60-60 Post 5

On Sunday evening we had our small group. We talked about the chapters we had read along with how the 60-60 experiment was going. It has definitely been harder to be diligent about focusing each hour on God as the experiment has progressed. I know that I don't want to go back to not thinking about God once the 6o days are up, but I can definitely see that as a possibility unless I improve my focus now while I'm in it.

We talked about focusing on one area in our lives where we would like to improve. We talked about putting intentional practices in place to help us grow in this particular area. The area that I said I wanted to get better at was thinking of others. I do notice that I tend to spend a lot of time on what I want. I really do want to get better at thinking about how I can help others and in considering others' interests when making decisions about using my time and energy. I, obviously, can pray to be more sensitive to the needs of others and to have eyes open to see opportunities to help others. I also thought about memorizing scripture that pertains to being others-focused (Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others - Philippians 2:4).

This week's 60-60 challenge was quite pertinent. Chapter 14's challenge is to "pay special attention to how [God] wants to use you to meet spiritual and physical needs around you." We are to ask God to see the people we interact with through his eyes, write down the names of four people who seem far from God or disconnected from community and pray for them, and take risks by reaching out to those around us. Definitely all others-related.

I'm glad I am blogging about this because I had already forgotten about the "four people" part. I will be sure to spend some time thinking about others and praying specifically for four.

Related to this, I was talking with a woman on Sunday at church and she said that she was having a difficult time presently. I told her to give me a call (because there wasn't time nor place right then to have a private discussion) to talk about it. Yesterday I was reading Chapter 14 in Soul Revolution and it was talking about getting involved with others' lives even if you aren't sure what you are supposed to do. Pray for guidance and then act. After reading this part, I was reminded of the woman. I know that she usually leaves work on her lunch break so I thought it might be a good opportunity to meet her during her break to talk with her about what is going on in her life (as I don't work on Tuesdays). It was 11:30 a.m. when I had this thought so I called her and ended up leaving a message on her answering machine. I decided to wait around until about 12:30 to see if she would call back and accept my offer. I didn't hear back from her, but she did call in the evening and we had a chance to talk for a bit. I was grateful for the opportunity to step out in faith even though it seemed like it might be an inconvenience to my regularly scheduled program (my plans). God wants my obedience, which sometimes means sacrificing time, energy, etc. I didn't have to at this time, but I think he was proud of my willingness.