We are Chosen

"While it's true that Israel was chosen by God then and Christians are chosen by God now, we should not understand chosen as a synonym for favorite. The point of our "chosen-ness" is as a means to an end -- so we can shine as light for those to whom God wants to demonstrate love. With our exalted state comes a call to share it with all who will respond."

Excerpt from Coffee Cup Bible Studies - "Kona w/ Jonah" by Sandra Glahn


Does this statement speak to you as it does to me? We willingly accept that we are chosen by God, but do we really think about what that means? Do we ACT on what that means?

It's certainly something that I will be thinking and praying about for awhile.....

Looking Past Our Experiences

I guess you could say that I have always been a career girl.  As a teenager/college student I couldn't wait to step out into the "real world" and get that first job.  As I have grown older, I still enjoyed my work and being a part of the working world.  When our children were born, I was incredibly fortunate to work for a manager that felt that being a mommy was our first priority.  She was always supportive of any time I needed to be away with the kids.

About 4 years ago many changes happened in our workplace that caused our workloads to increase, hours to increase, new challenges with little training, increased stress levels and on and on.  We were all placed in positions that made it hard to be as flexible as we had been in the past.  Add all these factors together and it was a rough couple of years.  Rough years that ended with several of my close co-workers/friends being laid off..... including my wonderfully supportive manager.

The year after the lay offs was rough for many reasons -- about the same workload with fewer persons, the loss of dear co-workers, trying to adjust mentally to what I felt was an injustice, and guilt because I was not laid off (this one was especially hard as one close friend that had been laid off was already in a desperate financial position... my family could have handled a lay off much easier than hers).

This last year has been better.  I see us working together better as a team than I have seen in quite a long time.  I'm getting to know my new team members better and finding that many of my pre-conceived notions were incorrect (which is a good thing... I'm sorry to say those pre-conceived notions were not necessarily positive).

Here is where I struggle, though.  We have started a new and very large project that is similar to ones we worked during those difficult, stressful, overworked years.  As I see certain events occur the fear of working those same long hours over again or dealing with the same type of stress rears its ugly head.  Over the last 3 months I have told my husband more than once, "XYZ happened today, I see the forced long work hours coming right at us."

Fact is, when I look clearly and am realistic, I can't be sure that will happen.  We are working better and more efficiently than several years ago.  There are positives.

But, at times, I continue to allow myself to be so bogged down by experiences that happened in the past that I can't always see past them.  When I stop myself and turn it over to God I see the positive changes and see that it just might not happen that way again.  This time just might be different. 

I even have new experiences that show it very well could be different this time.  So far, even though my workload has increased with this project, I have not worked any overtime (with the exception of a business trip last week).  My stress level is almost non-existent at this point.

My point in sharing all of this?  When we look at our past experiences and allow them to control our thoughts and our feelings, we will never find a way out of the fear brought on by our past experiences and/or circumstances.  It will effect the way we think, the way we feel, the way we communicate.  When we turn away from those past experiences/circumstances, when we look to God and allow Him control of our thoughts and our feeling, when we trust Him and have faith in Him, it will all work out.  God's light will outshine all of those past expereinces and all of those circumstances on which we may still be clinging.

For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written:  "The righteous will live by faith."  Romans 1:17

 

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.  Matthew 6:34

If you allow circumstances to affect your service and commitment to Him, then you are walking by feelings and not by faith.  --Anonymous

His Paths are the Best Paths

Throughout my late elementary and teenage years my father served as music and youth minister at several churches. As a teenager this caused me much angst as I always feared the day when Dad would be called to serve in another church in another city. (There was also the angst that went along with the fact that my Dad was my youth minister, but that is a whole other post... and something that we joke about in our family from time to time. :) How great to be an adult and realize that, in reality, I was really quite fortunate... where is that wisdom when we are teenagers?!) Anyway, to move along, I was way too focused on what I wanted and not so much on what might be good for my entire family or, more importantly, on where God might be leading.

I remember the spring of my jr year in high school my parents talking to us at dinner one evening about a call they had received. It was from a church in Idaho that was interested in speaking to Dad about being their music and youth minister. As you can imagine, this what not what I wanted to hear. How could I be asked to leave my friends, my school, and right before my senior year in high school??

I don’t remember exactly what I said to my parents that night, but I do know that I voiced many of these thoughts. As I voiced my feelings -- feelings of how it wasn't fair, how could God send my parents somewhere but not care about what I wanted, etc -- Dad reminded me that God just doesn't work that way. God would never lead him somewhere that would not be the right place for ALL of us. When God calls us, he doesn’t just call one of us. As a family, he has a plan for EACH ONE OF US. Yes, we must all be open to that plan… but it is there.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

God cared very much about what I felt. The problem wasn't with what God was asking. The problem was with me. And, I must admit, that it took several more years for this to sink in.

In that particular instance, we did not make the move to Idaho. However, the fall after my senior year my family did move to Kansas City where Dad began seminary. That was a difficult move for me… primarily because I made it that way. I will say, though, that it has been in looking back over that move that I see the truth in Dad’s words.

It is always a good thing once we are open to what God has for us. And, once I was open to that, God definitely showed me all the good things he had planned for me. As I look back I see very clearly how our move to Kansas City led me and each member of my family to where we are today. Could God have gotten us to where we are today without that move? Maybe... but I don't believe we would be the people we are today. We learn from every experience and if not for that move we would not have those experiences and those particular building blocks from which we grew.

God’s plans are ALWAYS good. We can always count on the fact that He will never lead anywhere that would harm us. He might lead down rocky roads. He may lead us thru difficult and painful times. We can always be assured, though, that the end result is for our good. We can always be assured that we will not have to walk those roads alone. And, as I began to learn that day back in high school, His plans for us as individuals never leaves our families and loved ones exempt. He brought us together for a purpose and that purpose is all part of His plan.


What is holding you back from fully following God and His plans for your life? It it fear? Concern for how it will affect your family? Uncertainty of where following God today will lead you to in the future? Whatever it is, I can tell you from personal experience that God will take care of it. He will take your fears and replace them with security. He will guide and hold close each member of your family. He will take your uncertainty and replace it with assurance.

Be Still and Rest

"Be still, and know that I am God... " Psalm 46:10

"And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while." Mark 6:31


I think I may have mentioned a time or two or three that I am easily overwhelmed by all the day-to-day "stuff" there is to do. There is ALWAYS something... laundry to fold, meals to prepare, school forms to fill out, errands to run, bills to pay, and on and on and on the list goes.

Most of the time I do okay. But, catch me on a day when I'm tired or the list is longer than usual and you will find me feeling overwhelmed. And, unfortunately, I don't handle overwhelmed very well. Sure, eventually it all gets done and usually it’s not as bad as I initially thought it would be, but in the meantime I have become exhausted and cranky and stressed. And, I've usually missed out on something fun. Definitely not a good place to be…. for me or for my family!

To add to the fact that I get overwhelmed so easily (or maybe because of since I don't like to let myself get to the point of being overwhelmed) I don't "be still" very well. I don't slow down and rest much... I always have something that I want to get done... something that I think NEEDS to get done. I don't do "it can wait until tomorrow" very well. My excuse is that if I just get it done now then I don't have to worry about it later. While that does work for awhile and is legitimate for some tasks, it isn't always what is most important for that moment. At some point, we all need to stop.

Because of this, I have found myself thinking quite a bit over the last 6-8 months about what leads me to being overwhelmed and what I can do differently to keep from reaching that point as much as I do. One thing I am realizing is that I need to more often consider things such as "I need to take time now to rest before I fall over in an exhausted heap." Or, "I need to slow down and determine what is truly the most important tasks.” And, then there is ALWAYS this one that I know should be at the top of the list every day… “I need to be still and rest and spend time listening to God." Now, I have always eventually gotten around to all those questions. Unfortunately, I usually wait much too long and by that time I am at that point of being exhausted and stressed and cranky.

Here are just a few of the questions that I've been asking myself:


Does all the "stuff" on my to do list really need to be done right now? Are there maybe even things on the 'ole list that I should let go or, at the very least, throw to the bottom of the list?

Why is it that when I write out my to do list that I don't consider time to rest?

Why is it that my to do list doesn't include some of the most important things that need to be done? Things like spending time with family, with friends, with GOD?

Why does "completing the list" take precedence over those important things noted in the previous question?



The more time I’ve spent thinking on this and praying on it, I am more convinced than ever that God doesn’t want me constantly “doing”…. no matter how important the items are on my to do list. At some point it is just “stuff” that can’t be placed above taking the time to rest and time to be still.

Over the summer I really tried to work on resting and taking the time to really listen to what God might be trying to tell me and show me. And, you know, I found that if I take the time to rest and to really prioritize those things on my to do list that I’m a lot less overwhelmed. Could it be that when we place God first and then prioritize everything else behind Him that it works much better? I would say “YES!” It is something I’ve always known, but not focused on as much as I should. I am learning… not totally there yet… but it is better.

I’m trying to find ways to remind myself that I’m not in this alone and that my priority should be to God and from there He will take care of the rest. How do I do this? I try to spend more time in prayer and more time in the Bible. I try to be more aware of the moment and what I am doing with each one. For example, does the laundry have to be folded right this minute or could it wait until tomorrow so I could spend a quiet even having fun with the family? Does the living room have to be picked up right now or could I just take a deep breath, accept it the way it is for the moment and sit down for a good movie and relax for a couple of hours?

Not everything fits these questions, but many do (at least for me). I do not have to do everything RIGHT NOW. Many things can wait and I've even been known to have a few things on the list that really could be left undone.

For me, this re-evaluating and letting go thing is not easy. It is hard and I don't know how I would do it without God. Ever so slowly I am learning to let go and to re-evaluate. And, in the process, I am learning more about me, learning more about God, and enjoying life much more!