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Northern Lights
Working for the weekend is such a sad way to live. I don’t know about you but I can get caught in this mentality and then once the weekend arrives I find myself wasting an entire day trying to think my way out of this repetative cycle. Having bills, a mortgage and responsibilities of a job in order to pay them can be so overwhelming and discourageing. Maybe you too feel trapped in this reality. Perhaps your circumstances are even more pressing then mine currently are with a child or whole family of your own to support. There has to be a better way.
Life is meant to be lived not sqandered away persisting someone else’s selfish business scheme and at the end of the day or pay period only having barely enough money to scrape by and even less energy to continue to find happiness in the things we once enjoyed. My dreams used to seem so possible but with each passing experience I become more sure that the world and how we’ve “made it work” is not ever going to offer me the route to get there. I am more resolved then ever to take a terrifying leap towards blazing that trail myself. I can’t be the only one who has ached for the world to operate in a more balanced way, infact I know I am not, but it seems that noone else has done a great job of leaving the trail markers behind so the rest of us can find our way.
We have to be the help we need which is such a conundrum. Because if we still need it then chances are we are still searching for what cause is out there meeting it.
I’ve always wanted to see the northern lights. I don’t know much about where to find them or when they appear but occasionally pictures will flood my social media. I used to think they only showed up in one place, antarctica but people have reported seeing them all over the place! I’m still not sure if it only happens once a year or if the timing is based on some other frequency in the heavens but whatever the measure, It is that time again and I am not in the right place to see them…again. Next time they appear I want to be positioned to see them fully. In the same way, the next time I am reminded loud and clear to evaluate my life and the way I am spending it I want to be in a place I am proud of, positioned to be the northern light guiding others towards a lifestyle that is freeing and sustainable. I am ready to move towards being the help I need and leaving trail markers for those who will come after.
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NOW
I’ve heard it said that NOW is the only moment in time we have that touches eternity, therefore it’s the only moment we have to make a difference. NOW is always happening and it’s true, how we handle the NOW impacts everything and everyone around us. It can be a daunting responsibility to think of it as if we are constantly living on the precipice of change, ruled by our own free actions, but what a privilege to have that amount of power! God gave us this power and it is by this power that we show all manner of love and gratitude by living each day for Him.
NOW: three small letters instilled with such power! When something is urgent and asked of you NOW or something you weren’t expecting suddenly happens NOW, it can be jilting. You may feel like you don’t even have a say in what happens in life anymore. Your mind jumps straight from the sense of having an option or free will to just figuring out how to cope with it or do it and get it done NOW. It’s no coincidence that NOW contains the word OW .
OWS slip into our lives in the NOWS, in those moments where we react instead of respond to what is happening…
OW: an onomatopoeia signifying pain, two letters that bear such weight. Weight ranging from a stubbed toe to a broken heart…or a broken spirit… we may not always utter this word allowed when we hurt but we feel it. We feel the OW and sometimes…most times we don’t know why or how it came about. OWS slip into our lives in the NOWS, in those moments where we react instead of respond to what is happening, because we were unable to embrace the power of the first half of NOW….NO
NO: two little letters that have the power to protect, the power to save not only ourselves from heartache and pain but also from causing pain for others. NO doesn’t just protect us, it is not selfish, we don’t need permission to wield this word from anyone. We are free to say NO point blank, period, full stop. No explanation necessary because especially in those times when we stand to cause the most pain or distress, discomfort or destruction in our lives or the lives of others, we need NO and that is clear as day to us! It is the YHW that we don’t always understand so sometimes we hesitate because we can’t explain it until that three letter word completes and OW is upon us.
The YHW makes clearer sense in the rearview mirror but often is a little blurry and backwards to us in the moment. When we look back we will see WHY… When you get to the other side of these moments in time and you see the WHY clearly in that reflection, I hope you more often can find resolution for the guilt of saying NO in the moment instead of the dread of OW from falling victim to the “urgencies” and things done to us. We will all have samples of both in our lives and that is okay because in the end, if we belong to God we will also look back and see how everywhere we met and struggled with a NOW, God still WON!
Blessings FAM!
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ThTh.005: You Reap What You Sow
In the bible we are told that what we sow is what we will reap. This analogy made a lot of sense for its time and since growing things is a timeless endeavor, we can continue to glean a lot from this teaching. It is logical to expect that if I plant a seed for corn, I will one day reap a harvest of corn from the stalks. There are a lot of variables to the survival of the plant. We must nurture it and protect it for it to grow all the way to fruition. Let’s imagine everything is done correctly to care for the plant, even then we must wait for some time before the fruit is ready to pick and good to eat. Depending on what you have planted, the time to fruition can vary. We must be patient and remember to care for the plant consistently all along the way to our harvest. Believing in that harvest has a lot to do with our success too. If we do not believe that our efforts will have a positive outcome in the end, then what reason do we have to keep going? It is imperative that we truly believe in the ultimate promises from God that He gives us through His word as well as the personal promises He has whispered in our ears.
Some of us may plant some things we do not intend to. Either we plant something on purpose and later change our minds or we are slipped the wrong seeds at the store (or by mail from china!) We trust the package to tell us what is inside but sometimes the one who packaged it got it wrong too. We are imperfect beings and mistakes happen. The good news is, God still has grace for us in these instances. When we find something growing in our lives that we cannot handle or that we never wanted in the first place, we can try to make it go away by ignoring it but, by some unspoken law of nature, usually weeds and plants that we don’t want and ignore do a good job of taking care of themselves. These things can still grow to produce unwanted fruit in our lives.
Sometimes the way God’s grace presents itself is in a pestilence or plague sent to kill the bad plants and devour the bad fruit to keep us from temptation to consume it and protect us from the effects of it in our lives. This can be scary, especially if the thing being destroyed or taken away is something we cling to knowing it is bad, but we’ve embraced it in sin. It can be a very polarizing event in our relationship with God to have it torn away so violently. Unfortunately, some people never recover from their hurts over these types of situations. Sometimes we never allow ourselves to grow up and see how that thing was hurting us more than the pain of losing it and that God removing it by whatever means necessary was the best thing for us. As we mature in our relationship with God and our faith in His goodness, it becomes easier to see these truths in the midst of our circumstances and to hold on to His promise of the better things He has for us, after and out of the wreckage.
Dead things and feces fertilize soil. They used to be something that brought us joy, in live and pre-digestive states, but now they are disgusting, stinky, and sad! Yet they make the ground in us richer and able to grow healthier things. Some things in our lives must die and we must go through some crap in order to fertilize our souls and prepare the ground in us to grow stronger versions of the things God has planted in us and planned for us. Nothing is wasted! It is all fuel for future success and blessings. So, do not let your failures keep you down and do not let the things of this world that have fallen apart in your life stunt your relationship with God. He is trying to teach you something which will fertilize you for the great things to come!
Blessings FAM!
What crops has God sent pestilence for in your life lately? Is that crop something you have been embracing in sin? Is it something you may not have planted at all but somehow it crept into your garden? How can the loss of that crop bring more freedom, joy, strength, or provision in your life? It may be scary and really hard to wrap your mind around right now but trust God with it! He knows how the absence of that thing will lead you to the better things He has for you. Let go and let God grow you!
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WW.005: New Wine | by Hillsong Worship
I was going to write about The Blessing today but this morning all I can think of is New Wine. This song is one of my favorites but you obviously get it by now that every song I bring up is most likely a favorite of mine. Right now I cannot get this song out of my head. Do you ever have days like that?
I don’t like to complain but my life is in a pretty stressful state right now. I can’t be very specific abut it publicly right now but basically I am in a waiting room that effects the relevance of most every decision I make, financial, relational, and even how I utilize my “spare” time. It is an aggravating place to be especially when you can’t really say much about it to some of the people you spend most of your time with. I am stuck between wondering if I should do more in the mean time or use the time to do less and prepare by resting more and trying to just recenter myself. I realize I am not the only one facing such difficult circumstances and of course I also know that there are so many people dealing with worse circumstances right now. I know all that and it keeps me from complaining too much but I also need to be reminded that my pain, confusion, frustration, and trials are valid too. I don’t normally give myself permission to be the one who needs someone to listen to me. On the contrary, I usually try to be the one who is always there for others to vent to.
“In the crushing, In the pressing, You are making new wine” It is hard to see this truth when the vice grips of life are squeezing you to your limits. The part we forget is that our limits is not where our power stops! We have the power of God on our side! When new wine was made in biblical times they would carry it in wine skins which were normally made of goat skin…Kind of gross if you think about it but it is what they did. The thing is when an old wine skin reaches it’s limit and you put new wine into it, it breaks! I feel a lot like an old wine skin lately and things in my life are being crushed and pressed from all sides. The Lord is making new wine and I am about to burst. If we may segway into another biblical analogy of our cup running over, that is basically what is going on here. the wine is made of blessings. The things in life being crushed and pressed are distractions and superfluous things that we cling to in our sinful humanity which are being destroyed. However, it must be so to enable the flow of blessing into our lives and the live of those around us from our overflow.
I have said before and I truly believe that blessings and stresses are synonymous but that is only when we look at life through our own power. We keep forgetting that we have God’s power! The power that rose Jesus from the grave and defeated death is alive in us! so yes when we look at things we love or have found our security and purpose in, begin to be torn down, rearranged, or ripped from our grip, it can be unsettling to say the least. We can live in a constant state of stress and aggravation trying our hardest to hold all the wine inside our feeble old wine skins or we can surrender our finite strength and allow the breakthrough! When we experience that the wine it held will splash all over us and everyone in our vicinity. The breaking may seem like a failure on our part but it is that example that others will look at and see the power of God and how He makes us new again. When one wine skin breaks, they would make another one. God wants to give you a new wine skin so why are you trying to hold on so tightly to the weak old one you’ve had!? Let it burst it’s blessings over your life and trust that God will replace it with one brand new and stronger than before!
Blessings FAM!
What is being crushed and pressed in your life right now? How can that be used to produce new wine in your life? Why are you still desperately trying to hold onto your old wine skin? Sometimes we breakdown before a breakthrough but that is okay. Once it happens and we choose to lean on God’s power through it, those are the examples of how to live this Christian life that people need to see! You may not be able to answer the questions I just posed but the best part and one of the hardest parts to remember is that we don’t have to understand how it will all work out. We just have to trust and surrender it all to God. “So I yield to You and to Your careful hand. When I trust you I don’t need to understand!”
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MM.005: Be Present
Sometimes the difference between a bad habit and a good one is simply a perspective shift. I believe that shift is grace. If you struggle with procrastination like I do (I may [definitely] be writing this the morning of it’s posting yet again) then it is easy to beat yourself up every time you realize you have mere hours, or minutes even, to accomplish something that you either promised yourself or, even worse, someone else! There is nothing more self deprecating in my personal book then letting someone else down on a promise I have made them. Even little things matter so much to me when I know someone else is counting on it. That probably stems from something much deeper that I need to work through but it is not exactly the point of today’s post.
Today I want to expound on the fact that, in those moments of realizing that you’ve unintentionally procrastinated once again, you have a choice to make. Your choice is between a) beating yourself up about it and guilt tripping yourself over it even once you’ve completed it because, if you had not procrastinated, you could have done it so much better! or b) give yourself grace and realize the reason it may have slipped your mind is that the habit of being present, that you have been hoping to practice and be better at, is beginning to come easier. You shouldn’t have to work so hard to remember to do the things you care about. I know this can get touchy and I am trying my best to keep out of the weeds on this topic but, some things (hobbies, jobs, relationships…etc) just do not matter!
Okay so maybe I am going to have to psychoanalyze myself a bit deeper today. The bible tells us to “let [our] yes be yes and [our] no be no, so that [we] may not fall under condemnation” (James 5:12). We cannot do all things. We are human and have our limits. It also says that we “have the right to do anything — but not everything is beneficial [we] have the right to do anything — but not everything is constructive” (1 Cor 10:23) It is not that these things don’t matter at all but they just may not need to matter to you. Even good things may not be for us to take care of. helping the homeless matters but your gifting may not be what is necessary to meet that need for people. Healing the sick matters but you may not be a doctor. Feeding the hungry matters but you might stink at cooking. They may be starving but eating the food you make may seem like a worse punishment to them then the starvation hahaha. These are broad examples but you get my point, we are not all made to do all the things!
The good news is, you are made to do something! The challenge we have is to figure that out and the only way we can truly discover it is by testing the waters in a few areas until we find it. The part we need to be better at, once we find something that fits, is letting go of the things that we realize are no longer meant for us, instead of hanging on to all the things and trying to fit more in on top because “it’s a good thing so i can’t drop it”. There are a lot of good things and some of them may have been your calling for a while but the time for those things may need to be over. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Eccl 3:1)
Back to my title point, learn to be present! be intentional in each moment to learn what God is trying to teach you. Let Him show you what needs to matter in your life. When we get past the negative self talk every time we mess up or drop the ball on something, it frees our minds to evaluate the true importance of things in our lives. There is a reason we tend to let certain things slide and it is usually an indicator of the direction God is trying to lead you in. If you take time each time you fail at something to remind yourself why you do the the thing in the first place, you will either remember a really good reason and be more motivated to do it better next time or you will come up blank and that right there is your sign that perhaps the season for that thing in your life has come to an end and it is time to walk away. It can be hard to walk away even when you make that call but remember that every time you walk away from something, you are walking towards the next good thing God has for you! How exciting is that!?
Blessings FAM!
What is one area that you tend to put things off? Why do you think you do that? Is your why for that thing no longer relevant to you? Can you even remember why you did it in the first place? Take some time to write out a list of all your commitments down the left side of a page in a notebook. Then go back and, next to each one, write your reason why you do that thing. Then go back a third time and prayerfully ask God if that why is still in season. It may be hard to accept what He tells you but this is the only way we can get true clarity in life. We must take time regularly to intentionally reflect and adjust our attention more towards the places where God is working and leading us. Only then can we truly be present.
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ThTh.004: “…For they know His voice”
Have you ever been sent reeling over wondering if some tiny detail you noticed is a sign or not? If you are an over thinker like me, chances are you do this all the time! I can drive myself absolutely crazy by over analyzing situations and “coincidences” because I don’t believe in coincidence! I believe that coincidence is a term we humans came up with to explain away the things in this life that seem to point to an all knowing, loving and logical, heavenly father. It is mans attempt to write off the things that “work together for good” as mere products of probability therefore discounting our creator and His ultimate plans for us. Anything in this life that naturally works together so well that it all points towards a unified outcome or idea can only be the work of an omniscient and omnipotent God.
In John chapter 10 is where Jesus describes Himself as our Good Shepherd, we are His sheep. As His sheep, we know His voice. When we hear Him call to us and guide us to certain fields, we can have peace because we know He cares for us and so wherever He is taking us will be for our ultimate good. It is when we sheep forget that or blatantly choose to confuse the matter by wondering whether it’s coincidental that things begin to fall apart. Maybe another voice that sounds kind of like God is actually telling us that thing and really since it doesn’t look like we hoped it would, it is scarier than we thought it would be, we don’t think we deserve it, or we feel like it is beneath us to go there or do that thing, maybe we need to ignore that calling and take control of our lives instead. I feel kind of bad for ignoring it though so let’s try to find some peace in ourselves too, for not taking that chance….”it’s probably just a coincidence. It is not really God saying that, it couldn’t be! He would call us to something fun, successful, glamorous and comfortable right?!”
Wrong!! This is exactly how we all get stuck in comfortable complacency. We were not called to be comfortable and we were never promised easy! Sometimes…scratch that, most times, what we are called to by God will not make sense to us. It will seem hard, humiliating, or unachievable but that is the point! He is powerful in those circumstances to accomplish what we never thought possible, and all the more for His glory in our weaknesses! We can only see part of the picture, He sees it all. Back to the sheep analogy, If we truly have assurance that we are His children, then we can stop over analyzing most of the signs in our life. Yes, we still need to apply wisdom in every circumstance because there could be a devils advocate trying to make us stumble but, even if we get tripped up every now and then, we can get back up and shake it off knowing that even in that failure God was growing us and teaching us how to identify His voice better for the next time.
So chill sheep! Trust your knowledge of your Good Shepherd’s voice and follow the callings He places on your heart. The worst you can do is fail and that just leads to more character development. We are already cast on the winning side so what have we got to lose?! Let’s live boldly and go where no sheep has gone before! haha
Blessings FAM!
What has the Shepherd told you recently that you have been trying to coincidence away? What are you scared of that is causing your doubt in that being a true calling from God? Give all your anxieties over to Him and let Him replace them with peace. It can be scary even when the thing is really good. Maybe it just seems too good, like you don’t deserve it. That’s true but isn’t that amazing?! God loves you and want’s you to experience it anyway! Don’t let fear of the unknown or wallowing in self pity keep you from following His voice and chasing after His promises for you!
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TT.004: How Do You Handle Life’s INTERRUPTIONS?
Life is unpredictable. The only thing we can count on from the world is inconsistency. I think it is imperative that we understand that, in order to free us from the trap of setting our expectations on the fragile things of this world. Obstacles are bound to happen and the road turns in ways we cannot expect. It is like driving through torrential rain or fog, most days we can only see 5ft ahead if we are lucky. What is beyond that is completely unknown. It could be straight smooth roads opening to sunny skies or it could be a 100ft plummet into some of the darkest days of your life.
Okay those are two extremes and maybe all you are gonna face is a bump in the road….or a leaf. The fact is, sometimes we feel small like an ant and that leaf seems huge and life altering, but God knew it would be there. In fact, He put it in your path on purpose to correct and redirect you towards exactly the path you were meant to walk down. If you are not catching on to my reference yet this should do it, God is saying, “Stay calm! We are going to walk AROUND the leaf!”…(A Bugs Life) haha but seriously, don’t you ever feel that way? Like how is it that something as trivial as a leaf in our way (a relational rejection, a new job offer, a diagnosis, a canceled social event) can make us panic so much and lose our minds?
Our plans/path may have been interrupted by that leaf, but the ground is still beneath our feet. That relational rejection was God’s protection. That new job offer is an opportunity to advance, gain experience, expand your mind, test your trust, and allow God to pour out more blessings of provision into your life. That diagnosis may not feel like it, but it is an opportunity to cling ever so much tighter to the faith you have in the ultimate healer! Just like the blind man Jesus healed in John chapter 9, He may be using the diagnosis in your life to be an example of great faith that someone in this world needs to see in order to hold on to faith through their own situation.
And lastly, I know with COVID-19 we have all experienced some cancelled social events and gatherings that we are used to partaking in to mark special occasions like birthdays, weddings, graduations, or even funerals. If that is what has set your mind reeling and caused you to lose your peace, just remember, it is not the activities or motions we go through that create value in those events. In this current cultural storm we have to walk more carefully and intentionally to navigate our daily lives. I believe and hope, for the most part, it has caused us to finally slow down, be still, and really listen to the Holy Spirit. It has shown us areas where we had lost a bit of that genuine human connection and it is teaching us how to repair those areas. Just like Christianity is not about the religious activities or rules we follow but rather the loving relationship we each have with our heavenly father, the joys of life and relationships with our friends and family are still alive and well! They are not dependent on whether we blow out birthday candles together (can you believe we used to be allowed to blow our nasty breath all over a cake and then share it with our friends?! hahaha) or gather and “pick a side” to watch two friends profess their love to each other…etc.
As we leave 2020 behind us, the fundamental ways our lives worked will remain impacted. School, Church, Work will all continue to look different for future generations. I’ll say it again, our only constant in this world is inconsistency and we could get lost in the fear of the unknown but our home is elsewhere and that place offers us a consistent loving relationship with the One who wins! Let’s walk around the leaf together, live there and learn to love like Him!
Blessings FAM!
What leaf in your life has you feeling like an ant? How can you shift your perspective in that situation to reveal the steady presence and protection of God in and through it? Nothing is wasted and so even when we feel like we have failed to handle a leaf situation correctly, don’t let that derail you from trying harder to tune in to God’s purpose in the face of the next leaf. Each time we are intentional about learning what God is trying to teach us in every circumstance, we get better, stronger, and wiser in the aftermath. He is always working on us, we are His masterpieces in progress!
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WW.004: No Fight Left | by JJ Heller
If you don’t listen to this song and instead judge it by the title alone, you may think it is pretty bleak and depressing. What I have to say about it and the truth of the message if you listen to it, in fact, is completely opposite. It is freeing and brings peace…to me anyway!
I am writing this today, on the day it is to be posted. I almost didn’t even try to get a blog post written today. I was talking myself out of caring or having any “fight left” because I am pretty sure no one actually reads these, much less is waiting to read the next one with bated breath. I tell myself it doesn’t matter if I keep writing. I make excuses for why I could stop right now, so easily. Last month I blogged consistently for the first time in my life. I made a plan and posted twice a week for roughly the last six weeks. I am proud of that so I can stop now right? If no one is reading them and it is just another thing for me to do, I have every right to stop and pivot to a new outlet don’t I?
No, I can’t give up that easily. What I need to do is give it up to God. I know that I can never maintain consistency in anything without His help. What’s more is, I never want to have to try! We can never get it right all the time or accomplish everything we are “supposed” to on our own. We get lazy or prideful and we mess it up. I don’t know if I will blog forever but that is not for me to decide. The reason I started blogging is to put my thoughts and inspirations out into the physical world for others to connect with and become part of the journey I believe God has called me to. I do not get to call it quits now, but it is also not me that is conveying anything through this, it is Him. I need to remember that and when I want to give up, instead I need to give it up to God. He will always come through and provide a way to accomplish the things I feel too burnt out to do. What I may convince myself is worthless and no one cares about, could very well be exactly what at least one person who stumbles on this site needs to hear. That is more than worth being obedient to the “little” things always!
If you listen to the song, I hope you feel the essence of what I’ve described here and latch on to the significance of it. I don’t want to always have to over analyse or dissect the connections from song to blog topic because I want you to be able to derive the message on your own. Understanding and applying worship songs like this to life is great training for reading and understanding the messages in the bible. Music is one of the first and remains one of the easiest ways for me to relate and engage with intimate ideas of others and thus learn to “human” haha! Song writing is therapy and some artists have such profound wisdom that can only be understood by listening to the way God inspired them to set that wisdom to music. So if you didn’t listen to the song, or even if you did, listen to it again and really try to connect with what is being said. Try not to just enjoy the melody but seek to relate with the author; of the song and where they are coming from but also of life and what He is trying to teach through that God-breathed piece of inspiration.
Blessings FAM!
What is the way you learn best? Do you connect with God and wisdom through music? I believe every creative thing we do is just our attempt at mimicking the greatest creator, the creator of the universe and everything in it. Like Father, like children! We are created to create and the things we create exist to continue teaching and inspiring creativity in others. So if not music, then what? What form of art do you resonate with and how does it inspire you to create and share your story?
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MM.004: Rhythms of Rest & Daily Sabbath
pause……
Take some time right now to just be. Put your phone away, turn off the TV and radio, Close your eyes, clear your mind and be still… Take a few slow and deep breaths to calm your spirit and then just listen…
Okay, be honest with yourself, when is the last time you made time for this kind of mental therapy? God commands us to practice sabbath in our lives like He did after He created the world. I think if even God is taking time to rest then it is pretty important that we do the same! More so, He invites us to make this a rhythm in our lives. Not just an every now and then occurrence but an actual steady rhythm, a habit, an integral part of our natural existence!
If you were a drummer for a band and you just sporadically hit the drums whenever you felt like it but didn’t actually keep time with a steady pace I think you would probably be kicked out of the band! A drummer that doesn’t keep time is useless, no offense to drummers. It can be hard to learn to keep steady rhythm, but with practice we can get better at it. In the same way we as Christians can be pretty useless examples for others when we only hit up God whenever we feel like we need it. It is not conducive to growing our character or proving our ability to be consistent or dependable. With practice we all can learn to be better at keeping a steady rhythm with God. We have to be intentional and put in effort to make it a habit in order to get in sync with Him and His will for our lives.
Most interpret sabbath as a command to engage with God once a week by setting aside one full day of rest and intentional focus. While this is good practice, and it is awesome if it is possible for you to do this each week, the reality is that sometimes it is not possible to block off an entire day every week and, if we are keeping with our drummer example, is it better to practice a little bit each day or only once a week? I don’t think God intended for us to only spend one day a week in His presence. The rule of sabbath being one day out of our week makes it seem like on the other six days we don’t need to take any rest or time to focus on God and that is simply not true! I need God every day and every hour of every day! I would be willing to bet you can say the same. It doesn’t make logical sense then that we would drudge through the whole week on our own and then only take time to rest and acknowledge Him one day out of seven!
Like in music, when the rhythm is more upbeat, we tend to get a bigger thrill out of it! Maybe there are some extra fills here and there that really excite our senses but even the base beat is frequent and exhilarating, it takes you someplace! I think sabbath in our lives should do the same thing. Make time for it as often as possible! I like to try and work in some sabbath hours or at least one sabbath hour each day. I am no where near perfect at it but the more I practice mindfulness and plan for it in my day, the better I get, and the better I get at it the more my relationship with God grows. I then feel inclined to make even more time for it, filling in the dull moments and keeping an increasingly frequent beat which exhilarates my life with His presence. He wants to take you somewhere! Meet Him in the intentional stillness of sabbath every chance you get and let Him guide your journey!
Blessings FAM!
How often do you pause and spend time with God, not just in standard prayer but in an extended intentional way like we do for sabbath? Maybe it is hard for you to block out an entire day from your week to focus solely on God. If that is the case, try each day this week to at least spend an hour in sabbath. Silently and with no distractions, just listen. That, I think, is what separates this from prayer. Both are important but sabbath rest, to me, means not gripping about life which, lets be honest, a lot of our prayers are like that. No, I think sabbath is more so a time to clear all distractions, be still, and just listen. The Holy Spirit will guide you in that time. Start by trying for an hour each day this week, morning works great but whenever it fits best for you, and then just let the beat grow from there!
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ThTh.003: The Third Testament
We all know that the bible has two testaments, the Old and the New. I believe that these are guides for how WE are to be the third testament…let me explain what I mean. The word, testament, means 1. Testimony 2. A person’s will, especially the part relating to personal property 3. Something that serves as a sign or evidence of a specified fact, event, or quality 4. (in biblical use) a covenant or dispensation.
The Old Testament is evidence of events and promises made by God to His people from the beginning of time. It also establishes His intended will for humankind, His creation (property). The New Testament is Testimony of Jesus’ life, evidence of His miraculous ministry and promise of eternal life made to us through His sacrifice for us on the cross. In its entirety, the Bible sets an example for us of how we are to live as the third testament, a living testimony of His love to the world. By resting on the foundational Old Testament of God’s faithfulness and prayerfully pursuing the loving example of Jesus found in the New Testament, we can live by the power of the Holy spirit as the third living testament and be a shining light for others to see His goodness in all things.
I get that this is a lot of pressure and unfortunately, humans fail at being good examples all the time! I think we need to change what we define as a good example though. Have you ever had a teacher or boss that you idolize for their skill and knowledge of their craft? Maybe it seems like they never fail and so you feel like you can never admit your failures to them. It can be intimidating, stressful, and leave you feeling like you will never be good enough.
The best bosses and teachers I have had were the ones who related on a personal level. They humbled themselves to be transparent in their shortcomings and mistakes in order to prove to me that they are not special or perfect, meaning I could do it too! I could name so many names of people like this in my life and I am so grateful for them. Unfortunately, I can also think of some on the other side that were too prideful to allow their mistakes to show and act as lessons for their students/employees. While the ones who hid their mistakes would outwardly, to most, look like the prime spotless examples to follow, I actually learned and was encouraged more by those who let their guard down and were vulnerable with me. These are the examples that challenged me to be true with myself and about myself. I developed a distaste for those who fake and hide there sinful nature and an inclination to always hold myself accountable to others with what I am facing.
In order to be a good example for others, we do not need to be faultless. That is impossible! We must be humble and admit our struggles and failures, in order to gain respect and credibility from others and to show them the depth of God’s redeeming power. If people cannot relate to you, they most likely will not listen to what you have to say. The Bible says that though we live in the world we are not of it. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God! While that is true, we must still live our lives on earth as an example before men. While we are here, we are tempted by the devil just like Jesus was and just like everyone else is. The difference is, we know that we are on the winning side and in the end we have hope in our eternal gift of salvation. We must meet people where they are and not alienate ourselves as “holier than thou” types so that they will listen and learn that they too are invited to the winning side! This is how we effectively fulfill our calling to be the third living Testament.
Blessings FAM!
What are some ways that you live in the world but not of it? Do you feel like people respect you for your honesty and transparency? If not, why not? Maybe this is a sign that you have been evading your purpose and putting up walls to keep people from seeing your full testimony. Pray and ask God to give you wisdom in opportunities and boldness to show people your struggles and failures. Let your character and attitude in hard situations be a shining example of the peace, grace, and love of God. Be the third testament before men, of His redeeming power and eternal promise!
