Simply Tuesday: Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World

I can't prevent storms from coming, but I can decide not to invent my own.

What gives moments meaning is not the moments themselves but the presence of Christ with us in the midst of them.

Don’t try to handle your anxiety. Bring your anxiety into the presence of Christ. Don’t try to fix your loneliness. Bring your loneliness into the presence of Christ. Don’t try to hide your addiction. Bring your addiction into the presence of Christ. Don’t try to change your attitude. Bring your attitude into the presence of Christ. Don’t despise your humanity. Bring your humanity into the presence of Christ.

Sometimes that's what prayer is--simply inviting God to join us where we actually are, not because He isn't already here but because inviting Him reminds us it's true.

We were made to build, to co-create, to bring glory to God with the work of our hands, to move into the world as unique reflections of Christ. But we were not made to fill rooms, stadiums, or bank accounts. We were not made to fill our souls with worth we construct with our hands.

I don’t want to live my life in such a hurry that I’m always closing the fridge door with my foot and scribbling out birthday cards in my car at the last minute. I want to make bread, or at least find the time to toast it.

Jesus does not turn away from the world, but turns to face it. Jesus came down. He turns toward. He makes his face to shine upon. He shows compassion. He sits with. His with-ness is so important that every time we say his name, we declare it—Immanuel, God with us.

To be able to look ahead while also celebrating now is a delicate kind of art, to imagine what could be without discounting what is.

In my own life I’ve found it to be true that when I hold on to the wrong things, the wrong things hold on to me.

What connections and experiences have I missed because I'm either remembering a former embarrassment or fearing a new one?

My part is not feeding five thousand men. My part is giving my lunch to Jesus.

But Tuesday teaches me that part of living well in ordinary time is letting this day be good. Letting this day be a gift. Letting this day be filled with plenty. And if it all goes wrong and my work turns to dust? This is my kind reminder that outcomes are beyond the scope of my job description.

Let’s dig deep, not to create meaning where there isn’t any, but to see Christ, our companion, where he actually is, not where we wish he was.

It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God—but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people—and this is not learned in five minutes. —Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Part of the freedom of being yourself is resisting the temptation to fill every minute with productivity, and allowing a little margin to be bored. I’m learning to practice stillness more regularly. To leave some room for sacred silence when I can. [My husband’s words to my kids in response to their perceived boredom] reminded me of my desire to learn how to be bored well. How to bring my nothing into the presence of Christ, and simply be with him. No agenda, no checklists, no accomplishing allowed. As it turns out, being bored can be super hard work. But it’s the very work of boredom that reminds me that I don’t, in fact, make the world go round. My agenda isn’t the most important one, and many times, may not be important at all. Knowing this is a great first step toward cultivating a lightness of heart.

Like you, I’m figuring out how to walk with Christ into my day, into Target, into church, into the kitchen, and most importantly, into the lives of other people. Christ doesn’t stop being relevant just because I’m standing at my sink, cleaning out my closet, meeting over coffee, driving to the bank.

The deepest need of my soul isn't a personal organizer or an empty inbox. The deepest need of my soul is Christ.

We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people—and this is not learned in five minutes.

Attention, success, and comparison hold my soul hostage and refuse to negotiate until they get what they want. Spoiler alert: They want everything. And they are never satisfied. They will never let you go.

They just need to sit on a bench with someone else so they know they’re not alone. I know this because it’s what I need too.

Jesus says his load is easy and his burden is light, but he doesn’t say there isn’t a load or a burden.

True belief is movement toward God even in the midst of confusion or frustration or fear.

Home often comes when we’re waiting for the next big thing and finding home is often different from what we think it will be.

The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:20–21 NIV).

I’m exploring what it looks like to release my obsession with building a life and embrace the life Christ is building in me, one small Tuesday at a time. I hope you’ll come along.

Bear, believe, hope, endure. May it be so in us. May it be so in me.

We teach them when they’re babies that they’re the center of the world, and they spend the rest of their lives realizing they’re not.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what it means to do work well and in a healthy way without using my work as a way to define myself. Jesus says his load is easy and his burden is light, but he doesn’t say there isn’t a load or a burden. He recognizes there is something to carry but he invites us into the easy way of carrying it.