Kyle & Heather's Blog

Addicted to Busy

10/26/2017

Busyness Driven by Desire to Please God-

Years ago I discovered a tension in my life and ministry. Not a tension between other people, but a tension inside of me, the tension between being still and being busy. Maybe you have felt it also. Because of my desire to hear God’s “well done”, I found myself busy doing for God. I desired to see God glorified through me, so I did, and did, and did. I was addicted to busyness.

I would like to say that I was trusting God for the results (because I felt that I was), but my actions told a different story. One indicator of this was that I felt guilty when I would stop working. If I wasn't doing something, I felt I was being lazy, unproductive and unfruitful. So I would fill up every empty spot with something. You know the drill.

My life showed what I really believed: that doing was the most important thing. I was more dependent on my actions for results than on God. If I was truly dependent on God for the results, then I would have spent more time alone with Jesus, more time in prayer and less time worrying about details while trying to "look busy”.

Busyness Driven by Desire for Productive Ministry-

I also desired a productive ministry. I discovered that I felt productive when I was extremely busy. It felt like I was so important to the ministry that I couldn’t slow down. I was always doing something, surely all that activity was productive!

Resource of the month: Leading on Empty

10/18/2017

Resources -
Each month I want to share a resource that has helped me in life or ministry. I pray that these are helpful and point you to some great resources!

"The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who will give me a book I have not read.'"
- Abraham Lincoln

Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion
by Wayne Cordeiro

Ministry is draining. Thankfully, God promises to renew us and give us strength to minister. But, as the author Wayne Cordeiro reminds us: “We don’t forget that we are Christians. We forget that we are human, and that one oversight alone can debilitate the potential of our future.” We tend to push ourselves too hard for too long, not realizing that little by little our spiritual and physical tank is running dry.

Wayne wrote this book because of what he learned, the hard way. After pushing for years in ministry, he finally came face to face with burnout. He shares the lessons learned to help others.

For those that have been in ministry for some time, “Leading on Empty” serves as a prescription for renewal. For those that are just beginning, it serves as a preventative plan to structure your life and ministry to endure.

Here are some of my key takeaways from the book:

The Comfort of God

10/13/2017

A few years ago my wife had to have a potentially cancerous tumor in her neck removed. Hospital waiting rooms are a hard place, but the nearness of God is often most felt in those times. While I sat in the waiting room during her surgery I prayed and wrote in my journal. God brought peace and encouragement from His word.

That journal entry is the basis for this post.

Have you ever had a trial that overwhelmed your life?

You know the kind. When first faced with the trial, it is like a huge cliff in your path, stopping all forward momentum. Your life comes to a screeching halt and from your vantage point you see no way around it.

If you are like me, when you face trials you are quick to look at the whole problem. We never merely look at today’s problem; we look at tomorrow's, and then the next day, etc. As we look at the endless problems that could come our way we think, "I can’t continue”. We don’t feel that we have the strength to pass through our problem.

A few years ago the Lord allowed me to go through one of these trials. In the midst of it, God used the words of Jeremiah to instruct my heart and bring great comfort.

Jeremiah lived a hard life, filled with trials. He was utterly dismayed and didn’t know how he could continue (see Lamentations 3:1-20). But even in the midst of trials, he found hope. This same hope is available to us today.