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What each of us have in common with Mother Teresa of Calcutta...

     I am currently reading a book entitled, Souvernirs of Solitude-Finding Rest in Abba's Embrace, by Brennan Manning  Finding a quiet moment can be challenging.  Solitude and rest are two things that can very challenging for me, and probably for many us. 

    As I was reading, I came across a great paragraph written by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, it focused on the power of silence and solitude.  I have to believe like "us" that this great women also struggled to find solitude and silence in her busy work, to ponder, reflect, recharge, and pray...

 

We need to find God

and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness.

God is a friend of silence.

So how nature-trees, flowers, grasss--

grow in silence.

See the stars, the moon, the sun, how they move in silence.

It not our mission to give God to the poor?

Not a dead God, but a living, loving God.

The more we receive in SILENT PRAYER,

the more we can give in our ACTIVE LIFE.

We need silence to be able to touch souls.

The essential thing is not what we say,

but what God says to us and through us.

All our words will be useless

unless they come from within.

Words...

which do not give the Light of Christ

increases the darkness.

- Mother Teresa of Calcutta 

Question:

Where do you find quiet and solitude?

Out of Control

In his article entitled, Juggling Life, Stephen R. Graves writes about the necessity of finding balance in your life.  Anyone off balance lately?  Graves defines balance as, "the ability to continually recognize and juggle the multidimensional assignments and opportunities of life." 

How many leaders find very little margin between their workload and the amount of work they are capable of effectively producing.  Many leader find very little room to breath; the results: low energy, no prayer/meditation time, lack of patience, depression, moodiness, forgetfulness, frustrated...and the list goes on.  When we have not created BREATHING SPACE in our lives, unseen events push us over the edge into exhaustion and burnout - - anyone relate? 

• Assignments are the "must-dos" or duties in life, and opportunities are the "can-dos or options in life.  Achieving balance requires us to differentiate between assignments and opportunities. 

• Balance comes when we first successfully complete our assignments and then selectively invest ourselves in opportunities that offer us the greatest fulfillment.

• The keys to balance are establishing priorities and pre-scheduling our lives so that we have available capacity.  doing so protects us from overextension and frees us from drowning in the details of endless pursuits...and balance allows us to be sensitive to the purposes of God.

How do find BALANCE?  Let me know!

No room to move

Simplicity:  Uncluttering Our Minds.  5 sources of mind-clutter common to the 21st century (Chuck Swindoll). 

• Most of us say yes to far too many things.
  
• Most of us do not plan time for leisure and rejuvenation.
  
• Most of us rarely experience the joy of accomplishment. 
  
• Most people owe more than they can hope to repay. 
  
• Most of us fool ourselves into thinking that with our modern technology, we have simplified our lives. 

Clutter as the enemy of simplicity.  Too much clutter in your minds leaves insufficient room for devotion to Christ. 

Maintaining an uncluttered private life. 

• Do you spend adequate time with God.  In order to do this you have to make one tiny yet powerful word as a regular part of your vocabulary.  The word is no.
  
• Have you become a cluttered person within?

Maintaining an uncluttered public life. 

• Are good things keeping you about God's best? 
  
• Are too many material possessions draining your energy and leaving you exhausted? 
  
• Are activities outside your home stealing time from those within the home?

Cluttered People

Feeling way too busy? Is your mind, body and soul tired?  Here are some good thoughts I came across from Charles Swindoll:

Uncluttering Our Minds.  5 sources of mind-clutter common to the 21st century.  (1). Most of us say yes to far too many things.  (2). Most of us do not plan time for leisure and rejuvenation.  (3). Most of us rarely experience the joy of accomplishment.  (4). Most people living in wealthy countries owe more than they can hope to repay.  (5). Most of us fool ourselves into thinking that with our modern technology, we have simplified our lives. 

Clutter as the enemy of simplicity.  Too much clutter in your minds leaves insufficient room for devotion to Christ. 

Maintaining an uncluttered private life.  (1). Do you spend adequate time with God.  In order to do this you have to make one tiny yet powerful word as a regular part of your vocabulary.  The word is no.  (2). Have you become a cluttered person within?

Maintaining an uncluttered public life.  (1). Are good things keeping you about God's best?  (2). Are too many material possessions draining your energy and leaving you exhausted?  (3). Are activities outside your home stealing time from those within the home?

Silence and Solitude: Slowing our pace.  May not the inadequacy of much of our spiritual experience be traced back to our habit of skipping through the corridors of the Kingdom like children in a market place, chattering about everything, but pausing to learn the value of nothing (A.W. Tozer).