Category: Discipline

Twenty-four Hours is Enough

Posted on by Paula
The clock on my bathroom wall has stopped, and so must my lifestyle. I have finally realized twenty-four hours is enough.
The clock on my bathroom wall has stopped, and so must my lifestyle. I have finally realized twenty-four hours is enough.

Normally, the hour hand on the clock on my bathroom wall travels a full circle twice in twenty-four hours, but it has been motionless for several days. I assume its battery has died, but I haven’t taken time to check.

The clock and I are rarely in agreement anyhow. My idea of twenty-four hours and the clock’s idea of twenty-four hours don’t seem to match, and most of the time, I struggle to keep my life in sync with that hour hand.

The problem is, I try to cram too many things into the twenty-four hours I’m given each day. I’m often late because I think I have time to do “just one more thing” before I walk out the door. I dive in to tackle the task, and the next thing I know, I look at the clock and find that time has gotten away from me. Once again, I am running behind.

I have told my family that I want to be wheeled into my funeral five minutes late because it would be out of character for me to be on time. “Make sure I am wheeled in five minutes late or you will be cursed!” I tease.

I believe, though, that I have finally reached a point in my life that I am too tired to fight the clock anymore. I can’t keep up with the pace I have been going, and my life has gotten pretty messy both inside and out.

Besides the fact that my current lifestyle is a mess, and besides the fact that it’s rude and disrespectful to others when I am late, I have realized another important fact. This way of life I have grown accustomed to isn’t the way God intends for me to live.

God is the Creator who determined that each day consist of twenty-four hours. He is the one who created day and night. He created the sun and moon to mark the seasons, days and years. He saw that it was good.

God also created every cell of our bodies and designed each system to work together perfectly. He gave us a brain to help us reason, eyes so we can see, ears that allow us to hear and muscles that give us strength as we work…. He created food to fuel our bodies with energy, water to keep us hydrated and air so we can breathe.

He created us to be able to work the ground and take care of the earth, but He also created us for rest. He created bodies that get physically worn down, especially when we push ourselves too hard. He created us with a need to sleep.

Our bodies need sleep to restore, rejuvenate and repair itself. When we sleep, our minds and our bodies can rest from all the work and stress that we have put them through all day. This is how God created us, and He saw that it was good, very good.

So, God created day and night to consist of twenty-four hours. God created me to work and sleep during each of those twenty-four hours. Yet, I have felt like I need more than twenty-four hours to accomplish all of my to do list and also find enough time to sleep. It seems that I have been fighting more than just a clock. I have been fighting the Creator and His plan.

The All-Knowing, All-Powerful, Almighty God, Creator of All is perfect. His ways are perfect. If God created my day to be twenty-four hours, then twenty-four hours is enough.

It All Boils Down to a Choice

Posted on by Paula

She told me she needed to get her life straightened out. She thought she was strong enough for the choice she would face, but she slipped up again, just one day short of celebrating 90 days of staying clean. Although God had been strengthening her each day, Satan was waiting for the opportune time to entice her. In just one weak moment, she fell back into the trap. She relapsed. Disappointment, anger, guilt and regret followed.

A few days later, another woman shared with me that God had convicted her of a habit that was coming between her & him. She wanted to stop, but years of participating in the behavior made it difficult. She asked if I would pray for her.

I could relate all too well to their stories. I too started making some changes in my life this year, and I totally understand. The struggle is real!

I had neglected taking care of myself for years because I was too busy. As a result, I was sick and exhausted. When I cried out to God about my troubles, he convicted me. If the Holy Spirit dwells in my body, and I am to offer my body as a living sacrifice, I need to take care of it. How could I be of use to God, and how could I take care of others if I didn’t take care of myself? I needed to trust God to help me make the necessary changes and stay afloat with my busy life.

Every day has been a battle since that day I decided it was time to make those changes. I don’t want to go to bed early, but I don’t get enough sleep if I stay up late. I’d rather stay in my warm bed than get up early to exercise, especially when it’s cold and dark. However, I know that most of the time, I will be too tired and busy to exercise if I wait until I get home from work. I want to eat sugar, breads, dairy and junk food, but I know that my body will have more trouble if I indulge too much of those things. I am an excessive person, and am not always in the right frame of mind to do things in moderation.

I am the poster child for “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” I want to always please God by being obedient to him, but I love chocolate and sleep! Some days are easier than others as I’m learning to take my cross up daily and follow him. During this long, drawn-out battle, I have learned that it all boils down to my choices. I will either choose to obey the Holy Spirit and please God or I will choose to ignore the Holy Spirit and please myself. When I’m tempted to stay in bed, cheat on my diet or skip exercise, I am choosing to satisfy my flesh rather than to please God.

When the Holy Spirit convicts me of a behavior in my life that is keeping me from God or keeping me from living the life he called me to, then he will enable me and empower me to overcome. If I choose to ignore the Holy Spirit for too long, my heart could become hard and could risk no longer hearing his voice.

The choice is ours. Pray for God to help you surrender to him. Listen to the Holy Spirit’s convictions. He will empower you to overcome.

A Time for Rest, Reflection and Refreshment

Posted on by Paula

Learning to Stop--A Time for Rest, Reflection and Refreshment

I was a person who didn’t know how to stop. For way too many years, I took great pride in the fact that I “could get by” on 4-6 hours of sleep at night. I kept on working late into the night or into early morning because my to do list wasn’t done. I have worn my body out over the years and have woken up tired far too many mornings because I didn’t stop when my body and mind cried out for rest. I am a person who has realized that I have been laying burdens upon myself that weren’t meant for me.  If I am not careful, I become a person who will pour and pour and pour into others until I am totally depleted. I am a person who has not allowed myself to get the rest I need. In fact, I still struggle…but…by the grace of God, I am changing, There is hope!

God’s words in Psalm 127:2 spoke to me long ago, “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves.” I was also convicted by God’s command in the Old Testament that for six days we are to work, but on the seventh day we are to rest, just as God worked for six days and rested on the seventh. Those words were freeing when I read them, and I tried to find rest in them. Yet, between taking care of my family, volunteering with youth and working in a church, I’d soon get too busy and fall back into my overloaded lifestyle. For too many years, I wrote in my journal that I was tired and had too much to do. I decided in January 2016 that it was time to stop going back and forth; it was time to shape up and listen to God’s recurring soft whisper on my heart, “You need to rest.”

Now, I am not saying that you are wrong if you don’t choose to take a day of rest. What I am saying is that in my out-of-whack life, God convicted me that I need to.

A wise pastor once said something that really hit me. It was something to the effect that God said to work for 6 days and to take a break on the 7th, yet if I think that I need to work all 7 to get the job done, I am not trusting God.

An idea that has really been life-changing for me came from Dan Smith, a “retired” pastor who has been faithfully posting his beautifully written thoughts daily on Facebook for years. Dan wrote a couple of sentences in his November 6, 2016 post that I loved, “Well, every seven days, it’s called ‘Sunday’ and it’s like having an appointment that brings me up to date on where I stand with the Lord. So, today I can reflect back over the last six days; they’re all behind me, and see where I’ve been, and I can assess where I am today and can recommit that in all the tomorrows I will attempt to serve the Lord with even greater zeal than I have in the past; knowing all along that in just a week I will come full circle in doing it all again!”

I liked the idea of keeping an appointment like that with God. So one of the things that I committed to this year is to set aside as much of Sunday as possible to reflect on how awesome God is. Part of each Sunday is spent meeting with other believers to worship God. Part of the day is spent journaling all of the wonderful ways that I have seen him at work in and through me and the people around me. I record the things that he has taught me and pressed upon my heart. Then I go back and read those words the next Sunday to see if I obeyed what he made known to me or if I fell short. When I fail, I ask forgiveness and for help to overcome the next week. After I do my heart check with God, I write a new journal entry recording again what God has done over the past week, what he is teaching me and convicting me of and the progress I am making. After sorting things out with God, I end the evening writing a blog post, another idea that God has put on my heart this year.

Though I have journaled for years, it has greatly improved because of my appointment set aside to reflect and write each week. Before I got into this Sunday routine, I’d get so busy that I’d neglect taking a break to journal regularly. As a result, I would sometimes forget to record the awesome ways I saw God at work. Remembering the great things God has done encourages me when I am struggling and helps me when I am challenged with a decision.

Even though I meet with God each morning to study and to pray, I look forward to our Sunday appointment. No matter how hectic or difficult the week has been, I know that I can take a break to rest on Sunday. I guard that time and often have to say no to others in order to keep my commitment. Resting with God on Sunday shifts my focus back to him when the cares of the world have distracted me. Reflecting on the past week holds me accountable and helps me to grow and mature in my faith. Sitting at his feet and spending time with him refreshes me so that I am ready to pour into others again the next week.

How can I afford to stop and rest? How can I afford not to?

One Breath at a Time

Posted on by Paula

Gone are the days of the busy signal. The days when we could only receive one call at a time have passed. If someone doesn’t answer the phone, we can send them a text message. On top of that, we have e-mail, video calling and instant messaging. We have reached a point that we expect each other to be available whenever we want an answer. Having so many ways to communicate can be a good thing at times, but it can also become exhausting.

Last night, I put on my faded t-shirt that used to be my son’s band shirt, slipped on my comfy pajama pants that had shrunk into highwaters and eased into my fluffy pink striped socks that didn’t match because that’s just how I felt. Then I did the unthinkable…. I shut off my phone. I didn’t just put it on the charger in the other room. I didn’t just screen my messages. I totally shut it off.

It’s normal to find me holed up in my little sanctuary on the sunporch on Sunday afternoons and evenings. I committed this year to set that time aside each week to reflect on the great things God had done over the past week, to practice spiritual concentration, to journal and to blog. I look forward to this special time with just God and me but often have interruptions causing me to think and to write late into the night or early into the morning. Staying up so late causes me to break another commitment I made this year, the commitment to get more rest.

This is the year that I really set out on a quest for balance in my life. I want to have that rich, satisfying abundant life that Jesus promises through him. I want to be yoked to him, learn from him and find rest for my soul. So when things are out of whack in my life, I have to question myself, “Am I yoked to him?” If my burden is too heavy, that means that I have loaded too much upon myself. For his “yoke is easy” and his “burden is light.”

So here I was, eager for my Sunday afternoon time of reflection of God’s goodness and refreshment for my soul, but the interruptions and distractions started. I slipped onto the porch and journaled for a while and then took a break to eat and talk a little bit with my family. After that, I came back out to the porch, shut the doors, shut off the phone and shut the world out, trashed house and all.

I laid down on the floor to sort things out with God. There were so many things out of my control. I felt a bit discouraged and a bit overwhelmed. My body was drained, and my heart was racing. My mind was cluttered, yet blank at the same time. I longed for God; I longed for rest.

“How did I reach this point again anyway?” I asked my Daddy as I laid at his feet, basking in his love. I had taken on too much again. I had too many thoughts and too much on my to do list. It was time to blog, but I had no words. I thought about going to bed. “Maybe I just won’t write this week,” I thought to myself, but I knew that if I broke my commitment this week, it would be much easier to break the next, just like it was with my eating, my exercising and my rest.

The load was too big. I decided I could either quit in my discouragement or put it completely in God’s hands. I knew deep down that although quitting seemed like the easy way out, it would not lead me to that rich, satisfying, abundant life that I long for.

I made a list, I gave it to God and I set some boundaries for this week. I will have to block off times that I can work undisturbed. Messages can wait until after my morning study and prayer time so that I can focus on listening for God and letting him pour his Spirit into me. Then, I can later pour into others.  I have certain responsibilities that I absolutely must take care of and I need to stay on task in order to do that. I will pray for discernment to tell the difference between God’s appointments and Satan’s distractions.

I will put on the full armor of God, I will prioritize with God and I will take things one breath at a time. I will not stress or panic but will simply let him breathe into me so that I can exhale his love and grace to those around me.

And so I continue to take things one day at a time when possible, but sometimes things must be taken one hour at a time, one minute at a time or one breath at a time. Yes. This might very well be a “one breath at a time” week. And so I say, “Breathe into me, dear Lord. Breathe into me and help me to take life one breath at a time. Help me find balance and rest and abundantly rich and satisfying life in you.”

A Time of Rest

Posted on by Paula

“I started sorting things out with God and getting serious about some of the things He’d been putting on my heart over the past several years. Most of those things boil down to taking care of myself. The problem is, I have always tried to cram way more things into my day than I have time for. So, taking care of myself wasn’t the priority. However, if the Holy Spirit dwells in my body and I am to offer my body as a living sacrifice, I need to take care of it.” I wrote those words in my very first blog post, “A Season of Gray Hairs and Discipline.”

Beginning January 1 this year, I had made it a priority to take care of myself and find balance. I was tired of my mess and was ready to get serious about the things that God had been convicting me about for far too long. I’d been doing really well with my endeavor, but at the 6 month point my balance was a little off again, and I wasn’t sure how to fix it. A few things in life changed (as they always do) and my routine needed to adapt to these changes as well. However, I was so caught up in “staying afloat” that I couldn’t find time to figure out a solution.

Luckily, we were scheduled to leave for vacation at the end of June, but things got worse the week before with all the preparations that needed taken care of.  In order to take my break, I had to not only keep up with my day-to-day responsibilities, but also work ahead to take care of bills and such that would need my attention before we returned. I got up early each morning to take care of a few things, used my lunch break for errands and laundry and then came home from the office to take care of more responsibilities, finally going to bed late.

I had been looking forward to hiding away, resting and letting God unclutter my mind and untangle my heart. Every year, my family plans an escape where we can shut everything out for a week. I was so ready to for a reset and could hardly wait to reach our destination and sort things out with God.

Our drive should have taken about 14 hours but took over 18 due to traffic. I slept almost the entire drive and also slept through the night. I was even more tired than I thought.

I had a lovely, relaxing week away. I enjoyed early morning walks/runs with my girls followed by coffee and Bible study under the coconut trees with God. I listened to the tide rolling in and out and the birds singing in the trees. I basked in the warm sun and gentle ocean breeze. I walked along the shore, searched for seashells and delighted in the hot sand under my feet. I was entertained by the little crabs that scurried about and by the manatee that I followed for about a mile before it disappeared.

Sometimes I’d think, sometimes I’d pray and sometimes I’d let the roar of the ocean drown everything out. No worries. No problem solving. Simply enjoying the peace and resting.

Because of God’s perfect timing, I found myself in the book of Judges on vacation. God’s people seemed to be caught in a vicious cycle. They would follow God and receive his blessing, but then they would stray. They’d forget the great things God had done, but God wouldn’t forget his covenant with them. Because he loved them, he would discipline them so they would return to him and obey.

So, there I was at a point in my life when I had “forgotten” my strong commitment to get serious and obey what God had been putting on my heart for so long. I was still seeking God each day, but at the same time, I was neglecting to fix the things that were throwing me off the track he had put me on. When we start to veer just a little bit, we are in a dangerous place because if we continue to veer, we will be pulled farther and farther from where God wants us to be. Thankfully, God was waiting with his love, mercy and grace, ready to help me get back on track. I just needed to stop and get away from the noise a while so that I could see the root of the problem and nip it in the bud.

During my break, God pointed out to me a few different things that I needed to address. As funny as it may seem, I realized once again that my biggest problem was not getting enough rest. It seems that when I have a lot I want to accomplish, I should tackle the list and conquer as much as possible each day to get things done. However, not getting enough rest was really throwing my life out of balance, and unfortunately the things that were getting pushed aside were the most important.

As we were driving home, a Third Day song started playing,

“How many times have I turned away?

The number is the same as the sand on the shore

But every time You’ve taken me back

And now, I pray You do it once more

Please, take from me my life

When I don’t have the strength

To give it away to You

Please, take from me my life

When I don’t have the strength

To give it away to You, Jesus.”

 My turning away has gotten less and less over the years, but I want to be at the point where I never turn away. I want to be 100% obedient. Not my will but his will.

So here I am, back to reality. The pace must pick up again, and I will be pulled in several directions. The messages about problems that need dealt with are waiting. The refrigerator is empty. The bills and laundry are accumulating again. But, I am refreshed. My focus is where it needs to be. I am at peace. God is faithful, and is ready to woo me back if I start to get off track.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). Amen!

Two Are Better Than One

Posted on by Paula

I have always chosen not to run. I was the girl in P.E. who walked the track with the asthma girls who had the doctor’s excuse not to run, and that was long before I actually had asthma. Ha! I’m not quite sure what possessed me, but I recently decided that I needed to lay aside my pride, stop worrying that I move like Captain Jack Sparrow, and simply give running a try. I found a spot near the end of my walking route where I would muster up all of my courage and run for a very short distance, hoping that no one would recognize me.

My daughter decided to join me on my early morning walk recently, and I ended up gaining a walking/running partner. Neither of us are morning people, and both of us had our own routines. However, she needed more consistency, and I needed someone along in case I croaked.

All in all, we felt pretty good about our decision to get our workout in together each day before it got too hot outside. Four days after we made the pact, however, our enthusiasm faded and we found ourselves dragging each other out the door and down the road. Ten minutes into the walk that day, she told me, “I’m glad we started doing this together. I didn’t want to get up today.” My reply? “Me either! I made myself crawl out of bed and get ready today because I knew you were getting up to go.”

The air was so thick that morning. Breathing was difficult enough, let alone trying to run. However, one of us would take the first step to run, and the other would have to run along too. We’d run until we could no longer breathe. We’d complain a while, walk while we caught our breath, laugh a bit… and then someone would take that first step to run again. We took turns being the slave driver and being the one who loathed her. Together we persevered.

If I had been going alone that morning, I probably wouldn’t have run as often or hard as I ran. I might not have gone the distance that I did. I may have even given into my temptation to stay in bed an extra hour instead of pushing myself out the door, but someone was expecting me to go.

Some days have been harder than others, and I’m not going to lie. We were both excited the morning we woke up to rain and had to wait until the evening to run.

Isn’t it so much easier to fizzle out and give up when there’s no one watching? Don’t we perform better when we have someone around to motivate us to succeed? Whatever you are trying to do, whether it is making a healthy change, breaking an unhealthy habit or striving to reach a goal that seems way outside of your grasp, find someone to travel the road with you and to hold you accountable.

You might be fighting hard and even praying for God’s strength or deliverance, but sometimes, our spirit is willing while our flesh is weak. Sometimes, we need someone who cares about us and understands what we’re going through to help us stay disciplined and obedient. Ask God to send someone to travel with you on your journey. That person will be of great encouragement when you feel like throwing in the towel, and you will be able to provide motivation for that person when they feel like giving up as well.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 in the NLT says,

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.”

Who is helping you succeed today, and who are you helping in return?

A Season of Gray Hairs and Discipline

Posted on by Paula

Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life. ~Proverbs 16:31 ESV

On March 21st I will celebrate my 49th birthday. The years have flown by fast, and I have no clue how I can already be so close to turning 50. I’m not the type of person who is bothered by age but rather a person who feels blessed to be alive another year. I quit coloring my hair over 10 years ago because I felt that’s what God wanted for me personally (Lord, please don’t ask me to give up my make-up even though it really does take up too much of my time each morning). My white hairs have rapidly multiplied over the past few years, but I have proudly earned every single one of them through this most recent (and trying) season of life!

Although growing old doesn’t send me over the edge or keep me grasping to hold on to my youth, it has caused me to spend quite a bit of time reflecting on my life. Why am I always too busy? Why am I so tired? Why am I so disorganized? Am I doing anything that is making any sort of difference? Am I wasting whatever precious time I have left…. I’m sad to say that if you were to read my journals, you would find that I have been on a quest to find the “B word” (BALANCE) for close to 15 years. So, this year I decided it is time to get serious; I’m tired of my mess. Continue reading “A Season of Gray Hairs and Discipline” →