Day 9 It's All Small Stuff

I've heard it said many times, "Don't sweat the small stuff!"  Truth is all of it's small stuff.  It's the little things that add up into mountains.  I am continuing to learn that all these things that consume my time really don't matter.  It's not a big deal if I vaccum today or tomorrow.  The laundry will eventually get washed, folded and put away.  The dishes will get clean and stored in the cupboards.  Bills will get paid, maybe not on time, but I will pay them. I'm not saying the throw in the white towel and surrender to all domesticated work.  By no means, the world would come to a halt!  I'm just saying that maybe it's good to relax and not sweat it.  Yes these are my to-dos but really does it matter that the fridge is cleaned out every other Tuesday morning and laundry is only done on Fridays?  These insane pressures I put upon myself to be or to look like super-woman to others are just plain silly.  It really is small stuff.  What is important is that I love those around me and pay attention to their needs.  When I do this, these small things become my way of showing love and don't stress me out. I want to serve them by doing the small things.  This is my faith expressing itself in love.  There is no sense in worry or over-planing.  God is in control and He directs my steps. 

"Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow has enough trouble of it's own." 

Matthew 6:34

Maybe I should have an outlook more like my dogs...they don't worry about anything!

Day 8 Login to the Logos

Short and sweet today...

In order to survive any day, regardless of health, wealth and any others uncontrollable circumstances one must log-in to the Word, the Logos.  It doesn't have to be a set time everyday as long as you do it. For me mornings work best.  Some days I rise early before the rest of the house and sun.  Other days I wait till everyone is away.  The point is to spend time in the Word; reading it, studying it, pondering it, memorizing it, cherishing it, etc. Unexplainable things will occur in your life as a result of this holy discipline, I promise.  The eternal rewards are unmeasurable, the earthly benefits are priceless.

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105

I have hidden your Word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you. Psalm 119:11

Day 7 Letting Others In

This is probably one of the hardest lessons that I had to learn in my journey of cancer.  Before cancer was a household world in my family I was always the one helping others out.  I would respond to the email and sign up to bring a meal to a family in need.  I would go clean friends house or visit an elderly neighbor.  Now the tables had been turned.  It was up to me to ask for help.  I know I needed it, I just had a hard time admitting it.  So hard.  So beautiful.  It is a truly humbling experience to be served by the body of Christ.  I can't even count all the times food was delivered to my doorstep.  Several days I would come home to find that my entire house had been cleaned.  Other times I would just have friends stop by to help with my son or just to visit.  It truly was overwhelming the love and support my family received.  My mailbox was chalk full of encouraging love notes.  Friends called and left me messages or talked on the phone with me to pass the time.  It was so encouraging to my Spirit.

You can miss the greater good out of receiving from others if you aren't truly humble and unwilling in your heart to receive.  One must be willing to ask for help.  This means you must be willing to let other in to your world and let them help.  this is so hard to actually do.  I have to say our family had some growing pains in this department.  Overall we learned together what it means to serve others and to be served by others.  This friends is true religion.  True community of faithful believers expressing themselves in love.  In the simple act of kindness represented in a meal, a card or a phone call.  I can not stress enough the importance of recognizing in yourself when you need to ask for help.  Don't be embarrassed or shy.  Who am I to prevent others in the body to do good works?  He has prepared them in advance for us all to do.  I don't want to get in the way of God working in another believers life because I am too proud to ask and receive help.

"The only things that counts is faith expressing itself in love." Galatians 5:6

 

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

Day 6 Lessons in Waiting Part 3 = Attitude

When presented with hard circumstances you have a choice on what your attitude is going to be.  In waiting I have learned that attitude is everything.  You never know just how long the wait may be, so one must prepare for the long haul.  Attitude effects you physically, emotionally and spiritually.  If this is not kept in control it will snowball out of control and wreck your life. It's true it takes more muscles in your face to frown than to smile.  Choosing to have a positive attitude isn't always easy as pie.  I admit I had my moments, and I still do.  Complaining doesn't change the situation it just highlights the facts. 

Attitude is everything.

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus" Philippians 2:5

"Do everything without complaining or arguing." Philippians 2:14

Day 5 Lessons in Waiting Part 2 = Strength

Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do.  Sometimes you don't have a choice in the matter.  Sometimes you don't have the strength to do the things you have to get done.  This is where waiting on the Lord equips a believer in Christ with super natural strength. It's the epi power of the Holy Spirit coming upon you and filling you with His strength. 

This epi power is a form of the gift of the Spirit -- it is free to receive.  In my experience it comes with time spent waiting on the Lord.  One may never know the time and hour of when the Holy Spirit will manifest itself in an epi filling.  He is always willing, I think that the question is are we willing to receive it?  So I risk saying that it comes with a price tag.  Not one that costs real money or that can be bought off by bribing God in some twisted fashion  But in a way, it takes the hard work of an honest heart to commit themselves to His ways, being patient and waiting.  It requires the self-discipline of waiting on the Lord.  To wait on the Lord for me means, to put what little human effort and strength I can muster into believing an answer or breakthrough will occur.  Sometimes it's a prayer that needs an answer.  Sometimes it's just strength to take another step or another breath to move forward.  In this act of believing our hope is refreshed and our learned ability to trust God with our lives is strengthened.  Even though we may continue to stumble and fall He fills us up (epi) to overflowing. This equips me to grow stronger and stronger in Him.  I am capable of facing the giants because he is able to do exceedingly more than I can imagine.

"He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.  Even the youths shall faint and be weary. And the young may stumble and fall.  But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary and walk an not faint." Isaiah 40:29-31

I was able to do things in my body that just did not seem possible.  I felt like dying.  Chemo drugs bring you to the doorstep of death with out letting you actually die, you only feel like it.  Getting out of bed was a chore.  Eating was a mountain I couldn't climb.  You get the point.  Not only did this filling empower me but it gave me the courage to face another day of uncertainty.  This was a huge lesson in waiting and an even bigger lesson in the growth of my faith.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, wait I say on the Lord." Psalm 27:14

Day 4: Lessons in Waiting Part 1 = Hope

Hope is one of those things you either have or don't. You can't see it or touch it.  It's a belief you have deep in your heart.  Its roots are tied to faith.  For without faith one can't believe there is a God.  Without a God why would you need hope?  God is Hope.  In Him hope is secure. By waiting I have discovered that there are many layers of hope.  I was given the opportunity to wait, well not exactly.  I didn't really have a choice.  It was forced rest that required me to wait patiently on God to intervene in a mighty way a multitude of times.

Layer One
Hope has this uncanny ability to well up within us and draw us to a new level of inner peace.  It's this inner peace that comes in the form of a gift.  It takes us up and over our circumstances and lets us soar in the midst of adversity.  Others may look in wonder and scratch their heads in amazement at our calm demeanor.  What they don't understand is that this first layer of hope rests in our faith, which rests upon Christ alone.

"Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" 1 Peter 1:3

Layer Two
Now once we have established our hope is based upon personal faith we can move into truly owning it.  This requires some spiritual muscle flexing. When you can't use words to explain what you believe in your heart you say to yourself or to someone, "I just know that I know that I know."  That's it.  Simple.  Straight and to the point.  It has moved the twelve inches from head to heart.  This is where the battle begins.  Hope is constantly under attack in the brain. This is why we must be in tune to the Word.

"But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." 1 Thessalonians 5:8

Hope must be worn as a helmet to shield our minds from the lies the enemy sends.  We know from the Word that our Hope is in a future prepared for us...waiting.  There it is.  The Hope of glory is waiting for us to arrive in heaven.  (Colossians 1:27)

Layer Three
Hope breeds encouragement to our spirits.  The exact opposite is what tends to happen when our hope is deflated.  We become discouraged and possibly apathetic to our situation.  Through my journey of chemotherapy treatments and doctor appointments I had many set backs.  Several times appointments to receive treatments did not pan out.  I had to arrive at a certain time to get a blood draw. Then wait the 45 minutes for lab results.  Then wait around some more for Doctors to give the pharmacy and nurses their orders.  Some days I was told to go home, other days the machines were broken and no tests could be taken.

"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  No only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:2-5

It is the Holy Spirit who places this seed, this gift of Hope with in us.  It's a promise we get to carry around with us while we wait with great anticipation.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope."  Psalm 130:5

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Day 3: Simplicity Counts

Today I will be writing about a holy discipline that is still in progress in my own life.  I would call it under construction and possibly on the chopping block for demolition may be more like it.  I am constantly re-evaluating my "simplicity" level.  It is a lifestyle choice to live simply or to simplify ones life.  I love how Charles Swindoll writes in his book, Intimacy with the Almighty, he states, "To reorder one's own world, the need to simplify is imperative.  Otherwise, we will find ourselves unable to rest within, unable to enter the deep, silent recesses of our hearts, where God's best messages are communicated.  And if we live very long in that condition, our hearts grow cold toward Christ and we become objects of seduction in a wayward world.  What perils await us in that condition!" I have found this to be so true and God's word backs this up. 

"God made us plain and simple; but we have made ourselves very complicated" Ecclesiastes 7:29 TEV

Embracing the discipline of simplicity is a lifelong commitment one makes to self.  In a world of constant and instant demands firing at us, being armed and ready for battle is crucial to winning the war.  For some reason my life had spun out of control before cancer was even in the picture.  I said before cancer.  Yep.  I was super woman. I put on the act like I was Mary, but in reality I was Martha...busy, busy, busy. I did it all.

Weekly Beth Moore Bible Study
  Baked cookies for the bake sale
    Served in the nursery at church
      Delivered meals to the hungry
        Scrap-booked on rainy days
          Canned veggies from my garden
            Sang in the choir
              Volunteered in my sons classroom
                Kept house
                  Farmers wife
                    And the list goes on...

When we allow ourselves to be so busy with life's demands we become cold and jaded to the very heart of God.  I saw the warning flags, but I chose to ignore them.  I didn't want to slow down.  God had other plans.  I am not saying that he gave me cancer so that I would simply slow down...no that's not the point here.  I just know that part of my out of control busy crazy life effected my health.  I wasn't taken care of me.  I was so busy serving and being in leadership roles that I wasn't truly hearing His voice.  You see I was more concerned about my Martha Stewart pie photos on Facebook than the family I was bringing the pie to.  I was more concerned about how I looked arriving to school and impressing the other Moms.  You get the point.  When we allow our schedules to become so cluttered with things to do - even good things - we often miss the point of why.  This was me.  So I began a journey to find simplicity.  I began to weed out some of the jobs I had taken on.  I began to look introspectively at my to do list.  I began to make some changes.  I am so grateful I did.  As I began to say no to more things, God began to speak more clearly to me.  I could hear that still small voice affirming the things I was spending my time on.  He kept speaking over and over...I need you to say no to some really good things, so you can say yes to one big thing later.

Later arrived on May 13, 2011 in the form of you have cancer...and the sound of bombs dropping and exploding around me was heard.  I have learned that embracing simplicity allows for the storms of life to blow on by.  Yes they are rocky and turbulent for a period of time, but eventually the storm moves on.  During surgery, recovery and chemotherapy life went on.  My husband still went to work, my son still went to school.  Bills got paid, grocery shopping was done and my house was cleaned.  Maybe it all didn't happen the way I wanted or planed but we all survived.  I choose to not stress out and do it all.  I choose to be simple.   Today I have to remind myself to keep it simple sister or KISS.  I can sense in my Spriti when I am taking on too many tasks.  I have caught myself many times.  The key to overcoming this is to be honest with yourself.  Know your limits.  Seek wisdom from above.  Keep your personal life simple and the discipline of simplicity will radically change your intimacy level with Christ.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding.  But in all your ways acknowledge the Lord and he will direct your path. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones." Proverbs 3:5-8 NKJV

Amen