Make the most of every moment

Wow, what a week last week.  Such a blessing to be refreshed and hear the word of God preached with such passion.  We attended our annual homeschool conference last week.  A week of being immersed in preaching.  While it was certainly not relaxing, it was most definitely refreshing.  My soul feels as though it has been rejuvenated.  I feel so spiritually energetic and through God's mercy ready to make some much needed changes in our home and in my own spiritual walk.

Have you ever reached that pinnacle moment when you feel trapped in a direction you don't want to go and you are almost like the hamster going into the cage but feel as though nothing can stop your downward spiral?  Yeah, that was me for the last several months.  I felt as though work had well overstepped its bounds by completely overtaking me distracting me from doing what was vital for my family.  Don't get me wrong, work is important but is not the reason for my existence.  I feel since really mid year last year that it was shifting causing an out of balance in my life.  I could feel it all slipping out of my control.  For an admitted control freak that is terrifying, let me tell you.  I like life to be very ordered and predictable which is kind of funny considering the drastic twists and turns our family has seen in the last 7 months or so.  Our life has been anything but predictable.

Last week gave me a week to just get away with my family and reconnect or recharge my spiritual battery.  I came in to work today with a completely new outlook.  I am grateful as I saw myself slipping into old bad habits with anger and allowing myself to become anxious.  One of the speakers last week provided a quote and I will try to paraphrase it.  Essentially he was challenging us that God placed us exactly where we are.  It is not our job to change our circumstances but rather our job to serve God in our circumstances.  That really stirred me to contemplate that thought.  In my work, I need to remember whom I work for.  It is so easy to get caught up in the chaos of the corporate world.  But really think about it..."Who do you work for?"  Is it my job to please man or is it my job to please my Creator?  This is so contrary to the corporate mindset but it makes so much sense to me now.  If I am working every day for my God, then I will blossom in my job.  That doesn't mean I will necessarily get the next promotion or that huge pay raise come next year but I will be fulfilling my purpose which is to honor God and spread the gospel.  The corporate world is a rather difficult place to share the gospel openly;  especially if you have given into the flesh in one way or another like I have by losing my temper or getting frustrated and saying things I wish I could take back.  Fortunately God is a redeemer!!  I can't change what has happened in the past but I can choose to go in each day with the first item on my agenda to honor God.  Everything else is secondary!

As for our home, I am encouraged to make some changes there as well; one of which is a rather difficult one for me.  I felt convicted by one of the other speakers last week that talked about eliminating distractions.  That stuck with me and I have chewed on it for several days.  That being said, Facebook is a huge distraction for me with my spiritual walk.  It is far easier for me to spend my time on Facebook rather than discipling my family or spending time reading and studying scripture.  So after a few days of earnest thought and confirmation, I will be deactivating my Facebook account.  Again, this is difficult for me as I have enjoyed connecting and reconnecting with many old friends but my mission as a husband and father is first to serve my family.  While many can do both, I cannot, and for me I must eliminate that distraction.  I will still continue to blog for now as that is not something that I have time to do daily.  We still desire to share our life with those interested to read about it.  God is doing some demolition within our family.  This is necessary in order for him to build His temple on a solid foundation.  Lauren and I are committed to do what is best for our marriage and our children.

So for now, it is "Farewell Facebook."  We look forward to sharing our journey with God at the wheel...