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How to reboot in 7 days.
THIS IS THE SIMPLE FORMAT WE USE FOR OUR REDEEMED ADVENTURE PROJECTS. THESE ARE 7 DAY RETREATS, TRIPS, AND CAMPOUTS THAT ARE CENTERED AROUND PERSONALLY REBOOTING ARE STORY.
1. Pause
Today we learn to come to a complete stop! We live in a world that urges us to admire and pursue everything that's faster, newer, bigger. But here's the disquieting truth: a life based on urgency, speed, and productivity demands a high price—both emotionally and spiritually. Think about it. How often do you feel overwhelmed, only to add more to your "To-Do" list? Do you wish for an extra day in your week, an extra hour in each day? Have you ever been in a conversation, when it hits you: I'm not really here? If so, it's time to learn to pause. It's time to learn the power of not-doing and give yourself permission to let go of everything around you. we do this for the purpose of preparing for and anticipating nothing but the enjoyment of the next 7 days.
2. BreathE
Today we learn to take a deep breath! One of the worst aspects of suffering is the way it tends to isolate. When great storms of suffering overtake us, our sense of loneliness can become overwhelming. As the clouds close in, we may lose sight of everything but our suffering, making it loom larger and larger. With profound suffering, we may think that no one else has ever suffered as much. I’m not the only one who needs to hear those words "BREATHE" (women in labor and athletes must be urged to breathe constantly). But I have found that even more often than not that everyone needs the same reminder to just take a deep breath.
We all lose perspective in life to the point that it can become stifling; that is when it most becomes like forgetting to breathe. More particularly, we Christians can forget that we are never alone, no matter what we are undergoing, because God is with us, just as he was with those saints who have been in similar straits before. Sometimes we are especially prone to forget when we are dealing with the daily chaos that never seems to end, and it seems there is no end in sight. This is where rather than panic, we slow ourselves down; realizing that not everything is as it seems and not irrationally concluding that things will never get better. We will coach you with some simplistic things to help you get the Air you need for this day.
We all lose perspective in life to the point that it can become stifling; that is when it most becomes like forgetting to breathe. More particularly, we Christians can forget that we are never alone, no matter what we are undergoing, because God is with us, just as he was with those saints who have been in similar straits before. Sometimes we are especially prone to forget when we are dealing with the daily chaos that never seems to end, and it seems there is no end in sight. This is where rather than panic, we slow ourselves down; realizing that not everything is as it seems and not irrationally concluding that things will never get better. We will coach you with some simplistic things to help you get the Air you need for this day.
3. Commune
Today is like a walk in the park in the cool of the day. That is where the simplicity of our walk begins. It is the core component of a walk with Jesus. You cannot have Jesus Christ as your Lord and walk like the rest of the world walks, or walk as your piers walk. We must follow the Lord in all sincerity and holiness. Why did God choose us in Christ before the foundation of the world? That we should be holy and blameless before him and that we should walk with him. What kind of Christian is a Christian without these two components?
Now, before you overload with the idea that you will never be able to do anything to warrant this kind of walk with Him realize that the relationship isn’t about you, it’s about Him and what He has done for you! A walk with God is definitely more than thinking that He is some kind of cosmic sheriff or just being aware that His eyes are on us while we follow the Him each day. What God desires is much more! It is a life of communion with Him, a life of lifting up our hearts to Him often and instinctively, as someone we rely on moment by moment. It’s like this. You start a journey and you pray a silent prayer; you go to a event and you pray that God will make it an honorable occasion; you make a phone call as you you’re asking the Lord to be part of the conversation. There are two persons meeting, a Father and his child, and that fellowship makes our sincerity truly sincere, our holiness beautiful, our obedience an inner urge. There was intimacy between Enoch and God, a movement back and forth, a living relationship between them day after day. It wasn’t that Enoch spent five minutes in the morning considering the Word of God, making an occasional comment on it and then a having a brief prayer so he could then dismiss God from his life. There are men like that who say, “I’ve done my daily portion. I’m right with God,” and then they go on with their lives without another thought of God. No, to walk with God is to realize his presence and appropriate him as your Lord and Savior again and again, over and over, everywhere and at all times. Today we will practice making this practical as part of our ongoing adventure with God.
Now, before you overload with the idea that you will never be able to do anything to warrant this kind of walk with Him realize that the relationship isn’t about you, it’s about Him and what He has done for you! A walk with God is definitely more than thinking that He is some kind of cosmic sheriff or just being aware that His eyes are on us while we follow the Him each day. What God desires is much more! It is a life of communion with Him, a life of lifting up our hearts to Him often and instinctively, as someone we rely on moment by moment. It’s like this. You start a journey and you pray a silent prayer; you go to a event and you pray that God will make it an honorable occasion; you make a phone call as you you’re asking the Lord to be part of the conversation. There are two persons meeting, a Father and his child, and that fellowship makes our sincerity truly sincere, our holiness beautiful, our obedience an inner urge. There was intimacy between Enoch and God, a movement back and forth, a living relationship between them day after day. It wasn’t that Enoch spent five minutes in the morning considering the Word of God, making an occasional comment on it and then a having a brief prayer so he could then dismiss God from his life. There are men like that who say, “I’ve done my daily portion. I’m right with God,” and then they go on with their lives without another thought of God. No, to walk with God is to realize his presence and appropriate him as your Lord and Savior again and again, over and over, everywhere and at all times. Today we will practice making this practical as part of our ongoing adventure with God.
4. see things through a new lens
Today we learn to see thing through a different lens. Once I began to see my story through the lens of Jesus, being painfully transparent, brutally honest, and when I stopped glossing over the side of me that had been hidden, ignored, and kept at bay by the old me, that is when things began to change in my life. The Lord began to reorder and refashion my dogmatic perspectives, my jaded conclusions, and bitterness. Not only that! He also began to restore my usefulness in the most unconventional ways.
What became immediately clear through this season is that this world is packed with people just like me. People who live with guilt, shame, regret, and sadness because of what they have done or failed to do; people who would do anything to go back in time and make different choices but are presently plagued by the realization that they can’t; people who live in fear that they will never hope again; people who have lost everything and wonder whether they will ever experience joy and peace like they used to; people who battle suicidal thoughts because they'll never outrun or outlive the consequences of their sinful decisions and the people they have hurt; people who endure the painful, inescapable void of broken relationships; people who struggle with believing that anybody (even God) could love them because they have done so many bad, destructive, and hurtful things.
This season, my story, and the stories of so many others that the Lord has brought my way, has opened my eyes to a world populated by pain. It has shown me that we are in an epic battle for our faith and the hope of heaven. I find that I can deeply relate to every person I talk to who feels desperately at the end of their rope and is therefore starving for a reason to keep going. And I am much more cognizant that the folks who seem the most put together on the outside are potentially going through the same thing I was going through.
This is where I have begun to realize that God is not through with me rather He has refashioned me with a greater purpose. Rather than seeking to be used by God in some way, much to my surprise and reluctance, God’s purpose and usefulness has found me even though I was emphatically not looking for it. It is just what He does. He qualifies the disqualified and uses them in the most unconventional ways to impact a culture and gather His followers. It has been a whole new world for me. This sense of purpose and usability makes me hesitant to use words like ministry because we have traditionally put suits on the defining characteristics associated with its terminology. If I may, allow me to say that it looks so much different than the ministry I used to be involved in but it isn’t! That’s if you need a proper definition. It is supernaturally natural in every way and it is at work in the stories of people who like me have been wrecked by the enemy or have been the cause of a wreck. You are a hot mess and candidate to be used by God at any given point in time so take hope; God is not through with you and in fact is radically in love with you!
What became immediately clear through this season is that this world is packed with people just like me. People who live with guilt, shame, regret, and sadness because of what they have done or failed to do; people who would do anything to go back in time and make different choices but are presently plagued by the realization that they can’t; people who live in fear that they will never hope again; people who have lost everything and wonder whether they will ever experience joy and peace like they used to; people who battle suicidal thoughts because they'll never outrun or outlive the consequences of their sinful decisions and the people they have hurt; people who endure the painful, inescapable void of broken relationships; people who struggle with believing that anybody (even God) could love them because they have done so many bad, destructive, and hurtful things.
This season, my story, and the stories of so many others that the Lord has brought my way, has opened my eyes to a world populated by pain. It has shown me that we are in an epic battle for our faith and the hope of heaven. I find that I can deeply relate to every person I talk to who feels desperately at the end of their rope and is therefore starving for a reason to keep going. And I am much more cognizant that the folks who seem the most put together on the outside are potentially going through the same thing I was going through.
This is where I have begun to realize that God is not through with me rather He has refashioned me with a greater purpose. Rather than seeking to be used by God in some way, much to my surprise and reluctance, God’s purpose and usefulness has found me even though I was emphatically not looking for it. It is just what He does. He qualifies the disqualified and uses them in the most unconventional ways to impact a culture and gather His followers. It has been a whole new world for me. This sense of purpose and usability makes me hesitant to use words like ministry because we have traditionally put suits on the defining characteristics associated with its terminology. If I may, allow me to say that it looks so much different than the ministry I used to be involved in but it isn’t! That’s if you need a proper definition. It is supernaturally natural in every way and it is at work in the stories of people who like me have been wrecked by the enemy or have been the cause of a wreck. You are a hot mess and candidate to be used by God at any given point in time so take hope; God is not through with you and in fact is radically in love with you!
5. Get your story straight
Today we get our story straight! Wrong information can get you lost very quickly in life. Especially if you aren't sure of who you are or you don't understand the purpose you have been given. It is for this reason that the phycology exercises such as reinventing yourself or rewriting your story are a facade at best. Non of them develop a true understanding of God's purpose and plan for you or that He has been at work in your story the whole time.
I know my own road to failure and every stop I made along the way. I know it so well I can drive it in the dark, backwards, with my eyes closed. There are some folks who provide perpetual reminders of the roads I’ve traveled and where I have made wrong turns. It’s like they have hacked the location services of my phone or GPS and think they know where I’m going next.
That kind of geocaching and maps in the wrong hands have added turbulence to my travels. My story, my life, and the waypoints, all come in the form of shame, guilt, doubt, fear, embarrassment, insecurity, humiliation, resentment, regret, and you get the picture.
Now, I like being mistaken for certain things for instance, being to young to have grandchildren or, I like being mistaken for being a mountain of a man because I am in many ways and in others I’m really not but, what I absolutely despise is the inability of many folks in Christianity to see each other through the lens of Jesus. There seems to always be a bad detour or a dead end offered by those who don’t want to really understand or discover the journey that the Lord has us on. For instance, being mistaken as someone not worthy of being used in God’s kingdom is not only unbiblical but it’s a contradiction to the command to bear one another’s burdens in love. You can also contrast that perspective with those who will flatter you with empty characterizations of who they think you are but nevertheless they are the type of descriptions that feed my ego and pride or validate my status among the spiritually elite and my flesh gravities to the glory in self generated accolades because they can make me feel better about myself. This is why When I dialogue with others that I tell them that I thank the Lord for them and leave it at that.
Now, both instances whether negative or positive have the equal power to superficially shape what I believe about myself and my identity? Even the most positive characterizations I’m given, or award myself, have the power to define or disillusion my identity. The truth is, I can be a victim of not understanding who I really am in either direction, and have often lived in a state of mistaken identity during certain times throughout my life. Many of us have painful proof of this and it causes us to become professional in the business of marketing ourselves.
When I am mistaken for my age, it makes me think that I’ve unlocked the secret to longevity or that I am the picture of health when I know I am not! I always have the potential to become an idolatrous commodity that I work hard to sell in order to keep the compliments flowing and my stock rising.
In contrast, when I am referred to as a “liar”, “adulterer”, or a “failure”, it reminds me of my sin and incites deep emotions that range from guilt and depression, to rage and vengeance. It also spurs me on to contradict the negative names attributed to me.
If I am not careful, instinctively I become my personal PR man. In fact, it is painful proof of a sinister system of checks and balances.
I'm so glad God agreed with me!
In His economy, I am bankrupt. I am every label that has been attached to me: idolater, liar, adulterer, coveter, thief. The collateral I have collected is worthless against my debt. I have boldly labored as the sole proprietor in my own corrupt marketing business. I write checks as if I have endless resources. But in reality, even when I think I’m in the green I am completely in the red—broke and working a dead-end job selling a worthless product. Furthermore, because of my bankruptcy, God sent Jesus as my substitute, not only to pay my debt in full but to make a deposit of righteousness that will never run out.
All the titles we spend a lifetime trying to make or break all the stories I've tried to rewrite about myself, along with the reinventions; Jesus says “charge them all to me.” He announces his one job in Luke 4: to set the captives free. Free from our foolish attempts to fool ourselves and others. Free from the bondage of business gone bad. Free from the mishaps of mistaken identity. Free from the rise and fall of our stock. Free from the terrible titles we achieve in public or private. Free. He provides permanent labels of identity for us like; forgiven, righteous, accepted, beautiful, and beloved forever—no matter what. For me, being given His identity also gives me mine and declares exactly just who I think I am but how I roll!
I know my own road to failure and every stop I made along the way. I know it so well I can drive it in the dark, backwards, with my eyes closed. There are some folks who provide perpetual reminders of the roads I’ve traveled and where I have made wrong turns. It’s like they have hacked the location services of my phone or GPS and think they know where I’m going next.
That kind of geocaching and maps in the wrong hands have added turbulence to my travels. My story, my life, and the waypoints, all come in the form of shame, guilt, doubt, fear, embarrassment, insecurity, humiliation, resentment, regret, and you get the picture.
Now, I like being mistaken for certain things for instance, being to young to have grandchildren or, I like being mistaken for being a mountain of a man because I am in many ways and in others I’m really not but, what I absolutely despise is the inability of many folks in Christianity to see each other through the lens of Jesus. There seems to always be a bad detour or a dead end offered by those who don’t want to really understand or discover the journey that the Lord has us on. For instance, being mistaken as someone not worthy of being used in God’s kingdom is not only unbiblical but it’s a contradiction to the command to bear one another’s burdens in love. You can also contrast that perspective with those who will flatter you with empty characterizations of who they think you are but nevertheless they are the type of descriptions that feed my ego and pride or validate my status among the spiritually elite and my flesh gravities to the glory in self generated accolades because they can make me feel better about myself. This is why When I dialogue with others that I tell them that I thank the Lord for them and leave it at that.
Now, both instances whether negative or positive have the equal power to superficially shape what I believe about myself and my identity? Even the most positive characterizations I’m given, or award myself, have the power to define or disillusion my identity. The truth is, I can be a victim of not understanding who I really am in either direction, and have often lived in a state of mistaken identity during certain times throughout my life. Many of us have painful proof of this and it causes us to become professional in the business of marketing ourselves.
When I am mistaken for my age, it makes me think that I’ve unlocked the secret to longevity or that I am the picture of health when I know I am not! I always have the potential to become an idolatrous commodity that I work hard to sell in order to keep the compliments flowing and my stock rising.
In contrast, when I am referred to as a “liar”, “adulterer”, or a “failure”, it reminds me of my sin and incites deep emotions that range from guilt and depression, to rage and vengeance. It also spurs me on to contradict the negative names attributed to me.
If I am not careful, instinctively I become my personal PR man. In fact, it is painful proof of a sinister system of checks and balances.
I'm so glad God agreed with me!
In His economy, I am bankrupt. I am every label that has been attached to me: idolater, liar, adulterer, coveter, thief. The collateral I have collected is worthless against my debt. I have boldly labored as the sole proprietor in my own corrupt marketing business. I write checks as if I have endless resources. But in reality, even when I think I’m in the green I am completely in the red—broke and working a dead-end job selling a worthless product. Furthermore, because of my bankruptcy, God sent Jesus as my substitute, not only to pay my debt in full but to make a deposit of righteousness that will never run out.
All the titles we spend a lifetime trying to make or break all the stories I've tried to rewrite about myself, along with the reinventions; Jesus says “charge them all to me.” He announces his one job in Luke 4: to set the captives free. Free from our foolish attempts to fool ourselves and others. Free from the bondage of business gone bad. Free from the mishaps of mistaken identity. Free from the rise and fall of our stock. Free from the terrible titles we achieve in public or private. Free. He provides permanent labels of identity for us like; forgiven, righteous, accepted, beautiful, and beloved forever—no matter what. For me, being given His identity also gives me mine and declares exactly just who I think I am but how I roll!
6. Get on the adventure
Today... "Let the real adventure begin!" The one thing that I finally get and am most appreciative for as I adventure with God is that God’s love for us, approval of us, and commitment to us does not ride on our resolve or performance but on Jesus’s resolve for us. The gospel is the good news announcing Jesus’ unfailing devotion to us despite our erratic and unstable devotion to Him. The gospel is not a command to hang on to Jesus; it’s a promise that no matter how weak and unsuccessful our faith and efforts may be, God is always holding on to us. We are in His grip! So much so, that the righteousness that comes through His faithfulness is finally allowed to free me from passing the kind of perpetual judgment on myself that leaves me chained to my sin. Our Chains are broken, we've been set free!Story is how we figure things out in life. It’s how we make sense of things as we align, compare, and correlate them with the story of God. God is not interested in what you think you should be or feel. He is not interested in the narrative you have constructed for yourself, or what others have constructed for you - or even the one your church has fabricated for you. Your story may be chucked full of ruts and potholes, crashes and do-overs! The Lord may even be using all these things to deconstruct some small stories and narratives to ultimately bring them into alignment with His story, a big story, a glorious story, a story of redemption and restoration, the story of God. I believe He does this on our behalf so that we don’t have to be burdened by what someone else’s expectations are of us or, what others think your story should look like. When it comes right down to it, the big picture and story of God is the only thing that matters!
He loves us so much that He is interested in you and me. The us who go through suffering. The us who inflict suffering on others. The you and me who hide. The we who have bad days (and good ones). And God meets us where we are in our story.
Jesus is not the man at the top of the stairs—he is the man at the bottom. The friend of sinners. The Savior of those in need of one. He is the lover of of those who are un-lovable! Which is all of us—all of the time!
Let that sink for a moment!
He loves us so much that He is interested in you and me. The us who go through suffering. The us who inflict suffering on others. The you and me who hide. The we who have bad days (and good ones). And God meets us where we are in our story.
Jesus is not the man at the top of the stairs—he is the man at the bottom. The friend of sinners. The Savior of those in need of one. He is the lover of of those who are un-lovable! Which is all of us—all of the time!
Let that sink for a moment!
7. labor to Rest
Today... We Rest! Never did I fully understand the impact that a single person could have on my life until I met my Kindergarten teacher. She was the epitome of Grace and it’s work in the lives of those who lack understanding on matters of navigating life. You know… like tying your shoes and zip’n your pants. I truly would have stumbled around or exposed myself much worse in life, had it not been for the teacher of grace that she was in my formative years. She in my kindergarten year was the object of my affection and in my eyes the most beautiful person on the planet. She had a way at putting me at ease when it came to learning my letters and how to spell my last name. You see, I had come to the conclusion that life as I new it would be insufferable and difficult for me. I would never make it into the first grade with a last name like Fairrington. My buddy had been blessed with the good name of Cox. Three letters to my Eleven!!! He could sign his name to his papers and be done with his work while I was still writing out my last name. In a world that seemed so unfair, there was only one thing that would get me through to the next grade. It was Grace! Grace that would teach me, Grace that was slow to anger, Grace that would teach me how to keep from stumbling, grace that covered me when I was exposed and feeling unworthy. Yes, it was Grace! Teaching me then and it is Grace that teaches us all how to walk in Godliness.
Titus 2:11-14 (KJV)
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Grace is what brings Holiness. It does not demand anything from us. Its work is done for us. I thought it would be something more along the lines of me proving to you that its work is present in my life. I thought it was based on an evaluation of my performance by others. I thought that it could only be substantiated by the recognition, evidence and validation of those who have been wounded by me before I could move on. Now some would say that this is just another way to embrace sloppy grace and continue in sin but look at what the verse says. “Grace teaches us to be Holy”, “Grace teaches us how to say no to sin” More than the Law, More than Religion, More than my self-righteousness, More than my commitments, covenants, piety, or performance, more than anything else Grace is teaching me to be Holy. It is teaching me how to not stumble! This is why we forgive one another, This is why we love each other through the ugliness of life. When I really grasp that God is gracious and slow to anger in my heart, it doesn’t cause or encourage me to sin more, it causes me to sin less. So my understanding of grace is that it is provided not because of sin and not so we can continue in sin, but it teaches us so that we can know how to say no to sin.
When you finally realize you are kindergartner and in the most unqualified state for God’s favor and yet have received the teacher of grace anyway, now all you want is to rest and to walk in the ways of God because His grace is the teacher and she is beautiful, and loves you, and makes you feel as if you are the most important kid in the room!
The Holiest thing you can do is to rest in the finished work of the cross of Christ. You cannot add to Jesus’ work. When we rest from our own works in order to merit Gods favor and blessings, we are honoring Jesus for a job well done!
No more effort on my part. Its all Him, all Jesus.
Never let anyone make you feel guilty for resting in His Grace. It is teaching us to be Holy!
Titus 2:11-14 (KJV)
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Grace is what brings Holiness. It does not demand anything from us. Its work is done for us. I thought it would be something more along the lines of me proving to you that its work is present in my life. I thought it was based on an evaluation of my performance by others. I thought that it could only be substantiated by the recognition, evidence and validation of those who have been wounded by me before I could move on. Now some would say that this is just another way to embrace sloppy grace and continue in sin but look at what the verse says. “Grace teaches us to be Holy”, “Grace teaches us how to say no to sin” More than the Law, More than Religion, More than my self-righteousness, More than my commitments, covenants, piety, or performance, more than anything else Grace is teaching me to be Holy. It is teaching me how to not stumble! This is why we forgive one another, This is why we love each other through the ugliness of life. When I really grasp that God is gracious and slow to anger in my heart, it doesn’t cause or encourage me to sin more, it causes me to sin less. So my understanding of grace is that it is provided not because of sin and not so we can continue in sin, but it teaches us so that we can know how to say no to sin.
When you finally realize you are kindergartner and in the most unqualified state for God’s favor and yet have received the teacher of grace anyway, now all you want is to rest and to walk in the ways of God because His grace is the teacher and she is beautiful, and loves you, and makes you feel as if you are the most important kid in the room!
The Holiest thing you can do is to rest in the finished work of the cross of Christ. You cannot add to Jesus’ work. When we rest from our own works in order to merit Gods favor and blessings, we are honoring Jesus for a job well done!
No more effort on my part. Its all Him, all Jesus.
Never let anyone make you feel guilty for resting in His Grace. It is teaching us to be Holy!
