Really Good Book

In November, Brooks and I started attending a new church. Our church has a very strong passion for its members being a part of small groups to experience life together. In April, we got connected with a small group and have been attending every week. It has been a huge blessing for us to meet other couples who serve the Lord and live their life to GLORIFY HIM. Over the past few months our small group devoted time to reading John Ortberg's book The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People. This was a really, really good book. Every week we were taught a new spiritual discipline to practice and it was amazing to see how God works in your life when you are focusing on living it for HIM. We were convicted, we were taught, we were humbled, we were stretched, we were held accountable, we were aware... we were MANY things through out reading this book. I highly encourage ANYONE to pick it up and read one or two chapters a week and then search for areas in your life where you can apply those spiritual disciplines and see what GOD can teach you. Brooks and I were surprised at how BASIC some of the disciplines were and yet how easy it is to not practice those disciplines. Two of the disciplines I took from the book and have devoted this season in my life to practicing and living out are the practice of celebration and the practice of "slowing".

"Having a Dee Dah Day" The Practice of Celebration
The ultimate idea I got from this chapter is that "we spend most of our life in transit: trying to get somewhere, standing in line, waiting for a meeting to end, trying to get a task completed, worrying about something bad that might happen, or being angry about something that did happen. These are all moments when we are not likely to be fully present, not to be aware of the voice and purpose of God."

This chapter talked about how joy is "God's basic character and his eternal destiny". John Ortberg says that "Joy is a necessity for Spiritual Life" so we must celebrate! "Celebration generally involves activities that bring pleasure-- eating, hanging out with friends, signing, dancing, etc. Spiritual Celebration means doing them while reflecting on the wonderful God who has given us such wonderful gifts." He suggested ways to bring joy into our lives once we realize that "True joy, as it turns out, comes only to those who have devoted their lives to something greater than personal happiness."

1. Find a Joy Mentor- spend regular and significant amounts of time around life-enhancing, joy-producing people
2. Set Aside a Day a Week- have a "Dee Dah Day" filled with pleasant things. Devote a specific day to acts of celebration so that eventually joy will infuse your entire life. (eat foods you love, listen to music that moves your soul, read books to refresh your spirit, surround yourself with beauty-- all while giving thanks to God for his wonderful goodness.
3. Unplug for a week- or for a day (take it slow) don't watch TV, don't get on the Internet, put your cell phone on silent, turn off the video games The idea is to think about when you are "plugged in" what is it preventing us from doing?
4. View Life from a Biblical Perspective- "Joy flows from a certain kind of thinking". Spend time in the word to live out the joy the scripture brings.

The other chapter that really spoke to me was:

An Unhurried Life: The Practice of "Slowing"
We suffer from what has come to be known as "hurry sickness." We think that hurrying will buy us more time. We speed up daily activities hoping that there will be enough hours in the day to do what needs to be done, therefore we end up spending less time on our daily activities, thus giving them less attention in hopes of checking them off the do list.

We multi-task, keep clutter, practice superficiality, have an inability to love (Love always takes time, and time is one thing hurried people don't have), and experience sunset fatigue (where we end up giving those we love the most our leftovers).

What should we do if we have the "hurry sickness?"

• Practice Slowing- cultivating patience by deliberately choosing to place ourselves in positions where we simply have to wait.
• Practice Solitude- At its heart, solitude is primarily about not doing something. Solitude requires relentless perseverance. The book lists multiple ways to practice solitude, even how to have an extended period of solitude. Go check it out!!

Over all, this book was eye opening for both Brooks and I. We are constantly looking for ways to practice these spiritual disciplines in our lives. So, go pick up the book, you may be surprised to see how some of these disciplines aren't your typical ideas of spiritual disciplines to have.

If you do get the book, we hope that you are blessed beyond words!