As of Tuesday we have been living near the town of Puriscal, Costa Rica. After sleeping on the floor of an airport for a night and taking several local buses and taxis on mountaneous roads, we were happy to arrive at our final destination: a horse ranch and farm about an hour’s drive from San Jose. We came here on a quest to simplify our lives and learn as much as possible about the world around us.
I have learned here that even humble places that we associate with ‘the simple life’ can have clutter if we are not intentional about it. No matter how rustic life gets, there is a tendency for us to stress, lose stuff, and accumulate more than is needed or manageable. Our human nature follows us to these simple places and wreaks havoc on our little paradise. We remain greedy, worried, irritable, insenstive, and focused on ourselves.
Decluttering our lives in pursuit of simplicity requires more than just a change of place. It requires a change of heart.
Thanks for reading, we will post as often as we can!
I received an email from a good friend asking me the following questions.
How do I know what God wants for me?
How do I know if my decisions are God’s or my own?
How do I hear God’s will?
The only way to answer these questions is with a story.
My wife Karen and I got married over 9 months ago. While we we’re engaged, I was in the middle of trying to decide which school I should take my post-grad studies at. At the start, I was mainly working on the decision on my own. Then I let Karen in on it, now that we’re getting married, I figured I would let her in on things (I’m such an idiot). Unfortunately, we let God in last. When it finally hit us that we were trying to make this decision alone, we took some serious steps to listen to the Lord’s will.
We took days to fast. Each time dinner came; we would take that time to pray for where God wanted us to live. We read scripture together. Reading the Gospels. Reading stories about how God directed his people. We would pray together and alone. We began asking close family and friends. When it came time to a decision, we had a much clearer answer than months before.
Has the Lord’s will been clear to you recently but you are ignoring it? Perhaps the Lord has called you to start giving 10% of God’s income to the church. Are you pushing him away? Perhaps the Lord is calling you to ask for forgiveness to someone you have hurt, are you pushing him away? Perhaps the Lord is calling you to look after the poor, the hurt, the hungry, the sick, the lost, the proud, the young, and the old. Are you pushing him away?
Hearing and following the Lord’s will is not an easy task. Are you doing your part?
To trust in the will of God we must seek to overcome pride and expresses humble dependency on God’s sovereign control over the events of our lives. Which takes us to my second point…
Praying with someone and also alone about the same decision is always a great indicator… it brings about good discussion and always give you a better idea as to how the Holy Spirit is leading…
It is also a great way to keep accountable to actually pray about it.
The next 4 main page posts are a series by James Kelly of curly-hair-huge-smile-and-unlimited-energy-fame. He’s a good friend of mine, and was the leading host for Journey back in January. You’ll be seeing alot more of him lately.
You can read his personal blog right here: JK, MDiv
There is a Pastor of a monstrous megachurch of 20,000 people weekly in California named Rick Warren. He wrote a book that currently holds the record for the bestselling hardback in American history with over 30 Million sold worldwide. The book is called Purpose Driven life. If you’ve read it, you know the first line…“Its Not About You!” So True!
In James 4:13-17, we are told “its not about you!” We are told not to worry about tomorrow because Jesus has it covered. We are told to follow the Lords will, not our own. We are told not to boast because all boasting is evil. We are told that our life is a mist that quickly vanishes. We are told that we sin all the time. James is onto something!
I think this passage points out three key things that I would love to unwrap in three separate posts:
1. Jesus is in control, not you – do you ever find yourself trying to do everything on your own? How do you know what God wants for you? What is Gods will? How do you hear God’s will?
2. Jesus defines humility, not you – you’re awesome. The best person ever…not. Isn’t it easy to think that we are though! We have a long ways to go to understand humility, but luckily we have an awesome example!
3. Jesus is sinless, not you – how often do you make intentional mistakes? You know, the ones you didn’t really mean to make, but you did anyways. Well luckily, Jesus in sinless and has the power to forgive.
The greatest thing is that Jesus is in control! That Jesus defines humility! And that Jesus is sinless! But there’s much to learn about letting Jesus take control. What it means to be humble. And how to ask for forgiveness and recognize our sinful nature.
Track with me as I unpack these three points from James 4:13-17 in three separate posts.
Had a great weekend with the Alma Bible Chapel youth group. I think I had everyone’s name memorized by the end of the weekend. Had a great time- watched some Olympics (the Canadian mogul skier got robbed), watched the dunk competition (Nate Robinson did NOT deserve to win a third time), and played some basketball myself (I still feel like a 92-year-old arthritic.)
Got to talk a lot about dreams and calling.
A recent story that’s been fascinating me is that of the Hadal Snailfish. It doesn’t move slowly like a snail though- it’s a legit fish. But there’s something VERY special about the Hadal Snailfish.
They live 7.7 km under water. In total darkness. In near-freezing temperatures. The water pressure is 11,380 pounds/square inch. That’s the same as if 1600 elephants were piled on top of a Mini.
And yet the Hadal Snailfish survives against all odds. Because their internal pressure and design ensures that they maintain their shape and don’t get crushed by the overwhelming pressure.
So too is it with our lives- we live in a world of almost absolute darkness. It’s a cold and lonely place. And the pressure is immense- to conform, to be like everyone else, to meet the expectations of those around you. And for most people, the pressure changes their shape.
Don’t get crushed. Don’t get flattened like a pancake. Maintain the shape that God created you to be- by letting Him do the designing, and by having an ‘inside pressure’…a fiery passion to conform to the image of Jesus.
Because “greater is He that is in you, then he that is in the world.”
My favourite worship song in the world doesn’t technically exist anymore.
I was 18 at the time and was running a youth group on the East Mountain called “The Edge” (any of you remember that far back?!)
There was this band called “The Elias Dummer Band.” I always called it “Eli & Co.”, but they didn’t like that very much. Anyhow, they were awesome.
The song was called “May My Life Speak.” Here are the lyrics:
May my life speak louder than words
be more like yours
Compassionate King, You’re everything worth living for
You’re greater than life
Greatest of loves
More precious than words
Beyond any song
For no one on earth could
Capture a glimpse of who You are
Jesus!
May my soul beat only for You
Seek the Father’s heart
For a love beyond words
Faithful and sure is who You are
This song says SO much of what I think of God and how I’d describe him.
Then one day, I heard them play it at Joy Bible Camp. And the lyrics had changed! After the set, I joined the band to voice my protest over the changes. The band erupted in laughter- seems they too disagreed on if the song should stay or change!
Anyhow, that’s the last time I ever heard it played live.
A few weeks ago, I spoke at Lincoln Road Chapel. The lyrics of Eli’s song fit SO perfectly with my topic, and I thought it would be an amazing way to end the message. Then I remembered: Eli did a live recording at The Edge wayyyy back in the day. So I did some digging… and discovered that I may have the only live recorded copy of my favourite, now non-existent worship song!
So I played it at Lincoln. It went over really well. I had a number of people ask to send them the lyrics, and their worship leader emailed me to ask for a copy so he could teach it to the congregation.
So Eli, if you’re reading this…know that your song is being resurrected!
For the rest of you… the band’s name has changed, but they still make some pretty amazing music.
February 17th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
Praying with someone and also alone about the same decision is always a great indicator… it brings about good discussion and always give you a better idea as to how the Holy Spirit is leading…
It is also a great way to keep accountable to actually pray about it.
Big decisions and small… pray pray pray!
February 19th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Good call Leah! (and congrats on the baby while I’m at it!)