Am I distracted?

Mark 10:45 and Philippians 2:6-11

1.     What are some of the acts of service Jesus offered when he walked on this earth?

He gave His life for all. He humbled Himself to all. He was obedient even when it meant His death. He healed the sick and the lame. He raised loved ones from the dead. He fed the hungry. He cast out demons. He spoke on behalf of the helpless and hopeless. He acted out of love. He forgave sinners. He taught His disciples the Way of Love. He recognized the untouchables and unlovables.

What was his heart and attitude when it came to serving?

He served out of love in humbleness. He didn’t have to do it, for He was Divine. He did it because He wanted to do it. And He did it joyfully despite the consequences.

2.    We can be swept into busyness and get our motors running too fast. Where do you see yourself running your RPMs right now?

How can I put it? When I am busy, I am running high and fast and in the danger zone. When I am not busy, which is rarely really, I am barely moving. I don’t know if that is out of exhaustion. I might claim that. OR if it is because of the overwhelming busyness that I seize up …

Respond to one of the following questions that apply to you:

a.     If you RPMs are too slow, what needs to happen to help you pick up the pace? I need to cut down on the busyness so that I am not so overwhelmed. I need to plan these times of slow so that they are of my choosing and NOT because I simply cannot go any further.

b.    If you feel your RPMs are at a good place, what can you do to be sure you maintain health and balance and not get revved up too fast? Hahaha.

c.     If you RPMs are hitting the red line and danger zone, what can you do to slow down and find restored health and balance in your life? I need to pick fewer things to do and do them well. My complaint will be that most of what I do tends to be cyclical. I get a lot around the holidays. And I get some more around Easter. And then again in the summer. I am not sure if that can be avoided. I tried to plan some things ahead, but they all end up piling up at one time. I hurry to get one done to move on to the next and then collapse after everything! Can I choose to do nothing?

3.    If you could form a personal schedule team made up of people who care about you, know you, and would speak honestly to you, what kind of evaluation do you think they would make if they reviewed your schedule from the past month?

Funny. I have asked someone to take my schedule and make what I want to do happen around the things that I have to do. More and more people have advised me to do less. To pick the things that bring me joy and stop the things that don’t. Truthfully … there are still things that I would LOVE to do that would bring me joy that I would add to my list of things to do … And there are things that I would like to take off, but haven’t managed this time around. But have certainly said things to put the possibility in motion.

I think that my team would see that I have a lot of down time that I fill up with a lot of little things that take me away from what I want to do. I think they would also see a lot of things that I don’t have to do, but choose to do. And I would probably have a hard time arguing why I need to continue …

What might they tell you to stop?

I should stop blogging. If I want to write, I should write my book. I don’t have to train in writing here. I should just write and write and write and write there. That would be training enough.

I should stop Christmas decorating at church. I’m miserable.

Stop offering to do so much or more of the same. I’m doing it for the right reasons, but I’m not necessarily the one to fix things.

What might they encourage you to begin?

Begin writing more. Find a place to sing that is fulfilling and joyful, but not stressing.

But Martha was distracted with much serving…
Luke 10:40a (ESV)