The Secret to Being Productive

Getting started.

So often that is the hardest thing.  I just spent months not able to motivate myself or be motivated by anything.  So, if that's you, I feel your pain.  And I pray that this helps.

But getting started isn't the secret.  Grace is.

Specifically, God's grace.

Last month as I was looking at Romans, Chapter 8, I was gripped again by the amazing grace that God gives His children. Not only does He save us through faith in Jesus, He adopts us into His forever family.  He then gives us His Spirit to dwell within us.

What does it look like to live our lives with His Spirit living in us?  Paul gives us more information in Galatians (5:22-23):

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

For me, all of those things made sense, but self-control did not seem to "match."

All the others can be expressed toward others.  It has always made sense to me that others need to see the "fruit."

But self-control?

Self-control speaks to me of "discipline."

Discipline quickly takes my mind to "work."

And work seems to oppose "grace."

But with every fiber of my being, I know I need grace.

And then this gem, also from Paul:

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 

1 Corinthians 15:10

AHA!

I need God's grace to be able to work, to be disciplined, to have self-control, to be productive!  That is why it's evidence of His Spirit in me!

When I'm self-controlled, I am choosing to live in the Spirit.  I am choosing to be dependent on God so that I can love like He loves, be gentle like He is, show kindness like He would, etc.  THEN others see the fruit of His Spirit in me.

When I am self-controlled, I am living out of my identity. 

I am His child and the only way I can live is as His child.  No going back. 

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 

Romans 8:12-13

I think the word "obligation" also startled me.   But it's not a "you have to follow this rule" kind of obligation, but "you can't help but to live this way because it is who you are now."

So, by the grace of God, I wrapped up 2017 and all of its disappointments and am looking with excitement at what God has in store for me as His child.  And I am getting started because of His grace working in me.

I strive to be organized and productive not for the sake of doing more things, but for the sake of doing the right things.

I want to be free to respond to His leading as I use my time and energy and whatever resources He has given me.  I want to be free from distraction so I can focus and be intentional.  I want to make time for what matters.

And I want to help others who may also want to walk this journey of making time for God and the people and things He has for us.

Ready to get started?

praying for kiddos

This is my final installment of my "sharing" about my year in BSF.  This is a list I kept close as I prayed for the kiddos in my class--and my own kids.

I would take one prompt and pray for all of them or use it during the day in the classroom as I got one-on-one time.  I'm sure it came from the manual somewhere.... or maybe one of the home training lessons.

I'd pray--and you can too:

• For a deeper understanding of God
• For recognition that God desires a relationship with them (individually, uniquely)
• For salvation or assurance of salvation
• For a passion for God's Word
• For a faith that is their OWN, not their parent nor some other influential Christian in their life
• That they would have a growing concern for the spiritual growth of others
• That they would witness to their family and community

These were specific for our lessons, but you can let your own bible study point you to what you should pray for your kids:

• For understanding of a specific attribute of God from that week's lesson
• Using a verse or principle from that week's Scripture passage
• For a clear understanding of the main truth from that week

Be intentional and PRAY for the little humans God has appointed for you to invest in (whether they are related to you by blood or not). 

The enemy HATES children.  Just look at the assault on children, from abortion to trafficking to the way they are viewed as inconveniences, less valuable, and second-class citizens (even in the church where "it's JUST children's ministry, any warm body will do" attitude is common).  Who do you think gave those ancient cultures ideas about child sacrifice?  I won't begin to list the modern-day altars at which children and their care are being sacrificed....

That will be something for another day...

For now, realize that the data shows that the majority of people come to saving faith before the age of 14.  Children matter. 

Please pray.

I'm sad AND excited

BSF wrapped up for the year yesterday. 

People ask me if I'm glad and relieved that it's done.  I'm not.  I'm sad.  I will miss my kiddos and I will miss my dear friends.

I love getting to meet Monday mornings with dear sisters in Christ.  We pray each week that we can serve the women and children with excellence.  We pray for the Spirit to guide phone discussions and classroom challenges.  We pray for discernment and clarity to teach children at their level of understanding.  Then we pray for God to prepare hearts so that those seeds can land and take root. 

We pray for smiles and hugs for those who need them, for names to come to mind quickly, for there to be no distraction to the discussing the lesson and hearing the lecture.  We pray for each other, for the personal things in our lives that affect our roles at BSF--we carry each other's burdens, and we see God knit our hearts together.

And week after week we thank God for how He answers and how He is so present.  He indeed did great things this past year.  I am grateful for my year and I'm sad it has come to a close because I get to be a part of something amazing that God is doing in our little corner of Cypress, Texas. 

I get to learn dependence on the Holy Spirit to do anything of value.  I get practical training on so many things that allow me to be an effective teacher.  I get to sit around a room and discuss deep theological truths and find a way to distill and condense and NOT trivialize.  This is hard work and yet it satisfies me and feeds me.  What a gift!

What I think I'm most grateful for is that I've learned to pray.   To know that I'm talking to God.  To pray big and expectant.  To wait and look for His response.  I've learned to pray meaningful prayers for the children in my class and then used those same words to pray for my own kids.

Then the gift, the bonus, I get to then take all of that and bless my family and church with what I have learned.  I am a better wife and mother and friend and volunteer because of it.  And maybe you're reading this and don't think so, and that's okay, but I know my heart and I can tell you that without this I'd be selfish and prideful and neglectful and completely obsessed with all the wrong things. 

So, I am sad that BSF has wrapped up for the school year, but I am grateful that I still get to study and pray on my own.  I'm grateful that I get to teach children at my church--on Sunday and at VBS.  Of course, I'm grateful that I get to spend more time loving and serving my family and neighbors.  I'm also grateful, that God willing (as I should say always when stating my plans), is that next year we get to study the book of Romans. 

I am excited!

Here's to practicing what I preach

If you know me, you have heard my awe about the Bible.  The Word of God.  The way the Supreme Being, the Creator of the universe has chosen to communicate with His creatures.

What is man that You [e]take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?  Psalm 8:4

And I tell people, if they listen, that reading His Word is how you get to KNOW God.  We aren't reading a biography so we can get to know details about God, we are reading His Living Word because He has CHOSEN to tell us things about Himself.

And I also tell people that the only way to be kept from error, from deception, is to know the REAL thing.  To know the Truth of God so well that when someone offers up an opinion or presents something as fact that doesn't quite line up with what the Bible says, then you will discern.

I say all these things (and more).  And I do read.  And study.  And yet, I struggle.

In 2017, I am again working to develop the habit of being in His Word.  I also want to meditate on what I read and not just check a box.  Blogging is helping me.  Maybe people read, but I'm also trying to not let that be my reason.

This article from Desiring God has helped me untangle some of my motivation for reading the Bible.   I pray it helps you.

Let's spend time in His Word so that we can become more like Jesus.  Who's in?