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You would’ve heard the term “life can be taken for granted”. This is true in more ways than one. When I was younger, it was not uncommon for the word “life” to make it into virtually every church’s name. It was the thing to do. It represented a new time, where the church thrived from an influx of enthusiastic and passionate believers. My dad was a pastor, and while growing up I experienced a culture that desired, hungered and called out to God for Him to move. A desire to encounter this living God, that influenced our services, prayer meetings and small groups.

It didn’t matter where the church met—school hall, factory, movie theatre—the value was one of life: full of energy; an expectation that God would show up. Life is about energy and atmosphere, a sense that God is actually present at this thing called church, and that anything can happen.

The church must always champion the cause of life. One of the criticisms of church is that it’s dead. I recently read an article by Billy Hornsby, a passionate church planter, about the value of a life-filled church: “Life is that element that gives the church a sense of God’s presence and movement. It is the pulse of purpose and the reality that you are moving forward. It is contagious and everyone who is exposed to it gets infected and then addicted to it. After a few weeks of experiencing life in the local church, it is hard to go back to the mere religion that many churches offer.”

It’s easy to slip into consumer mode at church and just turn up to receive. This dangerous act develops a laziness and complacency within us that can be difficult to break free. But when we unite together, hungry and desperate for God to move, it’s inevitable… something will happen.

Psalms 22:3 says: “God dwells in the praises of His people.” Where God is, there’s life. Where the people praise, and get excited about God, there’s life.

When there’s no life, the seats are too hard, the politics are downright scary, and people start complaining about everything. Even worse, church happens on Sundays, and has no lasting affect on our “everyday” lives.

Life is something we pursue and maximize. From the work place to a marriage – this truth applies to every aspect of our life.

Nath Bridgewater is the Lead Pastor of Canvas Church

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In response to my recent post, Getting Traction, Ian asked: “How do you manage all the seemingly insignificant decisions you need to make and prioritise them well? It’s hard when you have 40 decisions that need to be made and then knowing where to begin first… Any ideas?”

Yes. A couple of ideas, maybe even 40.

First of all, in making any decision there should be a process that clarifies, considers, compares and confirms what we are deciding. This process saves us from rushing into things emotionally and, over time, can be honed to become something that we can do on the “fly”, or instinctively.

We need to operate from the position of pre-determined values because the right values keep us from making bad decisions.

Truth is a value. So too is honesty. Integrity. Authenticity. Kindness. Fairness. Equality. Being healthy. Having quality friendships. Stability. Consistency. Perseverance. Patience. Forgiveness. All can be learnt and become instinctive- and help us make decisive, strategic and wise decisions.

It is important to place value on the right things. Some things just aren’t worth the value we give them.

For some people, the only time they consider their values is after a near-death experience. The right values are pillar-like, and tend to stand tall throughout our lifetime. They are proven by pressure and endure all sorts of challenges. Values are real, and stand firm in real situations. Flimsy values fail.

Values can be determined by asking, “Why do we do what we do?” Knowing “why” helps us identify “what” we do, and how we do it. It’s easy to slip into autopilot mode and start directly at “what”. If you don’t know why you are doing what you are doing, you could be wasting your time. Asking “why” saves a lot of time and pain. It purifies the meaning of the things we do. And, as a direct outcome, clarifies our vision and purpose.

I think many people are busy with things that have little or no value. Often, our to-do list is filled with distractions, worries and other things that are driven by cheap or worthless commitments in terms of value.

This entire process can help us determine which decisions line up with our values. We can then focus on these and, at the same time, thoughtfully reduce our list.

I would be interested to know how others prioritise the decisions of their demanding schedules. What other aspects of your life require balance? How do you prioritise conflicting demands? Who and what gets preferential vote and how is that decided?

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I’m sure all of us at some point in time have taken the required 10 seconds out of our busy schedule to watch an Olympic men’s 100m sprint final.

Olympic sprinters are all highly trained athletes striving for what many kinesiologists call “the Paxian ideal”: equal parts strength, speed, explosiveness, agility…and gold necklaces.

These professional sprinters memorise how many steps it takes to finish the race—every single step has been planned, practised and perfected. Often, a race is won or lost in the first 10 steps. From the moment the sprinter launches off the blocks there is a complete focus on traction that will ultimately produce a seemingly unstoppable momentum to win the race.

Attention to traction is intrinsic to building momentum in anything we do, which, once gained, can be harnessed and directed for maximum results. The challenge is that getting traction is the hard part. Or getting traction is the challenge.

Genesis 26:12-13 tells the story of Isaac, Abraham’s son of promise. “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous.” He had to investigate, invest, risk, sow and manage—a lot of hard work, all of which displayed no initial fruit.

Gaining traction isn’t rocket science. It is often the relative outcome of a number of factors all requiring consistency and continuity. Sometimes it requires attention to a seemingly insignificant detail. Solomon wrote that “it’s the little foxes that spoil the vineyard”—small details are the heavy weights of traction. Traction is more than one amazing lucky decision; it’s a series of good, seemingly insignificant decisions.

It’s easy to miss this fact and go for the one-punch knockout solution. We can over simplify our challenges with basic sweeping plans that fall down at the pragmatic level. Or, even worse, spiritually simplify a situation that basically requires common sense. Sometimes I feel sorry for God—we drag Him into so many ridiculous situations.

But Isaac got it right. He diligently “sowed in that land”. He anchored down long enough for something to happen. Between the lines this means, “He mastered stability and patience.” He didn’t roll out when he felt bored of it. He didn’t allow himself to be distracted by distractions. He had focus. He resisted frustration. And he reaped.

In fact, Isaac reaped a hundredfold and “began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous”; traction has a chain effect that leads to momentum. In momentum, even your bad days bring fruit.

Everybody wants the “prosper” part, and Isaac’s version would make anyone salivate. But it’s traction before momentum.

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Recently, while enjoying fish and chips at Manly beach in the winter sun, my wife and I had a flashback. Looking down the beach we could see Le Kiosk, the place where we celebrated our wedding reception. In the moment, my wife then told me that according to a “relationship expert” on the Morning Show recently, two keys to a healthy marriage are reminiscing and making plans.

I think that remembering those times and moments where something significant transpired is key for believing and stepping out into our purpose and destiny. Additionally, this reflecting process can help us simplify moments of complexity by providing a clearer, “bigger picture” perspective.

Indeed, there is a great benefit for us all when we reflect on such crucial moments: where we believed, prayed, hoped and trusted—and experienced breakthrough, miracles and relief. Once again, that theme of “thankfulness” comes through; when we develop a “bountiful eye”, it is amazing how God’s handiwork is revealed.

In Deuteronomy 8, the Israelites are encouraged to “remember the Lord your God” and “do not forget”. It’s easy to forget when we’re under pressure, or when we’re facing a challenge. In fact, it’s probably easier to spiral in despair, lose hope, or blame something or someone else for the situation. None of which brings any sense of enduring hope.

Another pitfall is regret; it’s a way to remember that robs us of our hope. Regret can be a focus on past mistakes; it rarely has a view of the future. I’m not saying that regrets are not real or have no valuable role for our lives. In reality, we all have them, and they help us define valuable lessons for future decisions. It’s living in regret that’s the killer.
In moments of high complexity, where the balance of our thoughts and emotions are challenged, remembering how God has kept and led us will always build our spirits in faith. It strengthens us to make plans, not just survive and get by. I’ll finish with Psalm 77—take a moment to read it, reflect and remember.

Psalm 77
I cried out to God with my voice—
To God with my voice;
And He gave ear to me.
In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing;
My soul refused to be comforted.
I remembered God, and was troubled;
I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed.

You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I have considered the days of old,
The years of ancient times.
I call to remembrance my song in the night;
I meditate within my heart,
And my spirit makes diligent search.

Will the Lord cast off forever?
And will He be favorable no more?
Has His mercy ceased forever?
Has His promise failed forevermore?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?

And I said, “This is my anguish;
But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
I will remember the works of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
I will also meditate on all Your work,
And talk of Your deeds.
Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary;
Who is so great a God as our God?
You are the God who does wonders;
You have declared Your strength among the peoples.
You have with Your arm redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph.

The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were afraid;
The depths also trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
The skies sent out a sound;
Your arrows also flashed about.
The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightning lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
Your way was in the sea,
Your path in the great waters,
And Your footsteps were not known.
You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

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Our lives can be so filled and busy that our weeks blur past faster than we can comprehend. I was reading about the TED Talks that took place in Sydney recently. Apparently, one of the speakers, Nigel Marsh, who is an advertising “guru”, said this: “Certain job and career choices are fundamentally incompatible with being meaningfully engaged, on a day-to-day basis, with a young family.”

This challenge of “being meaningfully engaged” is not just limited to young families, but anyone who has a demanding work schedule.

A lot of city dwellers are faced with this challenge. Living in the city is usually a choice that comes with high financial costs, which, in turn, comes with a high set of demands. You don’t get paid the big bucks for a zero-stress, 9 to 5, bundy-clock job.

There’s nothing wrong with being busy and working hard, however the fact that being “meaningfully engaged” can influence the health of numerous areas of our lives cannot be ignored. It’s important to remember that we were designed for meaningful connection to each other and to God.

Here are a few other ways of being “full” that actually help us live a balanced life…

Fullfilled: purpose & people driven
Being busy/full and fulfilled are not the same. Many people live full but unfulfilled lives. Purpose gives us direction and focus. By keeping purpose in front of us continually, we can keep ourselves in check. Purpose is not limited to your career. It’s larger. It inspires a busy person to contribute something to a specific cause. It also helps us thoughtfully assess what’s “in” and what’s “out” in our lives (i.e. what we say yes to).

Meaningful: increase the value of our time on earth
Having a life filled with meaning keeps our purpose from being another task or obligation, and brings value to vision. Or, put another way, it’s the outcome of having a purpose. When someone invests something personal of him or herself into another person/people, it becomes meaningful. Like a hand-written note.

Thankful: opens us up for meaningful connection.
Being full of thanks enables us to stop and see outside of ourselves. Thankfulness is an attitude that dually prepares and builds your heart for deeper, meaningful connection. Deep-spirited friendship is another term for this. Someone who is thankful for his or her life develops a “bountiful eye”—the opportunity to shape how we see. Thankfulness develops a level of sight that helps us see things as they can, and should, be.

Faith-filled: the ability to see through and beyond our challenges
A faith-filled life is about having the self-discipline to celebrate in hard times. Praise is an action of faith; an old church word for this is “rejoice”. The bible says: “Rejoice and give thanks.” Rejoice is where we move and “enter in”, regardless of how we feel. This process, when practised with a sincere heart and attitude, will always produce faith.

Powerful: a life filled with overcoming power
When we encounter God, we not only receive peace, but also power. Power provides energy. Power is a phenomenal resource, especially when you don’t have any other resource. God is brighter than the sun. We could not look at God with our human eyes. His power heals, gives immediate peace and makes the impossible possible. We were not designed to be powerless; we were built for plugging in.

A busy life and demanding job will never be enough.

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Some people love going to movies. I once read an article about a guy who watched the film Titanic 100 times. Titanic is a long movie—according to imdb.com it runs for 194 minutes. So, this guy had spent 19,400 minutes watching this film, or 323.3 hours or forty 8-hour days watching Titanic. Once was more than enough for me.

The opt-out-of-reality options available to us today continue to multiply at a rapid rate. Whether it’s engaging with a digital or social world to escape, or living in an unreal world in your head, on the bus on the way to and from work, either one is trouble. And here, trouble is spelt F-A-N-T-A-S-Y.

Proverbs 24 says: “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest; So shall your poverty come like a prowler, and your need like an armed man.”

I think it’s important to have a dream or a vision. I think every person should be connected to a vision, and know what it means to live that vision out in his or her everyday lives.

Genesis 37:5 says: “And Joseph dreamed a dream”. This dream set him on a path for his destiny, and a plan larger than any he could’ve conceived in his own head. His dream changed his life forever.

If Joseph had indulged in a thought life of fantasy, he would’ve failed at every step and probably would’ve been executed. Fantasy would’ve seen him act on the opportunity with his master’s wife.

Some thoughts about dreams and fantasy:
Dreams can immediately shift the terms of everyday real life.
Dreams have—when taken notice of, they can force change.
You have to hold onto a dream—they seemingly stay ahead of you. Dreams sustain our reality, and make “sense” of it, too.
Dreams are seeded with hope.
Dreams are made of a potent, yet-to-be-seen reality.
Dreams thrive and enlarge with hard work.
Dreams shape our most important decisions.
Dreams can help us assess our reality.
Dreams challenge and encourage us towards the seemingly impossible- they are not predictable.
Alternatively,
Fantasy weakens and opens us to temptation—it leads its victim to the slaughter.
Fantasy never considers failure.
Fantasy finds reality complicated, because in fantasy’s land there is no such thing as ‘problems’.
Fantasy offers a false, riskless reward, robbing you of real life.
Fantasy opts out of reality and responsibility.
Fantasy, like a badly devised script is predictable to the point of being completely unbelievable.
Fantasy thrives in secret.

The danger with fantasy is that we are all at risk of making the mistake of confusing the ‘impossible’ with the ‘unbelievable’. Fantasies depend on the unbelievable. Often, dreams are things of the impossible.

What environment/ ingredients/ factors do you think best assist our dreams to flourish? Share your ideas and comments below.

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This is not a global warming message but nearly as important (well maybe not ‘nearly’). Its funny watching people react to something that puts them out, or inconveniences them in some way. The most obvious example is in traffic chaos. I personally cant stand the person who realises they are about to miss their turn off and then proceed to block the entire road going in both directions to make the turn and save themselves about 39 seconds by not having to go around the block (and in the process costs every car within sight about 18 seconds being the equivalent of 9min. and 42sec. if everyones lost time was accumulated). I hope you see my frustration here.

Anyway, this is not about being more considerate and making yourself go around the block in future but about how we react when we are inconvenienced. I personally don’t like the person I become sometimes when someone gets in my way or puts me out for a few extra seconds. I have come up with 3 ways of being inconvenienced:

1. Someone else did it- this is when we get bad service or someone steals our car park.

2. We did it- this is when we decide we want to get fit and excercise even when we don’t want to or we decide to have children (which results in many inconveniences for years to come).

3. God did it- this is when we are confronted with ourselves in some way or God speaks and asks us to do something we are not that excited about.

The thing I have noticed is whichever one it is you can still end up reacting in a way that looks nothing like the person you were before you were inconvenienced. Have a think about yourself and how you to tend to react when you are put out or ‘inconvenienced’. Its easy to end up complaining, shutting people down, getting angry with someone, giving up on relationships, and turning on the people closest to you.

I think 1 of the top 10 inconveniences ever is found in Numbers 9 where the Israelites had to follow the pillar of cloud (fire at night) whenever it moved, day or night. The people had to break camp whenever it moved and stay when it stayed whether for ’2 days, a month, or a year’. Imagine this when there are about 2-3 million people who have to break camp. No wonder Moses was dealing with a bit of rebellion over the next few chapters.

Anyway, you may not be in the wilderness following a pillar of cloud but you can still ‘rebel’ when faced with your own inconveniences, whether type 1,2, or 3. So when you face some inconveniences this week try and stay open to people, be flexible, keep your attitude sweet, and adapt quickly using it to build your character and consistency.

Ian Heininger
CANVAS

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There are times when I look back over my week and wonder what actually happened? Things can get so busy that I feel like I spent the week sprinting towards something and not even realise what it was. There are lots of options in what we can spend our time pursuing, like a good coffee, a great parking spot, sale items, a date, a job offer, a good conversation, or in my case this week, a way to stop the mouse getting down the chimney (you gotta love chicken wire).

In Isaiah 5 it speaks of people tying themselves to building, pursuing stuff, only to end up alone. Its easy in the business of our lives to sometimes look around and sometimes feel alone. There needs to be an intentional engagement with people in how we live that allows us to share a large part of our lives with others. This is more than the monthly catch up with a friend but involves a weekly pursuit of engagement with people. A pursuit that is intentional about getting close to people and opening ourselves to others. A pursuit that is intentional about forgiving and engaging with someone even where there is conflict. A pursuit that is intentional about bringing other peoples needs to the forefront and praying for each other.

So this week, I encourage you to pursue someone nearby and engage with them in a deeper way and discover their world while they discover yours.

Ian Heininger
CANVAS

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