Blessings and Boundaries

This weekend was just fantastic! I got to spend all afternoon yesterday with my Mighty Man and his family celebrating the church dedication of his 13-week-old niece. What a precious gem she is (and a true miracle--just ask her folks)! I think I'm more enamored of her every time I see her. :) (*sigh*) Bliss. :)

After the fabulous post-church party with the family and friends yesterday, I headed back home in time to read the Sunday paper. The cover story in Parade magazine was very interesting, and it inspired today's blog. It talked about how, as Americans, we've practically let our weekends become more exhausting than our weekdays. We fill them with activities, chores, errands, trips, sports--you name it! When, back in the day, it used to be a time of refreshment--time for enjoying fellowship, rest and relaxation like I got to experience yesterday.

It's so funny. One of the TV shows my Mighty Man watched as a kid was Andy Griffith. And he's totally turned me onto it. haha! I watched my first two episodes this weekend on tvland.com, and I'm totally hooked! :) What an incredibly simple and marvelous lifestyle! It totally makes you long for the "good ol' days," even if you weren't alive to live them. :) Am I the only one who wants to just jump in a time machine, grab a fishin' pole and follow Andy and Opie down to the creek? Like the Rascal Flatts song says, "I miss Mayberry." :)

So, here's the deal. We can't go back in time, and we can't undo years and years of technological advancement. We can't escape the number of options we have regarding what to do with our time. What we CAN do, however, is stop letting our calendars dictate our lives. I know it's a little touchy, but I think one of the most important books that's been published in the last decade is the book Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend. (If you have issues with it, that's totally okay. I respect that and will agree to disagree with you.) The subhead of the book talks about knowing when to say yes and when to say no, and I believe it's a great skill that we all should develop.

No matter how super-human we think we are, saying yes to everything will leave us strung out and miserable. And I fully believe that, as Christians, that plays right into the hands of the enemy. He totally wants us to be exhausted, frustrated, burned out, and all-around useless for the Kingdom of God. He knows that we will be highly destructive to his plans if we are operating at full strength, and he will do everything he can to keep us from feeling up to carrying out God's calling on our lives.

Think about it. No matter how much you love your family and friends; no matter how great of a job you have; no matter how much you love your church, do you really want to participate in activities surrounding any of them when you're tired and busy? Nope. Who can? I fully admit it: I have an amazing job with FCA, but when I'm exhausted, I don't recognize it. I find myself going in and out the door out of obligation instead of a genuine desire to serve God. And that's not fair to Him, to me or to anyone around me. It's not fair to the magazine readers and FCA volunteers and staff, either. My lack of boundaries can affect so many others, even if I don't realize it! That's why it's so important to maintain a balanced and healthy schedule!

So, here's the bottom line: We all have to start making better choices with our time. We have to learn when to say no, when to say yes and how to make wise decisions. It's the only way to truly carry out the calling God has given us and to do so with the joy and peace He offers. Anything else will just lead to our going through the motions and being miserable.

I'm preaching to the choir today, for sure. I do feel rested after this past weekend, so I'm actually sharing this message out of a tiny success story. But I think that victory is what has heightened my awareness to my previous/lifelong struggles in this area. I want to start honoring God with my time more and with my energy level. I want to live with passion for the tasks He's given me. I want to enjoy life and embrace the abundance of a life in Him!

Care to join me? :) Let's lock arms and do it together!

Have a great week, everyone! :) Big hugs!!
-Jill

All you have to do is want it!

Okay, I have a confession to make. I've been slightly uninspired lately and I think my last two blog posts have been a little forced. I've been blogging just for the sake of blogging. They've been great messages that I believe in, but I haven't put a lot of thought or creativity into them, which has probably made them less-than-exciting to read. My apologies!

This morning, however, I'm feeling jazzed up. Which is great! Especially on a Monday. Sometimes those are the most challenging days, but today I just knew it was going to be a good day when my head sprang off the pillow at the sound of the alarm. It was weird, but awesome! Like, literally, my I just sat up like I'd been awake the whole time. I was instantly ready to do without any drowsy feelings at all. Totally surreal. haha! You can imagine how great that made the run this morning. SUPER awesome. I even was able to do some up-tempo work without the aid of my iPod's inspiration. Just silence. Me, God and the strength He'd given me. SUPER cool.

Man, this past weekend was awesome. I got to kick-start it with some girl time (EE and AMac) and a little Keith Urban. Oh my stars! That guy puts on the BEST concerts. He's one of the most talented guitar players I've ever seen in my life! And, with him being most likely one of my favorite artists of all time, all of the songs he sings are just "my favorite." haha! Anyway, great stuff to start the weekend.

Then, on Saturday, my Might Man had a birthday, and we got to celebrate with his sister and brother-in-law and their tiny, adorable 12-week-old daughter by tossing around some bowling balls and trying to knock down pins. Okay...that's just how I bowl. The rest of them were actually rolling the balls down the lane like they were supposed to. haha!

Yesterday was the bread and butter of the weekend, though. If you read last night's blog, you heard a little about it, but it was just the best day. My man preached a GREAT message about the Beatitudes (Matthew 5) and about how they are so much more than a Christian to-do list. They are attitudes and situations in which Christ wants to meet us and reveal His love for us, even in challenges. If you have time today, I totally encourage you to read Matthew 5:1-12 and ask the Lord to show you His Truth about what it really means to be "poor in spirit," "meek," etc.

One of my personal favorites of those Beatitudes? That those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. To me, that means that if we merely have a genuine desire to live according to His Word--a true, honest desire--and then do our best with that, He will meet us in that desire and take it from there! Praise God! He can do a marvelous work even in our simple desire to honor Him. All we have to do is want it, and He can equip us to live rightly.

I don't know about you, but if you're like me and have trouble living rightly all the time, that is GREAT news! Because I do! I want to live for Him! I want to honor Him! I want to glorify Him and use my time here on earth to build His Kingdom! It's just that I sometimes really slip and fall. I battle the flesh. I battle my pride. I battle the world. But my heart is there!

Hallelujah that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled.

Today, I'm praising God for meeting me where I am, even in sin and shortcomings. I'm praising Him for taking even a seed of desire and making it grow into something beautiful for Him. I'm praising Him because He knows our weakness and chooses to reveal His strength and love through it. :) Awesome. :) Thank You, Lord. You truly are amazing.

So, for what it's worth, take it from me today. If your heart is truly to bring Him honor and glory, know that it is all He needs. Bring it to Him and ask Him to build on it and make that desire something glorious in you that will reveal Him to the world!

Love to you all!
-Jill