Out Live Your Life -- Max Lucado

So as I stated in my previous blog. I made the goal to read at least five books this summer.

Why??

 Because in the last meeting I had with the BSF leaders, our teacher challenged us to read as much as possible, to stay in The Word and learn as much as we could.

Sooooo.... that brings me to my first book :)

"Out live your life" by Max Lucado.... 

This is actually a book I am reading for a summer bible study that I am doing with the Church Eric and I are looking to join. I have to say that it is an awesome read. very humbling and very very convicting.

So... what is it about you ask??? LET ME TELL YOU!!!!!!!     : ) : )

Basically... it is a call to action... to get your booty out there and do something with yourself.  Get your mind off of you and all of the material things you have and Do the work that God has called you to do.   (my words, not his) 

The back of the book reads: 

These are devastating times: 1.75 billion people are desperately poor; one billion are hungry. Lonely hearts indwell our neighborhood and attend our schools. In the midst of it all, here we stand: you, me and our one-of-a-kind lives. We are given a choice... an opportunity to make a big difference during a difficult time. What if we did? What if we rocked the world with hope? Worth a try don't you think?

The book  talks  about the charter members of the Jerusalem church. It tells of the ordinary people that do amazing things for the Kingdom of God. Starting in the first chapter and continuing on through the rest of the book, Max  uses scripture to show examples of everything he is going to challenge us to do. 

He also fills us in on all the statistics of poverty, hunger, disease, even slavery and sex trade issues. He calls your attention to the problems and even quotes scripture to prove to you that it is our job as Christians to help. 

Throughout the book  he gives examples of people answering their call and doing God's work, Showing the Love of God to those who need it. One of the many things I loved about this book is that he does not shove one particular thing down your throat. There is no " Do this or your going to Hell"  type thing... He is very clear that you should only do what you are called to do.

 Yes.. that's right.. I didn't say what you are COMFORTABLE doing.. but what you are CALLED to do. Sometimes those are the same things, but more often than not ( at least in my experience) they are waaaaay different. 

The third chapter of the book talks about letting God "unshell" you. Letting him make you aware of what is going on around you. A lot of times we don't want to see what is going on and choose to look the other way. 

My favorite part of this chapter reads: 

        With whom do you feel most fluent? Teenagers? Drug addicts? The elderly? You may be tongue 

        tied around children but eloquent with executives. This is how God designed you. " God has given

        us different gifts for doing certain things well"  (Romans 12:6 NLT)

It goes on to say that God doesn't burden us equally. He pulls each of us to a certain thing. That was really big for me. I was like whoah! It's OK  that I'm not comfortable around a group of high school seniors... It's OK if I'm not myself right away in a group of women. God has fashioned me exactly how he wants me... I believe my gift is with Children. I've mentioned before that I can be goofy, silly, fun, happy.... really just completely comfortable in front of my kiddo's at school ( my little ones at least ) ... but put me in a group of people my own age and I'll shut down and  if I'm lucky I'll  get out three words. 

But you know what... that's okay!! I'm working on getting myself to trust easier and talk more in front of strangers.. but the point is.. I don't need to feel bad for the way I am. I am a child of God and he created me the way I am.  I am trying to change because I want to. Not because I feel I have to. 

In chapter eleven .. Max speaks about not doing something just so everyone can see it. It tells the story of a couple in the bible that decide to donate land to the Church so that everyone will know they are doing it... It's kind of like writing the tithe check and purposefully holding it so others can see how much you are putting in the offering plate. 

We don't need to help others for what we get out of it... we don't need to publicize it. We should do it because we care and because it is the right thing to do. We need to be humble. 

This section says: 

         The greatest example of this humility is none other than Jesus Christ.Who had more reason to boast than he? Yet he never did.  He walked on water but never strutted on the beach. He turned a basket into a buffet but never demanded applause.

        

I  have to admit that the idea of Jesus strutting on the beach made me laugh out loud.. but you get the point. a few sentences later he says.. Jesus didn't do these things so How dare we?

That is so incredibly right. How dare we? 

How dare we turn this into something about us?

hmmmm???

get my point? That taught me a lot that little section... like I said earlier very convicting... but trust me it gets worse...

Chapter twelve talks about blasting walls down. We have these Pre-conceived notions about people.. about people of a lower class.. people of a different race... maybe even people that work at a certain place.. or live on the "wrong side of the street" 

It talks about letting go of it all. Forget your previous thoughts and give everyone a chance. We don't know what they are going through.. we don't know what they have been through in the past. It is not our job to judge them or call them inferior.

At the end of every chapter he writes a verse of scripture and accompanies it with a prayer. This prayer, as my BSF leader would say, made me have to put my big girl panties on... God was talking to ME in that chapter.

        Lord, in how many ways does my foolish heart make false distinctions among your people?

        Reveal them to me. How often do i judge someone as unworthy of you by the way I treat 

        him or her? Rebuke me in your love. Where can I blast a wall or remove a barrier that keeps your children apart

        from one another? Give me some dynamite and the skill and courage to use it for your glory. What

        can I do in my sphere of influence to bring the love of Christ to someone who may feel ostracized or 

        estranged from you? Lend me divine insight and bless me with the resolve to be your hands and feet. 

        May I be a bridge and not a wall. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. 

phew... just typing it makes me feel about the size of a lady bug. 

a couple chapters later he talks about not writing anyone off and staying off of your "high horse" and then comes another one of those convicting prayers.....

      Father, you have used all types of people for your holy purposes: prostitutes, murderers, persecutors, liars, thieves, swindlers,the illiterate, the ignorant, the blind, and the lame. Grant me the grace to treat everyone I meet  as someone for whom Jesus died and rose again. Let there be no unwholesome or unholy  distinctions in my eyes and no unworthy favoritism in my actions. Rather, make me  into a vessel through whom Jesus Shines. In Christ's name I pray, amen.

Well.. If I felt the size of a ladybug before I guess I'm down to the size of a flea now.. 

The last short paragraph of the last chapter says: 

   

      None of us can help everyone. But all of us can help someone.  And when we help them, we serve Jesus.

That last part pretty much sums the whole book up. We can all do SOMETHING. Don't have extra money, who cares ... volunteer somewhere.. just do something ... 

I have to say that I truly enjoyed this book and learned a lot from its teaching. 

After the 16th chapter there is a Discussion and Action Guide. It is GREAT!! It gives you practical ways to put what you just read into motion.

For me, this book showed me that I have been so selfish in my life. So many times I just think about me. No.. I  don't want to go do that I'm tired... No.. i don't want to volunteer for that, what if they want me to do it again...

I look at how materialistic the world is and I realize.. Jennifer.. you are right there with them. You have Five perfectly good purses in your closet and you are salivating over the new perfect pink Fossil you saw in the store the other day... $80 bucks on a purse... Do you realize that through organizations like www.worldvision.org you could do a micro-loan for less than that and provide a farmer in Peru with materials to start their own business. AND YOU GET THE MONEY BACK ONCE THEY EARN IT!! It's like Hello!!!! I want to slap myself in the face and say DUH!!!

I am so blessed and It's time that I start doing MY part to help. I really don't know exactly what I want to do yet, but I think Eric and I are going to start by sponsoring a child through www.worldvision.org. or www.compassion.com I'm not sure which we will use yet, we have to do a little more research into them. But for $35 dollars a month... Less than the price of a fancy meal... we can significantly change the life of a child somewhere in the world. $35 dollars??? I can do that.. I can cook at home instead of going out... 

I think the biggest thing I learned from this is Anyone can do the work of God.. not just "Special" people.. 

We are all called to do something more with our life...  Life is so not just  about us.. 

:) 

Summer Goals!!

Well.. Summer is here.. I'm about two weeks in... and I find myself making goals for the duration of time that I am off work. If you are reading this than you are most likely friends with me on facebook and know that I had a really hard time deciding whether or not to work this summer.

I didn't have to work.. being a teacher I still get paid during the summer.. but I thought well.. since we don't have kids yet and I want them sometime in the near future.. I should work while I can and get a little $$ saved up. Because I know without a doubt I will not want to work during the summer when little ones are around.

Well, plans were all a go and I even had a job interview to do a summer teaching job at a daycare I used to work at taking care of the School age program. I knew I was going to get it by the sounds of the Directors phone calls... so I really didn't worry too much.

Well... I was visiting with my grandmother one day at the Nursing home and It all of a sudden hit me like a ton of bricks that I wouldn't get to spend much time with her during the summer.  The School program job was from 9-6 so I wouldn't get to see her but in the evenings and on weekends. The thought absolutely made me want to cry. I did tear up once I got out to the truck... Poor Eric was thrown for a loop.. "What's wrong Jenn" He was completely surprised considering we had just come from a really good visit (Which doesn't always happen with her, Dementia is an evil illness)

So there I was blubbering in the front seat sitting outside the nursing home explaining to Eric that I didn't know if I wanted to work this summer. I wish I could have taken a picture of his face. His only comment was "Well then don't work"

It was never his idea for me to work this summer, I came up with it on my own. I wanted to get a little extra $. I wanted to pay off a couple bills. I wanted to put some money in savings.  He didn't seem to mind that I didn't want to work. His outlook was that he wouldn't want to work if he had the option... so that was that.

Well.. not so much for me it wasn't. I struggled and struggled whether to work or not to work for about two weeks. I just remember laying on the bed praying for God to show me what to do. Because I honestly had no idea.

Well, I have a wonderful Godly Woman that I work with named Trish... I went to her one afternoon and just told her everything. I said Trish.. I just don't know what to do... So being the wonderful wise woman she is she sat with me and weighed the pros and con's. Finally she put it in simple terms for me. She said "Jennifer... what are you going to regret more... not spending time with your grandmother ... or not earning a little extra money"... When put like that there was no comparison... I know that I probably don't have all the time in the world left with my grandmother.. with anyone for that matter. So there was my answer. I'm not going to work.. I was so happy! I went home and told Eric.. "Eric... Guess what!!!?!?! I'm not going to work this summer!! "He was like " I thought we already decided that" lol  I explained everything to him that I was feeling and he agreed whole heartedly... so now here I am... a little under two months from having to go back to school and trying to figure out what to do with myself.

Once I realized that I wasn't going to work, I started asking God right away to help me better myself over the Summer. There had to be a reason he didn't want me to work... so I'm going to do all I can to serve him and better myself.

So my summer goals emerged.

Goal # 1: Read at least five books
Goal # 2: Find some way to help others
Goal # 3: Go spend time with my grandmother as much as possible
Goal # 4: Get my house in order and keep it that way
and last but not least
Goal # 5: Learn to cook

lol.. If you know me, you know I HATE to cook.. absolutely hate it. If I didn't have to eat to survive i wouldn't.. This has been hard for the husband because he comes from a long line of amazing cooks.... cooks that make everything home made cooks..
I remember a year or so into our marriage he was like.. "You know... I really thought you would start liking to cook by this point in our marriage" my response was " yea, me too.." but I hadn't lol...

Well anyway.. I'm well on my way to achieving my goals.

Last week I made two home cooked meals :) which were pretty tasty if I don't mind saying so myself..
I spent several hours with my grandmother.. not as many as I would have hoped... but Mine and Eric's brother came home from the Marines last week.. and we were busy doing a lot of family things with them. I still have a little more work to do on that.
I'm finding ways to help others... I have a few ideas that I will be checking on this week. I hope to do some volunteering with meals on wheels... and a few other things that I'm looking into.
I have our house semi-clean... as clean as it can be coming off of remodeling a room. I still have some things to put away that got tousled around in all the hoopla.

And the thing I'm most excited about!!!!! ............

I have already read Two books!!!


I'm so excited!! I have several more that I want to read that I am ordering off of amazon.com.

I will be posting about the books in just a few days. I really want to share with you some of the things I have learned from them.

Oh!! And I can't forget... God has been so amazing and revealed himself to me so many times in just this last few weeks. I got a call the other day from the daycare I was telling you about wanting me to do some sub-work for them. I was pretty Leary at first, because I was afraid they would put me with the babies, and as much as I want one of my own.. it scares me to death to think of taking care of someone Else's... I don't think I have ever changed a diaper before... so I knew that that was not going to be a good idea.

But I'm getting to sub with 3-4 year olds and only just for a few days this summer... so it works out great!! I'm getting to do everything I want this summer without being tied down to  a job, but I'm still getting to earn just a little bit of mad money.

I caught myself talking to my mother-in-law the other day about my goals and how excited I was that I am well on my way to reaching them.. and how proud of myself that I was... and then... It hit me...

This is not me.. This is God... He is the one that gets the credit. Not me.. he is the one providing all of these opportunities for me. Yes I have a say in it, but ultimately It's all God.

Can't wait to get my blogs up about the books I read!!

If you are reading this.. and have made it this far ( sorry it's so long) help me out by holding me accountable to my goals..
If your friends with me on Facebook... shoot me a message... if you see me in person.. bring it up in conversation.. I need accountability.

I'm so excited about the things God is doing in my life right now!!
To God be the Glory!!

= )