Student Messages on 2/22/06 Missy Shelton - The Call to Have a Balanced Life I'd like to thank Pastor David for this great honor and opportunity to speak to you tonight. Thank you for coming as well and hopefully you'll get something out of it.  (Disclaimer: Some of this may sound exaggerated and some of this may sound true to life.) So, maybe your life is like this: Your alarm goes off; you hit the snooze button only to remember that you need to be at work/school early this morning. You jump in the shower, get dressed, suck down your breakfast and race out the door. Once you're at work/school you have a dozen different things that need your attention and that's just before noon. After lunch you try and finish up last minute loose ends so you can leave work/school at a decent hour. Once you're home, you fix dinner, eat, do homework or stuff that needs taken care of around the house, maybe watch a little T.V. to unwind and before you know it, it's time for bed. You then realize that you haven't done your devotions and so you read your chapter for the day and then ask God to forgive you for not making time for Him as you pass out exhausted from your day. Each day is a similar pattern in your busy, fast paced life. By the end of the week you're worn out…but wait…there is still Adopt-A-Block or some errand that needs your attention on Saturday and then there is serving the church on Sunday with whatever big event that is going on that weekend. Before you know it, it's Sunday night and the eve of another busy week is about to begin. Sound familiar?  OR…maybe your life is like this: You roll out of bed around 7ish and pray for an hour or so, do your devotions, and listen to a few sermons on CD before you need to be anywhere special. You go about your days listening to praise & worship music, your dinner time is spent reading one of Pastor Barnett's books, and you fall asleep to the tunes of Masters' Commission. On Saturday you enjoy a hike on Prayer Mountain where you seek God's will for you life and bask in the presence of the Holy Spirit for the afternoon. Sunday you're the first one at church, you attend Sunday school and you're the last one to leave the sanctuary. As you go to bed that night you thank God for all of the opportunities to love, adore and rest in him. You're excited about another week to worship at his feet.  Now, I know that those examples were a bit much, especially that last one. However, I think for some of us, our lives are pretty close to the first scenario that I mentioned. But by chance you life is like the second one, please come up to me afterwards, I have a few things on my "to do" list that I could use some help with. In all seriousness, how did our lives get to be so busy? So busy that we wish for one more hour in our day to do everything that needs to be finished. Or, how is it that there are people who are blessed with the luxury to dwell in God's presence all the time? Tonight I want to talk about "The Call to Have a Balanced Life". If you have your Bibles, please turn to Luke 10:38-42. (Read Scripture) Here we have Martha & Mary: 2 sisters who love Jesus with all of their heart, but show it in two different ways. On the one hand you have Martha: who opens her home to the Master, probably gets it ready by cleaning from top to bottom, prepares the best food possible, and then goes over her "to do" list one more time just to make sure she hasn't overlooked any small details. Martha wants Jesus to know that she loves him by serving him. Mary on the other hand was most likely helping Martha at the beginning, but the moment that Jesus walked into the house, everyone and thing disappeared, for Mary wanted only to be at his feet, soaking in Jesus' every word. (And really, isn't that how it's suppose to be? Everything else should be put on the back burner when Christ enters the picture.) In the meantime, poor Martha stuck with manning the kitchen all by herself, again! Who knows how many times this had happened, but this was one time Martha spoke out and look what happens. Let's read one more time the conversation between Martha and Jesus. Vs. 40-42. Jesus does not negate Martha's hospitable activities, but he is concerned with her distractions, worry, and trouble about many things, which in the end cause her to underemphasize the one thing that is needed, and that is, to hear the word of Jesus. To stop, put everything aside, and sit awhile at the feet of Jesus.  Why do we get so busy doing things for Jesus that we forget to be with Jesus? What are the things that distract us? Serving the church? Our friends or family? Poor time management? A good book or new T.V. series? Exercise? A commitment that is taking more energy and time than we anticipated? The list could go on and on, each one of us has something that we can label as a distraction. How about worry and trouble? Are you worried about a school/work deadline? Or that you may not have enough gas money to make it through the week? Maybe you're worried or feeling stressed because you feel that you're just not helping enough at church. Whatever the case, there will always be some worry, trouble, or distraction to keep us busy and away from the feet of Jesus.  Let's talk about Mary for a minute; Mary seems to put Jesus at the forefront of her life the moment he comes into the room. Blocking out every distraction and worry to listen to what Jesus has to say. Mary had it right, Jesus always deserves our complete attention, but maybe she could have asked Martha if there was anything else that needed to be done. Maybe Mary could have said something like, "Martha, those things (distractions/worries) can wait, Jesus is here. Let's sit awhile at the feet of the Master, together." I wonder what would have happened.  In Ecc. 3:1 it says, "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." There is a time to worship and have that quiet time with Christ, AND there is also a time to serve. Let's not get so caught up in praying and doing our devotions that we forget to put our faith in action. Jesus prayed, (we have "the Lords' Prayer" as a foundation to build upon), but he also served. Jesus was the greatest servant of all. Matthew 20:28 tells us that "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life a ransom for many." Jesus modeled a balanced walk…prayer and serving.  As I leave this great story of Martha and Mary and move on, I want to say one last thing about these two great women who truly were a good example. Both of these women revealed unique spiritual gifts with which they lovingly served God. They remind us of the importance of balancing personal devotion with practical duties/serving. Let us look past their squabbles and see them for who they really were…disciples of Christ…just like you and I. I want to spend the rest of this time focusing on some ways to stay balanced, but first, I wanted to give you a few definitions from the dictionary: 1-to reach or achieve a state or position between extremes; 2-To be equal or equivalent. And so the question of the day is…how do we live a balanced life? (picture a scale-your body, your hands- the weighing pans…ask yourself…what am I putting into them?) Are they filled with prayer, devotion and serving? Or is your life constantly going back and forth-struggling between Martha and Mary. Unfortunately there is no easy way, no magic potion, or quick fix. It's an everyday thing-a life filled with consistency, commitment and allowing God to do his thing in our life. It's doing what we already know. Here are 3 things that I think maybe some helpful reminders….  1. Put 1st Things 1st! Matt. 6:33 says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and all these things shall be added unto you." Whatever is most important in your life, you'll put first, you will make time for it. We can't complain about our day or that we don't feel God's presence if we don't put him first. You'll be surprised at the amount of things that you can accomplish when you make time for Jesus at the beginning of your day. It makes perfect sense to me, put Jesus first and he will show you all of the areas that need to come together that day. I get up 3 times a week and jog from 5-5:30 in the morning. While I'm jogging I pray the whole time. I spend time thanking God for the new day, I put on my armor, I pray for my family and friends, etc. The time goes by so quickly. I'm amazed at the things that I can do in my day just because I took the time to stop and pray. I know some people in here who have given up listening to music on their way to work or school. I also know that praying for 30-45 minutes in a row is not a piece of cake…I still struggle. For some it's three and four minutes throughout the day…mini check-ins with the Master! Whatever you need to do to start you morning off with Jesus, do it, you won't regret it and you'll feel as though you've gained time in your day.  2. Be in the Word daily. Spend time learning about the God who loves you so much. For some it's reading a few verses or the Proverb of the day, for others it's buying a devotional guide that keeps them on track. For me I read my Bible every morning before I start work and then pick out a scripture. I take that verse, leave it on Dan's' vm with a one minute encouraging word. I end up hanging up feeling like I'm the blessed one! Some people like to journal while they're reading and praying. While I know that that isn't for everyone, I challenge you to write some of your thoughts down during your devotions from time to time. You'll be surprised at how much you've grown and you can look back and be reminded of God's faithfulness and enduring love for you. 3. Get involved in our group/church. There are plenty of opportunities: be a door greeter here or in the sanctuary, clean-up crew at our parties, volunteer in the nursery, Adopt-A-Block…the list goes on and on. Remember though, balance is the key. Don't commit in too many ways and then you're unable to be faithful in any. Ask the Lord where you can be used; where you can put your talents and gifts to use…to further God's kingdom. You can also serve at your job/school. Go that extra mile for someone who is having a downer of a day or maybe they just need a little pick-me-up. Drop a note to encourage them, buy them lunch, or be that friend they need. Build the relationship and you'll be surprised at what happens. Be faithful in the small things!  I also encourage you to take sometime and write down what you do in a normal day. See how much time you spend on certain things. Take a good look at where your priorities are…you'll be shocked at the outcome. Someone once told me, to treat my time like money. I know where my money goes…do I know where my time goes? It really made me stop and think. It made me reevaluate what I spend my time on and what's important to me.  Having a balanced life doesn't occur in 30 days, it happens everyday, everyday you decide what you're going to do. Are you going to take the first moments of the morning and offer up thanks to the one who has blessed you with yet another day to live? Another day to bless God with your words, honor him with your actions, and love him with every beat of your heart? Are you going to spend time reading His word and hiding it in your heart so when the time arises, you have a firm foundation to stand on? Are you going to offer up your services to help a ministry in the church or someone at work? Not because everyone else is doing it, but because you've decided to be Jesus' hands and feet! We all mess up from time to time…but that is why God sent Jesus and why we have his mercy and grace. Also, that's why we have Pastor David and each other…to up lift and support. I encourage you to enjoy the blessings around you and step into the balanced life that God has created for you!