Life Hack #21 - Remodeling Needed

Life Hack #21:

A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables. (Proverbs 24:3-4)

Houses are nothing without those who live within the walls of those dwellings. They create the "culture" of the home - giving a unique atmosphere to the home environment. The one who dwells within the walls of the house has a special way of making that house their own - by decorating it as they like, opening it to visitors, and often creating a family within those walls. Now, think about that a little differently - your body as a house of sorts. Your body houses the Spirit of God and as such, the atmosphere of your life changes, does it not? The one who "dwells within" the house makes a difference in the "culture" or atmosphere of the "house" we call our inner man.

Change begins the moment the Spirit of God "indwells" us. The one who takes up "residence" within begins to affect the condition of the inner man "house". He sets about to begin the subtle "redesign" of our inner man by first bringing order to the inner workings of our lives. This happens when he begins to settle our emotions, sort out our mind's constant musings, and then reorder our choices. He becomes integral to the "culture" of our inner being. We begin to see the effects of his "touch" by the evidence of these changes. What once was pretty beat up and worn out begins to take on new life and fresh purpose.

God's Spirit brings into our lives much wisdom - helping us to take knowledge we receive and turning it into knowledge we put into repeated and reliable practice in our lives. He helps us to think differently about the "space" of our lives. He begins to fill in the gaps which exist, unclutter the places which are too full of stuff which doesn't matter, and to rearrange things so we develop a sense of ease with who we are as individuals - loved and cherished by God himself. 

As a result of the work within, there becomes evidence of "remodeling" which spills over into our outside manner. Just as a homeowner may begin on the inside to make their "space" their own, they will also begin to focus on making the outside have a little "curb" appeal. Why? They want the work done on the inside to begin to be reflected to those who can only see someone "new" has taken up residence on the inside. The culture of a family begins with the individual. The one who is wise will invite the work of the Spirit of God into their lives because they recognize the importance of creating the right "culture" within before they try to work the "culture" into the whole. 

As the one life is affected, the spill-over effect begins to occur in the lives of those who also dwell within the home. God doesn't just clean us up to make us "clean", but to begin to affect the "atmosphere" of those around us. As life change occurs, life choices change and this very change in focus or intent has a way of affecting the atmosphere of others. If we want our lives to be set in order and to reflect a different culture, or atmosphere, we just need to begin by inviting Jesus to become the most important "resident" in our inner "home". Just sayin!

Redo's aren't easy

Patience and impatience are separated by a paper-thin border in my life. How about you? I am learning to make things from wood and it requires a great deal of patience. It forces me to keep myself in 'check' - sanding, aligning and cutting just right, sanding again, clear coat after clear coat...the process requires patience. Drive a screw in without a pilot hole and you split the wood. Us wood with too much moisture in it and it will crack, separate at glued seams, and warp. Maybe this is a good hobby for me - because it is teaching me to wait, be quiet, and just be present in the moment! There is something about 'impatience' that comes from not being 'present in the moment' - we want something we don't have in a place we don't have it - seems to me if we were a little more 'present' in the moment, we'd stop focusing so much on what we don't have right now!

Don’t be impatient. Wait for the Lord, and he will come and save you! Be brave, stouthearted, and courageous. Yes, wait and he will help you. (Psalm 27:14 TLB)

Wait and he will help you. I think these may be words someone other than myself needs to hear today. Wait - quietly, with respect for his timing, in awe of how perfectly he will complete what he has started. He - not you, not the guy next to us (although he could use that guy) - he is the one at work and we need to give him space to work. In the shop one of my biggest challenges is the space to work, so I built a deck onto it to allow me to expand a little. It is under a big tree, so I get to enjoy my backyard at the same time I am laboring away on some item. Where the shop may be confining, the deck allows me infinite room. Sometimes I think we confine God - not giving him enough space to work - putting him in the confines of when and how we want something done. Give him space!

Why would waiting require us to be brave? I think it may be more than us being without fear. Bravery can be living above the fear we naturally possess in times when things aren't clear or in the right 'order' we desire. Yet, it is more than just being without fear. There is this idea of being undeterred in the midst of what it is we are walking through or into. Undeterred by circumstance, person, or perhaps someone else's actions. Someone who is undeterred isn't just 'plucky' - there is nothing that prevents them from acting - they are 'ready' to move when they hear that is time to move. Some of us are ready to move BEFORE we hear it is time, but trust me on this one - God likes us to be undeterred, but he also wants us to be obedient and trusting. Sometimes we stand at the ready, then we wait a little longer - because he is setting things in order - not just in our circumstances, but in our hearts and minds!

Stouthearted individuals have firm convictions, but if those convictions aren't in good alignment with what the Word of God outlines, all the 'strong convictions' in this world will not achieve what God can do when he is given access to an obedient heart. God doesn't leave us in the midst of our muddle, but sometimes he feels far away, so we start doing things according to our 'convictions'. The crazy thing is that not all our convictions are aligned with the Word! Sometimes we need to re-evaluate our convictions and find out just where they are getting us ahead of God's movement in our lives. There isn't any joy in reworking our lives when we have gone outside of God's plans, is there? In fact, it is quite the opposite - because 'redoing' life is a lot harder than if we had done it right the first time. Maybe this is the hardest lesson to learn in the waiting - redo's aren't easy! Just sayin!