Hey there, friend!! What's new with you? Is the new thing a good or bad thing? How can God help you with it? He has a word of advise in His Holy Word. Just look it up in the concordance in the back of your Bible.
I have been watching a project in my neighborhood piece by piece. Out my front door I have a view of a hill lined with cabins. A sixth cabin has recently been added to the view. It came in parts. Two tractor trailers hauled in what appeared to be the base (the first floor with front door and windows) and another big box of materials to assemble the roof along with dormer windows (the second story). The construction of the two floors took only one day to complete. It went up fast and was exciting to watch as there was a crane up there on the hill doing the heavy lifting. But prior to the delivery of the house parts was a lot of preparation. Bulldozers leveled off the lot. Several cement trucks brought in enough cement for a solid foundation. And now that the house it up -there are lots of other things that needs to take place in order for it to be a completed home.
I thought about the excitement that grew in me as I watched progress on the new cabin. I recalled a similar excitement from my past as I waited to see the finished product. Traveling back in time to my teenage years--my family had a project of its own. Daddy and his brothers built a barn in our backyard. It was in the fall of the year just like this current project. Momma cooked lunch to feed the hungry brothers. Laughter was heard among the men as they joked with one another. It was a good time. In the end, Daddy had a new barn to put his john deere tractor in as well as other things.
Perhaps you have your own memories of a building project that ignites excitement in yourself. But what if you find yourself too busy to build new memories, new projects? Are you too busy to take care of yourself? Does work take up all of your time and energy? Do you often wish you could end the ball season early? No time left over for God?
Let's travel to France or Italy where they live a different pace than we Americans do. They enjoy their lunch and savor the flavor of the food. They also enjoy the company they are with. They take breaks and rest their bodies and minds. Family time seems to be very important and is high on their priority list. We Americans insist on the open floor concept in our homes--but how many of them are used for family or neighborhood get-togethers? I recently heard a saying that what we spend money on is what is important to us. I feel the same can be said for how we spend our time. We do what we want to do. I feel we have gotten caught up in society's definition of the way to do life. It's what we know--we've been taught. You'll be a success if you move up the corporate ladder. Your child will have a healthy self-esteem if he/she participates in a team sport and is driven to win no matter what. You are a much better person if you skip out on taking care of yourself and meet the needs of everyone else--regardless if they are not being self-responsible. It goes on and on.
But what does God say? Check out 21 Day Journal Note # 17.
21 Day Journal Note # 17
Busyness
Psalm 127:2 (MSG): It's useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don't you know He enjoys giving rest to those He loves?
Proverbs 14:30 (AMP): A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy, and wrath are like rottenness of the bones.
Who has control overy busyness? I do!!! But why do I feel it necessary to always be on the go? By being a follower of Jesus Christ I have a BRAND NEW LIFE!! I am freed from my prison of "never having enough time." I am refusing to belittle myself because I do not have the things and jobs my neighbors have. I will no longer treat my body and mind so badly. I am living at Your pace. I am feeling Your calmness and peace.
end of journal note.
So, we started with the building of a cabin and went to breaking down busyness. Now let's go back to building up again. I love this next scripture and hope you adopt it as a memory verse. 2 Peter 1:5-8 (MSG): "So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus." Read over these wonderful words again, pausing on each section. Ask yourself what each section means to you. Take out a pen and paper and write down it down. What is your basic faith? What have you been given? Have you ever described patience as passionate? Do you get the idea? You can treat all scripture like this and get so much more out of it. Allow God's wonderful word to mold you and mature you and warm you up.
So friend, do you need to build up or break down or both? Be excited this weekend over something!
Sisterly love to all, Wynndy
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