Does anyone else feel overwhelmed with the job of reporting on every second of your life or is it just me? I’ve got FaceBooks, MySpaces, LinkendIns, Twitters and Blogs – not just one, but multiple accounts for most of them – personal, DCM and work. I tweet. I blog. I post. I can’t keep up with all the telling of all the things I’m supposed to be telling or reading about all the people I’m “connected to” on all the places we are connected.
I’ve got calls to make, thank you notes to write, introductory letters, you name it – if it is a way of communicating, I owe someone a reply using that method. If I could, I would hire a full time assistant to take care of keeping the world at large informed of my every thought, deed or feeling.
With all the communication media needing to be feed – and often – is it any wonder I feel like yelling “leave me alone!”? Sometimes I feel like if I don’t get unplugged I’m going to come unhinged!
There is no doubt in my mind that we (meaning Americans in general) are over connected to non-living things – our Blackberries, cell phones, computers and various social networking accounts. In the publishing industry discussing how to use social networking to gain business is the hot topic.
As Christians, we’d all do well to remember that there is only one source of power we really need. That source is God. He gives us the Holy Spirit. It is our direct cord to His power.
Jesus set an example of “unplugging” from the business of day-to-day life on the earth – and remember, He was in the business of spreading the Gospel – to plug into the source of all life, hope, power – well, the source of everything important – the Father – and to be refreshed and renewed.
Can any of us expect to have a quality Christian life on less that? So, today, I encourage you to unplug from everything that has a battery or electric cord and plug into our true source of power – God. Charge up on the Holy Spirit. The rest of the day will go much better.
I think I’m going to go now and take my own advice. Now, if I can just get Wes to stay of HIS laptop too….
Love, Nancy
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
PROXIMITY PART TWO
I love hugs from little kids. They hug with total abandon, squeeze as tight at they can and have no hang ups about what is or is not a respectable length of time to hold on. Much better than the kind of side-ways hook or butt out hugs we are forced to do as adults for the sake of propriety.
Ever pull back from a one of those little kid hugs only to realize that the remainder of the banana they’d been eating was now matted into the back of your hair? I have often regretted not checking those chubby little hands before letting them around my neck.
Last week we discussed the benefits of proximity to God. Now let’s tackle the benefits of proximity to other Christians and to the non-believers you hope to help. The saying goes that people don’t care what you know until they know that you care. It is an overused saying, but no less true for the ware. In order to facilitate any real change, you have to get close.
You can give money anonymously to a person or a cause, but the real work of a Christian is often down and dirty, personal and close. You may pray with a perfect stranger in a time of crisis in their life, but unless you really know someone, you aren’t going to know the situation well enough to give a prayer of real intervention and understanding. You won’t know that they are glossing over the pain or putting up a strong front when they are about to crumble. You won’t know if they are lying to themselves or you about the real truth of their needs. People sometimes need you to pray with them over things difficult to reveal – like a drug problem, an addiction to pornography, or marital difficulties. You need to be close and create a bridge of trust to get to that point.
I used to have a repairman that I trusted so much that I’d just call, tell him what was wrong and leave my door unlocked as I headed to work. I’d come home to find the item fixed and a few days later, he’d try to catch me at home to give me a bill. There was trust there. I trusted him not to steal my TV. He trusted me not to stiff him on the bill.
Apparently, he’d long ago given up deodorant – maybe even given up soap. I always knew when he was in my home, because hours later when I returned the smell of years of accumulated sweat, grime and garlic-infused meals hung in the air like the dust around Charlie Brown’s friend, Pig Pen.
Sometimes people smell bad. Sometimes they leave unpleasant things behind for us to deal with after they are gone. There is risk in getting close to people. But if we allow fear of these things to keep us from ever getting close to anyone again, how will we be able to really help, really encourage change, really grow with them, really show them God’s love?
God expects us to risk closeness to others for the sake of reflecting His light into their lives.
Getting close has probably caused you harm, pain, or trouble. Don’t give up. In the end, one saved brother is worth thousands of smashed bananas in your hair.
Love, Nancy
Ever pull back from a one of those little kid hugs only to realize that the remainder of the banana they’d been eating was now matted into the back of your hair? I have often regretted not checking those chubby little hands before letting them around my neck.
Last week we discussed the benefits of proximity to God. Now let’s tackle the benefits of proximity to other Christians and to the non-believers you hope to help. The saying goes that people don’t care what you know until they know that you care. It is an overused saying, but no less true for the ware. In order to facilitate any real change, you have to get close.
You can give money anonymously to a person or a cause, but the real work of a Christian is often down and dirty, personal and close. You may pray with a perfect stranger in a time of crisis in their life, but unless you really know someone, you aren’t going to know the situation well enough to give a prayer of real intervention and understanding. You won’t know that they are glossing over the pain or putting up a strong front when they are about to crumble. You won’t know if they are lying to themselves or you about the real truth of their needs. People sometimes need you to pray with them over things difficult to reveal – like a drug problem, an addiction to pornography, or marital difficulties. You need to be close and create a bridge of trust to get to that point.
I used to have a repairman that I trusted so much that I’d just call, tell him what was wrong and leave my door unlocked as I headed to work. I’d come home to find the item fixed and a few days later, he’d try to catch me at home to give me a bill. There was trust there. I trusted him not to steal my TV. He trusted me not to stiff him on the bill.
Apparently, he’d long ago given up deodorant – maybe even given up soap. I always knew when he was in my home, because hours later when I returned the smell of years of accumulated sweat, grime and garlic-infused meals hung in the air like the dust around Charlie Brown’s friend, Pig Pen.
Sometimes people smell bad. Sometimes they leave unpleasant things behind for us to deal with after they are gone. There is risk in getting close to people. But if we allow fear of these things to keep us from ever getting close to anyone again, how will we be able to really help, really encourage change, really grow with them, really show them God’s love?
God expects us to risk closeness to others for the sake of reflecting His light into their lives.
Getting close has probably caused you harm, pain, or trouble. Don’t give up. In the end, one saved brother is worth thousands of smashed bananas in your hair.
Love, Nancy
Sunday, April 12, 2009
THE BENEFITS OF PROXIMITY, Part One
The other day I was running errands for work – preparing for a visit from a potential client. I’m the sales person for this company, so everything about the visit of a potential client is my domain. I was waiting for 200 color copies to be run at Kinko’s and needed to pick up some items from a craft store. I planned to stop at a store I’d been to before on my way home; but, conveniently, there was one in the same shopping center as Kinko’s. The other craft store lost my business because there was one closer to Kinko’s. There was no other reason to shop at Store B instead of Store A. Both stores had what I needed. It all boiled down to proximity.
In the world of real estate the saying goes that there are three things to remember when buying – location, location, location. I take that to mean that the “where” of a place is as important as the place itself. Makes sense. For a business, the value of the business and its ability to thrive depend on where it is in relation to other thriving businesses.
So, what does this have to do with Christianity? Simply this: your value as a Christian and especially as a Christian leader is in your proximity to God. Your usefulness is directly related to your proximity to other Christians. I’ll address the first part this week and the second part next week.
God loves you. You are His child. As such, His love is unchangeable. That part of your value is unchangeable. I’m not talking about that. I’m speaking of the value you bring back to God. Does having you in His service bring God a two-fold, five-fold, ten-fold return? Or nothing at all?
God wants a return on His investment. He knows what talents He gave you. He also knows that He can’t use you unless you are close to Him. It boils down to proximity.
From the shadow of His wings, you are protected from the bumps and bruises that fighting the good fight brings. Fresh from conversation with Him, you can work smarter and not just harder in the daily fight to grow. Within the confines of His armor, Satan can’t get an arrow in edge-wise.
During this, the Passover season, while we remove the leaven of sin from our lives, and eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, lets commit ourselves to staying close the to the Father in the year ahead. Let’s commit to a new year of closer proximity to Him – a closer walk each day – so that we can be used in His service.
Living a daily life nearer to the Father, the Spirit can flow freely from us and we can bring Him fruit – 20 fold, 60 fold or 100 fold. It all boils down to proximity.
Love, Nancy
In the world of real estate the saying goes that there are three things to remember when buying – location, location, location. I take that to mean that the “where” of a place is as important as the place itself. Makes sense. For a business, the value of the business and its ability to thrive depend on where it is in relation to other thriving businesses.
So, what does this have to do with Christianity? Simply this: your value as a Christian and especially as a Christian leader is in your proximity to God. Your usefulness is directly related to your proximity to other Christians. I’ll address the first part this week and the second part next week.
God loves you. You are His child. As such, His love is unchangeable. That part of your value is unchangeable. I’m not talking about that. I’m speaking of the value you bring back to God. Does having you in His service bring God a two-fold, five-fold, ten-fold return? Or nothing at all?
God wants a return on His investment. He knows what talents He gave you. He also knows that He can’t use you unless you are close to Him. It boils down to proximity.
From the shadow of His wings, you are protected from the bumps and bruises that fighting the good fight brings. Fresh from conversation with Him, you can work smarter and not just harder in the daily fight to grow. Within the confines of His armor, Satan can’t get an arrow in edge-wise.
During this, the Passover season, while we remove the leaven of sin from our lives, and eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, lets commit ourselves to staying close the to the Father in the year ahead. Let’s commit to a new year of closer proximity to Him – a closer walk each day – so that we can be used in His service.
Living a daily life nearer to the Father, the Spirit can flow freely from us and we can bring Him fruit – 20 fold, 60 fold or 100 fold. It all boils down to proximity.
Love, Nancy
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