The second characteristic I often see that impedes learning is using the wrong abilities.  Because women cannot say no, they quickly jump in to meet any need that arises, giving little thought as to whether or not they have the ability to do what is required of them.  Eventually they begin to realize they might be in the wrong place, so they quit, often feeling like a failure.  This has a huge impact on their learning because of the internal anxiety this produces.

Distractibility is also an issue I see all the time.  In our world of rapidly flowing information via electronic gadgets, it’s difficult to even hold a conversation with someone without being interrupted.  I have observed that many of our younger women lack the ability to concentrate on anything for very long.  I learned a long time ago that if I was going to keep their attention and keep them coming back to class, the first thing that needed to go was the 45-minute lectures!

The inability or unwillingness to see the forest for the trees seems to impede spiritual growth in many of us.  Many of my learners are so focused on the events of the day that they fail to look at the big picture to learn what God might be teaching them in their life.

To little self-confidence impedes many women’s learning.  We’re not really sure about this, ‘thinking differently’ stuff!  We’re too afraid to step too far out of our comfort zone for fear we’ll make a mistake or do something wrong.  It’s much safer to stay right where we are. As their teacher, I try to be patient and realize that we all learn by taking baby steps.  I found that praising them for taking baby steps gives them confidence to take another and then another.

The same principle applies to learning in everyday life. Adult learning theory calls the painful experiences that lead to growth a disorientating dilemma.  A disorientating dilemma is “a phase in which confusion, anxiety, and tensions increase and the learner experiences a crisis of self-confidence.”[i] Our existing knowledge and prior experience isn’t sufficient to help us cope with our new, unfamiliar situation. My friends, truly deep significant learning usually starts with some type of a disorientating dilemma.

Think about the last time you moved.  Does this in anyway describe how you felt before, during and shortly after your arrival to your new location?  Think about the last time your husband deployed.  My guess is that confusion and anxiety are a few of the emotions you may have experienced at that time.  What about the day your youngest child went off to college, leaving your once full nest suddenly empty? Our lives are filled with everyday, disorientating dilemmas.

The adventure of learning begins when we respond to our disorientating dilemma. We might read everything we can get our hands on pertaining to the subject matter. We might talk to others who have gone through similar experiences.  We search the web for insights and answers.  Eventually, we reach a saturation point and stop our pursuit of gathering information.

The next phase of deeply significant learning is that of reflection. Through the process of reflection, we sift through and evaluate external stimuli.  We reflect upon all the information we’ve gathered.  We think about the ideas and events of the information gathering process.   We slowly begin to form new ideas, creating new meanings and perspectives as we re-define our understanding of our situation.  We might share our new thoughts or ideas with others, gaining the confidence to put new ways of behaving into practice.

As the new ways of thinking and behaving are tested out and positively reinforced, they gradually become our ‘new normal.’  We once again begin to act in an unconscious, taken-for-granted manner – that is until we find ourselves faced with another disorientating dilemma.  At that point, the learning cycle starts all over again. As you can see, learning is a never-ending process.

So if you’ve recently found yourself in a painful experience or some type of disorientating dilemma, take heart.  You are on the brink of an exciting learning adventure.  God wants to take you to a deeper level of understanding, faith and trust.  Hang on the best you can.  I think you’ll like the new person who’s waiting for you on the other end!

It’s been a very long time since I’ve added a new post.  I’ve returned to Graduate school this past fall to work on a MA in Adult Education.  Therefore, I haven’t taken the time to post any type of daily devo.  But I’d like to post something today.  In reading The Daily Office this morning, several things caught my eye.  These are very random thoughts but I wonder if any of you might be able to relate to them.

1.  The Daily Office always begins with confession of our sins.  Not only the sins which we have committed, but for that which we have omitted.  The things we have left undone are as important to God as the things we have done wrong.  I’m afraid I have left much undone this Christmas.

2.  2 Sam. 7:23  “And who is like your people Israel – the one nation on earth that God went out to Redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself and to perform great and awesome wonders….”  What sets the God of Israel apart from other gods?  This God reaches out to redeem people.  He reaches out to the hurting, the lost, the undeserving and the unworthy and brings them into fellowship with Him.  Does any other god do this?  I don’t think so.

3.  Guide our feet into the way of peace, that after having done your will with cheerfulness, we may rejoice and give You thanks.  This made me ask myself, “Do I do His will with cheerfulness?”  Or do I grumble and complain that it’s too hard, I’m not suited for this, and I don’t understand why you’d have me do this?

4. Give us an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise by giving ourselves to your service.  How aware am I of God’s mercies to me and those I love?  Do I take them for granted?  Am I really of aware of all God has done for me?  Hmmm…makes me think, does it you?

5.  Fulfill our desires and petitions as may be best for us.  When we pray and ask God to do something, do we really want Him to answer in ways that is best for us or do we want him to give us what we want?  Our hearts are deceitful my friends, and we don’t always see the big picture.  When God withholds answers to prayers or answers them differently than we wanted Him to, we can only assume its for our best.   Can we honestly pray for God to do what is best for us?

Merry Christmas!

These week long workshops have been extremely effective in their mission to change a life.  Small seeds of encouragement are planted in people’s lives who previously had none.  When young people discover their strengths and gifts, they realize they were created with value and a purpose for their lives.  Broken lives become hopeful.  Light replaces the darkness that surrounds so many of the students.

Inside Out Global has an upcoming workshop next week in Denver.  Already, 10 students are registered to attend.  Members of the IOG team will be flying in from all over the US and the world.  Three of the team members are from Australia. Plans are in place.  Details have been delivered.  It’s time for lights, camera, action!

Click here to find out more about IOG and to view previous films.

http://insideoutglobal.org/

Mark talks about the importance of reframing our problems by zooming out in order to get a broader perspective on them.  We stop focusing on what is wrong with our circumstances and start focusing on what is right with God. How do we zoom out?  By worship.

Please join me this morning in worship.  I’ve selected this song, My Heart Sings Worthy, because He alone is worthy.  And as you focus more on what is right with God, you’ll begin to focus less on what is wrong with your circumstances.

Enjoy!

My Heart Sings Worthy

Here are a few suggestions that I bet you’ve not heard of before.  Let me know if you try any of them.  I know I’ll be trying a few.  Have fun!!

1.  Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day. Just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin  B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C,  Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus,  Potassium and
Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon?  Put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B vitamins and carbohydrates that can provide a quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower?  Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the  mirror.  It will eliminate the fog and  provide a soothing, spa-like  fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make  them flee the area.

5  Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out to the pool?  Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes.  The phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6.. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off  that afternoon or evening snacking binge?  Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explorers for quick meals to thwart off  starvation.

8. Have an important  meeting or job interview and you realize that you don’t have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe. Its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great  but also repels water.

9.  Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water.  The chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown to reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Preparing for a business meeting and realize you don’t have any mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath.  The phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth, responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean.  Not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, it won’t leave streaks and won’t harm your fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13.  Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing.  It also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

Pass this along to everybody you know who’s looking for better and safer ways to solve life’s everyday problems.

I found this to be an accurate picture and explanation of the difference between living independently from God and living in submission to Him.  For some reason when we hear the word, ‘submission’, it makes us want to turn around and run the other direction.  Yet, God not only desires that we live in submission, it was His design for us from the very beginning.

Submission is not about authority and it is not obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect.  When God is in our life, submission is the most natural expression of His character and nature. It’s the most natural expression of our new life in Christ as we live in relationship with others.

And to think that most of us simply want a God who will just fix everything and make our lives run smoothly!  The problem began way back in the beginning in the Garden of Eden when man abandoned his relationship with God to assert his own independence.  Men have expressed their independence by turning to the work of their hands and the sweat of their brows to find their identity, value and security.  Women turned away from God to find their security, identity  and value in men.  Women in general find it difficult to turn from a man and stop demanding that he meet their needs, provide security, and protect their identity, and return to God. Men in general find it hard to turn from the works of their hands, their own quests for power and security and significance and return to God.  Power in the hands on independent humans does corrupt.  This independence, with it’s quest for power and fulfillment actually destroys the relationship our hearts long for.

Submission is not something you can do, especially on your own.  Apart from God living inside of us, we can’t even submit to God, let alone to other people.  Being a follower of Jesus is not trying to be like Jesus, it means our independence has been killed. God came to give us life – real life – His life. God desires that He live inside of us, so that we can take on the mind of Christ and live in submission to those around us.

Can you live in submission to those around you?  Can you live in an attitude of love and respect for those people who are in your life, even if they are not treating you with love and respect?  Remember, you cannot do this on your own.  You don’t have the ability nor the power.  But God does….and if He lives inside of you, it’s His power, not yours, that will enable you to do this.

Still reading ‘The Shack.’  I told you I was a slow reader!  I had about 10 days of non-reading due to lots of company and preparing lots of meals for various people and groups.  But now with all that behind me, I can resume my summer read.

I just completed the chapter when Mack and Sarayu are in the garden. I love this chapter…so much truth!  I especially love how Sarayu calls us ‘humans blind to our own place in creation, and that we choose the ‘ravaged path of independence’ from God.’  Because of this independence and insisting that we be in control, doing things our way, we cannot see the world as God sees it.

We make our own judgement as to what is good and what is evil, basically based upon what we like and what we don’t like.  We spend huge amounts of time and energy trying to acquire that which we have determined to be good and spend a huge amount of energy and worry fearing what we’ve determined to be evil.   When we do this, it allows us to play God in our independence.

We must give up our right to determine what is good and what is evil on our own terms. To do this, we must know God enough to trust Him and learn to rest in His inherent goodness. Declaring independence from God will always result in evil because apart from God, we can only draw upon ourselves,which will lead to death.  We have separated ourselves from the very One who gives us light and life.

What do we get by giving up our independence?  When we become willing to live out of a relationship with God, we begin to experience the wonder and adventure of living in Him.

Question to ponder this week:  Are you living the ravaged path of independence or have you given it up to live in a relationship with God, always trusting in His inherent goodness?

I had no idea when I started reading ‘The Shack’, by Wm. Paul Young, that I would be reading a book on Systematic Theology!!  I tore through the first 5 chapters,but have slowed down considerable, not wanting to miss each thought or concept about who God is.

Here’s what caught my attention as I read last night, from page 128:

God was speaking to Mack in an especially gentle and tender voice. “You really don’t understand yet. You try to make sense of the world in which you live based on a very small and incomplete picture of reality.  It is like looking at a parade through the tiny knothole of hurt, pain, self-centeredness, and power and believing you are on your own and insignificant. All of these thoughts contain powerful lies.  You see pain and death as ultimate evils and God as the ultimate betrayer, or perhaps, at best, as fundamentally untrustworthy.  You dictate the terms and judge my actions and find me guilty.

The real underlying flaw in your life, Mack, is that you don’t think I am good.  If you knew I was good and that everything – the means, the ends, and all the processes of individual lives – is all covered by my goodness, then while you might not always understand what I am doing, you would trust me.  But you don’t.”

Oh my.  What else can I say?  How true!  We see life from such a tiny perspective, yet we judge God by this limited view.  Do we trust in His goodness or do we not?  If we do, this changes everything. Our thoughts.  Our attitudes.  Our actions.

Where do you see yourself within the context of God’s goodness?

I was fairly certain that I was the only person on the planet who has not yet read The Shack, by Wm Paul Young.  That is until I found out last week that a friend of mine hasn’t read it either.  So the two of us pledged to one another that The Shack would finally be our summer read.

On my.  I’m not yet half-way through, but I can hardly put it down.  And what really surprised me is the ‘a-ha’ moment I had last night as I read it, involving something I already knew, but didn’t quite put the pieces together.

Phil.2:6-8 reads like this: “Who (Jesus), being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.”

My study Bible describes Jesus as having laid aside his glory and emptying himself of the prerogatives of being God in nature.  Fully God, yet fully human in that he now chose to live with the limitations that all humans live with.

So if Jesus was a man, such as you and me, how did He do all of those miracles?  Read this excerpt on pages 101-102:

Jesus is fully human.  Although he is also fully God, he has never drawn upon his nature as God to do anything.  He has only lived out of his relationship with me, living in the very same manner that I desire to be in relationship with every human being.  He is just the first to do it to the uttermost – the first to absolutely trust in my life within him, the first to believe in my love and my goodness without regard for appearance or consequence.

“So when he healed the blind?”

He did so as a dependent, limited human being trusting in my life (God’s) and power to be at work within him and through him.  Jesus, as a human being, has no power within himself to heal anyone.  Only as he rested in his relationship with me, and in our communion – our co-union – could he express my heart and will into any given circumstance. So when you look at Jesus, you are actually seeing me, my life in him.  That’s how he lives and acts as a true human, how every human is designed to live – out of my life.

WOW! As a human being, Jesus had no power of his own, but only received God’s power by resting in God and staying close and connected to him.   Is this the way I live?  Is this the way you live?  Staying close and connected to God, resting in Him and receiving his power to live our lives, no matter what they look like? This is how God designed every one of us.  When we choose to live as Jesus did, how can we be anything but victorious?  And sadly, when we choose not to live as Jesus did, how can our lives be anything but a mess?