01/24/08 (actual date written)
Wow, what a total dichotomy today has been. I awoke feeling awful, berating myself for once again being too lazy and selfish to arise early enough to fix breakfast for my husband whom I love. I thought, as I think everyday, if I love my husband so much then why is it so hard to do this ONE thing for him? I mean he doesn’t ask for much. Really, he doesn’t. He is the sweetest, most unselfish man I know. He really does love me and shows it by trying to accomplish whatever thing I ask him to do whether it is small or large. Why then do I have such an issue with doing this ONE thing?
Well, life goes on so I got up after he left for work and proceeded to fix MY breakfast all the while trying to push the guilt away for not having fixed HIS breakfast. After all, isn’t it such a man thing that I have to fix his breakfast AND my breakfast? At least that’s the worldly justification I come up with every morning. It’s been working as an excuse now for a long time so it must be right, right? I climbed the stairs after breakfast to begin my day by reading Freedom of Simplicity
by Richard Foster. I’m reading it because I don’t want to be embarrassed in our small group this Sunday night because I haven’t done the homework again.
Anyway, as I’m reading something amazing is happening to me. I am getting inspired, excited, and passionate. The words are leaping off at me as if they are alive, urging me to follow what they are saying and where they are leading! I loved the fourth chapter. I wanted to stay there all day. I felt as if God opened up my brain and poured ideas in. Amazing. That’s it. I feel amazing. I feel the power of God working in my life right now. So instead of quenching this amazing gift of the Holy Spirit as I usually do I decided to act. The first action is the beginning of this blog. The title comes from p. 74 where Richard Foster is espousing the “Theology in the Cause of Simplicity” that developed from the Protestant Reformation movement. He points out that the movement was based on the idea that if we live by Scripture alone (sola scriptura), grace alone (sola gratia), and faith alone (sola fide) we will be truly free to serve God and others in a singleness of purpose.
He states, “If we are still in bondage to sin, our serving will flow out of that center. We will not have the single eye that gives light to all we do.” I saw myself immediately in that statement. I have been trying to serve my husband from this bondage which made it seem hard, impossible even. My rebellious and selfish nature took over and said “no” to doing the good thing that I wanted to do from the heart. Then, Foster continues, “But once the grace of God has broken into our lives, we are free. When we are free from the control of our neighbor, we are able to obey God. And as we obey God with a single heart, we are given a new power and desire to serve our neighbor, from whom we are now free. We have become ‘servants of our neighbors, and yet lords of all’.” These words truly inspired this prayer in me: may God allow His grace to break free in my life!
Actions/Ideas:
Spiritual—just pray one specific thing each day for me and my family. Today, that prayer was that God would allow His grace to break free in each family member’s life. Also, I prayed that God would give me the motivation and desire to do that ONE thing—get up on time and make breakfast for my husband each and every morning. When God’s power enables me to do this ONE thing, then I know He will use this as a springboard to work amazing things in all areas of my life.
Creative—research and write biographies of these amazing spiritual powerhouses and the difference their lives had on the world.
Physical—get my hands on these two books: Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing by Kierkegaard; and The Journal of John Woolman by JohnWoolman.
Mental—mantra, “Serve real needs.”
