am i taking responsibility for my life....really?

the other nite johan told me that andy stanley had a new series out called "taking responsibility for your life." then he said nervously, "i'm kind of scared to listen to it." he was half joking, half serious, but when you really think about the title, that means that you have some control with where you are in life right now. i didn't think about the podcasts until last nite when i had some free time, so i decided to listen to the first two sermons (there are 4 total.)

galatians 6:3-7: "if any of you think you are something when you are nothing, you deceive yourselves. each of you should test your own actions. then you can take pride in yourself, without comparing yourself to somebody else, for each of you should carry your own load. nevertheless, those who receive instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. people reap what they sow."

when i read these verses in the past it didn't really mean anything to me. now when i look at them ive gained a new perspective on Paul's words. i always compare myself to others. i look to see wat other people have accomplished and wonder why im not there yet. i rate my success based on how far others have come. i didn't realize that only when i focus on myself, then will i make progress. i must carry my own load and tune everything else out. it’s easy for me to think about how other people have it much better than me, but it's more of a challenge to stop making excuses and to take responsibility, FIRM responsibility for my life and my actions.

andy spoke about how we've deceived our parents in the past..."i dont know why my checking account is overdrawn? i had money in there, dad!" or "those cigarettes aren't really mine, mom! they're my friends!" but it's different with God. we can't pull those same tricks on God and He will not be mocked. i know ive been irresponsible in the past and gotten away with it many times, but i have to stop…i can't do that with God. He knows wat areas in my life ive been slacking off in and wat i need to take more seriously. i'm going to reap wat i sow (if i haven’t already!), and if i dont care about a certain area of my life, or concentrate too much on where other people are at in their life instead of focusing on my own path, i will reap wat i sow in the future...

all of this is to say that johan was rite. it's definitely a series that is hard to listen to because we aren't perfect. and we sure make mistakes. it’s always difficult to listen to how you need to be more responsible…but more importantly, we have the ability and the grace from God to take responsibility for our actions now that we have the knowledge. He won't be fooled, we can't pull the same kind of stuff we did on our parents! it will be a challenge for me to stop comparing myself and to focus on my own path, so that i can FINALLY progress in life! i still have so much to do in my life and so many places to go--i can't be comparing myself to people anymore.

*whew*

i'll leave you with some pics of the boys. we hope they get to come home soon!

peyton


taylor


-p