Peace

Apr 2013

Why do I blow it??

Posted by Glynnis

Today on Encouragement for Today, I wrote about a time (not too long ago) when I blew it with one of my children.

One frustration after another piled on top of me. Being late piled on to a broken rear view mirror, piled on to rush hour traffic, piled on to a frustrated teenager, and all kinds of yuck poured out of me.

My reaction wasn’t honoring to God, nor was it honoring to my son.

In that moment, I valued myself (my emotions, my circumstances, my to-do list) above my son (and his emotions, circumstances and to-do list).

God convicted me quickly of my attitude, and I’m so glad He did because I was able to choose humility (even though my flesh wanted to defend my right to snap). With God’s help, I set the relationship with my son above my need to be right.

As I’ve thought more about this issue of justifying myself, God brought another scripture to mind:

Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Oh how hard this is for me. Especially when it comes to wanting the last word.

Which I want.

Always.

But most of the time, my desire for the last word … my desire to speak my mind … my desire to be understood … doesn’t come from a pure heart.

Sadly, there’s usually some selfish ambition or pride trying to sneak its way in through a crack. Pride is a weakness of mine, and so Philippians 2:3-4 is a key verse for me to remember.

When I value and honor others above myself, those cracks get smaller.

This idea to value and honor others above ourselves is opposite of what world tells us to do. The world tells us honor people because of who they are or what they do – in comparison with us. With this mindset, people must earn honor and respect.

However, God tells us to honor people because of who we are.

Honoring each other is a choice we make. And I’ve found that it has to flow from a place of humility.

It’s not easy being a follower of Jesus. I’m just telling it like it is. Some days it feels like I’m always the one who has to rein it in, have self-control and make loving choices.

But here’s the good news. The peace God has given me when I set aside my rights is a gift – pure and simple.

Here’s something to remember today when your boss snaps at you, your husband is late or your child calls you on the freeway annoyed:

It’s a blessing to show honor to others … not because they deserve it, but because you deserve peace.

Thanks for joining me today.

Love,

Glynnis

22 Comments | Filed Under: Peace, pride

Dec 2012

Tips for Eliminating Hurry

Posted by Glynnis

Happy New Year’s Eve! Are you sighing with relief that 2012 is almost over?

For many of you this has been a trying month, or maybe a difficult year. Perhaps you are anxious for the new beginning tomorrow brings. Hoping that 2013 will somehow be different. It might, but I’ve found the reasons for many of my problems starts with me, so I just tend to carry them over from one year to the next without some serious attention.

Today I’ve got a devotion running on Encouragement of Today about one of those problem … and that’s hurry, and the stress it has caused in my life. For many years I rushed from one task to the next, usually late and annoyed when everyone around me didn’t fall in line with my plans. Especially my three little boys, who were a daily challenge to get moving in the same direction – unless it was running down the aisle in the grocery store … away from me.

The bottom line was my responsibilities outweighed my capacity to manage them. Every day was an exercise in frustration – at myself, my home, husband and children. So I was always pushing the limits of what I could get done in my allotted time, and usually thinking one of these thoughts:

Why couldn’t anyone get it together!!
Why didn’t the demands stop?
Why did everyone NEED me so much!

I even got annoyed at the dentist’s office when I was rushing to an appointment … as if it was their fault my children’s teeth needed cleaning.

Hurry made me feel like a victim!! It made me feel like a slave to something (an out-of-control schedule, to-do list, appointments, etc), which is what Satan wanted me to believe.

Hurry steals the fruit of the Spirit from our life, like joy, peace, patience, kindness and self-control. But if hurry is an attitude of the heart – which is what I proposed in my devotion –then I knew I needed to make a decision to choose what matters most when I felt hurry start to well up in me.

In John 10:9-11 Jesus says, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.¹¹I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Jesus offers us the answer to a life that feels like it’s falling apart. Here’s how He modeled the cure for the hurried life every day: People over projects every time.

Oh, there are lots of time management tips I could give you today that would help you be on time. I could share with you a list of questions I ask myself that help me maintain a balanced schedule. But I promised in my devotion to share tips on eliminating hurry and this is the best one I can share today.

You see, when I’m more concerned with showing love to my family than on getting every errand checked off my list, then I’m able to be realistic about what I can get done.

When it’s more important that I’m kind to the grocery clerk rather than get through the line quickly, then I don’t mind the wait as much.

And if it matters more that I’m gracious to my family Sunday morning than that we get to church on time, then I model Jesus much more than if I was rushed and impatient.

Deciding to love the person in front of me more than my to-do list is the start of eliminating hurry from my life. It gives me perspective. It helps me stay balanced. It redefines my priorities on a daily basis. It also keeps me on time more than not as I choose to show up early so I can show love and honor to those around me.

Jesus was busy, but never in a hurry. That’s how I want to live my life as well.

Thanks so much for joining me today. And if you are interested in some tips for getting organized and better time management, I do have a book full of them!

In His Love,

Glynnis

23 Comments | Filed Under: Peace, priorities

Jun 2012

Everyone needs to be refreshed

Posted by Glynnis

If you feel like running away from home (and it isn’t because you are practicing for the track team) it’s probably time for some refreshing! We’ve all been there, and there’s no shame in saying “I need time to recharge.” If that’s you, then you are among friends.

Before I continue, I’d like to welcome everyone who is joining me today after reading my devotion on Proverbs 31 Ministries or Crosswalk. At the end of the devotion, I promised to include some of my favorite ways to care for myself and experience refreshment. So if you need some ideas, keep reading.

If you’re like me, it’s hard to find (make) time for yourself. And yet from the beginning of time, God has said it is good, important and a requirement to make time to be refreshed. Read His own words in Exodus 23:12:

“Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.”

Whether we like to admit it or not, we need to set aside time in the week for refreshment. Two weeks of vacation a year isn’t going to cut it. We need regular and frequent times where we shut off distractions and reconnect with our Creator and ourselves. This isn’t frivolous, it’s a necessity.

So today I’d like to start the discussion. And admit that I’m not the expert when it comes to investing in myself. I’m a work in progress. For it the truth were told, I would just keep working. That’s not a humble brag, it’s a weakness. Way too often I’m trying to pour water out of an empty reservoir, and that helps no one.

But I am learning. I am figuring out how to honor God’s Fourth Commandment to rest. I am learning when I need to stop though out my day. And here are some of the ways I’m finding to refresh what God has given me: my physical strength and my mental abilities.

1) God’s Word. There is power in God’s Word. This book isn’t just a bunch of consonants and vowels randomly assembled. The Bible is the very breath of God which has power to create, heal and instruct. Even five minutes in the Word changes me. It’s not just good teaching. It’s life-transforming truth. Don’t think it takes hours of time reading the Bible to make a difference. Reading one verse with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit can infuse me with refreshment and perspective.

2) Love on my family. As today’s devotion said, I still have five “children” living at home. Actually, two of them are officially adults and college students. In the summer, all seven of us are home. And I LOVE it. But if I’m not intentional, the days can be filled with must-dos. However, something amazing happens when I have some one-on-one time with each of them. We usually end up laughing, or I learn something new about their lives. When my most important relationships are healthy, that brings me much joy.

3) Incorporate daily treats. Every day I have a few things I look forward to. First is my cup of French Vanilla General Foods Coffee. I’m such a creature of habit; I’ve been drinking this almost every day for over 20 years. The first thing I do every morning is put a cup of water to heat in the microwave and get one of my favorite mugs. It might be my pink one that says “Sweet” on the side. Or the one that Harvest House gave me a few years ago that has the Bible verse Philippians 4:8 printed on the side. In the winter I put on a pot of tea in the afternoon and take a few minutes to recharge with a steaming cup of English Breakfast or raspberry tea.

4) Reconnect with nature. I don’t have the benefit of a lovely stream, mountainside or ocean to look at outside my window. If I did, I might never get anything done. But I do have three dogs and a cat. So every day I intentionally take time to sit down and love on the furry creatures in our home. Receiving their thanks makes me very happy.

5) Finally, I know this might seem silly, but I like to watch House Hunters International. But I don’t watch much TV at night. So I record episodes and watch one when I need a mental break. I have no explanation about why this refreshes me. Maybe it’s the dream of travel or seeing how others decorate their homes. But it works.

That’s not all I do to care for myself, but I wanted to get this conversation started. I’d love to hear how you find refreshment throughout the day. What keeps you going? What refreshes your spirit? What fills your love tank so that you can give out?

If you are reading this in an email, please click here to be taken to my blog to leave a message. I love reading your comments, and they also help others. So please take a moment and share what refreshes you.

Thanks so much for taking the time to join me today. I pray the Lord blesses you big!

In His love,

Glynnis

90 Comments | Filed Under: family, motherhood, Peace, Uncategorized

Jun 2011

Have you ever felt trapped?

Posted by Glynnis

Feeling trapped, with no options, is a horrible place to be. I know. I’ve been there several times in the past few years.

When the housing market crashed in Phoenix a few years ago, our consulting firm almost crashed along with it. Contracts were canceled, potential jobs shriveled, investments bombed. I wondered where our help would come from?

Oh, I knew God would help. But His timing was definitely not mine. While I wanted a quick fix, He had another plan.

Before help came, He let us sit in the mess for awhile. In fact, we had to sit in a place of helplessness for longer than we wanted. All of our previous abilities to help ourselves were gone. Places that had previously been willing to extend a helping hand weren’t able to help. At times it felt like we had been abandoned.

But then God stepped in. And because we’d been sitting in that mess so long, our gratitude doubled, no tripled. We clearly saw His hand at work. In hindsight, if we’d been able to pull ourselves out of the trouble, we would have patted ourselves on the backs at our cleverness.

Do you see where I’m going here?

I’m writing this because I need to remind myself of God’s faithfulness … even when I feel trapped.

I’m currently sitting in a situation that has me feeling trapped. Our lives changed with the choice of a family member Tuesday morning. It wasn’t my choice, but my life is interwoven with my family. And now, due to that choice, difficult decisions have to be made.

But instead of having lots of options, our choices are shriveling. What looked possible on Wednesday, crashed on Thursday. Places that I thought could help, can’t. People I thought would step in to help, aren’t jumping at the chance.

This morning, I’m back in that place of wondering where, or more accurately, when, our help will come.

But I know it will come. I know God has a plan. As I was praying yesterday morning, I asked God for some encouragement from His word. And He led me to Psalm 107. In this Psalm, we learn of God’s faithfulness to people who are in all kinds of difficult places: deserts, darkness, and the foolishness of their deeds. Yet no matter where they were or what they had done, when they cried to God, He heard them. And He hears us today.

This Psalm isn’t just literature. It’s a message from the faithful of old, to the faithful today. This message was written so that when we feel lost, trapped, overwhelmed, and afraid, we would read its words and believe … believe that the same God who brought streams in the desert then, will do so today.

Here’s just a portion of that scripture. When you have time, please read the entire passage.

Psalm 107:28-32

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
   and he brought them out of their distress.
²⁹ He stilled the storm to a whisper;
   the waves of the sea were hushed.
³⁰ They were glad when it grew calm,
   and he guided them to their desired haven.
³¹ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
   and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
³² Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
   and praise him in the council of the elders.

May this bring the same hope and peace to you, that it did to me.

In His Love,

Glynnis

5 Comments | Filed Under: faith, God's Faithfulness, Peace