Days at Summer’s End
Enjoy the summer moments–the memories, the laughter, and the sun that drenches our days with light and grace. Memories gather like sea shells on the beach. Golden moments with family and friends. Summer jumps with joy of toes in the sand...
Is Your Soul Out of Sync?
The word sync has to do with harmonious relationships–at least two things that are working together in a good grove. Originally it was used in the movie industry to indicate whether or not the sound was matching up with the action. We can all remember old films where the actor’s mouth moved and then the dialogue followed a bit behind, words out of sync. This is the effect of close, but not quite right.
Don’t you love it when life syncs up nicely?
When things are in sync in my life, everything seems to roll along smoothly. People get where they are supposed to be, dinner finds its way to the table on time, bills are paid, tempers and irritations are held in check, spirit, family, work, health, and friends somehow balance–for the most part.
Reality.
There will be a period of relative calm, productivity, good will…things are in sync. My prized synchronization of life and soul slowly unravel, first one little habit or relationship is ignored. Preoccupied, I ignore the downward slide. Now out of sync, something else reacts to the magnetic pull of the disruption and skews out of balance. Before I know it, my lovely productivity and harmony is once again a goal to work toward.
Out of sync…again.
Let me fill in some of the details on this crazy cycle that comes like the seasons or the tide, seemingly inevitable. The busier or more disrupted life gets, the harder it is to exercise consistently. One workout gets sacrificed to a deadline or activity, and then another….and another. Lulled into the haze of the busy, the eating habits begin to slide as well. The spurge-worthy becomes the normal. The end result of exercise and diet getting out of sync shows up on the scale and on the hips.
Spiritually out of sync?
Here’s another example of how quickly important things in life slip out of sync. Let’s talk about the spiritual workouts of the soul, depth in prayer and conversing with God through the scriptures. [tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#quiettime”]Disrupted summer schedules make an easy excuse to skip time meditating on God’s Word. [/tweetthis]One day blends into the next day filled with things to do, people to see, and places to go. “Tomorrow, Lord, I’ll get to it tomorrow…”
Now I have long left the stage of obligation and duty in my devotional time with God. I know that God’s Word feeds my soul. I look forward to discovering what He has to say each time I open the well-worn blue leather cover of my Bible.
Yet still, it is all too easy to slip out of sync and my soul-strength shrivels. Soul out of sync, my insecurities and selfish desires rise up. Molehills turn into mountains and I get irritated more quickly. Motivation slips away and I’d rather play than work. I indulge in negative self-talk as if it were hot fudge on ice cream, yet the taste is bitter to my heart.
Frustration fights with peace until I finally turn.
Lay it down.
Let it go.
Repentant and seeking, I open my Bible with an apology on my lips instead of a prayer.
The light of God’s encouragement reminds me of what I have known but missed. Father speaks kindly to my self-condemning spirit as I write the words that echo in my heart.
Frustration and motivation– these are the dogs that nip at your feet. Do not be distracted by your emotions; press forward and keep moving, keep seeking Me. I am always here, always a part of you, Child of God. The best way through spiritual lethargy is to fall back on discipline-keep coming and keep drinking.
I will wash away the false pressures and the tempting distractions of your life.
Your task is to come and surrender yourself as a living and holy sacrifice. Put your heart in my hand and be reminded that your efforts do not make you righteous. My gift is grace and renewing the soul out of sync is my specialty.
[tweetthis twitter_handles=”@GingHarrington” hidden_hashtags=”#worship”]Worship puts your heart in sync with God.[/tweetthis]
Ready to recharge your spirit at the tale-end of summer? Try these ideas to refresh your spiritual routine.
Are you in or out of sync in your life today? How do you get yourself back on track? I’d love to hear from you:) Check out the links in the post for lots of ideas for getting your soul in sync.
Grab this Free Checklist to Create Habits of Rest
Do you need more rest in your life? Discover the benefit of building small habits to decrease stress and empower you to rest body, soul, and spirit. After all, rest includes so much more than sleep. Don’t miss the free printable Habits of Rest Checklist to help you create rhythms of rest in your life. Make your personalized plan to get the rest you need.
Overcome the Things that Hold You Back
A powerful encouragement for anyone who struggles to overcome anxiety, perfectionism, insecurity, or other mindsets that hold us back. Grow in holiness without the pressure to have everything “just right.” Through gentle encouragement, biblical insights, and applicable ideas you can experience a deeper life of freedom in Christ. Transparently sharing my own struggles, I want to help you live from the reality of hope, healing, and holiness.
*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate link at no cost to you. Any books I recommend are resources I value and want to share.
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I’m syncing with these communities: Coffee for Your Heart, #TellHisStory, #ThreeWordWednesday, #RaRaLinkUp, and Thought-Provoking Thursday.
How to Drive Your Teens Crazy in Four Easy Steps
[tweetthis twitter_handles=”@GingHarrington” hidden_hashtags=”#parentinghumor #parentingteens”]Good parenting involves the art of driving your teens crazy.[/tweetthis] Some parents have mastered the skills necessary to...
Will I Love my Neighbor?
The day is cold with a biting bitter wind. I pull my hat down over my ears and rush to keep up with my family. This is our first visit to New York city, and feeling out of place, I stop to look at the display in a store window. I admire...
Who is My Neighbor?
Authenticity is a popular word at the moment. More than trendy, authenticity creates a pathway to love God with our lives. When an insincere lawyer questions Jesus, he has all the right answers when he recites to the Lord, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27).”
This man, the expert in the law, knows the words of God’s most important command, but he misses the heart of the message. Loving God effects every aspect of our lives–emotions, desires, motivations, thoughts, words, and actions.
Loving God with our life can’t help but seep into our relationships with others. Love your neighbor as yourself. Most of us know this phrase. We’ve said it many times. Yet loving God is incomplete without loving others. How often we try to separate the two concepts. Do we elevate the relationship with God and neglect our relationships with others?
“Who is my neighbor,” asks the lawyer, looking for a way to justify himself and somehow come out on top of the conversation. Again, the motivation of his heart is far from loving God as he seeks to prove his religious superiority with a smug, clever question. This is a battle he cannot win.
To answer his question, Jesus tells a simple story that slices through hypocrisy and lays open the intentions of too many hearts. Jesus answers with a living color picture of the human condition that is far more comprehensive and divisive than the religious man expects.
The meaning of the word neighbor is as broad as anyone and as specific as the person in need right in front of us. It cuts through our notions of self-importance and our facades of compassion. It rips the pretense of our religious postures, exposing the condition of the heart and the tendency to by-pass the needs of others.
The good Samaritan.
Here is the neighbor: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead (Luke 10:30).”
The condition of this neighbor is one who has been beat up with the hardness of life and the evil of the world. He lays on the roadside, bruised, bleeding and in visible, urgent need of help. His valuables have been stolen and he is stranded and broken on the sidelines of life.
“And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side (Luke 10:31).”
The priest shows a lack love and concern for others. He sees the blood-red need, and crosses the road to avoid the problem. In a hurry, on his way, the priest chooses to by-pass the need. Maybe he doesn’t want to be late?
Does he have more important things to do? Did he mentally tally up his priorities and decide he couldn’t stop? Or did he simply not want to trouble with getting involved, getting his hands stained with the problems of the one in need?
At times the familiarity of this story causes me to rush through the details and miss the impact.
Along comes another religious man, “Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side (Luke 10:32).”
And another man, another religious official, passes by.
Another layer to the story. Confident in position, these men have excuses…reasons why they can’t stop. Won’t stop.
I have excuses too. Do you?
Jesus reveals the uncomfortable truth that what you see is not always what you get. At the heart of hypocrisy is the tendency to create a pious façade, to play the part, even while living a life devoid of love and concern for others.
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#goodsamaritan”]A lack of authenticity tempts us to love ourselves instead of our neighbor.[/tweetthis]
Truly, brokenness mars the lives of all three of these men.
Who is my neighbor?
This story is really about the choices we make in how we respond to the needs of the ones God puts in our path. This story is not a call to help everyone with needs and problems. It is a call to do what we can to help the hurting person right in front of us.
The one we have to go out of our way to avoid.
[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#goodsamaritan”]When we love God with our lives, we love our neighbor too.[/tweetthis]
Where are we crossing the road to avoid dealing with a person in our lives? Who is our neighbor at this moment in time?
How to Love God with Your Life
Questions come dressed in all kinds of reasons. Questions can muse and ponder, struggle and scrape, or probe and pierce. There are questions that hurt, desperate for a healing touch. Others yearn for a word of wisdom to strengthen a floundering...
Don’t Give Up: Pray with Perseverance
This is a recent post I wrote for Planting Roots. Find encouragement when prayers don’t come easy.
Some things don’t come easy.
And some prayers aren’t answered quickly.
She looks out the window as the rain comes down in sheets. “Is God listening,” she wonders as she struggles to believe God will answer.
If she had a dollar for each prayer she has prayed for this difficult situation, she’d be a wealthy woman by now.
We’ve all felt discouraged in the face of unanswered prayer.
Do you remember the parable that Jesus told about the poor widow, begging the unjust judge for legal protection from her opponent? The story is found in Luke 18:1-8.
“Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge *said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
Keep asking.
This poor woman kept coming to that nasty judge, bothering him, asking persistently. He finally gave in just to get her off his back. Jesus makes the point that if an unjust judge will answer persistence, how much more will God bring justice to His children who cry out to Him.
This widow was in a difficult and seemingly hopeless situation. She had two choices: she could give up or she could persevere and keep asking for justice. She shows a persistent faith that keeps coming, keeps asking even in the face of a difficult, discouraging, unjust, unfair situation.
[tweetthis twitter_handles=”@GingHarrington” hidden_hashtags=”#prayer #perseverance”]Don’t give up.[/tweetthis]
To ask persistently demonstrates an intensity of need or desire, as well as faith to keep asking. Persistent faith keeps asking, keeps coming, despite prolonged difficulty. [tweetthis twitter_handles=”via@GingHarrington” hidden_hashtags=”#prayer, #faith”]Persevering faith does not give in or give up, but believes that God will answer.[/tweetthis]
Perseverance is a choice, and persistent prayer builds spiritual strength.
What would have happened if the widow had stopped asking after the 2nd or 3rd time?
Pray on with perseverance, trust God, and don’t give up. He’s listening.
Join me at Planting Roots for the rest of this post.
How Not to Clean Out a Closet
[tweetthis]Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy.~Author Unknown[/tweetthis] You can get by with ignoring some household tasks for a time. Dishes? Not so much, but you can ignore the mess in the closet for years....
Follow God’s Lead for Balance and Harmony this Summer
Happy summer, friends! Life in this corner of the world has been a little of crazy and a lot of wonderful lately. We’ve just returned from our annual beach trip. Toes in the sand and sun warm on skin–ah yes, this is a great way to...
