fulfillment

The Rule of 4.0

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Sharita

“Moooommmm… I… didn’t…do…good…on… (sob)…my (gasp)… Chemistry… (sniff)…tessssttttttt. I…won’t…get…an.. A!” 

That is a real (ok, paraphrased) excerpt from a conversation that I frequently had with my Mom on the phone my freshmen year of college at K-State.

Chemistry was a nightmare. And when I bombed that first test, I was convinced my life was over. Seriously. Up until that point, I had only gotten a “B” on a report card ONCE in my life, and that was my freshmen year of high school in Algebra. (What IS it with freshmen year? And boo on math.)

I despised chemistry. (And still do, just for the record.) I didn’t understand it. I didn’t get it. And I didn’t get an A that semester. What a way to start out my college career, huh?

My friends and I had a theory in college. We called it the “Rule of 4.0.” The idea was that there were many things in life that once you fell short, it was hard to care about trying to work hard at it again.

Chemistry class was my example. After I got that first “B” in college, I knew there was no hope of pulling a 4.0. My record was marred. So I had a choice to make… would I keep trying to do well in college? Or since I had fallen short of my dreams of “perfect” grades, should I just sorta half-way try and count it all as lost?

Fortunately, my motivation kicked in and I kept trying. No, I didn’t get my 4.0 due to falling short early on (Thanks, Chem I and II…) But I did manage to graduate with honors five years later. (I took a victory lap for my undergrad, just because I could.)

Now you might be wondering: “Uh, Sharita, I am kind of done with school. What in the name of sodium chloride does this have to do with me?”

Great question. I’m glad you asked. The “Rule of 4.0″ doesn’t just apply to literal grade point averages. It also applies to different areas of our lives. For example…

The Rule of 4.0 kicks in during a long-distance run after you made the mental decision to walk for a few steps… You failed right? Whats the point of trying to redeem your run? Might as well walk the rest of the way, yes?

The Rule of 4.0 applies when it comes to purity… maybe a girl (or guy) decided to engage in pre-marital sex with a significant other, but then they broke up. She/he isn’t “pure” anymore. So what’s the point of abstaining from that point forward until marriage?

The Rule of 4.0 shows up when we get reprimanded at work– we weren’t the perfect employee, so why strive to regain a solid work ethic, right?

The Rule of 4.0 comes to life in our everyday lives when we sin. We messed up… so why try to make it right and live a Christ-like life? We failed.

Obviously, this way of thinking can be a dangerous and little off the mark. The Rule of 4.0 is meant to be an encouragement to think twice about making a decision that might damage your heart, your GPA, relationships or work life. HOWEVER… like it or not, we are ALL going to fall short.

None of us are going to graduate from this life to the next with a 4.0 without the help of Christ.

Will you allow Christ to help you “graduate” from this life to the next with a 4.0?

We might get a B or C in life… or we might even flunk on occasion. God grades on a curve. And that curve is in form of The Cross.

We have the beautiful and blessed opportunity to start fresh every single day, reaching out to Christ for that 4.0 perfect score. Each time we give an incorrect answer or fall short, we can take it to The Cross and learn from the ultimate teacher.

Christ is our Valedictorian. He is the one who will help us graduate summa cum laude. He is the one to restore us to our 4.0.

Here’s to “graduating” with Honors,
SGK

“If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely.”
–2 Thessalonians 1:12 (MSG) 

PS: Where have you needed Christ to grade on a curve in your life? Have you struggled with the “Rule of 4.0?” I would love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below.

Categories: blessing, challenge, childhood, Christ, fulfillment, God, grace, perspective, promises | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Five Minute Friday: Embracing Empty

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Sharita

Good morning all and HAPPY FRIDAY! (Can I get an AMEN?) I am linking up again this week with Gypsy Mama and her Five Minute Friday Fun.

If you are new to this five minute Friday writing concept, let me catch you up… Each week, Gypsy Mama gives us a prompt. Then we write. No over thinking, no editing. For five minutes. That is all.

Think of it like a finger sprint to the kitchen to get the last cookie. Only instead of cookies, I’m going after words. (Although a cookie does sound good…)

Today’s prompt:

EMPTY. 

Ready?

GO!

I stumbled down the stairs, puppy underfoot, eyes blurry, hair a mess. Sigh. It’s just another day. For some reason,  I woke up in a funk. Bleck. I quickly run down my daily to do list in my head, which doesn’t really help my grumbly attitude. But then, I see it…

I round the corner to the kitchen, and there it is. The sink. Empty. With no dishes.

POOF! My attitude is completely changed. (Yes, I am that easily swayed.) I FORGOT that I had finished up dishes AND laundry last night… so both the sink in the hamper were empty.

Best. Feeling. Ever.

It’s a feeling of freedom, knowing that I don’t have spend time doing extra “chores” that day. It is empowering. That empty sink is beautiful. I love embracing empty.

Sometimes embracing empty isn’t easy– especially if it involves a nearly empty gas tank in the car, or nearly empty fridge, or even the occasional empty heart.

But here’s the great thing about those “empty issues.” They too can be easily fixed. A trip to the gas station fills up the tank, the grocery store covers the lack of food… and Jesus fills up my heart.

Having an empty heart can be difficult… but when we have Christ who never lets go, never fails, never gives up, AND fills us up from the inside out… We can rejoice at those semi-empty heart times, just like that empty kitchen sink… Because only when we are empty can he fill us up.

STOP 

Whew. This is a GREAT brain/finger workout. I think I deserve that cookie now… :-)

Blessings to you all!!

From Empty to Full,

SGK

“I’m thanking you, God, from a full heart, I’m writing the book on your wonders. I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; I’m singing your song, High God.”

Categories: empty, Five Minute Friday, fulfillment, God | Tags: , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Treasure Hunting

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Sharita

We were on a mission.

We had changed into our “play clothes.” We had our plastic shovel and bucket in hand. Time to get down to serious business.

We were going treasure hunting.

“Treasure hunting” was one of my sister and I’s favorite activities when we were younger. In fact, it ranks right up there with tormenting each other. Specifically: me convincing her that the flower blooms on our bushes where actually “wild broccoli,” thus she should consume them for nutritional reasons, as well as daring her lick the frozen iron handrail on the front porch as the school bus came down the driveway. (Both instances resulted in the first two times I got grounded. Ah, memories.)

But seriously. Treasure hunting was one of our most beloved shared experiences. I was secretly convinced that at any given moment of walking, digging and exploring, we would have a “Huck Finn” moment and discover a chest filled with coins and riches beyond our wildest imagination.

Most of the time, however, our treasures would come in a different form. And we always had to share them with Mama.

After our journey, my sister and I would trudge home with our loot… and dump it on the back porch for Mama’s amazement annoyance. Or better yet, we might just dump it in the front yard so the lawn mower could rediscover it in a few days when Daddy mowed the grass… (Which in turn lead to me rediscovering the fun of being grounded. Notice a pattern here? I was such a sweet child.)

Our treasures typically included rusted, ancient farm equipment, nails, cool looking rocks, fossils, weird looking bugs and the occasional orphaned animal (Primarily: baby rabbits and baby birds. Although I once got bitten by a chipmunk. But in my defense, I didn’t expect to actually catch it.)

Over the last couple of decades, our idea of treasure has changed quite a bit. The first (and only) time I got a real diamond was my engagement ring. I treasure the security of that constant military paycheck. I treasure my warm house, decent clothes, and ever plenty food supply.

But in the grand scheme of things, those “treasures” are equivalent to the rusted farm equipment and random rocks. Because we can find our true treasure in relationship. Relationship with our spouse. Relationship with one another. Relationship with our family. And most of all, relationship with our God.

I have been treasure hunting with and for Jesus for nearly three decades. Every day, I discover something new and exciting in my relationship with Him. We are on a treasure hunt, one that gives us more riches and rewards than our 7-year-old hearts would have ever dreamt possible when hauling that plastic shovel and bucket.

Where does your treasure lie? Is your heart set on things of this world, or are you on a constant treasure hunt to deepen your relationship with Christ?

What do you treasure most about Jesus? I would love to hear your thoughts. Please comment here… and share your Jesus treasure hunting discoveries.

Hitting the Jackpot with Jesus,

SGK

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

Categories: childhood, Christ, fulfillment, treasure | Tags: , , , , | 3 Comments

Factor of 7: Joy for Joyce

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Sharita

Some people say that money talks.

I have to say that I sort of agree.

Sometimes our money says “Hold me tighter!” Other times, it says “Me, me, me, it’s all about me.” Sometimes it sounds like the old NSync song… “Bye, bye, bye.”

But last Thursday, our little wad of money said “God is love. Give me away.”

My beloved and I participated in our first official “Factor of 7″ love movement. Here’s how things went down.

It is pretty simple, actually. Brandon was preparing to go to Ranger School, so one thing our our list was to do our inaugural Factor of 7 act before his departure. We headed to the bank last Thursday, drove up to the window and withdrew $107 from our checking account.

I put it in an envelope that had the following words written on it:

Right behind the bank was a Winn-Dixie grocery store. I had been praying about this for a few days, and God revealed to me that a grocery store in lower-income section of town was a good place to start.

We parked the car in the grocery store lot, held hands and prayed for what we were about to do. Boldly (ok, slightly nervously), I got out of the car, grabbed the envelope and my husband’s hand… off we went.

We made a quick partial lap around the outer sections of the store… Past the frozen foods and dairy, beyond the seafood, through the bakery and emerged near the produce before we spotted her.

She was wearing blue scrub pants, a dark jacket and a stocking cap, browsing the coffee aisle. Brandon squeezed my hand and said, “How bout her?”

Gulp. Here we go. 

We approached her and explained that we wanted to help her pay for her groceries. I told her that there was $107 enclosed in the envelope. I shared with her that the 7 dollars represented that we all have 7 days time a week to live for Him, and 100 dollars because God loved her 100 times more than she could imagine.  Her eyes got wide and filled with gratitude-ish tears. She kept saying “God bless you, praise Jesus” (or something like that… my mind was a little blurry cause the Holy Spirit was so intense.)  We talked for just a few seconds. She told us her name was Joyce and gave us both big hugs.

We asked how we could pray for her. And we departed.

Easy as that.

Yes, I would like to think that our actions brought some Joy to Joyce. (Hey, if someone walked up to me with an $107, I would probably pee down my leg. Heck, I would be excited about $7. <can you say “pee down your leg?” in a Christian blog?>) So yes, I hope it blessed Joyce. But, as usual, God had more plans. I have thought about that moment every couple of hours since it happened. And it probably blessed us more than her.

I was feeling a little uneasy about my husband leaving, an ache that I knew only God could fill. Guess what? By giving our hearts to Joyce, God filled that gap. I was fulfilled. By Him. We were immediately strengthened for the separation ahead of us. It. Was. Awesome.

I can’t wait til next month when I get to do it again. (Although this time I will be flying solo.) Oh, and please know that I don’t tell this story to get all self-righteous, bragging about how “great”  we are in a legalistic sense. My fleshy side of me would have loved to hold onto that 107 bucks. But God told us otherwise. That said, I invite you to join us. Get creative. There are no rules to this movement. You can use money. You can use your baking skills. You can use your ability to pray. (Check out the Factor of 7 tab for more ideas/guidance.) Heaven is the limit! Bring the joy!

Pay for someone else’s lunch, groceries or gasoline. Ask a stranger how you can pray for them. Look into your life to see how God has blessed you– and pay it forward! We added some Joy to Joyce’s life… But God gave us ten times more joy, strength and hope through our simple attempt of  loving a random “neighbor” and a tiny act of obedience.

Join our Factor of 7 experience. If you do, please share how the story blessed you by commenting below. Believe me… God will not let you down!!

Receiving through giving,

SGK

“You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus.” –Philippians 4:19 (MSG) 

Categories: Christ, excited, Factor of 7, faith, fulfillment, generosity, giving | 2 Comments

Love, Peace and Jesus Cheese

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Sharita

“Would you like cheese on that?”

Talk about a moment of truth. You haven’t really given any thought to the question prior to this very blip in time. It doesn’t matter if the person behind the counter/at your table is asking about a salad, a Big Mac (ick) or Subway sandwich.

For me, the answer is almost always yes.

Cheese is awesome. I am a non-discriminatory cheese eater. My only stipulations are if it smells like a foot or comes in a can,  it is not going in my mouth. Other than that, bring on the cheese baby!

Just last Saturday, my supervisor Kelli and I traveled to Macon, GA to do some SHAPE training for a church plant. As we were discussing each person’s spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality and experiences, we got to the topic of “filling” holes in ministry with volunteers.

Now, this is a baby church, just being planted and doing the work to get off the ground. Their numbers are small, so “filling holes” within their group was a challenge. But one participate piped up and jokingly said, “Holes aren’t bad. Just think of swiss cheese. People love swiss cheese. We are the swiss cheese church.”

This comment not only made us laugh, but it got me to thinking. We know that Jesus is all about love and peace… but how would he feel about cheese? Specifically, swiss cheese. (Hang in there readers… this will make more sense momentarily, I promise.)

We have already determined some types of cheese are “holey.” And I don’t know about you… but so are our lives.

Let’s start with our holey selves. We are full of holes. Looking to be fulfilled. Broken. Searching for something greater. Seeking love and peace. Completeness.

So where do we find it? In Christ. Jesus fills our holes with His eternal love and neverending peace. We can be wholly His. ALL of us can live in Him. Lean on Him. Trust in Him… And ultimately we can become…

HOLY.  This is a good kind of holy. Fully, deeply and completely dedicated to Him through our actions, words and lives. We can live a full un-holey life by being holy. Our original holes are filled to the brim with love and peace through Him.

So maybe Jesus is a cheese fan like me and you. He understands our “holes” and embraces our longing to be filled wholly with Him… to make us holy FOR Him.

And let’s not forget that Jesus STILL has holes… no, not the ones that are needed for perfection. He needs nothing, because He is perfect. But He himself has holes in his nail-scarred hands. The holes in His hands ultimately compensate for the holes in our lives caused by sin.

Don’t be ashamed or concerned if your life looks like swiss cheese. Mine does. Instead, find the love and peace from Jesus. And next time when someone asks if you want cheese on it, you can simply reply, “Sure, but I’ve already got some… I have love, peace and Jesus Cheese.”

Life is cheesy,

SGK

“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God’s Word with fearless confidence.” Acts 4:31 MSG

Categories: Christ, food, fulfillment, healing, hope, Love, peace | 2 Comments

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