Read this today in Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest":
We are all capable of being spiritual sluggards; we do not want to mix with the rough and tumble of life as it is, our one object is to secure retirement...To live a remote, retired, secluded life is the antipodes of spirituality as Jesus Christ taught it.
The test of our spirituality is when we come up against injustice and meanness and ingratitude and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritual sluggards. We want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of retirement. We utilize God for the sake of getting peace and joy, that is, we do not want to realize Jesus Christ, but only our enjoyment of Him...
This is so timely and convicting for me! I am learning more and more how important "community" is, how we need to continually reach out and take risks and fight the urge to live a "safe", comfortable life, avoiding the "rough and tumble" as Chambers put it. (What might this mean for me today? I'm going to stop procrastinating and finally make a phone call about volunteering, as well as attempt to set up our 2:42 dinner group).
My prayer is that God will use me and stir my heart to action for Jesus and the world that He loves.
(And of course Erika I always think of you now when I read this book!)
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I'm a Catholic mama to eight kids ages 9 and under, and wife to one great guy. I'm a lover of Jesus, great books, ethnic food, and thrifting. I am pro-life and pro-adoption. Loving Denver. Missing California. Most days are a whirlwind of babies and sweeping and joy in the little things. In spite of good intentions, I am rarely anywhere on time. Here you can follow my journey to just show up and be present in each and every crumb-filled moment.
Brianna Heldt
I'm a Catholic mama to eight kids ages 9 and under, and wife to one great guy. I'm a lover of Jesus, great books, ethnic food, and thrifting. I am pro-life and pro-adoption. Loving Denver. Missing California. Most days are a whirlwind of babies and sweeping and joy in the little things. In spite of good intentions, I am rarely anywhere on time. Here you can follow my journey to just show up and be present in each and every crumb-filled moment.
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6 comments:
Funny, I started reading this post and thought.. good, today I am lazy and skipped over my time with God to read everyone's blogs (exactly what Tim encouraged us this Sunday NOT to do) but now I can read my daily reading by default :) You continue to be an encouragement to me to stay focused on God. I think it's the whole "just showing up" philosophy. Bet you didn't know that you do that for me.. but I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one :)
Rock Harbor called life groups 2:42 groups!
This reminded me of last Saturday. I went to a friend's 30th birthday party with the girls, but without Mike. He had to work! The party consisted of a group of people who attend a different church than I do and a group of people who are architects and work with my firend. The only friendly people were the non-Christians. Go figure. They were the only people who introduced themeselves to me. I did talk to the church clique too, but I'm pretty sure I initiated it, or it was because they may have had a child Aubrey's age. I left feeling frustrated with Christians (myself included), shouldn't we be lights in the world and befriend the friendless? I hope I am not seen this way in group settings!
I've been linked to you through the Ethiopian adoptive community. As a young mom who is struggling against my personal brand of comfortable Christianity, I'm really encouraged by your example and inspired by some of the reading you're doing.
Thanks for making yourself vulnerable so we can learn from you!
Vali Jerome
I love that devotional- read it for years and just recently picked it back up. I actually wrote my last post on him:) Good stuff!
Did you see Lisa and Will Samson's new book Justice in the Burbs??? Looks really good. Along the same lines you're talking about.
Charlene Ruff
Yes, oh my goodness is that a good book. My mother-in-law has recently (again) encouraged me to start reading it. And I have... off and on. Thank you for the reminder!!
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