Eyes On Your Own Paper!

(5 “P’s” TO KICK ENVY'S BUTT FOR GOOD!)

“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,
there will be disorder and every vile practice.” James 3:16

Amidst my frustration He gently whispered these words, “Josie, eyes on your own paper, too much looking in that direction causes you to look away from Me…” 

Eyes on your own paper, I thought to myself, I was told that once before…  It was somewhere between 3^rd and 5^th grade.  My best friend sat in front of me, a row over, and to the left.  A seat that was perfectly in line enough for my eyes to meet her quiz answers with ease.  She knew that I did not study, and she moved her paper over so that I could copy all of her answers. Unsurprisingly, we were embarrassed and ashamed the next day when the teacher gave us both ‘F’s’ for cheating on that quiz.  She advised us to always keep our eyes on our own papers...

Recently, as a newer mom and well, just being blatantly female, I noticed how much time I really spend looking at other women’s ‘papers!’  I look at how they dress, what they have, how they raise their kids, etc. etc. etc.  Before I know it, I’m on a downward spiral of spite and envy, convinced that my body is atrocious, my house is unlivable, my abilities are limited, my efforts are sluggish, my mothering is deplorable and every other woman I come in contact with obviously has it all together! (And lives a beautifully stress free, fully lavish life!J)

Then the judgment sets in.

It makes perfect sense that envy so easily turns into evil.  I hate to admit this, but I’ve noticed in my past how the person I was envying soon became the target in which I set my bull’s-eye.  It was easier to accept what it was I envied about them, if I could somehow attribute it to something negative.  If I didn’t think about it this way, then I would instead turn the condemnation toward myself.  ‘I don’t spend enough time with my son. I will never be as successful as her.  I will never be as athletic, talented, graceful, smart, skinny blah blah blah!’  Don’t we quickly forget that God’s blueprint for our lives is a one- of-a-kind original not meant to look like anyone else’s?  It is a terrible thing us women often do to ourselves and each other.

In grade school neither I nor my best friend benefitted from sharing quiz answers.  Unless my eyes are looking through lenses of love, there’s still no good that comes from focusing on anyone else’s life and all that they have within it.  Envy is slow burning stick of dynamite, with no other purpose but to completely annihilate relationships, confidence, truth and ultimately love.

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh,
but envy makes the bones rot. Proverbs 14:30

Hearing His words, “Josie, eyes on your own paper, too much looking in that direction causes you to look away from Me,” finally made sense to me.  Duh!  Keeping my eyes on Him means my eyes won’t be as likely to travel in other unhealthy directions.  So I decided to commit my thoughts to Him when envy starts to show its ugly face.  I asked Him how to kick envy’s butt for good and here is what He gave me…

1.       PAUSE.

Pause and catch your thought.  Think about ‘what or who’ it is you have set your eyes on, rather than the One who is truly worth our focus.

2.       PRAY.

Pray that the Lord would help you let go of the need to compare or envy at that very moment and instead fill you with love and humility.

3.       PRAISE. 

As hard as this one can be sometimes, find a way to encourage the other person for what it is you desire of theirs, and praise the Lord for Him blessing them so.

4.       PICK. 

Pick love.  If nothing else comes to mind, this is your quick ‘two word’ go to: PICK LOVE!

5.       PRACTICE.

Finally, practice 1-4 until you’re so full of joy overflowing that you actually can’t wait to celebrate with that person, what it was you envied in their life in the first place!

The outcome of implementing these 5 “P’s” 

will ultimately result in a 6^th ‘P’

PEACE!

Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 
2 Corinthians 13:11

 

Experiencing Alive

Good morning daughters of grace.  Normally I share a recipe or something like that but today I want to share with you my Alive experience.  Last week I had the honor of attending the Alive festival for the fourth year in a row, with my youth group.  Yes, I could tell you about all the concerts (Trip Lee, Crowder and Chris Tomlin were my favorites).  I could tell you about the amazing seminars and speakers (OMGOSH - Jefferson Bethke, Trip Lee, The Skit Guys, Clayton King, Matt Chandler).  I could even tell you about the games of cornhole and Uno or the torrential rains we laughed our ways through.  Instead I want to share something else about Alive.

As this is my fourth year at Alive I’m starting to feel like an old hand at it.  I know what to expect and where things are.  We know where we want to camp and who has the best fries and ice cream.  All of that is wonderful but two completely different events took place for me this year at Alive.

First - I went to the baptism service.  Forgive me because I forgot my camera so I have no pictures but I’d like to write a picture for you.  Imagine hundreds of people standing at a lake watching around 60 family, friends and strangers run into the lake to be baptised in Jesus’ name.  People crying out to God and making a profession of faith under clear skies.  People who aren’t afraid of what others are going to say because they have been touched by the Father.  Hear the solo guitarist/performer with just his guitar and one speaker singing worship songs . . . “Here I am to worship.  Here I am to bow down.  Here I am to say that You’re my God.”  See the people joining in the worship and celebrating as people come up from the crisp water and waving arms in the air because they know they have been made new. Watch as a mother and her daughters are baptized together.  Stand there as the service is over but people aren’t really moving because God’s presence is so heavy that no one wants to leave.  I didn’t know one person who was being baptized but I do know that each one of them is my brother and sister in Christ.  It was an experience.  

Lastly, every year that we attend Alive we make new friends and it’s a blessing!  I have facebook friends from West Virginia and Southern Ohio who I met at Alive.  We even met a young lady two years ago who ended up joining our church.  This year was different though.  We met an amazing group from Southern Ohio that was camping next to us.  For some reason our two groups became one.  They started joining us for devotionals and games.  We, of course, shared our various camp resources (lighters, garbage bags, etc) but most importantly we talked and worshipped together.  Saturday night was so precious.  After Chris Tomlin closed out the night we built a camp fire and roasted s'mores.  Then God came into the picture.  Their youth leader, Seth, brought out some guitars and we started singing.  I sing at church but I’m normally a little timid.  That night no one cared.  We worshiped for 2 ½ hours.  We were up late but I’m sure it sounded beautiful to the Lord.  I know it was amazing for us.  The next morning as we prepared to leave we prayed together and for each other.  We arrived as two separate youth groups but  left as a family.  A few of us are even driving down this weekend to join them for service and they are planning to come up here for the Fest in August.

Alive is not just concerts and workshops.  It’s not just about a lake and kids playing.  It’s an experience.  It’s about God moving like never before.  It’s about meeting Him there.  If you have never attended pray about going next year (June 17-20, 2014).  Have a amazing week and be sure to take some time to meet up with your Father.