As I continue down this road of learning to interact more intimately with Jesus, I realize I have the need for accountability. I need someone that will help me to not just fall by the wayside, and go back to my old, more structured patterns.
Except for a running partner I had for 15 years, I have only had one time when others held me accountable. But it was that accountability that pushed me out of my comfort zone and enabled me to take a risk that changed my life.
When I moved to TN 7 years ago, I left a youth group at my church, and several young women that had become very dear to me. As only young people can be, they were excited for my new adventure, and wanted to be in on it. I had read about something called Women at the Well, and thought I would check it out when I got settled in. I told "my girls" about this, and they thought it would be awesome. So they would check up on me-frequently-to see what I had found out. It was actually their excitement that helped me up that long driveway to the Well, to ask if I could volunteer. Thanks to these girls, I was a regular volunteer less than three months after we moved.
My adult friends didn't offer this kind of support. They wanted to give me time to settle in--hang curtains and that sort of thing. Give me time to adjust to my new surroundings. Who knows, I might still be adjusting if it weren't for my friends, Hannah and Kristi!
I think accountability has gotten a bad rap. It's not like a hammer, beating people over the head with a Bible verse. It goes hand in hand with encouragement. It's showing compassion, but not compromise: empathy, not sympathy. To be an effective accountability partner, I need to be a great encourager. To do this, I have taken some lessons from Barnabas, the Son of Encouragement. (Check him out in the book of Acts.) Here are 5 qualities that help me become a better encourager/accountability partner.
1) People are more important than things. Barnabas sold a field and gave the money to the apostles to provide for the early church. If I put people first, harmony follows.
2) Believe in people. Barnabas believed in Paul long before anyone else did. Because Barnabas was with him, Paul was able to minister widely to believers.
3) Allow people to grow out of needing you. Don't try to make or keep people dependent on you. Although Paul needed Barnabas at first, as time progressed, Paul didn't need anyone to vouch for his character, and Barnabas accepted that.
4) Allow people to fail. Remember when Mark disappointed Paul by going home for a while? Paul and Barnabas had such a fight over that, they each went their own way. Paul went with Silas, and Barnabas left with Mark. But in several of Paul's later letters, he asks for Mark, since he was such a help and support to him. Something must have happened to Mark, and I can't help but think that Barnabas was a part of that.
5) Finally, we don't have to see the end result. Barnabas was able to see change in Mark, but I bet he would have come along side of him without that guarantee.
So, I am using this blog as a type of accountability partner. Something to help me not fall back into my old habits. And Kristi and Hannah, feel free to check up on me any time! I love you guys.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
DISTURB US, LORD...
DISTURB US, LORD, when we are too well pleased with ourselves. When our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we have arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore.
DISTURB US LORD, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity. And in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.
DISTURB US, LORD, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas, where the storms will show your mastery; when losing sight of the land, we shall find the stars.
WE ASK YOU to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope and love.
Written by Sir Francis Drake in 1577, but so appropriate to my life!
DISTURB US LORD, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity. And in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.
DISTURB US, LORD, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas, where the storms will show your mastery; when losing sight of the land, we shall find the stars.
WE ASK YOU to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope and love.
Written by Sir Francis Drake in 1577, but so appropriate to my life!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Become Ruthless....
"Become ruthless in your pursuit of simplicity" is the lesson to be learned this week. I believe that my walk with Jesus integrates Him into every area of my life. Therefore, things learned and obstacles encountered in any area have the potential to teach me spiritual truths. That was the case last week.
Always running in the background of my life is the feeling that I have too much stuff, do too much stuff, and can be distracted by too many things. Periodically, I make attempts to pare down possessions, activities and distractions in general. I do okay for a while, but slowly "stuff" begins to win the battle again. Hopefully, this week becomes the benchmark, when I can look back and say I began to make real headway in my battle against "stuff".
It actually started 2 days after Christmas, when I ordered flowers over the internet for my cousin's 60th birthday in OR. (That was my first mistake, according to Stan, but I don't know any florists in Portland, so...) Well, three weeks later, after several failed attempts to deliver, numerous lies from the Customer Service Reps, hours (literally) on the phone, I finally have a confirmation of a credit back on my VISA. Sometime in the middle of this, while on one of my holds, I had a picture of people in Haiti being killed, maimed and left homeless, while I am raising my blood pressure over undelivered flowers. I was so convicted about what really matters.
Going on at the same time, I was having numerous computer glitches at work that were making it impossible to do my job. Nothing earthshaking, just frustrating. Friday was the final straw. My computer at home caught a virus. I got scammed on a repair. But what really hit me was that I spent probably 8-10 hours trying to get everything running right. Can't live without
e-mail and Facebook, you know.
I went to bed late that night, determined not to be consumed by my stuff and its maintenance. Something that I'm always tellling the girls at the Well goes like this--"If the worst thing that happens to me is that _________(fill in the blank), I've had a pretty good life" I filled in the blank with "computer crash" and decided I had made it way more important than it deserved.
During all this I just kept thinking about the people in Haiti, and feeling so petty about what I had allowed to steal my peace. If something is going to steal my peace of mind, I want it to be worth it. I want the things that trouble me to be the things that trouble God. Please, Lord, give me Your heart, and Your eyes---forever eyes.
Oh, and for my cousin's belated birthday present----money to Samaritan's Purse for Haiti Relief. She'll like that more than flowers anyway!
Always running in the background of my life is the feeling that I have too much stuff, do too much stuff, and can be distracted by too many things. Periodically, I make attempts to pare down possessions, activities and distractions in general. I do okay for a while, but slowly "stuff" begins to win the battle again. Hopefully, this week becomes the benchmark, when I can look back and say I began to make real headway in my battle against "stuff".
It actually started 2 days after Christmas, when I ordered flowers over the internet for my cousin's 60th birthday in OR. (That was my first mistake, according to Stan, but I don't know any florists in Portland, so...) Well, three weeks later, after several failed attempts to deliver, numerous lies from the Customer Service Reps, hours (literally) on the phone, I finally have a confirmation of a credit back on my VISA. Sometime in the middle of this, while on one of my holds, I had a picture of people in Haiti being killed, maimed and left homeless, while I am raising my blood pressure over undelivered flowers. I was so convicted about what really matters.
Going on at the same time, I was having numerous computer glitches at work that were making it impossible to do my job. Nothing earthshaking, just frustrating. Friday was the final straw. My computer at home caught a virus. I got scammed on a repair. But what really hit me was that I spent probably 8-10 hours trying to get everything running right. Can't live without
e-mail and Facebook, you know.
I went to bed late that night, determined not to be consumed by my stuff and its maintenance. Something that I'm always tellling the girls at the Well goes like this--"If the worst thing that happens to me is that _________(fill in the blank), I've had a pretty good life" I filled in the blank with "computer crash" and decided I had made it way more important than it deserved.
During all this I just kept thinking about the people in Haiti, and feeling so petty about what I had allowed to steal my peace. If something is going to steal my peace of mind, I want it to be worth it. I want the things that trouble me to be the things that trouble God. Please, Lord, give me Your heart, and Your eyes---forever eyes.
Oh, and for my cousin's belated birthday present----money to Samaritan's Purse for Haiti Relief. She'll like that more than flowers anyway!
Monday, January 11, 2010
The First 10 Days....
I have to say that being totally without form in my daily time with Jesus has been a little intimidating. Even tho it's not on paper, there is still this checklist in my head that begs to be marked off.
What I have noticed is that rather than thinking that I have ___minutes to get my devos done, I am learning to think this way. "I have __minutes today, Lord, and I want to get to know You better."
I really noticed this last Thursday. Larry Crabb says that Philippians is the "Mental Health Book" of the Bible, and I was desperately in need of some mental health. So I turned there to race through the four chapters again to refresh my mind.
But the Lord wouldn't let me get past the greeting! Paul called himself a slave of Jesus, not a prisoner of the Romans. A very different perspective. And if that doesn't shake me up enough, he starts out by praying for grace and peace for OTHERS! This got me to thinking about the awful conditions of his prison. From being at the local jail quite a bit, I know all about the overcrowding and bad conditions. But they are nothing like Paul had. Yet, Paul was praying for others, not his circumstances. Reminded me that God is always more concerned about my character and attitude than my circumstances.
It just kept snowballing, and I saw applications to my day before I even got to the parts I thought would help me! At the end of my time, even tho I only made it through a few verses, I had taken time to meditate on verses I had always rushed over. I felt like I knew Paul better, and through him, Christ's mindset.
A great time with just Jesus and me. Looking forward to more!
What I have noticed is that rather than thinking that I have ___minutes to get my devos done, I am learning to think this way. "I have __minutes today, Lord, and I want to get to know You better."
I really noticed this last Thursday. Larry Crabb says that Philippians is the "Mental Health Book" of the Bible, and I was desperately in need of some mental health. So I turned there to race through the four chapters again to refresh my mind.
But the Lord wouldn't let me get past the greeting! Paul called himself a slave of Jesus, not a prisoner of the Romans. A very different perspective. And if that doesn't shake me up enough, he starts out by praying for grace and peace for OTHERS! This got me to thinking about the awful conditions of his prison. From being at the local jail quite a bit, I know all about the overcrowding and bad conditions. But they are nothing like Paul had. Yet, Paul was praying for others, not his circumstances. Reminded me that God is always more concerned about my character and attitude than my circumstances.
It just kept snowballing, and I saw applications to my day before I even got to the parts I thought would help me! At the end of my time, even tho I only made it through a few verses, I had taken time to meditate on verses I had always rushed over. I felt like I knew Paul better, and through him, Christ's mindset.
A great time with just Jesus and me. Looking forward to more!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
A Beginning
Thirteen years ago, Jesus changed my life. When I gave Him control of everything, He began to re-vamp how I saw things and what I did with my time. Instead of just knowing about Him through church services and a haphazard reading of the Bible, I became consumed with Him. I read the Bible more consistently and was always doing some type of Bible study. Whether in a structured group or on my own, I had some type of learning going on. I would write verses to memorize on 3x5 cards, and they would be everywhere. Even though I was in my late 40's, I became involved with the youth group at my church, and together we grew in our walk with the Lord.
Since deciding to let Jesus run my life, He has taken me on a wild and action-packed ride. I have done some white-water rafting, and my walk with Him has at times reminded me of being in the middle of a Class IV rapids, with Jesus as my life jacket. Only as I cling tightly to Him can I be secure & know I will arrive safely @ my destination. On this ride, I have experienced many different things. Mission trips from South Dakota to New York City. Idaho to Mississippi. Even to Bolivia two times. Leaving family and friends and moving from Pennsylvania to Tennessee, not knowing what the Lord had in mind for us. The death of my dad, the birth of my grandchildren, and many things in between. In all these things, I kept growing in my relationship with Jesus, secure in the fact He is my life jacket.
When we moved to TN in 2003, I was able to retire from real estate, and look for new ways to invest my time. Within weeks, the Lord led me to Women at the Well, a Christian residential program for women with life-controlling problems. Although I had no experience in this field, He quickly showed me that we have a universal need for a walk with Jesus, and He would use me there if I would just be available for Him. I have worked there in many capacities, and being a part of that ministry is one of the joys of my life.
Through all of this, I continued to read and study and pray. I think it was 2000 when I first read through the Bible in a year. I continued to do this until 2004, when my pastor, Steve Best, gave a challenge to read the Bible in a month. "Impossible!" was my first thought. But Stan, my husband, had just given me The Message for Christmas, so I gave it a try. I gave up the news, some TV, and my mystery novels, and in about 30 days, I had made it through! The Message is so contemporary that its language added another dimension to my understanding. It sparked my interest in study, not just reading, and I began to take more classes. From Kay Arthur to Beth Moore, I underlined and read my way through many studies and loved it.
A couple of years ago, I found a "Read the Bible in 90 Days" program. The first year, I did it by myself. Last year, I challenged some friends to join me, and 2 or 3 did. So, at the end of 2009, I was gearing up to challenge some more of my friends. In fact, in my own subtle way, I gave out about a dozen copies of the "90 Day Reading Schedule".
But I began to feel that the Lord wanted me to do something different. I felt that He wanted me to put away all of my schedules, put the latest Bible Study on hold, and spend my time with Him completely. My Bible, a notebook, some study tools, and a willing heart. I gave myself my normal arguments that I needed structure to keep on track, and I wanted to make a good use of my time, but the Lord didn't seem to be convinced. So, I took a deep breath, and told the Lord I wanted to plunge in over my head, and learn about Him in a way that was not familiar.
So, on the first of January, I started a new path on my walk with Jesus. I know He is going to show me more of Himself than I have seen before, and also some things about me. I plan to blog what He is teaching me, and share this ride with others who are ready to try something different.
Since deciding to let Jesus run my life, He has taken me on a wild and action-packed ride. I have done some white-water rafting, and my walk with Him has at times reminded me of being in the middle of a Class IV rapids, with Jesus as my life jacket. Only as I cling tightly to Him can I be secure & know I will arrive safely @ my destination. On this ride, I have experienced many different things. Mission trips from South Dakota to New York City. Idaho to Mississippi. Even to Bolivia two times. Leaving family and friends and moving from Pennsylvania to Tennessee, not knowing what the Lord had in mind for us. The death of my dad, the birth of my grandchildren, and many things in between. In all these things, I kept growing in my relationship with Jesus, secure in the fact He is my life jacket.
When we moved to TN in 2003, I was able to retire from real estate, and look for new ways to invest my time. Within weeks, the Lord led me to Women at the Well, a Christian residential program for women with life-controlling problems. Although I had no experience in this field, He quickly showed me that we have a universal need for a walk with Jesus, and He would use me there if I would just be available for Him. I have worked there in many capacities, and being a part of that ministry is one of the joys of my life.
Through all of this, I continued to read and study and pray. I think it was 2000 when I first read through the Bible in a year. I continued to do this until 2004, when my pastor, Steve Best, gave a challenge to read the Bible in a month. "Impossible!" was my first thought. But Stan, my husband, had just given me The Message for Christmas, so I gave it a try. I gave up the news, some TV, and my mystery novels, and in about 30 days, I had made it through! The Message is so contemporary that its language added another dimension to my understanding. It sparked my interest in study, not just reading, and I began to take more classes. From Kay Arthur to Beth Moore, I underlined and read my way through many studies and loved it.
A couple of years ago, I found a "Read the Bible in 90 Days" program. The first year, I did it by myself. Last year, I challenged some friends to join me, and 2 or 3 did. So, at the end of 2009, I was gearing up to challenge some more of my friends. In fact, in my own subtle way, I gave out about a dozen copies of the "90 Day Reading Schedule".
But I began to feel that the Lord wanted me to do something different. I felt that He wanted me to put away all of my schedules, put the latest Bible Study on hold, and spend my time with Him completely. My Bible, a notebook, some study tools, and a willing heart. I gave myself my normal arguments that I needed structure to keep on track, and I wanted to make a good use of my time, but the Lord didn't seem to be convinced. So, I took a deep breath, and told the Lord I wanted to plunge in over my head, and learn about Him in a way that was not familiar.
So, on the first of January, I started a new path on my walk with Jesus. I know He is going to show me more of Himself than I have seen before, and also some things about me. I plan to blog what He is teaching me, and share this ride with others who are ready to try something different.
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