Part 3 - Follow in Jesus' Footsteps

Wow! Like Monique I have had a hectic/hard week....so to speak. I am so late in posting this - please forgive me.

Chapter 5 - Pursue Peace
Reading this chapter came at a difficult time for me. Work has been extremely challenging the last few months and a situation I was not expecting turned ugly right when I was reading this chapter. I had been mulling the challenge of "loving others as Jesus loves me" from the previous chapters. So now on to peace. When you begin reading the chapter, Katie sounds elementary. Okay, pursue peace....why wouldn't you? I mean, hello? But as you dig deeper into the chapter, the peace she describes is a bit different than what first came to mind. Because of the struggle I was going through at work with a junior associate, my mind immediately went to "absence of conflict." Do you feel like Katie's friend Danielle who was caught up in the busyness of life which was always demanding "More! Faster! Bigger! Better!"? Or have you been struggling to find your unique purpose by figuring out what great gift God has given you like Katie's friend Becky?

Perhaps the most important thing to get from this chapter, having started at a place of wanting to know oh so badly our purpose, is to peacefully appreciate the tasks we do here and now, and not feel so driven to figure out the long range plan. Praying throughout the day has become more and more a part of my life over the years. And it has made a whole lot of difference. When you are sitting in your office talking to God while you work and as you mull decisions you must make, you have a sense of peace and calmness. Katie talks about wanting to learn to listen to God throughout the entire day. I want that as well. I seek it. I am far from where I need to be. I sometimes get in a rush and forget Him. I sometimes shoot off the hip before I have talked to Him about it. And I know this is a practice I need to continue working on. Being able to bring God into the craziness and busyness of your life is so important. My life of busyness comes with other challenges (I'm sure yours do too) and I love it when I remember to listen for Him. The talking to Him is not so hard............it is the listening sometimes that is a challenge.

As I read through the various guides of pursuing peace, I realized how much of my life crowds out these opportunities. For example, practicing silence. For me, I practice silence by waking up and sitting in my bathroom. Doing nothing. I just sit there in the quiet. My husband does not understand it at all. I also like to come downstairs, open the windows in the breakfast room and just sit there looking out of the window into the backyard. There is something about my spirit that just craves those quiet times with no noise, chatter, or TV. But as much as I crave these times, lately it seems like I have no time to practice silence. The pace of my life is stealing away so much from me.

Now stopping the endless mind chatter - that is hard for me. My mind is always racing. Which of the guides do you know you need to work more on? I know shutting up my mind chatter, purposely changing my pace, and avoiding peace killers are three that I need to make a concerted effort to incorporate into my pursuit for peace. Katie ends the chapter talking about Mary and Martha. We all know the story. I grew up in church and have heard the story and teachings and read the story myself multiple times. I understand the principles. But I have always empathized with Martha!!!!!!!!! Someone has to do the cooking, the cleaning, the mending......someone has to work. After all, Jesus was a guest and they had to provide him a meal. So if Martha was out there with Mary, would the meal have miraculously prepared itself? I have always thought Martha has gotten a bad rep out of this deal - she was trying to take care of Jesus' needs in her own way. And oif course Mary was just going to sit there at Jesus' feet, drinking in all the wisdom she could and not help.....but I am sure she would have enjoyed the meal Martha was working hard to prepare. Of course this probably tells you a lot about me - I am a worker. I do. I do, and do, and do, and do. But the truth is, Martha could have invited Jesus into the kitchen while she worked. And cerytainly, she should not have chastised her sister for desiring to be with Jesus. And that should be an attitude I should focus more on as I struggle with my busyness and daily tasks.

Chapter 6 - Repent and Turn away from all your offenses
One of the things I ask from God is that He show my the things that are hidden in my heart. Somtimes I have to chew on what He shows me.....sometimes I try to justify it, I try to explain it away......There are things we know we need to deal with in our lives as stumbling blocks, and then there are others we don't know about and assume are not there. The ones I don't know about are the ones that scare me. I do trust God with my frailties and do frequently reflect on my thoughts and actions. My desire is not to have a block between my relationship with God. My character is important to Him. I am an ambassador and I should reflect His love and grace and kindness. I frequently fail in that regard. Each day starts with a challenge to do better. The key here is not just recognizing where we fail, but making a commitment to change from a place of true sorrow. So ladies, it is the change that marks our true repentance.

This chapter is such a personal chapter that I can only encourage each and every one of us to spend some time in here mullling our stumbling blocks and resolving to deal with them. Pride? Conceit and arrogance? Impatience? Cursing? Lying? GOSSIPING? Manipulating? And the very familiar corporate theft? What forms do these common sins come into your life? How can they be avoided? Thankfully, whatever it is, God can lead us and "handle" our sin. And remember, we won't be perfect. But we keep on trying and working on it. And focus on the flip side of the sin.

As you went through the questions, did you find that there was a particular weakness God was nudging you on? (See Katies No. 5 on personal pathway questions).