“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”

Dear God, there are times when I am just like a little kid. I get some amount of good news and I want to share it with people. I want to celebrate. And, truth be told, I also want to point at myself a little and at least imply the role I played in getting the good thing done.

I watch a lot of football. Probably too much. One of the things that always amazes me is when they put the camera on a coach during a critical time of the game, and they will show his reaction to either a really good or really bad play. Now, there are some coaches who wave their arms and go nuts, but I am always surprised at how many of them take in what they just saw and simply move on to the next thing without letting their expression change. After the game, they might talk during their press conference about the emotion they felt at the time, but their expression and body language didn’t betray any of those feelings. There is a part of me that wishes I were like that, and a part of me that wonders if a little more exhibition of emotion isn’t necessary to lead.

I think that the big problem with allowing yourself to exhibit too much positive emotion as a leader is that there will be a tendency to exhibit too much negative emotion when those who are following you need a lift.

Father, the truth is that this verse is about not getting too far ahead of myself, but taking like one moment at a time. As C.S. Lewis said in the 15^th letter of the Screwtape Letters (my paraphrase), the present is the only point in time that interfaces with you. While time means nothing to you, it means everything to us, and we cannot interact with you in the past or in the future. We can only interact with you in this moment. Well, this Proverb is about staying in the moment. As I go through the challenges of my day, help me to stay in whatever moment I find myself and not drift into fear or great expectation of the future. That includes my parenting, my husbanding, and my leading at work.