The first thing I decided to do was u.n.p.l.u.g.

And I did just that.

Other than writing my newspaper columns and uploading some pictures every now and then on Facebook to keep my American family and friends updated, I spent lazy days visiting the beaches in my beautiful country… eating
(without guilt) the foods that I miss so much, and, most of all, enjoying the people I love.

I won’t tell you that it was an easy thing to do. It took a good bit of convincing myself to let go of my busyness.

I’m kinda addicted to it, really.

In my mind… The dishes can’t wait.

The phone buzzes and I must attend to it…

And, sadly, I often catch myself busier doing the things of God than enjoying His presence.

{Shame on me, I know}.

Even one of my favorite past times, which is reading, had slowly become work for me. I would usually have a pile of three to four books that I was reading… all at the same time.

It was c.r.a.z.y.

And it needed to end.

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21 

This verse, hidden in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, marked the turning point. It made me think: “I have to decide where my heart is really anchored… for I know there I will find what I truly treasure.”

Is it anchored in being busy in the Name of Jesus… or being devoted to BE like Jesus?

Is it looking for the approval of men… or quietly making Yahweh smile?

Is it doing everything that people ask me to do… or prioritizing my life, following God’s guidance in His Word:

1 – Loving Him above all else (Matthew 22:37)… {which has nothing to do with Kingdom-work madness}…

2 – Loving and caring for my husband and children… {which must include prioritizing time for them}…

3 – Then (and only then)… my ministry work {or secular work for some of you}…

The moment these priorities get messed up, the Holy Spirit sends us signals… and our flesh responds. We become tired, irritable, anxious, jealous… And that which we are supposed to embody – the Fruit of the Spirit – becomes less and less evident in our lives.

Even though we often put on a beautiful, godly front… even though we may say all the right things and look so very holy and separated from worldly things…. deep down inside, we know it:

We need to go back to our First Love.

Sometimes, that takes more than just reading our Bibles and praying. It takes cleaning the plate. Unplugging, resting, and realigning our priorities.

Because we have to remind ourselves that God will not do His work in the direction of His promises for us, if we deliberately step ahead of Him, doing things that He never meant for us to do, knocking down doors that were never meant to be opened anyway.

Our busyness does not rush God. It just quenches our joy and kills our purpose in life.
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Do you feel stretched to the max today, my friend?

Have you lost your joy, maybe even in the middle of doing God’s work? Or while doing something you used to absolutely love?

How long has it been since you rested your mind from social media frenzy?

How long has it been since you left all the cares of the world aside, and paused to look at nature, enjoy the laughter of your children, or love your spouse in complete abandon?

If it’s been a while, it may just be time to do what I did… Stop, unplug, and invite God into your life once again, listening to Him before continuing on the rat race.

In between silly faces, strolls on the beach, fresh fish and easy conversations with the people I love, I found the rest my body, mind and soul so longed for.

I found myself again.

And my heart, now finding room to breathe, found its way back to my First Love.

In the meantime, this new found peace translated into a new desire to start taking better care of my body and my heart… to laugh more often and even perhaps discover a new hobby.

I’d prescribe it to any Christian caught up in the business of doing instead of being (still and knowing He is God):

Take time to Unplug… And for Heaven’s sake, for your sake, for your family’s sake…

Tell yourself to BREATHE.

You may not be able to go on a sabbatical like I did. But you certainly can put limits on your busyness. You just have
to be willing to openly reevaluate your life and routines.

Life is a beautiful gift… and it goes by so.very.fast.

May God help us all to take time to smell the roses, lest we live a meaningless, tired life, and miss His perfect purpose for us.

Do you have any ideas you may want to share with us on how to take time to BREATHE in the midst of YOUR crazy? I would love to read your comments!

The post Stress: Joy Quencher & Purpose Killer appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

FREE COPY OF POST: Overcoming Perfectionism 08.19.14

Key Verse:

“So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself? On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either. Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time?  Pay attention to these instructions, for anyone who fears God will avoid both extremes. Ecclesiastes 7:16-18

PERFECTIONISM

A monster disguised in pretty clothes. Its victims look put together at all times. Their homes are spotless. Their grades, commendable. Their hair is in place any time they hit the door.

If you are a woman, I guarantee you’ve been jealous of a perfectionist before.

But as it is in many things in life, when it comes to the Joneses, there is so much more than what meets the eye.

I know it well. A recovering perfectionist, for many years I struggled with thoughts of inadequacy and failure. I strived for straight As and dreamed of straight hair. Perfectionists were usually raised by a perfectionist parent and therefore their tendency to strive to be the crème de la crème in everything they do is usually a cry for love and acceptance.  Unfortunately, unless they recognize the issue, they carry on the legacy to the next generation, unintentionally pushing their poor children into the same trap.

We live at the age of airbrushed, anorexic beauty. My anti-age cream is advertised by a gorgeous 20 year-old model, who won’t see a wrinkle on her face for another, well, 20 years.  50 year old millionaire actresses sell us the lie that we can fight the losing battle of sagging, wrinkling and hormonal changes at the blink of an eye.

Without a doubt, physical perfectionism plagues our society, infiltrating our families and distracting even many of our beautiful young girls, who are hiding in the restrooms, drowning in the hopelessness of anorexia and bulimia.

Then there’s performance perfectionism. Many of us believe that we must be perfect in all we do. Our homes must be perfectly clean. Home decor must change with the seasons.

We may find ourselves comparing our marriage to some of our friends’, who may seem to have more “sparks” flying around, or whose husband seems to be more romantic than ours. Before we know it, we are nagging John to death, trying to change the man we fell in love with into someone he’ll never be.

And let’s not forget our children’s school performance and sports galore! The pressure to be on accelerated programs and Honor Rolls steal many children’s hide-and-seek moments today. Our baseball, softball and football fields and filled with young boys and girls who are missing their summers for another championship. Missing church for another trophy. We push them. They push themselves. And we all miss the mark.

We fight to perfect ourselves, our children, our spouses, our homes.

And we all become miserable, tired and broken together.

It’s not an easy trap to escape from. But if we want to have an abundant life, escape we must!

We can start by reminding ourselves of this truth: That God is not impressed by our looks or performance. He wants our hearts (Deut 10:12).

Hearts that understand that our perfection is only found in him (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Hearts that make His priority list ours. (Psalm 18:30)

Hearts set less in seeking perfection and more in perfecting our love and devotion for Him.  (Psalm 51:10)

Indeed, today I realize that perfectionism is the world’s and Satan’s way to make me rely less and less on God.

And more and more on fallible, inadequate me.

Instead of attaining perfection, the result will always fall short of our target: We become stressed out, needy of approval, self-indulgent, impatient.

Simply hard to deal with.

Through the Grid of God’s Grace

Our good works and great performance should be viewed through the grid of God’s grace. By grace we are lavished each day with opportunities, gifts and talents which allow us to do our best and be our best.

As Dallas Willard said “Grace is God acting in our lives to do what we cannot do on our own.”

Indeed, God never designed us to accomplish perfection without him. The point of the gospel is that we are unable to be perfect. We all fall short; we all “miss the mark” (Romans 3:23). Sinners need a Savior, and that’s why Jesus came. When we trust in Him, He forgives our shortcomings, imperfections, and iniquities.

We can then stop striving for unreasonable, unattainable worldly “perfection” and rest in the Perfect One (Matthew 11:28).

Verses to Meditate Upon:

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” Philippians 1:6.

For without Me you can do nothing” John 15:5.

“As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him” Psalm 18:30.

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