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Articles by Christine

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How Can You Mend A Cluttered Heart?

March 4, 2013 in Writing by Christine | 8 comments

Busy is not new. People have been filling their lives with clutter, too busy with daily life, for thousands of years.

A cluttered life leads to a cluttered heart.

And clutter chokes out the joy and peace that we are meant to have.

The Bible talks about this a lot, but it’s common sense. You don’t have to believe in Jesus, or anything really, to know this.

So why do we worship at the altar of busy?

It would be really easy to just say “it’s in our nature.” But I want better for me. And if I read the Bible and actually believe what it says, I find out God wants better for me too.

The problem I keep struggling with is kind of a chicken and egg thing. I know better is out there, but somehow I can’t seem to make the time to make the time. I’m too busy to slow down.

I‘m too frazzled to find peace.

 

The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The same thing, for me, for now, is clearly not working.

I’m not sleeping well (it’s 2AM as I’m writing this). I’m not eating all that well (because I die a little inside when I think of Wal-Mart).

Masha had her tonsils out last week (ouch). Lena has show choir rehearsals and previews and competitions (they won Grand Champion on Saturday!).

Mark and I have meetings, and ministry, and coffee with old friends, and coffee with new friends, and coffee at home (OK, so coffee hasn’t suffered).

Every week, every day, I say it’s time to do something different, and then busy gets in the way and then the day is gone. And it looked exactly like the one before it.

I beat myself up for what I didn’t get done and for what I wasted time on.

I poke myself when I mess up.

 

It’s time for some grace.

My friend Joseph released a devotional last Friday (and he’s offering seven free bonus gifts with it this week, too!).

It’s about finding grace and hope. And with grace and hope comes peace.

Ever since I saw an early draft last summer, his words have danced around the walls of my heart, inviting me out. Inviting me to find peace. To make changes. To know grace. To lead me home.

Maybe it’s time to let those words sink into cultivated soil rather than falling among the thorns of my cluttered life.

 

So what’s the secret??

I’m a writer. I can write a really great search-optimized titles like “Seven Ways to Clear a Cluttered Heart” or “The Obvious Secret To Peace You Might Never Imagine.” I can probably even write 500 words of BS with some made-up answer.

But really, folks, I don’t have it all figured out.

If there’s a secret, I haven’t imagined it yet. Or at least I haven’t let go of the garbage that’s cluttering my life enough to see it. (yes, that was meant to be ironic…or whatever.)

So the simple secret, I guess, is to just let go of some of the clutter.

To focus on what’s important…the hearts of my familiy (and their bellies). the word of God. Rest.

And to let the rest of it go.

Simple, right?

Simple, but oh, so hard.

 

What’s cluttering up your life? Leave a comment…

 

Let’s End Slavery

February 27, 2013 in Orphan Care by Christine | No comments

One Word at a Time

February 21, 2013 in Guest Post, Writing by Christine | 3 comments

Tim Gallen is a writer on a journey of recovery, rediscovery, and irreverence. He appreciates a good laugh, a good beer, and the Oxford comma. Read his musings at his blog, The Daily Gallen or follow him on Twitter @tim_gallen.

Ask 10 writers  the best way to write, and you’ll likely receive 11 different answers.

But they’d all be wrong.

Because there’s only one way to write.

One word at a time.

Whether large or small. Long or short. Simple or superfluous.

The only way to write is one word at a time.

 

I’ve always been a writer.

That is to say, I always aspired to be a writer.

Instead of writing, I dreamed about writing. I thought about writing. I talked about writing.

The one thing I never did, however, was write.

By failing to write, I lost control of my direction. I lost control of my life. I began to float. Wake up. Go to work. Come home. Go to bed. And do it again. Like a hamster on its wheel and in its cage, I moved and existed, but I wasn’t going anywhere. I wasn’t living.

Losing control of our lives makes it easy for fear to worm its way into our hearts and minds. When fear rules us, we resign ourselves to reacting to the world rather than proactively engaging it.

Like a journey of a thousand steps, my recovery began with one step. Actually, more like one word. Followed by another. And another. And another.

Writing is a lot like life. You can’t do it in your head. Sure, you can dwell on ideas, and think on thoughts. You can craft scenes and phrases and stanzas in your mind, but until you get out of your mind and set down those ideas on paper or on screen, you’re not writing.

The same goes for life. You can plan it, you can think about it. Heck, you can even visualize it. But until you get out of your head to fully embrace and engage the present moment, you’re not living.

For me, writing is life. And there’s only one way to approach it.

One word at a time.

 

What single step can you take toward your dream? Leave a comment…

 

 

Four ways you can change the world without leaving your couch

February 1, 2013 in Missions by Christine | 8 comments

I’m pretty lazy.

I like to sleep. I have structured my life, including my job, around my desire to wear big-girl shoes as infrequently as  possible.

So I like comfortable. I like cozy.

I like easy.

But really, easy isn’t really a good thing for me.

So tomorrow morning, I’m hopping on a plane at the god-forsaken time of 7AM to meet up with a team of folks that are ready to throw off “easy” too.

We’re headed to Guatemala to let our hearts be broken for people the world has discarded.

I’m getting off my couch for a little while. But you don’t have to leave yours.

Where do you come in?

Four simple steps:

Pray. Encourage. Share. Go.

Seriously…this isn’t about me going to Guatemala. It’s about sharing the stories of the people I encounter. Putting faces and names to the abstract ideas of poverty and hunger and pain.

It’s about demonstrating how each of us can share our gifts to leave the world a better than we found it.

Pray

  • Pray for our team to remember this trip is not about us, it’s about Jesus.
  • Pray for the children we will comfort and the families we will feed.
  • Pray for our leaders to teach us ways to serve as Jesus served and to love as Jesus loved.
  • Pray for others to hear our stories and be inspired, too.

Encourage

We will be experiencing heartbreaking realities of poverty and hardship, and I’ll need constant encouragement. And nothing encourages me more than knowing that you guys are here.

Join my list to get new posts in your inbox. Then each day, click on “Leave a comment…” at the bottom of the message and, well, leave comments. :)

Share

Tell someone about Guatemala. Share these stories on Facebook and Twitter (there’s a link at the bottom of every post) or with your family and friends.

In fact, you can tweet this post to your followers just by clicking here.

Help inspire others to make a difference.

Go

Consider participating in a mission trip of your own.

If you don’t know where to start, Adventures in Missions offers trips (both in the US and abroad) for all age groups. Many local churches and humanitarian groups organize trips, too.

Pray about how God wants to use you to make a difference, ask him to show you the right opportunity, and trust him to equip you.

“When we encounter the needs of the world…we realize we can be part of something more…”
—Jeff Goins, Wrecked

If you change one thing about the world, what would you change? Leave a comment…

Watch What You Say (Because YOU Are Listening)

January 30, 2013 in Guest Post by Christine | 2 comments

This is a guest post from Barry Kerzner. Barry shares experience, strength, and hope at his blog, It’s your Awesome. He writes about various recovery issues, and chasing your dreams because you do deserve to succeed! He also creates “Photoart” and you can visit his Portfolio here. You can also follow him on Twitter @itsyourawesome.

 

The best thing about recovery is that it works when you work at it.

It really doesn’t matter what you are recovering from. (If you live with someone in recovery, if you love someone in recovery, then you are in recovery too!)

Alcohol and/or substance abuse, gambling, physical abuse, mental abuse, divorce, serious illness, co-dependency; honestly, it doesn’t matter.

Recovery is often a long, and mostly difficult process, filled with challenges.

Challenges require effort. What makes our accomplishments so satisfying to us are the obstacles we overcome.

*Photo Credit: “Brooklyn Bridge” by Barry Kerzner Image is ©Kerzner 2004

 

It’s Really A Bridge

Like any bridge, recovery is made up of many cables, all working together, and each dependent on the others to give strength to the whole.

There are broken and damaged relationships, lost opportunities, old playmates and playgrounds, crazy sleep habits and patterns. There is apprehension. There is a lack of trust in yourself, and others. There is a sense of what has been lost and “what could have been.” There is an overriding sense of caution as we learn and relearn how to conduct various aspects of our daily lives. And where would our daily lives be without all the drama?

But wait: Aren’t those all negatives?

You cannot go back and relive or undo the past. Much as we would like, that just isn’t not an option.

It is said, “Experience is the best teacher.” The past is our experience. Recovery is not about undoing or trying to change the past. It is about learning from the past. Each one of us has a treasure trove of lessons available to us in our past experiences.

Learning is a positive thing. When we repurpose things, we make them better. Recovery is about repurposing our lives. Each new day gives us a chance to not make the same mistakes and poor choices we have made in the past. This very action frees us from the bondage of the past, and the damage we left behind.

The Common Thread Is You

To make better choices now, healthy choices, we have to be our best advocate. The biggest catalyst in our recovery is what we tell ourselves. The first voice that reaches our ears is our own.

And what a powerful voice it is!

We cannot give power to the negative voices that want us to go backward. Those voices would still have us in our old state.

We must tell ourselves that we have worth. We must tell ourselves that we deserve a happy, healthy life. We do tell ourselves that we will succeed. We should be doing this every day. If we do not believe in us, who will? Make your recovery a strong bridge from your past to your future.

So: Be careful what you say, because YOU are listening.

 

 

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