Winning Ways: “I Yam What I Yam”

Popeye was a philosopher.

Well, sort of. Actually, he was a sailor man who loved the sea and spinach straight from the can. He had a thing for a skinny gal named Olive Oyl and a soft spot in his heart for a kid named Sweet Pea.

But from time to time Popeye would wax philosophical. He accepted his life as it was, and he expected others to do the same. He would say, “I yam what I yam.” Sometimes he would add, “And that’s all that I yam.”

We really have two ways to react to our imperfections. We can imitate Popeye or Paul. In Philippians 1:13, referring to the goal of Christ-likeness, Paul said, “I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold if it. But this one thing I do: I press on.”

Had some of us written that verse, we would have said instead, “I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But, hey, I’m only human, so what do you expect? Don’t get your hopes up. I yam what I yam.”

This is why some of us never reach our full potential in Christ. We never become “entirely ready” to let go of the habits and attitudes that keep us in defeat. We come to a kind of tired truce with our weaknesses and simply accept that we can’t make things any better.

This Sunday at 10:00 a.m., we’ll learn to quit saying, “I yam what I yam and that’s all that I yam.” Join us!

Take the Prayer Tour! This Sunday, come 45 minutes earlier than normal for a Prayer Tour through our facility. It will begin and end in the auditorium, and it will take 45 minutes to complete. You can begin anytime between 8:15 and 9:15 a.m., depending on what activities you have to get to. Many of our people will choose to begin the Prayer Tour at 9:15 a.m. and end at 10 a.m. in the auditorium in time for the worship service to begin.

You can choose the start-time that works best for you because the Prayer Tour will be self-guided. When you arrive in the auditorium you will be given a map of our facilities and a prayer guide. The guide will tell you where to stop in the building and what to pray for at each stop.

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The Popeye reference is adapted from a book by John Ortberg.

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Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 950 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.