our blog
Oct
Pushing Buttons
Up until now, your My One Word experience was progressing quite well. You are probably encouraged to see the growth taking place in your character. Everything has been rosy with the attention on you and the personal benefits of this experiment. However, this may have changed as you read the focus was going to shift to others. Then we took it a step further and you may have halted in your tracks. Not only do you have to devote all of October to others, your entire focus is suppose to be directed to a single individual – the most challenging person in your life.
If you’re like me then chances are good that you’ve tried your hardest to ignore last week’s homework assignment. The reasons why are probably the same as well. It took us no time at all to come up with a name. Instantly this person’s image came to mind and almost simultaneously you cringe.
For me, it’s a guy who has somehow mastered the art of pushing my buttons. He’s no stranger. In fact, he’s a close friend of mine and we actually get along for 90% of the time. It’s the other 10% where we run into trouble. Being a friend, he knows me well. This works to my advantage and disadvantage. Over the years he’s figured out which buttons to push, and the exact sequence of maneuvers to create a variety of emotions inside of me. At the first pushing of a button, I find myself getting frustrated, jealous and angry.
I think what grates my nerves the most is the fact that this guy is a know-it-all. Ask him a question and he’ll give you an answer. Scratch that. You don’t even need to ask. This “expert of everything” will give you his two cents whether you want the input or not.
It doesn’t seem fair that I’m devoting an entire year to acknowledge my shortcomings, learn from others and transform my character while it seems this guy hasn’t even bothered to change himself. I feel myself getting fired up as I write these words. Somehow, without even being in the room, he has managed to push my buttons.
Even if he knows the combination to push, in the end they are still my buttons. I own them. They belong to me. Whether I want to acknowledge it or not, I have the ability to control my reaction when buttons are being pushed. This is going to be tough, tougher than you can imagine, but this month I am going to take my one word and apply it to my friend.
I know this friend will always have some of the same attributes, and in part that’s why I love him. He reminds me that we are all in process. But if I change my approach towards him, maybe I can change the way he reacts towards me. At the very least maybe I can disarm some old buttons that far too long held a control over me. Hopefully towards the middle of the month my new approach towards my old friend will have an impact on how we interact with one another, and our friendship can grow stronger.
- Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Which characteristic of love found in this passage do you need to display most to the person you struggle to love? How is this characteristic intertwined with your One Word?
- Read Philippians 2:1-4. How has coming to grips with the fact that you are a work in progress caused you to extend more grace to others? How has your perspective of others changed?
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!
Oct
Flow
I love the word “FLOW.” It seems so natural—so unforced. Most of all, it implies another source. Flow must come from somewhere else. I find it interesting that the word “INFLUENCE” is derived from this concept of FLOW—it is unforced, almost unnoticeable.
This does not mean unintentional, rather natural, real, authentic. This is what everyone is looking for. And most of us resolve somewhere inside of ourselves that we will live that way. We are going to force ourselves to be this way…
John 7:37-38
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
What does Jesus say will happen to those who simply believe? This is simply a matter of faith—in another source. This is to believe that God is who He says He is. This is to believe that Jesus is the LIFE and that life will flow from inside. This means to surrender to another source of life. This is to be free from ever having to force life again. Instead, you surrender to His life and it flows.
What would it look like for your life to flow from who you really are? Imagine finding a love so deep and true that it springs forth from the depths of who you are. Doesn’t this sound freeing?
Well if you are thirsty for this, this is exactly His invitation to you. Take a moment and think of your agenda. What do you have to do today?
Now, think about what He might want to flow out of you today through your One Word. A different way to see this, huh? What might flow from your heart today that will be living water to another person, even the individual you find it most challenging to love?
This is the kind of freedom God is calling us to and the kind of life God has made us to live. It is available if we will simply come and believe… If we will take Him at His word… He said whoever believes in me, streams of living water will flow.
Lord, I have so many things to do today. Yet, I am drawn to deeper way of life. Help me to surrender the first to find the second. I believe in you. I believe that you have made me to show who you are to those around me. I have been placed there to spring forth living water for them to find your invitation true. I believe in you so I will believe that this is true. Today, I will allow Your life to flow through me and trust you to accomplish every purpose you have… Amen.
- What might flow from your heart today that will be living water to another person, even the individual you find it most challenging to love?
- When it comes to your relationship with Christ, where are you currently finding yourself out of the flow? Where is this resistance or tension coming from?
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 2010. 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!
Oct
Baggage
Being an experienced traveler, you consider yourself an expert when it comes to packing the ideal carry-on. There is no need to worry if you’ll have enough underwear for your trip or if you brought your belt. All of your necessities are confined to something manageable, or so you think. As you walk through the entryway at the airport, you shake your head at those novices congregating at the baggage check. You wonder why anyone would wait in line to hand their luggage to someone else and trust they can manage to get it to their final destination. You feel a lot safer keeping your bags close to your side.
Passing by the crowd as well as the gate agent, you fully expect that your luggage is going to fit in the little cage at the Jetway. Even though you are in business class and one of the first people on the plane, you are the last person still standing and are holding up the plane from leaving the gate.
Everyone watches as you attempt to cram your carry-on into the overhead compartment. Suddenly you are filled with regret and embarrassment as you realize just how silly you must appear to on-lookers. The bag, which accompanies you on all your trips, is a lot heavier than you ever remembered. Still, you’ve made it this far and your pride prevents you from turning back now so you speed up your efforts to stuff the bag in the bin. After a few more minutes of wrestling with the luggage, you finally admit defeat and hand your bag to the flight attendant.
Whether we realize it or not, a different type of baggage exists with the individual you find it most challenging to love. As you begin to look at this person in a different light in the month of October, you may have noticed you’re holding on to some baggage. It might be wounds caused by the hurtful words and actions of the other party or things you regret doing to them.
You check some of the other luggage tags and see things like pride, jealousy, annoyance or pain scribbled on them. Rather than dealing with the issue at hand or the issues in your own heart, you continue to carry these bags with you and allow it to influence your relationship with this individual.
The weight of this burden has slowed down your pursuit of redeeming this relationship. Instead of looking to the future, your time is spent focusing on moments from the past. Your not looking for reasons to love, but more justifications to defend your behavior.
Coming to grips with what causes this tension is terrifying. So, you convince yourself that things will always be this way and continue to cling on to your baggage. The time has come to ask yourself: what keeps you from checking your baggage and trusting that God can redeem this relationship?
- What keeps you from checking your baggage and trusting that God can redeem this relationship?
- What is one proactive step you can take to deal with the baggage that exists in this relationship?
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 2010. 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!