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Engaging the Mind.
Inviting Response.
"Sometimes we are fresh for a prayer meeting but not fresh for cleaning boots!" (Oswald Chambers)
My mentor of many years intentionally spoke to being faithful in such mundane tasks of life as cleaning boots, washing dishes. The thing is, though, if we have the means, it is often these mundane tasks of life that we first offer up to another to accomplish for us.
Read moreThis.
Blessed be me who is daily held, secured, loved, desired, strengthened, secure, sure because I am His.
Bless my soul that even in my most maddening state I am still His.
Bless my heart that I am never worthy of such belonging, and yet - I belong.
Blessed be the Lord who daily bears me up. Blessed be He.
We call it worldview. We call it perspective. Some call it our “map”. Whatever word we give it, we all have a way of understanding - or orienting - ourselves to what’s happening around us and in us. Our orientation dictates our response.
Simplistically speaking, it seems as though three broad categories of orientation exist. Self, other and spiritual. We see the world through the lense of serving self. We see the world through the lense of serving others. Or, we see the world through the lense of serving something or someone greater than ourselves.
The particular lense through which we see dictates our response to our life experience. This is how two different people with opposing responses to the same experience can both feel firmly justified in their chosen response. It would do us good to remember not everyone sees the world as we do before we begin judging and hating.
To delve into deeper complexity, we could possibly reduce the types of orientation to two. We could say we are oriented to either self or to something greater than ourselves. To say so requires satisfying the very real driving force of serving others. We can do so by arguing when we serve others we are motivated by the reward of serving ourselves or of serving something greater than ourselves. Let’s be honest. Serving others feels good, especially when we believe it makes us look good. Even if it doesn’t make us “look good” according to the current cultural narrative, if it fits into our understanding of the story we are in, it is serving the way we see the world. Whether we see the world through self or some higher power determines what we believe is the most important agent for molding, shaping and ruling our reality.
To go further, we could say we are oriented to self or Jesus. How can we make such a leap - from something greater than ourselves to the historically proven, yet highly controversial person of Jesus? Why not say the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? The God of the Bible. The God of the Jews and of the Muslims? God as with other gods, beings, values and beliefs many people throughout the world choose to serve that are greater than ourselves, provides for us a framework of behavior to follow. When followed, we are the beneficiaries of the reward we have earned. We have essentially served ourselves to obtain whatever reward our understanding of the world leads us - and others - to receive. So, serving something greater than ourselves ultimately serves self.
But Jesus. God sent him to us after setting the stage for us to show us we cannot both serve self and win if the ultimate outcome of our response to what’s happening in our life experience is to preserve our lives. The entire Old Testament displays our inability to follow God’s law. The law leads us to our need for a savior bigger than ourselves. And Jesus gave his life for us, demanding no behavioral fulfillment because we are incapable of perfectly fulfilling any behavioral standard. Jesus lets us know doing a thing is the same as thinking it. Our behaviors are defined by what’s in our hearts and minds, in addition to the actions of our hands and feet. None of us are innocent. Keeping our hearts and minds hidden from others is one thing, keeping it hidden from God, that’s impossible. He knows. And that’s why he gave Jesus up for us. We then get to choose whatever orientation we want. We decide to serve self or to serve Jesus.
Serving Jesus means dying to self and living with this loss for the promise of life beyond our current reality. Serving self means battling to preserve it here, because that’s all there is.
“For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
2 Peter 1: 20 -24
““I [Jesus] tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
“And I [Jesus] tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.”
Luke 12:4 - 9
© Copyright Jill Williams, 2021. All Rights Reserved.
“If the process that one uses to understand reality is not reliable, then every conclusion that springs from that process is unreliable.” - Dr. P Boghossian, American Philosopher, Portland State University
True.
But, if the process one uses to understand reality is reliable, then every conclusion that springs from that process is reliable.
Truth.
And this is our battle – to keep ourselves confined within reality. Not to define our meaning through the senses, but to be defined by and to be given meaning from our Creator.
To acknowledge Him. To acknowledge we are not Him. To accept this reality. And to fight to live in it, capturing our thoughts for Christ - confining our selves in His creation, rather than living our own. Rather than perpetuating Einstein’s definition of insanity by fighting to make a broken, unreliable system produce reliable results. It’s just not possible, however strong our want is for it to be so. God is reliable. God’s word is reliable. God’s word gives us our reality, our sanity. When we yield to Him and process our understanding through His word, every conclusion that springs from it is reliable.
Process that.
© Copyright Jill Williams, 2019. All Rights Reserved.
In our stubbornness, when we look to something – or someone – other than God for refuge, for protection, for shelter, we choose oppression and perverseness over rest. We choose shame, humiliation, disgrace, something that is worthless and empty.
Isaiah chapter 30 lays this out quite clearly. It also shows us another way: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15
We must be willing to hear, to see, whether we are looking to Him or not, and if not, let’s return to looking to God for refuge, for protection, for shelter. Trusting him for these things is our rest. Let’s return, and rest.
For me, I return to looking to Him for refuge rather than looking to competence and self-assurance as my guard against the feelings of not being able to live up to the high standards I set for myself in this place.
For me, I return to looking to Him for protection rather than looking to others to protect me from my shortcomings and striving to appear to meet a standard I was never meant to attain.
For me, I return to looking to Him for shelter, relying on Him for shelter, because I know that l looked away, putting up my own guard and high standards for a reason - to be my shelter from the storm of this world, because in this world I still have trouble.
But today I am reminded to take heart, because he has overcome this world. Trusting Him, looking to Him, in quietness and confidence, my Shelter is my strength. My Guide. And Peter tells me he is the Guardian of my soul. (1 Peter 2:25) Thank you Jesus.
Isaiah 30 hit me today. Today I return to looking to Him. Today I pray for the grace to remain, and to continue to see when I need to return, again.
How about you? Where are you looking today? Return, and rest.
“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.
For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” “
Isaiah 30:18-21
© Copyright Jill Williams, 2019. All Rights Reserved.
Hebrews 10 tells us in versus 23-25: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
To hold fast to our hope without wavering and to stir up one another to love and good works requires us to not neglect meeting together, to not neglect talking with and encouraging one another.
It depends on our choice to complain, to conform, to circumvent or to care to get in the fight.
It is my hope that we will care to get in the fight to stir up one another to love and good works in all our various spheres of influence. Professional coaching is a great place to be equipped to do just that.
© Copyright Jill Williams, 2019. All Rights Reserved.
Meaningful connections result from relationships characterized by curiosity, respect, expectancy and rest.
Relationships characterized by curiosity, respect, expectancy and rest require initiative and resilience rooted in the knowledge that I am already meaningfully connected, my needs are fully satisfied, I am content with my own powerlessness, having a strong fortress, a refuge that in the day of my distress my joy is not taken and in the day of my delight, my joy is not constrained.
This meaningful connection I already have is the connection afforded to me by no initiative or resilience of my own, but of the one who gave me life in the first place. Whose blood sheds any performance of mine, setting me free on the path to take initiative and be resilient in my pursuit of meaningful connection with others in this uber-connected, imperfect world for his sake and my additional joy.
Thanks to Biblegateway.com for this verse of the day (night): “But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.” Psalm 59:16
This week was difficult, and disappointing. And this verse met me in the early morning hours when all I could see is disconnection. When it feels like you or your kids are overlooked, as was the case for us this week, it’s hard. And the temptation to want to personally disconnect in response is strong.
I am thankful that God met me in this place, reminding me his initiative gives me mine. My circumstances aren’t my source. And my place of dissatisfaction and discontent is shed by his blood as I confess, relying on his performance to start, again. #MeaningfulConnection. #AdditionalJoy #1John1:9 #nevertoomanytimes. #refuge #thankful.
© Copyright Jill Williams, 2019. All Rights Reserved.
John the Baptist knew he was not worthy to baptize Jesus. But Jesus himself gave him permission, saying this is how it is designed to happen. Not because of you, but because of me. So he consented.
I, too, am all too aware that I am not worthy to represent him, to do what he asks of me. How about you? But it is yet He who gives permission. And unlike John the Baptist, with us, the Spirit lives in us preparing and equipping us to do it.
Jesus is Emmanuel. God with us. In flesh and bones. John the Baptist saw him with his own eyes. We don’t. But for us, unlike with John the Baptist, he is also Enthusiasm, originating from the Greek word enthousiasmos, meaning God dwelling in us. He is God in us. The same power that raised him from the dead is alive in us. And we get to enthusiastically allow him to do His work through us.
So, let’s consent to the one who gives us life, who lifts our load, who sets us free. Let’s consent to him.
© Copyright Jill Williams, 2019. All Rights Reserved.
In the world of accounting, net is a reduction word. Something “net” has been reduced by the combination of positive and negative amounts of somethings.
A client of mine recently used the “net” term in another way. He referred to his employees as either net-giving or net-taking. He observes that most people fit into one or the other category. Either they offer themselves or they consume. They characteristically give or they characteristically take. The terms captured my interest and I want to explore the idea of net-living.
To start, I want to establish a few presuppositions.
1. We are made each uniquely, having a design to be offered in our specific life context. This is the offering, our offering.
2. Then, since we each have unique gifts to offer, others will often have differing gifts to offer. This presents an opportunity to consume the unique gifts others have to offer.
3. Finally, our interactions with one another consist of the back-and-forth exchange between or among us of the offering of our gifts and the consumption of the gifts of others, as they also offer their gifts and consume ours.
I am calling this back and forth exchange net-living. Living reduced to combining the difference between giving and taking.
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How is it possible that a high-achieving individual would need help or better, that they would even ask for it? Harvard Business School professor Thomas DeLong could tell you. He’s spent years researching the tendencies of what he calls high need for achievement individuals and has captured his research in his book, Flying Without a Net: Turn Fear of Change into Fuel for Success.
In an article by Sarah Green published in the Harvard Business Review titled “The Hidden Demons of High Achievers”, she interviews Thomas DeLong. The name of the article is telling: high achievers have some hidden demons. It is these demons that make it possible for such accomplished individuals to need help, and it is highly likely these same demons make it difficult for them to ask for it.
Read moreBased on 2 Cororinthians 6:11-12:
"We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also."
Like me, you may find yourself restricted in your offering of your own affections.
What then will you do? Remain restricted?
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Simulation technology can transport us visually into another world or place, even emotionally. But we have yet to discover how to transport our entire physical selves.
We do a good job of transporting ourselves visually and emotionally, though.
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