Three “S’s” of Spiritual Growth

You probably don’t have this problem. I’m sure you don’t. Because most of the time I’m fairly certain that just about every Christian in the world is more spiritual than I am.

Seriously. I sit in church and compare myself to the mom down the row with the perfect husband and the perfect children who sit so perfectly and who are all dressed so perfectly. She’s so perfect I can’t even stand myself sitting near her.

I’m sure she has perfect quiet times and never raises her voice to her children (let alone her husband!) and all is right with the Lord. And her. Because she’s perfect.

But me? I sometimes wonder how God picked me to follow Him because I just don’t seem to get it right so often. And sometimes I really wonder whether I’m really growing, spiritually speaking, because I just feel so . . . unspiritual.

It’s a conundrum.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Wondering what to do when I feel like I’m not growing as much as I should. And I’ve realized that there are a couple of things that really help.

Study. The times I’ve really grown the most are the times I’ve really dug into God’s word. Studied it. Pondered it. Let it seep down into my bones.

I’ve been in a Bible study at my church for many years now, but for a lot of years (especially when my kids were younger) I was kind of sporadic about attending. I often felt like I wasn’t good enough to be there, or that I didn’t know enough about the Bible. Sometimes it was just easier to stay home. Or to go to work.

(Hey, I’m being brutally honest here. Don’t judge.)

But when I finally decided to get serious about studying the Bible and to learn more about who God says He is through His word, I’ve realized that I actually like Him. I’ve even grown to love Him more.

And the best way I’ve found to get to know God is to study what He has to say to me, personally, in the Bible. Now I actually help other women study the Bible, and I’ve found that I love studying it more than ever.

Serve. You’re probably wondering how serving others can make me grow spiritually, but it goes something like this: when I give love, I receive love. The more I receive, the more I want to give. And so on . . . and so on . . . and so on.

Kind of like the Breck commercial.

So when I’m loving on the junior high girls and I see them “get it” about God or I hear them ask amazing questions about their faith, it encourages me to keep going. Or when I do mundane tasks for the missionaries I serve, like buying a new vacuum for their house, I see how much it is needed and the respite it gives them, and I want to love them more.

We touch lives when we serve, and for me, doing this causes me to love God more.

Did you notice how each of these things, study and service, are not at all about me? Study focuses on God, and service focuses on others. There’s nothing about “me” in any of it.

And yet, when I do these things I am the beneficiary. My spiritual life grows.

Chances are, when I am missing one of these two elements of spiritual growth, I become the third “S”: Stagnant. Usually when my faith is out of whack, when I’m feeling a little funky about following Jesus, it’s because I’m not studying or serving . . . or both. My faith has become all about me—what I’m getting out of it—and that’s just plain selfish. (Hey! There’s another “S”!)

How about you? How do you get out of a spiritual rut? What have you found that helps you grow?

The Lifeguard Team

Oh boy. I came to my blog this morning--Thursday, mind you--and realized that I haven't updated since Monday. In blog-time that's, like, forever. So today I really need to put something out there. Anything.

Except I can't think of anything to really tell you.

I'm sure you don't want to hear my laundry woes. Or me complaining about the weather. Or the furniture that was supposed to be delivered that isn't coming now until mid-June. (Grrrr.)

So, to find some inspiration, I went to my reader and started reading blogs I like. And you know what? At least four of the blogs that had updated this morning started out with some form of "I've had writer's block all week and don't know what to write about."

So it's not just me. Thank goodness.

But I have had one thought swirling around in my head all week that probably needs to come out. It's really just a recap of the sermon our pastor gave on Sunday, but it has stuck with me, which, to me, is a pretty good indication that I should share it with you guys.

Actually, most of our pastor's sermons stick with me. He's that good. And, knowing Josh, he would say it's not him. He'd say it's just him being faithful to the Word. And he is. Which is probably why his sermons stick with me.

Anyway, we've been working our way through I Corinthians on Sunday mornings because that's what we do at our church--work our way through books of the Bible. It's called expositional preaching and not that many churches do it anymore, but ours is pretty traditional and that's what we do. I love it.

Last Sunday we got to chapter 10 of I Corinthians (or "One Corinthians" if you're British like Josh is). Here's what 10:33-11:1 says (in the NIV): "For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." And here's what our pastor said about that: "Following Jesus, imitating Him, means giving our lives for the salvation of other people."

Clear. Simple. Direct. We aren't here for ourselves. We're here to make sure others get saved.

And then he used this illustration (the part that has really stayed with me all week). Josh talked about going to the pool in the summer and going down the water slides. They are fun. They are fast. They can be dangerous, which is why they have lifeguards standing at the bottom of the water slides to make sure the kids are safe. He then said, "Wouldn't it be terrible if the lifeguards were just standing around at the bottom of the water slide, talking about their weekend or what they are going to do when they get off their lifeguard shift, when all the while a little kid is flailing around in the water, struggling to stand up?"

Yes, it would be terrible. Because the job of a lifeguard is to save lives.

Then Josh said that as believers, we are all on the lifeguard team. Our job is not to argue about the small things (a big theme in One Corinthians), but to have a purpose. And that purpose, according to I Corinthians 10:33, is to save lives.

I don't know about you, but for me this really puts things into clear perspective. It helps me figure out my priorities, gives me direction for my days. Not that I have to stand on the street corner and shout "Jesus Saves" to the passing cars. It's just that what I need to be about, whether it's through my writing or taking care of my family or being a friend to others, is being a lifeguard.

Because you know what? There's a whole world out there that is drowning.

Toward the end of his sermon Josh addressed those who might have been in church who didn't yet know Jesus. He said, "You might not be on the lifeguard team yet. You might feel like you are drowning. But you've come to the right place, because here you are in a room full of lifeguards." Isn't that cool? A room full of lifeguards, just waiting to help rescue the few who might not yet believe.

I used to be a lifeguard way back when. I worked at the pool at my high school when it was available for community use. Most days I would do nothing. I would sit in a chair by the side of the pool and watch the swimmers go back and forth, back and forth. But one day I noticed that a little girl was struggling, so I did what I was trained to do--I jumped in and saved her.

You know what? That was scary for me. I wasn't sure, after all those hours of sitting poolside, whether I'd be up to the task. But I jumped in anyway and did what I needed to do.

This week I've been thinking a lot about being a lifeguard. I am on the lifeguard team, and I want to be ready to be used whenever I'm needed. It's scary. I pray I'm up to the task. But I want to be ready and available.

Will you join me?

Blame it on Daylight Savings Time

I woke up this morning feeling guilty because what actually woke me up was the sound of the back screen door slamming. Which meant that Kate and Abby were on their way to school.

Normally I get up about 30 minutes before they leave so I can at least touch base with them, find out how they're doing and what's going on for them that day, but this morning, thanks to Daylight Savings Time, I was disoriented. It was dark. And cold. And I was still fighting whatever bug is going around our house.

So, as I heard the car start and listened to the girls head out, I did what I often do before getting up. I prayed.

I started through my laundry list of things to pray for . . . my kids, my husband, the day ahead. And then I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as I thought about our crumbling economy and the problems facing our nation that seem just too big to even be imagined.

And just as suddenly this thought came to me. Rather than praying for our financial situaion, and for things to be "alright" in our world, what if I prayed "Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done"? What if everyone started praying that prayer?

So that's how I started my day today and the funny thing is, I kept thinking about it throughout my busy morning. It helped me realize that I can't control my finances, I can't ultimately control my children, I can't control my circumstances. I can, however, change my perspective.

So I'm wondering, how would it change our perspective if we just prayed that simple prayer each day? "Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done."

What if we all believed that that was enough?

Just thought I'd share . . .

Are YOU Second?

Well, I've been trying to get to the 'ole blog all day today, but with all the excitement in the Late Great State of Illinois, I was pretty much glued to the T.V. Well, that and a field trip and the usual running of kids everywhere. Then throw in some Christmas cookie baking and you have a full-fledged DAY.

But I really wanted to share this video with you. (Of course, it took me a while to figure out how to "embed" a video into my blog. I tell you, this blog really keeps me on my toes!)

Anyhoo . . .

As some of you know, our family got into American Idol last season. I even "suffered" through the reunion concert here in Chicago last summer just to see our favorite Idol, Jason Castro. Gotta love those dreads!



Anyway, my darling neice, Kira, who attends the same large university that Jason did down in Texas (go Aggies!), sent me this video via Facebook. I loved it so much, I wanted to share it with all of you. It takes a few minutes to watch, but it is so worth it.



And this is just the reason that I now adore Jason Castro even more.

"I Am Second" is a new internet project, and it's beautiful. You can find out more about the project, and you can watch several other stories by some famous and some not-so-famous people by clicking here.

Basically, the premise of "I Am Second" is this: If Jesus Christ is first in my life, then I am second.

And I suppose that if we took this idea a little further and counted the other people in our lives before ourselves, maybe this could become the "I Am Third . . . or Fourth . . . or Fifth" project. Wouldn't it be great if more of us lived our lives like that?