What stinks!?

Ever wake up in the morning and wonder, What the heck is that smell?!

If you think I'm speaking of midnight toots I am not! I am speaking of what happens when water doesn't flow.. And no I am not talking about having to pee either. I am using a metaphor here ya goof!

Does your life look like, or smell like this?

When water gets trapped and can't flow it becomes stagnant. Define this word Joel!

Okay.

stag·nant/ˈstagnənt/

Adjective:

(of a body of water or the atmosphere of a confined space) Having no current or flow and often having an unpleasant smell as a consequence. Showing no activity; dull and sluggish: "a stagnant economy". Not advancing or developing.

So when you wake up in the morning and smell something, could it be something stagnant? Maybe you live next to a pond, or maybe the smell is coming from your life?

I know I've been waking up with some stinkyness lately. Probably for a few reasons, but mostly I haven't been flowing, moving, doing.... Yes I wake up and literally move and do things, but am I doing anything that I am "Called" to do? With out these things our lives begin to lack activity, become dull, sluggish. Not advancing or developing.

Do you think before water flows it decides whether it should flow or not? Luckily for water gravity just kind of takes over. Sometimes I think it would be good if gravity forced us to move as well. Does water worry about being successful in it's flowing? Whether it will flow to where it is meant to be? NO. It just flows when it has freedom to.

WE HAVE FREEDOM TO FLOW! WHY DO WE CHOOSE NOT TO?! WE WILL END UP STINKING IF WE DON'T!!

We don't even have to worry if we will flow properly to where we need to be. GOD has taken care of that. So why do we become stagnant?

FEAR????

Oh my my! I hate the word as I hate what it encompasses. It holds us back when we think it is protecting us. It is the master of all deception. A fun little acronym for fear, False Evidence Appearing Real. When we were cave men/women and ran away from a saber tooth tiger, that was good fear. When we don't try something because we might fail, don't say something because we might be wrong, sit at home instead of going out because something bad might happen, that is a bad kind of fear. Again it can lead to being a stinky dude or dudette! Who wants to be stinky?
When fear stops us from doing something we are called to do the deception has stopped us from bringing life to others and ourselves. Just like a river that stops flowing..

So where does the stink comes from?

I read a little about it online (also know about it because of my degree in stinkology) And it's because simply put, things in the water begin to die and decompose when the water doesn't flow. So stagnancy leads to death.. I don't mean if you don't move in your life you will die.. I mean if you don't move in your life you will feel less alive. Your life will suffer and it also won't lead to you bringing life to others. Your river will be all damned up.

We are meant to flow!

A river flows and brings life to all around it. Even most communities are built around a moving body of water. It is such a great symbol for a healthy life! And when a rock falls in a river and stops some of the flow, the river doesn't wait and think about what should be done or out of fear stop flowing. It flows around and sure enough it gets to where it needs to be.

That is so much like us in life. We get all fearful of whether we are going the right places or moving when we are supposed to. A rock falls in front of us and in stead of flowing around it we stop flowing all together. We start to stink and then inevitably we aren't bringing life to ourselves or others.

We have to trust in God! That when we flow God will take care of us getting to the dead trees and vegetation. That even if it feels like we aren't going where we are supposed to sometimes, God can use our water as long as it's flowing..

So my advice to you and to me and to the frogs and the monkeys.... WE NEED TO FLOW!!

Here's a new acronym for ya.. FLOW, Freely Living Optimistically Waiting..

Live freely and have hope that God will do with you what needs to be done.

Romans 8:28 NIV

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

So FLOW! (Freely Live Optimistically waiting). Don't let FEAR (false evidence appearing real) stop you from bringing life to others or living what you are called to do! The last thing we want to be is stinky lifeless people right?

This is the picture of what your life could look like..