our blog
Aug
Back To School
Right now many parents are rejoicing over the fact summer has come to an end and their kids are heading back to school. Some might even do an Irish jig as they watch the school bus pulling away from their house. They are delighted while I’m a wreck. Now, don’t confuse my reaction for me being the ultra parent who loves to spend every waking moment with their children. I love my kids, but time apart can be a good thing for both parties.
The reason why I dread the upcoming school year can be summed up in three words: brand new wardrobes. Thinking of the hit on my wallet makes me cringe. This has nothing to do with being consumed with name brand labels or designer clothes. We are bargain shoppers who head straight to the sale rack. Sadly, thanks to a summer growth spurt, our oldest daughter, Madison, literally has no clothes that fit her. Jeans we used to roll up suddenly look like Capri pants or that an impending flood is coming. Baggy tops now show her mid-drift. The only bright side is her younger sister’s closet just exploded with possibilities.
My wife and I sat baffled as we helped Madison try on her old clothes. We both understood the basics of biology and realized eventually our children would mature. But, someone please tell me…when did our baby girl grow up? When did she sprout up like a tree? How did we not notice this?
The Psalmist says our life is but a breath (Psalm 39:5 and 144:4). Other parts of scripture compare the days we have on earth to a shadow (Psalm 102:11 and Job 8:9) or grass that is here one day and gone the next (1 Peter 1:24 and Psalm 37:2). Coming to grips with the brevity of life should cause two different reactions to erupt within us: reflection and action.
In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” We have been there every step of the way with Madison, but it’s easy to get wrapped up in the moment of the here and now and miss the growth that has taken place along the way. The same principle holds true with our spiritual transformation.
You might look at yourself right now and be confronted with struggles, frustrations and shortcomings. Letting this be your only perspective will inevitably lead to frustration. So, rewind the tape to a few months ago. Where were you back then? Chances are good you’ve grown, yet if you don’t stop and reflect, you’ll never have the opportunity to celebrate transformation and God’s faithfulness.
But, we can’t stop there. We can’t sit back and be satisfied reveling in the past. Life is short and we only possess a small window to leave an eternal mark. Without an understanding that our days are like a breath, it is easy to just sigh and put off sharing our faith, forgiving someone who hurt us or putting our One Word into action for another day. The reality is tomorrow has never been promised to us. Each day is a gift and the question we must ask ourselves is what are we doing with the moments we’ve been given?
- Coming to grips with the brevity of life should cause two different reactions to erupt within us: reflection and action. Reflect on the steps you’ve taken throughout the My One Word process. Which step toward growth reminds you that change is indeed possible?
- Without an understanding that our days are like a breath, it is easy to just sigh and put off things for another day. In terms of your walk with God and influencing others, what is one thing you have put off that you know you need to act upon? What is causing you to hesitate from putting your faith into action?
Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2011. If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!
Aug
Procrastination
Procrastination pretty much summed up my work ethic during my college years. If I devoted as much time and energy to studying as I did to winning a Super Bowl ring on Madden, I would of graduated Magna Cum Laude instead of Praise The Lord-e. Chugging a combination of Mountain Dew and Red Bull in order to stay awake, I was the guy hunkered down in the computer lab at 4 in the morning just starting his introductory statement for the 12 page paper due for his 8 o’clock philosophy class.
I wish I could say I kicked this habit shortly after graduation. Sadly, this isn’t the case. My tendency to put things off till the last minute has followed me into adulthood. Whether it is starting home improvement projects, paying bills or mowing the grass, I tend to be a complete and utter slacker. In my former life as an administrative assistant, I created artificial deadlines. I purposely waited till I was up against the clock to finish the project all in hopes of creating some adventure in my mundane world of spreadsheets.
Procrastination has even begun to creep into my involvement with the My One Word project. For the past two years, I’ve been tasked with writing blog entries that encourage people to stay engaged with their One Word. This job is not new. It’s not like I don’t know this is my responsibility.
Yet, I’ve noticed recently I find myself wrestling with the blank screen of my laptop. Instead, I’ll work on other writing assignments, chat with co-workers, respond to emails or update my Facebook status. My avoidance has a lot to do with writer’s block, a lack of creativity and the feeling that I’ve hit a wall.
Instead of facing this difficult stretch head on, all I want to do is run from my responsibilities. Rather than endure, I try to avoid. I think this is where this month’s topic on ‘Gathering Stones’ comes into play. When doubt of growth, transformation or change takes root in your mind, a few stones reminding you of God’s faithfulness goes a long way.
Luckily today, I mistakenly came across a few stones while clearing out my inbox in one last failed attempt at procrastination. These stones came in the form of emails from My One Word subscribers who wrote about how God is using this project to move in their lives in incredible ways. Message after message spoke of how focusing on a single aspect of Christ’s heart had brought personal transformation and spiritual breakthrough.
These emails serve as my stones. They are stones not to reassure me of my ability, but rather remind me of how God serves as the true agent of change. These notes help me keep in mind how blessed I am to have any part in a project that God is using to bring people closer to His side. These stones cause me to fight, rather than avoid, when my creativity is zapped. So, I continue to write.
How about you? Have you hit a wall? Are you struggling to endure? What is fueling your procrastination? What ‘stones’ do you need to gather to remember that being transformed through the lens of your One Word has an impact on others? What will be the thing that sparks a memory of how God used your One Word to cultivate your heart and influence those around you? These little altars reminding you of God’s faithfulness are what keep you moving in the right direction and chasing after His heart.
- Where have you hit a wall when it comes to your pursuit of reflecting God’s character and heart through your One Word?
- What is causing you to procrastinate and not meet these challenges head on?
Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2011. If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!
Aug
Where Are My Keys?
My work week got off to a glorious start. I rolled into work about an hour late today. My tardiness wasn’t due to sleeping in or my children being under the weather. I was late because I couldn’t find my keys. Unfortunately, this is a normal occurrence. The forgetfulness strain is part of my DNA.
If it weren’t for Facebook reminders, I’d forget friend and family member’s birthdays. I’m the guy with the dazed look on his face wandering down the aisles in the grocery store trying to recall what his wife wanted him to pick up for dinner. From phone numbers to important details, my brain is often scattered.
Yet, my forgetfulness impacts me on a much greater scale than I’d like to admit. In these moments, I’m not talking about misplacing an item or forgetting to complete a task on my ‘Honey Do’ list. There are gaps in my memory of God’s faithfulness. I’m speaking of those earth shaking moments when God moved in my life.
For most of us, there was a time in our lives when we thought we could never forget what God has done. The moment we accepted the cross, the redemption of past hurts, how God brought us through situations where all hope seemed lost. But, somehow we did forget. Okay, maybe “forget” is not the right word. After the euphoria passes and life gets back to ‘normal,’ these moments are quickly forgotten. Then when our faith gets stale or we are faced with another challenging situation we find ourselves asking God, “Where are you? Are you going to come through? What have you done for me lately?”
All of humanity suffers from short term memory loss. This is nothing new. It has always been this way and one only need to open up the Old Testament to see this is true. There is a reoccurring theme which threads itself throughout the story of God. It is one of God’s faithfulness and pursuit followed almost instantaneously by our forgetfulness, fear and disobedience. Sadly, sometimes the stories seem like a sequel of disobedience because the events which unfold are almost identical to one another. God does something incredible and the Israelites rejoice in His faithfulness. Things return to normal and they forget. It sounds horrible. How could you forget God doing something miraculous in your life?
The sad truth is that it happens all the time. We forget the miracle of salvation. We forget the miracle of redemption. We forget the miracle of provision. We forget the miracle of the moment. And if we are not careful and don’t do something to counteract the normal pace of life, we will forget the miracle of the life change we hoped for and in fact, have experienced.
To counteract our tendency to forget, God commands us to grab a few stones. The erecting of altars is a practice seen throughout the pages of the Old Testament. From the Israelites constructing one after crossing the Red Sea to Abraham giving thanks to God for providing another sacrifice and sparing his son Isaac, people placed rocks on top of each other so they would remember that at this point and time they experienced firsthand God’s faithfulness and provision. The altar served as a physical reminder of what God had done in their lives.
The point of the rocks is simple. They are to take the rocks, stack them up and remember. By making an altar, they will never forget what has happened and what God did. The same holds true with you. You are going to where you have never been before and you need to take some drastic measures to remember your progress.
A few months ago we focused all of our attention on embracing struggle. You’ve learned that God’s work, the growth that He demands of you, will push you to extremes. But now, eight months into the year, you need to give yourself permission to move to stop for a moment and rejoice. Your word must move from conflict to celebration. The struggle may never completely go away, but instead of focusing on the hard moments, this month we want you to acknowledge those times when you got things right and where you lived up to the image behind your word.
This is not just about patting yourself on the back. It’s to make sure these moments don’t disappear into thin air. If you fail to celebrate, it will be easy to fall into the trap of forgetfulness. Your moments of victory, growth and maturity will come and go and when they’re gone they could be lost forever. Instead this month we want you to search for altars and remember God’s faithfulness.
- Read Genesis 22:14 and Joshua 4:1-9. Why are we as humans so prone to forget God’s faithfulness to us? How is the art of remembrance critical for our walk with God?
- In the midst of being intentional about your One Word, how have you experienced God’s faithfulness? What moment throughout your One Word experience would you build an altar marking God moving in your life? How has this encouraged you to continue with the process and take deeper steps of faith?
Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2011. If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!