Squirrel!!!

            A few years ago there was a movie that came out and one piece quickly resonated with me.  The movie was Up and it wasn’t the storyline that engaged me so much as the character of the dog who was easily side-tracked and the phrase “Squirrel” captured the attention of many people, including myself. 

            I wondered why I identified with this character and particularly this one phrase so much, and then I realized that it is because this is the culture that we live in today.  We often times find ourselves jumping from one new idea to the next.  We see something new, creative, or shiny and instantly we are ready to jump ship to whatever the new “thing” is.  Please understand that I am not shying away from new ideas or creativity but I think there needs to be a balance with where our attention goes because “when we give something our attention, we move in that direction.”  The direction can be beneficial, worthwhile, and even successful but the reality is that we must be careful how frequently we jump to a new “thing” or how quickly we buy into the new idea.  Pastor and author Carey Nieuwhof talks about this concept in his book Leading Change Without Losing It by saying, “When you introduce change in virtually any arena, you get a variety of responses.  They range from ‘enthusiastic embrace’ to ‘deep resistance.’  What notable is that people’s responses are, for the most part, predictable” (p. 34).  He goes on talk about the four main groups of people that can exist when change presents itself which are the early adopters, early majority, quiet majority, and opponents.  This book is a wonderful resource to anyone who may be leading change or encounter it and is available on Amazon at:

http://www.amazon.com/Leading-Change-Without-Losing-ebook/dp/B00AAGM1KG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381424460&sr=8-1&keywords=leading+change+without+losing+it.

            So with that being said, think about this statement again, “When you give something your attention, you move in that direction.  There are many times throughout our lives that we find ourselves getting sidetracked, hung up on the obstacles, or deterred from our ultimate destination because of something that grabs our attention on the side of the road.  This isn’t a new theme but rather something that has been around since the time of the Bible.  Throughout God’s Word, there are specific examples of God fighting relentlessly for our attention, because of His love for us.  Occurrences of God fighting for our attention are evident through the stories of Moses (Deuteronomy 7:12), David (Psalm 119:35-37), Solomon (Proverbs 4:25-27), and Jesus (Matthew 6:22).   I encourage you to read these verses and think about the great lengths that God has went to capture and keep your attention.  Why does God so passionate about finding ways to keep our attention?  The answer is because He loves you and He would love for you to avoid the pain and frustration that comes when we find that we are lost in a place we never intended to be. 

So my question for you today is, “If you’re not heading in the direction you want, what has got your attention?”