Winds of Life

My Canoe @ Urban Ecology Center

Nature consistently provides me with some kind of life or biblical application. Today on my canoe, enjoying the sound of nothing but birds chirping and bugs buzzing about, I stopped rowing and laid back to take it all in. For a few moments I closed my eyes, and after opening them only moments later, I realized the wind was pushing the boat towards a patch of reeds I was about to get stuck in.

Life is like that. If we let winds of negative influences, improper motives, temptation & stress impact us more than our God-given direction and obedience, we end up where we don't want to be, or shouldn't be, sometimes completely turned around – stuck, even.

When we let the wind blow us away it's that much more work to get back to where we wanted to be. Difficulty increases because we then have to return against the current. Stay focused and don't let the winds of life take control of your direction.

In The Word

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. - Ephesians 4:14 (NIV)

But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. - James 1:6-8 (NIV)

A Time For Everything: Focus

Ecclesiastes 3:1
There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.

When we spread ourselves too thin, we get swept up in the midst of things that really don’t deserve our priority attention.

1. Focus on the task ahead of you (Keep the main thing the main thing)

*There may be many ‘good’ things for us to do or take part in, but what is the appropriate thing to do at that particular time, in that particular place?
Luke 10:38-42

Giving Priority to Secondary Matters - Martha was more concerned with her duties in the home, that even when Christ physically came to her home, she didn’t recognize the importance and opportunity. Sometimes, our duties will always be there, and there are times where we have to take a moment to just take a moment to soak it all in / to enjoy the things that God is doing around us, etc.

*God does not expect us to achieve a lifetime of tasks for every season at once.
Psalm 92:12-14
Tree advice I came across on a gardening site: “Your trees are still relatively young, where they bear nicely and then the following year very few will form; and I feel that they will progressively bear larger and better quality fruit as they age.”

2 . Remove the distraction
Media – computers, cell phones, im, etc
Jesus went away and prayed - After ministering, healing sick and afflicted in Capernaum:
Mark 1:35 - Luke 4:42
Solitude is important for prayer and refreshment, but will only be possible if we make it a priority. Jesus had to get up very early just to get some time alone. If Jesus needed solitude for prayer and refreshment, how much more is this true for us? Don’t become so busy that life turns into a flurry of activity leaving no room for quiet fellowship alone with God. No matter how much you have to do, you should always have time for prayer. Turn off all the electronics, all the ‘white noise’ that we say we cannot sleep without, etc.

3. The myth of multi-tasking
Do one thing and do it well. We are not called to do ALL THINGS all AT ONCE!
Psalm 90:12
People who multitask are less efficient than those who focus on one project at a time, says a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology... Managing two mental tasks at once reduces the brainpower available for either task, according to a study published in the journal NeuroImage. Sue Shellenberger ( from the Wall Street Journal), Star Telegram: "Multitasking Makes You Stupid, Studies Say"; 12/2/2003

4. Give yourself wholeheartedly (Be fully committed)
Philippians 3:14

- EMF Women's Month message