborer with God. By His Holy Spirit He provides all that we need for life
and godliness.
So, no check lists. No little boxes that guarantee our success. Instead, we surrender and serve
and leave the scaling up to Him. And this is where we bring it down to brass tacks, to rubber
meets the road. Your mindset is really how you have decided to define success and scaling in
your business as a citizen of God's Kingdom. It goes back to the verse I memorized a few
weeks ago. "I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be
shaken." (Psalm 16:8)
That idea of "setting" echoes Jesus' attitude as he "set his face toward Jerusalem," Isaiah
prophesied that he "set my face like flint" (Isaiah 50: 7). Paul urged the Colossians to "Set your
hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on
things above, not on earthly things." (Colossians 4:1-2)
In the vernacular of the old Baptist Hymnal, "I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back,
no turning back." So I pray, "Jesus, You better make up my mind."
He did. By way of His mind, the corporate ladder I was climbing became a bookshelf and
homeschool table and teaching my three littles into adulthood. Success defined a different way
because my mind was set differently than even I expected. I answered a call that was counter-
cultural, and experienced satisfaction and pride that would rival any career accolade I might
have achieved. I followed where He led. It was the life I ran away from, that hadn't recognized
in my momma, that I found immensely rewarding the same way she did. Who knew!? My
Father in Heaven knew! Good thing He changed my mind!
And that's the secret! If it were a "formula" He would have said all the mommas gotta
homeschool and all the workers gotta do business this way or that if they wanna scale. Instead,
Jesus says, "Follow me. And I will show you great and marvelous things you do not know."
I guarantee if you make up your mind to pursue His thoughts and His ways, to have the mind of
Christ, your success will be unparalleled. Are you willing to trust Him with that kind of scale? I
want Him to make up my mind. Every day. Like I make the bed each morning. Setting my
thoughts on the Kingdom and the ways that Kingdom people do business. To scale a Kingdom
ladder that leads to "Well done, good and faithful servant" and the rewards of my Master. To
trust Him as the Source of every need. Whether wealth or poverty, fame and fortune, or
obscurity and just enough, He is my portion. Great is His faithfulness! (Lamentations 3:23-24)
Father,
Thank you for your boundless love and the great height, depth, and weight of your ways and
your thoughts. Your plans surpass any that we can make for ourselves, and Your ways bring
peace and life everlasting.
I pray, Father, for a Kingdom mindset. A mindset that receives from Jesus all we need to do
business the Kingdom way, that empowers us to serve one another in love, and depends upon
You for the increase of our portion. Help us to set you ever before us, so that we cannot, will
not, be shaken. Lord, help us measure success by your standards, and chase You, seek You,
above all else, knowing that Jesus promised if we do, all else will be given to us. I pray with
Paul...
"...that from Your glorious, unlimited resources You will empower us with inner strength
through Your Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in our hearts as we trust in him. Our
roots will grow down into God's love and keep us strong. 18 And may we have the power to
understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your
love is. 19 May we experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then
we will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
20 Now all glory to You, God, who is able, through Your mighty power at work within us, to
accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to You in the church and in
Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen."
Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT
