Recap Week 4

Okay, so first thing, when a couple of us starting reading this week, we thought of this,  I tried to embed it, but it didn't want to cooperate, so just follow the link please.

http://youtu.be/wM1DgihKHVI

I know it's cheesy, but it's a perfect lead in to this chapter.  The opening paragraph even talked about this story, it's one of Aesop's Fables.

The chapter this week was titled "Balancing Work and Rest" and the theme verse to open it was Proverbs 6:6 - "Go to the ant, your sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise" 

See why we thought of that old "Silly Symphony"?

The chapter asks the questions-

How much work is too much work?

How much rest is too much rest?

Where is the balance?

Section 1 points out that Proverbs has a ton of verses that parallel the "Aesop's Fable", 6 verses in particular. Proverbs 6:9, 12:24, 12:27, 13:4, 15:19 and 21:25 to be exact.  All of these verses are very critical and negative about laziness.

Section 2 leads us to the New Testement to see that God's opinion on laziness hasn't changed. Paul flat out warns the Thessalonians that "if you don't work, you don't eat".  That doesn't exactly line up with how our system works these days, does it?  God wants us to work to provide for our own needs as well as we can.  If we're not putting in any effort, how can we expect Him to? God always provides for His children when we need Him to, but He also expects us to use the gifts and talents He's given us to provide for ourselves.

God established a time of rest for us though, right in the beginning.  He knew working all the time wasn't good for us, we'd burn out, be unhappy, tired, unhealthy, without some time to rest and recoup and get refocused on what's important. That's why He established the idea of the "sabbath".  Everyone needs a day of rest! Exodus 23:12 and 31:15 explain this.  In Old Testament times, the Sabbath was so sacred no one did anything that involved any form or exertion.  Opening a door, fixing a meal, walking to get somewhere, were all against the rules on the Sabbath. Now it seems like we use Sunday as a crazy rush around catch up day most of the time, but that's not what God intended.

Section 4 encourages us to get away every once in awhile. Sometimes just escaping yoru routine can make a huge difference in your effort and energy levels towards your work.  That's why most jobs offer vacation time!  Psalm 55:6 echoes this sentiment.

Prioritizing rest will make sure we get some.  God promises to be our peace and rest in Mark 6:31 and Matthew 11:28-29 we're to turn to Him and let us protect us from life's chaos so that we can get the rest we need and refocus on Him.

Section 6 reminds us that not all times are restful times.  Neither laziness or workaholicnesss (I know it's not a word) are a good thing, God wants us to balance them and be diligent.

Proverbs 27:23 - Be diligent to take care of our responsibilities

2 Timothy 2:15 - Be diligent to keep your integrity and witness pure

Hebrews 4:11 - Be diligent to rest

2 Peter 1:10 - Be diligent to keep your priorities straight

2 Peter 3:14 - Be diligent to do things God's way

Section 7 encourages us to keep our focus on God, and prioritize our lives the way He would.  If we're striving towards the right goals, He'll protect us from exhaustion and grant us peace, even when we're working hard.

Every life needs a balance of work and rest.  Too much of either is bad for body and soul.

Use these verses to dig deeper this week.

Romans 12:11

2 Corinthians 8:7

Hebrews 6:11

2 Peter 1:5

See you next week!

Stefanie

Recap Week 3

Good morning everyone, sorry this post is so delayed!  I usually plan to write this Wednesday night/Thursday morning, but I literally have not had access to a computer other than my one at work all week, mostly due to my own crazy schedule and then not wanting to waste time with my husband in front of a computer screen when I finally get home.

Anyways, Tuesday was great, we had a good turn out, and our discussion times are getting longer and more involved, it's fun!

Chapter 3 was titled "Balancing Schedules and Interruptions", if I wanted to make excuses, this week had alot of interruptions, or rather alot of things I didn't say "no" to. Who else feels like the extra day of weekend wasn't worth it? When the work week starts on Tuesday it's not really fair, because you still have to do 5 days worth of work, but you only get 4 days to accomplish it! So not fair!

In the beginning of the chapter they gave us the illustration of Philleas Fogg, (Around the World in 80 Days) and his perfectly timed out, planned out lifestyle.  Now, in a book, or movie, alot of his schedule would work, but in real life? He'd have to be some kind of extreme OCD case!  Most of us would be excited if we knew when we'd have time to eat again, let alone at exactly what minute and what was being served based on the minute, day and season.  In the story Philleas is trying to get around the world in 80 days, and return at an exact minute.  Things keep getting in his way and delaying him on his trip, to the point that he arrives home exactly 1 hour late, or so he thinks. When he thinks he's late, he goes into a deep dark place of depression, shutting everyone out, rather quickly.  Thank goodness he's an extreme case, I can't imagine being depressed everytime I was late.  Of course, as story would have it, he forgot to allow for the changes in time zone and actually arrived 23 hours early, but that's fiction for you.

Do you have a favorite fiction character? Are they you're favorite because you're like them, or you'd like to be like them?

Section 1 reminds us that "the best laid plans of mice and men are forever being interrupted".  It also used the analogy of "scheming schedules" when we try to force our plans to work out.  Psalm 33:10 & 11, and Proverbs 19:21 remind us that God's plans are the only plans we should be working towards. His plans are always better than ours. 

I saw a quote on Pinterest this week, that goes

Pretty perfect to find that on Monday and have study on Tuesday. Think God's trying to send a message?

In Section 2 we talked about how sometimes it's hard to separate God's plans from our plans.  He gifts us in many ways, some of our gifts make us happy, but some of the things we're gifted in are there only to make God happy and serve Him the way He wants us to.  God only gifts us to be able to do things that are within His will, if those things make us happy, bonus!

God can change our plans, and desires to accomplish those plans.  Philippians 2:13 reminds us that God has the power to interrupt us when we're going in a direction He doesn't like, or focusing too much on something other than His plans. 

The sidebar quote on this page was

I realized how tart I become when inconvenienced.

It doesn't take much of a breeze to topple me.

I want to believe that, if called upon to be a heroine,

I would rise to the occasion.

But experience has proven me feeble.

Patsy Clairmont

Do you think that sometimes it's our attitudes that make it so difficult on us when things don't go as we planned?

Section 4 talks about how we don't always know how we should plan, or what God's plans are. We never know what He's thinking, but He always knows what we are, and should be thinking. God sees the big picture.  Kind of like when our prayer don't get answered the way we want, and we can't figure out why God didn't acknowledge our prayer request, and 2 weeks, 2 months, or 10 years later, we look back and wonder what we were thinking wanting that in the first place.  Hindsight is 20/20.  Like when you think you were in highschool and wanted something so badly, to hang out with certain people or a person, and go to certain social events, but your parents wouldn't let you, and then 10 years later they pop up in your "people you may know" on Facebook, and out of natural curiosity you click their picture and wonder why you found them attractive in the first place because their life's all messed up now. Or is that just something that happens to me? :)

Romans 11:33 (as quoted in Section 5) talks about how God has true wisdom, only He understands everything about our lives and plans, and can make the best plans.

Section 6 compared our ways to God's ways using scripture.  Read these verses to see how much better God's ways and plans are than ours.

Deuteronomy 10:12

Isaiah 2:3 and 58:2

Daniel 5:23

Psalm 25:4 and 145:17

Proverbs 5:21

and Lamentations 3:40

Sections 7 and 8 talk about our attitudes and responses to things that get in our way when we're trying to accomplish everything in our plans. Whether we get our plans done or not, we weren't right or wrong, we're just following God's will.  We're not in control of all the interruptions that happen, but God knows they're coming, and He'll use them to train us an mold us to be more like Him if we let Him.  A positive attitude and willingness to adapt are everything.  Our attitudes are our witness, do you want people to see you as a frazzled, rushed, rude (face it, in a hurry it's easy) messes? Or as someone willing to set aside our desires and ideas for someone elses? Many of the greatest Bible stories are about characters who had to endure HUGE redirections in their lives to do what God wanted them to do.  Go read the stories about Joseph (Old Testament one) Moses, Ruth (one of my favorite examples) David, Esther, Daniel, or Mary (Jesus's mother, now there's a huge interruption!)

How can you change your attitude towards your interruptions this week to be more open to God's working in your life?

Week Two Recap

Okay, so this week's study was pretty great! For one thing, we had 8 wonderful ladies (including one visitor-welcome!) show up, and for a second thing, it was only 94 out, with a breeze!  I'm so looking forward to not sweating all the time!

I apologize for any grammatically crazy sentences this time, it's 6:40am and I haven't had coffee yet. :)

Chapter 2 was titled - "Balancing Time and Responsibilities" basically, how to fix your "juggling act" from the week before!

Remember when you were a kid and couldn't wait to be responsible enough to be allowed certain things? A pet, a privilege, to be in on discussions and decisions, a later bedtime, freedom to do things without mom and dad?  Well is it just me, or does responsibility come back to bite you?  The more we grow, and the more responsibilities we take on, the more we have to juggle to maintain and the more frantic and fried we become.  We used to beg for the right to be responsible, and now it's just not so much fun, is it?

Section 1 reminds us that "life is short" therefore, "time is short".  In today's society, it's a challenge just to survive our daily routines! But really, compared to eternity, our time span is pretty minute. Psalm 39:11 compares our lives to a "vapor", fleeting and temporary and only visible for a very short while.

Section 2 uses Psalm 90:9 to compare our lives to a "sigh", or depending on the translation "a tale being told", something short lived, and easily forgotten or overlooked. How many times have you heard an illustration, and not realized it's relevance until later, possibly when it was too late to be helpful? Our lives can be that way too, if we're not wise with our use of time.

We're encouraged to use our time wisely in Section 3.  Ephesians 5:16 and Colossians 4:5 tell us to "redeem" our time, and make the most of it.  When I hear "redeem", my mind instantly goes to coupons. If you redeem them wisely, you get way more back than the value of the amount of effort it took you to cut it out and take it with you to the store. Not that using our time wisely should have a self seeking motive, but it's just the way the cycle works.  When you're using your time the way God wants you to, He rewards that.  You are the happiest when you're making someone else happy, even if that other "person" is God, you'll be better for it. 

Alot of people think they need more to be happy, but having more just leads to more work!  How can more work make you happier? We don't always know what is best for ourselves. If we want a raise, that usually comes with a promotion, which usually comes with more responsibility. If we want a bigger house, that comes with more housework and higher utility bills. We should learn to be content with the life we have and simply re-adjust, or organize the things we already have. 

In Section 4 we're encouraged to be wary of things that distract us from our good responsibilities.  Acts 17:21 talks about men of that day wasting away their time talking about the latest things.  Kind of like we waste our time talking about the latest news  or gossip. As much as I love Facebook, it's a beast to keep from taking over my life!  Figure out what your weaknesses and distractions are so you can keep them under control.

Section 5 was a "True" or "False" exercise using scripture.  I'm going to list the passages that gave us "True" information and I encourage you to read them yourselves.
John 7:6
Acts 3:19
Romans 13:11
1 Peter 5:6

In closing we talked about how every season of our lives have a different set of priorities and goals. Have you had to set aside some of those plans because of the chaos you were living in? What have you learned from this? Were some things not as important as they seemed at the time? Has God used those sacrifices (and also the victories) to teach you something specific?

The prayer suggestions really hit home this week.  We don't want to regret the way we've used our time.  We should pray for clarity and courage,  to say both "yes"  to the things God wants us to use our time for, and "no" to the things that will distract us from living the life He's intended for us.