[The LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says:] "For I am about to do a brand-new thing. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness for my people to come home. I will create rivers for them in the desert!" (Isaiah 43:19 NLT)

Like millions of people Maura and Ed have it just good enough that they pray daily that nothing changes. Their life is like a dance routine. Everyone has to know the steps.

Then one morning it happened. Maura didn't want to get out of bed. She wasn't tired, mind you, her "want to" just stopped working. She felt trapped in a giant rut. "I wanted to scream," Maura said. "I felt like this was it, nothing was ever, ever going to change, because nothing can change."

She began having fantasies about walking away from the whole thing. She'd hear about towns in the news, an explosion in Cheyenne, or a teacher's strike in Baton Rouge, and she'd wonder what it's like to live there. But her secret boredom was about to break into the open.

One day, Maura was having lunch with a group of ladies and out of nowhere Liz blurted out, "You know sometimes I could just scream. I'm soooo bored."

The light was turned on and secrets revealed. All of them were bored ... literally to tears.

So they started talking about what they were going to do about it. They filled the lunchtime with crazy dreams of things they could do to get out of boredom. It was exciting, but no one really did anything.

Then weeks later, Maura took some little steps. She joined a gym in the next town, and signed up for classes. She cut her hair short and planned a girl trip to New York. They saw a show, shopped on Fifth Avenue (window shopping). And, they all scared their husbands a little. "I think God was telling me something in all those little things," Maura said. "He doesn't want us to get bored with life. He made us for joy. I just needed to feel a little more of that joy. So God opened my eyes."

Maura got the ladies to form an "Out-of-the-Rut" lunch group. Once a month they meet and do something new (for others). They do "off-the-wall secret projects" for people they hear about. Don't tell anybody. Oh, and they have fun, lots of it.

Find the story

Get together with a group of friends and talk about ruts. Call it a "getting out of the rut" evening. Listen to the stories of routine and the hints of boredom.

Discover the "out-of-the-rut" strategies that have worked for others. Begin a list of these ideas and keep adding to them.

Be the story

Use Your Imagination. Ask "What If?" Be a little more wacky. Break the rules — try a different approach. Combine Ideas. Think Like a Kid. Pause and pray.

You can't get out of the rut doing the same things over and over expecting the results to change. To get out of the rut you have to go 90 degrees one way or the other. Be different. Try it ... look for God's hand and take it.

Quote of the week

Some people like it in the rut. They always know what to expect. In "The Making of a Mediator," by Michael Lang and Alison Taylor, the authors encourage the readers to change their thinking of the rut ... they ask that we think of it as a groove.

Some people like it in the rut.

The best footballer, the best ballerina and the best musician can have marvelous days and off days. They have performances or matches when they are constantly brilliant and others where they can't seem to get their feet untangled. So I don't think about the goal of achieving perfection, but as a commitment to lifelong learning; of always being open to new experiences, new ideas, and new tests for each of us.... There is always something more to learn.

Success One Day at a Time by John C. Maxwell Ideal for anybody who wants to win at life - Maxwell's dynamic book offers essential daily principles to help you better attain your goals and achieve financial, personal, and spiritual success.

Ron Rose is a noted author and Director of Faith in Families. His new email minsitry, Faith Fitness, provides practical resources for growing faith. For more details, click here.

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