A big congratulations and thanks to Angie!

This year for Advent, I tried something new for myself. I created a Christmas Manifesto inspired by a blog post from a dear friend of mine. Here is a link to the disciplines I was going to try and follow during Advent: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=462884377250
 
Essentially, I wanted to do something meaningful for Advent, something that would help me keep my focus on the main thing. Here are the five things I set out to do:
 
1. I will write a daily gratitude blog.
2. I will pray each day for a specific person.
3. I will make gifts.
4. I will be positive and cheerful with others wherever I go.
5. I will teach my children about the meaning of Advent and Christmas.
 
1. I will write a daily gratitude blog. I am happy to report that I was able to write a gratitude blog for each and every day of Advent. Now some nights, I wasn’t posting my blog until the wee hours of the morning. But in my mind, if I haven’t gone to bed for the day yet, it still counts as the day. I used to write daily gratitude blogs for a couple of years and then life changed, got crazy, and well, I just stopped making the time to write them. I missed writing them. For me, writing a gratitude blog helps me keep my perspective during the day, give thanks to God on a regular basis, and it helps me to pay attention to the finer details of life. I hope to be able to continue writing my gratitude blogs.
 
2. I will pray each day for a specific person. I am also happy to report that I did indeed pray for a specific individual or group every single day. In the beginning, I found myself really looking forward to seeing who’s name I’d pull from the jar. Sometimes I’d say a simple prayer before I would draw a name asking God to help me select the name of the person needing the prayers most at that time. For some people, I felt compelled to share with them that I was praying for them for that day. I like to think it made that person feel loved by me. It was a bit disjointed for me to switch the focus each day though. I did a similar activity this summer where I spent 30 days praying for one focused topic. It was a great experience for me. I was hoping this “different person a day” approach would be similar and I was disappointed it was not similar. But it was still a good thing. Praying on a daily basis is never a bad thing.
 
After I created my list of names and placed them in the jar, I was disappointed to discover I failed to include someone special to me. And then I had to mentally kick myself b/c I don’t need to select a name out of a jar in order to pray for a person. A couple of interesting notes: my children were thrilled to discover I had prayed for them individually. There was great conversation between the older two and excitement regarding my prayer jar. It showed me though that I don’t share with them enough that I pray for them b/c I pray for them all of the time. Even my husband was excited when I selected his name. And then I selected “elders” the next day and he was excited I had prayed for him two days in a row. I think he looked forward each day to seeing whom I had selected for the day. One other interesting fact, my first name drawn was for our pastor. So my first day of prayer was for our church in a sense. I thought that was a fitting start! I chose Christmas day to be my last day in this exercise. I don’t think it is technically a day of Advent, but nonetheless, I chose it to be my final day. On my last day, on Christmas, the name that was left in my jar was “church”. I thought it was appropriate that on Christmas day, my prayers were to be for my church. A full circle! I was worried that I’d forget to pray for the last “individual” b/c it was Christmas and I’d be distracted. “Church” being my final name kept me from forgetting b/c it was all around me all day!
 
3. I will make gifts. I did indeed make gifts for friends and family. I made ornaments, Christmas decorations – most with a focus on the reason for the season, I made pretzel snacks, and cookies. I really didn’t have the time to work on these things until that final week leading up to Christmas. Normally, I feel super stressed trying to get it all done. But I didn’t this year. I actually felt joyful and peaceful towards all of it. I had a couple of nights in a row of staying up to 5 AM & 3 AM respectively. I should have been a zombie, I should have been stressed out. But I wasn’t. I felt quite calm. The night before Christmas Eve, I went to bed without having a “big” item crafted for each family like I wanted. I did have something small made for everyone but it wasn’t what I had wanted to do overall. I went to bed that “night” at 5 AM with the feeling that what I had done was enough and it was okay (that’s probably the biggest thing there – it was okay if I didn’t make something “big” for each family). And then I woke up at 9:30 AM with this feeling that I could indeed do it. And with the help of my husband, I was able to craft like I wanted. I got it all finished like I wanted. But the great thing is that it was without stress or any major problems. Normally something big usually goes wrong whenever I am crafting on this scale. And it did not. I’m grateful to God for helping me remain peaceful, focused on the reason why I was crafting, and to help me get it all finished like I wanted. I didn’t have the thoughts “Can I do it? Will it get done?” My thoughts were more along the lines of, “What I get done will be enough.” I let a lot of pressure that I place on myself, go and tried to just let God guide me in what I was to do.
 
4. I will be positive and cheerful with others wherever I go. This one was probably my most difficult one. You’d think it would be my easy one. But holiday shoppers and drivers set me over the edge at this time of year. I had to mentally check myself often when I encountered rude customers or selfish drivers. I would remind myself of #4 and a couple of times I wished I hadn’t selected this b/c I felt God was testing me. During my life, I have been able to let go of stress that occurs when driving in traffic. When traffic is trying to slow me down when I want to go much faster, I just tell myself that God needs me to slow down at this moment. And that usually calms me. I have not been able to something similar for this time of year regarding negative people/rude drivers. I still need to work on this category. It is the one I had to remind myself of the most. It did help though. I did notice more positive interactions between me and others that might have been overshadowed by negative people. And for each cashier I encountered, I tried to smile, look that person in the eye, and leave giving him/her a happy comment for Christmas. I didn’t come home after each shopping adventure a ball of stress. So that was a good thing. But I don’t feel l showered others with Christmas cheer. So I need some refining on this one.
 
5. I will teach my children about the meaning of Advent and Christmas. This was the one that I worried the most about b/c I didn’t know exactly how to go about doing this. I found that many things just happened that made this easier. I had a printed version of my blog out in my bathroom for me to read everyday. I found that my son had read it (which is a good thing). But it made me realize that I hadn’t shared what I was doing with my children. I did with my husband, with some friends but not my children. I really could have used this activity as a springboard for talking with them. But the prayer jar opened up a lot of conversation with them. So that was a good thing. I tried utilizing information given at church regarding Advent to have conversations with the kids at dinnertime. Every night we discussed Advent when we lit the candles. I noticed there was much less talk about Santa and that makes me happy. I noticed my kids talking about Jesus’ birthday and being excited about it. I noticed they were paying attention more in Sunday School and/or church. One day my daughter was looking through a calendar and was excited to see that Jesus’ birthday was on it! I wish you could have heard her excitement when she said, “Yes, Jesus’ birthday is on here!” She was excited b/c it was Jesus’ birthday not b/c it was the day Santa comes to bring her gifts!!!!! There was some sort of shift this year for the family. I’m not sure if it was just my perspective or what. But it was there and it was good.
 
Overall, this was an excellent experience for me. I felt joyful, at peace, and calm. I felt more centered overall and I really didn’t experience stress. The lack of stress (or at least the tense, hurried feelings I normally have) is one of the greatest things I experienced during this activity. I found myself not getting worked up about the little stuff that might normally get me going. I need to figure out how to sustain that feeling, the feeling of being able to let things go and just feel peaceful.
 
Would I do this again? Definitely. I’m not sure what my disciplines will be next time, but I know that this activity helped me remain focused this season. I feel like I learned much on one hand but on the other realizing there is much more for me to learn – that I really am just getting glimmers of what I can really learn. I’m certainly grateful for my family and friends who encouraged me during this, those who supported me, and for those who simply just read my blogs. I pray that God is using this as a tool to help me & my family grow in faith and for me to possibly help others grow in faith.
 

Dusk in Venice by Claude Monet

Herman Melville wrote, “It is better to fail in originality, than to succeed in imitation.” We tend to have a bias in our culture against imitation. Imitation often equates in our minds to fake. For example, imitation leather or imitation fur. Imitation may connote something being cheap or of lesser value. The idea that originality is always better is not always the case. In fact, imitation can be an amazing tool for growth.
 
When I was a candidate for ministry I had to write a statement of faith that would be reviewed by a committee of my denomination. I’ll never forget that some of the committee members were put off by the fact that my statement of faith read and felt like classic statements of faith, such as the Apostle’s creed. I was criticized for not being more creative. That’s probably one of the only times I have ever been criticized for a lack of creativity. Frankly, I took it at as a complement and thought their comments said more about them than me. Imagine being in an art class and the instructor with obvious displeasure telling you, “You paint like Rembrandt.” or “That work looks like it came right out of Monet’s studio.”
 
I was prompted to think about these things this morning as I did my devotional reading and came across these verses:

“You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.” 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7

“For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews.” 1 Thessalonians 2:14

Paul in other places did not only acknowledge believers for begin imitators, but actually encouraged them to be. In the scriptures above Paul actually notes three different ways the Thessalonians imitated good models. They imitated Paul and the other disciples who had brought them the gospel. They imitated the Lord and other churches.
 
Whom do you admire for his or her faith? How can you imitate his or her lifestyle, speech, behaviors, or disciplines? If you admire someone, but don’t know the habits they keep, you may want to invite them to lunch and learn more. If you know someone with bottomless biblical knowledge, then ask how he or she studies and follow that example for awhile. If you know someone with an amazingly powerful prayer life, ask about prayer practices.
 
Imitation is a very effective way to grow as a disciple. You will eventually become that which you imitate if you practice long enough.
 
 

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)

 
Last night I was watching a video with my son Matthew that was part of an online course we are taking together. It is a course in developing online products. The instructor actually gives away a number of products to participants in the course. They are completely free to reproduce them and put them online. In the video the instructor was addressing the concern that if he gives the products away won’t the market then be flooded to the point that his students can’t realistically compete. The short answer was no. Mainly because he explained that the sad reality is that 99% of the people who take a course fail to do the work necessary.
 
I was reminded of a real estate agent I met who was extremely profitable at what he did. A young competitor called him up one day and said, “I know that you probably won’t want to do this, but I was wondering if there is anyway you would meet with me for lunch and share with me what you do that makes you so successful.” The agent agreed without hesitation. He went and he shared the many personal disciplines that he regularly exercised to succeed so well. Afterwards, the young competitor said, “I still can’t believe you where willing to do this. Why did you do this? Aren’t you afraid I’ll take your business?” The agent explained to him, “I am really not worried about that. Very few people are willing to do what I do to be successful.”
 
Unfortunately, I can relate all to well to these stories in my spiritual life, both as a mentor and a student. I can’t tell you how many books, retreats, sermons, cd’s, videos, and classes I have sat through that gave me clear direction that would benefit my spiritual life. Yet, finding myself applying far to little. I also have seen this in the church regularly. I repeatedly hand people spiritual disciplines in kit form, but sadly only a very limited number apply tools long enough to see the fruit.
 
My concern around this very human reality is heavily on my mind as I try to re-craft an online bible mentoring program that people will actually hopefully apply themselves to. I am not trying to sound dismal and skeptical here. The harsh reality though is that we are conditioned daily to crave newness and immediate gratification which are both antithetical to the self-discipline necessary to develop depth in any discipline.
 
I have noticed that whether you are talking about sports, academics, finances, business, or spiritual growth, the people who excel have tremendous personal discipline. They share some common characteristics and practices. Highly successful and disciplined people:
 
PLAN THEIR WORK
Disciplined people have clear plans for what they will do. Clear to-do lists for the day. Journals for their prayers. Stated or written intentions and goals. Do you consciously have any plan for how you are growing in your relationship with God. Do you have a plan for improving your study of the Word or prayer life? Do you have a plan for what you will give in money, time or talent? Do you have a hope or vision for how you will be different as a disciple in six months? If so, do you know what specifically you are going to do to get there? You cannot expect to arrive somewhere, if you have no destination in mind or no plan to get there.
Application step: Write a description of how you would like to be different as a disciple in the next six months or write down an accomplishment that you would like to achieve to honor God. Make a list of the steps you need to take to transform these hopes into realities.
 
WORK THEIR PLAN.
The greatest intention in the world without action is worthless. Once you craft a plan, work it. Work it without fail, not just when it is convenient. I have noticed disciplined people stick to their plan to completion. They do not keep willy-nilly jumping to a new idea or plan. I actually recently heard discipline defined as “not changing course unless a different choice brings you closer to your destination.” Stay focused on taking action daily and consistently. No matter how small a step you take, take a step.
Application step: Track your progress. Create charts, checklists or other visible reminders that reflect your progress. For example, on the corner of my bathroom mirror I have written the following with a dry erase marker: “Blog Posts–41/210.” I have a goal of writing 210 posts in 2010. The first number is my current count of posts year to date. I update it each time I produce a new posts. It stares me in the face every time I stand at my sink. I have several other goals similarly tracked on my mirror. Notebooks can be another great way to track progress. My son and I have a notebook for tracking our progress in a joint venture. We print out lists of actions steps. We then check off and date when we accomplish them.
 
DO NOTHING MORE, NOTHING LESS
This principle goes hand-in-hand with working a plan. I have often voiced it this way, “Don’t work ahead and don’t make an exception.” This principle is really a principle of boundaries. Disciplined people resist distraction. How often do you put together a to-do list and then later you find that you spent hours doing other things with limited progress on your actual list. This may be symptomatic of a lack of self-discipline around staying focused. Or you may be grabbing at other solutions before applying something long enough to see its fruit. Keep on your plan. Discipline also draws boundaries on working excessively to the point of burn-out. A lack of rest is a lack of discipline. I am discovering more and more that fatigue debilitates discipline faster than any other factor in my life.
Application step: Define the upper and lower boundaries for the activity you will put into a discipline and stick with those boundaries. At first this will very likely induce stress, but over time it will extremely reduce stress.
 
ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS
Disciplined people think and plan fully through things. They don’t half do a task. As Christians we are supposed to do all that we do as if we are doing it for Christ. Doesn’t it follow that we should do all things excellently? Doesn’t it follow that we shouldn’t be sloppy or disorganized about how we approach our spiritual disciplines?
Application step: Go back and evaluate your plan. Is it specific and thoughtful or have you just thrown a loose idea out there? What if someone else had to follow it? Could they follow it clearly?
 
KNOW THEIR PURPOSE
It’s one thing to have a destination in mind and even a plan for getting there, and it is an entirely different thing to understanding why you are going there. Disciplined people don’t only know what they are doing but they understand why they are doing it. This clarity of purpose is partly what allows disciplined people an edge in accomplishing their plans. When the going gets tough, they can remind themselves of the importance of the activity they are doing.
Application step: Look at your plan and write down why you want to succeed. What is your motivation? What will be accomplished ultimately?
 
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EXERCISES THAT WILL STRENGTHEN PERSONAL DISCIPLINE
 
Fasting
Fasting from anything that matters to you will increase your baseline ability to practice discipline in all things. You don’t have to just fast from food. Give up something for a period of time that is significant to you or reflexive, i.e. spending time on facebook, watching television, texting, etc. A life coach that I know says, “The way we do one thing is the way we do all things.” There is a lot truth to that statement. The good news is that if we shift significantly how we do one thing it can effect how we do all things. So, discipline around how you eat will translate into greater discipline in how you study.
 
Pick a single activity each day and perform it with extreme excellence.
For example, next time you iron a shirt, do it very meticulously. Or next time you have to clean something, clean it until it is absolutely spotless. Actively working at attention to detail on a task will shift your awareness around detail in other tasks.
 
Practice waking and rising at the same time each day.
This is something that I have a particularly difficult time with, so I may be preaching mostly to myself. Nevertheless, there are two important reasons why you should do this. You will develop your ability to exercise placing boundaries which are critical to discipline. You will also dismantle fatigue in your life. Fatigue causes you to cut corners and compromises your judgement.
 
Use a timer on activities you easily get lost in and quit when it goes off.
I can get lost in activities all to easily. Some people set time boundaries more naturally than others. Using and obeying a timer will help expand your ability to set healthy limits. I used a timer twice this morning in the office. I spent 15 minutes “T.R.A.F.ing” (toss, refer, act, or file) in my offices and 20 minutes reading a magazine on children’s ministry. I knew that both of them were things that I could easily let consume much time so I set a timer. When my office gets out of control, I traf daily for just a few minutes at a time until it is restored to order. I set my timer and do nothing more and nothing less.
 
Maintain a Sabbath
A sabbath is a discipline in and of itself but I find the practice of it effects my ability to be disciplined. You need time for quiet reflection or you will become very muddied in your purpose and find yourself pulled about by every demand that comes your way. I am in the process of reestablishing a Sabbath time. I used to take half of every Monday and use it to wander in the woods for a couple of hours and then I would sit in prayer at the edge of a pond for an entire hour of uninterrupted prayer. When I maintain a day of rest like this my ability to be disciplined sores.  To learn the basics of sabbath read my sabbath post.
 
Practice stillness
Few things will awaken self-awareness like stillness and self-awareness is key to self-discipline. When we lack awareness we are reactionary. If you practice stillness, you will become much more conscious of thoughts and feelings going on inside of you. You increase your ability through stillness to observe thoughts and feelings and either respond to or disregard them. Sitting quietly observing nature and paying attention to my senses for lengthy periods of time has been particularly beneficial in this regard. Centering prayer though has been incomparable to any other activity in honing my ability to stay focused and not get jerked about by thoughts, feelings, and physical distractions. If you are unfamiliar with this practice then check out my centering prayer post.
 
Pray for self-discipline
Did you notice in the opening quote from the bible that Paul is telling us that a spirit of discipline or self-control is something God gave you. You can work on all the things above and it will help, but don’t forget to ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit to keep the flesh in check and your spirit faithful.
 
Blessing to you as you seek greater faithfulness to God in all things.
  

Here are 10 questions to consider.

1. On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate your fulfillment of your commitment?
2. Was your commitment too easy, too hard, are about right?
3. What factors seemed to make the difference between whether you had successful days or bad days?
4. What do you wish someone could have told you before you tried this?
5. What are at least three lessons you learned?
6. How has this experience affected your relationship with God or your discipleship?
7. Would you do it again and why would you or wouldn’t you do it again?
8. How would you benefit from continuing to do this?
9. What would be the biggest obstacle(s) for you making this a regularly part of your life?
10. Now that Lent is over what next action step could you take that would bring joy to God?

For those of you who struggled or failed to keep your commitment, consider these 6 questions:

1. Did you have a realistic goal?
2. Did you have a written goal?
3. Did you use triggers to help stay consistent?
4. Did you tell anyone about it so that you had support and/or accountability?
5. Did you track your progress in anyway?
6. What 3 changes could you make that would have helped you succeed?

I hope these questions are helpful.  I want to reiterate the value of writing out your answers to these questions.  If you don’t, then you will leave 50% of your learning and growth behind you.  So take even just a few minutes, grab a piece of paper and jot down some answers to these questions.  I will be posting a reflection upon my own experience next week.

Blessings from the Practical Disciple during this Holy Week.

Just as you need to maintain physical fitness, you need to nourish and exercise your spirit.  The Apostle Paul spoke about the need for and the value of training in godliness.  My guest, Rev. Michael Vinson, in today’s podcast breaks down the nourishment of your spirit into three easy to apply inputs you need every day.  If you are overly busy and thinking, “I can’t even nourish my body properly, let alone my spirit.” then you will be delighted to discover that everything Michael shares can be done by adapting common place activities that you do everyday like showering or enjoying a meal.
 

Similarly, Michael will share three “outputs” you need daily to exercise your spirit.  Essentially, he is handing you a formula to make sure you get the spiritual equivalent of an upper body, lower body, and cardio workout everyday. Fortunately,his workout is all gain with little or no pain.
 
You also do not want to miss Mike’s quick tip on spiritually detoxing.  He is going to tell you how to regularly get rid of the “dust bunnies” that are trying to pollute your mind and spirit everyday.  Well, what are you waiting for?  If you are feeling like a spiritual coach potato who has grown flabby around the middle, here is help.  Start working off that soul fat.
 

 
Email subscribers, if an embedded play does not appear above click here to play, right click to download.
 

Blessings to you from The Practical Disciple.
 

You could be a physically fitter you who saved money for 40 days. Last year I wanted to work on what I call body holiness and simplicity.  I realized that I hadn’t been the best steward of my health.  So, I gave up using my car except for when I had to transport other people.  I road my bicycle to work.  On rainy days I road the bus.  The lessons I learned were many.  To read about them click here. That could be you.

You could be sleeping better at night, better able to focus, and growing in your love of prayer and God. A couple of years ago, I adopted praying for one hour a day.  During that 40 days God brought great peace into my life.  You can read about my experience by clicking here. That could be you.

You could be a more grateful person with stronger relationships. That is what others experienced when they took on writing forty “love notes” for forty days. That could be you.

You could trim excess and clutter from your life. That is what happened to me when several years ago I decided to attack clutter and excess in my life by getting rid of forty bags of stuff in forty days.  I set aside forty grocery sacks and then filled one every day and gave it or threw it away.  I cleaned every closet and drawer in my home and office, my car and my garage.  It changed my relationship to material objects and deepened my gratitude. That could be you.

So how could this or even something better be you?

Look closely and you will notice a couple of changes to The Practical Disciple homepage.  Over in the right columns you will see a countdown until Lent. At the time I am writing this there are just 27 days until Lent.  You will also notice at the top of the home page there is now a “Lent” selection that leads you to a Lent page.  Currently, I am making available 7 handouts on the Lent page to help people like you have an amazing discipleship experience during Lent.  More will come over the next 27 days.  Pick one before Lent which begins Ash Wednesday, February 27th, and you are on you way to becoming a better disciple.  You will be on your way to being a better you for God.

I am posting access to these handouts NOW for two reasons…

First, I am encouraging people to prayerfully consider taking on a spiritual discipline during Lent.  Without a doubt my greatest discipleship strides have occurred during Lent every year for the past 5 years.  Mainly because I am extremely intentional about what I do and spend days ahead of time prayerfully discerning a discipline that will transform me as a disciple.  I guess that has rubbed off on my kids.  One of them, my daughter, last week announced at our dinner table, “I know what I am going to do for Lent this year.  I am going to raise money to buy a cow from Heifer Project.”  For those of you not familiar with Heifer Project , it is a christian ministry that provides needy people with live stock to increase their standard of living.  She is off and running toward that cow.  In fact, she is pursuing businesses to place out collection cans for her.  I am extremely proud of her.  She is a sophomore in high school and came up with this completely on her own.  Lent is not only going to make  a difference in her life, but the life of a family deeply in need.  That could be you.

Second, I want these free resources available for Pastors who would like them as handouts for their own congregations. Pastor’s please feel free to reproduce the handouts on The Practical Disciple for your own church members.  It can really make a difference.  If you are not a pastor and would like to see these handouts made available in your church, then copy and paste the following link into an email and send it to your pastor:  http://thepracticaldisciple.com/page_id126

If you have questions or Lenten discipline suggestions that I can share before the season begins please comment or email me.  Blessings from The Practical Disciple.

What about you?  Are there activities that you use to make yourself feel good about “doing something” to enhance you faith when the reality is you are avoiding something far more basic and productive like, prayer, study, worship or service.  Do you perpetually read about prayer, but don’t pray.  Do read books about the Bible or sit in on classes about the Bible, but never actually crack the cover of yours?   Do you talk more about God or to God?  Do you bounce around on the internet reading blogs about God, discipleship, and the church but never really applying much from it?  Are you really learning or are you avoiding face-to-face time with God?  If you are, then stop.  Stop reading this.  Stop viewing cool inspirational videos.  Stop roaming through the Christian bookstores and either go get into some direct time with God or go do something you believe God has been wanting you to do for a while.

Blessings to you as you take those steps that will bear the most fruit in your walk of discipleship.

1)  Begging off on other people.  ”Everyone does it.”  ”I am not as bad as her.” “They made me do it.”  These type of statements are examples of blaming others for the choices you make.  Such words deny personal responsibility.

2)  Thinking ourselves inadequate. “I couldn’t do that I am too old, young,  can’t speak well enough.”  Truth be told you are inadequate.  You need God.  God doesn’t call the equipped he equips the called.  So whatever your lacking, trust that God is fully aware of that and will provide.

3)  Blaming Ignorance.  ”I didn’t know better.”  Often times that is true.  But once you make that statement, it can no longer be your excuse.

4)  Blaming circumstance. The big red flag for when you are entering this danger zone are the words, “If only.”   “f only I had….more time, more money, were in a different church, understood the Bible better, weren’t so tired, etc.”

5)  Trapped in the past.   If you find yourself saying “I can’t because…” and then you fill in the blank with a story from your past, you are probably rationalizing.  The harsh truth is that was then and this is now.  What happened then may not truly have any bearing on your situation now except for in your mind.  The truth is admitting that you are allowing the wounds of the past to hold you hostage now.  Ask for God’s healing or release so that you can move forward in faith.

Freedom from Excuses

Whenever your find yourself doing the wrong thing or failing to do the right thing and your explanation begins with “I don’t” or “I can’t” you really need to slow down and see if what you are saying is truly valid.  Even if it is true, you need to make sure it is not a denial of what God can do.  Perhaps, you can’t, but God can.  Embracing your inadequacy and clinging to God’s providence is the first step toward freedom from your excuses.

Stop living in what you are or are not and start living into what God has been and will always be.

I love the story of the missionary, Gladys Aylward.  Aylward was a missionary to China who walked twelve days with nearly one hundred orphans in order to get them out of harms way of Japanese troops coming into the area.  At one point when she was beginning to feel despondent, one little girl said something to the effect of, “You going to get us through the mountains just like Moses got the Israelites out of Egypt.”  Aylward, confessed that she was no Moses.  The little girl was undaunted by this.  She replied, “Yes, but God is still God.”

Regardless of what excuse you are clinging to, it does not change the fact that God is still God.  So, abandon your excuse and trust God.  Blessings to you as you seek to be courageously honest with yourself.

When I start a new spiritual discipline I have a lot energy around it, but after a couple of weeks when the novelty of newness wears off I find that I start resisting doing it.  I discovered this past Sunday many of our youth are just like me.  They are still working hard at their prayer journals, but the second week it was harder to be motivated.  We are at the intersection of “wanting” and “committed”.   The difference between wanting something and being committed to it is whether or not you are willing to do whatever it takes to get it.

My experience has been that in every new discipline you reach a crunch point where you gain enough experience that you start questioning whether or not your really want to continue. Most people don’t consciously process this.  They tend to just start resisting the discipline.  If you start missing a discipline you may not be committed to it.  Another possibility is that you may just need some strategies to keep your momentum to get you past a very natural resistance.  In today’s brief video, I reiterate and review the importance of triggers.  You might not have found that necessary starting out, but now it could be your best friend for consistency.  You can also maintain momentum by altering your discipline slightly.  So, today’s video ends with a new addition to your journaling process.  Check it out and blessings to you as you strive for commitment.

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Related Posts:   Prayer Journaling Orientation and Prayer Journaling 2, Difficulties and Solutions

Our youth have been prayer journaling for a week now using a method that I outlined in the Prayer Journaling Orientation video posted a week ago.  Last Sunday we discussed their experiences.  In today’s brief video I share 5 common difficulties they encountered and 3 “triggers” for being consistent.  They have had some really awesome God-incidence stories happen because of their prayer journaling.  I can’t wait to see what a couple more weeks of journaling is going to yield.  You can expect more video posts on the lessons they learn.

On another note…Today’s video has a cleaner , crisper audio signal with more volume range over prior videos.  Unfortunately, in my efforts to improve audio I ran into a technical difficulty resulting in audio coming through only the left channel.  My apologies to any of my readers who happen to be listening via headphones.  I know it’s annoying. I hope to resolve this issue prior to the next video.

Lastly, some of my email subscribers had issues with the last video not coming through with the post.  That is probably a hosting issue, but for your convenience, you will find a link below going directly to the post.  Enough about this stuff. You are here to learn about discipleship.  Go enjoy the video.

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