Turn your eyes upon...

There is this old short hymn - well the chorus is [that's all I remember] - that has stayed with me for a long time. It's so simple yet so profound and helps me gain perspective. There have been times when I have been scared and this song has come to mind. Other times I have been confused and this has come to mind. Then there are times where I've been tempted and this song has helped me. Now it comes at a time where I got side-tracked and took my eyes of Jesus enough to let the worries of the world begin to sway me again. Here is the song:

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus

 Look full in His wonderful face

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the Light of His glory and grace"

I just looked up the rest of the song and I'm thinking I should learn those words too!

TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS
Words and Music by Helen H. Lemmel
1922

O soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's light for a look at the Saviour,
And life more abundant and free.

Refrain
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His Glory and Grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion -
For more than conquerors we are!

Refrain

His Word shall not fail you - He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well;
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell.

Refrain
 

It's certainly true that when I turn my eyes to Jesus everything else fades into the background and is shown to be no where near as good or as needed as Jesus. 

 

Is it time to swap the words going around in your head for this song or another song full of life-giving truth? What's a song that helps you alot?

1,2 skip a few...99, 100

I have a spare 10 mins where I literally can't do much cause I'm in a car waiting for someone and it's pouring rain outside. So a great opportunity to update on the swap project. I don't think I've ever been so distracted by my birthday than this year (well at least not my adult life haha). From last Wednesday til yesterday (Mon) there has been a lot on with work, but amongst that I have also done a lot related to having a birthday. Its been really nice:) Busyness can make me so focussed which is great. It makes me feel good. It usually means I'm spending lots of time wih people too. So much so that I can go for a few days not realizing how long it's been since I've blogged! Which in some ways is actually a good thing, means I'm not going through an obsessed with blogging stage... Just an instagram obsessed phase, hehe:)

Whilst its good to be focussed, productive, and enjoying life, I'm not sure I like the fact that it means some days go by without much consideration of this little project I have for myself. Being focussed all the time is only good and sustainable for growth if the focus is right. Something for me to think about a little more.

The other effect of busy days in a row is the morning of the day that is not so busy. Today I found it so hard to want to get out bed and want to make the most of the day! But I had a commitment to help someone at 830am thankfully! I'm thinking I need to book in either meeting someone every morning just to make sure I get up and am motivate for the day...especially in winter! I hate letting people down, so I stay motivated. Funny how I'm not so strong at sustaining the same motivation for helping myself out...

Does anyone else find that??

Hurdles

Athletics was never really my thing - team sports yeah... but running around a track and trying to jump over things um no thanks - mostly cause I just seem incapable of it. Like in high school I tried High Jump. I landed on the bar in the same place every time, resulting in a black butt! haha:)  Watching me run probably seemed like Now hurdles - well I have a feeling I managed to avoid having to attempt them [or I tried and it was so traumatic that I erased it from my memory]. If my life in general is anything to go by I probably would just run into them head on, not to mention my actual inability to jump much at all as my college mates will enjoy confirming for you. 

Yesterday I raced into the 'hurdles'. It was another day of slumping in front of the tv, being lazy and eating junk - worse than the day before because I felt even more tired and a little miserable [you know when you feel like you're on the verge of a cold]. I barely even tried to jump over some of them cause really I didn't want to try. Just in case right now you want to jump to my rescue cause you think I might be too hard on myself, or just have pity on me - no need:) I am just telling it like it is. I don't feel guilty from having an off day, because the swap project is ultimately about choosing to draw closer to Jesus/Life, not scoring how well I do each day with my choices. That is actually liberating - it makes it easier to choose well even after choosing poorly. There's a passage in the Bible that I find helpful in this:

Speaking of 'hurdles' and sports... there's a another side to it that is important: the people on the sidelines or even running the race with you who are cheering you on. I imagine that those in Olympic races who stumble on a hurdle or fall while running or hit a 'wall' in a marathon are able to keep going partly because they choose, partly because they have the end goal in mind, but also because there are people with then energy, passion and love to push you on with their cheers of encouragement and pointing the goal out to you in all that. So if you are in need of a cheer squad count me in! Just comment here or use The Swap Project facebook page. Feel free to join my cheer squad too:) I called my sister yesterday when I wanted to get out of my 'rut', just talking to someone about something completely different helped me.

The other cool thing is a new day! So I enjoyed having focus today:)

Battling Fatigue with Icecream

Ok today was a bit tougher in the swap department... making decisions constantly - well thinking twice about them - can get tiring! When physically tired already, noone wants to put energy into making decisions - me definitely included. My fall back position today was icecream, haha! :) Yep, Cadbury Honeycomb icecream is incredibly reassuring when you've chosen to plonk on the couch and watch some telly knowing there are better things to do [and eat] ;) And we all know the unwritten - but very important - rule that says: when you can see the bottom of the icecream container, thou art obliged to put the rest of the icecream out of its lonely rejected misery by eating it all there and then [out of the container of course!]... hmm not the greatest choice of the day, but not the worst decision of my life.

The good side of my ice-cream dependency today was that instead of sitting there thinking: "well that's done it, I may as well give up and stay on the couch for the rest of the the day" [which I have done before, many a times]... the swap project thinking kicked in and kicked my butt out the door for a walk with my dog Beau. It wasn't a long one at all, but it was enough to get me listening to a good talk and just switching modes. As a result I got a little creative and drew my first cartoon. I thought of the idea sometime in the last 48hrs [can't remember when with my silly sleep patterns at the moment]. Normally I would let these little ideas be just ideas, but since starting this project I've realised that the little ideas are the best ones to pursue as a swap from other habits and they are more rewarding. So here's my cartoon... enjoy [or be perplexed maybe?]...

 

What idea have you had that you've been putting off lately? Even if it seems like a big one, take a small step towards it today. 

Day 4 - People

Over the last 2 days most of my swaps have included people time [hence why there is no blog for day 3 cause I was out having dinner with some ladies I pray with each week]. People are really important to me, and being with people is important for me [being an extravert an' all]. Yet as my time here in my present role has progressed, especially the last year or so, I have found that I have become more withdrawn outside of ministry [my vocation is with youth and children in a church and school context].  There are a number of factors for this [for another time and place - such as my main blog]. By swapping things that are anti-social for connecting with others either by phone, email, video calls, or catching up in person, I have regained better perspective on the whole matter of friends. 

Firstly, there is always time for other people. Even a quick sms or phone convo, or a 10min catch up is worth it. Every relationship requires interaction. when you make a swap there is even more time for people than you seem to think. 

Secondly, when I fix my eyes on the hole shaped like the kind of friends I want here in town but don't have, I don't notice that vast number and characters of friends I have surrounding me make that hole look like a crack. Even though I still need the kind of friends I am missing at the moment, I don't need them as much as I think. I just need to appreciate the friends I do have here more and connect with them more regularly so that I don't forget them. 

So let's both take a break from engaging with this blog right now and contact someone we care about :)

Day 2 - Intention >> Attention >> Increased Vision

Have you ever noticed how as soon as you or a house member gets a new car, you start to see them everywhere? My Dad had a car with the number plate XXA [and some number I don't remember]. He thought it was a rare number plate at the time. But once he saw another car with XXA in the area he was curious as to just how many were out there. All of a sudden his eyes were alert to this XXA and he was picking them out even on long road trips... he actually recorded all the number plates with XXA to see how many he could get and where they were spotted. Yep it was one of his more quirky obsessions... but I think I have some of his quirkiness in me so I'll watch what I say:) What I will say though is that we all started keeping our eye out for XXA's! We weren't intentionally looking for them, but because we were more aware of them and they somehow became important because Dad cared about it, we were ready to spot them. We even got a little excited when we saw one and couldn't wait to call Dad to find out if he had already spotted it!

The Swap Project has similar effects...

Now that I am making more conscious/intentional decisions about seemingly small choices in my everyday life, and actually choosing life-giving things more... choosing to step in Jesus' direction, I am becoming more aware of the habits I have, but more than that I am seeing more of Jesus. The more things or time spent that focus me on Jesus, the more I find I want more of it... and the more I delight in Jesus:)

I've started catching myself again randomly 'smiling big' just from thinking about Jesus :D

My biggest Swap today was trading in tv for a Louie Giglio talk online [you can check them out online here on the Passion City Church website]. Great swap! The talk I watched was timely. Louie reminded me of things I know but have not kept at the forefront of my mind, and he reaffirmed some things I have been thinking about - well what God has been teaching me - which was encouraging. I always appreciate Louie's heart for the truth and for just being real about life and how God works in it. I also appreciate his visual aids! But this isn't about Louie... it's about the Jesus Louie speaks of. The Jesus worth Swapping for:) I won't go into the topic of Louie's talk yet, as I have run out of time... but watch some for yourself... it's worth it. This one focused on Psalm 37v1-7. If you are single I definitely recommend this one I saw today "Waiting here for you".

[Just in case you ever read this Louie G - Thank you!]


 

Day 1

Day 1 of the swap project has been really good. What I have found crazy so far is just how many habits a person can have! Some things I do so automatically that it took me a little while to realise that I was even distracted by them. And I'm talking about the first 20mins after starting this project, haha:) It's actually been quite motivating and empowering making small decisions one moment at a time. Not once have I felt bad when I've realised I didn't swap something. Here are some key things I've noticed which could be tips:

• It's in the 'inbetween' times that one might be more vulnerable to choosing less than best. 
• When you become aware that you're in default mode, taking immediate action without giving yourself time to think about it essential. It doesn't allow you to get to that 'comfortable, settled-in' stage

That's all I have time for tonight, cause I am almost asleep trying to write this! Perhaps you swapped a habit or choice today. Would love to hear what that was like for you...

There's No Time Like the Present!

Dissatisfied with some part of your life (maybe even all of it)? 

Struggle with making good choices? 

Are you someone who is eager to grow? 

Do you lap up anything that seems like it could help you to grow?

Or did you just stumble across this blog because you were looking for a good trading bargain only to find some chick questioning you?

Well I say yes to all of the above - except the last one... Which is why I have started The Swap Project. It's really a personal project for myself, but there's nothing stopping you from joining in:)

My day started around 3am today and not by my choice. Though physically I will suffer for it later today or tomorrow, it's in these random hours of awake-ness that I found myself thinking deeply and clearly. Yep the thinking cogs are activated and the ideas generator is pumping. 

As I thought about how I can live better in every area of my life, it struck me again how important my everyday choices are. The Australian Government has a 'Be a Swapper" campaign. The slogan is "Swap it, don't stop it". Here's what their website (here) says about it: "It just means swapping some of the things I’m doing now for healthier choices. That way I can lose my belly, without losing all the things I love. It’s easy!" It's a great idea really. But it's too small for me. Their focus is on food and physical health, mine is about all of me: physical, mental, emotional, relational, spiritual... for to me they are all intertwined.

So from today on, I am aiming to blog each day about my endeavours to swap habits/choices that lead to 'death' with habits that lead to 'life'. Now this blog in itself is a challenge for me as I am really good at starting things and not finishing them - I get distracted easily! But here's to starting cause it's time to face my day intentionally:)

Mel<><

PS. here's a somewhat cryptic thought for the day:
The small, everyday decisions of life are the real life-changing ones. They will either lead us to a life we never would chose, or to a life we hoped for.