living the messy life

I envy some who seem to make a plan and see it unfold in their live.  They function in their gifts, they are fulfilled completely by what they do and they are people who accomplish their goals.
Sigh...if only I were one of those...
My life seems much messier somehow.  I make plans, they seem to turn out differently than I'd imaged.  I work partly in my skill set, but not completely...and most of the time the goals I set seem to get off track.

Why is that?  Am I alone in my hopes of a put together, packaged life?
The white picket fence family.

In my life, as I try to follow Jesus, I have come to the conclusion that he is more interested in transformation than goals, more interested in me becoming than being someone.  He is causing me to be the person I want to be but don't have the guts to really ask.  Perhaps real transformation comes through pain and hardship.  I'd like to say that having wisdom and becoming mature is a goal...it is.  Yet I run from pain.  Is is possible that real growth, maturity and wisdom can be attained without hardship and pain and trials?

I don't know.
What do you think?
What have you experienced?


James 1:2-4
2 Cor. 12:10

Listening

Most of us are bombarded each day with all kinds of noise. If you're like me, you might have the radio or TV on as background noise. Perhaps you listen to music when you exercise; maybe you use Pandora to stream music when you're on your computer.
Although we live in a culture of information and noise, it's important to learn to stop and listen.
Some of us do this through regular quiet times we have built in to our days. That may include a routine for making coffee, sitting in our favorite spot, and opening our Bible. Many of us have a journal or a prayer list with which we make our requests known to God. Our quiet time may also include a devotional or Bible study we are working through.
If you notice, most of these are activities, things we actively do. I would suggest that most of the work done in our lives is not what we do, but what God does. To be more focused on what God does, start by cultivating time with God in silence—in listening. For many of us, quietness may be so foreign that five minutes of silence may seem like hours.
I confess this is not natural for me. I am a doer. That means for me quietness, silence, listening for God is something I have to practice. In some traditions, spiritual retreats are carried out in silence. Other people may use a spiritual director or mentor. For some of us, listening to God may just start by turning off the radio in the car to spend time listening for God.
Wherever you start, just start. God has much to share with us if we choose to silence ourselves and listen. Let's journey together.

Hospitality

I recently heard someone talk about the effectiveness of evangelism and what Scripture has to say about the purpose of the "church," meaning all Christians, beginning with the great commission found at the end of Mathew. But the speaker went on to explain exactly what it is that Jesus is calling us to do. He landed on the passage from Luke 4:18-19:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
   because he has anointed me
   to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
   and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
  to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
This is what we, the people of God, are called to as well.
So how do we do this? How do we unpack this and make connections with people who need to be set free and brought to a life of wholeness with Christ, and in every area of their lives?
What did Jesus do?
He invited.
"When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed." --Luke 14:12
So much of what Jesus did was to reach out beyond what was considered appropriate in His day. Many who observed Him said that He was a friend of sinners. 
Most of us have had some experience with entertaining. But not many of us are really good at hospitality. When you entertain, everything has to be just so. When you practice hospitality you are preparing a table at which God's love can show up. How many of us will do that simple thing? Opening our homes and allowing people in--this simple act of kindness could transform our homes into sacred places where God Himself meets with those He longs to set free.  Will you join me?