By Kat Silverglate Founder (Copyright 2021)

Welcome to the Ridiculous Hour Foundation where we exist to inspire lives ridiculously responsive to the promptings of God. My name is Kat Silverglate and this is our January 2021 Mobile Monthly Mission:

How to Set the Tone.  Here’s the story.

The man standing at the center of a sea of lawyers and friends, was giving the eulogy for his long time law partner and dear friend.  You could have heard a pin drop in the depths of the silent pause he planted right in the middle of the sacred grief space.  The air was thick with anticipation, and then he pierced the silence with a simple phrase:   

“He set the tone.”

Again he paused to let the reverberation of this thought ring in our ears long enough to begin to settle and then drift down toward our broken hearts. 

He went on to memorialize his partner by picking qualities like humility, professionalism and ethics and then, attribute by attribute, he’d tell a true story demonstrating how this lawyer’s tone rose above the competing tones. At the end of each vignette, he repeated the same simple phrase,

“He set the tone.” 

It was softer at first and then it increased in boldness.  That celebratory line was like a bell ringing at set intervals.  Like a clarion call to action.  Like a song sung to the memory of someone that lived well and made you want to live a life that set a tone worth emulating. Nearly a decade since hearing that eulogy, I can still remember it; no doubt because of the truth it communicated, but also because of the speaker’s masterful cadence in delivering that penetrating phrase –

He set the tone.

I imagine most of us left that memorial with various tones ringing in our hearts: gratitude for the way this man’s tone affected ours; conviction over an unattractive life tone; curiosity about how the people in our regular circles of influence affect our actions; and, perhaps, even wonder at how one might go about intentionally setting healthy tones. Personally, that last reflection, how one might practically go about the whole life tone endeavor, well, went the way seeds usually go – somewhere below the surface.  Seemingly dormant, until…   

Until Amy Grant, the singer songwriter, did a podcast that made that seed pop. She was reflecting on a particularly stressful time. About a time when she was so busy, she couldn’t think straight. Exhausted and barely able to focus on anything but getting from one gig to the next, she finally confessed to a family member that she hadn’t prayed a coherent prayer in weeks. Her confidant responded firmly,

“Oh Amy, just start the day like this. Pray, ‘Lord lead me today to those I need and those that need me, and let something I do have eternal significance.’”

Reflecting on her podcast, I heard that dormant seed pop out of my mouth in a phrase I had not repeated in ages, “she set the tone.” When she prays that prayer, she’s setting the tone for her day. Ultimately, for her life. Intentionally.  And not just with a “this sounds like a good idea to me” mindset. No. She’s asking God to be active in the process. She’s asking Him to direct her toward things of eternal significance. Who wouldn’t want that? Wow. What a prayer. What a tone. More, what an incredible way to set a life-tone -- with the One who made us. In His image. The tones of our lives intended to reflect His.

Our mission this month is simple. In your mission pack you’ll find a 4”x 4” square with a printed prayer.  We’re calling it “The Ridiculous Prayer” because it sets a pretty ridiculously awesome tone for 2021. The tone of responsiveness. It sounds like this:

Poke me, prod me, nudge me, point me toward Your will for my life Lord. Give me the power and the desire to do what pleases You. Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, set my heart on THAT. Bring THAT to my heart daily, hourly, as needed.  As I begin [or continue in] 2021, I want to set the tone of my year.  My desire is to be ridiculously responsive to Your nudges, Your prompts, Your will, and Your leading. Help me respond. Amen.

Our mission this month has two parts.  The first part involves that little prayer card, so if you don’t have one or you aren’t on our mailing list, shoot us an email at [email protected].  Here’s part one: Consider praying daily in 2021 for God to help you set a life tone of responsiveness. It doesn’t have to be this prayer.  It can be your own – set my tone Lord.  Help me notice you and respond. Amen.  We’ve designed our prayer card so you can glue a magnet on the back and put it on your refrigerator or on the door going out to your garage or on your filing cabinet. Or you can prop it up just about anywhere you do a daily activity.  You get the idea.  The idea is to see it and remember.  Remember to ask God to set your tone. We’ve based our prayer loosely on two verses from Philippians: 2:13 and 4:8. Our hope is that your are reminded daily to pray for the desire and courage to respond to God.   

The second part of our January mission involves that Wristband we sent you in December.  The one that says in tiny letters -- “Ridiculously Responsive Life.” Consider using it as a  reminder to look for God’s answer to your daily prayer. If we are praying daily with a sincere heart for Him to lead us, prompt us, prod us, poke us, nudge us and turn our attention and desires toward Him, how will we ready ourselves to respond?  Will we walk through 2021 looking for His answer to our prayer? Noticing Him? Responding to Him? That wristband reminds us to set the tone of response with our lives!  Maybe you don’t wear it daily. Maybe you put it on the corner of your computer or by your bed or in your car.  Just a reminder.

If you are hearing this audio message for the first time as a response to our bonus challenge in the mission pack, we love that.  So here it is.  The answer to that little mystery.  We’re doing something else internally at The Ridiculous Hour Foundation.  You are so welcome to join us in this.  We are choosing to celebrate God’s tone setting this.  We bought one of those dome shaped bells with the little round button at the top. You know the kind they have at the front desk of a hotel or business.  We are going to ring that bell as an act of praise and celebration whenever the tone of this mission rings in us or the world. When you call or text or email or post or send us a letter, we celebrate all He is doing, has done and will do.  Your request for this audio version resulted in a lot of bell ringing over here in Sunny Florida.  What a wonderful sound for our year.  What a wonderful way to remember that He sets our tone. 

Bells will be ringing! 

Happy New Year Everybody.

And if you aren’t quite certain where to start with God, don’t worry.  He started with you a long time ago.  He won’t stop pursuing you.  The question for each and every one of us is this.  Will we respond.  That’s the mission.  Inspiring ridiculously responsive lives – responsive to the promptings of God.

Amen.