Sunday, November 05, 2006

My life lately


In contemporary society our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds. If he can keep us engaged in "muchness" and "manyness," he will rest satisfied.....Hurry is not of the Devil; it is the Devil.

I didn't write that. Richard Foster said that in his book, Celebration of Discipline. I just didn't put it in quotes because whenever I see something in quotes, I don't read it.

I've been busy. If I had to pick only one word to describe my life, that might be one that sums it up pretty well. I'm busy and distracted. I have so much going on that sometimes life pulls me along while I just try to stay on my feet. I've been distracted by things I don't want to do and things I do want to do -- things that are boring and things that excite me.

You see the Devil would be stupid to only distract me with things that are horrible. That'd be too obvious and I would catch on really quickly. He likes to throw in new passions, good causes, fun stuff, amazing TV shows like The Office...

The Devil keeps throwing this one at me, but I've caught on to his schemes. It's just a matter of figuring out how to slow down and make room for daily intimate time with God and the things he might want to spontaneously bring my way that I wouldn't have time for being so busy.

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's really good that you've realized that. That's a lot of what we were learning about at the marriage retreat. Satan is always looking for ways to take us away from God and we always have to be aware and look for what he's doing so we can put a stop to it. For me recently it has been TV shows that I just "have to see." I know it sounds lame but it's easy to get caught up in. Now that I realize it I'm going to really try to put a stop to that. My God and my husband are so much more important than Grey's Anatomy.

10:58 PM  
Blogger bobby said...

Ouch. That kinda hurt. I can't believe how busy I've felt lately and how poorly that's affecting every aspect of my life.

So in other words, that post hit a little too close to home. Could you please try not to do that again? J/K.

2:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I actually like quotes because they make me pay attention. So here is one that I read five years ago that has stuck in my brain ever since. "Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life." -John Ortberg
I know it sounds silly, but it really is part of the "culture" of California. There is still much to do here in Elgin, IL, but it just doesn't seem as crazy for some reason. Sure, we drive fast on the tollway and we stress out about getting work done, but for some reason it is different. It makes me wonder why some cultures almost embrace hurry. Like when someone says, "Keepin busy?" you have to respond with a positive answer. What if you just said, "Nope. I hate being busy. I am just taking it slow."
God wants our hearts. And I can't think of any part of my heart that is busy. I can only think of busy bodies and busy brains. Those will stay on earth.
Leah, you are so right.

4:42 AM  

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