Well, as my lack of post yesterday would suggest, I have had a jam-packed couple of days. Per my previous post, this 3 day weekend was CRAZY! Not only was it crazy as far as the number of things I had to get done, but also it was crazy as far as hearing what God had to say and trying to organize it all in my head. There have been three main themes over the last two days:
- Get rid of distractions to focus on what God is doing in this last week of the fast (tv, etc.)
- Start thinking more about reaching those who are different than myself
- Get working on the path that God has told me time and time again to go down (stop procrastinating)
At our church on Sunday, the Pastor was talking about being in the presence of God, allowing Him to speak to us. You know, my biggest distraction is the TV. It is a deliberate attempt to not be present: to remove myself from reality. In the meantime, I let many things that need to be addressed go by the wayside. I could be praying. I could be talking to my husband about our life, our dreams, our stresses. I could be spending time with the kids, building our relationship. I could be teaching my new baby about the little things that makes life so wonderful.
Instead, I sit in front of the television and completely zone out. I just sit and allow myself to get sucked into these other worlds, some fantasy, some reality. And I allow myself to subscribe to "guilty pleasure" shows that cannot possibly be edifying my spirituality or any other productive part of my being. So this week, I will attempt to keep the TV off. Today I did that for quite a few hours and was able to get some long-overdue tasks done (if you came to the baby shower, you may be finally getting your much-needed thank you :)).
After our church service, I went to another church to listen to one of my old friends and Pastor to hear him speak about reaching the community. His message was so strong and it made me think about how I am attaining the mission that God has sent us for: to bring others into the kingdom and to love one another. The thing that he emphasized was that God didn't tell us to only love other Christians who are just like us. He told us to love everyone, especially those who are not like us! What good is the church if we all just stay in our buildings and fellowship with each other? We have to go out into the world and be witnesses to those who don't know what God can do for them. He also shared a quote from Frederick Buechner who said, "our calling is the place where our deepest joy and the world's greatest need intersect".
Hearing that message really gave me the swift kick that I needed to start living to fulfill this mission. I need to stop making everything about me and how people may offend me or get on my nerves. It's not about me! It's about God and showing His love to others...ALL OTHERS! It will be a process, but I am seriously going to re-evaluate my method of dealing with other people - at work, at home, and anywhere else that I come into contact with people. I am a witness so what type of witness will I be? And how will I reach them? I have to figure out what my deepest joy is and how I can use it to fill other's needs. It will be a process of discovery.
Lastly, on Sunday night, I attended a mixer for a film festival that I have entered. It's an awesome film festival called Project 168 in which each team has exactly 168 hours (one week) to produce and finish a short film that is based on a scripture they pick at random. Earlier I spoke about the path that God has told me to go down. He has told me time and time again that I should use film to tell the messages of the Bible to the masses. I'm talking about the real messages that the Bible tells that answer the questions that everyone (Christian and non-Christian alike) want to know about life. The Bible really is applicable to the world today, and I want to share some of what the Word has to say with the world through film.
At the mixer, God was truly speaking to me about my film and what I need to do to finish it right. He used others to give me ideas about how to execute a better film and led me in new directions with the overall concept. I came out of the meeting re-energized and ready to get to work on my film!
After being blessed by all of these speakers, I was ready for another packed day of spending time with family and getting some household chores done. Of course, as often happens after having such a big breakthrough, the enemy came into my mind today and tried to break me down! I started feeling overwhelmed with all of the things that need to get done and the thought of spending time at a park with the kids while I could be getting so many tasks done at home took me over.
I ended up staying home with the baby while my husband and the kids went to play with their cousins. I was a bit disappointed in myself for my choice, but I was able to allow myself to sit still for a minute and focus. Even though my reason for staying home was because I was so overwhelmed, once I was able to just be still, I felt more relaxed than I have in a long while. Once I took those few moments of silence, I was able to be very productive and get many of the chores accomplished in a short amount of time. Now, I am preparing myself for the coming work week and feeling much more positive!
Well, today's post was very random, much like my weekend, but wanted to share with you anyway. I hope you were blessed in some way :).
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