Choose Life - SurrenderDecember

The power of choice we don't surrender is the power to choose who or what we surrender to. So let's make it a good choice... Choose Life!

But make sure you know what 'life' means, and where it comes from... it's always good to make informed choices :)
 

This song by Big Tent Revival speaks of where I have found Life...

A choice is set before you now
Living or dying, blessing or cursing
You know, the time has come around
To turn from your fighting
And rest in his mercy
Choose life, that you might live
The life that He gives
He gives you forever
Choose life, the way that it's true
From the one who chose you
Your father in Heaven
Choose life

Trust the Lord with all your heart
All of your soul and all of your being
Hold on, listen and obey
Surrender your life into His keeping

Choose life, that you might live
The life that He gives
He gives you forever
Choose life, the way that it's true
From the one who chose you
Your father in Heaven
Choose life

And the weight you're under
Will be lifted away
And the world will wonder
What happened here today
Then you'll stand right here and say

Choose life, that you might live
The life that He gives
He gives you forever
Choose life, the way that it's true
From the one who chose you
Your father in Heaven
Choose life

"I'll never Surrender!"

Surrender...
blender, tender, Fender, pretender, big spender... um yep, thinking of anything else but surrender is probably the normal response to that word!

Let's face it, Surrender is one of those 'I don't like it' words, one that puts us on the defensive immediately. The images I have of surrender usually include the bad guys who've taken hostage some poor innocent people finally coming out with their weapons down and their hands in the air to ensure they don't get shot as they surrender to the police...

It's always got something to do with showing your face as a bad guy and giving in to the law, or surrendering to your enemy because you have been rendered powerless before them. They win, you lose, give up. And so the resounding cry "I'll never surrender!" becomes either the line of stubborn villians, or valiant displays of strength and sacrifice of heroes.

Ok so surrender IS about that we have something to give up. But what is that something? It could be anything from an object to and idea, or your very self. Power, ownership and control  are usually entwined with those things.

My dictionary app agrees with me in its own words:

There is an underlying assumption or premise when we talk of surrender that we have complete control of ourself, our life and outcomes in our life. Thus, surrender sounds like we have to give up those things and by force. The fear is that we'll lose our self if we surrender.

What if the premise is wrong? What if we don't have complete power, ownership and control of our own lives?

What if the reality is that we all surrender something of our self to another thing or another someone on a regular basis and we don't even realise it?

What if by the very act of voluntarily surrendering our life to the One who made us we will actually FIND our complete self?

Fortified heart

I've been getting into poetry as a way of processing some things. Here's my latest writing. 

Seeping in; through the eyes and ears and skin

Words of stealth; that undermine all kinds of health

"Not enough!"; it deceitful bluff

Untrue; with a dash of truth to fool you

Rejection; pierces your heart with a lethal injection

Betrayal; stings like the fire of a scorpion's tail

'Not chosen'; leaves you lost and frozen

Heart spent; leads you only to lament

Poison reigns; running through your veins

Your history; beckons you to believe

Flowing lies; the end goal: your demise

Battle rages; deep within through many stages.

FLOODING IN; through the eyes and ears and skin

WORDS OF LIFE; they overcome all kinds of strife

"YOU'RE FREE; from the lies that keep you from me 

COMPLETELY TRUE; I have made you completely new

Rejection; I bore all the sting of sin's infection

ACCEPTED; now you are God's Child adopted

Betrayal; this rained on me like piercing hail

COMFORT IS YOURS; I've forgive your sins for sure

'CHOSEN BY ME'; when I carried your cross to Calvary

STRENGTHENED HEART; fortified with my cross-shaped love, it won't fall apart

LIFE REIGNS; my blood now runs through your veins

ETERNITY; together now and into the new is your security

POWER SOURCE; my Holy Spirit is your daily resource

BATTLE DONE; it's over. Peace is yours. I WON!"

The Squeeze Temptation v Comparison to none

Early morning wake up with plenty on mind. Things I feel must be miraculously squeezed into my day somehow. Logical conclusion - start working now at 7am... THE SQUEEZE TEMPTATION... Exactly what I've been trying NOT to do with my life this year! [except the rare occasion of absolute necessity - which this is not such a time].

Still small voice says: "start with me, just take 5"

So I open up to Today's page and am directed to this passage:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." [John 14v27]

"I DO NOT GIVE TO YOU AS THE WORLD GIVES"

How often we judge Jesus by the standards of what the world gives... when it comes to the peace the world gives we find it fleeting and shallow, not quite able to quiet our souls. Yet here Jesus offers Peace - a Peace that is COMPARISON TO NONE, for it is the deepest and richest of peace which comes from

no longer being condemned
no longer being detached from the source of life and love and meaning
no longer without a clear identity and purpose
no longer slaving away to be good enough

Peace with God our Maker, Lover, Saviour, Redeemer, Judge, King [and much more] OVERFLOWS into every area of our life for we have no need to fear the outcome of our weakness, our work, our circumstances beyond our control. Being at peace with God means He is with us in all things and working for our good, our eternal good.

"I do not give as the world gives" says Jesus. And he means this in everything that he offers us. This is the Onle One to whom we would really want to say: "I want more please. Give me what you offer, for none compares to you"

Here is a song that Zac Young was learning before he died. It was played at his funeral by his close friend Kye - it was beautiful Kye. It's simple and yet a profound response to Jesus' gifts. "I want more of you God"

'Set A Fire' by Will Reagan and United Pursuit Band

Jesus' Peace be with you today!

Distractions! Distrac... Squirrel! HELP!

If you've seen the movie 'Up' you will understand the title of this blog. For those who haven't - there is a dog in this movie who is easily distracted by squirrels in a very humorous way.

I think I have embodied this character over the past week or so! The way I envisioned sticking with Surrender December daily has gone AWOL lately. Whilst even the phrase "Surrender December" has helped me in moments of panic to hand over things to Jesus, or remind me to stop and spend time with Him, the plan to devote myself to time with Him each morning through the Bible has not gone so smoothly.

Why?? Answer - DISTRACTIONS!! It's amazing the sorts of things that i can wake up thinking about or wake up feeling motivated [or unmotivated] to do - such a vast range. And sadly I have let some of those things get in the way.

So here I am asking you for some HELP! What things help you be disciplined and NOT distracted when it comes to important things in your life?

Life Interrupted - Surrender December

Life has been interrupted a lot since I committed to Surrender December! So many unexpected things have happened and it has changed the way I have spent my time. The reality is our life gets interrupted on a daily basis, whether it be the dreaded telemarketer who won't let you get a word in, the urgent need someone has for you to fill, the sick family member, the weather's mood swing [it's been pretty moody lately], or a nail in your tire...

Well I am actually glad my life has been interrupted over these past 2 weeks, and not because it means the interruptions have let me off the hook on other plans I didn't want to follow through with [cause that is certainly not the case]. As I have Surrendered December to Jesus - He has refreshed my perspective on the interruptions.

Life Interruptions are really mislabeled Wake Up calls

They remind us that we are not actually in control of every aspect of our life
They provide an opportunity to look outside ourselves
They are a chance to see from a new perspective or attitude
They test our values and character
Amidst the noise of our own desires, and the shouts of our environments, 'Interruptions' beckon us [whether gently or abruptly] to Choose Life

Most of my so called interruptions these past few weeks have mostly been people related. Though they meant I missed out on some hours of sleep all up, I missed out on doing some of the things I wanted to do, I had to spend time catching up on work... I DIDN'T MISS OUT ON LIVING in fact I found myself ALIVE.

I had a telemarketer call me and we talked for quite a while. I got to encourage her, and as I thought about Zac and a friend of mine who is intentional about sharing Jesus with Telemarketers, I took the opportunity to share with her that Jesus was the reason for my attitude towards life. That was new for me.

All the opportunities I was blessed with to be there for people I love, actually renewed my love, renewed my desire to love even those I don't know. And as God spoke through me, he encouraged and spoke to me too. 

Picture from http://www.open-mike.ca/2013/06/08/day-159/

Love is Life. Giving is Receiving. People Matter. God Provides. Somehow - and I will definitely give credit to God for this - I managed to still do all the other life things necessary and to feel refreshed or at least have enough energy to get through each day on whatever sleep I had. And many people uplifted me in prayer during those mornings when I wasn't refreshed and didn't know how I was going to get through the day apart of God - God showed up each of those days and strengthened me!!

These so called interruptions helped me to Surrender December. Living with Jesus in charge is Totally Worth it! :D




Imagine if you started seeing the 'interruptions' as wake up calls, as opportunities to dive into deeper depths of Life, trusting that your out of control life is in the Great, Powerful, Loving hands of God... Choose Life

The Inbetween Matters - Surrender December

Image borrowed from http://denisebscott.com

As someone who isn't great at always finishing what I start [cause I get so excited about too many things and start a lot at one!] phrases such as: 'it doesn't matter how you start, it's how you finish that matters' stick in my head a bit. But then there is 'you've got to be in it to win it' and 'you've got to start somewhere'... so how we start matters and how we finish matters. Or perhaps it's more THAT we start rather than HOW we start which is important... [my analytical mind now wants to say and/or matters just to be difficult].

For me, today it was the very fact that I CHOSE to start with Jesus that mattered alot because it was tempting not to, especially with my schedule. Starting with him gave me more probability that I would keep going to him through the day. I found myself giving credit to Jesus more through the day for the positive good outcomes at work. When I had walked too long in my pointy heels that were NOT made for walking  [well not up and down the streets of Parramatta... an aside TIP: a tall building that looks close tends to be alot further away in walking distance than you think], when the pressures built up and the 'crappity crap crap' phrase either went through my mind or out my lips it was easier to turn to Jesus  and get some perspective. And now, it's time for me to finish my day with him.

Stand out OBSERVATION today = the Inbetween matters just as much as starting and finishing because what we do and choose Inbetween impacts how we finish. 

                     Mmm oreo's - without the Inbetween you could no longer call this an Orea... get my drift?                                                       Image borrowed from http://lensofhistory.com/2013/09/21/history-got-country-now/ [thanks to google search]

If I don't keep walking with Jesus during the day, I am less likely to make an effort to finish the day with him as the focus, OR I miss out during the day and am disappointed when I look back on my day.

What might walking with Jesus during the whole day look like for you today/tomorrow? Start the day asking God to help you live the Inbetween with Him leading you as he walks beside you. I will pray that for you tomorrow when I start my day.