Finding and Following Your Call

January 4, 2013

Do you have a call? Are you sure you are following it?

Through different periods of my life, I’ve paused and asked God to let me know his calling for me. I’ve done many different things. I hope some of them were what God wanted. Listening is part of my daily routine.

So, it was either interesting or timely that I received a little brochure from an organization that I support financially called Lumunos. Sometime in the early 70s I ran across a little magazine titled after the organization that published it–Faith@Work. I never made it to one of their small group weekends, but the magazine was a source of nourishment for probably 30 years or more.

The organization has shrunk some. Finances forced the closing of the magazine. It still publishes a small version and has a blog. It’s worth checking out.

I searched the Website and didn’t find this brochure on it. So I’ll just give you some of the wisdom.

The Top Ten Reasons to Listen For and Follow Your Call

10. You will be less busy. (Following your call may mean saying no to many things that distract you from your call.)

9. You will have more energy. (From Isaiah 58:11, “The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.”

8. There will be less chance of burning out. (Henri Nouwen, “God does not want you go destroy yourself. Exhaustion, burnout, and depression are not signs that you are doing God’s will.”)

7. You will be more fun to be around. (As we do God’s will, we will have more joy.)

6. You will feel less stress. (Following call invites us to trust that we are not the ‘saviors’ of the world.)

5. You will be more creative. (When creativity is flowing, it is often a sign of call.)

4. You will be less fragmented. (Call is about the whole of our lives, and it brings the pieces together.)

3. You will have more good friends. (Common interests creates friendships.)

2. You will do less sleepwalking through life. (It requires that we pay attention to what is going on outside us and inside us.)

1. The world begins to look more the way God intends. (Frederick Buechner, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”)

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Doing Your One Thing This Year

January 2, 2013

What is the one thing that is most important to you this year that you must work on?

I haven’t done New Year’s Resolutions for many years. That sort of thing simply doesn’t work. It’s like every January my Yoga class swells to triple its normal size from all the people who set fitness as a resolution. By February, they’re gone. Same in the fitness center.

Nehemiah (a man and a book in the Old Testament) had a task set before him by God. It was to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. More than a hundred years earlier, the Babylonians had torn down the walls, looted and destroyed the Temple and carried away many of the people. He wanted to restore that.

When enemies tried to divert him, he replied, “”I am doing a great work, why should I come down?”

Andy Stanley has turned me on to the study of Nehemiah. Lots of interesting leadership teachings. In a recent talk, (here is a link to it in iTunes), he talked about our “one thing.”

What is your “one thing?” Is it a relationship that must be fixed? Or severed? Or a new habit you need to bring into your life? Or a new mission you’ve felt God calling you to? Or a destructive habit (drinking, smoking, anger) that needs to be replaced?

One Example

Sometimes the people of a nation get worked into a frenzy of war and hate. The Balkans had a period of that. But sometimes governments posture and provoke because of the personalities of the leaders, not necessarily because the people want it.

In the face of a pending war between Israel and Iran, a graphic artist did his “one thing” although he never thought it would be so big. In this TED Talk, Ronny Edry explains “Israel and Iran, A Love Story” and the results of posting a picture of a poster he created of himself and his daughter with a bold message: “Iranians … we [heart] you” on Facebook from people in Iran and eventually around the world.

What if the voice of all the people who want to live in peace were heard? Maybe that’s a big thing for this year.

Israel and Iran, A Love Story

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Stay In The Moment

December 27, 2012

As we bring spiritual practices into the pattern of our daily lives, we become ever more aware of the forces that intrude into our balance. Perhaps relationships with dysfunctional people. Perhaps worries about what we did yesterday or what may happen tomorrow.

Every ancient wisdom and religion I have studied up to and including modern social science has taught the importance of living only in the moment. T.S. Eliot said in Burnt Norton, “At the still point of the turning world is the dance. And there is only the dance.”

That brings me to one piece of practical advice that just happens to be supported by a scientific study as reported by Matt Killingsworth in this TED Talk on Happiness. He found that happy people tended to focus more on the present and bring their thoughts back from their wanderings.

Science “proves” ancient wisdom

For years scientists have uncovered the many benefits of meditation. Here’s on on remaining in the moment. I discovered this many years ago. My hair stylist at the time said that we were worriers due to our German heritage. Don’t know about the truth of that statement, but I know I got it from Mom (didn’t we all get our phobias from mom?).

Then I discovered techniques such as when I caught my mind wandering into all manner of weird thoughts and worries and fears of what tomorrow may bring, I would consciously bring it back to the present moment. If necessary, I would consciously choose to focus on something else–usually something much more pleasant. In that way, I could change my mood.

Our pastor in a recent talk mentioned three Laws that he uses. Trust me, they work.

Law of Attention: Become aware of what you are focusing on.

Law of Exchange: As you become aware that you are focusing on negativity, exchange that thought with a positive one.

Law of Reversibility: If I don’t like the way I’m thinking, I can work my way out of it.

We must first be aware of what we’re thinking. Don’t go through life reacting to every passing thought. That’s a definition of insanity. Become aware of yourself. Then you can change yourself.

 

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A Time of Reflection

December 26, 2012

Christmas is over. Feeling a sense of loss? Or “is that all it is?” Nothing has changed–or has it?

I’m with Jon Swanson who pondered that Joseph had a lot to think over. Mostly for him, it meant that the baby was born. Mary was sore and grumpy, yet motherly with the new infant. He now had responsibilities to bring the boy up in the faith.

This time between Christmas and New Year’s Day has always been a time of reflection for me. Look back over the past year. What new things have I learned? What should I do better? What new things should I work on during the coming year? Am I doing the important things? Are there new people for me to meet this year? What new things should I learn this year?

I no longer set New Year’s resolutions or goals. But I look at directions. Where I’ve been. Where I’m going. What is God calling me to do and be this year?

Stop, pause, reflect, refresh. Establish some new habits this year. Maybe set a new pattern for your life. But most of all, enjoy.

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Anticipation and Advent

December 24, 2012

Christmas Eve. Consumed by anticipation of what tomorrow will bring.

Remember when you were young? You were so focused on what presents you would get. It was all about you. It was hard to go to sleep.

The season is one of anticipation. By now you should notice the days getting slightly longer. This is the anticipation of spring and then summer–warmth and growth. And the food growing cycle. Some people don’t like celebrating Jesus’ birth on a day that pagan religions held holy. But just because other people like something, doesn’t me we can’t interpret it in the light of God’s working in history and celebrate it.

Even though some adults I know are still filled with that anticipation of a present under the tree, most of us are aware that we know what the present was. The “present” was a person. He showed the way to the Kingdom of God, and he was the Kingdom of God right there in the midst of the people of the time.

What is your anticipation for this new year? As the days grow longer and point toward a season of growth, what growth do you anticipate? Is it time for a new focus? A new mission? To reinvigorate your current mission? To meet new people? To renew old ties? To learn something new?

Advent is on our religious calendar to prod us to focus on the anticipation of Jesus entering into our lives fresh and new. We live in the anticipation that Jesus is not through working on us, yet. There is something new in store for us.

Today, we live in anticipation. Tomorrow, we celebrate.

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Gratitude for the Season

December 21, 2012

I’m grateful that I’m up this morning, that the newspaper was at the door, that other people are around (yes, my wife even got up an hour early today)–wasn’t the world supposed to come to an end today? Or as one cartoon put it, maybe it’s just the Mayans who came to an end.

It is the winter solstice and it came in with the first day of winter weather. But I like snow. So I’m grateful for even that.

I was going through some recent notes and saw one I made a month or so ago–entitlement is the enemy of gratitude. As I was contemplating that and Matthew Chapter 2 this morning staring at our Christmas tree, I thought of all the people who believe they are entitled to receiving lots of presents in a few days. How many are grateful for friends and family who give those gifts? Or grateful to live in a rich and free society that can provide for them?

The magi, called wise men in English translations, were trained in seeing signs in astronomical events. They saw one such event and figured out the meaning. They traveled most likely from Persia (note that they were not Jewish) to find a baby who would be king. When they found him, they gave gifts.

Matthew says they had great joy. Joy is the flip side of gratitude this season. Giving a gift is done out of the pure joy of giving. If it’s an obligation or given to ungrateful people, it is just a chore. But given with just the pure joy of giving, now that’s a Spiritual practice.

And receiving? Just receive with gratitude that someone was thinking about you and cared enough to give.

Jesus was (and still is) a gift. To us. Just accept the gift with gratitude. Then share the gift. That’s legal–in fact, expected. With joy. That’s really all you need.

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Signs of Spiritual Awakening

December 20, 2012

My good friend from Brazil linked me to this thought on her friend’s Facebook page. It was perfect to share here.

I’m not certain of the origin. The Facebook post refers to a book of the Grateful Dead–can’t believe it’s the rock group. Notice the wording. Nothing implies we are perfect in adopting these characteristics and some are more difficult to bring into your life than others. But it is true that ever since my first Spiritual awakening and more so with subsequent experiences, I notice these more and more often.

My Advent gift through my friend Teresinha:

12 Symptoms of Spiritual Awakening

  1. 1. An increased tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
  2. 2. Frequent attacks of smiling.
  3. Feelings of being connected with others and nature.
  4. Frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
  5. A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than from fears based on past experience.
  6. An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
  7. A loss of ability to worry.
  8. A loss of interest in conflict.
  9. A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
  10. A loss of interest in judging others.
  11. A loss of interest in judging self.
  12. Gaining the ability to love without expecting anything.

 

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Bread of Life

December 19, 2012

A small group I attend when I’m in town has been studying “The Journey: Walking the Road to Bethlehem” by Adam Hamilton. The book and accompanying video are an attempt to connect us with the locations where the events surrounding Jesus’ birth occurred.

Sometimes I think writers will stretch things a little to make a good story (there are times I suspect Paul did that, too). This is worth considering.

Hamilton considers the “manger” (one group member noted that if you read that word in French, it means “to eat”) where Jesus was placed as in a crib (don’t know if they had cribs back then). Anyway, take this tour of logic–manger, a place to eat; Bethlehem, literal meaning “house of bread”; Jesus said “I am the bread of life”; his next to last day, this bread represents my body. He tries to tie it all together.

Early Christians placed great importance on experiencing Jesus. He was in their midst when they met to sing, pray and study. It wasn’t until about 340 AD that the church decided that doctrine took precedence over experience. That is a struggle that we still face today among many Christian groups.

As for me, I place precedence with experience. Sometimes the experience of Jesus just breaks through the fog with shining light and clarity. Sometimes it’s a little bit at a time that comes through Spiritual practice–serving others, studying when a breakthrough occurs, worship when the songs and prayers penetrate your fog.

May Jesus be your Bread of Life.

We’re in the last week before we celebrate Jesus’ birth and his coming into the world and coming into our lives. This is a great time to hone those spiritual practices–be a servant to someone; meditate on the word; pray for God’s guidance; worship with praise and thanks.

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Faith in the Face of Chaos

December 18, 2012

This is another one of those posts that I’m not sure where it’s going when I start.

Of course, I’ve been thinking about the last massacre perpetrated by an unstable person with an automatic weapon and lots of ammunition. And then I saw a news item about a bunch of kids in Afghanistan caught in its ongoing civil war and blown up.

It’s a crazy world. But maybe always has been.

I find it interesting that the gun lovers rush to defend the principle of having guns. The Freudian in me says there must be some latent guilt in there somewhere.

They are partly correct–people do the killing. But guns makes it easier. It’s less personal than a knife. And a knife is slow. Bombs take a lot of planning.

But, I was thinking about a perpetrator of such acts. Psychologist talking heads rush out to the news programs to offer opinions without researching facts. Misinformation spreads everywhere. The wrong person was identified and his Facebook page was filled with hate messages.

That bothers me. The hate. I’m not trying for understanding. Too late for that. But to retaliate hate for hate does not seem like a response Jesus would teach.

Back to the psychologists. They say that there are usually signs of these problems long before the final act is done. Did someone see this breakdown coming and not act?

I know people with Problems. Depression. BiPolar disorder. Narcissism. What am I doing? Jesus said I should help those in need. Maybe there was a lost opportunity for someone to recognize the situation with that young man and bring Jesus into the situation.

Or, maybe evil and chaos exists in this world. But we still need to follow Jesus when he said to love the Lord and to love (that is do things for) others.

Just listening to Andy Stanley who said, “Perfect faith is what moves me to trust God in spite of the fact that life isn’t moving according to my plan.”

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Still Figuring Out Jesus

December 17, 2012

Who Was That Man?

I’ve been staring at Matthew 2 for the past few days in contemplation. For the past 2,000 years, those of us who enjoy contemplating such things, especially take this time of year to reflect on just who this Jesus is.

Matthew is more concerned than the other New Testament writers about tying Jesus’ life to the history of God working through the Jewish people. In two chapters, he ties a lot together.

He had started with heavenly signs and visions. Then he looked at some ancient writings and saw parallels (I believe that this is the sort of teaching Jesus did with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection). He has Jesus born in Bethlehem. Then fleeing to Egypt only to be called out of Egypt (sound familiar?) and growing up in Nazareth (so he could be called a Nazarene). So Jesus, in his life, mirrors the experience of the nation.

Abraham is amazing

I am still amazed about Abraham. How is it that he decided to follow the “One God” rather than all the tribal gods of his homeland? We have the stories all about his life, but nothing really about the beginning. With Moses (the next great prophet or leader), we have the story of the burning bush where he first met God. Changed his life and the life of the people.

With Jesus, the “prophet greater than I” that Moses predicted, we are presented with one born into life with God. Certainly Mary sang her songs to Jesus as a baby filling him with the vision of the purpose of his birth. Certainly Joseph was a fantastic parental model of a person living the with-God life.

Then you look at the history of the Jewish people as the people who were supposed to be a blessing to all mankind as the keepers of the faith of the one true God (we call it monotheism). But they kept falling away. Then wanted a king. God told them through Samuel that that was a mistake. But they asked. They had three kings. Then the empire crumbled. Actually there was a fourth, but shortly after his ascension after Solomon, the kingdom split. Eventually the two kingdoms were wiped out.

Yet, hundreds of years later, the people still wanted another one of those kings.

But with Jesus, God tried again. It was not about a nation. It was about individuals. Each individual needs to repent and change their lives.

We still need that repentance. We still have so many people, even in this “Christian nation” who have not felt the need. And some do terrible things. There is so much work to do to bring everyone into the life with-God.

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