Jesus Calling

Somewhere around six weeks ago I attended a leadership retreat with Sara. The presenters at that retreat gave each couple who participated a devotional book entitled "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young. The book is designed to share a few thoughts each day as if they were the spoken words of Jesus to me and you. Occasionally I plan to share an entry from this book and reflect on the message God has for my life as I listen for and rest in the words that reveal the heartbeat of Christ...

Rest In My Radiant Presence. The world around you seems to spin faster and faster, till everything is a blur. Yet there is a cushion of calm at the center of your life, where you live in union with Me. Return to this soothing Center as often as you can, for this is where you are energized: filled with My Love, Joy, and Peace.

The world is a needy place; do not go there for sustenance. Instead, come to Me; learn to depend on Me alone, and your weakness will become saturated with My Power. When you find your completeness in Me, you can help other people without using them to meet your own needs. Live in the Light of My Presence, and your light will shine brightly into the lives of others.

I think it is easy to agree that the world around us spins faster and faster. When we live in the midst of that spinning it doesn't take long to find ourselves dizzy from the experience. We search for a way to regain our balance, to reestablish equilibrium. But often the hard part is finding our way to the "cushion of calm" at the center. I wonder though if it is difficult because more often than not I try to go to the world for sustenance--for rest, for relaxation, for peace. What would it be like if I learned to depend more on God and less on myself, less on others, less on the comforts of the world? I desire in my heart to have the power and presence of God "saturate" my life...but what does the order and direction of my life communicate about that desire?

God, help me to see I am complete in you. May I slow down long enough to find you at the center of a fast-paced, me-first, spinning kind of world and may my light shine bright enough for others to see as they too travel through the world's dizzying fog...

Yoga-ing Break for Education's Sake

The only Yoga I knew growing up in school was the furry friend of BooBoo, who enjoyed swiping "pic-i-nic baskets" and "terrorizing" park rangers. But today is a new day and apparently there is a push for some in the school system in other parts of the country to begin to incorporate yoga into the class schedule. The reasoning? Student's lives are so busy that a daily dose of yoga could do wonders to help students better cope with the stresses of their hectic lifestyles. The hope is that this meditative outlet will not only foster greater learning opportunities because students can be more rested and focused, but that it will also help students become more balanced and disciplined people along the way.

Now, Yoga may be a helpful tool to combat the extreme busyness that plagues both young people and their families, I don't know. I'm not trying to say that yoga is a bad thing here. But what strikes me as ironic about this whole conversation is that our society is so caught up in the routine of busy lifestyles, that even when we talk about ways to address feeling overwhelmed and fatigued we don't talk about removing activities from our lives but adding one more thing to help us deal with it all! Are you kidding me? I'm afraid that as a people we are fooling ourselves into thinking we can control this "runaway freight train" lifestyle which says the more you can fit in to a day, a week, a month...the more productive or successful you are. I think it's a false truth...one that ultimately will lead us to crash and burn in a pile of physically and emotionally exhausted rubble.

What's more is that I'm not sure we as Christians do a great job of dispelling the lie either. Our lives are just as full, our schedules just as busy as those around us. The irony for us is that even though we read and know the words of Jesus we fail to believe them, let alone live by them...

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)

Life can already get pretty hectic for me and I don't even have kids yet. I don't know how that variable will add to the busyness equation for me one day. But it seems like this is one area that must make us distinguishable from the world. Even the life of God was lived out in the appropriate ebb and flow between work and rest. We have good news to offer people...it's a real possibility for our lives to dwell in the rhythm of God's rest!

Yet somehow I don't think yoga is exactly what God had in mind...