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New
Year’s Resolutions The New Year, traditionally, is a time to renovate—not necessarily our homes, but often, our lives. We attempt to take a crowbar to bad habits—no more overeating, overspending, over-yelling at the kids. January brings out the perfectionist in all of us. Watching Larry and his crew got me thinking about renovation. These guys have done this before. Obviously, they know what they’re doing. They begin by carefully removing the old window. They don’t put the new window over the old one: they create space by getting rid of what is no longer working well. And they do one window at a time. If they took out all the windows at once, leaving our home looking like a Jack O’ Lantern, we might get a bit chilly, being this is January in Chicago (although it’s been warm—highs in the 40s during the day, which helps). In our self-renovation efforts, we sometimes make a mess. We’re changing too much, too fast. We try to rip out all the old bad habits all at once, and find our lives gaping with holes. Or we try to add shiny new activities (exercise, volunteer work, hours of Bible study, etc.) without creating any space—and like a window just propped against a wall, our good intentions don’t become a part of the structure of our lives. We settle for the old windows that we never removed. We return to old habits. Open a bag of chips, pour ourselves a glass of whatever beverage we resolved to give up, and admit defeat. The good news is that God is in the business of renovating lives. Self-improvement, even when successful, is still self-focused. What would happen if we let God direct our improvement projects? God may have different ideas about what needs to change than I do—am I willing to trust that? My own efforts to connect with the One who wants to renovate my heart led me to create my newest book, Oxygen: Deep Breathing for the Soul, which I’m delighted to announce, was released January 1. Oxygen offers a way to renovate your spiritual life, slowly and steadily, one breath at a time. Oxygen will guide you through spiritual practices such as solitude, meditation on Scripture, journaling. It’s very do-able, since you read one passage of Scripture a week (but read it several times), rather than one each day. In fact, each week has four exercises, each approaching that same scripture via a different practice. So you don’t feel guilty if you miss a day. You can learn more about the book by clicking here to read the entire introduction—it’s a free excerpt. To download it, click here. If you need some help sticking with your resolution to read and reflect on God’s word more in 2007, you may want to join a new on-line discussion group I’m starting, called Talk About Oxygen. It’s a free Yahoo group, and you can join by simply clicking on the icon below. I’m planning to breathe new life into my relationship with Jesus with Oxygen. I’m hope you’ll join me on the adventure!
Boomer Babe Blog Team: Fellow author and friend Allison Bottke has invited me to be a part of an exciting new blog she’s starting, http://www.BoomerBabesRock.com. Allison, author of the God Allows U-Turns series and 21 other great books, has assembled six Boomer Babes to co-author this new blog she describes as a place “where fun, fashion, food, family, facts, and faith merge to empower and inspire boomer women all around the world to pursue their dreams!" Now, I am just barely a Baby Boomer (I make the cutoff by one year!) but I do believe in encouraging and empowering women, so I’m honored to have been invited to be a part of this new blog. Along with Allison, fellow boomer blog co-authors are T. Suzie Eller, Eva Marie Everson, and Connie Pombo. Cheryll Hutchings, the co-editor of the God Allows U-Turns series will act as a "Substitute Blogger" on days when one of us flakes out on our appointed day. (Not that that will ever happen, of course!) I’ll be posting once a week, looks like every Thursday, but I hope you’ll check it out as often as possible. To find out more about the boomer blog and Allison's new monthly "Boomer Babe Dream-Zine," just go to the Boomer Babes Rock! web site now at: http://www.BoomerBabesRock.com and you'll see the subscription sign-up boxes on the right. The blog will premier on Monday, January 8, 2007.
I have to admit, it’s a little intimidating reading a book on getting healthy written by a perky blond aerobics instructor. But Susie Larson (www.susielarson.com) is an authentic person, not afraid to admit her struggles, and forthright about her dependency on Jesus. She’s a woman of deep faith that’s been tested by more than a few trials in her life. She writes honestly about her own steps toward finding a balanced life, which she says comes not from juggling all of our obligations, but from balancing input, output and rest—both from a physical and spiritual perspective. “As you pursue a life of godly balance and health, you will look more together and you will have more together,” she writes. “But this should not be our goal. Being fully alive in Christ is our goal. As we gain ground both physically and spiritually, we will hold what we love with an open hand, fully trusting Jesus’ work in our lives.” That’s a woman who understands the paradox of gaining your life by giving it away—to Jesus. I like that kind of thinking. The book is divided into two parts, the first on physical health, the second on spiritual health, but throughout, Larson makes the connection between the two. Although her advice, especially on physical health, consists mostly of common sense things I’ve heard before (“stay away from fad diets, drink plenty of water”) the book is helpful because each chapter suggests specific goals and also offers study questions to interact with. The second half of the book, which focuses on spiritual health and its parallels to physical health, offers fresher insights. It’s challenging, but her ideas seem practical and attainable. If you’re looking for motivation and practical tips on those New Year’s renovations we’re talking about, this book would be a helpful guide. You can purchase this book for $10.99 with free shipping by clicking here.
To Resolve
or Not to Resolve, That’s the Question I gave up making New Year’s resolutions years ago, simply because my intentions to carry them out were much better than my ability to do so. My desire to lose weight, stop procrastinating, exercise more, be more patient, etc. was always intense at the beginning of January. By the end of the month, however, my resolve usually melted away as fast as snow in Springfield. Until my children came along. The arrival of two beautiful, unwritten stories, one a boy, one a girl, rekindled my resolve. Instead of making a list of what I want to change about myself, however, I now take the time to make a list of each family member (including my husband) and to ask myself two questions about each name. The questions are:
I jot my answers on a piece of paper, which I refer to monthly throughout the year. The exercise doesn’t take long, but it’s made me more mindful of providing what each child needs and reminds me that these needs aren’t always the same. In essence, it allows me to create a customized approach to mothering; something I hope will bless my children individually. Earlier this year, I did a teleseminar titled “Developing a One-Page Mothering Plan,” using the above exercise. If you think your mothering would benefit from step-by-step planning, a copy of the program is available for purchase at http://www.themotherload.net/shop.htm. Though I’ve given up making traditional New Year’s resolutions, I’m still dedicated to resolving to be a better wife, a better mother and a better friend. The only way I know to do this is one person at a time. It’s a time consuming process, but worth the effort. After all, the only things we’ll really take from this life are the connections we made with the people who are most important to us. Happy New Year!
Mary Byers is the author of
The Mother Load: How To Meet Your Own Needs While Caring For
Your Family and
How To Say No … And Live To Tell About It: A Woman’s Guide to
Guilt-Free Decisions “One of the amazing things about the human being is that it is capable of restoration, and indeed of a restoration that makes it somehow more magnificent because it has been ruined. This is a hopeful but strange thought.” ~Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart (p. 63) Consider your physical and spiritual health. Do you need to renovate? What is one step you want to take in each of these areas to move toward becoming more healthy? Hint: start small, and keep your goals realistic. You’ll have a better chance of success, and then you can build on that success.
Starting January 19, I’ll be teaching a class on Listen: Finding God in the Story of Your Life. The class meets at Willow Creek Community Church on Friday mornings. The class, which begins January 19, is open to anyone, not just Willow Creek members, and will be held Fridays from 9:30 to 11:30 am at the church, 67 E. Algonquin Road, South Barrington, IL. Register here. If you’ve got a schedule conflict or live too far from South Barrington, IL, you can still visit the class by going to my website. You’ll be able to download the handouts for the class, as well as listen to the lectures via a free MP3 file. The only part you’ll miss is the group discussion and the solitude times, which are a part of every class I teach. But maybe you’ll want to get a group together to read the book and discuss it, and listen to the lectures together. Just go to www.keriwyattkent.com and look for the info on my Willow Creek class. You don’t have to register to get the on-line stuff, but please get in touch to let me know if you’re using that resource! Once again, check out my column for Christianity Today’s site, at http://www.christianitytoday.com/childrensministry/features/foryoursoul.html Today’s Christian Woman magazine: I hope you’ll pick up a copy of this month’s issue because I have two articles in it. One is about my dear friend Arloa Sutter, director of BreakThrough Urban Ministries, (www.breakthroughministries.com) a great ministry to the poor and homeless on Chicago’s West side. You can learn more about her by visiting her blog at http://www.arloasutter.blogspot.com/ which posts a variety of observations from this wise woman who is in the trenches for Jesus. Keri will be leading a retreat on “Listen: Finding God in the Story of Your Life,” on January 26-28, at Camp Lutherhaven (www.lutherhaven.org) in Albion, IN. Keri will be speaking on “Breathe: Creating Space for God in a Hectic Life” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1 at First Presbyterian Church in Wheaton, IL. Keri will be speaking on “God’s Whisper in a Mother’s Chaos” at 9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 15 to the Moms United group at Zion Lutheran Church in Marengo, IL. For details phone the church at 815-568-6564. Keri will speak on "Breathe: Creating Space for God in a Hectic Life" at 9 am on Wednesday, Feb. 28 for the MOPS group at First Assembly of God Church, 1741 Essington Road, Joliet, IL.
If you’re interested in reading my new book, Oxygen: Deep Breathing for the Soul, you’ll want to join my new on-line book club, Talking About Oxygen. It’s a free Yahoo group. Here’s how it works: each week, you’ll read one chapter of Oxygen. Everyone in the group will receive an e-mail from me on Mondays, reminding you which chapter we’re reading, and giving you a question or two about the chapter to think about. Group members can go to Yahoo and post a question, response, comment or whatever (all posts have to be approved by the moderators). You can read others group members’ posts on the site, or request to have them e-mailed to you when you sign up. I’m hoping this will become a virtual book club and a way for readers to connect with me and with each other. Joining is easy, just click here, then click on sign in. If you don’t have Yahoo you will be prompted to create a free account. Please forward the link to anyone you’d like to invite to the group. Or try the link below. If you have any trouble please reply to this newsletter and I’ll send you a personal invitation.
Free leader’s guide: Oxygen is a devotional that you can use on your own, with your family or in a group. If you want to read it with a group, I have created a free downloadable leader’s guide. The guide will coach you through the process of leading a small group through Oxygen. For more help, I suggest that leaders join the on-line book club (above). To request a free pdf file of the leader’s guide, click here to e-mail me and request on. Later this month, the guide should be available as a free download on my website. You can also purchase Oxygen for $12.99 with FREE shipping here.
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January 9, 2007
Connecting with
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Oxygen: Keri's
new book!
"Breathe" In Breathe: Creating Space for God in a Hectic Life, Keri looks at how the hurried pace of our lives affects us spiritually.
Connect with Keri in Person click here to see my speaking schedule
Visit Keri Wyatt Kent's Website
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You are receiving this eZine because you shared your email address with author and speaker Keri Wyatt-Kent. If you prefer not to receive future issues, please unsubscribe by sending a blank email with "unsubscribe" in the subject line to kwk@pcpublications.org. We will never share your email address with anyone - ever. © 2006 - All Rights Reserved - Keri Wyatt Kent |
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Balance
that Works When Life Doesn’t: Simple Steps to a Woman’s Physical
and Spiritual Health
