our blog
Mar
A Work In Progress
I am trying to come to grips with my living room being in a state of utter chaos. Everything is all out of sorts. The majority of the furniture has been pushed together in the middle of the room. The other odds and ends are scattered throughout making it extremely challenging to navigate a course to the bathroom. My wife and I are in the midst of painting the interior of our house.
I have to admit I don’t do well with process. It’s hard for me to picture the finished project when all I see is blue painter’s tape and the first coat of paint on the walls. My eyes almost instantly go towards the spots that need touching-up or the areas where I got paint on the ceiling. Even though I know that eventually everything will be put back in its place, the “in between” stage is unsettling for me.
Maybe this is the reason why many of the tasks on my ‘honey do’ list remain unchecked. In order to have a finished project one has to be okay with the mess in the middle. Only when we admit our messiness will God be able to work on our hearts. When it comes to the transformation you will see through your One Word, there needs to be a way for you to deal with your unfinishedness.
Yes, unfinished means being incomplete and imperfect but it also entails movement because you have come to grips with being in process. The restoration project of your hearts will expose your flaws, rough edges and touch-up spots. However, by developing measuring sticks to measure growth you will be able to notice how the heart of Christ is beginning to take shape in your life.
Dealing with process comes down to where you place your sights. Do your eyes zero in on the imperfections causing you to be riddled with feelings of guilt and defeat? Or does your gaze go in the direction of your Creator who began a good work in you, is changing you and loves you in the midst of your unfinishedness? As the month of March comes to a close, may the words of Hebrews 12:2 bring you comfort: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith.”
- How are you currently dealing with being a “work in progress?” Are you allowing your unfinishedness to hinder your growth or spur you on towards transformation?
- How has developing measuring sticks enabled you to see the growth that has taken place through your One Word up to this point?
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!
Mar
Outside The Numbers
March is when most people give up on this experiment. Their intentions roar in like a lion, but by the end of the month their word – if they can still remember it -has gone out like a lamb.
Who knows, the real problem could be the Scotch Tape. It doesn’t take long for the sticky side to wear out. Now the index card that used to serve as a daily reminder – with your word printed out in huge block letters – has fallen from the dashboard or the bathroom mirror; out of sight, out of mind.
Of course there’s another possibility. It has to do with Measuring Sticks. That’s a phrase you’ve heard a lot this month. Many of my friends have told you that in order to keep going you have to celebrate the slightest amount of growth.
They’re right, but be careful! Picking the wrong Measuring Stick can be a huge mistake!
I think we get into problems when we try to turn faith into a numbers game. It’s part of our human nature. We think that all progress needs a digit attached to it.
But what are you counting?
This year my word is seed. In January I promised to focus on the small efforts, turning them over to God and letting Him worry about how big they will become. It’s been amazing. In just a short time some of what I’ve planted has already started to bloom. And yet, I am discouraged right now. I want to quit and give up.
You know why? Because two days ago I planted five seeds and yesterday I only planted one! That’s not growth! That’s not progress! That’s not moving forward, it’s going backwards. What’s the point?
If the Measuring Stick that you use compares moment to moment or one day to another, you are going to end up failing. It is vital that you look at growth on a much bigger scale.
Yes, I only planted one seed yesterday. But you want to know the truth? That single seed took a lot out of me. It depleted my resources. It required me to really engage with another individual. It forced me to be compassionate, to be honest, to share my own fears and doubts and tell them about the faith that sustains me.
Compare that to the five seeds I threw the previous day. In truth, looking back at in now, those really weren’t anything more than random acts of kindness, quick in and outs, “drive by Christianity.” I may have thrown more of them, but the larger number really is no indicator of how much I truly gave of myself.
Perhaps when it comes to my word, and maybe yours, too, the key is not to count up but to count down.
To understand my point you have to read the Gospels of Matthew and Mark in chronological order. This is fascinating to me. In Chapter 14 of Mathew (Mark 6) Jesus feeds five thousand with a few crumbs of bread and fish. And in the next chapter (or Mark 
he does the same thing but this time the number drops to only four thousand.
Close your eyes and you can almost picture the panic attack among the disciples: “What’s going on? Our numbers our down! This is a crisis! Our movement is dwindling! We got to do something here.”
Okay that sounds sarcastic, but think about this: Why didn’t John mention the second (or lesser miracle) in his Gospel? Did he delete it simply because He was counting in the wrong direction?
Here is how you count down.
After taking inventory of the few pieces of fish and bread Jesus speaks my favorite words in all of scripture: “Give it to me,” or in some versions: “Bring it to me.”
In essence He is saying: “Give me what you got, don’t hold back.”
In that regard it doesn’t matter how many seeds I threw yesterday provided that I empty my tank today. My goal is not to increase the number, but to decrease it. So at the end of each day I can say: “God, I am on empty! I gave you what I had. I left it all on the court. There is nothing in the reserves.”
Progress and growth need to be measured, but in March just make sure you are counting in the right direction.
Doug Wahl is a former award winning broadcast journalist. His first book Gradually to God will be released in April. He is also the founder of the Off the Wahl blog on facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Off-The-Wahl-Eassys-in-taking-the-next-step-in-a-walk-with-Christ/108832095861048?v=wall
Mar
Writer’s Block
I’m stuck in a Writer’s Block rut. I sit at my computer hoping to become inspired, but find I have been staring at the blank screen longer than I’d like to admit. I have tried everything: getting up to get a drink, taking a short walk, chatting with friends, visualization techniques, listening to music… I have even invented a ridiculous number of uses for paperclips. But still, I have nothing. It’s time to admit it: I am STUCK.
The same thing sometimes happens spiritually, too. How do we recognize when we’re stuck, and how do we become unstuck? Answering this question is critical in keeping alive the transformation process of My One Word rather than giving in to the rising difficulty and resistance.
According to 2 Peter 1:3-10, when we’re stuck we’re blind to three things: our identity in Christ, God’s provision for our growth and the transformation process. Verse 3 shows us that we possess everything we need for godliness. Christ himself provides a godly life (Galatians 2:20). The Holy Spirit, living within us, guides us in truth. We simply need to remind ourselves of the promises (v.4) that come through the grace of Christ.
Eventually, those initial changes brought by choosing our One Word fade. Struggles arise and many of us grow frustrated. Resistance sometimes leaves us shell-shocked and, in more devastating cases, we lose hope. We lose heart. By taking out our heart, the enemy immobilizes us.
How do we handle this lack of hope and gain traction and, ultimately, momentum with our One Word? The first—and most critical—step is to cling to the truth that in Christ we are whole, made alive and set free. This truth changes everything, including our perspective on feeling stuck. We won’t depend on ourselves to produce change anymore (Galatians 3:2-3). When we understand that true change only occurs within, we’ll resist the urge to fix the external and allow the Holy Spirit to change our hearts. This is never easy.
If we’re honest, we want character without being stretched, growth without risk, and lessons without scars. In a way, we become satisfied with being stuck because we love comfort and security. Something in our heart avoids having to admit that the biggest problem we face isn’t our circumstances, but the person staring back at us in the mirror.
That’s why Peter says in verse 5 that we must make every effort to add to our faith. We need to believe the real challenge of Christian growth is personal ownership. We need vision to create a path out of our rut. We have to identify our desires and figure out why we’re stuck in the first place. We combat getting stuck by protecting our hearts (Proverbs 4:23) and transforming our minds (Romans 12:2). Our thoughts shape our words and actions.
We need to become so aware of our flaws that they can’t hide anymore. Once we identify them, we need to give them to God. When doing so, we begin breaking patterns that put us in positions to make poor decisions. Instead of pursuing something to fulfill a shortsighted desire, we pursue things that produce the internal change we really need. Prayer shifts our focus from what’s directly in front of us onto the actions we need to take for growth to occur.
No matter the struggle, no matter the situation, no matter how stuck we’ve been, if we know Christ, then there’s hope. The hope for us who are stuck is that what God has begun in us He will complete (Philippians 1:6).
- What situations are you feeling “stuck” and meeting resistance in living out the qualities of your One Word? What do you believe is keeping you “stuck”?
- How have you dealt with times of discouragement or has it gotten the better of you?
- Often times in the midst of being “stuck” we know what the next right steps of faith are, but are unwilling to act. What do you believe is the next step you need to take in living out your One Word? What actions or changes do you need to put into place to make this change a reality? How would you measure growth in this area?
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!