Monday, January 31, 2011

Tired and Weary by Pastor Jamie

How tired are you?

Statistics say that 77% of mothers do not get enough sleep. 62% of men report that they sleep less than seven hours a night. 45% of North Americans report that the “rush from task to task.” This is the highest percentage worldwide.

Do you ever feel that way?

In an article about busy Americans, the website Visualeconomics.com compares our lifestyle to an empty jar of peanut butter. “It's like the last dregs of a jar of peanut butter being spread over two sandwiches. (family and career) As you flop down at the end of a days work, head reeling, feet aching, looking around at how much you have left to do, you realize you have it all to do again once the alarm sounds tomorrow.”

Our hypothesis suggests: “We come to church activities weary, rattled and empty from hectic, out of balance lives...what we fail to realize is that our choices then bind us. Often our choices block meaningful participation as the church.”

Today the church faces competition for time and attention. Sports, relaxation, weekends away, working on the weekend and many other needs add pressure to our daily lives creating pressure and lives that are way over scheduled. Today the church at large sees the results of this as average attendance has dropped 15% in the last ten years.

Jesus speaks to the worry and anxiety of the disciples when he says: Do not worry about your life. Look at the birds of the air, consider the lilies. If God takes care of them, then God will take care of you. Jesus calls to us and asks us to ponder our priorities and grow in our trust.

We are learning a lot about our culture in this phase of our stepping stones journey. Our church is building unity and wisdom for the future. God is working among us. I am excited by the work we are doing together.

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