Intentional Living
Every day I make a thousand decisions, and most of them are unimportant. Will I make lasagna tonight (yes)? What will I wear today (Sooner T-shirt, jeans, and sandals)? There are other decisions that seem just as simple, but carry a great deal more weight.
How will I respond to that remark? Will I laugh today? Will I turn away from you? Will I gossip, speak in anger, fight over things that really don’t matter? Will I be in a bad mood?
As the big 5-0 approaches, I realize that my life isn’t a whim. I can life live intentionally.
I don’t have to gossip. I can turn away that anger with kindness. I don’t have to lose my cool. I can say good things when I talk about my children. I don’t have to have my way every time.
Today Ryan came over for lunch and I laughed until I cried as he hoola-hooped on the Wii Fit. I wish I had a video to show you!
But, it wasn’t a laughing day. I’m under pressure to complete some deadlines. Bills are due. I realized a few minutes before that the huge stack of CDs I made yesterday to send out in the mail today were of my church choir singing instead of the writing workshop I thought I was copying.
I’m not even in the choir so I’m not sure what happened! It’s a mystery. Is it frustrating? Absolutely.
But life will go on. I can’t go back, so I’ll start over. Maybe I’ll even learn something.
But today I chose to laugh and life is so much better for it.
Intentional living isn’t ignoring the tasks or pressures or the emotions that make you want to karate chop someone in the throat, but it’s putting them in the proper perspective. It’s giving them less space in your life and relationships, and making more room for things like laughter, encouragement, spontaneity, peace, stability.
How do you live life intentionally? What gets in the way? What is one thing you can begin to do differently today?
Posted by Suzie @
4:00 pm |
good news
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
The good news.
He loved.
……..You and I are invited to believe.
…………………………………………….Direction altered.
…………………………………………………………………………….Forever.
Posted by Suzie @
6:40 am |
an unfamiliar gospel
The invitation to come and suffer may prove to be quite inconvenient and not as sexy as the cool culture we are taught to emulate. There may be plenty of spectators, skeptics, or antagonists (just as was the case two thousand years ago) but followers may be hard to come by. Shane Claiborne, Irresistible Revolution
This morning I was reading the gospel of John. I wondered all over again what it was about early Christianity that made ordinary people turn away from everything familiar to follow Christ. Into persecution. Away from familiar territory. To a whole new path. To death.
I know why I follow him. I first turned to Him because I felt His presence and it surprised me. Something or Someone I didn’t believe in made His presence known and it transformed me. Nothing changed outside. My home life stayed the same, but knowing God changed me.
I’m digging deep in the book of John because I don’t want to lose that fresh faith in the midst of going to a church or calling myself Christian. I see the book of John proclaiming a simple truth: We follow Jesus and we come to know the heart and passion of God.
That is what transforms us.
But the gospel of my faith, as often taught mainstream, seems to be at odds with what I’m reading this morning. Jesus speaks of suffering, of denying self, of joy and peace that aren’t tied to things or events or even people.
It’s an unfamiliar gospel in many ways.
But the disciples signed up without perks.
Transform me once again, Father. Take my eyes off an unfamiliar gospel and let me follow Jesus straight into the heart and passion of You.
Posted by Suzie @
1:16 pm |
30 days to inspiration
I see and hear a lot of negative stuff. Don’t we all? For the next 30 days I want to shift my focus to people who are really making a difference.
This morning I watched a documentary about a woman who started an outreach called Magdalene. It is a ministry to prostitutes and addicts. In the documentary, one woman after another shared their stories. Most had lost their children. Most had lost family relationships with parents and siblings. All of them had given up hope.
They told about an ordinary woman who approached them on the street — not to condemn, but to offer hope and tangible help.
She had found a house, a charming big house that needed paint and TLC and she made it a home for ten women.
One women said when she saw the matching sheets, the flowered comforter, the kitchen stocked with food, that she started crying. “I forgot what home looked like,” she said.
Against all statistics, almost all of the women who have stayed at Magdalene have overcome their addictions, learned a trade (accounting, making bath and beauty products, etc.), and transitioned to a new life.
Why? Because one woman showed them hope.
Posted by Suzie @
6:29 am |
Not the light
I was reading the book of John this morning and read this scripture. I’ll share it paraphrased:
John came to tell about the light. He was not the light, but a witness to the light.
When I speak or I write about the light it is not to lift me up or to point out who I am, but who He is. It’s not the Suzie show. Thank goodness for that. I’d run out of material really quick, but I could talk forever about what the Light has done in my life, and what God continues to be forever.
Posted by Suzie @
7:55 am |
Just another coincidence
I went to lunch with new friends last week. They are in their twenties, just starting out life and newly married. It was fun. Pablo is one of those cool kind of guys who you just can’t help but like. He’s honest, blunt at times, and funny. His wife, Haven, was awesome. I loved talking with her.
As I normally do, I wanted to hear their story. “Tell me all about you,” I said.
Pablo started first. He described how he found Christ in a little church in Tulsa when he was a freshman in high school.
Haven’s grandfather was the pastor at that time of that church. She described her experiences there and how God shaped her life.
I was raised in Tulsa, so I asked them where the church was.
When they told me, I was brought back 30 years to my first experience with God.
In that very same church.
It has a different name now. It was Trinity then. It’s a tiny church in a bad part of Tulsa. I can only imagine the number of pastors who have struggled to keep the church alive. Last time I saw it, there were few changes. A nondescript building on a residential street surrounded by older homes and a few Quik Trips with bars on the windows.
And yet three people had found Jesus there. Three people who were in different phases of ministry. Three people of how many who went on to disciple others, just as they were discipled.
Maybe you are a pastor’s wife, a Sunday school teacher, a youth volunteer, or someone who’s trying to make a difference. Maybe on the outside it doesn’t seem like you are doing much compared to a mega church or the speaker whose books are flying off the shelves. But it’s likely that somewhere there are people who you touched who were never the same after they encountered God in your “small” ministry.
And that ministry goes on. Multiplying. Spreading. Growing and maturing.
I don’t think we’ll really every know what God can do with the “little things” until we reach Heaven one day. I bet we’ll be in for a surprise. I got a little taste of that last week as I experienced “just another coincidence”.
Posted by Suzie @
1:01 pm |
Critical thinking
“If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and He shall give him Life for them that sin not unto death.” 1 John 5:16
From Utmost for His Highest: If we are not heedful of the way the Spirit of God works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other folks are failing, and we turn our discernment into the gibe of criticism instead of into intercession on their behalf. The revelation is made to us not through the acuteness of our minds, but by the direct penetration of the Spirit of God, and if we are not heedful of the source of the revelation, we will become criticizing centres and forget that God says - “. . . he shall ask, and He shall give him life for them that sin not unto death.”
I was hanging out with a friend. It was late at night. She was messed up. Enough said. She sat next to me and the night’s events played out as she snored softly. It was a bad night. It was supposed to be good, and yet she had completely fallen apart, taking a few people down with her in her anger.
I was frustrated. Disappointed. And I wanted to walk away.
She reached over in her sleep and wrapped an arm around me, and that’s when I felt it. Overwhelming grace and mercy and love.
Not mine. But God’s. For her.
In her brokenness. In her rage. In her messed-up state.
And I cried. Because for the first time I was able to see past my version of things to feel the immeasurable love that Jesus had for her. He was reaching and she didn’t know it.
So I prayed. For the rest of the night.
While she snored next to me.
While God loved.
That was a pivotal moment. I feel like I am a compassionate person, but I have limits and I had reached them. But God’s compassion was so much greater and deeper than mine.
I was reminded of that moment this morning when I read Oswald Chamber’s Utmost for His Highest devo.
It made me ask all over again: When I see someone who is hurting, or hurting others, or wrapped up in brokenness, what is my response?
I hope it will be prayer. No. I know it will be prayer.
Thanks, God, for reminding me of the way you view humanity. Thank you for your vast love.
Posted by Suzie @
10:24 am |
Resist the urge
I’ve heard it twice this week and I’m listening, God.
Resist the urge.
A pastor at Watermark church in Dallas shared how friends and strangers were the hands and feet of Christ to him when they discovered that their 4-year-old had cancer. But there were also those who had profound messages to share. Messages like, “God will never lead you to what he cannot lead you through”.
Cliches, really. Phrases that sound profound, but really fail to understand the suffering you might go through when your child’s life is threatened. Is it true? Most likely, yes. From life experience, absolutely. But in the midst of diagnosis, chaos, darkness — they may not have the effect you want them to.
It’s something I needed to hear. I hope that I’ve not done this, but something tells me (Is that you, Holy Spirit) that I have.
Resist the urge to say something profound.
I heard it again as I read a book called Angry Conversations With God by Susan E. Isaacs. I just started it, so I’ll share my thoughts later, but one passage stuck out:
Be careful to whom you bear your grief, especially if it’s someone churchy, like Martha. Because the Marthas of the world can’t leave a question unanswered, a problem unsolved, or a sorrow unhealed: they have to fix it. And no matter how long you’ve been a Christian (I’ve been one all my life), Martha will know a Bible verse you haven’t heard (or haven’t heard the right way) or she’ll have a book or a sermon tape or a worship CD designed to answer your questions, silence your doubts, muzzle your grief, and make Martha feel better.
Ouch.
And yet, thank you.
Funny, but while I’m typing this a friend facebook chats me. “Everything is going wrong,” she shares.
So I will listen. And I’ll be there. And I will pray.
And I’ll resist the urge to say something profound.
Posted by Suzie @
9:41 am |
Smashing Success {{Giveaway}}
If you’ve come over today from Proverbs 31 devotion, welcome!
My smashing success might not look like success in anyone else’s eyes. It isn’t my speaking. It’s not my ministry. It’s simply seeing myself and my part in God’s plan through His eyes.
Being a good mom when I wasn’t sure how. He saw that when I didn’t.
Speaking to crowds of people and lovin’ it when I was the shy girl. He knew that.
Learning about the depths of God’s love and accepting it for myself. He offered that.
What have I learned along the way?
- Connect with others who love what you do - join w/other strong women, get involved in a great church or Bible study, go to a conference
- Watch those dream poppers – It’s wise to look at all the challenges and to weigh them, and to seek wise counsel. But understand there will always be negative people who won’t or can’t believe in the direction God is leading you.
- Stretch - Read great resources, have those deep conversations where you ask the pressing questions, trust, trust, and trust God some more, make a new friend who is doing what you desire to do.Take one baby step toward your dream.
- Live your calling every day - Many times the greatest opportunities look very small to others, and yet have lasting significance. What has been placed in your path today? The touch of a child. An encouraging word to a friend. Don’t miss those great moments.
One of the main areas that I needed encouragement was as a young mom. If that’s you, here are a few great groups where you can connect with other moms.
- Hearts at Home (conferences, blog, recipes, friendships, forums, resources)
- Christian Momlogic (I’m facilitator of this group - Join, then click on groups and choose Christian Momlogic and join that group) - lots of helpful interviews, discussions, giveaways, encouragement, and tons of community.
- MOPS International - small groups all over the nation, national conference, resources
{{GIVEAWAY}}
One of you will win an autographed copy of The Woman I am Becoming: Embrace the Chase for Identity, Faith, and Destiny.
Simply leave a comment below. What is God speaking to you? What is God breaking so that you can emerge whole and free? What can you share with others from your experience?
I’ll choose one person through a random number generator on Monday (I’m in Dallas at Christian Book Expo today, but I’ll peek in from time to time!)
Posted by Suzie @
6:53 am |
R U the 1?
March 19, 2009 | faith
There’s no feeling so hopeless as to be lost and no one is looking for you.
I’m sure I just messed up that quote. But I thought about it today when I read the scripture where Jesus shares how the good shepherd leaves the 99 to find the one.
The one.
Why leave the larger group? Isn’t that the opposite of what we are taught? Build a bigger church. A bigger audience. Numbers. Crunch them. Calculate. Raise them higher and higher and higher… Focus on the masses.
But Jesus shows a concerned shepherd who’s checking out the herd. He’s counting. There’s one that should be there, but isn’t.
He knows the sheep is vulnerable when he’s isolated. Wolves. Pits. Too much grass or too little water. Frolicking up the mountain or down the valley, having a blast until darkness falls.
So he ditches the group, leaving them to take care of each other, and begins a search for the one.
He doesn’t stop there. He tells another story, just in case they didn’t get it. It’s about a lost coin. A woman loses one coin. She has others, but she sweeps and cleans and searches until she finds it.
Maybe you think that God doesn’t see you. Or that the church has forgotten you. Or that it’s been dark for a while and no one is flashing a search light your way.
Maybe you’re the one.
He does see you. He is looking for you. He does care.
And so do I. Because there was a time when I was the one. And when He found me it transformed my life.
I’m so glad that He looks for the one.
Posted by Suzie @
6:51 am |
