Well, THIS will be interesting!

I’m giving up!  Nope…not in a bad way…in a discovery sort of way.

I was laying on the couch with my “under the weather” 4 year old as I ordered my “Virtual Family” around on my iPhone and killed “Evil pigs with Angry Birds.”  Things were getting out of hand.

Every year I have a plan, a goal, a new beginning.  It was time for the new year to begin…16 days late.

We are studying Spiritual Disciplines in church.  It’s natural to focusing on journal writing, scripture memorization, community, corporate worship.  They come more easily to me.  It’s not a lot of “work…”  This past week we focused on Fasting and Solitude…yeah, not really my forte.

See…I’m scared of fasting.  I’m scared of unplugging.  I’m kinda known as a person that knows about pop culture, new trends, new gadgets.  I can hold a conversation with a middle school kid…a high schooler…someone in their 20s…someone in their 60s…You get the picture.  I am aware of pop culture.  (Don’t get that confused with important current events…I am not up on those!)

If I do what I’m planning to do…purge and fast…I’m risking losing a bit of that.  And, that’s a big part of how I define myself.  Current.  But…what if that’s not the plan God has for me.  Am I willing to give that up?

I’m reading a cool book called UNSTUFF.  I’d probably be done with it by now if I hadn’t played virtual family, angry birds, and bejeweld so much…not to mention hours of Criminal Minds re-runs (they’re new to ME).

On page 3…yes PAGE 3… It asks questions like:

What stuff can’t you live without?

Of the things you mentioned, which are essential for life?

What stuff makes you feel better when you’ve had a bad day?

What is one thing you could never give away?  Why?

What do you have too much of?

What about stuff stresses you out?

What stuff do you fear being without?  (THAT ONE HURT!)

What stuff do you have to have in order to be happy and content?  (Hit me while I’m down, why don’t you!)

Stuff was meant to supply our needs…

So I began to think?  Where can I unstuff?  What can I fast from that will make a positive impact on my relationship with God and others…

I had to start with the “apps.”  I LOVE my iPhone!  REALLY LOVE it!  I don’t know what the appropriate Greek word for this kind of love is…but there’s got to be one.  Cause LOVE is the right way to describe how I feel about my iPhone!…

But, I waste a lot of precious time on the 150+ apps that are on that treasure of mine.  So, I cut it down.  I removed Angry Birds and Bejeweled, Words with Friends (I always lose anyway) and Virtual Family.  I took off all the shopping apps except Amazon (for work).  I moved facebook off of the front screen and before I could change my mind I pressed SYNC.

That was step one.  Step two (speaking of Facebook) was to disconnect from that.  I am posting on Tumblr now and IT will go to my facebook page (but I won’t).  It’s not the posting that’s the problem for me.  It’s the looking up of everyone else and their business that sucks up my time.  So.  Bye bye facebook.  I will be back on February 1 and no sooner.  

You may be thinking…what’s the deal, how different is tumblr?  Well, for me VERY different because I only follow one person on tumblr where I have hundreds of friends on facebook.

And…for the rest of the month I am going to purge and fast from other things that God brings to mind.  I am going to rid my e-mail accounts of newsletters (that I never read anyway) tomorrow.  I’m going to listen each day to see if there is another item or behavior that God wants me to live without.  And I bet the less cluttered my time, mind, and environment get, the better I’ll be able to hear His plan.  

So…I’ll be posting along the way…maybe.  And if you haven’t disconnected from facebook, you can follow along while it happens.  I won’t see your comments or know what’s happening…so don’t think I’m ignoring you, I’m just on a fast.  

Yep, THIS will be interesting!!!

Generosity

Generosity was defined to me today as joyful sharing of your abundance.

What keeps you from being generous? For me, often times, it’s fear. Fear that if I give away money, time, love, that I will end up sacrificing something. Fear that there won’t be enough. I argue that I am being responsible to those I love when I protect resources, but is that really my motive?

I think we can all agree right now that no matter what your religious or political views might be that generosity is overall considered a worthy and good thing. So, let’s put aside our differences to examine the core of generosity. I will, however, refer to things in my life including my experiences at my job (my church), and events (often times held at my church), and those I respect (friends and leaders many from my church).

The series we are staring today at South Park Church is called Life.Money.Hope This morning, our Pastor, Eric Flood, made sure to state that the message would apply to each person differently depending on their circumstances. For some it would be to learn to live in contentment of what they have. Others-- to generously give gratitude for what they have. And for others it may be to practice that gratitude and extend generosity to others. For some that would include time, talents, or treasures.

Interestingly enough, that is one of the journeys I have been on, particularly for the past 10 years. I have never experienced “want” for basic needs. I have, however, often times coveted new, nice, and more. Thanks to the “freedom” of credit cards in college I practiced that fully by indulging in material possessions, food and drink, and argued to myself that I deserved these things. Not until my daughter was 1 did I begin to sacrifice and pay the price for those things. (And might I add, thanks to the added years and pounds I have put on I have nothing to show for them) I have begun to learn to live in contentment with the material possessions I have.

I still struggle with contentment … I can live without the newest handbag or gadget. However, I still fill myself with little things to find contentment…most often times food or something that “wastes” my time. An iced coffee and a long drive for example.

Now, I am not saying that the newest handbag, an iced coffee, or some alone time is bad. It’s the reason behind them that can be...that can keep you from being generous.

Statistics don’t help me much in this aspect of my life. Yeah, yeah, if only I wouldn’t buy a Starbucks I’d save 2.5 million dollars a year or whatever. That speaks to my mind, but not to my heart. Eric stated today that generosity is not about guilt or agenda…that it is about giving cheerfully (2 Corinthians 9:7). Interestingly enough, it is said that people who give generously experience more joy than those that don’t. If I bought my friend a Starbucks would I experience more joy than partaking in it myself? Is that a challenge I am even willing to take on?

I have been described as an encouraging and generous person. I will go out of my way to help people. I often times say yes over no. My heart is touched by those in need. But, am I practicing pure generosity as defined by joyful sharing of my abundance? What have I been given abundantly? What about you? Is it material, financial, time, talents? Do I consistently give generously of these things? Do you?

Eric said that at a large event over this past weekend he had a moment of clarity in conversation and observation. SPC hosted an event called Bobbapalooza where 1000 high school kids, 110 volunteers, and 26 bands joined together for a “battle of the bands” type experience. Eric was grateful for the people in the 90s that gave generously to build the educational wing of our church. 15 years later, 1100 people are enjoying their generosity. Then he asked, will we be thought of in that way? Are we doing our part to live generously in our days?

I bet we can all think of an instance such as that. I bet we can all agree we'd like to leave a legacy of generosity behind.

John Wesley, religious leader in the 1700s and founder of the Methodist church said, “Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.”

So...how can you live generously today…by joyful sharing your abundance?

To hear the full message click here and listen to Where it all starts.

Click to read Eric's blog.

The Power of a Praying Wife

Ten years and nine months since Bernie and I said "I Do," our marriage is more authentic and stronger than we could have ever imagined.  It's not thanks to anything we've done, it's all because God is present in our marriage.

Two days ago, I spoke at the South Park Church Women's Retreat.  I shared how, during one of my periods of depression, God grew Bernie into the spiritual leader of our home. Throughout the rest of this past weekend, numerous women came up to me asking for prayer and expressing the desire to have God work in their marriages in that way.

That decided my prayers for the next 30 days.  I decided to get this book and pray not only for my husband but for all of those ladies' husbands specifically as well as others I know in general.  NOTHING is too big for our God.  Want me to pray for your husband?  Click on this link:  Pray for my spouse too!

Consequently, South Park Church is also doing an entire series on Marriage.

To join me on this journey of prayer and reclaim God's plan for your marriage, join us at South Park Church each Sunday.  Click on the link below to get information on the current series:

Why Marriage Matters at South Park Church

And click on the following link to get your own copy of The Power of a Praying Wife (Husbands, there's a book written for you too!)
The Power of a Praying Wife

I sit back now inspired and encouraged to do the only thing I can -- PRAY and to watch God do what only He can -- change hearts and lives in amazing ways.

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.  

-Philippians 4:19 (NLT)