One of the labs at Catalyst Dallas included Jon Acuff, the author of Quitter: Closing The Gap Between Your Day Job & Your Dream Job and Stuff Christians Like.
More opportunities can mean more opportunities to get distracted.
Three ways to make sure we are truly present:
1. Avoid comparisons.
Never compare your beginning with someone else’s middle.
We need to give ourselves permission to be terrible at first so we can get better. If our first message is our best message then it is all down hill from there.
The definition of narcissism is trying something you’ve never done and expecting to be awesome at it.
2. Be smart with social media.
Social media is a great tool, but it can also cause a lot of damage.
We have all become like reality tv stars now with social media. Our kids are not stars in our social media movie. Let them be your kid and not your content.
Hang up and arrive. Nothing is more deflating for a child than to run up to their daddy as he arrives from home only to have him on the phone motioning the child to be quiet.
Posting a photo online is like a digital tattoo.
“My wife has never said to me: ‘Enough about me, what is happening on twitter?'”
3. Quit listening to the voices.
Have you ever met someone whose internal voice was positive?
Perfection always acts like it is one move away, but perfection is elusive.
90% perfect and published changes more lives than 100% perfect but stuck in my head.
One of fear’s greatest goals is isolation. Fear is terrified by community.
What does your voice tell you?
What if the reason that God is silent is because He’s planning your party? (Re: Prodigal Son)
Jesus was fully present.
How did He pull this off?
1. Jesus was available.
Instead of teaching tens of thousands of people every day, Jesus had long, slow dinners with just a few people who didn’t seem to have much influence.
2. Jesus rested.
Jesus rested, so why do we think we don’t need to do so?
Isaiah 30:15: “In repentance and rest is your salvation. Quietness and trust is your strength.” We’ve rewritten this, because it’s hard to yell this at people. We’ve rewritten this to be “repentance and productivity” rather than “repentance and rest.”
One of the voices tells us that we can rest once we’ve gotten more done.
3. Jesus knew his role.
We often get confused about out roles. We put too much pressure on ourselves – pressure that God doesn’t even put us.
Proverbs 21:1: “In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.” Water is simply water – going with the flow in the hands of the Lord. We are the water, and He is the water course designer.
God is not handcuffed by my inabilities or my weaknesses.
