Getting Out of Your Rut By Expecting Big GOD

Apparently, I do not need one lesson or even two. This is now a completely unintentional series. Enter post number three on the burden of a normal life.

I was cleaning the house the other day and did something that I rarely do, I turned on the TV. I navigated to a religious channel, which is another thing that I rarely do. That Kirk Cameron has really come a long way! Now you can think, “Wow, she really is out of the loop.” He did a lovely job of witnessing to people as I dusted every book in the den. Every. Book.

Another man followed Kirk, briefly touching on the story in Mark about the doubting father. Well, really it is about the boy that needed to be exorcised, but the father is the one with the crisis of faith. He says the words that I love, “If you are able”.

It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “If you are able!—All things can be done for the one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” - Mark 9:22 & 23, NRSV

The man on the TV then flipped this passage on me. This is not textually represented, mind you, so this would not hold water in seminary; but I already have my degree, so what are they going to do to me? What if the intent of that statement was - I believe that you can do this, but I doubt that you will do it for me.

Well, I nearly dropped my duster.

My rut has given me foggy spectacles. I am unable to see the spectacular for the filter that covers my heart. I am less likely to think of GOD, and more likely to think of GOD. I know what He has done. I read that. I pray that He will be GOD for those people in my life; but truth be told, I am only expecting GOD to show up in mine.

My litmus test is what we have talked about for two days. When laundry and a smile become insurmountable, I think that I need to get honest about my doubts. I believe He can do anything in the whole world including healing and rescuing, because He has done this for me. He has parted seas and made donkeys talk. He has managed a virgin birth and conquered death. Yep, He is the real deal.

But, in this frame of mind I am not expecting spectacular. I am not expecting favor. I am expecting more of the same. I believe that He can do it, I just doubt that He is going to do it for me.

Can’t you just see Jesus’ face as I state that out loud?

If you are able...

He is able, He will, He can...

And because of this...We are able, We will, We can.

So, let’s do it.

Beating Complacency With One Word

Yesterday, we talked about the burden of a normal life. Click here if you did not get a chance to read it. This must be a lesson that God is driving home to me, and I know why. I am beginning to crawl from under that rock, that place where life can be overwhelming. Simple acts have become daunting and I, alone, cannot bring my will into line.

I was reading Deuteronomy 4:25, this morning,

“When you have had children and children’s children, and become complacent in the land, if you act corruptly by making an idol in the form of anything, thus doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, and provoking him to anger,”

I like the fact that this verse does not say, “If you happen to ever find yourself slipping a little into a tiny bit of a rut, then maybe, you might have a problem.” Nope, it says WHEN you have been attending to life as normal and you become complacent, you are going to rebel.

Complacency...

A feeling of uncritical satisfaction with oneself.

You might say to yourself, “Well I definitely don’t feel satisfied.” Me neither. I do find that instead of trying to act my way through these times, I resign to do nothing about my lack of inspiration. When I say that my housework can wait, or writing that article can wait, or even that someone else can volunteer for a while, I am choosing a certain level of satisfaction for the moment. I am not doing the right thing, but I am doing what is comfortable and that is satisfying me in some regard.

The worst part is that my idol was me. In these times, there is no end to the ways that my life wants to destroy me. I am the center, and the center doesn’t feel like it. We discussed, yesterday how laundry becomes this monster that continues to gain strength as we struggle through each load. What about dinner time? That means that I have to figure out food, I cook, I put it on plates, AND I clean it up. Note the word “I”.

Is dinner in itself the enemy? Or, is the context of my responsibilities the problem?

Sea of Galilee

Dinner is simply a boat on a lake. Laundry is another boat off in the distance. Telephone calls to friends are a kayak that meanders by once and a while. The lake is the context of these responsibilities. This lake can be stormy or it can be still.

I am not sure what the water looks like in these burdensome times, perhaps sludgy. That is certainly how I feel on the outside. On the inside it is active, though. My heart is in turmoil. That is the ravenous storm on my lake. The water will not be still because I am choosing this momentary uncritical satisfaction over the work of the Father.

Then I remember what Jesus did to the sea. He calmed it with a word, and not only did he calm it but he rebuked it. Rebuke here is the same word used for rebuking demons. Think about that for a minute. Jesus has complete control, and if invited He can still this water. What I am unable to accomplish with my will and emotions, He can restore with one word.

No more rocking, capsizing boats or kayaks. The lake is still and the context of life regains His peace. We have taken His burden. This burden is light. We move like lightening under it. All things are accomplished that need our attention each day, and He works out the unfinished for our good.

I am so grateful for the honest hearts that I saw here, yesterday. I am so glad to know that I am not alone! Thank you for fighting this fight with me.

When Normal Life Becomes A Burden

“But if that slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk,” - Luke 12:45, NRSV

No, this is not a whole thought, but I like the idea.

Sometimes, normal life can become burdensome. The act of doing a load of laundry can become equivalent to running a 5k. In these times, I have walked to the washer, stood in front of it staring it down, and turned around in defeat. It was just too much.

On my way back to the rock that I was planning to crawl back under, I passed the dishes that peaked out over the sink. They can be more dangerous than they look. Better leave it for a stronger moment.

Then, there is the weight of relationships. Perhaps, our friends would understand if we don’t want to call them right now, or next week. Being on the phone might waste time and energy. Apparently, I need all the energy that I can salvage if I am going to continue in a battle of will with household appliances. Don’t get me started about the grocery store, the bills, the taxes. These are further evidence of dangerous domestic forces.

And, the poor husband, I could just post a wedding picture and let him think of better days until I get my feet back under me.

This is what the slave in Luke 12:45 teaches me...when our eyes cannot find something more, something bigger, something God, we flounder. In this verse, it is eternal perspective. When we forget that we were built for eternity, minutia can take over our lives. The five minute chore becomes the two hour chore. Our prayers become unintelligible sputters and distracted niceties.

I know, I have been here.

I find it interesting that this slave gives two behavioral options when he loses sight of Christ’s return. He recklessly inflicts harm on others and he inflicts careless negligence on himself. This slave knows of the master. He is directed by a prudent manager and has been given everything he needs to do his work.

Still, this is his struggle. This is my struggle. I take my eye off of Christ and my world starts to swell up. Like inflatable pool toys, the washer becomes a stronghold. Who knows what could happen if I open that lid? Should I be trusted to pour the right amount of detergent onto those clothes?

The growing intensity of the unaccomplished can take over our lives.

I believe careless negligence starts from losing eternal perspective. We have work to do, and it does not belong to us. It is the work of the Father. It is valuable. It does not look like other people’s occupations. He might ask you to do less, but increase the intensity of your tasks. He might ask you to do more, forcing you to rely on those new mercies every morning to accomplish half of what your day needs to produce.

At the point which we neglect ourselves, like dominoes the things around us fall. One day we are kissing exercise good-bye, and the next we are piling newspapers next to the door hoping to take them to the recycling bin...someday. We are becoming reckless and soon we don’t feel like making coffee dates or laughing at our husbands’ jokes. Harm sets in and things start to fall off.

There are only two solutions that I have found. First, I have to come to God in prayer willing to be refreshed. I have to lay myself out in repentance. He delights in teaching me a new perspective, and gently restores eternity in my heart and in my head.

The second tool that I use for motivation is to talk to the woman I want to be. I stand in front of the washer and say, “What would she do?” She would fold the sheets when they came out of the dryer so I wouldn’t be looking at them next week. She would make that appointment now, so we don’t have to have the same conversation, again.

She would be more proactive, and rebuke this negligence with scripture. She would sit at the Father’s feet until He told her to get up. This internal guide works because the Spirit desires to grow us, sees our potential and delights in teaching us.

The choice becomes: I can slowly fall apart or I can be about the Father’s work.

I think that I will go do some laundry.

Some Fudge, Some Fruit, and Some Agreement

Things that I know from this New Year 2010 thing:

Any song by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons makes it a party.

There are still no good shows on TV this week.

I am going to have to work hard to switch over to the Mac that my husband bought me for Christmas, but it is SO COOL!

I need to look at the food pyramid again because I am pretty sure that fudge is not a food group represented therein.

I have not seen, “I want to be more intentional about repentance”, on anyone’s New Year’s resolutions.

Not that I blame anyone, of course. It is not on mine, but let me tell you what I do see. The Christian women who are making goals and resolutions are largely acclaiming the furtherance of the Spirit’s work in their lives. Losing weight, that is self-control. Increasing the intensity of devotional times is faithfulness.

(Here is a thought, what if we set one goal for each fruit of the Spirit? I just thought of that. Interesting method?)

I have found that when we intentionally seek fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) and allow it to be sown, ripened and picked through our lives, we feel more content and intentional about our lives.

So, this arbitrary mark, once a year, makes us stop and feel uncomfortable about the areas where fruity growth is lacking. I have no idea where this discomfort is the rest of the year. I must save it up.

The other source of discomfort is comparison. It is easy to compare ourselves to others and want what they have. This is not fruitful growth, though. It stems from fear, whether it is not feeling adequate or having a poor body image, etc. Donna Otto says, “Faithfulness and fear do not coexist”. That has proven true in my life.

Going back to the topic of repentance...Matthew 1:21 (NRSV), tells us, “She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

That is why Jesus came, to save us from our sin. He saved us from eternity apart from Him, and He saved us from lives without hope and purpose. We are driven to bear His fruit because He saved us from the alternative.

The Savior has claimed the object of His salvation.

This is where repentance becomes real. Repentance means changing one’s mind. It is a movement away from what is now understood as wrong, to right. The movement is the really the important part of it. My favorite understanding of repentance is from a wonderful friend who says, “Repentance is when you finally tell God that you agree with Him”. The object of His salvation moves into agreement with the Savior.

I read this verse last week and it has been playing out in my head ever since then.

Bear fruit worthy of repentance. (Matthew 3:8, NRSV)

Or, if you prefer…

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. (Matthew 3:8, NIV)

The fruit that we bear needs to be worthy of repentance. Our fruit needs to be sown and grown and ripened in the field of repentance. This is the field watered with blood of Christ. It needs to be esteemed alongside the act of changing our mind and moving from what is wrong to what is right for us, and our homes.

Sounds a bit like making resolutions, doesn’t it? The thing that I have not done, while making my resolutions, is repent in the areas that I lacked last year. This verse tells me that it does not start with making more plans to bear fruit in 2010. It starts by pulling my heart in line with His. It starts by agreeing that, in some areas, I was not what I could have been last year. To be honest, there were moments that I simply wasted His time. The reason that I did not accomplish some of these things is my lackadaisical will. I was just lazy. I wasn’t alert. I agree with Him. That was my fault.

Repentance brings our minds in line with the Spirit of Christ, our comforter while He is away. Is it no wonder that fruit can only come from such a humbling act?

Thank you for sharing all of your resolutions for 2010. It has been wonderful to read them and see the places that God wants to grow fruit in your lives. I have read most of them, but I would love to see more. If you are doing resolutions, leave me a comment. I would love to visit.

One More Trick to Goal Setting

This is not really what we are talking about, but everyone else is so I thought I would enter the conversation.

I ran across Donna Otto last year. She was at the Youniquely Woman conference with Kay Arthur and Emilie Barnes. I immediately got her book, Secrets to Getting More Done in Less Time. The title sounds a bit like a method of making your life busier; instead, it is a way to live out the details more efficiently so there is room for God to work through moments of life.

Many of these ideas are simply my interaction with the book. Donna really clarified goal setting to me, and as she points out it begins with priorities.

Priorities are those roles that only you can fulfill. God has given this job to you and only you. They are your core identity on paper. I fought this a little because I did not want to condense myself that far. I thought that I was too complex to widdle myself down, but it is really that simple. When you define who God has made you to be (as you can understand it right now), it can steer every decision and every goal.

So, let me give some examples,

1) I alone am responsible for my relationship with God.

2) I alone am responsible for who I am and who I become. I have to intentionally seek intellectual, physical and spiritual health and advancement.

3) I alone can be my husband’s wife. I am the only one who can minister to him, love him, respect him and care for him as a wife.

4) I alone can manage my household. I am ultimately responsible for every dust bunny and meal with or without help.

These priorities tell me that anything falling outside of God’s jobs for me is not my responsibility, unless He wants to grow my area of influence (add priority). These priorities also tell me that when I do not take care of one of these areas, it is my fault. I used to be full of excuses for the resulting discontent of neglecting priorities, whether mild or extreme. I have found in the last year that when I care for these areas, my God given jobs, I am content and peaceful.

Enter goal conversation…All of my goals stem from my priorities. Priorities help to see where life gets cluttered. There is so much that we are involved in that is not our business. When the clutter was gone, I could set goals that magnified my God jobs.

Saying this, I hold my ideas for 2010 loosely, soliciting God to move as He desires through my life because that is the exciting part. Meanwhile, I am a big advocate of preparation. I tell the high school girls, “You’re gonna’ become somebody, so you might as well have a say in it”. I just can’t get upset when plans change.

And that is all that I have to say about goal setting.

Do you have anything to say about it? Are you sick of hearing about it, yet?

I Wish Us A Strange New Year

There is something about New Year that spells change. It is a sign of hope that once a year we get a redo. Of course, it is an arbitrary marker, but it has power. This year, this New Year, what will we be? At this time next year, will we be all that we dreamed of, or will we be the same procrastinating, comfort loving, weight carrying individual that we were at this time last year?

I took to setting goals this year. I set many, many goals. They are all so amazing. I was looking at them this morning and I thought, “I would choose them all again”. I want to be that person. Let me give you one from each life category,

To improve my health, #4 was to find an exercise that my husband and I enjoy together. I think we hiked twice.

To increase intimacy in relationships, #4 was to have one couple over for dinner once a month. Now how hard is that, Miss Introvert?

To reduce temper outbreaks, #3 was no speaking in anger. It does still sound like a good goal.

To have varied spiritual input, #5 was to find an outside bible study to attend. I did that, once. I am excited to go back this year, though.

To increase the quality and effectiveness of the blog as a tool for God’s use, #2 was to get ahead, at least one day, on blogs by writing two, one day per week. That didn’t happen. I kind of just write as I go.

To be used more effectively, for my specific purpose in God’s work, #4 was to find a senior high devotional for my girls. I really need to do that. See, that is a great goal!

To intentionally meet the needs of others, #2 was to find a volunteer organization that interests me. I just blogged about that, so I have not found it yet, but it is coming.

To make my home a peaceful haven that expresses our family identity (I think that this one is one of the most important), #3 was to attend one marriage conference each year. Done! We made two.

So, as you can see, it is not for lack of ideas, although there may be too many. Believe it or not, there are more life categories. Instead, this year was shaped not by my desires but by divine appointment mixed with circumstance. It was crafted in such a way that I am different from when I started, but I could not have planned one day of the process.

I was reading in Luke where Jesus heals the paralytic (Luke 5:17-26). Imagine yourself a Pharisee in this scenario. A man has just been lowered through the roof and, “When he [Jesus] saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you” (Luke 5:20, NRSV). That is pretty surprising, and the Pharisees thought so, too. They were not pleased with Jesus’ discussion with the party crasher.

But, of course, Jesus knew this. To which He said, “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? ²⁴ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the one who was paralyzed—“I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home” (Luke 5:23 & 24, NRSV). Imagine that scene. Watching this carpenter’s son forgive sins and heal a paralytic man, emphasis on the forgiving sins.

So, as you sit there with your mouth hanging open, watching Bobbie Raye stand up and walk out of the room, glorifying God and doing an awkward, atrophied, sinless dance, what do you feel? Amazement. We glorify God with this man. How can we not?

In response we say, “We have seen strange things today” (Luke 5:26b, NRSV). Without sounding disrespectful, what we believe is strange. Our sins are forgiven, isn’t that strange. Strange is the nature of our belief because it exists within the life and works of Christ. When I read scripture I see things that I just can’t explain. They are mysterious and wonderful. They are divine and strange.

I don’t really wish for you or me that we hit every goal this year. I still might not blog ahead of time because there are other things that I need to attend to besides social media, and some days there will be no post at all. Life is crafted as we go. I really understand this after 2009.

So, I wish for us a year of strange things, a year of amazement and glorifying the Father with the struggles and victories of our brothers and sisters. I wish for us, in 2010, a first row seat for the wondrous works of God in our lives, even if it involves party crashers. I pray that we are patient as He unravels His goals and His intent for our year. I pray that we prepare the way of the Lord into our lives, and make His path straight.

Have a wonderful and safe New Year’s Eve!

Because God Loved This World

I got up this morning with one thought in my head. It was a throw back to my years in Sunday School, VBS, camp, etc. In my head a pack of children still scream it out boldly and confidently,

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” – John 3:16, NRSV

At this point I feel that I deserve a cookie, or a piece of candy. We at least got a gold star. Not only can I still recite this at the top of my lungs, I can think about it a billion years later.

It is really the first part that is catching me. Why did He do it? Why would the sovereign God of the universe, in perfect relationship offer His own self, send part to us? This baby Jesus that we are celebrating, during this season, came from one basic characteristic so much a part of the Father that it undergirds each divine manifestation…He loved the world.

Ok, think bigger than faithful women bloggers; think bigger than our families gathering around dinner tables this holiday. Think bigger than the Christmas lights on the block. Think of the man that I met walking into the doctor’s office to borrow the microwave. He was homeless, also the biggest patriot I have met. He came back from Vietnam only to live an impossible life, but he was home. I wonder where he will spend Christmas, or if he knows this God who loves the world; this world that they share.

What about the girl who was not able to make it to church anymore because her addiction took that piece of her time? Oxycotin became her companion, slowly closing the door on freedom. I wonder where she will spend Christmas. I wonder if she still believes that Jesus can perform a miracle.

God loves this world. We spend so much time fighting to get out, and look what He did to get in. We resign to being in it and not of it. We proclaim that, and wave our flags of difference, all the time using this difference to serve as a barrier of participation. We were sent into the world, but this world is scary. It is dangerous. God loves this formidable place.

This baby we celebrate was sent simply because of love. Babies are made out of love all of the time. We get a glimpse of this relationship from that heavenly shadow of our own experience; but sending a child into this scary and dangerous world to seek out the drug addicts, the homeless, the murderers, the thieves and the rude is just what He was born to do. This is a different love.

“Christ belongs to the wicked and the good. Christ belongs to both only as sinners, which means as those who, in their wickedness and in their goodness, have fallen away from the origin. Christ calls them back to the origin so that they may no longer be the wicked and the good, but justified and sanctified sinners.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics

I just wrote a post for Exemplify’s devotional channel about this coming year (click here to read). I have felt a burden to attend to the way of the Lord into my heart. I want to herald Him into my heart, to make the banner one of affiliation instead of difference.

This means that I have to engage my feet, to be involved in the work of Christ in a new way. It is all wrapped up in one statement, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son”. I do not need to do it because my church supports it, or it makes me feel good. I need to go back to the origin of me, of us. I am a sinner. Because God loves the collective sinner and the individual sinner, He sent His Son.

This year, I want to be involved in His work because I share the burden of love for this world.

Father, give me courage to be like you, look like you. Let me share your burden for this world and call me into your service where you see fit. Give me love for the things that I cannot understand, and feet that will carry me into your work.

Do you feel called to something new this year?

Act Like A Duck

My husband and I have this saying, “Act like a duck”. This means that when the stuff of life gets slung in your direction, you let it roll off your back just like water on a duck. We say this a lot.

See, there are some things that I encounter which I deal with so well, but other times the least provocation and I am like a mama bear. It reminds me that the walls of this temple are still just the flesh.

I was reading Mark 7:14-23, NRSV,

¹⁴ Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵ there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”

¹⁷ When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ He said to them, “Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile, ¹⁹ since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. ²¹ For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, ²² adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. ²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

In these verses, Jesus tells me that what is outside of me has no power except the power that I give it. It cannot defile me. It cannot bring me to avarice, wickedness, envy, pride or folly. These things exist because I have absorbed them into my heart.

Just by the sheer fact that my husband and I use the duck phrase shows that we believe we have a choice. I can take responsibility for myself. I can choose in any moment how I will react to the outside. I can shed it, or I can absorb it.

For every event, or outside stimulus, there are two roads. When my dogs walk on the floor that I am mopping, I can threaten to make them survive on the streets or I can call them to me, rationally. We see it everywhere. Go to Target and watch people with their children. In an instant I see parents belittle their kids, robbing them of dignity, and not teaching them anything in the process. We have choices.

The difference between the roads is the sin that we choose, and have chosen, to hold on to. There are some things that, when said, sound different than others. They raise our blood pressure and make us uncharacteristically unsettled. Instead of deflecting these comments, letting them roll right off our back, we catch them, hold them, stroke them, and watch them. Alone, they have no power, but tended they become part of our hearts.

Today, in My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers writes,

“The temper of mind is tremendous in its effects, it is the enemy that penetrates right into the soul sand distracts the mind from God. There are certain tempers of mind in which we never dare indulge; if we do, we find they have distracted us from faith in God, and until we get back to the quiet mood before God, our faith in Him is nil, and our confidence in the flesh and in human ingenuity is the thing that rules.”

When we see the outside moving in our direction, we need to pause. We need to recognize that this one might distract us. It might unsettle us, instill confidence in the flesh and temporarily remove complete faith in Him. These are the things that should look like water to us. When they come our way we need to remember that the Holy Spirit has built us like a duck. We are perfectly capable of shedding these words and events. We are able to take responsibility for our reactions.

Good luck acting like a duck!

Is there some situation, however small, that always seems to make it to your heart?

Father, thank you for giving us all the tools that we need to take responsibility for what comes out of our hearts. Continue to show us areas that need to be shed. Teach us how to act like a duck going into the stress of the holidays.

Multitasking and the Death of My Memory

Just by writing this, I feel that I am letting down women everywhere.

I am a horrible multitasker.

It can be done, but as I was standing at the refrigerator getting a glass of water while trying to empty the coffee pot of any unused portion, I realized that I was sliding into the splits on my kitchen floor. Ironically, I maintained that I had it under control as my glass of water ran over and I spilled the coffee trying to right myself in front of the coffee pot. It got me thinking.

Recently, I was at Women of Faith, where Marcus Buckingham spoke. In his book, Find Your Strongest Life, he asserts that multi-tasking is a myth. He says, “…the average worker’s functioning IQ drops ten points when multitasking, more than double the four-point drop that occurs when someone smoking marijuana. (The analogy the researchers used is that a ten-point drop in IQ is equivalent to missing one night of sleep).”

Hmmm.

I was with a dear old friend of mine, yesterday morning. Yep. I visited, instead of blogging. We went to high school together and the stories flowed. I found that they were mostly one-sided. He would tell something and I would tell him that I vaguely recalled it, but I have a horrible memory for those kinds of things.

The truth is that I have a horrible memory for a lot of things. My husband comes home at night and asks me about my day. I freeze. I have to work to recall what happened to me.

A woman’s life, my life specifically, lends itself to this multitasking lifestyle. So many things happen around us that we find minutes and days passing which are marked by the memory of enduring simultaneous tasks, and not specific events. Memories of layered processes are being formed with nothing remarkable to hold on to. I guess that we need those 10 IQ points for the remarkable.

I also need those 10 IQ points to keep from breaking glasses, burning food in the toaster oven, forgetting about things on the stove, leaving the water running in the bathroom, accidentally cutting myself, and getting frustrated because everything needs me at once. It doesn’t. I just create an immediate environment, where I feel like I will buy myself five minutes through simultaneous tasking. It is never true.

One of the greatest aids in analyzing my tendency to multitask and lose valuable life moments is also something that I mentioned in an earlier post. I have started running (click here for the gory details), well, let’s call it light jogging. The comment that I hear from people who hate running is, “It is so boring”. The truth is that it is not boring, but it requires that you entertain yourself.

It has really challenged me, because when you are running you have to think about something, besides hating it, to get it done. Then there is a point that you reach where you no longer think about not thinking about it. You just go somewhere else where your brain can empty itself and think one thought at a time. Revolutionary, I know! It gives a point of reference for the rest of my day.

I think that I have been urged to singleness of thought by this exercise. I am alone, with no distractions but a little worship music. It is easier to accomplish a run if I submit to the action, rather than count the seconds left in my miles. I want to transfer this mentality to my daily life. I want to honor the task at hand and move quietly from one to the next. Living in this moment and moving to the next with the possibility of remembering something usually lost in the shuffle. Think of conversations that could benefit from those 10 IQ points.

There are women, with whom I have spoken, who express real concerns about prayer time. To many women, quieting the mind for prayer is another task to endure. Does anyone else have trouble unwinding?

I am convinced that this lifestyle affects our quiet times. Part of saying no to multitasking is devoting all attention to one task. When we sit before God we twitch, make the grocery list, make mental trails, and work ourselves into a tizzy because we feel that we are dishonoring God by our brain in motion.

Prayer requires one line of thought. Reading the word becomes a conversation with the Spirit when there is one line of thought. When my life goes haywire, this is where I see the difference. If I can sit down and rest in the word and rest in prayer, it is a good day.

These are just some thoughts shared with the knowledge that there are other multi-taskers out there. I would love to know how you combat this tendency to spread yourself over the tasks of the day.

Or, I guess that I should start by asking the question, are you combating it? Leave me a note in the comment section, and let me know how you deal with multitasking.

You Will Become Someone

One of the lessons that we are teaching the youth right now is life purpose. I keep telling the girls, “You will become someone, so you might as well have a say in it”.

The wonderful thing about being young is the constant present tense. This is, also, what sends their mothers to the aspirin bottle. Without the benefit of a long past, how can one foresee a long future? They are learning to gaze at an ambiguous trail before them.

We went over Psalm 139, again, yesterday morning.

For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth (Psalm 139:13:16, NRSV).

Can you imagine what an act of love it must be to take something in your image, crafted by your hand, and see him, or her, through to the end that you desire for them? Wouldn’t you want to give that creation the best purpose imaginable? It sounds similar to what parents want for their children, minus the creator part.

It makes me desire His will in every moment. If only I were that perfect!

As adults, we move from the constant present tense to memories of a painful and joyful past. We, stubbornly, start to think of our future. We make plans and we consider the “what ifs”.

Somehow, in our broken human minds, the future becomes our present. It is, as though, the present continued moving forward one second during each event in our lives. We no longer worry about the real present but the future present; it makes my brain hurt.

As the present shifts, our life experience makes us question control. We can admit our lack of it, but we relegate it to the winds of chance. We fail to carry it to the throne of God to sacrifice it. In this sacrifice, we acknowledge sovereignty of the one true King over every moment of our lives.

The lesson of life purpose, at its best, goes hand-in-hand with this sacrifice. It requires that we ask questions of ourselves. Do I believe that God is sovereign? Do I believe that God, who carefully crafted us, also has a unique, attainable purpose for us?

Wait, let me answer it for you; I know that He has a life purpose for you.

On my trek through Revelation, I ran across this verse.

For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by agreeing to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled (Revelation 17:17, NRSV).

Even to those who will never choose to know God, those who will curse Him and never repent, He is still sovereign. He is sovereign whether we give Him that honor in our lives, or not. He reigns regardless of our formal acknowledgments.

I encourage you, today, because we serve a God who is sovereign. He made us wonderfully. We fall under His loving control. As His, we wait for His words to be fulfilled in our lives and in the course of the world. What an honor to belong to Him! What an honor to have a life purpose in Him!

Do you feel that you have a life purpose? Let me know what this looks like right now in your life. You are reading part of mine.

Father, thank you for not leaving us to chance but, instead, being fully Yourself. You are the Creator, the loving Father and we desire your will in our lives. Shape us into our purpose and enlighten us to claim your victory in our lives.

Stop Talking, Start Doing

I have hesitated to bring this up because of the fallout that can occur around the best of intentions. I have begun a new exercise routine. I am not doing it alone, however. I have a dear friend who has agreed to take this journey with me. I have not asked her if I can talk about it, so I will leave her anonymous for now.

Let me tell you why I started. I got sick to death of talking about it. Do you have those things in your life? Some day, I will (_______). I just hate being (________). I don’t want to be that woman who is always talking about doing something and never doing anything.

For me, it is a matter of discipline. I love the word of God. As I read it, I can’t ignore the call to discipline. I am not saying that the bible is referring to exercise, but we are supposed to live disciplined lives. That means we set priorities and we plan our lives according to these. My health is a priority.

1 Corinthians 9:27, says, “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

I don’t want to waste my time watching my body waste away. I certainly don’t want that for my husband. I want to steward even this part of my life.

It has been a struggle to find a program that works after my back surgery, last year; and because of this, I have been more lenient than ever in sticking to something. It is these days of discomfort that allow me say, “No, not today”. But, I have a new reason…fellowship.

It is worth the pain to commiserate with my friend. Luckily, she is hysterical and A-type, which are magical together. This will be an easier journey, and a more intentional one, with her by my side.

I encourage you today. What are the priorities that you are putting off? Are they cleaning the house, reading a book, having quiet times, doing something special for hubby? What about a new hobby? Usually the things that we should be doing are painfully obvious. I am sure that you could list them off.

Do yourself a favor. Make a plan. What is the first step that it would take to make this “thing” happen? Make it small and go from there. Tell someone else, and partner up. I am an introvert and I reached out, so no one has excuses.

Click on the “people have something to say” link, below, and leave me a note about what you want to stop talking about and start living. Let’s make it happen ladies!

Confessions of a Shopper

“Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance (1 Peter 1:14, NRSV).”

Well, that is how this verse is supposed to read, but…yesterday what I saw, four times, was, “Like obedient children, do not be comforted by the desires that you formerly had in ignorance”.

I have to tell ya’, I like my misreading. It really spoke to me.

October is my birthday month. So, it is about this time of the year that I start to think of goodies wrapped up in sparkling packages, exploding with ribbons. I strategically insert my material desires into casual conversation, so that my husband knows exactly what to get.

I don’t like surprise gifts. I tell people exactly what I want, and I really mean it. This has been a misunderstanding between my husband and me. I used to tell him exactly what I wanted, and he would try to be creative with it. He ended up spending way more money and energy than was necessary. He knows now that I just know what I want. It is worth making me happy, the simple way.

Every year, my dad gives me some shopping money. He calls it one size fits all, which amuses us to no end. So, every year, about this time I start to dream about what I can get with my birthday shopping money. It gives me a little rush to think of all of that…well, retail therapy.

Yes, I love to shop, if I have the money to do it. At my age, there is not joy in buyer’s remorse or credit cards. So, my birthday brings a little, or potentially a lot, of comfort that can only be found at this time of year.

Unfortunately, I have searched for comfort in this world. I have shopped for comfort, eaten for comfort, escaped for comfort, and exercised for comfort. I have looked to house cleaning, phone calls to friends, TV watching, or working on the computer for comfort, as these tend to be less obvious means. You know what? I can't fix any discomfort like this.

I want to fix things that go wrong. I want to fix them for my husband, my family and my friends. Naturally, when I experience the bad day, or disappointing moments, I want to fix them.

I look out and grab the first thing that I can see, whether it is food or my wallet, and offer a solution. Each year that ticks by, each October that I face, I have to remember that this didn’t fix anything last year. The things that we label as comforting were birthed from false hope. They rely on ignorance for their full effect. What is the most ignorant statement that I can make? THIS is going to make the difference.

To return to the broken for comfort, is a step away from relief. The solution lies at the source of discomfort. Walking into the discomfort usually leads me to the throne of the King.

“Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7, NRSV).”

There is danger in looking for comfort in our leftover, dysfunctional desires; but there is a greater danger in the actual verse. Some people take one more step away, and one more, until they are far from the safest place. This is the true danger of the passage, conforming to the desires that are embedded in ignorance.

This is the subtle change that occurs when one revisits established ignorance to give it another chance. In fact, sometimes we can camp there for a while. It has an effect. It requires more of us, than we do of it. We are changed, conformed.

I do feel that I am a child being told not to touch my presents, but to think, instead. If I have expectations from a birthday, I should just go outside and wish on a rock, instead. It will be just as effective. If I want to experience true joy and celebration, I will take one step back to the throne, and hold my party with someone who cares.

What is that one thing that you are tempted to turn to for comfort, before you turn to Christ?

Father, thank you for caring for us, unlike anyone else. Free us from the ways that we try to comfort ourselves. Let us step toward your throne, reflexively. Take our anxiety and point us to true relief.

Word Wranglin'

I have spent the weekend with my family. My husband and I traveled to my hometown on Friday and we got back last night. Short trip, I know.

In this time, we have driven a couch across three states, we have visited, taken pictures of my sister’s dogs, delivered the couch, visited more, picked up a couch and a comforter (we will take anything that is free…anything), taken Christmas pictures (yes, it’s coming), and eaten, and eaten.

Being around both of my sisters for one day, reminded me how quickly one can bring on complete confusion with the turn of a phrase. We simply bubble over with pleasure, still, when we can split my mom’s thoughts into complete chaos.

Usually, there is one story teller, and one addendum maker. So, two people are talking on top of each other. My mother is saying things like, “I don’t want to hear this”. That only gets us more intent on our story.

Enter speaker number three. This is potentially the most important person because it is their job to side track and aggravate. This person has the charge of saying things like, “Well, that sounds like you”, and “Don’t flatter yourself”. It looks like a ballet, titled, Word Wranglin'. The one who wins is the one left talking.

I have to admit, I love being the third person. I am very good at this game.

This is all fun and games between sisters, but this is unfortunate when it rears its head in church committee meetings or even worse, places where people don’t know Christ. I love good, lighthearted repartee, but picking our stages is important.

These verses all remind me of my verbal responsibility.

Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening (2 Timothy 2.14, NRSV).

Whoever teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is in accordance with godliness, ⁴ is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words. From these come envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, ⁵ and wrangling among those who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain (1 Timothy 6:3, NRSV).

Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the profane chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge; ²¹ by professing it some have missed the mark as regards the faith (1 Timothy 6:20, NRSV).

I have found that in my relationships with my family, my husband, my friends and strangers, the most difficult communication befriends the misuse of words. It is the wrangling over words that repels people, but what if we are with unbelievers? What if my idle chatter is splitting the thoughts of a brother or sister into chaos? That can happen in an instant when I don’t know what they are going through.

Based on observation, I see open debates over words more between males than females, but females have a special corner on the market. We are relational. Conversations with no initial mal-intent meander and open doors about our lives, our responsibilities, our husbands, or other believers. Sometimes we do this in front of non-believers or new believers. These words are pivotal.

These verses show me that words have their own life, with the potential to ruin or miss the mark. We have to beware of chit-chat that does not illuminate our faith, it does not promote godliness, nor does it encourage the overcoming of road blocks. We have to be aware of their audience.

I have to admit, when I have studied, written, cleaned house, done laundry, handled emails, grocery shopped and managed the details of my home, you can catch me in just the right frame of mind to resent the next act of service…making dinner. Some nights, I just look at those ingredients sitting in the fridge and say, “You can’t make me”.

If you put another woman in the room with me who told me to take the night off, it would ruin my resolve. I understand how words can be the tipping point of the will. As women, we have to be careful how we use them around each other.

So, we flip our wrangling and justifications to words of encouragement and resolve. We share these and spread them like flower seeds all over our friends. It is so rewarding to see the evidence of a garden when we water each other with, “You go, girl”, and “I believe in you, beloved”. These are words that eliminate chaos, and lead to vision. These are words that I can sink my teeth into.

Are you a woman of encouragement? Can you spread these words around you, today?

Father, thank you for the words that come for your Spirit. Place these words on our tongues today as we talk to our brothers and sisters. Let us leave behind the confusion that can make us stumble, and, instead, become people of clarity and resolve.