Are You Ready to Make the Choice?

Hebrews 4:12-13

New International Version (NIV)
12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Just like the word of God is alive and working in our lives today, so is sin. Just like the word can penetrate deep into our souls and our very being, so can sin. Just like God can see the good in our hearts, He also sees the sin.

The choice then becomes ours - do we want to try and live in denial about our habits and addictions - OR, do we uncover it and lay it before God. We have to decide what type of lives we want to live. Either way, the choice will have a profound affect upon us. If we choose to live for God, our actions will begin to reflect the good in our lives and all that we have to offer. If we choose to hide in shame, ultimately it will destroy us.

Either way, we are accountable for our actions and God already knows. So doesn't it make sense to stop the make believe and give it up? The Bible, programs such as Celebrate Recovery or a traditional 12 step program, friends, family, counselors, accountability partners, sponsors - these are all tools or people to help us turn away from deadly issues in our lives. Are you ready to make that choice. He already knows all about your life.

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Running the Race With Too Much Garbage

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1

Hmm..what are those things that hinder and entangle us? For those with an addiction, hurt, hang-up etc, at first glance it's a quick easy answer, right? I mean it's alcohol, or drugs, or pornography, or over-eating or spending too much or always having to be right.

Sure, those things do hinder us. But, they are not the true reason. There is a reason we do these things. There is a reason we pick up the bottle at 8 in the morning while the kids are getting ready for school. There is a reason we shoot up in the middle of the work day. There is a reason we allow ourselves to be used by people over and over again.

I can't pretend to know what your issue is because it's your's to figure out. One of the best things I ever did was to take "inventory" in my life and truly figure out why I do the things I do. It is one of the steps in a traditional 12 step or Celebrate Recovery program - but you don't have to be part of a program to do this. It takes time to reflect and think about all aspects of our lives...and decide what changes we need to make. Dig deep and figure out the root causes of our addictions.

I like to race and am a competitive person. And I learned that I need to make healthy choices in order to fuel my body. But I also learned that I can't carry extra food, water and supplies - they will weigh me down. And so just as I learned how to shed this "extra" stuff to be able to race effectively we must do the same in our lives - to be healthy beings not hindered down by our addictions.

Have you shed anything lately that is hindering you?  Perhaps it's time.

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We All Have a Family Past

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

¹ I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.

Psalm 40:1-3

Each and everyone of us has a past. Sounds silly..but take time to let that sink in. I have parents who made choices, but those choices were framed by how they were raised. You were once a child and your past was shaped by those who raised you. And my parents decisions on how to deal with life was a blending of the past of each of their parent's lives. And then just keep thinking back generations upon generations. It seems like our pasts are an alphabet soup of just trying to survive in this broken world.

Each of use has hardships we had to endure.  And how we react is usually an extension of what we were taught.  And I don't mean that if you have an alcohol addiction that your parents were also suffering from an addiction, even though the probability is pretty high. But, as someone suffering from an addiction, you might have been taught the right skills to cope in life.

If our parents did not have the skills to cope with life in a healthy way, then that is what we learned and what became the fabric of how our family dealt with life. How that manifested itself in your life might be different but we learn what is shown to us.

In the Bible it was promised that sin will carry on to our generations by seven. When I was a child I thought like a child and didn't understand how my actions would be felt down seven generations. But, now as an adult (and as a parent) I can see the full meaning of that. What I teach my kids by my actions is what they will learn. Will they learn how to deal with relationships and problems in a healthy way to will they turn to the bottle, or pornography, or drugs, etc ???

BUT, in today's verse we learn that that "He has given me a new song to sing."  AND so we need to embrace aspects of our heritage while rejecting the parts that were not so healthy.  And sing - sing it loud and clear.  Sing the new song that God has given to us.  Put your trust in the Lord.

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The Sin of Multitasking

Ecclesiastes 4:6 - Better [is] an handful [with] quietness, than both the hands full [with] travail and vexation of spirit.

“The Sin of Multitasking - wait that’s a sin?

I thought if I could multitask then it would help me and my family and my business and my relationships with friends and family and my charities I work with and my Bible Studies and my working out and my volunteering in the kids school and my CoDependency journey and ….oh GOOD GRIEF!!

Ok, I think I get what the author was saying. She wrote “if multitasking keeps me from arriving at the best conclusion or investing my best energy in those people and projects that really matter, then my state of constant hum is no longer a positive but a negative. For this reason, I no longer consider this skill and state of mind an attribute, but a character flaw. Actually, I’m beginning to think that my multitasking might even be sinful”.

I really did have to think about this for a while before I got her point. And honestly I see it. I’m really just a body rather than being that asset because I’m overcommitted. I want to be an invested mother and wife and friend. Yup, this makes sense to me..ESP when I think about how being overcommitted and juggling my schedule makes me feel..not so great.

"I’m afraid we often confuse being busy with being fulfilled; we have placed more value on doing more than doing with excellence; and we have aligned our days with being productive rather than living with purpose."

Overcoming CoDependency really has opened my eyes to this. I now have to assess everything I do to see if it aligns with my recovery journey. Sometimes I even have to ask another to help me see if what I’m doing makes sense. And I rather do feel loved that someone can help me sort through my life.

I think that taking each “thing” I want to commit to and evaluate my intentions helps me understand how it fits into my overall life and purpose and in the end whether I should actually undertake something else. Yes, for some things it’s a no brainer - stuff just has to be done because its part of life, but the extra “commitments” must no align with my desires and talents and interests in order to even be considered. Then, I evaluate if I feel it’s part of God’s desire for my life.

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