[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXbYBtvqW1Q[/youtube]I'm convinced of this one thing: the pace of life that we are presently living is not sustainable. The wheels are going to come off the bus of our lives--and in many lives--this has already happened. Lives that once resembled someone who was truly alive now looks like carnage!Constant availability is going to "do" us in. When we're always on, always wired and always available, we never have the opportunity to refuel our souls. We live our lives on empty and through the barrenness and emptiness of our lives--we have the audacity to call our lives--the abundant life.Living in a perpetual state of busyness is not the abundant life. Jesus had something MORE in mind when he alone promised a life could be enjoyed that was "rich and satisfying."Here are five things you can begin to do now to help you get off the hamster wheel and foster the abundant life:1. Take short breaks during each work day to move away from your desk and take a brisk walk.2. Pull away from social media for extended blocks of time. Rather than constantly checking email, Facebook and Twitter, use 15 minutes blocks to check in and interact.3. Practicing sabbath--one day of total rest and pleasure is the kingpin of all life sustaining spiritual rhythms. Be a sabbath keeper this week! What day will work?4. Plan on a life-giving meal with 2-3 of your most life giving friends. Linger together over a meal and enjoy the conversation!5. Spend 15 minutes a day in silence--without silence it is virtually impossible to live the spiritual life. When we're still--we hear from God! It does take time to de-clutter all the voices of the inner heart to begin to listen but this is why it's called a spiritual discipline. ------------------------------------------“Steve Smith cuts through the religious paraphernalia and daily clutter that obstructs our path to lives of purpose and power, and he clearly explains the simplicity of The Jesus Life in the Kingdom of God. He has deep insights into how we have come to live the way we do, in church and out. With refreshing realism and wide-ranging knowledge, he helps us identify dear illusions that bog us down and introduces us to simple steps and arrangements that enable eternal living. The directions he gives are self-validating. We have only to ‘just do it.’ The Jesus Life would be ideal for real spiritual progress in small groups in church and in community. Serious individual engagement with it will bring assurance that the life praised in our songs and scriptures can be ours.”
Dallas Willard, author of The Divine Conspiracy
For more on this subject, please refer to Chapter 2-3 of The Jesus Life!
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