Perseverance

Hebrews 10:36

Hi Friends,

 Today let’s take a few moments to venture into the concept of perseverance.  What exactly is perseverance?  The dictionary defines perseverance this way:

Perseverance (noun)

steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc.,

especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

Wow, hard right? Ugh, who wants to persevere? That takes work, discipline, and tireless effort.  “There’s so much going on,” you say, “I can’t possible spend copious amounts of time on something, I already don’t have enough time in my day.”  If you are thinking this, you are not the only one.  But how, sad.  This thought process only hinders us from achieving huge accomplishment and satisfaction.  

I like to think of accomplishment and satisfaction as exercise for the inner self.  I don’t have any scientific proof of this, but I like to think that accomplishment and satisfaction produce endorphins.  Endorphins make us feel good, just like when we exercise.  Endorphins change our mental state from blah, to awe!

I find myself easily sucked into the “do the minimum, get it done, get all the items on my list check off, move on, accomplish more” mind set.  But when we do this we are robbing ourselves of awesomeness. 

Artwork by Honali Marin

   Recently I went to a Bible journaling workshop put on by Amber Bolton, Wow! It was amazing. I am not an artist in the traditional sense, and I find that I inhibit my creativity because of my mindset.  There is a freedom in just letting your inner creativity out.  No judgements, no comparing to someone else, just letting it flow.  I came away from this workshop truly inspired.  One inspiration led to the next, until I was swimming in possibilities. 

One of the things I came away with from this workshop was hand lettering.  We had many tools at our disposal during our Bible journaling time.  There were these awesome markers; the Tombow dual brush tip pens.  Who knew there were special markers for hand lettering! (I certainly didn’t). During the next few weeks I started doing research, watching YouTube tutorials, amassing supplies and practicing.  I won’t go into details about paper quality, brush tip sizes etc. as that is not the point of writing this, but I want to allude to the fact that there is a lot of information that goes into any endeavor.

I found that hand lettering, for me, is therapeutic.  It’s something I can do while my family is in the living room playing games or reading books out loud.  It’s something that I can do to keep my hands and mind busy but still be a part of what’s going on around me.  In short, a relaxing multitasking effort.

Hand lettering is not something that I was good at when I started… the middle of April… but over the past couple months I have improved.  I’ve kept my scratch paper practice sheets, and it’s very rewarding to see the progress and improvement.  It makes me feel good about my effort and motivates me to keep practicing to get even better.  I cannot say I have mastered hand lettering but I’m enjoying the process.

Artwork by Honali Marin

In the process of watching tutorials, I found yet another fun, creative way to organize myself.  Bullet journaling.  One of the YouTube videos mentioned their bullet journal and explained how they use hand lettering in that creative process.  I thought, “what is bullet journaling?”  That question led to more research and more awesome discovery.  I do not bullet journal my whole month, but I’ve found that there are certain aspects I love.  Getting thoughts on paper in a creative way, helps me clear the overflowing boxes in my head.  When I write it down I tend to remember it.  When I write it down it’s concrete and holds me more accountable. When I write it down in color and use creativity doing it I unwind and have a place to look back on whatever I want to remember.  

Watching bullet journaling tutorials and ideas led to another discovery.  Traveler’s notebooks.  Again, I asked myself, “What in the world is a traveler’s notebook (TN)?”.  Wow! Mind blown.  Now I have a place to keep all my creativity.  I couldn’t find papers I wanted for different processes, so I bought paper that would suit my purposes, cut them down to size, folded the paper in half, created a cardstock cover and sewed it all together and voila, I had a custom-made place to keep my birthday lists, motivational sayings, Exercise logs, food logs, and much more.  I know all the information and ideas I’ve taken out of my head are not bouncing around on scratch paper, or post-its, I can find them easily and my mind is not swimming in so much “noise”.  I can put my finger on whatever it is I need easily. 

Why did I go into all this detail about my newest hobby? To illustrate that perseverance makes your life better.  Back to the beginning, Bible journaling, the whole activity that started this journey.  I find myself excited to spend time in the Word.  My devotional time has become fun “I want to” time, instead of “I should” time.  Instead of just glazing over words, most of which I’ve heard or ready many times in my life, I use the process to bring the Bible to life.  

1.    Pray - Ask the Holy Spirit to be present in your time in God’s Word.

2.     

3.    Read - Read a portion of scripture.

4.     

5.    Ask - What stands out in the passage?

6.     

  - What does this passage say about God?

  - How does this passage inform how I live?

4.             Respond - Use the margin of your Bible to create an image as a response to what you learned through these three questions:

5.     

a.             What images come to mind?

b.     

c.              What phrase or verse will you highlight?

d.     

e.             What colors come to mind?

f.       

 

Artwork by Honali Marin

This process helps the Bible come alive.  I’m energized to find new ways to see old teachings.  As I respond, I’m leaving a lasting memory of what I took out of a particular passage.  Not only do I continue to think about what I’ve read throughout the day, I am also reminded of what I took out of the passage each time I see the page.  It’s like reading it all over again, but at a glance.  If you haven’t experienced Bible journaling do some research, learning, and just start. Your first pages will probably not be what you had in mind, but they are grace filled. Give yourself a break, embrace the process.  Growth is in the process, and when we grow we better ourselves, and who doesn’t want a better version of themselves?

 From finding your inspiration, getting into shape, or finding peace in the chaos, your journey awaits. And remember to persevere, it will take you from blah to awe and ahhh!

- Honali Marin

Finding Balance

“Don’t trade your peace for progress.”  

(Breathing Room, Sandra Stanley. p.9)

Balance….

            What is balance? We all talk about it.  We all strive for it.  But what is it? And most importantly how do we achieve it?

            I recently delved into this topic in a 28-Day devotional by Sandra Stanley called Breathing Room.  This daily study really helped me put perspective on this topic.  I am by no means an expert, but with intentional choices and discipline I’ve been able to implement some basic principles into my life and I am seeing more balance daily.

            I picture balance as walking across a beam - eyes closed, arms stretched out from my side, calm peaceful music playing and breathing deeply - complete focus on crossing the beam.  Is it hard? At first, YES!  But just like doing anything well, it takes discipline, determination, and practice.  The more I intentionally do it, the easier it gets. 

            Now, picture this… You’re standing in the middle of your house - loud music streaming from somewhere, your kitchen piled high with mess, your living room in chaos, you don’t even want to look in your kids’ rooms, your bathrooms long overdue for a thorough cleaning.  You’re trying to decide what to tackle first when the buzzer goes off on the oven timer signaling you did accomplish something today.  On your way in to pull supper out of the oven you hear an alarm going off on your phone reminding you of some upcoming appointment, then your phone starts pinging from incoming texts.  You stop to answer them knowing if you don’t do it now you will forget and it won’t happen.  A quick reply turns into ten minutes and a jolt when you realize smoke is pouring out of the oven - supper ruined.  You sink to the floor sobbing.  You feel overwhelmed like nothing you do is done well and everything is out of control.  How can you possibly juggle all life throws at you?

            Juggling or Balancing? How do we change juggling into balancing? How do we go from Chaos to balance? Is it even possible?

            God created us to need balance and rest.  He thought about it and planned rest into creation week.  He created night so we could rest and rejuvenate for the next day.  Not only did He create rest (night) at the end of each day, He also created a whole Rest Day at the end of each week with the intention of us having down time and specifically time to spend in God’s word refreshing our outlook on life and renewing ourselves.  

“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God.  On that day no one in your household may do any work…  For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day He rested.  That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.”  (Exodus 20:8-11, NLT)

God created us to need balance.  He built it into the very essence and rhythm of life - daily and weekly.  “In this need for rest, we find a regular reminder that we need Him.  We need Him to provide for us, without us working exhausting overtime hours.  We need Him to maintain friendships through seasons when we must prioritize family.  We need Him to validate our worth apart from how our lives compare to our friends’ lives.  When we follow God’s Sabbath rule we allow Him to meet our needs while we experience the peace of a Pace with breathing room and balance.”  (Breathing Room, Sandra Stanley, p. 19)

            Balance comes with prioritizing, and that looks different for each of us.  It also looks different to us during different seasons of our lives.  What your balance looks like with small children in your home is vastly different than when you have teenages in your home.  Be kind to yourself, don’t get caught in the comparison trap.  Don’t look at your friends and neighbors and wish you were in their shoes.  They are not you and their needs are not your needs.

            When prioritizing, write it down.  Draw three circles, your circles should look like a target with the inner circle being the bullseye.

• Inner Circle:  Roles that only you can fill.
• Examples:  wife, daughter, mother, sister, aunt
• Next Circle:  Roles that you do uniquely, but could be replaced with some effort
• Examples: Employee, Bible study leader
• Outer Circle:  Roles which you are easily replaced
• Examples: committee member, class participant

(Breathing Room, Sandra Stanley, p.122)

Remember… it is okay to say “No” to whatever is pulling you from your inner circle.  The no will not always be no.  just no for this season of life.  An opportunity will rise again.  Maybe then you can say Yes. Keep your focus on your inner circle first and foremost.  Some people/things in the outer circles may be forced out of your life for a season, but remember this:

You CAN’T afford everything but you CAN afford anything.  

           

Your time is limited so you can’t pour time and energy into everything you would like to BUT you can choose what you want and pour your time into anything.  Choose wisely, your balance depends on it., and remember no for now does not mean no for always.

            Trust God, He created you to need balance.  Prioritize and trust Him to do more with less.  You might be surprised hour your life will turn from a circus of juggling to the tranquility of Breathing Room and Balance.  As you see God meet your needs despite your fears of missing out or falling behind, we grow more confident that He can be trusted.  

            Balance takes discipline.  It’s hard work.  But persistently and intentionally pursue breathing room in all areas of your life and you will find the balance you crave.

- Honali Marin