It's all about balance...

This blog post is based on the lesson that I recently did during our last women's midweek service at church.  Enjoy!

 

Do you feel overwhelmed with everything going on in your life?  Each person has a dizzying array of variables that guide each and every day.

• Ministry - Sunday service, midweek service, quiet time with God, devotional time with others, discipleship time, special meetings, service areas, kids clubs, etc.
• Career - full time job, part time job, multiple jobs, stay at home Mom.
• Family time - immediate and extended
• School - full time, part time, classes while working, night classes, masters programs, lots of travel time to class, etc.
• Kid's extracurricular activities - soccer practice, ballet recitals, play dates, sleep overs, birthday parties... list this is endless
• Housework, grocery shopping, exercise, hobbies, personal time, etc.
• Don't forget to eat and sleep!

 

We all need to be aware of the variables in our lives.  Any one or more of these variables can make us unbalanced, stress us out, push us past our breaking point.  Having too much on our plates can lead to sinful roles developing.

 

Do you have trouble switching gears?

• Do you do things out of selfish ambition, hoping for respect or recognition?
• Are you insecure and do you have trouble saying "No" for fear that you will lose respect?

 

Are you a people pleaser?

• Do you focus too much on what others will think of you?
• Do you overcommit to others in order to keep people happy?

 

Are you a control freak?

• Do you worry about everything?
• Do you feel uncomfortable and unstable when you aren't in control of your variables?

 

We need to yolk ourselves with Jesus, not with these sinful roles.  Jesus was the perfect example for us of someone with a balanced life.  He did nothing out of selfish ambition (see Luke 9:48), he couldn't have cared less about what others thought of him (see Luke 8:22-24), and he never worried about a thing (see Matthew 6:34).  And why should he?  His father was GOD!

 

Here are some practical applications for you:

 

1.  Put God first.

• "Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment."  Matthew 22:37-38 NIV

 

2.  Set righteous boundaries.

• Evaluate the importance of everything
• Don't let your schedule require the approval of others
• Learn to say "No"
• "I have the right to do anything, you say - but not everything is beneficial.  I have the right to do anything, - but not everything is constructive.  No one should seek their own good, but the good of others."  1 Corinthians 10:23-24

 

3.  Be a Proverbs 31 Woman.

• Your husband is 2nd after God
• The comes your children, followed by other family members
• Give freely to others
• Be a perfect example for your children to follow

 

I hope this information is helpful to you.  Enjoy the video below!  Some of our campus ladies put this together for my lesson and I'm so grateful to them for expressing exactly the point I wanted to make.

God's Covenant

Within the span of the first 5 chapters of Genesis, the first of 66 books in the Bible, man had already shamed God into wiping the slate clean.  The serpent was able to so easily convince Eve to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and then she corrupted Adam.  God sent both from the Garden of Eden as punishment for their disobedience.  But when God saw what had become of his creation during the age of Noah, he was sickened.

"The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.  The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.  So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth--men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air-- for I am grieved that I have made them." [Genesis 6:5-7 NIV]

After the flood had wiped the earth clean of all living creatures, except for Noah, his family, and the animals God commanded him to save, God made a covenant to Noah that he would never again destroy life on earth with a flood.  Genesis 9 outlines this covenant and this sets a basis for the faith in his future promises.

I am amazed at the dedication, steadfast commitment, enduring strength and resolve of God for sticking to this covenant.  God saw what had become of his creation then and destroyed everything.  But look at what we have become now... and he has let us live.  The earth is filled with so much sin.  Murder, greed, envy, pride, lust, sexual immorality, theft, lies, disobedience, idolatry, guilt, jealousy, poverty, inequality, racism, sexism, discrimination, human trafficking, drugs, prostitution, starvation, disease and pollution. 

I can't imagine the pain he feels now seeing how we have corrupted his creation.  I wonder how badly he wants to start over again... wipe the earth clean and try for a third time.  But he won't.  He can't.  He made a covenant to Noah and God keeps his promises.  That is one of the greatest things about God.  We can always trust that he keeps his word.

Setting biblical & spiritual goals

The message tonight at midweek service struck a chord for me.  I realized that as a natural goal setter, I hadn't set any goals for my spirituality.  Sure I was involved with the church and different ministries, and I'm always looking for new ways to serve.  And we have our discipleship time with Joel and Beth with the goals of becoming closer to God, as individuals and as couples.  Our discipleship partners check in on us and hold us accountable when it comes to staying strong with our faith.

But I wasn't personally doing anything to set goals for myself, for my family, or for my spiritual future.  The message tonight focused on a few key questions:

1.  What do I want to be when I grow up [as a disciple/christian/leader/teacher etc.]?

2.  What do I need to do NOW to make that happen?

The first thing that I thought of was how much I look up to 4 specific women in our church.  They are all strong, Godly women who have put God first in their lives and have outwardly shown me what it means to prioritize.  But even though I look up to these women, I wasn't following their example.  I would get advice from one, and she would quote scripture.  I would go to another when I was feeling down or anxious, and she would quote scripture.  I would ask another how I can be more like her, and she would quote scripture.  

There seems to be a common denominator here...  the WORD.  I need to just plain read my Bible.  I need to read it and take notes and re-read my notes.  I need to live the Word and practice the Word and share the Word.  I need to be able to turn to the Word, and know where to turn, when I, or another sister, needs encouragement or strength or love.  Without the Word, as a disciple in a church that lives by the Word, I can't meet my goals of becoming more like these Godly women that I look up to.

So my goal is this:  I'm going to read my Bible everyday for the next 365 days.  I've never read cover to cover, so I'm starting with Genesis and buzzing straight through to Revelations.  No ifs, ands or buts about it.  No excuses, no "I'm too busy" or "I'll read extra tomorrow".  I'm going to take notes and I'm going to blog about it and I'm going to act on opportunities to share what I've learned.  I'm hoping to encourage my fellow sisters to follow my blog too.  If I know others are keeping me accountable, sitting eagerly by their laptops or smartphones or tablets, waiting for that blessed email saying I have a new blog for them to read, I will stick to my goal.

I better get to it...

Don't save it for a rainy day

It rained today… multiple times.  First it sprayed little droplets straight down to the ground like a leaky kitchen faucet.  The second time it rained, the droplets looked like little water balloons exploding against the cement.  Then came the torrents.  Curtains of rain that washed over the eaves trough and down the windows. 

The rain today was so calming to watch and listen to.  Have you ever wondered why rain is so soothing?  We all know what rain is.  Precipitation.  Water vapor condenses and gravity pulls it to the ground.  That's it... right?

Deuteronomy 32:1-3 [NIV] 

“Listen, you heavens, and I will speak; hear, you earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!”

I don’t feel like I’m the greatest at deciphering scripture yet, but this passage from Deuteronomy makes me feel like God’s trying to say that we should let his Word rain down on us… saturate our lives fully.  As a new disciple, I’m like a hungry little seedling.  I need sunshine and air (and probably some Miracle-Gro plant food) and lots and lots of rain.  When I’m feeling strong, just a drizzle will keep me upright and blossoming.  But when times are tough and my back begins to bend, I need a flood to wash me clean and give me strength.

So the next time it rains, just curl up with The Good Book and let yourself be soothed and strengthened.

Breaking all the rules

Exodus 20: 1-21 [NIV]

"You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below... You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.  Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy... Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house..."

The Ten Commandments are not the only "commandments" that God gives us in the Bible.  God commands many things of us and it may not always seem like the simple things are ones that we should follow with as much devotion as the Ten Commandments.  However so many people easily bend the rules and choose to not follow God's other commandments for one reason or another.  I am one of those people and I have a very specific commandment that I struggle with.  

In Matthew 6:34, God commands us: "...do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."  This is (so far) my favorite scripture.  My good friend Beth shared this with me to help me get through my struggles with anxiety.  I've always fallen back on the "excuse" that I have anxiety and I can't help the way I feel and react about certain things and situations.  But I can.  I can give it to God and stop worrying... plain and simple.

A very short and sweet communion message from church yesterday really struck home for me.  Do we bend the rules and make excuses for breaking God's other commandments?  Murder?  Stealing?  Do we break these rules with as much lack of conviction as the little ones?  No.  We don't.  So why should we make excuses and break the little ones?  We shouldn't.  And I need to stop.

I agree with John's prayer

In John 17, Jesus prays for himself, his disciples and for all believers.  This is the longest prayer recorded in the Holy Bible and a great example of how we should all structure our talks with God.  However, it is also important to make sure that when we pray for ourselves, our fellow disciples, and all believers, we follow a few guidelines.  Yes... it might sound odd, but there are proper and improper ways to pray.  God does not want to hear prayer after prayer of "please do this" or "please do that".  Prayers full of thanks are all well and good too, but Jesus shows us the true way to speak with God.

John 17:1 [NIV]

"Father, the time has come.  Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you."

First, we should pray to be shown how we can glorify God.  Our eyes need to be opened so that we might see the ways in which we can serve each other, the church, and the lost.  This is the first step in removing selfishness from your prayers.

John 17:11-12 [NIV]

"...Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one.  While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me.  None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled."

Second, we should pray for protection.  Our minister clarified this by explaining that we should not be asking God to remove us from harm, but to protect and sanctify us.  We should be praying for the protection of our fellow disciples and those who are lost... those who we wish to bring into the church.  This is the best opportunity to pray WITH others too, especially your children.  Praying FOR others is also key.  Just the pure act of praying for one another brings us closer.

John 17:20 [NIV]

"My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message."

Which leads me to the final prayer guideline.  Unity.  When we pray for each other... with each other... you learn to love each other more.  You can't truly pray for someone without developing more love and compassion for them.  You can't make an impact on each other, the church, Lansing, or the world without uniting together under a common cause.

Some important questions can be raised here.  How often do you pray?  Do you spend your prayer time asking for things?  A better job... good health... less stress...  Do you throw in a thank you real quick at the end?  Are you in a hurry maybe?  Forcing prayer time in between everything else in your hectic schedule...  Maybe you're not even praying at all because your priorities don't include time for prayer.  This just isn't going to cut it.  

This week is supplication week at church as part of our Great Campaign.  This is a fancy word for prayer.  I challenge you to pray everyday.  I challenge you to pray with someone... for someone... and really focus on the way that Jesus teaches us to pray.

It's not quantum mechanics people...

Deuteronomy 30:11 [NIV]

Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.  It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?"

Life can be so complicated!  We are husbands and wives, parents and grandparents, siblings and children, aunts and uncles.  We work and work and work.  We go to school and the gym and to the movies with friends.  We have hobbies and extracurricular activities and support groups and meetings.  The list goes on and on and on...  We are also Disciples.  We go to church and home group and leaders meetings and parenting workshops and marriage retreats.  We have devo time and discipleship time and game nights and double dates.

Being a Disciple can be complicated too... but it doesn't have to be.  Sometimes I find myself feeling like a secret Christian.  I haven't quite found my courage to regularly and openly share my faith with some friends, let alone random strangers.  Part of this fear is due to the fact that I don't feel like I know enough yet about the Bible to act the part. 

Last night at the parenting workshop, Joel (our Minister) walked over to the couch as more and more new faces were walking in the door and encouraged us to get up, greet these new people and welcome them to the church.  Inside, I panicked a little bit.  But I got up and started walking around.  First, I mingled with some fellow Disciples and members of the church, because that was safe.  My second attempt was botched by another more courageous Disciple who beat me to the sweet looking lady in the 4th row.  Then I spotted them.  A nice looking couple that had just walked in and sat toward the back.  I was drawn to them.  They reminded me of Ryan and I on our first day at the church...

We sat in the back and waited for everyone to come to us.  But we didn't have to wait long!  We smiled and talked a lot about Rowen, but I know we were both nervous.  Slowly but surely, we moved up a row after a couple of weeks.  Then a few more rows after a month.  The encouragement and love of our new family got us moving in the right direction.

This couple smiled as I walked up and we shook hands.  I introduced myself and asked if they had been invited by someone at our church.  The wife said that she actually subscribes to Kirk's Celebrate Calm newsletter and saw he was going to be in town.  Her and her husband attend Faith Church in Lansing.  We talked a little about our churches and I thanked them for coming.  Phew!  That wasn't so bad... 

I have been mulling over this blog post since last Wednesday.  During our women's service, Beth (Joel's wife) encouraged us to get rid of the complication in our lives.  We need to trust in God and believe that nothing is too difficult for us to accomplish.  Everything God tells us is really quite simple.  If we believe in Him, trust in Him, live through Him, share Him, obey Him, love Him, and keep both our feet planted firmly in Him, it's not complicated at all.

Now quantum mechanics on the other hand...