Tag: selfhelp

Offload the baggage

~ alisonfenning ~ Leave a comment

Ever find in life you are carrying too much baggage to be able to move forward? I have been noticing it in my own life right now. I have been trying to get to a breakthrough in an area of life and keep hitting brick walls in myself internally and externally through things just not working right now however hard I try. It can be so frustrating.

It can feel like you’re carrying a heavy load around with you all the time, certainly that’s how I have been feeling. The trouble with getting to that place means we can become so locked in with it all that we begin to believe there is no way forward. That’s the lie we create in our mind designed to allow the heavy weight to stop us moving forward. What do we do – we stop trying becoming paralysed and unable to move. Highly likely we will give up at this point, the baggage we are carrying has weighed us down so much it becomes impossible to move.

Yesterday when I was having one of those days of why is nothing working and this is all too much for me right now moments. I stopped and asked God what was going on? The response was immediate “you have too much baggage, offload it so you can fly.” I found myself thinking but what is the baggage and how did it get there in the first place? Why I have I not seen that all building up? Easily done when we become caught up in life and allow it to consume us rather than staying in step with the Spirit of God and travelling light wherever he is leading.

This week I was away at a conference for evangelists. This time was so refreshing for me the only problem I had was I took too much stuff with me for two nights away. So much that I couldn’t carry all my bags and it became overwhelming at the stairs when I had to carry them up. Some kind man helped me when he saw me not managing. We laughed about the many bags I had. That was a revelation moment; most of what I brought wasn’t needed.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus spoke about travelling light through life. If we fail to do this we become weary, heavy and tired as a result. This is completely how I have been feeling. Overwhelmed by the baggage. Time to offload what I don’t need for the journey. Get back in step and let the Spirit of God lead. He knows what we need and what we don’t and gently and humbly move forward; being more like Jesus in our ways. Sounds like a plan we can do if we are carrying too much.

I am sure some of you will know the feelings I have described. Don’t try and do it all on your own just step back and do it with Jesus finding the rest for our souls we need. Much nicer than living weighed down. I will leave you to have a think of what you need to lay down or even what you can do to pace it all down rather than being caught up in the race others are trying to make you run..

Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash

Take A Break

~ alisonfenning ~ 2 Comments

1444868_24714299We have all been exposed to teaching either by reading books or hearing sermons about doing more, serving more and it would be true to say that some need to find their unique God gift and get operational with it. However for others we need to learn to take a break. If we are not careful in developing break times and times off, then we will indeed break others and ourselves.

I always remember my parents being what I thought was a slightly strict with the “you can’t go out and play tonight” or at the weekends the no word would come out again. I can now see what was happening they were observing that I would need to rest to be able to function all the other days.

Most of my ideas, creativity, hearing God comes from when I am on a break. The break can be five minutes or a day it makes no odds, the point I’m making is to down tools and take a break. In other words when we stop the doing and trying to make things work often God can pop an idea or brings things to our attention; our mind is free and not filled with clutter. Clutter can come in many forms.

As an introvert (energised by being alone) personally I find events the most draining and often Churches & organisations love events. So I spend the majority of my time being in a box that I don’t fit into. However I have found a way to bring the balance I need by creating margins of space around events.

If you lean more to the extrovert (energised by being with people) then you gain synergy and creativity from the people you are around which is great. Maybe you will need margins of people contact around times of solitude to create energy. We need both in the world, introvert and extrovert, the key is allowing each other to be ourselves.

With regards to how to take the break we may need to be creative / flexible as we live in a world where identity is wrapped up in the word “busyness”. I often like to do some gardening to clear my head or have a bike ride in the evening. Sport such as running and belonging to a gym have been a personal rhythm that I have been using for the past twenty years. I have noticed that when I do something practical it gives me a chance to open the window on creativity in the spiritual.

Your window maybe different but I would encourage you to open it. Jesus often took a break from the people who were always waiting to see him. He would rise early in the morning to go and find a place of solitude to pray.

When we pray we are stopping to disconnect from all we do to connect in the spiritual and in the stopping peace, wisdom and refreshment come.