Reset!

My cell phone drives me nuts every single day. Each morning I wake to discover that at some point in the night it has reset to a default setting and gone off Wi-Fi and the blue tooth turns off and more often than not the data is off.  This is a frustrating thing that can quickly become a source of a bad attitude for the rest of the day - or until I go to the settings and do what needs to be done to get connected properly and to get information flowing.  You can probably see where I'm going here.  

Surrendering to God is not a once and you're done kind of thing.  It's just not.  Every time we wake up from our rest, be it morning, noon or night - we have reverted to our default setting (without ever meaning to...).  And guess what?  Lately I've noticed that my phone has developed a mind of its own and it goes back to the default setting randomly throughout the day.  Some days it reverts to the default while I'm still actively using an application.  It slows down, won't go online and deliver that instant gratification that I am so addicted to, it won't send a text, receive a text - simply stated, it just doesn't serve the purpose for which it was created.  And you know, when my attitude reverts to its default setting - my human nature - I don't serve the purpose for which I was created either.

I’ll bet that you've heard or read many times how important it is to make time early in your day to spend time with God, praying, listening, surrendering...  that is our reset. Resetting our day and our attitude is as simple as a whisper of surrender to God.  It doesn't take a lot of time.  It’s not complicated. It’s not difficult.  It’s a decision.  Just do it.  Even if you have to do it a lot.  Just do it!  You won't regret it.  Promise.

Grace poured out and overflowing

I love the example that our pastor once used to describe how grace works in our lives.  He placed a small empty bowl inside of a larger empty bowl.  Then he took a pitcher full of water and poured it into the smaller bowl until it overflowed into the larger bowl.  The water eventually filled both bowls to overflowing.

The smaller bowl symbolizes me, and the larger bowl symbolizes those around me; my family, friends, community…  The water symbolizes grace, poured out for us, into us, around us.  If the water is allowed to fill the smaller bowl it will inevitably overflow into the larger bowl and so on.  This is how grace works.

When I open myself to accept God’s grace, I am emptied more and more of myself and filled with more and more of Him and his grace.  When I am filled, then the overflow can reach others in my life.  Until then, I am simply trying to give to others what I do not possess for myself.  We can only bless others out of the overflow - it is God working through us - it is not our own power, our own grace. Grace doesn't originate with us - we are only instruments that grace can pass through for our benefit and others.  If we are open to grace, it fills us up and overflows as intended, but if we are closed to receiving grace, trying to "do it all" in our own power, it may be poured over us, around us and we may be standing or swimming in grace but we won't be affected by it until we open ourselves up to it and allow it to work in us and through us.  

There's a supernatural power at work when we cooperate with grace flowing through us, it's a strange phenomenon that the more we surrender, the more God can use us.

Faith like potatoes? Or Faith like planners?

Listen, this won’t make sense unless you have a rather strange way of viewing stuff like I do.  If they can name a movie Faith Like Potatoes and somehow have it make sense then maybe I can do it too.

While on my walk today, pondering the never ending struggles of creating and maintaining the perfect planner and daily rhythm, it occurred to me it’s a bit like living a Christian life. Well, not really, but stay with me.  

I have spent a lot of time over the years, and through many seasons of life, trying very hard to create a plan and rhythm in our home.  Sometimes it worked pretty well and many other times it failed miserably, oh so miserably.  Even in this later season of life, I still yearn for a more stable rhythm.  I seek and thrive on consistency and predictability.

When my days don’t go as planned, it is easy to get frustrated and irritable and beat myself up for my inability to stick to it.  Much like when I don’t act very much like a Christian should, I can be pretty disappointed in myself.  When that happens, do I simply throw the towel in and say I’m never going to try to plan for my time, my work?  Do I stop trying to live a life of faith, give up trying to love and serve others and God?  No, of course not.  I recognize and acknowledge my failings, and carry on.

I am a better version of myself when I can accept that I do my best, knowing that I will sometimes fall short of the goal, and hope that I am learning and growing in the process.

Thank God there is always grace...