A New Route

Once as a teenager, I was four wheeling with some friends in my parents truck. As we approached some deep muddy ruts, my friend shouted "Stay out of the ruts! Straddle the ruts!" I didn't listen. I just did what I thought was best. Then what happened next was some serious high centered, stuck. It took a large amount of towing to un-stick the truck.

I have a tendency to fall into ruts in my daily routine if I'm not intentional to be free. And it takes some serious towing (or pruning) for God to bring me out of them. Lately God has made me aware of my unintentional ruts and in my distorted-thinking human mind, how easily they start. Even with warning from others, or prompting by God in other ways, I end up stuck. I stick to some of the following, and maybe you're the same. 

The way we relate to Jesus--thinking of him from our limited rut-inducing perspective puts him in a box. God does not like boxes. He is the creator of creative! Ask questions, have conversations. Be still, slow down so He can speak to you as you pray, don't just present your requests to Him.

How we study the bible--the same time and place, the same way. Be romantic with God....do something out of the ordinary!

Ministry--don't do what's always been done just for tradition's sake. Evaluate. Include new people who bring fresh perspective, try something out of your normal box--if your normally say no, say yes. If you normally say yes, say no. A different pattern led by God's spirit can refuel you as well as teach those you are ministering to. And if you are working in the spirit, it will bring you so much joy!

Friendships--serve together instead of the regular walk or coffee, pray together instead of just debriefing your busy lives. As the girls scouts sing "make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold." Include new people in your week, your lives. But be sure your old friends are valued with depth and time as well. Also be sure your friends do not take the place of priority over God and your spouse and kids.

Daily routine--for me with littles at home routine equals success sometimes, but just taking a different walking route this morning allowed me to see new things, hear God speak in a different way, appreciate God in a different way that I otherwise would have missed. Mark out some time to 'just be' with Jesus.

Choose Joy--Instead of complaining about what is wrong or not up to your expectations, choose to have contagious Joy by listing what you are thankful for what God is doing in your life, praise Him even when life is hard.

The first vivid thought from God after I came to understand what a relationship with Jesus was "Be Flexible." God kept repeating this to me as I served as a camp counselor. To flex means to bend (something pliant or elastic). Pliable. Moveable. "Be shaped by me," God says. "Don't be so stuck in your comfortable world that you miss opportunities to see me at work and to join me. I have a plan for you." 

So, after this awareness of ruts and my nature to want to be comfortable I started evaluating a lot of my daily life and how often things, good things, get stale and don't move forward. God is teaching me to break out of these patterns to thrive, not just live.

Jesus help me to live fully in the right here and now. To be pliable--bendable and molded by you. Help me to pray constantly as I wait for what is next. Being thankful and watchful for you.Amen.