Wow! This one hit me hard this morning. My plate feels kind of full right now. I’d be willing to go out on a limb and say that it’s likely you feel like you’re operating with quite a full plate, too. You know, the kind where it makes you wonder how in the world you’re going to manage it all. You have more to do than there’s actually time in the day to get it all done. You have so many questions that don’t seem to have definitive answers. You have goals and dreams for a brighter future, but your fears have you feeling stuck again. You’re facing situations that have you wondering how exactly to proceed.

I can forget that there are definitely good things occupying a portion of my plate, too, because I start to zero in only on what appears to be heaping helpings of challenges, obstacles, and uncertainties. And here’s what can happen, quite frequently, in fact, if I’m not careful. I start to stress, and even obsess, about the mess. Maybe you can relate? My eyes get so focused in on the mess, that I’m going to completely miss the miracle.

Our perspective is something we have to be intentional about choosing. It can either cloud our vision or help us to recognize and appreciate the blessings right in the midst of the huge messes. Where has your focus been lately? Could you benefit from making some small adjustments? What we focus on, we find. Will you join me in looking for the miracles this week? I am confident that they do exist. They’re right there hiding under what appears to us to only be a big giant mess.

This is, by far, one of my most favorite times of year. The start line of a brand new calendar. Filled with more hope and more possibility. There’s more goals I want to accomplish and dreams I want to see unfold.

And this morning it just kind of hit me. What if one of the things I need “most” in my quest for “more” is actually “less?” Having just come through the holiday season, I’ve seen “more“ show up in countless ways. More toys than we have space for in our house. More stuff than I have room to pack in my suitcase. More food at the table than I would ever be able to eat. More lists of things I need to do than I’d ever have the time to accomplish. And the days and weeks and months roll on and there’s another brand of more that starts to take root. More fear than faith. More doubts than confidence. And more busy doing than simply being a d enjoying. More working than pausing. And I start to feel like the more I attempt to do, the less I actually get done. I’m distracted at every turn and I start believing the lie that “I’m not enough.”

It’s a cycle I’ve seen play out over and over again in my life. So this year, my plan is different. I’m going to ask myself a new set of questions. Where can I start trimming back? In my diet? My cupboards? My closets? My finances? My to do list? My calendar? My packing? And so on. Because I have this strong sense that “less” really is “more.” Stuff seems to be busting out of the seams in every aspect of my life. And I have a feeling it’s distracting me from my purpose and taking up valuable space in both my head and my heart. I try to manage it, organize it, move it, and reorganize it. And it makes me tired just thinking about all of it.

So for 2018 what if all I need is less?

Less doing, more being.

Less stuff, more freedom.

Less judging, more loving.

Less wishing for something in the future, more living in the present moment.

Less fear, more faith.

Less of me, more of God.

What if I discover that in needing less, I actually have more? I can’t wait to see what 2018 has in store.

Are you a worrier? If so, I can definitely relate. Sometimes I think I’ve made significant progress and I’d swear I’m worrying less and then something happens in my life that has me questioning everything or someone shares news that is overflowing with uncertainty and I’m right back to where I started with worry attempting to drowned out my faith. 

When I read that worry is believing that God won’t get it right I thought, wow, I’ve never looked at worry quite like that. If worrying is believing God won’t get it right that also means that worry is believing that God will get it wrong.  And if faith is confidence that God is who he says he is and that he will do everything he’s promised to do, well then, worry and faith don’t belong together, do they? In other words, they’re not a good match. And there’s not enough room in our minds for both worry and faith. So the question is, which will we choose? As someone whose chosen worry over faith too many times to count, I want you to know that it’s not too late. Yes, it’s a process. And it doesn’t look perfect. A few steps forward, a few steps back. But there’s so much grace. And so many opportunities to stretch our faith and get to know God better.  

God, grow our faith to a point where worry has no room to slip in and attempt to take roots. May we continue to seek you and rely on your promises, believing without a shadow of a doubt that you are in control. Remind us that we don’t need to worry because we can trust you in any situation we encounter. You always get it right. Every. Single. Time.  

What’s been on your heart or mind to pursue? What are you really passionate about? Where do you want to make a difference? When an opportunity presents itself do you stop yourself from pondering all of the possibilities? Do you immediately convince yourself that you’re “stuck” wherever it is you are right now?  

What if you and I agreed to stop stopping ourselves? To quit giving up before we even begin? I’m certainly not suggesting that we should be reckless in our decision-making, but what if we nudged each other to get a little more comfortable being uncomfortable? What if we didn’t have to have every detail worked out before choosing to learn or discover more? What if we were ok with having more questions than answers? What if we let go of our excuses and encouraged each other to go after that goal or dream by simply beginning to take a few small steps.Decision-making often takes time. And we kinda like things to happen right now, don’t we? But what if we allowed it to be a process?What if we supported each other in praying about it and gave ourselves space not just to think about what could go wrong, but also to consider everything that could go right?

When you and I are stressed and anxious it’s a good indication that we’re focusing only on what we can see. We’re zeroing in on the problem, the pain, the challenge, or the illness, which are all temporary.

So where do we go for hope?

It comes from you and I realizing that there’s more to life than what we see. Simply put, this life is not all there is. What we see is temporary and what we don’t see is eternal. We can live above the pain we experience in this life when we know and believe that will live forever with God in a place without any pain or suffering.  
It’s so easy to lose heart, isn’t it? Life is hard and there’s things we face that tempt us to want to throw in the towel and give up. But our eternal reward is going to be far greater than anything we could ever imagine. It’s going to outweigh the pain we’re encountering in the here and now. In our weakness, we experience God’s strength. It’s a moment by moment process.  
We can’t allow our challenges and fears to shrink our faith. Check out these reminders I read this morning in the “Life Application Study Bible” about the benefits we can uncover in the problems we encounter.
(1) Problems remind us of Christ’s suffering for us; 
(2) they keep us from pride; 

(3) they cause us to look beyond this brief life; 

(4) they give us opportunities to prove our faith to others; and

(5) they give God the opportunity to demonstrate his power. 

When we choose to see our troubles as opportunities, we are allowing God to do His work in us. He changes our hearts and we become more like Him, which is something we’re not capable of doing on our own. 

How many of you consider yourself pretty good at multitasking? Yep, that’s me. 🙋🏼. This is something many of us have been told is a great thing. I mean so much so that there’s a pretty good chance you even have it listed as a strength on your resume. Again, that’s me. 🙋🏼

I’m reading “The One Thing- The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results” by Gary Keller. I’m only a few chapters in and I’m feeling like it’s going to be an insightful read. Keller talks about how multitasking is possible, but never efficient or effective. What??? I’m not sure I’m on board. Hasn’t multitasking been considered nothing short of the gold standard for years? You know, something we should all try to do as often as possible so that we get even better at it. It’s even a quality we’re told that employers are looking for in the people they hire.Keller challenges readers with this question- “If doing the most important thing is ALWAYS the most important thing, why would you try to do anything else at the same time?” Well doesn’t that just kind of stop you in your tracks and make you reconsider this whole multitasking approach to our work? He claims that when we try to do two things at once we can’t or won’t do either well. He goes on to share that multitasking is an effective way to get less done and an opportunity to mess up more than one thing at a time.  

While people can do two or more things at once, the book argues that we can’t focus effectively on two things at once. Our attention bounces back and forth like a pinball. I can relate because that’s honestly how I feel most days. Would you agree? Keller shared that researchers estimate that workers are interrupted every 11 minutes and then spend almost a third of their day recovering from these distractions. Wow!

In the book, Keller goes on to explain that it’s not that we have too little time to do all the thing we need to do, it’s that we feel we need to do too many things in the time we have. So we double and triple up in the hope of getting it all done. While doing one thing, we’re only seconds away from thinking of something else we could/should be doing. The more time we spend switching between tasks, the less likely we are to get back to our original task. This is how loose ends pile up.  

Multitasking leads to mistakes, poor choices, and stress. We actually waste valuable time switching between tasks and later going back and getting reoriented to restart the task you quit. But we attempt to do it anyway because we’ve been conditioned to believe that it’s a good thing.  

Want to join me in taking a new approach to your work today? Let’s be singletaskers instead of multitaskers, First, we’ll need to figure out what matters most in the moment. Then let’s give it our undivided attention. One task at a time. And see if we do indeed get more done today.  

Who we surround ourselves with matters. Do the people you’re closest to see your value and remind you of it? It’s so important to keep close company with people who are uplifting and encouraging, who believe in us, and inspire us to live our best life.  

Today, I’m committed to reminding those I’m surrounded by of their value. Will you join me?  

I’m certain of this. You and I will never regret speaking life giving words to someone. We just have no idea how we might change a person’s day, week, month, year, direction, or even their life by simply taking a moment to remind them of their value.

Who can you bless today by simply and sincerely telling them, or better yet, showing them that they are worth your time? There are so many ways to be generous but we can get caught in the trap of thinking of generosity only in terms of money. But generosity comes in all shapes and sizes, doesn’t it?

We can be generous in regard to things like our time, our attention, and our talents. We can pour out love, and grace, and kindness in a manner that is more than anyone would expect. We can be sewers and menders who are generous in relationships by extending grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Pick your person or people to help today by being generous in some way. Just don’t talk yourself out of doing something because you think it’s too small or insignificant. It’s actually HUGE because you are letting someone know they are worth your time.  Maybe it’s a card you write, or a text message you send, or a meal you make, or a yard you mow, or a conversation you have. And after you do whatever it is you choose, don’t forget to take a moment to stop and recognize how incredible your heart feels when you give from a place where you expect nothing in return. 

I ❤ this and want to be someone who does more of it. How different would the world be if you and I saw something beautiful in someone and chose to speak it. I mean, really, what’s the benefit in holding onto it anyway?

Let’s go about our days being intentional about shining the light on people who are making a difference and doing good simply by using their unique gifts and being who they were created to be. We have no idea the impact or ripple effect our words of encouragement may have on that person who is spreading love, kindness, and laughter so generously. But if we stay silent, we can be sure of ths…it’s a missed opportunity to lift someone up, bring about a smile, express gratitude, or let someone know that we need them to keep doing more of what they’re doing to make this world a better and brighter place for everyone.

Our church is doing a sermon series by Andy Stanley called “What Makes You Happy” and our lifegroup is diving a little deeper into it through discussion. I love this prayer that Andy shared that he says daily to declare his absolute dependence on God for provision, not on his ability to make money, save money, or generate income. To me, it’s an incredible reminder that sometimes one prayer can change everything. But no matter what, prayer always changes us.  

“Lord, help me recognize today how totally dependent on you I am, for provision, protection, and my security.Help me to live in the moment, and not let fears rob me of the joy of living.
Help me to take an honest appraisal of myself.
To live live without regret or guilt.
Help me to be generous in my relationships, to extend grace when it is undeserved [ just like you do to me].
Help me hold on to what is pure, moral & ethical.
Help me to be reconciled to all, to make choices that reconcile, and not divide.
Help me God to sow happiness as a farmer would, knowing it is not accessible immediately, but knowing that you will water and grow this seed today.”