Five nights in a row of blogging is probably enough for this week.  It may be a higher number than those who visit here regularly.  So we will call a short hiatus after this evening until Sunday.  Being away doing a wedding this weekend is also a sure method to call a truce.  This will be my first visit to College Station in over fifty years of living.  Traveling takes me to many parts of my state but this is one area that escaped me until now.  Exploring new places is always fun for me.  I look forward to both the wedding and the journey.

Tonight will probably be shorter by our usual standards.  There is one area of life or ministry that we mention often yet fail to fully explain.  No one but me is responsible for my being weird.  Whatever damage takes root in a life cannot be the full measure of a person.  One of the usual comments is to refer to my personality or how I am wired.  No one ever had a real explanation for this until beginning my doctoral studies.  We went through extensive testing both prior and during that experience.  An area of our evaluation dealt with who we are and why we are.  It was as though my eyes were opened to a new world of understanding.  I spent time above and beyond the usual discussion on personality to get a handle on what it all meant.  Here is my basic approach to life.  Being an introvert is one of my natural tendencies.  Others are far more extroverted but my strength comes in those alone times.  Most who know me get that.  Another area is how I see the big picture in life rather than being consumed by details.  Here is an explanation for my frustration in all things mechanical or technological.  Some love the smallest of details but they can send me away screaming.  I also regularly base my choices more on the emotional than the logical reasons or outcomes.  This does not mean being selfish rather it means taking the feelings of others into account when reaching a decision.  My last peculiar trait is my constant attempt to keep some order in things.  Some people file papers by wherever they may fall.  Organizing my library, studies, and the like matters very much to me.  These are the basic four components of why I seem eccentric.

My opinion is that all of us have very unique personalities from God.  I also think those traits can be affected by maturity, discovery and injury.  None of us are meant to be alike.  You also need to be aware that conflict can arise among differing types.  Seems as if diverse people mix together like oil and water.  Some grow irritated by my tendency to be alone rather than slapping the backs of all I meet.  It also is a huge help to have people around me who can see the small stuff that is worth the sweat.  More than a few express displeasure in how long it can take me to come to a conclusion.  I understand that.  My unhappiness over such issues is as great as others.  But just know that finding out there was a reason for the madness was a huge first step.  At least there is a greater self awareness as to how each area of life can be affected by my personality.  Don't get me wrong.  I am grateful for each character facet given by God.  But what we do with that knowledge makes all of the difference.

Someone may ask whether God can or will change how we are as people?  Perhaps this is possible but it seems to me our best approach is to recognize weakness while depending on Him for help.  It is also true that just knowing why you do what you do is not an excuse for ongoing maturity.  Just because I am wired in one way or the other does not exempt me from continual growth.  I still must be outgoing with others.  There is still a need to view the details as important.  Sometimes you do not get to make a decision that will please another person.  It also helps to be spontaneous at times.  Too much structure can blind you from opportunities.  Let me just leave you with the above thoughts for reflection.  God uses all types to build the Kingdom.  Never dismiss another believer just because they are not like you.  God promises to build us into a healthy gathering of faith even with our own weird issues.  That is what we call grace. 

Bro. Trey