Which trail would you take?

One of Dennis' and my favorite pastimes is hiking, and one of our favorite places to hike is Yosemite National Park. The majestic granite cliffs and roaring water falls get me every time.

A few years ago we took the 5,000 foot climb up to Half Dome, the park's icon. In order to make it back before dark, we started our ascent in the early morning hours. After hours of hiking, we reached the sub-base, cautiously climbing the rock-hewn steps. The last 400-foot ascent took work gloves and upper-body strength to pull ourselves up the cables to make the 45-degree climb to the top. 

At dusk, we walked back to Curry Village, our tent area in the valley, more exhausted than exhilarated about the fact that we had made it to the top. We literally crawled into our bed that night with aching muscles that Ibuprofen barely touched. 

Half Dome from Yosemite Valley

If you were hiking and came to a fork in the trail where a sign post gave you two options, which trail would you choose, the trail of Pleasing God or the trail of Trusting God? 

It's easy to make the Christian life about what we do, striving to please God, comparing ourselves to others, making our way to the top with the effort to please. 

Years ago while reading the book, Truefaced, I learned that there are two trails we can hike as believers. For years, I joined the many hikers on the trail of Pleasing God. It was about effort, validation, and measuring up. 

My perspective changed when I realized I could take the trail of Trusting God. This trail had its challenges, but it was different. Pleasing God led to perfectionism, self-condemnation, and discouragement. But, taking the trail of Trusting God turned my focus from me to him. 

When I realized the difference between the two trails, I made a U-turn in my Christian journey, retracing my steps to arrive at the trail of Trusting God. I could trust him with my life. I was free to be who God says I am without the burden of striving for perfection in order to please him or earn his approval. I hiked empowered by the truth that I am already loved and accepted. I hiked knowing he is proud of me, his growing child. My journey became about maturity, not perfection. 

For those who hike the trail of Pleasing God, it's time to change course. You'll find God's love, grace, and mercy abundant on the trail of Trusting God. I'd love for you to come over and join me on the trail. Because, you see, it's in trusting that we please. 

At the top of Half Dome

What would love have me do?

We know Jesus engaged in spiritual practices, such as going away to quiet places, spending all night in prayer, and taking time to rest. Yet these practices are not the focus of the gospel writers. The stories that fill the pages of the Gospels tell us more about how Jesus loved and showed compassion than about his spiritual practices. He offered healing, extended forgiveness, and cared for the poor. Most of Jesus’ teachings and parables were about God’s generous love and forgiveness. The stories about Jesus tell us how he loved. 

Loving others in the spirit of Jesus may be the most significant of all spiritual practices. Without love of others, the spiritual practices have no value. That may be difficult for some to hear, but living for God is so much more than spiritual practices. Many of us have made the spiritual practices themselves the measurement of our spirituality, so much so that some don’t know how to have a spiritual life apart from the practices. 

What if this became the measure of our Christian faith – What would love have me do today? 

On Being Too Spiritual

I would have never thought about being "too spiritual" until I read some excerpts from Dark Night of the Soul, written by John of the Cross, a a sixteenth-century Carmelite friar and priest. 

If we're not careful, our spirituality can go in the wrong direction. John wrote that it often takes a dark night of the soul to uproot spiritual sins. Spiritual sins? Yes, spiritual sins. Often, the religious leaders in Jesus' time were guilty of such sins. The Pharisees could be a judgmental bunch, and it was these men who Jesus often rebuked for their self-righteousness. 

It's important as believers that we don't take on a Pharisaical attitude. 

Four out of the seven spiritual sins that John of the Cross described caught my eye (and my heart). 

Secret Pride: When we want others to notice our spirituality by our spiritual exercises or practices. 

Spiritual Greed: when we're not satisfied with what God does for us, and we are more caught up with the emotions a devotional life give us.

Spiritual Wrath: when we become bitter when the benefits of the spiritual life are taken away.

Spiritual Gluttony: when we pass beyond the limits of moderation and nearly kill ourselves with spiritual exercises. 

John of the Cross described how God takes away our vices in the dark night, only to create virtues within us. “Through the dark night pride becomes humility, greed becomes simplicity, wrath becomes contentment, luxury becomes peace, gluttony becomes moderation, envy becomes joy, and sloth becomes strength.”

What Matters Most

I think you'll find the fifth chapter of Unforced Rhythms a refreshing read. "Just Live!," the chapter title, was given to me one day when I was crying out to the Lord for help with my angst over daily devotions. No doubt, these words came from the Spirit's voice. It was exactly what I needed to hear. Just live, Gwen. Just live.

Some of us try so hard to do things right–to please God or others–that we simply need to take these words in deeply, giving ourselves permission to live freely and lightly. 

I'll never forget the time I was sharing this story as I was teaching on Life Rhythms. In the middle of the workshop, we all heard an audible sigh. I looked to see where it was coming from. A young mom was repeating the words "just live" as she exhaled, seemingly letting out all the pent up angst of striving. With relief, she commented, "I needed to hear that."

Sometimes we get caught up in the wrong things. I'm not talking about sin or wrong choices here, but as Christians we get mixed up with what really matters. God's words to me that day by the living room chair were said with compassion, giving me reassurance and encouragement to simply live. 

Consider what the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Galatia (love this book about grace) who were getting caught up with rules and regulations, particularly if the Gentile believers should be circumcised or not (Gal 5:2–6). He basically said that it (circumcision) doesn't really matter. "What matters" he wrote, "is something far more interior: faith expressed in love" (5:6 MSG).

Then, in his closing remarks, he reminded them what else really matters. "It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation" (6:15 NLT).

This, my friend, is what matters. This is what counts. A changed life, made new, free to live and love others.

The Seasonal/Yearly Person

It was a liberating day when I discovered that I lived life to a seasonal/yearly rhythm.

For so long I had struggled to live within the confines (for me, anyway) of a daily box. The spiritual angst I felt from the guilt and defeat of trying to be daily wore me down spiritually. Wouldn't it be like the enemy of our souls to discourage and torment in something considered a spiritual discipline–daily devotions? 

I felt guilty when I missed daily devotions, yet deeply desired an authentic and meaningful relationship with Christ. What a relief when the concept of Life Rhythms shed light on the tension I felt.

Once I realized repetition and routine bog a non-daily person down, it all made sense. The defeat I felt wasn't because I didn't love God or desire to know his Word. It wasn't because I didn't want to spend time in prayer. It was simply because I wasn't daily.

No more condemnation. No more guilt. No more accusation. I am free to connect with God out of my seasonal/yearly rhythm and in this, I find great joy. 

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We like a start and finish to things. Making an indefinite commitment to a service, activity, or responsibility saps the energy out of a seasonal/yearly person. They need to know things are going to change up after so long. No wonder the consistency of daily devotions rob the seasonal/yearly person of their joy. 

Creativity stirs the soul of a seasonal/yearly person. Music, art, writing, and other creative outlets can motivate and draw the seasonal/yearly person closer to God. Times with God will flow in and out of each season, setting the tone for life. Engaging in spiritual practices with flexibility, variety and change will give a seasonal/yearly person a fresh perspective to one’s spiritual walk.

Seasonal people anchor themselves in processing life in blocks of time. This could align with the seasonal changes of the calendar year or in just what's happening in life during a certain timeframe. Unlike the daily rhythm with to-do lists, or the weekly/monthly rhythm with calendars and priorities, the seasonal/yearly rhythm lives in the ebb and flow of life. Where's God moving in this season of life? Processing life in order to determine a theme enables them to focus on what matters most in a particular season or year.

The Weekly/Monthly Person

I am married to a weekly/monthly person. You'll get to know Dennis in Chapter Nine of Unforced Rhythms, "When A Plan Comes Together."

Dennis loves his calendar(s). Believe me, I know. How many times have we sat across from each other, laptops open, looking over the calendar. With frequent travels, it is important to plan, to make sure we're on the same page for future events and engagements, but seasonal gal that I am, it's not long before I begin to let out big sighs, trying to consider life from four to six months out.

Understanding our unique life rhythm has given us more grace for each other. 

Weekly/monthly people might have a calendar on their desktop, on the wall, on their phone, and on their computer. And, they will use all of them. it might even be marked up with different colors for different categories. Rather than a daily to-do list, the weekly/monthly person may have a whiteboard or large post-it notes on their wall prioritizing the details and assignments that will complete the task at hand. My husband uses small post-it notes to create priorities on a large post-it pad. 

Unlike the daily person, no one day will look alike. What matters is that the plan is moving forward. This is often accomplished by teamwork, something highly valued by the weekly/monthly person. And when a plan comes together, the weekly/monthly person has good reason to celebrate.

My husband has been taking a DAWG (Day Along with God) since his 20's. Weekly/monthly people will find their spiritual sustenance includes longer lengths of time with God at less frequent intervals than every day. A full day with God once a month or a half a day every two weeks fills Dennis up for the weeks ahead and carries him until next time. Sundays are often a refresher in the week-to-week schedule.

Weekly/monthly people anchor themselves in the tasks and goals of work and life. They have the capacity to spin several plates at once, embrace spontaneity, and have the ability to keep life well organized. 

Dennis and I are definitely opposite in personality, strengths, and life rhythm, but I'm so glad to be married to this man of mine, even if it means I sometimes have to be a calendar girl. :)

The Daily Person

I admire daily people. They are some of the most disciplined people I know. They love their routine and they stick to it.

They enter their day-to-day routines knowing what they need to do and how to get it done. It’s not unusual for them to create a daily to-do list where they find satisfaction in checking off a completed task.

Daily People . . . 

will be motivated by the steady, consistent beat of each day, and find their greatest effectiveness with clear responsibilities.

It may drive a daily person crazy if they don’t get everything done on their list, because when it’s Wednesday, there are certain things to be done. Though interrupting their plans may be cause for frustration, you can rely on daily people to be consistent and dependable.

A few years ago I met a man who reads through the Bible every year. He’s been doing this for over two decades. That is the discipline of a daily person. Daily devotions, whether morning or evening (or both),  give them strength for each new day. 

Daily people anchor themselves in the routine of life. This is where they live effectively, happily, and purposefully. 

What is Life Rhythm?

It was an eye-opening day when I realized I wasn’t a daily person. I should have known, but I didn’t know there was any other way to do life. Who does? It seems most of the world lives life by a daily schedule, and I had/have a hard time fitting into a daily routine. No wonder I struggled, then, with daily devotions.

When we think in terms of music, rhythm is the strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound.

So, then, Life Rhythm is the strong, regular, repeated pattern by which people do life.

God set day and night in motion with the rising and setting of the sun. But, he also created seasons by the way the earth orbits the sun, and within this daily and seasonal system, man created a calendar by which we measure weeks and months and years.

It was a liberating day...

when I discovered my life rhythm. It wasn’t that I didn’t want or have a close relationship with Christ. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to spend time in his presence, or pray, or read the scriptures.

The spiritual angst I struggled with for so long was simply because I didn’t live life to a daily rhythm. What relief. I found freedom from guilt and self-condemnation, something that had tormented me for years.

There are three categories of Life Rhythm that people tend to live life by: Daily, Weekly/Monthly, and Seasonal/Yearly. I devote a chapter to each rhythm in the book, plus a chapter sharing the stories from ten people who have discovered their life rhythm and how that has impacted their life.

This strong, regular, repeated pattern will be a determining factor in how you engage with God. Whether you’re daily, weekly/monthly, or seasonal/yearly, you’ll celebrate the unique Life Rhythm that you are, and gain a whole new understanding of others.