Is God really still active in our lives? Do you live like it?

I had someone pose this question to me the other day, and it has really stuck in my mind. I’m studying theology through a free seminary program. Throughout the courses I’ve taken so far we have spent a fair amount of time talking about worldviews. I think this one is worth blogging. Let me start by defining a few terms.

Worldview - A worldview consists of a series of assumptions/presuppositions that a person holds about reality. A worldview, consciously or subconsciously, affects the way a person evaluates every aspect of reality. Every person adheres to some sort of worldview, although one person may not be as consciously aware of it as another person. These presuppositions affect the thinking of every person in the world. It logically follows that the way a person thinks affects what a person does. The term worldview refers to any ideology, philosophy, theology, movement, or religion that provides an overarching approach to understanding God, the world, and man’s relations to God and the world. See the full definition of worldview here.

Below are two worldviews, there are others:

Theist - (e.g. Jew, Christian, Muslem) A theist believe in one supreme God, who created the universe and still has complete control and interacts with it.

Deist – A deist has a theistic believe that that same supreme God exists and created the universe, but does not intervene or interact in its day to day operation. It’s kind of like God created the universe and walked away from it.

So, to the question. Jen, what is your worldview? As a believer in Jesus Christ, I’d default to being a theist, but in reality I have to admit I live my life too often as a deist. What do I mean by that? I believe in one supreme God, who created the universe, is still in control and interacts with ever aspect of that universe today. But I will admit there are too many days in my life I confess to be a theist living as a deist. That bugs me. :\

I will admit my prayer life has a tendency to follow my life circumstance. Are you like this? I pray a lot when I need God, but some days I fall back into the self sufficient tendency and forget God is still very much involved in my daily life.

Over the new few posts I’m going to dig into this more. Hope you will challenge yourself to do the same. What is your worldview? Can others tell by the way you live your life?

Wisdom from the Wave

I stumbled on to this article. Laird Hamilton shares 10 life lessons learned from surfing. Thought you might enjoy. I so love it when people are so passionate about what they do in life it defines them.

1. KNOW THAT YOU ARE A SPECK ON THE WATER. “The ocean’s vastness reminds you of your insignificance. It’s like a grounder. The ocean has been around long before people got here and will be here long after. The humility you learn from being in the ocean is a constant reminder of your vulnerability.”
2. GO BIG OR GO HOME. “You can’t kind of catch a wave. You either catch it or you don’t. It’s a commitment. That’s just like anything else — you either go or you don’t. He who hesitates is lost in the end.”
3. LISTEN TO YOUR GUT. “You have a feeling about things. You think something doesn’t feel right, then you look and see a shark. As a species, humans are growing away from listening to their instinct. It’s a learned skill based on survival and then reacting. The more you listen to your instinct and then react to it, the more you awaken the spirit, and that helps you make good decisions, no matter where you are.”
4. PUT THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE. “People talk about their problems. Stuck in traffic? That’s not a problem. Don’t know how you’re going to pay your bills? Not a [life-or-death] problem. A problem is when you’re 80 miles offshore and have no way to get back.”
5. KEEP LEARNING. “Surfing is probably one of the most difficult sports. There are no referees, no timeouts. [The waves don't] care about your bank account, your ancestry, your intelligence. It’s just you working the water. And the more I learn, the more I don’t know. That’s an ocean lesson.”
6. BE DETERMINED. “With determination, most things will be quite easy. You go out and get hammered by a wave and then by another one and another one, and you think, ‘OK, I’m still here.’ And then you get a good wave, and you’ve made it. The one thing that’s great about surfing is that there’s no right or wrong way. ”
7. DON’T GET STALE. “Ideas [about new surfing techniques and new sports] come out of boredom and my desire to be passionate. You have to figure out ways to make things exciting and interesting. When something I’ve been doing for a while becomes popular, I’m beyond it. So by default, I end up being different. It’s that whole desire to keep inspiring and keep renewing your passion.”
8. DON’T JUDGE. “The ocean is non-judgmental. It doesn’t differentiate between you and the next guy. I want to be a little more like the ocean — not judging people who have an opinion. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that we’re all equal before a wave.”

Great chart of best foods to buy organic and best to buy conventional

Part of being a green mom is feeding the family with healthy food that both benefits us and the environment. If you would like some more information as to why the health of your family benefits greatly from organic foods go here. The link below is a great fruit and vegetable chart which helps you know which food you should buy organic, and which food is less likely to have harmful pesticides so you can buy conventional.

Shoppers guide to pesticides in produce

powerPLAY

iPod has been integrated their nano into the Nike+ running system so you can track your runs, through a sensor in your shoe, while you listen to your favorite tunes. They also have this concept called the “powersong”. You can program your nano to crank up your powersong at the touch of a button when you are at the point in your run where you need to dig deep and pull out some serious motivation to get over the hump. Today, during our run I looked over at J (my husband) in our last 3/4 mile and said “powersong time”. It was 88 degrees, not a stitch of wind, and we were running on the cement. Needless to say we were ready to be home, drinking cold water and doing our cooldown.

This got me to thinking…I’m guessing we all have our powerSONG, powerPRAYER , powerSCRIPTURE, powerFRIEND, powerWHAThaveYA. When life gets us in a vice, where do you go? I’d like to hear.

Lately I’m really seeing the value of prayer. Prayer for myself and for others. I’m learning that as I meditate on scripture day and night, which has to be on purpose for me, my prayers are richer, I see God working vividly in my life and those around me, and I have an inner peace that truly provides my powerPLAY. For me the center button puts me on my knees in prayer, and then gets me focused on seeing God work as I wait on him for answers.

When I say…’I am a Christian’

‘A woman’s heart should be so hidden in Christ
that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.’

When I say… ‘I am a Christian’ I’m not shouting ‘I’m clean livin”
I’m whispering ‘I was lost, Now I’m found and forgiven.’

When I say… ‘I am a Christian’ I don’t speak of this with pride
I’m confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say… ‘I am a Christian’ I’m not trying to be strong.
I’m professing that I’m weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say… ‘I am a Christian’ I’m not bragging of success.
I’m admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say… ‘I am a Christian’ I’m not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say… ‘I am a Christian’ I still feel the sting of pain..
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say.. ‘I am a Christian’ I’m not holier than thou,
I’m just a simple sinner who received God’s good grace, somehow!

– BEAUTIFUL CHRISTIAN SISTER – by Maya Angelou

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord…” Jeremiah 29:11

Type A, Multi-tasking, and Balance

Balance is a really huge struggle in my life. I grew up playing competitive sports, my family was involved in many activities, and my mom was a multi-tasking queen. I believe I got the m-t gene along with my type-A personality. For those of you who don’t know, type A people don’t always want or think being type-A is a good thing, it’s just hard to turn off. *smile* Multi-tasking is much the same. I want to get as many things done as I can while I can so I can have more time to relax when I’m done. See, type-A people often can’t relax until things are done.

to influence or not

I’m a mom of a 2 1/2 year old who thinks she’s going on 10. She is all about “you no do it, I do it”. That sounds funny when I say it, but it scares me in a way because she is JUST LIKE ME.

As a parent I really think about how I’m influencing my little girl. Joe and I talk about it all the time. We have started the love and logic method with her since she’s found the temper tantrum stage recently. Whenever she throws a fit we politely and happily say AH-OH and take her too her room since she already knows she’s not allowed to kick, scream, and throw herself on the floor. We allow her to do whatever she wants to get out her frustrations in the safety of her room. Yesterday she used a little love and logic on daddy.

Yesterday, as Joe came home from work, he asked Jordan for a kiss and hug since he hadn’t seen her all day. She was watching her favorite show (Handy Manny) and of course didn’t want to be interrupted. He pretended to bow his head and cry as he sat down by her on the couch. She looked over and said, “if you are going to cry, go to your room” and returned to watching her show. We both looked at each other and didn’t know whether to wail laughing or cry.

Influence…what is really the proper way to influence your kids? I pulled this definition from a really good Blog. It’s a Steven Covey definition of influence.

“The real beginning of influence comes as others sense you are being influenced by them – when they feel understood by you – that you have listened deeply and sincerely, and that you are open. – Steven Covey

I love this definition. If you’ve read my blogs over this past week blog you’ll know I’m really hearing God speak to me about putting others first. My natural tendency is to be what I want Jordan to be and try to push her into that box. I’m seeing that more and more of my focus should be on my relationship with her, loving her where she is, as she is, and the rest I’m learning to leave to God.

What is it like being married to a Pastor?

I get this question from time to time.

My husband (Joe) has not always been a pastor. When we met he was actually a programmer/IT consultant. Most people do the ahhhhh…a geek, now I see how you hooked up. I’m like…whaaat? Am I that bad you think I couldn’t have married a pastor out of the gates? LAF Yes…I was attracted to his geekiness, however we met at a Bible study. I was actually a new Christian. We both attended a great church in in dallas, TX. I distinctly remember the first time I met him. I joined a singles small group. I walked in the door for the first meeting and there was Joe and 9 women. Yes, 9. And he knew them all. Does that tell you anything about my husband? He is a natural flirt. He hates it when I say that, but he’s got a magnetic personality. He’s one of the most extroverted people I’ve ever met. He can be completely exhausted and at the same time be energized by being around a bunch of people. And he knows someone everywhere we go. For an introverted person this is something I REALLY had to get used too. *smile* We go to the gas station, King Soopers, Safeway, Starbucks, anywhere he frequents and someone knows him.