Thinking Aloud

To start from part one, click here.

I am a biker chick. Okay, okay, I’m not cool enough to be one. Sigh.

But thanks to my man, I do have a cool bicycle. When I got my bike, I rode it in the same gear, at the same speed, all the time.

It was exhausting.

My husband finally said “Girl, you’ve got to learn to coast. Push hard on the hills and then get your strength back going down.”

And just like that, God spoke to my heart too.

I tend to ride life in the same gear, at the same speed, all the time.

And it’s exhausting.

Also, it’s not going to work out well for my story. Halfway through it’s going to say, “And she would have lived mostly happily ever after… but she wore herself out and sat on the couch eating twinkies the rest of her days.”

Ridiculous, you say? You’re right. I don’t even like twinkies. I’d eat jars of nutella.

Back to our stories! The whole point is that God designed us to have times of “coasting.” He gave us different gears on purpose. In particular, He gave us the gift of a Sabbath. That’s the best example of “coasting”.

I also “coast” when I read a good book, exercise, have coffee with a friend, pick up around the house (weird, huh?), take a long nap, go on a vacation, write and watch the snow fall outside (what I’m doing now!).

“Coasting” looks different for all of us. I don’t like watching TV very much. I get stressed and think the world is going to end. For my husband, TV is relaxing.

At the end of our bike ride I asked him, “So what’s the point of coasting anyway?”

“It gives you momentum for the next hill.”

Ah, yes, of course.

It gives us strength for the next chapter in our stories too.

p.s. Want someone to pray for you today? The (in)courage community will…

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TODAY’S QUESTION: 
How do you “coast”? I need your help, girls! (:

Purpleclick:
I “coast” when I’m with family… spending time with my sister and my little niece especially.

Like what you’ve shared, Holley, I like to catch up with good friends, it can be a (long distance) phone call or hanging out at a coffee place. I also love taking a long nap and going on a vacation too!

I’d like to do creative craft stuff too… which I enjoy but it just seems to be hard to get started at the moment. Would like to do them with my niece but the last holidays she fell, and her arm was in a cast.

(February 01, 2010 at 01.20AM)

To start from part one, click here.

When you think of writing MY LIFE STORY it seems big and scary. Yes? Let’s simplify it.

Stories are just a series of experiences. And memories are just stored experiences. And experiences are really all about our senses.

Research has shown the strongest memories involve all five senses. In other words, God has physically wired us so that our senses are connected to our minds and emotions.

So don’t start your story with, “I was born….” Rather, close your eyes and think of a meaningful experience. While you’ll have hard ones, let’s start with the happy.

Okay, got one in mind?

Now go through your five senses and write down one line for each. Let’s try it together. One of the first things that comes to mind for me is sitting in the back of my grandparents’ Christian bookstore as a child.

Sight – I see stacks of books I’ve gathered, my Grandma turning to smile at me.

Sound – I hear Christian music playing and the quiet chatter of customers.

Touch – I feel smooth pages and the softness of an old leather chair.

Taste – I taste a slightly stale doughnut, leftover from that morning.

Smell – I smell the loveliest mixture ever…paper, coffee, and Nana’s lotion.

(Okay, I’m in bittersweet tears! Whew!)

Now ask yourself one question: Why is this experience important to my story? My answer would be, “Because I fell in love with Jesus and books in that back room and both have shaped who I am today.”

Now you’ve got something really valuable. Compare that to what you might write without your senses: My grandparents owned a Christian bookstore and I spent hours in the back reading.

Flat. Empty. Just the facts, ma’am.

You don’t need to record every moment you’ve lived. Just find the pulse. Every meaningful memory is a heartbeat in your story. Repeat this as many times as you’d like. Keep using single sentences or make paragraphs. Create a collection of individual memories or join them together as a book. Do whatever brings you the most joy.

And as for the rest of your story…

It works the same way. But instead of picturing the past, you’re imagining the future. As Proverbs says, “As a (wo)man thinks in her heart, so is she.” Don’t be afraid to do a little dreaming with God. Then you can figure out S.T.E.P.s with Him to go in that direction.

With every heartbeat, your story is already being written.

All you’ve got to do is put it into words.

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TODAY’S QUESTION:
What’s a meaningful memory in your story?

Purpleclick:
I am so blessed to have a sister to share in my life story My lovely memories are those spent in her home mostly on Sunday afternoons, when we mostly relax and talk – we’re “sharing time” (a phrase I just learnt).

This is even when we are not physically together, like when I was away studying in Sydney. She’ll call me up around that same time and we catch up. I remember when I had been there barely a few months and she came to visit (en route to Argentina where my brother-in-law had a work trip). She decides to give up the trip and stay in Sydney with me a couple more days because I was so homesick! What a sister!

Sight: I love her home and the comfortable decor. She’s on the ground floor with full clear sliding doors, so we can look outside at the greenery.
Sound: There’s usually soft classical music, but also a bit of traffic noise from the road, and now and then a car’s horning, from the carpark of a small shopping centre next door.
Touch: The well worn sofa bed we sit on.
Taste: She always has a pot of tea. We sometimes enjoy orange cranberry cookies or a wicked white chocolate scone from an Italian store next door.
Smell: Niceness… Can you smell that? Haha. I can!

(February 01, 2010 at 12.50AM)

Holley:
Oh, ladies, these memories are beautiful. You are wonderful writers! What I love most is that they make me feel like I’m there with you, watching this meaningful moment of your life unfold. My husband asked, “Why are you crying? And I said, They’re good tears! The heart-to-hearters are sharing their memories!”

And for those of you who said it can be hard to find a happy memory…you are so right. Hurt seems to stay right there on the surface. Digging through it to the joy takes a lot of work! I am so sorry for the heartache you have endured. I wish I could take each “little girl in you” in my arms today. I would set you on my lap, look into your beautiful eyes, and tell you, “This is never how God intended it to be. You are loved, chosen, cherished, wanted, of great worth, and you will amount to MUCH in His Kingdom.”

I am praying for all of you today. I am so proud of you and I love getting to know you better through your words…

- Dayspring blog by Holley Garth -

To start from part one, click here.

When my husband and I vacation, we walk everywhere.

There’s a moment when I panic a little–usually when my husband pulls out the map and cheerfully says, “Let’s go here, here, and here.” And I reply, “That’s a looonnnggg way. Can’t we just go to Starbuck’s?”

But we set out…and by the end of the day we’ve made it and I’m happy. I’ve learned the trick is not giving in to that moment when the journey, the story, seems like too much. Just start with one step.

Small – The tinier the better. We tell ourselves we’ve got to do something amazing right now…ignore that voice.

Tangible – We’re not trying to walk on air. “I want to be happy!” isn’t a step. Choose something with results.

Easy – Yep, not only small but easy. If it can happen in five minutes or less, you get bonus points.

Positive – The whole point is going forward. Now isn’t the time for, “I’m going to stop…X” Focus on what you’ll do instead.

A S.T.E.P. might be making a phone call, getting a book, writing something down, exercising for two minutes, reconnecting with a friend, leaving a comment, anything that moves you forward.

(Okay, I am totally cracking up right now because I’m picturing Bill Murray in “What about Bob?” saying, ‘Baby steps, baby steps.’ Has anyone else seen that movie? If so, you have my full permission to laugh with/at me right now!)

We tend to picture God as being there for the huge leaps of faith in our stories. But He’s totally in the little stuff too. Even the Israelites made it to the Promised Land one step at a time.

In your story, small is big.
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TODAY’S QUESTION:
What’s the next S.T.E.P in your story?

Purpleclick:
Singing:
I’ve joined a small choir in my sister’s church since last year to sing on special occasions like Easter, Christmas… and this year it is a Jubilee year for them. It is a joy to be able to sing, and to sing with my sister. It’s something that has been a part of both our lives from school days. In fact, earlier this month, our choir mistress from school passed on. What a legacy of music she has left behind in so many lives!

Typing:
Started a few blogs and Facebook groups since the beginning of this year. Very happy to have this 21-day challenge to become part of journey. I believe many others will be blessed as I have been. I hope to keep up with the days to come, and to learn to blog better.

E-mentoring:
This is the ministry I’m serving in. It brings much joy as I see how God brings people to write in from the websites about where they are in their faith journey, so we can correspond with them. I’m excited to see what the Lord will do this year!

Praying:
Learning to be still and to listen to God. Learning to pray for others.

(January 29, 2010 at 11.17AM)

- Dayspring blog by Holley Garth -

To start from part one, click here.

As women, it seems we’re standing ready with our red pens. Rather than loving words, we want to cross through parts of who we are and rewrite until we’re someone else.

But God seems to like who He made us in the first place. He just wants us to be that woman for Him.

Stephen Covey once said, “When you pick up a stick, you get both ends.” In our stories, a “stick” might look like…

Anxiety……………………………….Sensitivity…………………………….Compassion

Sensitivity in itself is a neutral personality trait. On our own it can lead us toward worry (negative). With Jesus it can lead us toward compassion (positive).

The goal isn’t eliminating parts of who we are but rather letting God gently move us closer to the positive in our stories.

For example, the Apostle Paul was belligerent, overzealous, and an oppressive leader. After Jesus appeared to him, Paul was determined, enthusiastic, and an encouraging leader. Same characteristics…different ends of the stick. (Acts 9)

It’s as if God said, “Okay, Paul, I purposely created you in certain ways. You’re going to use those for me now, and that changes everything.”

As a counseling intern, I saw women become frustrated, depressed, and stuck as they tried to ”edit out” parts of who God made them. I’ve often done the same. Let’s not waste our energy or emotions. There’s too much good ahead!

God wants our red pens so He can redeem all of who we are and bring joy in The End.

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TODAY’S QUESTION:
What’s one little thing that helps you give God the red pen and make peace with who you are?

Holley:
I am enjoying all of your comments! One of the reasons I asked this question is because I needed some good ideas too. (: Thanks for helping me (and each other) keep putting down that red pen! Appreciate all of you and looking forward to reading more of your words!

Purpleclick:
In my visual mind… I’m seeing many red pens running out of ink!
It’s not easy to stop letting what others think matter more than what God thinks.
I have a strong sense of justice. I don’t only want to edit myself… I want to edit others!

It helps when I return to the time I accepted Jesus, in a sense “at the foot of the cross”.

I remember being touched by the depth of God’s love… “If you were the only person that Jesus had to die for, He would have gone to the cross anyway.” Then a couple of years back, I had a fuller perspective of that love, that it was also the depth of my sin: “If I was the only person, if it was purely for my sin alone, it was already necessary for Jesus to die on the cross.”

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
- Romans 5:8 NASB

God says we are worth it! He loves us even when we have nothing to prove!

Also, I am thankful for the love of family and friends, who don’t use their red pens on me.

(January 28, 2010 at 10.13PM)

- Dayspring blog by Holley Garth -

To start from part one, click here.

We never write alone.

So let’s take some time to consider who shares our lives and stories.

Before we do so, I’d like to bust the myth among women that goes something like this…”Everyone else has lots of friends but me.”

According to an article by the Washington Post, 50% of Americans do not have even one friend they can confide in.

Including family, the average number of close relationships is still only two. While concerning, that’s a whole different post.

What I want to highlight here is you are doing okay in your relationships.

Facebook, twitter, and all the other social media sites out there can make it seem as if the whole world is one big party and we’re not invited. The enemy can use that to lie to us and make us feel alone. But it’s not true.

That being said, let’s take a closer look at the relationships in your life. I’ve created a little diagram to help us out…

Heart Relationships – This is your inner circle, those with whom you can truly share who you are, the ups and downs. These are main characters in your story.

Personal Relationships – These people share your life in your neighborhood, church, work, etc.. You care about each other. They influence your story.

Functional Relationships – These connections are casual and interactions have a practical purpose. They appear in your story but don’t have major impact.

When we look at the life of Jesus, we see this reflected. He had three disciples who were closest to Him then the twelve, the forty, and the multitudes.

Connections to others impact our legacies now and our stories forever. As DaySpring cofounder Dean Kerns recently said, “All we take with us into eternity are our relationships with God and each other.”

If you’re in a chapter (and we all have them) when you don’t have the relationships you’d like, can I invite you to find those here? This community is a safe place and we really do care about you and your story.

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TODAY’S QUESTION:
Who shares your life right now? Especially, with whom do you have a “heart relationship”?

Purpleclick:
I share my life lots… with my family, especially with my sister. I want to pay tribute to my dad, because he’s the one who’s shown the way through his life and the closeness he shares with his siblings; how he takes care of them and brings everyone together.

I also share my life with many girlfriends, in particular I think of a friend in my present church (we talk too much to each other!) and 3 ladies who form a GAP (Group for Accountability & Prayer) with me (and we’ve been meeting for more than 10 years). A friend from schooldays and I have decided to start meeting up regularly, and God gave a name for us – F.R.O.L.I.C. – which stands for “Friends Reclaiming Our Lives In Christ Together”.

I also cherish friends I’ve met in the course of time… who are living overseas, in countries like Canada, Australia, Philippines, USA , Turkey, Japan, Hong Kong and even Kyrgyzstan.
It’s great to be able to keep in touch through mobile and social media technology, but nothing beats face-to-face! I got to visit some of them the past year… and hope to be doing more this year… and the next, next, next!?!

(January 28, 2010 at 12.52AM)

Holley comments:
Beautiful ladies, I have spent the evening reading, reading, reading! Thank you so much for sharing your hearts and encouraging mine! I am so grateful to share my story with all of you! Hugs and prayers…

Purpleclick:
Hi Holley
Thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. I feel so loved.

(January 28, 2010 at 12.56AM)

- Dayspring blog by Holley Garth -

To start from part one, click here.

Woo-hoo!

Thank you so much for all of you who are joining in the 21-day challenge to wrap up this series. As of Monday night almost 300 of you left a comment!

My type A, get-it-done, let’s-go personality wanted to dive in to the rest of my story right away. But as I sat in church recently I felt God tugging on my heart.

It turned out I needed to get something settled with Him first.

You see, I felt like I was letting God down.

Anyone else ever feel like this?

“Lord,” I whispered, “I just want to hear you say ‘Well done, good and faithful servant…”

And I started to fill in the rest with, “…so I need to change my story—I need to do MORE, be MORE, grow MORE.”

But then a Voice my heart knows seemed to ask a question.

What does a good and faithful servant do?

I paused, considering…

Listens and obeys.

And just like that, the answer came—both to the question and the striving in my story.

You see, we are not the Author…we are much-loved servants. We listen to the voice of our Master and live out what we hear. Because of Jesus, we don’t have to do, be, strive MORE.

We’re already accepted. We’re already loved. We’re already enough.

When we explore our story from that place, it becomes not a burden but an ADVENTURE—a glorious unfolding of all God has in store.

I’ve heard novelists declare they don’t know how a story will end until they write it. They say this with a smile and it’s clearly the part of the process that most delights them.

I hope we can be that way too…not forcing pur story, lining up plans, demanding our plot. But instead receiving, rejoicing, reveling in the truth that the Author LOVES us.

In light of that happy-heart news, I’ll say it again…

Woo-hoo!

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TODAY’S QUESTION:
Here’s a light-hearted look at different ways we approach our stories…

The Princess – She wants her story to be perfect and strives to make it so. She’s got a pen and she’s not afraid to use it!

The Procrastinator – She’s waiting for “happily ever after” to come. You can often hear her saying, “When X happens then I’ll….”

The Planner – She prefers lists to stilly stories. If it can’t be planned and checked off, why bother including it in the plot?

Holley:
I’ll confess…I’ve played all of those roles in the story of my life. The one I most often tend to be is The Princess. What about you? How can we approach our stories differently the next three weeks?

Purpleclick:
All of us probably have been one of the three at some point in our lives. I’m probably more a Planner and a Princess, in that my middle name is “Excellence”!
I like to do things well, to the best of my ability at any given time, and to have things well planned, details looked into, etc.
I know nothing/no one is perfect and that God sometimes lets things go “wrong”… but I don’t want it to be due to negligence… that it’s indeed something God-intended rather than a natural consequence.

(January 27, 2010 at 02.03AM) – so I can find my comment amongst the many.

Holley responds to some comments:
I am reading all of your comments and loving what you are sharing! And you have come up with some great names to add to the list…Pray-er, Pleaser, you are creative! Thanks so much for encouraging me and helping me grow. I love having these conversations with all of you!

- Dayspring  blog by Holley Garth -

This is from a blog by Holley Garth, who writes with Dayspring.com
I’ve been following her devotional blog since early this year, 2010 and found it to be very enlightening as she shares her life story.

Holley writes:

How do we write the rest of our story in a way that really counts?

This series is all about finding out together. Because as I consider the story of our lives, here’s what I’ve come to believe… Jesus is the author (Hebrews 12:2) but He has given each of us a pen.

From that series “The Rest Of Your Story” comes this 21-Day Challenge.

Holley explains:

Here’s how it will work. I’ll post every day and each post will include the next step for your story and a little question to answer at the end. It will take ten minutes or less to read the post and answer the question.

At the end of the 21 days we’ll have a rough draft of the rest of our stories including goals, steps to take, and even a life story statement (sort of like a mission statement but cooler).

We’ve been talking about the rest of our stories…now we’ll really get down to how we can live them out with Jesus.

In return, here’s what I’m asking from you. I’d simply like for you to read every day and answer the question at the bottom of the post (hopefully, you’ll do so in the comments but you can also do that your own way).

So here we go! Are you game?

Listened to one of the podcasts in the RSS feed we have on crusade.sg

It’s on “Encouragement” by Nancy Moser, dated 25 January 2010.
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Campus_Crusade_For_Christ/archives.asp?bcd=1/25/2010

Very much encouraged because it resonates with a “group” I’ve started up this year, something that God has placed in my heart and also brought like-minded people along the way.

A Sister Circle can do whatever you would like it to do.
Women need to bond together as sisters in Christ, growing together.

Encouraging one another is a great way to demonstrate Christ’s love.
A Sister Circle is a group of women friends, whose main reason is to cherish and nourish each other as sisters, looking beyond “me” to “we”, to the group.

It’s a group of friends who meet together… gathering, talking.
Simply meeting face to face and bonding, becoming a part of each other’s lives.

We share time with each other.

It’s a great place for community outreach.
A safe haven to share our lives in all its entirety, including our faith.
We can have projects and go out into the community and do things.
We can have a Bible Study and share more intimately.

No restrictions, no agenda.
Truly (and simply) whatever the women need it to be in their own lives.

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”
I Thess 5:11 NLT

Just read this bit of news on Yahoo,  titled “Pope to priests: Go forth and blog”

A presence on the Web, precisely because it brings us into contact with the followers of other religions, nonbelievers and people of every culture, requires sensitivity to those who do not believe, the disheartened and those who have a deep, unarticulated desire for enduring truth and the absolute.  – Pope Benedict

Benedict’s words aim to encourage reflection in the church on the positive uses of new media. That doesn’t mean that (every priest) must open a blog or a Web site. It means that the church and the faithful must engage in this ministry in a digital world. At some point, a balance will be found. Young priests would have no trouble following the pope’s message, but  (jokingly) those who have a certain age will struggle a bit more.
- Monsignor Claudio Maria Celli (68), Head of Vatican’s Social  Communications Office

Engage the digital world… mark the date (Sat, 24 April 2010) and join us for Internet Evangelism Day – IED@SG 2010!

- Visit the IED website
- Join the IED Facebook group

Familiarity breeds contempt… or does it?

Part of today’s (21 Jan 2009) ESV reading is on Matthew 13: 53-58, and The Word For Today‘s devotional also dwells on the event when Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth. The devotional highlights verses from Mark:
“A prophet is honoured everywhere except in his own hometown…” (Mark 6:4 NLT)
“…his family…thought he was out of his mind.” (Mark 3:21 NCV)

Context:
The townfolks were amazed at Jesus’ wisdom (teaching) and power (miracles).
But their amazement was merely an intellectual observation (an insight) that did not touch their heart (inner being) and was not translated to faith (belief/action).

They asked “Where did he learn this from?” (Matthew 13: 56b NLT)
But they were not interested to get THE answer.

God often shows up in our most familiar surroundings, the people we see daily… indeed on a moment by moment basis. Every breath we take is a miracle!

Have we stopped being amazed?
Don’t give Jesus a cool reception in His “hometown” – YOU!