Well-Watered Roots

I have been deep watering my trees over the past several weeks. The drought in our area (as in much of the U.S.) has me concerned for the health of my array of foliage. While we are cresting into fall and even anticipating some rain later today (for which I am very grateful), I could not help but think about how like my trees I am. Seasons of drought require rain. May I be planted by the waters.

 

Jeremiah 17:7-8

 

Amplified Bible (AMP)

[Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit.

 

Common English Bible (CEB)

Happy are those who trust in the Lord, who rely on the Lord. They will be like trees planted by the streams, whose roots reach down to the water. They won’t fear drought when it comes; their leaves will remain green. They won’t be stressed in the time of drought or fail to bear fruit.

 

Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Blessed be the person who trusts in Yahweh, and Yahweh is his trust. For he will be like a tree planted by water, and to the stream it sends its roots, and it will not fear when heat comes, and its leaves will be luxuriant, and in the year of drought it will not be anxious, and it will not cease from the bearing of fruit.

The Message (MSG)

But blessed is the man who trusts me, God, the woman who sticks with God. They’re like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers - never a worry through the hottest of summers,
never dropping a leaf, Serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season.

 

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; sut its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.

 

New International Version (NIV)

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

 

New Living Translation (NLT)

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

The Challenge of Habits

I've been thinking a lot about habits lately. After 30 years of a regular schedule -- early to rise, get ready for work, get Matthew off to school, commute, etc. -- I'm realizing that this change of life to consultant and part-time worker has really thrown me a curve. I even feel a little ADD, actually a lot ADD.

I get started on one thing then shift to the next, and some times, too many times, I discover at the end of the day that I've actually missed the important things.

This morning I was exchanging instant message chats on Facebook with a good friend who is also working on establishing some new habits. It made me aware all-of-the-sudden that this is in fact an issue for me as well. It went from the subliminal to the conscious. I'm thinking that actually I was the last one to figure this out.

One of my 2012 goals is crafting a Rule of Life after the fashion of St. Benedict. No doubt this is all part of that process, but this morning in reading (well actually, seriously catching up reading) my lenten devotional ("Simplifying the Soul" - do you see a pattern here?!) I came across this paragraph:

"Benedict devotes a large part of the Rule to developing a framework for daily worship. everything else...must give way to this essential monastic vocation....Obviously, it was okay to make some realistic adjustments to my own schedule of devotions. This was not meant to be an 'all or nothing' project. However, even the most minimal, daily practice required a basic change I'd been unwilling to make before: I needed to take a hard look at the length of my to-do list. If I were to incorporate at least one of the Hours into my daily round, then life had to give way in some measure to the Psalms."

So what does that have to do with all this? It challenged me to think about my time choices. It got me thinking about a framework to ensure that the big rocks were getting in the jar first; that the important and essential things in my life were taking priority over the non-essential; that think about and make sure I even know what the essential things are!

This is important stuff for me. More to follow.

(A couple books I'll be using in my ponderings - because there must always be books! -- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and Organize Your Mind Organize Your Life by  Paul Hammerness and Margaret Moore)

Reordering my Desires

The title of my latest read, Our Favorite Sins by Todd D. Hunter, may have you running for the delete button on your computer, but hang with me. This one is worth it.

There are several authors that I'll simply read whatever they write. Todd Hunter is one of those authors. I had the privelege of meeting him at a conference in Houston, Texas a few years ago and ever since I've been hooked. He's a thoughtful man, well-schooled in life...and a good writer.

I've read several books on sin - I know, I'm an odd bird. I believe this one is the best of the bunch. Todd lays out a roadmap on how temptation snares us and then plots the path out of the pit. His goal is that "after finishing (the book), you should be equipped to battle the temptations you face with a new, unique, and empowering perspective on sin, temptation, and desire."

Step one is understanding the battle: "Beating temptation requires struggle because it always involves sorting out rightly ordered desires for good and godly things from our disordered desires for wrong things. We often experience these disordered desires as our most powerful and deeply rooted desires." And understanding that, "Temptation does not produce desire. Desire makes temptation possible. To beat temptation, I need to reorder my desires."

The central theme of the book is about inner change the only vehicle to prevail over external issues of temptation and sin. "When it comes to spiritual growth, when it comes to reordering the hidden desires that leads us into temptation, we must turn inward to make an outward difference."

One of the interesting additions to this book is that Todd utilizes exclusive research by the Barna Group to illustrate and inform his book. Based on the Barna research, the top five self-reported temptations in America are: worry and anxiety; procrastination; over eating; overuse of electronics and social media; and laziness. The book is peppered with interesting findings such as that "the top reason 20 percent of Americans identify for falling into sin is to escape or get away from real life for a while." These temptations receive indepth attention in chapters devoted completely to each topic. Each chapter also concludes with "Ancient and Fruitful Practice." These are prayers and meditations often drawn from the Common Book of Prayer or Celtic Daily Prayer.

At the halfway point in the book, Todd switches to examining "seven modern and futile ways of thinking about and dealing with temptation:"

• Underestimating the power of desire
• "I'm different, so it won't happen to me"
• Believing that keeping it real is most valuable
• Failing to admit we are prone to wander
• Trying to drink from a dried-up well
• Forgetting that temptations oversell and underdeliver
• Not understanding that daily devotions can be futile too

And then the solutions: ancient and fruitful practices like solitude, silence, and seeking first the kingdom. The final chapters are devoted to explanations of the value of liturgical prayers and offices, sacraments and the lectionary as vehicles to drive inward spiritual growth.

I really enjoyed this book and heartily recommend it.

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This book was provided to me by Thomas Nelson in exchange for an unbiased review.

31 Days to a Fresh Start

It's February 1. I just wrote my monthly entry in my leather pen+paper journal. I guess there's something for me in the number 1. It's more about do-overs than about dominance. February 1...31 days have expired in 2012 and today I get a fresh start.

"Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning." Lamentations 3:23 (NLT)

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

I have three areas I need do-overs, fresh starts, a new thing:
1) Fitness. It's time to take my fitness seriously. I was actually pretty challenged by Gary Thomas' Every Body Matters. I'm 52 and it's time to stop pretending that it will get any easier. Today I have strapped on a pedometer (love this one!  http://tinyurl.com/6t98s6m) and have started recording my daily choices.  I have read via a variety of sources that keeping a food and fitness journal is a big indicator of success. So I picked this one up at King Soopers last week (http://tinyurl.com/7guouo9). 

In my "mega-Taylor-household-clean-up-and-out" I finally got our basement family room/execise gym in shape. We found the treadmill. Todd built the weights rack and plans to finish building the fitness bench. So in the words of "The Biggest Loser" -- no excuses!

• I need to eat more regularly - food can be a nusiance for me so I will skip meals and then become shaky and ravenous...and then eat whatever is closest and easiest. So February is about eatting three meals a day and two healthy snacks.
• I need to move more - February is about walking at least 8,000 steps a day; using my basement gym; taking Jake our beagle for walks; trying out the Zumba DVDs my mother-in-law gave me for my birthday in November; doing some kettlebell routines with Bob Harper (via DVD).

2) Organization. This has been a lifelong challenge. Growing up my mom was on me all the time to pick up my room. There's just so much always going on and organization has never been a strong suit. I'm a girl with piles. But that's just not working anymore. I need to make a new plan. Pick up daily; plan ahead for dinner (or as my husband knows only too well, there just might not be one); get a cleaning schedule in place and then do it; and commit to doing the most important stuff early in the day.

When you are driven and working 60+ hours a week, leading Bible studies, mentoring women, parenting a teenage and being a wife and housekeeper (I have never been particular good at the last role), the tempo of life seems to foster a natural organization. The part-time work schedule I now enjoy has also spawned a sluggishness that I'm tired of. Time to get moving and get productive and organized! And not in binges that leave me wiped out. Time to figure out how to do this daily and not in massive spurts.

3) Devotion. I've become random in my study of the Word. Time to focus on completing the study of David that I'm in the middle of (http://tinyurl.com/8xlk72z) and enjoy the silence and solitude of an empty home and expansive deck. Time to wrap up in a blanket, light my Abbey of Gethsemane candle and enjoy the presence of a loving heavenly Father whose mercies are new every morning.

The Elephant in the Room

I did not intend for this blog to be principally about books. But I guess my "thimbleful of time" of late has been to thoroughly enjoy being a reader. So strap on your reading glasses because I have another book to tell you about.

If I were to list some favorite authors Gary Thomas would surely make the list. I was given the opportunity from Zondervan to get an early copy of his latest book Every Body Matters and couldn't wait to dig in. I've thoroughly enjoyed his books on spirituality (Sacred Pathways is a book I often recommend), marriage (if you haven't read Sacred Marriage, it's a must for every married couple) and parenting (yes, it's titled Sacred Parenting).

I want to tell you that I really enjoyed this book as well, but that would not be a completely honest account. I needed this book; I needed what Gary had to say to me and to the church. Sometimes the truth hurts. Page two of the book let me know what I was in for: "Whether you're in your twenties, thirties, or forties -- or facing your fifties, sixties, seventies, or beyond -- one thing is certain: you're doing it in a body, a body that not only contains a soul but affects a soul as well. We are not angels, pursuing God without physical covering, and if we try and pretend that we are -- living as though the state of our bodies has no effect on the condition of our souls--all the proper doctrine in the world can't save us from eating away our sensitivity to God's presence or throwing away years of potential ministry if we wreck our heart's physical home." In Gary's own words, "This entire book is focused on becoming "holy, useful to the Master, and prepared to do any good work."

I agree with Gary that our bodies matter when it comes to our relationship with God. It's very easy for me to live my relationship with God in my head and my hands. I love to read and think and learn; and I love to teach and serve and be available to God for his purposes. But somewhere in between I've neglected training for endurance and strength and stamina. I do not want to be a winded, breathly, weak and feeble Christian. I realize that the 25 extra pounds I carry is a weight on my soul as well as on my feet and back.

This is not a weight loss book, but a book that calls you as a follower of Jesus to be strong and fit. It's also a book that addresses the impact of laziness in our lives. "Confronting spiritual laziness doesn't mean ignoring physical life to tend to spiritual concerns, however; on the contrary Drummond urges us to use physical life as a primary training ground for spiritual growth." He goes on to say, "We should be asking ourselves how we can become places of outreach that love, affirm, and build up the sick, the lonely, the recovering addicts, and the weak, while affirming the call to become strong, fit, and active servants."

Gary tells his own story of being convicted to take his physical health seriously. There was no health scare, just a realization of the spiritual implications fitness has on our spiritual life. He became a runner with a goal to run in the Boston marathon. He also tells the story of Kristin Armstrong, Lance Armstrong's ex-wife, and how running and fitness was a catalyst for surviving her divorce. Frankly, I now want to get back to running, even at 52. There was something very compelling and right about the exhortation to fitness in this book.  It is not about pounds but about strength. I want to be a strong believer; one who can sustain all manner of life.

A few excerpts so you can get a taste of Every Body Matters:

"Desiring a silver soul (Gary is speaking of refining) means we stop treating our bodies like ornaments and start treating our bodies like instruments,vessels set apart to serve the God who fashioned them...It is about having a silver soul, not about fitting into a certain size of jeans." (15/21)

"Two areas of dross that received attention in previous ages are widely ignored today: excessive eating (in all its forms) and laziness when it comes to caring for our bodies. In ancient times, these hurdles were called gluttony and sloth." (21)

"What if exercise and discipline in eating isn't as much about physical health as about honoring the God who made us?" (47)

"One of the great dangers of gluttony, in John's (John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent) view, was that "to be unfaithful in the small things is to be unfaithful in the great, and this is very hard to bring under control." He adds, "Many who keep a hard check on the stomach can more easily restrain the blathering tongue." (81)

"Francois Fenelon (18th century author) warns, "But the most dangerous thing is that the soul, by the neglect of little things, becomes accustomed to unfaithfulness." ... There is little doubt that today's church views gluttony as a relatively "little thing." Our silence on the subject is more than enough evidence to suggest this." (82)

"Instead of attacking our anger or lust head-on, John Climacus suggests going to war with gluttony: If, in your humility, you reduce the amount you eat, your passions will be correspondingly reduced. To have an insensitive heart is to be dulled in mind, and food in abundance dries up the well of tears." (84)

"So I go to war against gluttony and indulgence, not because I want God to love me more, but because God, who already loves me perfectly, warns me that gluttony and excess are my enemies -- regardless of how good they may sometimes feel. I go to war against gluttony, not to build a body that others admire, but to maintain a soul "prepared to do any good work" that God can use to bless others. I go to war against gluttony because those who have walked closely with God warn me that overeating dulls me to God's accepting presence, makes me more vulnerable to other sins, negatively affects my relationships with other people, and robs me of the joy rightfully mine as an adopted, deeply loved, and accepted child of God." (88/89)

"Getting fit is not about what I look like in a pair of jeans; instead, I really care about being strong and having endurance spiritually" (Kristin Armstrong). (152)

"All this talk about fitness, facing the pain of getting in shape, actively combating indulgence and laziness, is in many ways an appeal for the church to get tougher. We are soft. We often cave in at the slightest challenge. Men are lost to superficial sins; women are lost to superficial cares, and the work of the kingdom is neglected. If we don't get tougher, the work will never get done." (193)

"I don't believe that riding a bike for a hundred miles, swimming across a lake, running a marathon counts as "carrying our cross," but getting in shape can help us build souls willing to carry a cross." (195)

See you out on the trail, I'll be the one walking before I can run.

Invitation from God

The joy of a holiday for me is time. The house needs attention. The vacuum sits silent in the closet. Dust bunnies procreate at an alarming speed. But the freedom of unstructured time -- few emails to respond to, fewer calendar obligations, no homework to manage; just dinner to get on the table. Instead I have watched football and movies, talked with my husband, caught glimpses of my teenage son, pondered, but mostly I've read. 

There are times when a book is so good and meaningful that it takes me months, not days, to finish. I'll read a chapter and stop to savor it before going on. That has been my experience with Invitations from God - Accepting God's Offer to Rest, Weep, Forgive, Wait, Remember and More by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun.  It's been my companion since probably about the time I lost my job back in August, and yesterday I finally read the last word. It's been stuffed in my purse or briefcase or suitcase for the past four months. 

"What invitations are shaping your world? ... God's invitations are meant to mend, shape, anchor and grow us into the character of Jesus. They call us into our true selves in Christ. They free us from the lie that says, "The more invitations the better." Invitations from the Holy One serve God's dream for the world. They don't call me to become what I produce, what others think of me or what I know. They invite me to be free. And freedom comes from being an intentional follower of Jesus -- one what is a little Christ in this world."

Each chapter is an invitation, eleven invitations in all:

• to Participate in Your Own Healing
• to Follow
• to Practice the Presence of People
• to Rest
• to Weep
• to Admit I might be Wrong
• to Forgive
• to Wait
• to Pray
• to Remember
• to the Most Excellent Way

And within each "invitation" chapter is a marvelous grid (very Adele-like if you've read her other book Spiritual Disciplines Handbook) that outlines steps for responding/following that particular invitation.  She starts by defining the invitation, associates a scripture reference, then outlines the roadblocks to following, lists things you should be aware of as you follow, and then practices to do.

Here are some favorite quotes to savor. 

From Chapter 2, Invitation to Follow:
"God's servants are the biblical heroes. They are the men and women who, in the crunch of life, laid down their own plans, gave up their own agendas and let go of their own power. They disentangled their identity from their own version of success and became followers."

"Following Jesus means caring about more than me and my family. It means identifying with God's broken heart over poverty and his holy anger at injustices in our world. It means following his lead on who and what matters."

"In God's economy, nobody is known for what they have; we are all known for what we have given away. We are known for how we followed Jesus--down--to the point of giving our lives for others."

From Chapter 4, Invitation to Rest:
"Rest is a transcendent anchor in the midst of doing."

"God invites and even commands us to trust him to manage the world for twenty-four hours each week without our labor. Sabbath is the day that reminds us who we are."

"Sabbath keeps us from drifting away. It is evidence to us and the world that we are not slaves to our to-do lists."

From Chapter 6, Invitation to Admit I Might be Wrong:
"The type of humility that admits you are wrong when you know you are wrong is confession. The humility that admits you might be wrong when you're pretty sure you're right is maturity. Without both types of humilty, we become rigid and unteachable. Without both types of humility, relationships flounder and implode."

From Chapter 8, Invitation to Waiting:
"Doing something feels so much better that doing "nothing." But waiting is not doing "nothing." And waiting is often better than doing "something.""

"Expectant waiting requires openness to something good happening beyond out expectations. Expectations are what get us into trouble while we wait. We expect God to do things a certain way: our way. We have expectations about timing: our timing. Expectations bind our happiness to one particular end. I get this job. My house sells. Unmet expectations are resentments and disappointments waiting to happen. The difference between waiting for our expectations to happen and waiting expectantly for this moment to unfold is huge. Being present to what is: this is what matters. What is happening here and now is important. What goes on while I wait may become the foundation for some new undreamed-of and unexpected future."

"Waiting is God's crucible for transformation. Waiting is how God gets at the idols of our heart. Waiting addresses the things we need besides God to be content: money, comfort, expedience, success or control."

"God's goodness anchors my waiting. It's not a matter of if God's goodness will come through; it's only a matter of when."

This is a book already marked throughout by pencil (I rarely read a book with out one!). It is also one that has marked by life and was worth reading slowly and deliberately.