A few years ago I learned something that has had a profound impact on my life. It was about priorities, and living life balanced. I'm sure you've heard of the "God first, Family Second, Career Third" motto...problem is life isn't that simple. Sometimes, due to circumstances beyond our control, sickness in the family, problem child, death, etc. our family is our #1 priority.
Other times, our career is demanding, and due to circumstances beyond our control, our career demands more of our time, and slowly creeps into first place. As I am writing this, I think of my husband Mike who is currently serving in Baghram Afghanistan on a year deployment. He did not choose to be away from his family for a year, but he chose his career, and his career demands first place, for this season. It is imperative for his safety, and the success of his mission, that his career be his # 1 focus.
So, as much as we would like to fit our lives into this neat little box, GOD, the maker of heaven and earth, the Creator of the Universe, is much bigger than a priority, HE IS. So instead of God first, Family Second, Career Third, consider this: GOD is FIRST in your relationship with Him. GOD is First in your relationship with your Family. GOD is First in your relationship with your Career. GOD is FIRST. Whatever priorities, and circumstances that you have in your life, GOD is FIRST.
Do not feel guilty when you need to, for a season, devote more of your time to your family, than your personal bible/prayer time, for example, when your kids are young. Just make sure that you are doing EVERYTHING, changing diapers, feeding lunch, caring for your children, as if they were the LORD himself. Do everything as unto Him. This is how you can honor God as 1st in your family. Be there for them,
Do not feel guilty when, for a season, you devote more of your time to your career, for example, a new business, a growing ministry, an entreprenual venture, there are times, that your career will be first place (your primary focus in your life) Remember to KEEP God first in your career. Be honest, diligent, full of integrity, do your job well, in this way you will honor GOD as First Place in your life. I could go on like this...
Stop for a moment, and ask yourself, "What is my primary focus for this season in my life?" Do not judge yourself, or think about what your focus "should" be...be honest. What is your primary focus. What do you want it to be? What is of the uptmost importance to you right now? Then give it all you've got! HONOR GOD by giving him your all. Do not hold anyting back...it's the only way to live.
Join me in this adventure! It is a ride you won't forget...
Living Balanced,
Jennifer
PS. As I write this, I am just coming home from a day of shopping, and popcorn and a movie...to keep all things in balance, as Joyce Meyer says, "sometimes you've just got to eat the cookie, and buy the shoes"
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Are you an apple or an orange?
The true test of a man's character is not how he behaves when times are good, the true test of a man character is how he reacts during the dark times. When life gets stressful, when your car breaks down, when you loose your job, when your 25 plus year marriage falls apart...this is when the true character will be revealed.
Let's put it this way, if you pick an apple from a tree, and you squeeze it really hard, you will get apple juice. No matter how hard you squeeze you will never get orange juice from an apple. It is impossible.
This is how it works in our lives. When we feel the squeeze of life, our true nature, our "fruit juice" will be revealed. How do you react in time of stress? Are you irritable, angry, frustrated, impatient, rude? Or are you patient, kind, loving, joyful, peaceful, steady, gentle, and self-controlled?
Make no mistake, whatever is on the inside will come out. Whatever is hidden, will come to light, and the true character of your heart will be revealed. It is easy to show others our best side, or to pretend to be an apple when really we are an orange. But when the squeeze comes, the truth is obvious.
So today, think about this: Jesus said, "I am the vine, and you are the branches. Apart from me you can do nothing. It is to the Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples" This is how we show ourselves to be disciples of Christ, by bearing fruit.
It really is quite a natural process. We don't have to strain, and push to grow the fruit, we simply need to "abide" the fruit growing will occur as a natural byproduct of abiding. So what does a Christian look like?
The friut of the Spirit is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self-Control. Against such things their is no law. We can pretend to be these things, but trust me, it is A LOT of work to try and manufacture these character traits. For example, to act loving when in reality you feel apathetic, or to try and act peaceful when you are filled with anxiety and worry over the future.
So, take my suggestion, stop striving, and start abiding. When you strive, you never arrive. When you are abiding you are thriving. This is when we are able to "do all things through Christ who stregenthens us" What is abiding? The best definition I have ever heard of what it means to abide in Christ is this: To consistently sit at the feet of Jesus, listening to his words, with a heart to obey.
So now that we know what the Christian looks like, what does the sinful man look like? Please enjoy the following selection for one of my all time favorite books, The Message. This is a modern day paraphrase of the Holy Bible. If you don't have a copy of The Message, you can go to bible.com and click Galations 5, and choose, The Message. This is a very cool site, and you can read the bible in several different translations to get the different tones, word choices, etc.
I love the book of Galations, it is all about what is means to be a Chrisitan...Freedom. It also breaks it down on what it looks like to walk with God vs. walking led by our own sinful nature and desires.
Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?
It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.
But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.
Still working out the implications in my daily life,
Jennifer
Let's put it this way, if you pick an apple from a tree, and you squeeze it really hard, you will get apple juice. No matter how hard you squeeze you will never get orange juice from an apple. It is impossible.
This is how it works in our lives. When we feel the squeeze of life, our true nature, our "fruit juice" will be revealed. How do you react in time of stress? Are you irritable, angry, frustrated, impatient, rude? Or are you patient, kind, loving, joyful, peaceful, steady, gentle, and self-controlled?
Make no mistake, whatever is on the inside will come out. Whatever is hidden, will come to light, and the true character of your heart will be revealed. It is easy to show others our best side, or to pretend to be an apple when really we are an orange. But when the squeeze comes, the truth is obvious.
So today, think about this: Jesus said, "I am the vine, and you are the branches. Apart from me you can do nothing. It is to the Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples" This is how we show ourselves to be disciples of Christ, by bearing fruit.
It really is quite a natural process. We don't have to strain, and push to grow the fruit, we simply need to "abide" the fruit growing will occur as a natural byproduct of abiding. So what does a Christian look like?
The friut of the Spirit is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self-Control. Against such things their is no law. We can pretend to be these things, but trust me, it is A LOT of work to try and manufacture these character traits. For example, to act loving when in reality you feel apathetic, or to try and act peaceful when you are filled with anxiety and worry over the future.
So, take my suggestion, stop striving, and start abiding. When you strive, you never arrive. When you are abiding you are thriving. This is when we are able to "do all things through Christ who stregenthens us" What is abiding? The best definition I have ever heard of what it means to abide in Christ is this: To consistently sit at the feet of Jesus, listening to his words, with a heart to obey.
So now that we know what the Christian looks like, what does the sinful man look like? Please enjoy the following selection for one of my all time favorite books, The Message. This is a modern day paraphrase of the Holy Bible. If you don't have a copy of The Message, you can go to bible.com and click Galations 5, and choose, The Message. This is a very cool site, and you can read the bible in several different translations to get the different tones, word choices, etc.
I love the book of Galations, it is all about what is means to be a Chrisitan...Freedom. It also breaks it down on what it looks like to walk with God vs. walking led by our own sinful nature and desires.
Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?
It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.
But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.
Still working out the implications in my daily life,
Jennifer
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