Enjoying Where You Are

I've gotten some new books at the library. I have to say that three years ago, I would never consider reading a book by someone I think of as a "televangelist" like Joyce Meyer. I have seen her first on TV while surfing through the channels. She seems very much like one of those "in your face" evangelists who think they have all the answers and they're more than happy to tell you about it (and of course take your "prayer money" if you send it in). But this shows how far I've come on this journey. I started letting myself think general religious thoughts back when I started attending a UU church. Once there I considered rethinking Christianity. Maybe it wasn't ALL bad. Then the more I read, the more I realized I'd been seeing Christianity from the wrong perspective. Readjusting my thinking helped me to soften my heart to these other Christians that used to cause me to roll my eyes if I saw their books on a shelf in the store. It's almost as if I came to Christianity through the back door because I was never attracted to the harsh front door.

Anyway, I picked up one of Joyce Meyer's books at the library. The copyright date is 1996 and it is called Enjoying Where You Are on the Way to Where You Are Going: Learning How to Live a Joyful, Spirit-filled Life. There are lots and lots of biblical references (another thing that would have caused me to put it down without considering it just a couple of years ago). And there are some theological things that I don't agree with like the way she personifies Satan. But if I don't let that get to me, she has a lot to say that makes a lot of sense. I was surprised that she said there are a lot of people who are saved and have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior (yes, I know I know) but they are sitting around waiting to die rather than enjoying the life that they have. She basically says that Jesus came to tell us that life is to celebrate and experience joy.

She talked about things that steal joy from our lives. Dread and fear are two things that zap our joy. Dread is about living in the past and fear is about living in the future. What we really need to do is live in the present. (I know that that particular concept is all over the religious spectrum these days. Isn't it the subject of the book called The Power of Now? I don't know - just guessing.) Basically we spend too much time beating ourselves up about things that have already happened or worrying about things that might happen. This is where she says we have to have faith in God and to let it go.

Another thing that gets in our way is the complexity that we choose to live our lives in. In my own experience this is related to perfectionism. You want to get things just right so you overdo it. And another thing we can do to fight the complexity bug is to try to live with more simplicity. Find what is most important in your life and cut out all the extras that just steal your joy. Every day you should find ways to celebrate the joy of living - even in the mundane things.

You know how sometimes something will happen in your day-to-day life that just happens to coincide with a spiritual concept you've been stewing over? Saturday afternoon we were all out at the music contest and my mom was along with us. We were almost finished for the day and were walking along the wide corridors of the school and my 5yo son was skipping. (Wide high school halls are perfect for skipping, btw.) Anyway, he turned to me and asked me if I wanted to skip. I told him not right now. Then he reminded me about how I taught him how to skip last summer when we were camping. Big J and my mom just looked at me with a blank stare on their faces. They couldn't believe that I would skip. I had to laugh. I remembered skipping down the road with D in the campground where we were staying. The fact that the idea of me skipping caught them off guard bothered me. I am too serious. I don't make enough time for skipping in my life. There really is no reason for that. Sometimes children are the wise ones.