What color is your dashboard?

What color is your dashboard?  What was the eye color of the person you last spoke to?  Why ask these questions?  Because it gets to the heart of how so many of us live our lives: mind-in-future.

How much of the day do you spend living in the future?  Do you operate with that next task, future appointment, or upcoming stressful situation in your mind?  Worse yet, have you ever arrived at your destination and can't remember the road or events while driving because you were preoccupied thinking all the way there?  I have.  I wonder who I cut off.

Preoccupation with the future robs us of the richness of the "now".  Let me introduce an old concept called Mindfulness.

Mindfulness.  What is it?  There are a lot of humanistic definitions and uses for it.  But for the purposes of Serving Strong, it means being more aware of your surroundings; being in the moment; noticing what's going on; and practicing the presence of God.

But how?

Here's a little guide I am using recently to help me stay more in the moment and live 24-7-365 as a dependent follower of Christ:

As often as possible throughout the day, pause and go through the following:

• BREATHE.  Take 3 deep breaths.
• OBJECTS.  What are the objects around me?
• MOOD.  What is my current mood? (don't judge, just observe)
• PEOPLE.  Who am I talking/working with right now? (Pray for their wellbeing)
• THANKS.  What can I be thankful for in this moment?
• WORRIES.  What am I worried about right now? (give it back to God)
• PRAYER.  Pray to God: "I am your servant.  I, again, lay my life before you to do what you wish."

Live in the moment.  Play full out.  Give it your all.  Serve strong!