Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Prayer
I pray better when I'm sitting on the floor of my room. I have no idea why, but it helps me focus and be more honest with God. Pacing used to help, but now I get distracted by things I need to clean, reorganize, put away, etc. Kind of random, but I thought I would share.
Task Mode
Mark Batterson referenced this passage on his blog and it really it me hard this week.
"How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it?" --Galatians 3, The Message
I know that Paul is talking about living by the law and earning salvation, which I know I can't do. But as I work in ministry, I think I start trying to earn salvation or spiritual growth for other people. I forget that other people need God to work in them just like he did in me, that those experiences can't be manufactured or worked up.
This has been the hardest lesson for me to learn in DC. When I get busy, I go into task mode and start making lists of everything I need to accomplish. The tasks become the only thing I can see. And I forget what Jesus says in John 15:5, "Apart from me you can do nothing." That's one of the hardest verses in the Bible for me to believe, but one of the most important. Everything always seems to come back to whether I'm connecting with God or trying to do things on my own.
"How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it?" --Galatians 3, The Message
I know that Paul is talking about living by the law and earning salvation, which I know I can't do. But as I work in ministry, I think I start trying to earn salvation or spiritual growth for other people. I forget that other people need God to work in them just like he did in me, that those experiences can't be manufactured or worked up.
This has been the hardest lesson for me to learn in DC. When I get busy, I go into task mode and start making lists of everything I need to accomplish. The tasks become the only thing I can see. And I forget what Jesus says in John 15:5, "Apart from me you can do nothing." That's one of the hardest verses in the Bible for me to believe, but one of the most important. Everything always seems to come back to whether I'm connecting with God or trying to do things on my own.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Life-Long Learning
"We have observed that most people cease learning by the age of forty. By that we mean they no longer actively pursue knowledge, understanding, and experience that will enhance their capacity to grow and contribute to others." --Paul D. Stanley and J. Robert Clinton
My grandparents on my mother's side are an exception to this statement. Despite being in their nineties, they have embraced the age of the Internet. They made a choice to learn something new, even if it meant stepping out of their comfort zone. I'm able to communicate with them more easily because they use email.
They also love to read. Whenever I visit them, I like to ask what they are reading because they have great recommendations. My grandma's eyes light up as she tells me about the story of a mountain climber who built schools all over Pakistan, or an American woman who married the king of Jordan. She's fascinated by their lives and I have many books on my shelf because of her enthusiasm for them.
But she and my grandpa seem just as fascinated by things that might seem normal or mundane. They've traveled all over the world--they even went white water rafting through the Grand Canyon in their eighties. But the stories they bring back aren't just about the incredible things they've seen. They always have something to say about the people they met on the cruise ship or at dinner, some friendship that was forged because they were interested in someone else's story.
My favorite memories with them are the times I got to listen to who they met or what they've been learning. They are definitely my role models for what it looks like to be a life-long learner.
My grandparents on my mother's side are an exception to this statement. Despite being in their nineties, they have embraced the age of the Internet. They made a choice to learn something new, even if it meant stepping out of their comfort zone. I'm able to communicate with them more easily because they use email.
They also love to read. Whenever I visit them, I like to ask what they are reading because they have great recommendations. My grandma's eyes light up as she tells me about the story of a mountain climber who built schools all over Pakistan, or an American woman who married the king of Jordan. She's fascinated by their lives and I have many books on my shelf because of her enthusiasm for them.
But she and my grandpa seem just as fascinated by things that might seem normal or mundane. They've traveled all over the world--they even went white water rafting through the Grand Canyon in their eighties. But the stories they bring back aren't just about the incredible things they've seen. They always have something to say about the people they met on the cruise ship or at dinner, some friendship that was forged because they were interested in someone else's story.
My favorite memories with them are the times I got to listen to who they met or what they've been learning. They are definitely my role models for what it looks like to be a life-long learner.
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