| Good Morning Everyone, Our theme for this month: “Change can be good for you” Our Bible verse for today: “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. Proverbs 19:2 (NIV) Our thought for today: “Slow down a little.” You’ve probably noticed that in my own writing I refer to a lot of books. They’re always books that I have read, and they’re usually books that I have read recently. The subject matter of those books usually reveals something about an issue I’m working through in my own life at that time. Some of the books I’ve referred to this month include “The Burnout Society” by Byung-Chul Han, “The Freedom of Simplicity” by Richard Foster, and “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by John Mark Comer. (Are you noticing the trend?) That last one, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”, is something I’m especially working on. I allow myself to get too busy. I try to do too much for too many people. Also, I tend to be a perfectionist and so whatever it is I’m doing, I tend to put a lot of time an attention into doing it well. Consequently, I tend to go, go, go – always plowing through a long “to do” list. That may seem like a good thing. I often get compliments for doing so much for so many, and for being so structured and so disciplined. But that also creates problems. For one thing, I frequently find myself exhausted and drained. For another, people can become projects to complete rather than souls to care for – and that then can lead to superficial conversations, or thoughtless comments, or overlooked needs. As John Mark Comer admitted about himself, “All of my worst moments happen when I’m in a hurry.” Uh huh. Mine too brother. Mine too. One good thing that’s been happening for me during this COVID 19 shut-down is that I’ve slowed down a bit and become a little more patient, a little more thoughtful. It’s been good for me and I’ve decided that I like it. Going slower and being more thoughtful is a mindset I want to take with me out of this time and so (bear with me here), I’m going to spend a few more days writing about it. (This is more for my sake than it is for yours. Sorry.) However, there’s a good reason that books like “The Burnout Society”, “The Freedom of Simplicity”, and “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”, are Christian bestsellers. Apparently, I’m not the only one reading them. Apparently, I’m not the only one who struggles with those issues. I’ll bet many of you do too. And so, more about this tomorrow. God Bless, Pastor Jim |
| Copyright © 2020 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. |
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Oak Hill Baptist Church 