Thinking Bigger: New Rhythms and Routines

What an interesting time it has been! I know we have touched so much on this on the blog, but it’s so true. This time has been unlike any other. I recently launched a new series on the blog called Thinking Bigger, and this week I wanted to touch on the idea of new routines and rhythms. I think one of the reasons we keep talking about this time is because it has caused us to pause – We’ve paused from our everyday life, from our routines, our appointments, our errands, our offices, classes, and schedules. And that pause has caused us to think. And we’ve been thinking a lot! Although some of that thinking can cause fear, much of it has been an assessment of what we used to do every day in comparison to what we’re doing now. Things I used to view as such a chore have now become cherished routines. Activities I used to never have time for are now new staples in my schedule – like planning evening meals and eating dinner with Jase, planting a garden, reading a book, or taking joy and excitement in grocery shopping at the local farm. With all this new that has come about in this season, and in light of many of us on the brink of communities opening up again, I’ve caught myself almost sad that “a return to normalcy” would mean potentially losing those routines and rhythms I’ve come to love so much in this time. What will life look like when we are able to be busy again? When those appointments, and errands, and classes, and work will fill our schedules once more?I think rather than being sad, it’s okay to ask this question, and I think it can be a positive in return. We’ve been talking about this time so much on the blog because I think we’re excited about the opportunity that all this pause has given us to become better. Better at being more present at home, better at implementing routines that are healthy and creating healthy environments, better at being intentional about our activities, thoughts, and how we fill our time. I don't know about you, but I don’t want to leave my new cherished routines behind when all this is over. I want to use whatever I have left of this pause to continue to practice them, and instill them in the rhythms of my every day so that, when I have the opportunity to fill my schedule a bit more, I will still make time for those things I came to appreciate so greatly when my schedule was less full. What new routines and rhythms have you begun or been practicing in this season that have made you better? What rhythms can you start now that you can carry with you when this time is over? My hope for you all is that you have found practices and activities that you have come to cherish during this time, those that have made you feel whole and healthy. And for those of you who haven’t yet, I hope that you take whatever time we have left in this pause to find what fills you up in that way – So that all of us can leave this time feeling and being better than when we went in. x

Stay In The Training

What do you you think of when you think of training? We envision hard work, long hours, mental discipline, plenty of focus, an openness to learning, the willingness to change, a desire for strength, and the endurance to keep going even when it gets really hard. All of these elements obviously apply when you are physically training and working out, but it also applies emotionally and personally when you are going through a season that is challenging, intimidating, and confusing. The good news is that with the realization that we are being trained during these seasons, we will be able to stay in the training and keep moving forward!We are so excited to share this message from Judah Smith with you: Trained By His Training. This message has spoken to us so much lately and has caused us to start viewing challenging seasons as opportunities for growth. This change of perspective results in seeing hard seasons as preparing and training us in order for us to becomes the person that the Lord created us to be.The most amazing thing is that no matter what you are going through right now, no matter what your personal circumstances are, this message will hit your heart in the biggest, most loving way. We have sent this link to so many loved ones in a variety of emotional situations because it is a message that brings so much encouragement, hope, and promise. In his message, Judah encourages you to stay in it and keep going and realize that you are being trained by the Lord because He loves you so much.Here is the Scripture from Judah's message + an amazing quote from Judah, but we highly encourage you to take the time (about 40 minutes) to listen to the entire message! We are excited to read your comments in the comment section below. xoHebrews 12: 7-11 (NLT)As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn't discipline you as he does all his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn't we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God's discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in His holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening- it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. "You know who God is preparing? Those He loves. God told me to tell you tonight, you are in training right now and that is why you feel the way you that you feel. You have been searching your soul thinking, this is the weirdest season- I'm in a funk- what is going on- and I am here to tell you that NOTHING is wrong, you're in training! And it is a form of a compliment from your Father, because He is preparing you for things that you otherwise could not do without Him and His preparation. God is preparing you.- Judah Smith

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From Where We Stand

During a particularly sensitive time in our nation, emotions from Americans have been stemming from delight, hope, and expectation to despair, fear, frustration, and confusion.I sat on my living room couch with my roommate, streaming CNN’s coverage of the US election well into the early morning, London time. We both knew this election was a defining one for our country, so while we could not peel ourselves away from our computer screens, our hearts began to sink. With every minute, we watched our nation decide what the next four years were going to entail. When I woke up the following morning, I could not help but feel that a tidal wave ushered in what I could only gather as a world of difference. Though I did not know what that difference would look like or how it would precisely manifest itself, I felt its ominous weight upon me and upon the rest of my country from thousands of miles away. More than that, this was a complex sense of difference as some felt this change would altogether benefit our country and others felt this change would usher in years of oppression and discrimination that existed before, but went unnoticed or unacknowledged.I felt entirely homesick. I wanted to be with the rest of my country as we all were processing this change. I wanted to experience what everyone was feeling- all the polar and divisive emotions that fell on a spectrum that no single person could possibly experience. I wanted to embody each person’s thoughts and feelings- what they hoped for, what they envisioned, and equally what they feared, how they felt lost or displaced, and how their hearts were broken.It is important to recognize that the election panned out in vastly different interests of the American public. Like any election, some people were thrilled to have voted in their preferred candidate to the presidency, while others’ hopes were put to rest. But, unlike any election, the process that began over a year ago revealed some pressing and undeniable truths about the state of our country. We have seen news of hateful actions morph into repeated and not-so-shocking headlines. We have grown weary, and maybe insensitive, of the same stories that point out unresolved issues in our nation. But, while we may feel that we have been bombarded by a ceaseless flow of information about issues that we cannot possibly begin to tackle, at some point, the stories and testimonies became real. Some of us heard testimonies, personal and public, of hateful speech directed at people who share the same nationality as us. And so, we watched these stories shift from those of remote fiction from an unbridled media to stories from real people- our friends, our families, our neighbors.As I continued to process what these next four years would look like for our country, I looked for some form of hope I could grasp. I also looked for a point of action- something we could work towards, tactical things that we could work to change. I felt a weight upon my generation to act and to assure that freedom, compassion, understanding, equality, and peace would be the defining aspects of our country. But as I searched for answers and solutions, I began to realize that I was overlooking the source of it all.The following Sunday I attended church just like any other Sunday. But that afternoon, the Lord spoke to me so distinctly and purposefully. In revealing the desires of my heart, the condition of my heart was reoriented so that my worries were not founded on a wavering future, but that my hope rested in the constant and everlasting promise of our Heavenly Father. Tim Chaddick, our pastor, spoke on Revelation 5 and relayed his heart on what we should do in an age of uncertainty and how we should respond to the world’s need as the church. His reminder, that we must have a clearer understanding of our need, spoke truth and life into my heart. “We need a clearer understanding of our need,” he passionately affirmed, “because it keeps us from placing our hope in all the wrong things.” He continued to speak to this reoriented mindset by allowing us to imagine where we stand before the holy throne of our perfect Father. He asserted that the way we rid ourselves of self-righteousness and cultivate true humility is through realizing where we stand before a holy and mighty God: “When you see God for who He is- He’s perfect, He’s holy, He’s absolutely pure- you realize it doesn’t matter how you compare yourself to others . . . When you see yourself before God, you realize you are in need of mercy and you are in need of grace.”Positioning ourselves before the perfect love God allows us to realize that we are completely undeserving of that love, but wholly and comprehensively loved through his grace all the same. I believe that this reorientation is necessary in order for us to love and serve the world in the exact way that it needs us to. As followers of Christ, we must continually put ourselves before the throne in the light and love that Jesus has donned on us, so that through grace, we may be able to boldly declare and display the perfect love of God to a world that desperately needs it.In an uncertain present with an unpredictable future, the demand for us to more boldly represent and display Jesus’ love and grace amid a broken and needy world is now that much greater. But when we find ourselves in a position where we understand our brokenness, our faults and, equally, where we find unending love, acceptance, and freedom, we are able and empowered to answer the overwhelming burden of the world’s every need. As Nelson Mandela said, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” As followers of the One who paved the most gracious, humble, compassionate, and forgiving way for us, let us enhance the freedom of every single human being on this earth through the light, power, and unending love of Jesus.