Everything New – Episode 25

Heya! Man, it feels like everything has changed since our last episode. It’s a new year. I’ve moved to a new country. Even the intro music on the podcast is new! I like it better. Don’t you?

I know it’s been quite a while since our last podcast episode. The main reason for that is (OK, maybe it’s an excuse but) there was a ton to do as we transitioned overseas. Then we were in transit for a few weeks after we left Colorado in November.

Now we are settling into our new home here in Scotland. We’ve had an interesting learning process as we sorted through all the different things we needed to accomplish to begin our lives here. Everything is just a little bit different from what we were used to back in the USA. We found there is a difference between visiting a place, even visiting multiple times for extended stays, and actually moving there to make it our home.

Jumping Through Hoops

There are still a few legal hoops to jump through before we can really start making preparations for opening the new Bible college location this fall, which is, after all, why we moved here. Scotland is a completely separate legal jurisdiction from the rest of the United Kingdom when it comes to overseeing charities. So the ministry which we are working under is going through the necessary legal stuff with the Scottish government for us to open the school this fall.

Sometimes there is a temptation to fall for the lie that we aren’t doing much of value because our days right now tend to fill up with life stuff. It often doesn’t feel like ministry. However, the truth is we are at a moment in our lives where life stuff is pretty significant. Selling off most everything you own, packing up the rest, and moving across the ocean is a bit of a project, if you know what I mean.

It is important for us to get things on a firm foundation for our personal stuff now, while we have the time. Once the legal things are sorted we will be able to put our full attention towards getting the school open. Then things get busy fast.

Small Things Build Big Things

If we’re not careful there’s another truth that is easy to lose sight of when we go through significant transitions in our lives. We can find it discouraging if things don’t seem to be progressing as rapidly as we would like or expect.

I don’t know if it’s human nature or just a product of where our culture is today. But it’s natural to fixate on the big events and the moment they happen. Because we focus on the big things it’s easy to assume that those are the only important bits of our lives.

Yet the truth is every big thing in our lives is simply a product of all the little things we did along the way leading up to that big thing.

Unfortunately far too many people aren’t willing to be diligent and faithful with the little things. Here’s a truth for you:

Big payoffs come from consistent small actions that are often avoided in order to get small payoffs.

What do I mean by that?

Those big events in our lives only happen because of all the little events that we’ve experienced along the way. Any major accomplishment results from a series of minor accomplishments along the way leading up to the big thing.

The Olympic champion had to train for years to build the expertise, skill, endurance, mental toughness, and strength to overcome all challengers.

Or, to bring it closer to home, losing 20 pounds and getting in better shape requires us to make wiser decisions in our food intake and exercise level day in, day out over a period of time.

However, what trips most people up is that in the moment skipping any one of those small disciplines that will ultimately add up to 20 pounds of weight loss doesn’t cost very much. In fact, there is often a small reward in letting the discipline slide.

The desert does taste good. The extra hour of sleep instead of going to the gym feels comfortable.

In the end, we end up letting those small payoffs of a good tasting desert or a comfortable extra bit of sleep rob us from the big payoff of losing 20 pounds.

The small things matter, far more than we often realize.

Back on Track

I’m not sure how I got off on that subject. Anyway, we’re getting back on track with the podcast. If you remember way back to the last episode we talked about the worry cycle and the importance of praying and passing all that negative stuff that we normally worry about back to God. We also pointed out how we unfortunately often get caught in the worry cycle of worry, prayer, peace. Worry, prayer, peace.

So next time we’ll talk about how to break that worry cycle once and for all. Philippians chapter 4 contains some powerful truths which can really set you free in this area.

So until then, enjoy!