Friday {in focus} ~ Surviving Chaos

 

Sometimes life gets crazy. Things spin out of our control and chaos ensues. We desperately reach out and try to grab for those things, struggling to pull them all back in so we can organize them to fit perfectly into our day and find peace again.

And God doesn't let us.

Because He wants us to know, to come to realize, to understand that He has it all under control. It's His way of showing us that He is God and we are not. It's His way of saying, "You've got to trust Me."

I'm a control freak. I know it. God knows it. I like things neat and orderly and working properly. I don't like chaos, loud noises, and messes. I've learned that life isn't always going to go as I'd like it to. I have to take each day one at a time so I can allow God to show me those things He wants me to let go of in order to focus on what He has in store for me to do.

Sometimes we have to look at the bigger picture of eternity, taking our eyes off of the details of the day and allowing God to move us out of our comfort zone. What is God showing you today? What do you need to do for His kingdom, and what part of your world do you need to give up to make room to get it done?

Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

~ Luke 12:33-34

Stand

Have you ever tried to do something apart from God and His will? I have. Either I get antsy and run ahead of God or I get fearful and take matters into my own hands.

Just as God promised Abram that he would be the father of nations, God promised me that my children would be all right. I wasn't to worry about them.

God came to Abram and spoke. "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father to many nations (Gen. 17:1-4)."

God speaks to us through His word. One morning, before school ended last spring, God revealed this verse to me during my time in His Word: "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth (John 17:15-17)."

I heard that my children should not be taken out of the world, but that God would continue to protect them from the evil one. I should have started praying that God would sanctify my children by His truth. I should have started covering them in His Word.

Instead, like Abram, I took matters into my own hands. I figured I could protect them by bringing them home for school. Like Abram, I found that my plan wasn't better than God's plan for my children.

I have faced failure this past quarter of the school year. I have faced a pouting, whiny face every morning. I have faced the fact that I am not equipped to teach my seventh grader. The math he's doing is the math I failed at doing when I was in school. And I still don't get it. I have battled within myself as I've considered if my protection is preventing them from dealing with issues they will face into adulthood. And I've remembered God's promise to me through a prophet so many years ago, when my oldest was only a toddler: "Don't worry about your children. They will be fine."

In my desire to bootstrap, to stubbornly do it my way, I've avoided that Holy Ground. And I've lived frustrated in every minute of it. When I release my will and my need to be in control, I walk that holy ground, and I live free in the abundance of life Jesus promises His children.

Humbly, I am turning my children's protection back over to God. I will let Him do His job and I will fulfill my responsibility to trust Him with everything He owns, especially my children. They will return to a school building, where teachers will teach them math, history, language arts, and science. And I will provide that safe, secure place for them to come home to where they will be loved unconditionally, taught the Word of the Lord, and directed down the path God will take them as they journey through this thing called Life.

To purchase a copy of Mary DeMuth's latest release, Everything, please visit one of the following retailers:
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Less Than Everything Under Control

It is good to take account of what's happening in one's heart. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the things of life that we lose sight of what's going on inside of us. We focus on externals and forget internals. Yet God tells us it's from inside of us that life proceeds.

Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life. - Proverbs 4:23

One of the issues I've struggled with for years is control. I confess. I am a control freak. I have been since I was a child. For one, I'm the oldest of three siblings. Bossy girl. For another, my dad is a control freak. His way ruled growing up. Just as he had to pack the car for road trips (and you'd better not get in his way), I too have to pack for trips (because, after all, there's less likely to be a hassle or a mess along the way if I do it). Oh! And don't get in my way, either. Unless you want to be blinded by my glare. Lastly, if I'm in control, then I'm the only one who can screw it up. And I'm great at admitting my own faults, so I don't have to worry about whether or not someone else will take the blame for their mistake.

Yes, I am the most freakiest of control freaks ever.

Which is why I cringed when I got to these sentences in Mary DeMuth's book, Everything. "Could it be that we are guilty of flawless Christian performances? That we've taken up ownership and control of our relationship with Jesus?" (p. 77)

I'm sure you could hear me gasp clear out in California. She pegged it. I'd have to say it's been probably three years since I sat down with God and did a serious weighing of my heart. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts. (Proverbs 21:2) Sure, I've prayed, fasted, read my Bible, sought the Lord and His will. I certainly haven't neglected our relationship. But I've also become that Christian performer, controlling the relationship. If I'm honest with myself. Truly honest.

Which makes me feel, well, less than. It's humbling to come to a realization that I've been reading less than what God would have me read. I've been praying less than I should be. I've been focusing on Him less than I've focused on outward things. I've done less than I could do for my husband and my kids. I've been less than compassionate. I've been less than zealous. I've been less than humble. Less than.

But Jesus is more so. So much more. Jesus is Everything. And it's time to make Him Everything in my life once again. It's time for me to relinquish control and allow God to take me on a journey down unfamiliar roads. My heart longs for a new adventure. One only God can lead me on. One I need to follow Him on, rather than lead another.

Have you ever been in a place like this? One where you suddenly discovered such a truth about yourself and an even bigger one about the Lord? How did it make you feel? What did you decide you needed most? 

Graphic courtesy of Microsoft.com

Book Review: I Blame Eve by Susanna Foth Aughtmon

Susanna Foth Aughtmon writes in such a way one feels as if she’s sitting in the audience at a women’s conference. With her conversational voice and incredible sense of humor, I Blame Eve is a book I could chew off in small bites at a time and swallow easily.

Bringing the funny to perfectionism, control issues and our tendency to listen to the lies of humankind’s biggest enemy, Susanna feeds us Scripture that will nourish our souls, fill our spirits and cause us to walk away from the unfulfilling things in our lives.

In chapter one, Susanna includes her list of forty reasons she wishes Eve hadn’t taken that infamous bite out of the fruit. Be warned: Don’t read this list if you need to use the bathroom or have a mouth full of your beverage of choice. Some of my favorite reasons are:

1.       Female facial hair (mustaches, unibrows, etc.)
2.      Exercise videos
3.      Bad fiction
4.      Body shapers (i.e. girdles – let’s just call them what they are)
5.      Bloating

(If you buy the book for no other reason, this list is worth it!)

The timing of I Blame Eve couldn’t have been better. Susanna touches on several hot spots throughout the book. I’ve been talking to God a lot these past few months about my cravings for things that get in between me and Him (like chocolates – not quite an apple, but just as tasty). She touches on our personal forbidden tree and those things we crave in chapter four, aptly titled “I Crave Apples and Other Things That Don’t Satisfy Me.”

In chapter twenty-two, “I Am Not In Control,” she writes about the choice we have to make between letting God call the shots or doing things our way. Considering I just blogged about allowing God to change us from the inside out and how we need to be patient and not try to take control again, my spirit screamed, “Yes!” as I read this chapter.

The book wasn’t all I expected it to be, but it certainly covered the issues of perfectionism and control and lying serpents very well. I think I expected a bit more “how-to” than Susanna provided, but it doesn’t detract from the value of the book at all. If you’ve struggled in any of these areas or claim them to be part of who you are, you won’t be disappointed if you take the time to read I Blame Eve.

There are study guide questions at the end of the book. These are some of the most fun questions I’ve read in a long time. And I’ve read many reflection questions recently. I think you’ll find yourself looking at them with humor, which reflects throughout the book. It’s nice to be able to take my downfalls and poke some serious fun at them for a change.

I appreciate Susanna’s transparency, her witty look at life as a perfectionist/control freak/snake entertainer. I’d highly recommend I Blame Eve, and if you read it, I’d love to know what you thought.

*Note: I received a copy of this book from Revell. I am not required to give it a good review, only to express my humble opinion of the book. I hope you found my review helpful.

** Available April 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group

You can purchase your copy here:

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