when the heart waits...

Recently I decided to make a few changes... nothing huge, just small steps.
Last Saturday morning I woke up early to finish writing my "goals" for the next 3 years. It's a long list of over 100 goals, but there are small and large goals. 3 years is over 1000 days, so I have a few seasons to complete some of them (which includes paying down debt, saving for miscellaneous items and overseas travels - both missions & visiting family/friends). After I finished writing my goals I decided to make small daily changes to ensure they are completed.

1) Read more
2) Wake up earlier
3) Go to bed earlier
4) Be more productive at work: go early, take a lunch and end on time

Regarding #4 - i have a tendency to stay at my desk ALL day without taking any breaks and often feeling unproductive - the past 2 days i have done the above and feel MUCH more productive and at peace w/my work.

Check out this blog: Zen Habits | Simple Productivity
The author has some interesting takes on goals, less = more and life in general.

Note: If I am brave enough, I MAY post the goals here... in the meantime, you'll have to just be curious...

Well, yesterday I picked up a book I started reading 2 years ago called "When The Heart Waits". It's a thick book, not in pages, but in the reading. There's a lot in each page. It's written by the same author who wrote "The Secret Life of Bees" which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

The author is going through a midlife crisis and doesn't know where she's headed. Now, I'm not 40, I'm not going through a midlife crisis and I know where I'm headed, at least right now, however she spoke to me through her writing. She writes about praying.

Often, we pray words, words, words and we do not allow our heart to be still and wait. It is said that praying is like a conversation with God. If we are the only one talking, how is God able to converse with us? Of course, God "speaks" in many different ways to different people. In my own experience, it's a "gut" feel. If something feels "right" in my gut, I know it's from God. Believe me, I've tested it more than a few times... ;)

Back to Sue Monk Kidd, the author; and her thoughts on prayer. The Greek word for rest is hesychia. It's a term that also came to mean praying (When the Heart Waits, 137). Does God want us to rest in prayer? When we are rested, are we relaxed? When we are relaxed, are we open to what God wants to speak to us? Have you prayed in rest lately? Have you prayed and waited for God to answer? Have you really waited? These are questions based on spending a few minutes buried in the book. In our instant gratification and rush rush society where we want things done yesterday, we send a text message if we get voicemail and facebook someone because it's faster than email, it goes against our grain to wait. It's HARD to wait. Maybe I should re-think how I pray. Maybe I should take a few moments and wait before starting in on my many "prayer" words, maybe I should take a few moments AFTER my "prayer" words to hear God, to "go with my gut"...