10.1 Serving the Lord

 At what point of your life did you first feel the joy of serving God? 

Growing up as a preachers child I have served the Lord in many ways. The first time that I served the Lord and it impacted me most was when I went on my first mission trip. It my senior year of high school and I was asked if I would like to go to Honduras for a two week mission trip that summer after graduation. I of course said yes, but it was initially for the wrong reasons. I was excited to help people but I was more excited about traveling to another country, riding in a plane for the first time, and in general the experience. 

When I got there, the Lord changed my whole perspective and my whole life. He called me to missions. I felt immense joy being there in ministry on mission. About a year later I ended up going to Thailand on a 2 month mission trip, that turned into me serving in Thailand for 5 years. I remember the joy I felt in those first seasons, I was so on fire for the Lord and this mission. I still am but in a different context. 

This past week, I chose to do an activity from the Devotional Classic's text where I wrote everything I do in two categories: "have to do" and "want to do." I quickly realized that I am doing a lot and I need to adjust my schedule. I also realized how many items in the "have to do" list could be delegated to others in my life. Additionally, this activity made me aware of how most of my ministry items were "want to's" and my additional tasks were "have too's." I was, honestly, pleasantly surprised by this. This activity allowed me to see that I do not have to be doing as much as I am and that I need to give up some of that control and allow others in my life to help. I would suggest that if you are struggling with feeling as though you are spread thin, do this activity and adjust your schedule. 

Reference 

Foster, Richard J., and Smith. James B. 2005. Devotional Classics. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Spending Time with Our Father

 Putting Time with God into Practice:

This week I decided to practice three different exercises from the Devotional Classics text. Henri Nouwen suggested to:

1.      Spend time with God in solitude by actively listening and pushing aside distractions.

2.      Turn distractions into prayers.

3.      Schedule daily time with God.

After seeing these 3 exercises I knew that it was something that I need to even further commit to doing. Every day I scheduled time with God in the mornings during Breakfast and before I went to bed at night. I spent time with him in solitude in the mornings. I wake up make breakfast and get some coffee and go out to my table on the front porch. I start by listening to worship music while I eat my breakfast. During this time I also ask God to help me to stay focused on him. After worship and eating breakfast I began my time of devotion and then prayer. I then invited God to tell me or show me anything that he wanted to. On the days that I was more distracted I would begin to pray that I would not be distracted and would pray for whatever was distracting me. These practices really helped me feel closer to God, and added to a deeper time with the father.

 

Current Things Preventing me from Listening to the Voice of God:

    We all have areas of our life that needs improvement, and typically those areas are the very reasons we are be held from our full relationship with the father. Personally, I struggle with anxiety that at times turns into depression if I do not manage it appropriately. This is something that has held me captive, especially in the past, but still at times does. During my morning times of devotion I tell our Father that “I give you my control, worries, and fears today and everyday.” I recently started doing this after feeling convicted by my desire to control my life. Giving this up to the Lord daily has helped me tremendously, I am definitely struggling less, Praise be to God! I am able to connect with him easier and hear him more clearly when my thoughts are not preoccupied with anxiety.