By Debi Chaves
Today I got a new calendar by Neale Donald Walsch that Sara spotted in a store and thought it was just what I needed. Generously, MG purchased it and gave it to me. It’s titled, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”. Does that make you a little nervous? I know it did me because my comfort zone is just that…comfortable. But the calendar title is also encouraging and challenging and I’d like to share the quote for August. “Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground.” Wilfred Peterson.
Walk with me in the new!
debplant1@gmail.com
thedailylily.com 
I like this quote by Wilfred Peterson. I am thinking how wonderful wings are! It’s hard to ground walk with wings!
“Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground.” Wilfred Peterson.
After reading this and pondering in the night I had to laugh at my silly self. Why, one might ask? Such a lovely quote! My answer, I must think I’m God. I thought I was walking daily with the perfect one that fills the shoes from the quote! And, I’ m the same, yesterday, today and looking like forever! Haha, silly girl, there is only one that has that title for good! And, that’s not you, Sara!
A new calendar always gives me chills of joy or mixed emotions! It says, days ahead will read like this….beginning of a school year! Appointments, events among other thoughtful days and seasons. Planting, harvesting, and sharing. I think a calendar can be quite revealing. When I glance back or forward at my entries it tells me if I am being or just going about doing?
“…it tells me if I am being or just going about doing?” Such a world of difference between the two when I pause to think on. Rather than just check off my list of duties and then feel good that I have accomplished something, I thought about the Beatitudes. If those were my daily check list for being rather than doing, how many checks would I have on today’s list? I don’t think nearly as many as my daily ‘to do’ list.
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”. Does that make you a little nervous? I know it did me because my comfort zone is just that…comfortable. ” Yes, it makes me nervous, Debi, I like to be comfortable. After reading this, I began to think of the people in the Bible that God used……”out of their comfort zone”, I believe? How about Mary, Joseph, Moses, Jonah, David, and Paul, would you agree that these were used of God, “out of their comfort zones?
I’m on track with both Debi and Tammy. A friend sent me this page today…hope you will open and read both the article, Bio and adoption. Won’t take but a few minutes to read. A modern day breaker of comfort zone. Let us know your thoughts on this? http://robertsfamilyhope.wordpress.com/2014/08/08/awake-oh-sleeper/
Let us know your thoughts on this?
A few thoughts I have: I read the article and the horror accounts of Christians being persecuted, etc.and saw my own excuses that need to stop: “wandering around in guilt, feeling helpless, wishing you could be the hero, reading articles that make you feel sick.” She refers to the guilt as a ‘useless distraction’. These are forms of comfort zones because it’s more comfortable for me to grovel here than to wake up and take the actions she clearly suggests to do to pray, etc.
I appreciate her honesty on her own difficult emotions and feelings she had to deal with in her pursuits and in adopting, yet reaped the rewards.
I can see why Sara calls her, “A modern day breaker of comfort zone.”
Yes, Tammy,those are good examples and I would agree that those you named were used of God and not one of them had an easy or comfortable life journey.This is a price tag to really consider.
In the devotional, Proverbs 31 Ministries, Amy Carroll shares her story of being a stranger and a ‘foreigner’ in a new city and a new church far away from her familiar digs. She laments that she was far out from her COMFORT ZONE. She felt out of place and definitely UNCOMFORABLE. But the Lord was about to teach her a Gospel Lesson. And the things she learned from this experience and prayer to the Lord is priceless and from the Heart of God.
She shares that the strangeness she felt, hoping to be accepted, to fit in was overwhelming in the beginning. She writes and I quote (and paraphrase for sake of space) “That (experience) of my awkward first visit, later allowed me to see and lift my eyes from my everyday busyness and engagement with my well-established beloved friends & family.
Now I am trying to be a WALKING INVITATION to the “foreigners and strangers around me. (Leviticus 19::34). “Come join us,” my heart cries.
Let’s go with a heart of invitation to work, school, church, neighborhood.
God help me shake the COMPLACENCY of being a ‘native’. Lift my eyes to see people around me who are new and need of kindness. Show me how to reach out to others in love, to draw them into my circle, living a life of “INVITATION”.
She then includes the Scriptures: “Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom made by the Creator, with His label on it. All the old fashions are obsolete. All words like Jewish, non-Jewish, religious, irreligious, insider, outsider, uncivilized, uncouth, slave and free mean nothing ( for those who are in Christ Jesus for He defines them and everyone is included in Christ Jesus)…
Colossians 3:10 MSG
MG’s paraphrase of a Proverbs 31 devotional gives credence to our calendar comfort zone entries…how many ways can something be told before we take a leap of faith! I am beginning to think refusal to change because of———looks and smells of unbelief!
i agree Sara! I talk a big talk…even in private devotions to the Lord….I confess that I trust, I believe, I hope in, etc. etc. but if I REALLY thought the King of the universe would do all HE says He will do…all the promises, all the blessedness of His Presence…how come I am am sitting here in Slumps-ville? UNBELIEF. I guess I don’t think He will. You know what the Lord said about unbelief? I dread to write out the Scriptures and what they say about that. Hebrews 3:12 says, “Beware! Lest there be any one of you with an unbelieving heart…wickedness…which can lead you to a turning away from the living God. (AMP paraphrase).
Revelation 21:8….[are you ready for this one?] But as for the cowardly, lacking courage of your conviction…Unbelieving….all have their place in the LAKE OF FIRE.
So, Sara, thanks for the 100th wake up call.
Dearest Lord, increase my (our) faith. Holy Spirit soften my heart to and my spirit and my soul to allow the conviction of Your Spirit to cleanse me from doubt and unbelief for the Lord of the Universe awaits me (us) to show Himself strong in the behalf of those who will and do BE-lieve HIM. I don’t want my BE to be doubt. I want my BE to be BE-lief!
Love this article. Awake! Awake! (Stir up, Stir) America. We do have a job to do. The alarm has sounded. Awake! Awake! oh CHURCH. You and I are soldiers of the cross.
Bow the knee and pray for the days are evil. This is a well written article. We are called like she said to our battle positions. Love the following she wrote. ” Church! Now that you are awake, will you work? Will you sacrifice? Will you stretch yourself with the Word? Will you dig down deep to give instead of just skimming the surface and whatever comes out belongs to God? The alarm has gone off… get out of the bed. We have a mission to complete and we are running out of time. Don’t stand before the Lord one day and wish you would have… The night is far spent. The day is at hand.” May we gather alone or in groups of two or more and pray for our Christian brothers and sisters. May we pray for our churches to AWAKEN, Awaken. Time to get out of the comfy seat. Will we turn off the news and ignore that these evil things are happening, will we say that is them and not us or will we take a stance and call out to God who has all the answers and waits on you and me to lay it all at his FEET. FABULOUS ARTICLE AND HER
list of what to pray for is wonderful.
Three weeks ago a friend in this area and I had the same concerns as Candace Roberts. As we can see God is calling people around the world to pray and come before him in prayer. We, just two women with grown children and careers behind us decided to pray together for revival within the church and for the church to awaken, awaken or as I learned in Isaiah to be stirred up. We had prayed that many would be awakened to pray for these dire situations which have unfolded on the news night after night and we too also felt hopeless in what to do. Just talk does nothing. We saw that not many churches were praying about these events in the world. So we bowed and asked God to stir up churches to pray for Christian brothers and Sisters who were being persecuted. We didn’t want to just talk about the dire situation but to lift a request to the Lord who we knew had the power to do something about the matters around the world. To add to Candace Roberts prayer we started praying for an awakening and revival in the local churches and the churches around the world. We asked that leaders be lead by the Holy Spirit to do what was right in God’s sight. We asked that many be awakened to pray and we layed out situations before God that we’d seen on Fox News and others chanels asking for His intervention. We will add Candace Roberts list of prayers to our prayers.
Thank you for Candace Roberts obedience to use her words. We thank God for the daily lily that does address these issues.
I have come to understand in some small way we are all messengers. We each bring a unique set of circumstances into the whole of the Body of Christ. Prayer works from the Mind located in the Body and the mind quite often is suffering as are the emotions, soul, heart and other. Healing(s) so often occur in the message and prayer. James 5:6 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (This person is needful)
I think it is in Rena’s comment above (all comments are good and part of whole as I see it) where she mentions talk and not praying. If we want to increase the prayer in our churches and we have graduated past the “talk to prayer” and become the messenger of how to….then we become the healers by being the righteous person with the prayers. We become the example that others will follow. As we are merging into the “sweet hour of prayer” and praying for the imminent needs of saints everywhere let us be mindful of this beauty; Psalm 133:1 “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! (Kindred is the key for me, nation, nations, tribes, etc.)!
133:2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. (I see this as an anointing on our part in ministry)
133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD ordained his blessing, life forevermore.” (Salvation is needful for all thought Jesus Christ for eternal-forevermore)
Isn’t this the real issue we are struggling to pray about with the crises we are speaking of? “kindred are not living together in unity.” I hope I don’t get caught in the rat trap while passionately trying to pray and do good.
I am thankful for each unique gift of God (the elderly, middle age and new borne) and their place in the “kindred.” I love it when the daily lily words helped another one day long ago and now they may not need it for their day because they are out ahead. But, the stream of mercy still runs deep for those that are approaching the stop on their trail for a mercy drink from this well.
Again, so thankful we can share our thoughts, prayers, love, burdens, hopes and fears and have listening ears, praying tongues and know we have the hearing of the Ear of Jesus Christ, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords!
Debi, your new calendar days are blanks to grow Lilies! 🙂
Aweeeee, I love how the Holy Spirit is such a faithful friend….and hangs so near. I wrote my long heart felt comment here early am. Then I got around to reading a little from one one my devotions and Bingo….AnnHagmann… expressed it well for my way of understanding. “FOR FAITH TO GROW, we must be open and listening to God through scripture, prayer, worship, music, nature, people, and the circumstances of our lives. Then we must be obedient to God’s will and direction for us as we discern them. True Christian faith leads us to involvement with others and sensitivity to their needs”- Ann Hagmann
“Climbing the Sycamore Tree”
Sara thanks for what you just wrote above. There’s a lot to think about and grasp but it made a real thankfulness well up in my heart so that I want to say thank you for providing a place for us to write, share, sort things out and grow. I think the author of the blog, Awake oh Sleeper’ you suggested we read used a phrase something like life gets or can be messy. I read that again somewhere else. But when we have the help and opportunity to sort things through here on The Lily, the mess begins to clear up and hope springs. Thanks.
Thanks, Sara, for liberating us from applying a rosary of “MEA CULPAS” that often accompany the realization of sins of omission. I’ve established my guilt before the Lord. NOW, I must BE-gin to BE that intercessor, I must not BE remaining in my comfort zone, WAITING to pray until I find another to BE in relationship with so that we can agree in prayer for these crucial happenings. That’s not BE-ing. That’s not even doing.
Enough talk, as Rena said. NOW, as Sara says, “BE”!!
Just read this quote by Sarah Ban Breathnach , “Playing it safe is the riskiest choice we can ever make.”
Whee, how many ways can this “comfort zone” message be said! Is it time for bed yet? Oh, gee no….maybe an afternoon nap! Nope might have a dream…
“Playing it safe is one of the riskiest choices we can ever make”
I am not a chess player but many years ago gave it a try a few times. Apparently the way I played was to play it safe. I approached the game from a defensive strategy or point of view. My opponent, a good chess player, said to me that I would never win unless I played offensively. He must have been right. I didn’t win.
I guess I can rattle on & on about praying and meeting for prayer and making appts. to pray with others and going to prayer meetings and on and on and on. It sort of takes up the time that I could be praying by talking and writing and thinking about it. Bah! Humbug. Either I am a pray-er or I’m not….. so even if a million people PROMISED to pray with me or I promised to join 100 prayer groups….unless I get down and pray….= sounding brass and tinkling cymbal! That’s it!