(This is an absolute guarantee.)
Friends,
2016. I’m so needing this restart. Maybe this is you, too. May the act of physically pulling out my new planner and calendar mentally pull me out of the boredom, the same-old same-old rut that I’ve been accustomed to for the last few months.
One time about six years ago I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill for an hour. (I use the term “run” very loosely.) It was only when it was time to turn off my music and get off the treadmill that I realized the music was never actually on. I spent an hour doing the most mundane activity the developed world could provide, and was entertained enough to not be so bored by it that I’d need music as a distraction. I ran for an hour with my headphones in and never noticed that the music wasn’t playing.
I remember this moment so vividly because it was a wake-up call to live a more present and intentional life. My standards were too low and boredom had clearly become so normal that I no longer noticed when I was bored.
You and I, we are called to live differently. We were made for intention and excitement and joy and an epic adventure of Good vs. evil. This 2016, let’s go after it. May we never live our lives and one day look down and realize that the music was never on.
I’m looking for a wiser, better way to live. And some of you are also looking for a new quality of life and new quality of mind and I know this because I see your New Year’s resolutions on our Facebook newsfeed.
Photo Credit: Eastlyn Bright
This is the first on a series of blog posts about New Year’s reSOLUTIONS.
Friends, there is an entire book on this. The ultimate self-help book is the book of Proverbs by King Solomon. It’s advice fit for a king, given through a king, and given from a King.
May I at least be wise enough to know that the created should look to the Creator to find the best way to live.
I thought I knew what was going to be in there, but I was so wrong. Yes there is a lot of “don’t be a hussy that cheats on your spouse” (sound advice. Paraphrase mine) and “rejoice in the wife of your youth (hear that, pastor? REJOICE! Buy me all the sparkly things! Take me to the tropics!) There’s a lot of “don’t spoil your kids. Also, don’t let them act afool” (Paraphrase also mine). But there’s so much more than that.
Why Proverbs? Because we are still making New Year’s resolutions and I don’t want to be a metaphorical hamster on a wheel. Throughout the book, Solomon describes a woman named Wisdom (#gititgrrrrl). She goes through the streets begging people to follow her. Instead, the people live independently of Wisdom and make a mess of their lives. Wisdom calls these people fools.
Solomon ends the first chapter of Proverbs by writing, “you know you’re a fool because you’ll despise this wisdom and discipline.” And I proceeded to read through all the wisdom and discipline and I didn’t like it.
Well damn.
If I’m not intentional, I am the fool more often than I am wise. I wouldn’t have originally thought this, but after reading what it means to be wise, there are so many opportunities to be wise that I just don’t take. Often these opportunities to be wise don’t look attractive or won’t get me “ahead” by modern standards.
This is the intro to a series on what it looks like to live a wisdom-filled life.
To put it plainly, wisdom is simply following God’s design for joy. More often than not, we seek out things that will bring temporary happiness (shopping, food, relationships, and the like). As a nation we are in debt and over-fed and so bored that our cell phone screens mesmerize us. We look for quick fixes for happiness when we should be following God’s design for joy instead. And His design for joy is wisdom.
Over the next month, I’ll be sharing with you what God spoke to me through Proverbs. I’ll cover these eight themes (in no certain order)
The words we speak
The money we earn
The money we spend
The attitudes we carry
The friends we surround ourselves with
The advice we listen to
The God we worship
Join me in this, and let’s make 2016 the most intentional year yet.
How about you? What are you looking forward to in 2016? Leave a comment and let us know!
background photo credit: Cassi Werner