P.E.A.R.L. - a new beginning

Almost 6 years ago I was asked to consider developing a CEU course for a local agency targeting recreational therapists.  I was very excited and then proceeded to not to complete the task.  During the past 6 years I've begun and stopped, begun and stopped, begun and stopped, . . . . . you get the picture.

I've begun again.  

Part of this beginning will be putting my notes, research, essays, etc on this blog.  If anyone wishes to use any part of this, please give me credit.  In other words I'm saying my work is my work and I am stating it is copyrighted.  Thanks.

P.E.A.R.L

I really like real cultured pearls.  They are feminine.  They are white - one of my favorite colors to wear.  They are smooth and feel silky to my touch.  They are the product of an irritation.  They come in all sizes.  The ones I own have been given to me by people that I know love me without reservation.  They make me smile.  

The idea for the acronym came to me one day during my quiet time with God.  I was writing my prayer in my journal and jotted this down:

P - purposely

                    E - engaging and

                                       A - actively

                                                         R - responding to

                                                                                 L - life

Purposely Engaging and Actively Responding to Life!!

On 01-12-16 I wrote the following in my journal and now it's becoming how I will attack writing this whatever it turns out to be.  I am quoting from my journal - even the misspelled stuff.

The day after the 2015 NCAA National Championship.  Clemson lost - what does this teach me about

Life - it's not all about losing a game.  What a game!

Responding - I've taken the time to respond because words/actions can never come back

Actively - I will actively choose what to say to bring glory to God's name.  I will think about Phil 4:8

Engaging - I will not shy away from interaction with others to avoid hearing the Tigers lost

Purposely - (looked up the definition for the hundredth time) on purpose, intentionally  with a deliberate or express purpose/ (then I looked up purposeful for the hundredth time) Purposeful - having a purpose, full of determination

.L.R.A.E.P - mirror image

We are in life; it is happening

We can choose to respond to life or react to life

When we choose responding we are actively participating, we are moving in a reverse direction

When we engage we are holding attention, we are occupying, attracting or involving others

So we want to be intentional/purposely attracting/involving others in our responding to all of life.

01-28-16

Google definition - Life

1.  the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction,

141. A beginning up above PEARL (I began writing down my joys three years ago when I discovered Ann Voscamp's blog - www.aholyexperience.com )  "141." is the number of this "joy" I wrote.  Numbers in the future will come from my joys.

LRAEP       Life's Response to Actively Engaging with Purpose

Life continued (from Google definition)

functional activity, and continual change preceding death

2.  the existence of an individual human being or animal.

www.merriam-webster

:  the ability to grow, change, etc., that separates plants and animals from things like water or rocks

:  the period of time when a person is a live

:  the experience of being alive

Full definition

1.a:  the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body

   b:  a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings

   c.  an organismic state characterized by capacity for metablolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction.

took a break to get ready for work - looked up life in the Urban Dictionary - worldly definition turned my stomach.  Then decided to use my NIV Exhaustive concordance.  Life is used ~ 592x in my NIV.  WOW - too much research before work.  Time to study SEAMLESS (bible study by Angie Smith)

I used some of my time this morning to begin seeing how many different Hebrew and Greek words mean life.   Oh my!  This looks like something I would love to do - word study.  But I truly think it is just a distraction.  I am not going to pursue an exhaustive search of that word in the Bible.  

I've lots of ideas on how to pursue this research.  Because of my education, my profession as a Recreational Therapist, part of my research will involve others completing a daily activity for 30 days.  I am praying about who to ask to participate.  My initial idea after the development of the daily P.E.A.R.L. plan is to have a male and a female from the following age groups participate for 30 days:

     5-12 years old - a parent will be involved

     13-17 years old - a parent will be involved

     18-25 years old 

     26-39 years old

     40-49 years old

     50-59 years old

     60-69 years old

     70-79 years old

     80-89 years old

     90-99 years old

     100+

There are so many ideas, plans, books in print and on the internet.  I do not want to reinvent anything. My purpose in developing P.E.A.R.L. is to:

1.  complete a task I was invited to do six years ago and

2.  continue to be intentional in responding to life vs reacting to life.

There you have it.  I can't wait to see what I learn and how long it takes me to complete this six year old task and get on with Purposely Engaging and Actively Responding to Life.