Week 9

Wow this was harder than I thought.  Slowing down is something that I have talked about before.  It is something that I have been trying to do in my life more and more.  It is really really hard.  I think there are a million reasons why it is so hard.  Sometimes it just feels lazy, sometimes it feels guilty, and sometimes it feels impossible.  I have implemented leaving early into my life.  Instead of waiting until I have to go, I have been trying to give myself a cushion.  This is actually so nice.  I am not stressed, and I find that I get a little extra quiet time in.  I love Smith’s quote “Be present to the present moment.”  I fell like this has been so much more attainable when I choose to live a more deliberately slow life. 

This is really a challenge living in community with people who are super busy and late.  It is hard to plan life and be deliberate to have it changed up by those who are living differently.  I find I am having to say no more often, sacrifice what I want to do for what I should do, and spend a lot more time planning than I want.  All in all, it remains a better way of living.  I definitely will be trying to live a life that is more contemplative and reflective as opposed to hurried and preoccupied.  As I write this, I still cannot imagine a time when I will take 5 minutes to walk from the living room to the kitchen.  But I do appreciate Smith’s variety of suggestions.

Week 8

I can absolutely relate to Carey’s story.  Since I can remember, I have been taught that sin is something we should not do.  For the most part, this meant that I tried to rely on will power to overcome sin.  This of course has always left me feeling more frustrated and more like a failure than anything else.  It never worked to just try not to sin.  I guess I still fight this way of thinking.

“In Christ I am no longer to be defined by sin.  I have been reconciled.  Sin has been defeated.”  This breaks down the idea that sin defines who I am.  It helps me to see more clearly how God sees me.  I get that I need to not sin, but with that in mind, when I do I don’t have to buy into the lie God doesn’t want me anymore.  In my daily life this helps me to see that sin is something I might do, but sin is not who I am.  Who I am is a child of God.  This is a freeing way of thinking.  It releases the burden of carrying around the bad things I have done because I have attached them to my identity.  Instead it cuts those ties and reminds me that my identity is in Christ.  It creates more space to allow God’s love to change me instead of me trying to change me.