“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” (Luke 10:41-42, NIV)
In my writerly, practical, industrious sort of way, I can get busy. After all, writing is serving. It is ministry. And it’s my calling. But what if serving goes sour? What if trying to keep up with writing projects causes anxiety?
Here’s another what-if.
What if God cracked open a dark corridor to my heart and found pride growing in there like icky mold? Pride is sneaky like that. It garbs itself with anxiety, trembling from the fear of what others think of me if I can’t produce according to their expectations. But hey, forget their expectations. What about mine? Sometimes I need to accomplish certain things just to feel better about myself. But that’s not serving. That’s selfish.
Am I meddling yet?
I’ll tell you what stirred this up. It was a fine article at Desiring God. In a piece entitled The Secret to Doing What Matters Most Jon Bloom hits a nerve. If what motivates us, he says, is the desire to impress others, that is not love:
“It is self-exultation masquerading as diligent, competent, productive service. What’s driving me is a fear of man or a desire for the praise of man. I’m anxious and troubled because to be admirable requires getting more done than I can possibly do. And doing more than Jesus requires. So I scurry around and, in the process, often neglect the most important things.”
Bloom reminds us that we order our lives by what we love.
Martha needed to get things done. Mary needed to be near Jesus.
It’s easy to get distracted with our own agendas, but our acceptance is in Him. We don’t need to strive, fret, or worry. We don’t need other voices to praise us, or glorious ‘by-lines’ in the business to fulfill our calling.
Jesus is our One Thing Needed. Everything else will fall into place.
From your “recovering Martha”. . . learning to serve my audience of One.
It seems we have so little time
To do the kindly things;
Before we realize the truth,
We find that time has wings.
We plan to give a word of cheer
To one who needs a friend;
We plan to see someone who’s ill,
Who may be near the end.
And there’s a letter we should write
To someone who is sad;
Our word may be just what they need
To cheer and make them glad.
It’s easy to procrastinate
And leave such tasks undone,
But such a course will bring regrets
When life’s short race is run.
There is a cure for all these ills:
Just three words tell us how
To bring a speedy, perfect cure;
They’re simply, “Do it now.”
~ Author unknown ~
“Throughout the world sounds one long cry from the heart of the artist: Give me the chance to do my very best.” ~ Babette, from the movie, Babette’s Feast
Considering I’m a bookworm at heart, this meme fits nicely with my blog theme. After all, every writer “reads.” Thanks, Angie .
Next 5 books on your to-be-read shelf:
Heaven for Kids - Randy Alcorn
Suffering & The Sovereignty of God - John Piper/Justin Taylor
Wait Until Then - Randy Alcorn
May I Walk You Home: Sharing Christ’s Love with the Dying - Melody Rossi
Compassionate Caregiving - Lois D. Knutson
Last 4 books you’ve read:
Grace for Tough Times - Mary J. Nelson (Bethany House)
The God of All Comfort - Judy Gann (Living Ink Books)
The Creative Call - Janice Elsheimer (Shaw)
Broken Minds - Steve & Robyn Bloem (Kregel)
Last 3 books you’ve borrowed (library or friend):
A Path Through Suffering by Elisabeth Elliot
Writing As a Way of Healing - Louse DeSalvo
The Classics We’ve Read, The Difference They’ve Made
- edited by Philip Yancey
Last 2 non-fiction books you’ve read:
My Utmost for His Highest - Oswald Chambers (I re-read this all the time)
Indelible Ink: 22 Prominent Christian Leaders Discuss the Books That Shape Their Faith - Scott Larsen
The one book you wish everyone would read:
Nothing could be more important than the Bible itself. I especially enjoy
the ESV (version) that hubby got me for Christmas.
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Do you sense an underlying theme with my reading material? Since I welcome the opportunity to do book reviews, several publishers have been kind enough to supply my habit. Admittedly, I’m heavily lopsided with nonfiction, but I love it. Growing up, I devoured biographies and continue to learn and grow through instructional, inspirational books. I need things to feed my spirit, not just my mind.
Time to tag. Most folks choose five, but I’m selecting a fabulous seven because it’s hard to decide. Jump in if you like:
Hal Paxton
Bonnie Bruno
Mary Yerkes
Paula Moldenhauer
Cindy Swanson
Katy McKenna Raymond
Violet Nesdoly
“Nurturing relationships with family and friends are essential to your health and happiness, but your expectation for others to meet the need in your life that only intimacy with Christ can meet will be more burdensome than your relationship with them can bear.”
Don Whisnant
GracePoint
“If you’re going to be a religious novelist (and I’m not urging anybody) you’ve got to be honest not just about the times that glimmer with God’s presence but also about the times that are dark with His absence because, needless to say, you’ve had your dark times just like everybody else.” ~ Frederick Buechner
“You fashion your story as you fashion your faith, out of the great hodgepodge of your life—the things that have happened to you and the things you’ve dreamed of happening. They’re the raw material of both. Then, if you’re a writer, like me, you try less to impose a shape on the hodgepodge than to see what shape emerges from it. You try to sense in what direction the hodgepodge of your life is moving.” ~ Frederick Buechner, pg. 52, “Faith and Fiction.” from the book, Going on Faith
My friend, Janna is helping Sharon Houk compile additional info for her upcoming book. Could you help?
“I’d like to share an exciting opportunity in my life right now–I’m writing a book. It’s about 70% complete and the subject is “Staying Spiritually Healthy in Today’s Changing Church.” Target completion is September. But before I can finish, I need your help. Would you consider contributing by taking a survey that should take you no more than 5-10 minutes to complete? Thank you in advance!
The quick survey is HERE .
God bless you. Your input is SO appreciated! Feel free to pass this survey along to your friends. (If you have trouble seeing the survey, just click on Janna’s link above for all the info you need).
Have a great weekend!
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” ~ Psalm 46:1
Are you struggling right now? You want to write, but a battle rages all around. You feel defeated before your feet hit the floor. That mountain grows taller. That giant stands closer. No relief from your chronic ailment. Other writers seem to accomplish more in much less time.
Don’t despair. While the enemy of your soul wants to squelch your writing efforts, God wants you to know His name.
He is Jehovah-Nissi: the Lord is my Banner.
God can raise His miracle-working power over our lives, giving us the victory over the enemy of our souls. Will you let Him? The battle is not ours to fight. Whatever opposition we face, we take comfort in knowing that God can and will enable us to do everything He plans and purposes for us.
Remember: We don’t rely on our own strength or ingenuity to overcome our problems. Intelligence doesn’t bring the victory. Today, and everyday, we can choose to rely on Jehovah-Nissi.
“God has given us gifts so that we can use them to benefit others, and to bring recognition and honor to him. He does not call us to seek self-fulfillment, but rather to find fulfillment through seeking to serve.”
~ Kevin & Kay Brennfleck, from Live Your Calling
Are we being proactive with our gifts, taking risks to invest and multiply them? Or does fear paralyze us? While I ask these very questions, I struggle with my own insecurities, fears, and circumstances.
God is greater than my obstacles. . .I need to kick fear to the curb.
“For nothing will be impossible with God.” ~ Luke 1:37 (ESV)
