Two things come to mind:
1. I'm "too busy"
2. I get super anxious when I'm not "getting stuff done"
Okay, so maybe both of those have to do with my having a busybody personality...looks like I might be more of a Martha than a Mary :-/
I came across a great brief devotional on woh.org called "Rest" that provided some honest insight into this downfall of many many humans. As this article states, rest is not just inactivity, but instead, a state of being. It goes on to quote Augustine when he said, "Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee." We need time with God to cure the anxiousness and restlessness that resides in our sinful hearts. Plus, how arrogant is it to say, "I'm too busy to spend time with the Creator of the Universe."?!?!?
This pic taken from my balcony makes me think of rest in its best form ;-)
I get so caught up in school stuff and convince myself that I have little time for relaxing and rejuvenating myself in any way, most especially in abiding in Christ. But if I honestly examine how I approach school stuff, it becomes blatantly clear that I hardly ever really focus and am instead doing a million other things at the same time which obviously causes my school work to take way longer than it really should!
As the article also points out, sitting in front of the TV does not = Rest. And think about it, if we get caught up in watching a particular show, *cough* Monk *cough*, it really is not too long before we realize that one episode is over and we got so very little actually accomplished. Wouldn't sitting for hours on end absorbed in TV just make us more restless in the end because we did not get anything done?
When we take time to sit with Christ and focus on Him though, we are accomplishing something, something that is nearly unfathomable in it's scope and power! I will definitely keep this in mind next time I decide to forego time with Christ for something far less important.
Clean - The Mary Challenge in Sarah Mae's Day 4 post (obviously I'm doing all this at my own pace lol) is to look up instances of the words "lazy" and "diligent" in the Bible. I found a couple of really great ones, including one that has been misinterpreted to a degree and used to support a very non-Christian way of thinking.
Proverbs 10:4 >>
Lazy hands make for poverty,
but diligent hands bring wealth.
Yeah so, at face value, this proverb sounds incredibly harsh and unforgiving, but it turns out that it's more of a message to how we should approach our relationship with God rather than about economic poverty. And even then, when this verse is interpreted from the flip side, it is not saying that all fiscally poor people are lazy!! If we are lazy in spending time with God and getting to know Him better, then our souls will be impoverished. If we are diligent in spending time with our Lord and Savior, then our souls will be wealthy and satisfied. I located a commentary on this verse with a fabulous quote that really puts it well:
"It would be a libel on the Divine economy
to imagine that the tender plant of grace
to imagine that the tender plant of grace
would thrive in a sluggard's garden.
The work is difficult, the times are bad.
The work is difficult, the times are bad.
He who would gain in godliness must
put his soul into the business.
put his soul into the business.
But he who puts his soul into the business
will grow rich. When all [accounts] are closed
he who is rich in faith is the richest man."
will grow rich. When all [accounts] are closed
he who is rich in faith is the richest man."
How powerful is that?? I think it speaks for itself :-)
1 Timothy 4:15-16>>
Be diligent in these matters;
give yourself wholly to them,
give yourself wholly to them,
so that everyone may see your progress.
Watch your life and doctrine closely.
Persevere in them, because if you do,
you will save both yourself and your hearers.
This is such a fantastic passage and personally resonates with me in the way I have handled afflictions in the past. When dealing with some really rough circumstances, and I'm not just talking about horrific breakups btw, I've turned to Christ. I love relaying these tales of woe and rejuvenation to Christians and non-Christians alike because they show just how powerful the love, grace, and mercy of Christ truly is! I don't mind reliving bad situations when it means sharing my Savior with others :-) The last phrase of this passage should be the most "hit you in the face" - - you will save both yourself and your hearers. Talk about a LOT of responsibility that we have as followers of Christ!! But this just goes to show that being a Christian is more than about loving other people; it's about showing others that you can persevere through the toughest of times and that the source of that perseverance is Christ Himself.
The Martha Challenge involved cleaning up my bedroom closet, dresser, and chest of drawers.
1. My closet looks fantastic now! Granted I only had to do a couple of very minor things to get it to look so good, but man those little tiny things just pile up and pile up until they become a mountain, so I'm glad to have completed them.
a. I finally hung my blue Swedish wooden shadow-box and since
the frame I had the photograph of my Mormor (mother's mother
in Swedish) in broke over a month ago...like I said, little
things...I put it in the shadow box along with several small
trinkets that have been hogging a lot of space on my dresser.
the frame I had the photograph of my Mormor (mother's mother
in Swedish) in broke over a month ago...like I said, little
things...I put it in the shadow box along with several small
trinkets that have been hogging a lot of space on my dresser.
b. Moved my winter accessories box to the back room.
c. Pulled the 2 stackable boxes that were holding my hoodies
down from the unreachable top shelf (I'm only 5' 1"...) and put
them on the floor next to the other similar boxes.
down from the unreachable top shelf (I'm only 5' 1"...) and put
them on the floor next to the other similar boxes.
d. I then could spread out my bedding on the top shelf into
matching stacks which will prevent them from falling on my
head...
matching stacks which will prevent them from falling on my
head...
e. Moved the clothes I'm keeping for if I have a daughter in the
future to a large rubbermaid container rather than the shopping
bag they were in.
future to a large rubbermaid container rather than the shopping
bag they were in.
f. Put my house pants/sweats in one of the stackable boxes on the
floor - they just take up WAY too much space to keep them all
in one drawer.
floor - they just take up WAY too much space to keep them all
in one drawer.
2. I've started on my dresser as well.
a. Dusted the top of it (LONG overdue!)
b. Only put back a few trinkets...put several in the above
mentioned shadow box.
mentioned shadow box.
I'll continue working on the contents of my dresser/chest of drawers today as well as tackle my night stand and bookcase (actually a shoe shelf lol).
Pictures are forthcoming :-)
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