Rock, Paper, Scissors

I had exactly zero interest in the product, its details, or utility. I also had zero appreciation for why the clients spent so much time thumbing through the catalog.  But the day had arrived to deliver the products and collect my money from my side gig with my sisters.

We loaded the wagon with the stationery products previously ordered by older neighbor ladies. I was back behind the house waiting for my sister and decided I could manage to take the loaded wagon down the steep driveway on my own. It was heavier than I expected. Within a couple of steps I could no longer hold on and the wagon flew down the driveway. I chased after it only warranting the perfect view as it continued across the street in front of our home and jumped the curb in front of the neighbor”s house before it spilled its contents onto the concrete sidewalk.

I quickly gathered the notecard sets, recipe cards, and embossed paper packs, stacked them back into the wagon, crossed back over the street, and waited for my sister. A few moments later we pulled the wagon down the street together. My sister – excited to deliver the stationery and collect a paycheck…

Myself- distracted in wonderment as to what I witnessed my wagon do with the steep incline of the driveway…

The next day, with my first opportunity of minimal supervision, I gathered a couple of large floral sleeping bags that had been our Christmas gift the previous year. I meticulously laid them in the wagon and climbed in. I inched my way to the top of the incline and deliberately lifted my feet up into the wagon and held onto the handle as if it was a functioning control lever. I whizzed down the driveway, across the street, and crashed up onto the curb just as my stationery had done the day before.  

What a ride!!

Adrenaline raced through me as I sprinted back across the street, up our driveway for another thrilling go-around.
The risks seemed reasonable for the impending rush as I zoomed down the driveway completely out of control using a concrete curb as my brakes…

Today, I look around… Here we are- on earth. 
Our Father in Heaven has blessed us with the opportunity to come here giving each of us the gift of agency.

How are you using yours?
How are you encouraging those around you to use theirs…?
How often do you choose or encourage the runaway wagon ideas to play out -for yourself or others…?

Deliberate decision-making is ridiculously powerful.

In a lifelong quest to discover who we are as individuals, as children of a perfectly loving God, it’s imperative that we make choices and grant each other the space and freedom to do the same. 
This “space” means free of control, judgment, or driving a certain outcome…

A fundamental process I’ve been focusing on over the past few years is gaining a better understanding of who I am as a daughter of God. As I’ve begun to grasp what this means, I’ve followed up by giving myself more grace.  As I’ve practiced what that means and how it looks, it’s easier to extend grace to others as I can borrow God’s lens and see them as His child too. 

I was in college before I learned the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors…
Initially, it seemed to be a game of luck or happenstance. Then- I realized that with every “play” both participants are making a deliberate choice.  Some mimic their personality or preference with their selection… and some try to guess what their competitor will choose and base their choice on that…
A simple shake of the fist quite remarkably shows how deliberate our choices are with a subset of thinking either driving them… or not…

As I play the game today, I watch in delight as my competitor makes a split-second decision and celebrates in glory or falls in anguish. I watch from a view of studying deliberate decision-making and how powerful its effects are on emotion, confidence, and responsibility for self.  My work over the past few years has led me to better understand the pivotal importance of it all.

I’ve needed to do the work to learn how to be generous with giving myself and others grace.
I needed to understand that as a daughter of God, I am going to deliberately choose to ride down steep driveways in a wagon utilizing concrete for brakes. And it’s okay… It’s actually brilliant when we realize that each of us is meticulously different in deliberate decision-making. 

If the Savior stood beside me, I know He would offer me a wink and a nod as I stretched my agency in a way that might seem risky.  I also know that when I get in over my head or lose my ability to steer my way to safety- He is there. He offers grace- not condemnation. 

I’m working to see myself and fellow travelers as He does…

JC

Toasted Oat & Fudge Cookie Bars

Oatmeal Cookie Base
1 cup soft butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla 
2 cups flour
2 ⅔ cups toasted oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Toast oats in a baking pan at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. This will bring out a nutty sweet flavor. Let cool completely. 
Cream butter with sugars. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and stir until well blended. 

Milk Chocolate Fudge
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt 

Melt chocolate chips and butter with sweetened condensed milk. Add vanilla and salt. Stir until smooth. Use immediately. 

Press ⅔ of the oatmeal cookie base into a greased 9×13 pan. Spread chocolate fudge on top. Form pieces of remaining cookie dough and place on portions of the fudge layer. You will not completely cover the fudge layer. Sprinkle with sea salt if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25+ minutes. Let cool completely. Cut into squares. Share.