Lifestyle, Faith, God, Jesus, Relationships, Marriage

I was having a conversation the other day about office supply stores and how addictive they can be. Why is that? I believe it is because when walking through an office supply store, we tend too think we can do anything! “If I just had those post-its, that calendar, that planner… I would be so much more organized and better with my time-management!” Can I just say that the difference between being productive and not being productive isn’t something you can buy at an office supply store? Productivity is not perfection. We tend to think, I just can’t let a single ball drop. I have to be perfect, I have to do it all! But do we? Do we have to do it all?

I believe that productivity is a state of mind! It takes a mindset shift, it means doing the hard things when the easy/fun things are right there and available instead. It’s about deciding what is truly important in your life and spending your time there.

I am going to quote Matt Evans again. He is the pastor at Rock Bridge Community Church here in Dalton, GA and on May 13 he talked about Time and love. He said,

“You can say with your mouth ‘I love you.’ They may hear your words, but they feel your schedule.”

I was so challenged by this statement. I am in a very busy phase of life right now and I must ask myself regularly where my time is going. I must ask where I am sleeping through life and ask God for forgiveness, grace, mercy, in “waking up” in that area.

Autumn Calabrese says often in her fitness programs,

“If you want something you never had, you need to do something you’ve never done.”

So, let’s talk about habits. What habits do you have in your life currently? Good, bad, neither? Take stock today. Nadia Bolz-Weber said in a video titled “No One Has It All” on the Have A Little Faith FaceBook page that during a busy time of life, she realized that her good habits were merely “a list of habits I adopted to over-function.” What habits in your life did you adopt to simply help you over-function? Here’s the thing, take time to figure out what is truly important in your life and then look at your time. Keep a journal of how you spend your time. What does it say about what you find important?

Do something you’ve never done before. Do something that will help you work towards a more purposeful life. Hear me. I am not saying to do more. I am saying to rethink your time and do something new.

I along with you will be looking at my schedule with new eyes today.

Blessings!!

Lindsey Morales

This week I prepared for my Holy Yoga classes and it never ceases to amaze me how God shows up and changes my message as the class goes on. I walked in with “A cheerful heart is good medicine!” – Proverbs 17:22. As I began talking I felt God leading me toward the idea of Wabi Sabi.

Wikipedia defines Wabi Sabi as

Wabi–sabi represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”.

The visual representation of this is broken pottery repaired with gold.

In a world where we watch other people’s lives through the scope of social media, we get accustomed to seeing people’s highlight reels. This begins to distort our view of what beauty truly is. As a Yoga instructor I post exciting new poses or pictures of me doing Yoga that I feel are beautiful, but my Instagram highlight reel is not my process. It leaves out the many times I fell or failed in that pose before I eventually found it! When I teach, I want people to see the beauty in the process. When we wobble and fall in a balance pose or struggle and shake in a strength building pose. When we get nowhere near reaching our toes or feel that our bodies just don’t twist that way. These are examples of the process. They are beautiful because when we try something new for our bodies, we are going to struggle. It is in the consistency, the persistence, the hard things, that we find God’s beauty! In these moments, we learn not only to strive, but also to surrender.

A quote by Eyse Murphy says “Growing closer to God is not the result of ‘trying harder’ but of surrendering more.” I love the beautiful parallels between my Yoga practice and my faith. In any pose, there are muscles that are working and muscles that must surrender, in our faith there is a certain amount of work that we must do but there is also surrendering to God’s beautiful, grace-filled love. And when we fall and fail, we get back up, dust ourselves off, learn and grow. In this we are like the broken pots being filled with God’s beauty (gold).

Isaiah 61:3 NIV

³    and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.

To you who feels you are not strong enough to practice yoga – come and let God teach you something about strength.

To you who feels you are not flexible enough to practice yoga – come and let God teach you something about surrender.

To you who feels you are not enough or less than – come and let God show you His eternal, unfailing love.

God bless you, beautiful children of the most high!!!

Lindsey Morales

Category: Lifestyle, Faith, God, Jesus, Relationships, Marriage

Post-its and Perfection

Beauty From Ashes