Self-Care Sunday: Get Outdoors

 Outdoors is good for the soul.

There we can find sunshine, growing things, and living creatures.

While I do enjoy city parks, I also recommend state parks, where you can get away from all sounds of civilization. 

Take time this week to get out into nature. 

Sit by a stream.

Sit in sunshine.

Sit under a tree.

And breathe. 

Lay It Down

Our world is scary and a mess. When we are faced with the fear, confusion, and chaos, our temptation is to cling to the systems of the world that have served us in the past. But we must lay down all things that are not of God's Kingdom, so we can follow Christ without the baggage and burden of earthly identities and hinderances. 

Lay down our national identity. To follow the Lamb of God, we must turn from our national agenda. The paths of Christ and the United States have diverged a long time ago. We cannot follow both. Who will we follow and serve? 

We choose to place our identity in the Kingdom of Heaven, not the country we were born in. 

Lay down our political identity. The Lamb of God is not aligned with the Donkey or the Elephant. 

We choose to place our identity in God's Kingdom, where the poor in spirit, mourners, meek, those hungering & thirsting after righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and persecuted are blessed.

Lay down our familial ties. The Family of God supersedes the ties of the families we were born into. 

We choose to view all Christians as mother, brother, and sister, instead of the family we were born into.

Lay down our desire for power and control. God is King, not us. We were not commanded to legislate our morality and punish those who break our religious laws.

We choose to speak for the powerless without seeking power ourselves.

Lay down our desire for comfort and convenience. To follow Christ is to go where we are uncomfortable, to learn uncomfortable truths, and face the dark side of our history.

We choose to learn about the history (and modern story) of racism, white supremacy, nationalism in the church, and other uncomfortable truths. 

Lay down our desire for convenience. When we follow Christ, we are often inconvenienced, as we are called to serve others, love those who hate us, and follow Him instead of our plan. 

We choose to be inconvenienced as Christ asks us to feed His sheep, care for those on the margins of society, and follow where His Spirit guides us. 

Lay down our desire for safety. Christ commanded us to put away our swords, turn the other cheek, and live in peace with others. 

We choose to lay down our weapons and defenses. We choose to respond peaceably in the face of violence.

Lay down our compulsion to defend God. Listen to the pain of those hurt by the church without rationalizing the actions of those who hurt them. Listen to their anger without getting defensive or hurt yourself. God is big enough to take all of the pain, anger, frustration, and confusion a person brings. God does not need us to defend HIM. 

We choose to offer compassion instead of judgment to those who are hurting.

Lay down our need to save face and refuse to admit when we're wrong. Seek forgiveness and reconciliation when we have hurt others instead of doubling down on our position or explaining how we are not to blame.

We choose to forgive and seek forgiveness. We choose to reconcile and seek reconciliation.

Lay down our pride. In our national identity, political identity, and righteousness. We remember that pride is a sin and God opposes the proud. When we are prideful, we aren't teachable.

We choose to humble ourselves and walk in humility.

Lay down our persecution complex. We have a mindset that we are so persecuted in the United States, when really people are pushing back against our unloving and judgmental words and actions. Learn about the persecution that the persecuted church is facing: the destruction of homes & businesses, the physical beatings and executions, and so on. 

We choose to pray for the persecuted and their persecutors. We choose to remember those in prison for their faith.

Lay down our judgments. We were not called to judge the world, but we find ourselves judging those with different political affiliations, lifestyles, and religions.

We choose to humble ourselves before the seat of judgment instead of sitting in judgment of others.

Once we have laid all of these things down, we find that our hands are free to take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Christ. 

Self-Care Sunday: Brainstorm Reviving Activities

 We are not all the same. Some of these ideas for self-care, which work well for me, aren't as beneficial for you.

Today's challenge is to brainstorm a list of "reviving activities". 

What activities recharge your batteries or refill your bucket? 

What brings you peace, joy, and gratitude? 

Make a list of these things.

Then plan to do one of them at least every week, if not something small every day. 

The Right to Pray

 I read an article from an online news site. 

I encourage you to take a moment to read the article and then read the following passages from the Bible: Matthew 6:5-14, Mark 12:38-40, and Luke 20:45-47. 

Now grab a paper and pen to answer these questions: 

*How did Jesus describe how hypocrites pray? (Matthew 6:5) 

*What did Jesus instruct us to NOT do when we pray? (Matthew 6:5) 

*What did Jesus instruct us TO do when we pray (Matthew 6:6) 

*What did Jesus instruct us to NOT do when we pray? (Matthew 6:7) 

*What condemnation did Jesus have for the teachers of the law in Mark 12:38-40 and Luke 20:45-47? 

*What else does the Bible say about prayer? 

*Is there a biblical teaching on a specific location, position, or ritual when we pray? 

*How are Christians commanded to treat non-believers? 

*How are Christians supposed to respond to commands from the governing authorities? 

It's important to take time for perspective checks before we choose our response to this situation. 

1. The case may have just reached the Supreme Court and is currently making headlines, but these events happened in 2015. So take a moment to choose a response instead of giving a knee-jerk reaction that is most likely angry, bitter, or critical. 

2. Christians aren't commanded to pray at a certain location, but we ARE commanded to live at peace with everyone, as far as we are able (see Romans 12:18). 

3. NO ONE can stop Christians from praying. We can pray in workplaces, in stores, in schools, and at sporting events. However, those in charge can request that we don't make a spectacle of our prayers. When we are told that by the authorities, we are still commanded to obey them (see Romans 13:1-7). They can request that we don't kneel at the 50-yard line, but they can't stop us from praying in our seats and offices, in secret. Frankly, this request lines up with Jesus' teachings on prayer. 

4. Take time to reflect. Grab a piece of paper and pen to journal through your feelings. Turn your emotions into prayers. Examine why you are hurt, upset, angry, etc. at this news. Ask God to show you HIS perspective on these matters. Journal and pray until you are in a place of surrender instead of rebellion. Pray until your jaw unclenches and your hands relax. Pray until you get an eternal perspective on these events. 

5. Consider how these matters reflect Christianity to non-Christians. Christians tout obeying the law, until told they can't pray on a football field at the end of a game. Then they will overcome the lawful security and knock children to the ground to do it anyway. Is this the Christianity we want to represent? If they study the Bible's teachings on prayer, are they going to recognize that we are following Jesus' teachings or will they be confused that we insist on making prayer a visible spectacle? 

6. Consider how you'd feel if this was about a Jewish coach or a Muslim coach or a Hindu coach, or a Buddhist coach or a pagan coach. Are we in favor of ALL religions getting to pray on the field after a game, or are we just in favor of OUR religion having these rights and privileges? 

7. God is big enough to defend Himself. We don't need to sue to get God the right to show up at a football game; He's already there. When we jump in to defend God, our actions make Him look weak and unable to defend Himself. So let us take a step back and let God defend Himself. 

8. Are we praying for the "enemies" in this story (i.e. the people who are opposing the response we view as "correct")? 

9. Are we praying for God's will to be done (instead of praying for God to do our will?)

Special Feature: Eat Your Way Through the Alphabet Date Idea Jar

The thirteenth featured jar is the Eat Your Way Through the Alphabet jar. 

It has 26 Food Challenges to Expand Your Palate. Each stick has two food suggestions that start with that letter, except for X, which comes with three ideas.

Colors are randomized. Suggested foods include a mixture of fruits, vegetables, desserts, main dishes, sides, fish, meats, and vegetarian.

Each stick has a date idea on one side and a blank idea tag on the other side. So if one idea isn't your "cup of tea", you can write your own idea on the back.

This date idea jar is $10. 

You can use either link below to contact me about purchasing this jar. 
https://sites.google.com/view/lizscreationsdateideas/home
https://www.facebook.com/LizCreationsDateIdeas

Continuing to Live in Pandemic-Tide

In the Church Year, we have seasons such as Christmas-tide, Eastertide, and so on. 2020-2022 in my mind is "pandemic-tide," as it has shaped the rhythm of our lives.

As the pandemic hasn't officially ended, per WHO and CDC classifications, I wanted to take some time to reflect on pandemic-tide. We will look back at how it has shaped us, but also look forward as we weigh what comes next. 

What are ways we can show ourselves (and others) grace? 

Grace is giving someone something (good) that they don't deserve and could never earn. We can read about the biblical definition of grace here. Grace can be things that delight and charm us, or it can be God's merciful kindness that draws us to Him and strengthens us in living out our faith. 

What are ways we can be kind to ourselves (and others)?  

Are you someone comfortable going unmasked? How can you be kind to someone who is still wearing a mask? 

Are you still wearing a mask? How can you be kind to someone nearby who isn't wearing a mask? 

What are ways we can allow God to stretch and grow us? 

What spiritual virtues have you been convicted to practice? 

What spiritual vices have you struggled with during pandemic-tide? 

With clearer schedules, what do we want to learn, do, or be? 

How did you use your time during lockdowns and social distancing? 

What do you want to keep (or avoid) from that season? 

What did you learn about yourself and God during the first part of the pandemic? 

With schedules filling up again, what do we want to include and what should we refrain from adding back in? 

How are you using your time now? 

What do you want to keep (or cut) in this season? 

What are you learning about yourself and God in this part of the pandemic? 

How will we look back on this time? 

I will certainly look back with lament for the lives lost and divisiveness of our nation, but I will also remember this time as the season where I read new books, learned to play the violin, and invested my time & energy in crafts and cooking. Even though I had fewer visits with family and friends, this has been a season where I made more calls and video calls. 

How will we use the time given to use moving forward? 

What lessons from the pandemic will you carry with you into the future? 

What things have been cut that have been beneficial? What things have been cut that should be brought back?