DAY 21...Stop, Collaborate, And Listen
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller
Do you go to church regularly? Do you take moments, whether it be Sunday or other days of the week to go, be in the presence of other people and worship God? It's tough sometimes. Sometimes it's work. Sometimes it's exhaustion. Sometimes it's laziness.
You're not being called out. Don't worry. This is reality. It's tough to go to Church sometimes. Sometimes it's tough because you're not really sure why you're even there. Going to Church is an important part of you kicking the porn habit. We go to Church to do what the very wise and insightful Vanilla Ice instructs us to do, "Stop, Collaborate, and Listen."
Stop - We live in a super hectic world. How often do we hear the answer to "How are you doing?" as "I've been really busy lately." We busy ourselves in a fast paced society. And when we're not busy we're in our phones or our computers. While you may once in a while see someone pull out a phone in Church, it's one place where phones are not common. Church is a sanctuary away from the busy life. We NEED this time. We NEED to STOP. JUST STOP.
Collaborate - Porn is something that usually isolates us. Church is something we collaborate on. We work together for. Liturgy is often translated to "Work of the People." We come together with others to worship God. We come together in communion with one another to take communion, to be one with Christ. We're not just spectators in Church, we should be participants as well, saying the prayers, and singing the hymns. We see, feel, smell, hear, and taste in the service. Divine Liturgy is a picture of heaven because when we're doing it right, we're in communion working together with one another participating in Christ's life. That is the opposite of porn consumption.
Listen - We take in a lot of information in our daily lives but are we really listening? God is trying to talk to you. Being in His presence at Church is a great way to be still and listen to Him speak to you. It might not be the first time you talk to Church but over time, as you really listen for Him, you will gain.
Do you go to church regularly? Do you take moments, whether it be Sunday or other days of the week to go, be in the presence of other people and worship God? It's tough sometimes. Sometimes it's work. Sometimes it's exhaustion. Sometimes it's laziness.
You're not being called out. Don't worry. This is reality. It's tough to go to Church sometimes. Sometimes it's tough because you're not really sure why you're even there. Going to Church is an important part of you kicking the porn habit. We go to Church to do what the very wise and insightful Vanilla Ice instructs us to do, "Stop, Collaborate, and Listen."
Stop - We live in a super hectic world. How often do we hear the answer to "How are you doing?" as "I've been really busy lately." We busy ourselves in a fast paced society. And when we're not busy we're in our phones or our computers. While you may once in a while see someone pull out a phone in Church, it's one place where phones are not common. Church is a sanctuary away from the busy life. We NEED this time. We NEED to STOP. JUST STOP.
Collaborate - Porn is something that usually isolates us. Church is something we collaborate on. We work together for. Liturgy is often translated to "Work of the People." We come together with others to worship God. We come together in communion with one another to take communion, to be one with Christ. We're not just spectators in Church, we should be participants as well, saying the prayers, and singing the hymns. We see, feel, smell, hear, and taste in the service. Divine Liturgy is a picture of heaven because when we're doing it right, we're in communion working together with one another participating in Christ's life. That is the opposite of porn consumption.
Listen - We take in a lot of information in our daily lives but are we really listening? God is trying to talk to you. Being in His presence at Church is a great way to be still and listen to Him speak to you. It might not be the first time you talk to Church but over time, as you really listen for Him, you will gain.
Statistics show that students who go to Church do better in school than those who don't. Employees that regularly attend church services are better employees. The Church services exist for you. They are there to help give you a break from the craziness of the week. They help you reset if necessary. They help create one constant thing in your life and in your schedule to build around.
Make Church a constant part of your life and so many other areas of your life will come together cohesively.
Make Church a constant part of your life and so many other areas of your life will come together cohesively.
Today's Instructions:
A. Pray for the day, for friends, for family, for enemies. Thanksgiving, Requests, Praise.
B. In the Fortify Program, Update the battle tracker. Go to Week 3. Check out, "Create a setback plan" and "Write about what you learned this week."
C. Go to the daily readings and read today's Scripture.
D. Journal the following: 1. What prevents me from going to Church? 2. Why is it important for me to overcome those things and actually go?
Today's Tips: When the urges come get up. Stop. Breathe. Pray. There is someone in your life who wouldn't find it weird to pray with you. It might be your mom or a friend, find that person and ask if they would be willing to pray with you for a moment, about anything you want or need to pray about.
God give you strength. See you tomorrow.
Don't ever come back to this page to start over. This is the launching pad. You've already begun, even if you fall.
If you want to review this page, please do, but do not come back here to start over.