FOUR Steps to Build Discipline Muscle

There is a difference between things you want to accomplish and things you want to start doing.

When you make a list of things to do, usually those are all mixed together.  Right?

Things that get done, but then have to get done again next time you need to go to the grocery store or do the laundry.  

A project, however big or small, can be "checked off."  You can install shelves.  Or you can build a patio.  Or you can organize the sock drawer.  Or you can plan a party.  It has a "finished" or "done" state.

Habits are things you want to start doing with regular frequency.  You want to floss every day.  Or you want to do some sort of exercise three times a week.  Or you want to vacuum your car out once a month.  Or you want to have date night with your spouse every other week.  Or pray every day for your kids.

Obviously, there is no "finished" on those. 

Making recurring things "habits" and not "projects" has made a big difference in how I run my home and my life. Recurring tasks or appointments can be SCHEDULED or tied to something that is already happening at that frequency.

FOUR Steps to Build Discipline Muscle

While I cannot give specific advice about what YOU can do to install new habits, here are some steps you can take.

1. Decide WHAT habit you want to develop. 

2. Find a baby step.  Make it so small and easy that you won't have an excuse to skip it. 

3. Tie it to something you're already doing.

4. Once you "automate" it, go to the next baby step.

The goal is that you are working on your discipline--and like any muscle that starts off small and weak, you are building it up.  

Baby steps will still get you there!

Some Examples

If you want to get up earlier, just set your alarm for FIVE minutes earlier.  Maybe THREE minutes.  Something small and easy.  And as that becomes the new normal, keep moving earlier and earlier.  Keep the increment small and take your time.

Or maybe keeping the kitchen clear is what you want.  Start with just keeping all the dishes in one spot, or rinsing as you stack, or clearing the sink.  Or emptying the dishwasher as your coffee brews.  

Pick a baby step and add it in. Let it become a habit.  

I would love to talk specific ideas with you, but all depends on where you are and what's important to you.   Let's all help each other find the baby steps.

What do you want to start doing? 

NOTE: the comments area is finicky, I hear.  But if you are wondering how to get started, comment below.  Just use "anonymous" and sign your first name in the body of the message.

The Lies that Keep Us Stuck

What we believe and think really does matter.  Human wisdom even acknowledges it.  Intuitively, you know it.

Our actions follow our thoughts.  When we dwell on something, we begin to act in accordance to those thoughts.

Thought life matters!

So for us, what we think about organization (whether of our physical stuff or our time) really affects us.  And often, we are WRONG in our thinking and therefore STUCK in our actions.

Have you ever thought any of these?

• I just can't ever be organized like _____.
• This is how I am wired.
• This is how I grew up--my mom never did anything either and I'm just like her.
• This is how I grew up--my mom did everything for me so I never learned.
• No one at home helps me (because they are too little or not interested) so I can't do it alone.
• I don't have time to be organized.
• I can't afford the things I need to be organized.

and the one that kept me stuck for so long:

• It doesn't really matter--there are more important things that I need to do.

Those are all lies.  And you know it or you wouldn't be drawn to reading this.  

And here is the hope:  

YOU GET TO CHOOSE YOUR THOUGHTS!

You can think:

• I do not have to be organized like anyone, but rather be an organized version of me.
• I can learn new things, including how to be organized.
• I can use my past to teach me lessons but not to define my future.  
• My mom did the best she could with what she knew at the time.  (Don't we want that grace from our kids--who we pray we're not screwing up!?)
• I can train my kids to be organized versions of themselves (help them discover what works for them).
• I can do what I can do.
• My kids will be able to help eventually.
• My family will be better set up to help when they're ready.
• My family may be motivated to help when they see changes.
• Everyone has the same amount of hours in a day.  I can choose to use my time where I need to.
• I can make changes that don't cost money.
• I can re-purpose things to help me be better organized.

and my newest, clearest thought:

• I can get to the important things because I am organized.

For too long, I had been prioritizing lots of "good" things and been NEGLECTING what looked so overwhelming.  Until I started seeing that I would have freedom to think and plan and serve if I didn't have to worry about finding paperwork, or arts and craft supplies, or thinking of what to make for dinner.  It has been slow and steady progress over many years of doing small things, taking baby steps, and adjusting how I think.

I caught myself telling someone I wasn't organized--because I still have so much I want to tackle.

But you know what?  I have seen growth and I want to acknowledge that and maybe help others.

So I want to post things here that I've been afraid to share--maybe I do like it when people think I'm organized.  LOL  And where I've had victory, I don't want to contribute to someone thinking they can't be organized like me.

The truth is, I have been working on this for a long time.  And I'm not done.  And I'd love company on this journey.

You in?  What lie are you telling yourself?  Can you catch it and speak truth instead?

Six Steps to a Great New Year

1.  Say "Goodbye" to 2017

Do the work of looking back at how this year went.  Really celebrate the great stuff.  Acknowledge the not so great stuff.  Distill the lessons that will serve you.  Thank it.  Then put 2017 to bed.  It's the past.  

2.  Forgive and Learn

Only what you allow to impact 2018 will do so.  So if 2017 (or anything in your past) was not great, don't drag it into this year.  Simple, right?  Make the choice to leave it behind.  Use disappointments to propel you into the new year.  

"What if disappointment was just a road sign pointing us to personal transformation?"       Michael Hyatt

Learn the lessons and imagine a different outcome.  Chart a new course.  You have to do new things if you want to experience different results.  Forgive yourself and forgive others--and set yourself free.

3.  Dare to Dream 

Don't be afraid to dream and imagine how the next year could be.  Don't be a cynic.  Imagine 2018 as a fresh canvas and imagine.  Sketch, make lists, work on a vision board.   Dream!

4.  Dial It In

Now, dial it in.  Focus.  What are you ready to tackle?  Where would your energy and time be best spent?  Choose a word.  Or a theme.  Be specific and write things down.  Put your word or your goals in a place you'll see them each day.  Bedside?  Closet? Mirror? Screensaver?  Lock screen?  Front page of journal or planner?   

You have resources--skills, opportunities, experiences, relationships, finances, passion.  How will you use them?  You don't need to know every part of the plan, but you do need to have clarity on what you're shooting for.

5.  Find a Tribe

This is where you reach out and find others who can help you.  Find one or a few people who care about your personal growth and are on your side!  Share your specific goals and dreams with them--and with them only.  (Don't broadcast on Facebook--you'll get all the "likes" and not even have to do the work!)   

Keep your tribe posted on your progress.  Give them the permission to ask you how you're doing.  Allow them to be living reminders of those things that you are choosing to do this year.

6.  Get Started!

Take a deep breath and step into a great new year!  You've done the work, now trust the process of putting one foot in front of the other.  Remind yourself of what you've decided and keep moving.  Work the plan!  One step at a time.  Do the next right thing.  

Have a great 2018!

Prayers go ACROSS

February is always a full month.  And truthfully, it's January that sees all the work.  But I am grateful for the opportunity and am not complaining at all.  I really am amazed that God would want to include me in the global effort to bring to Himself worshipers from every people group in the world. 

As the GO Conference at Cypress wraps up, I want to look back at one of my most favorite parts, which is the Conference Prayer Room.  There were several people involved in making it happen and I am deeply grateful for their time and ideas and energy. 


As the GO Conference Prayer Room was coming together this year, someone noted that it wasn't a room where people came in to pray.  We provided space for that, but I did agree with that observation.  It was about giving information--that because of my bias--I assume will move people to pray and/or make them more effective in their intercession.

So we shared about the mind-numbing number of people who have no access to the Gospel--over THREE BILLION.  We shared a little about how that looks on our planet--WHERE they are mostly located.  And we shared about our own workers.  THEN we made available a little resource, a small bookmark, to help people pray--for our workers and for unreached people.

My prayer is that more people will be praying.  That in that practice, they will grow to be more like Jesus and participate in what He is doing around the world.

If you missed the bookmark, or if you simply want a simple guide for WHAT to pray, I humbly submit these points to you.

Praying for Global Workers:
Su   Relationship with God
M    Physical and emotional needs
Tu   Family relationships
W    Ability to communicate
Th   Effective ministry
F     Team relationships
Sa    Country of service

(paraphrased from material from OMF International)

Global Team Posters are located at the welcome center and at the Missions Alcove (second on left of W101).


Praying for Unreached People Groups:
*  For the Lord of Harvest to SEND WORKERS to:___________
*  For workers to have BOLD WITNESS through verbal proclamation of the Gospel
*  For workers to bring VISUAL DEMONSTRATIONS of the Gospel (miracles, service,compassion, etc.)
*   For PROTECTION and PERSEVERANCE of new believers when persecuted
*   For MULTIPLICATION as disciple-making efforts become INDIGENOUSLY LED

(paraphrased from online article from Global Frontier Missions)


Unreached People Group cards
The cards we had and will continue to have (in W115) available for people to take and use with the bookmark/prayer guide were from Joshua Project.

My prayer is that YOU will join us in praying!


It is no secret that I am passionate about PRAYER.  I strive to practice it more for myself.  It is critical for deepening my relationship with God--and for allowing Him to transform me day by day.  Also, for how I can intercede for others and be part of God's plan for them.  Blows my mind away, really.

Any chance I have to talk about it so that others are helped, I will take it.  Any chance to teach or help or make resources, my heart aches to serve. So, let me know how I can serve you!  Happy to pray for you, share with you, walk with you--let me know.  Leave a comment or contact me via FB or however else you know me.

5 Ways Gratitude Has Improved My Prayer Life

It is not a new message.  "Be grateful."

It is good to take stock of what we have, the favor that's been shown to us--in ALL situations there is something for which to be grateful.

I work to see that "silver lining" in all things because my natural tendency can tend to the negative.  God in His graciousness has given me a new nature that sees His blessings, His favor, His hand moving in spite of pain and discomfort.  I KNOW He is at work, and even though I don't see the whole picture, I am grateful there there IS a big picture.

My prayers of thanksgiving are just a listing of where I see His hand.  I thank Him for what He is doing.  I thank Him when I see the answers to my requests.  Practicing gratitude has affected HOW I pray.

1.  Gratitude re-orients me to the God that is in control.  He is the one that is acting in my life and in the world around me.  All good things come from Him.  All things, even those I call "bad" are being used for my good and His glory.  I worship Him more each time I see evidence of His work.

2.  Gratitude helps me confirm what I know about God.  His hand in my life is consistent with the God that acted in the lives of the people whose stories are recorded in the Bible.  Even when an answer is "no" to some request, I get to know God's character more. And I get a glimpse at what His plan might be.  His "no" to my plan means my request is not in His best plan for me.

(As a parent, I've seen how I withhold things from my kids because I have something else, something better in store.  They just don't know it!  God IS our Father and I am grateful He allows me to be a parent so I can better understand Him.)

3.  Gratitude causes me to pray more specifically. SO THAT I can SEE the answer.  I'll pray for no rain.  Then when it doesn't rain, I can thank God for granting that request and my relationship with Him is strengthened.  I am looking for His answers, His work.

Some say, "well, that would have happened anyway."  I disagree.  How can they know?  I think weather is the example I use most because although I see a forecast, I know my God controls the skies, the wind, the storms.  I have no problem praying for rain to delay, or for rain to come.  If he says "no" to me, it is because His plan is to work it ALL out for His glory.  What if there were hundreds of people praying for the very opposite thing?  His answers strengthen the faith of His children.  I rest that His will prevails. It doesn't keep me from asking though.

4.  Gratitude emboldens me to pray BIG.  This is tied to the previous one.  Because I know that God can do anything.  I pour out my heart and tell Him what I would like.  I am not guaranteed a "yes,"  but I can ask.  And when he does grant my request, I am challenged to thank Him for as long as I've been asking.  The bigger the thing God has granted, the more (and longer) I want to be thankful for His favor.

5.  Gratitude always gives me something to say to God. I can't say I don't know what to pray.  I have so much for which to be thankful!  And the more I come to God, the deeper the relationship, the stronger the love I have for Him, the quicker my obedience.  My spiritual growth is tied directly with my prayer life.

And I am so grateful that He promises to listen, that He has revealed Himself in the Bible and in His movement in my life, and that He uses it all to grow me into the likeness of His Son.


Click here for index of all #write31days posts in this PRAYER series.

Protein or hairspray?

This was the basic decision I had to make each morning when I was in high school.  I'd be getting ready for school and mom would yell up, "Come eat some breakfast!"

[FYI: The whole conversation was in Spanish, but my memories have all been edited into English.]

Almost each time, I'd yell out I was not ready.  She'd reply, "What's more important?  Food or getting your hair done?"

Protein or hairspray?

I'd yell back, "My hair!  If I don't eat breakfast, no one will be able to tell.  If I don't finish my hair, people WILL know!"

I suppose it's fairly common to be more concerned with the outside, with what is seen and can be evaluated.  Just recently, in my study of Matthew, I read again how Jesus called the Pharisees out on this very thing.  Hypocrites, He called them.  Ouch.

I know myself.  I can be a Pharisee.  I can appear to be a certain kind of person and, in the privacy of my home, I am another.  This is a conviction that a few years ago drove me to intentionally integrate my personality.  I really felt like different people--each personality suited to the context.  I was careful what I said, where I said it, and which lingo I adopted.  I was a good church girl when I needed to be.  But it felt wrong when I'd catch myself mentally changing gears within a single conversation.  I'd be discussing a study with a friend and then I'd feel a turn in my spirit as we'd start to gossip or grumble about out spouse. Yuck!  I'm embarrassed to even type that!

Integrity. That was the goal. Either I loved God and wanted to glorify Him ALL the time or I didn't. No lukewarm belief.  Every time, or not at all.  I wanted to be consistent.  I still do.

It has been quite a journey.  And I give God all the praise for how far He's brought me.  There is, however, so much room for improvement!

In a recent Bible study, God brought me to the subject of how I am serving my family.  Once again, I saw that choice:  work on what is seen or what is not.

I dare say I've seen God do amazing things through the ministries I'm involved in.  I am conscious that any success there is because of God's enabling and gifting and providence.  I strive to surrender to His will and to allow Him to use me however He sees fit.  I trust Him to provide and to work things out according to His perfect timing.  I do what I can and leave results to Him.  All for His glory!

By God's grace, the study of Acts a few years ago did open my eyes to the fact that my first disciples are my children.  Another layer of growth.  The recent tug has been to focus more of my energy on my home.  Because I am realizing how much I neglect, yes NEGLECT the hidden ministry that goes on within the walls of my home.

I'm not going without a fight, because I do keep coming up with excuses.  They're pretty lame and I'm on to me, so it won't be long. I know I will ultimately succumb to God's gentle nudge.  He wants me to learn--and I get to choose the easy way (obedience to the nudging) or the hard way (and I don't want to imagine what that would need to be to get my attention).

I need to run my home with the same discipline and dedication that I give to the VISIBLE ministries in which I am involved.

I am afraid, to be honest, of what that will cost.  My week is a bit hyper scheduled to make it all fit.  And to be frank, I work best that way.  Unscheduled time becomes wasted time too easily for me.  I've mentioned before, idleness is dangerous.

I am trusting Him as I step into this new way of doing life.  The funny thing is that I have said, "If I could only get my act together, I would be freed up to really make an impact."  But I recognize that "getting my act together" will mean a cost to what I am doing now.

A LOT like Lot, part 2

In the first part, the SHALLOWNESS of Lot's faith is what convicts me to seek depth to my relationship with God. Today, I consider Lot's SELFISHNESS.

It was their time in Egypt, I think, when seeds of discontent were planted.

It didn't help that Abraham had traveled to Egypt because of a famine--circumstances that were testing his faith.  Abraham was looking to Egypt to provide rather than to God.

It was in this context of Abraham NOT looking to God, that perhaps Lot started looking elsewhere too.

Lot saw the riches of Egypt, which soon became his as he and Abraham received from Pharaoh for Sarah's sake.  Abraham had lied, Sarah had been taken (essentially bought).

Did Lot not realize he benefited materially as a result of someone's sin?

God graciously protected Sarah by inflicting Pharaoh and his house with a serious disease.  Pharaoh somehow figured it out and sent them out of Egypt.  But they keep their stuff.

Stuff is not an evidence of blessing.

I think this was a test.  Just like having need (famine) was a test, having no material need (prosperity) was a test.  It wasn't long before the stuff became a source of argument between Lot and Abraham.

How does stuff affect you?  Does it get in the way of relationships?  Do you choose stuff over people?

Abraham initiative to solve the problem shows leadership and trust in God to provide.  Lot's choice to take all the plain, that looked "like the land of Egypt," shows us his selfishness and his trust in the plain to provide.

Are you choosing your location because you're thinking how it'll provide for you?  A job that pays well, even if the environment is toxic?  Working hours that take you away from family?  A school that will look good on college applications even if you're far from God and His people?  Overloaded with extra classes and activities--neglecting God and others--to get into the "right" school?

Are you making choices that ultimately say, "I have to provide for myself" and in essence, "I don't trust God to do it"?

Don't misunderstand.  "Working hard" is not the issue.  "Having stuff" is not the issue.  It's about a heart that trusts God or DOESN'T.

You know best where you are and why you're choosing.  If this isn't convicting to you, then don't own it--it isn't for you.  Examine your heart and motives.

I see myself as Lot, trusting in what my eyes see, maybe even saying, "Hey, I have seen you, Abraham.  How you talk to God and show others how great God is.  I'll just move near that sinful city and show them God.  Oh, I won't actually go live there, just pitch my tents NEAR there.  The plain will sustain me while I live where they can see me."

Makes sense to me.

This is how God speaks to me when I choose by sight, out of fear, when I trust stuff and position rather than Him.  He shows me how much I am like Lot so I can choose well the next time.

He shows me Abraham who by contrast set himself apart and takes Lot's "leftovers."  Abraham TRUSTED GOD TO PROVIDE.

A LOT like Lot, part 1

I have been captivated by the character study of Lot.  I wanted to post on it, but it is SO much that I will break it up into a few posts. 

Lot's story makes me flash back to high school English class and learning about a foil.  A character that makes the main character, presumably the hero, look good.  More precisely:

Foil

The term ‘foil’ refers to a literary device where the author creates a character whose primary purpose is to create a contrast to another character by laying emphasis or drawing attention to the latter’s traits and characteristics through the former’s obviously contradictory ones.

The study we'reworking through is a study of the life of faith of Abraham (who is Abram at the beginning of his journey).  Chapter 2, however, was a study of Lot--as Abraham's foil.  We can learn about Abraham's life by seeing the life of Lot, his contemporary, his "like-a-son" nephew.

BACKGROUND
We are introduced to Lot when Abraham is introduced (Genesis 11:26-28).  We learn Lot's own father, Haran, died while the entire family was still living in Ur of the Chaldeans (present-day Iraq).  We know from Acts 7:2-3 and Genesis 15:7 that God spoke to Abram/Abraham and called him out of Ur to go to Canaan (still highly-contested real estate in the Middle East).

However, we see in 11:31 that the WHOLE FAMILY leaves Ur, but stopped in Haran. [I've been curious about the name of the city and Lot's father, but I'll investigate some other time.]  It's not until Terah (Abraham's father) dies that Abraham resumes his journey.  

Abraham does not continue alone.  Lot goes with Abraham to Canaan (Gen 12:4,5) then to Egypt (as evidence by his return from Egypt 13:1, 5).  I imagine that Abraham had contagious faith--that Lot wanted to be where Abraham was because God spoke to Abraham and it was OBVIOUS and ATTRACTIVE.

We don't know how Lot showed his faith: nothing is recorded for us about building altars or calling on the name of the LORD or hearing from God.  Was Lot there when Abraham did those things?   Did Lot think that was enough?  He was witnessing God's words and work, he was being led by a man who was obsessed with hearing God.  Is proximity enough?

We do know Lot had SAVING faith--he is called "righteous" in 2 Peter 2:7-8.  [God's word is the best commentary for itself and we should look for clarification to come from its pages.  God's word is TRUTH.]  I imagine Abraham must have "preached" to Lot and Lot believed, so it was "accounted to him as righteousness."  Abraham was communicating with the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE--I would be excited to share too!

Romans 4:5However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.

I am not making a judgment on Lot's life, I am going with what God's word says.  God, the Holy Spirit, inspired Peter to record for us that Lot was a righteous man.  Whatever any evidence leads me to conclude, the TRUTH of God trumps what I think.  Lot was see by God as righteous, therefore that is what he was.

However, we do not see any DEPTH to his faith.  As long as Lot was near Abraham, he seems fine, but then they part ways and it does not go well for Lot.

Seeing him as he relates to Abraham has caused me to reflect on how much I am like Lot.  I love how God uses these ancient, seemingly irrelevant stories to grow us--to convict us so that we can make decisions FOR Him.  As I mentioned before, conviction is very different than guilt.  God doesn't reveal our sin so we can live in defeat, God shines a light so we can work on things. 

Only by His grace can we see it, only by His power can we work on it.  He gives us the victory.

How about you?

Do you see yourself as Lot?  Do you do well when you're near someone who has strong faith: a parent, a friend, or a pastor?  While you're near them: in their home, hanging out with them, or at church? 

What happens when you venture away?When you hang out with other people?  How strong is your faith?  Is there evidence you have any?

Are you feeling conviction?  It should hurt and cause shame.  It's not a fun feeling.  STILL, choose to thank God for it because that shows your heart is soft, your ears are open, and you are able to move forward with Him in victory.   This is where GROWTH begins!