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Life in a Pressure Cooker

Life in a pressure cooker -- the Bible and high pressure seasons.

Have you ever been in a season of life when it feels like you are continually under pressure, the stresses of life literally piling up from seemingly all areas? As time has gone by these last few months, I’ve increasingly had the image of being in one of those pressure cookers building up pressure until it is about to burst. Thankfully, in our modern day, God-sends like the Instant Pot (all the praise hands for this miraculous device) don’t really have the issue of exploding anymore as the pressure cookers of yesteryear did, but in this image I keep having, I keep seeing that the pot can only handle so much pressure. The pressure valve is right there, ready to release and bring that pot down from that high pressure point, but it’s a choice to let the pressure out in that safe, desired way, before the pressure literally blows the lid off. 

You know when you’re going through something that you know you are meant to, but that there is a very certain way to walk this road in a healthy way? God has reminded me again and again of some truths during this season that are essential to living this time in such a way that doesn’t end with a  pressure cooker explosion. 

Rick Renner’s interpretive version of 2 Thessalonians 1:7, formed from the Greek meanings of the original words in this letter, found in Sparkling Gems from the Greek, sets us up well to dive into this: 

“To you who are going through difficulties right now, it’s time for you to let up, take a breather, and relax. We know what it’s like to be under pressure, but no one can stay under that kind of stress continuously. So join us in learning how to loosen up a bit. Shake off your troubles, and allow yourself a little relaxation and time for recreation…”

I found it fascinating that God lead me to Renner’s in-depth study of this verse that just happened to talk about being under pressure. Life has a way, especially in some seasons, to pile it on, and we have the responsibility of learning how to use that pressure release valve through healthy habits of recreation and relaxation. 

Taking a Sabbath is a very important part of creating a habit of rest in our lives, but this verse goes beyond that to highlight the need for relaxation and recreation, which is distinctly different than the time of dedicated rest and refueling in the Lord we should take each week. 

In my life, learning how to relax has looked like creating time to read again this year. I’ve hardly read these past few years, yet I once read over 100 books in a year as a teenager. Being goal-oriented, I set a goal of reading 12 books this year at the start of this year, but as I’ve walked it out I’ve recognized the most healthy way to truly relax through reading is to just structure in time to read and reflect, and not to worry about how I’m doing on schedule with reaching that goal in time (also, Audible. It’s a Godsend!). 

Recreation…it’s something that takes a little more intentionality to uncover, but I think that’s on purpose. God created us to enjoy the things we do, and He enjoys seeing us having fun. When I lived overseas, I learned that there are certain things in life that different people enjoy that heavily enhance one’s ability to endure things. For some people living in third or fourth world countries that call first world countries home base, it’s hot showers. For others, it’s an occasional treat that reminds them of home (cheese, anyone?). There were little things that I and the others around me could give ourselves to enrich our enjoyment of the season we were in, something that had a huge impact in heavily decreasing burnout and enabling me and others I knew to choose simple pleasures and habits that were refueling in their own small but extremely impactful ways. There is something I learned in that time of life that is so important- God created each of us with our own set of likes, dislikes, and fuel for our tanks and fueling that tank isn’t just a good idea, but actually necessary for long-term health. I discovered that walks along the ocean did a tremendous amount for stress relief, and that’s translated to me recognizing how much parks and lakes can be pressure relieving here in the land-locked state where I now live. Learning about the fuel God gave you, those specific things that are refueling for you, is a great joy in itself and in it you discover an aspect of God’s character, because you’re made in His image and those things are a part of who He is. 

It’s time to release the pressure valves. We weren’t made to live with the pressure building all the time. Yet I love that 2 Thessalonians 1:7 is specifically recognizing that there are times of high pressure that will come, as well as healthy ways to handle these times. 

What about you – what are some ways you need to practice relaxing and taking time for recreation? What are some new things you can explore in your life to enrich the season you find yourself in and circumvent a pressure explosion?

Take some time to journal your thoughts today. Ask the Lord what things you need to incorporate into your life to create a natural pressure release in order to not just avoid a pressure explosion, but to build healthy pressure-relieving habits and activities into your life.

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How Gratitude Changed My Life

Today, we are bringing you a guest post from Ashley’s second cousin, Joy Humble, whom lives “a simple yet enjoyable life”. Joy writes at Choose Joy about finding joy in the everyday ordinary and we are so happy to have her sharing here on Canvas & Table today!

how-gratitude-changed-my-life

Psalm 100, Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing, know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. 

Today I am going to talk about how gratitude has changed my life, and even more specifically, how it helped me battle depression. I have found that it is easy to be grateful when you get that job you’ve been wanting or when you get a new car or a raise, but it is much harder to be genuinely grateful when you are going through a hard season in life. Maybe you are struggling to pay the bills, maybe you are having relationship issues, maybe you have lost a loved one. In times of hardship and suffering its really difficult to believe that there is any good in your life. My personal journey of learning how to be grateful has largely come through battling depression. 

My parents named me Joy and I believe that the name I was given is a prophetic word of the personality and person God created me to be. I believe that the last thing the devil wants us to do is live out the calling that God has placed on our lives. I also believe that the devil tries his best to sabotage and destroy those plans and our destiny. Depression is the opposite of joy and I have dealt with depression for many years. I believe that the enemy likes to attack me with depression because that is what is most effective at killing my joy and hindering me from being the person God created me to be. When you are in that dark and hopeless hole called depression, it is very difficult to be grateful for anything. Gratitude is the opposite of depression. Gratitude says, “God is good”, while depression says, “Is God even there?” In the last year I have learned that, while in that dark place, I must choose to make conscious choices to see God’s goodness and be grateful for all of the amazing things He has done in my life. A large element of depression is self pity. Poor me, my life sucks. And its really difficult to get out of that cycle. Forcing yourself to be grateful begins to break that cycle. I started writing in my blog once a week about something I was grateful for. Some days it was hard to think of something. It is pathetic I know, but true. But, when you start to make those conscious choices, it becomes easier and easier to see God’s goodness in your life. Those daily choices will change the course of your day, your attitude, and the cycle of depression and self-pity. 

I have taken many things for granted in my life. I like to call them the “Thanksgiving List.” These are the things we all list off at Thanksgiving when we go around the table. Things like our family, job, house, car, children, pet, food, etc. I don’t know about you, but many times it seems like Thanksgiving is the day I am grateful for all of those things and then I tend to take them for granted the other 364 days of the year. As an American, I expect to always have a home, a job, and food on the table. At times I feel like most Americans feel as if they are entitled to those things as human beings. But it is not that way in other parts of the world and even in some places in America. Because of this mindset I believe many Americans struggle with being grateful, because our lives are already so blessed, but we are too busy looking for even more amazing and wonderful things to happen to us to notice. We want a better job, a newer car, a bigger house. And while we are so focused on what we don’t have, we completely lose focus of all of the many blessings that God has given us already. The majority of Americans have what they need to live a very full life and usually a bit extra. I think it is important to understand that this is not as common in other parts of the world and realize how much God has blessed those of us living in areas of the world where we have all we need. This is one of the reasons why I have a desire to travel outside of the U.S. – I want to see the world outside of my own little bubble. I think it would be a great perspective to have. 

Everyone can find something to be grateful for. If the only thing you can think of today is that you are breathing, great start. Tomorrow think of something else to be grateful for and as the days go by it will be easier and easier to see all of the blessings that surround you. Don’t wait until you have everything you want in life to be grateful. Start today and give God glory for all He has done and the goodness He has displayed in your life. Think of the good things He has done in your past, the good things He is doing today and thank Him for the good plans He has for your future!
Joy

 

My name is Joy and I am married with 2 little boys, who are very active and curious. I live in a small rural town in Indiana. I am a work from home mom and a Christian. I love to write and cook and I also ave an interest in food photography. I live a simple yet enjoyable life. I post regularly on my blog, Choose Joy.

 

 

Comment below and let us know- What are you choosing to be thankful for today?

What To Do In The Waiting

What to do in the waiting

Waiting- none of us like it but all of us do it. It’s something that crosses racial boundaries, income lines, and affects people of all age. It’s something that’s literally as old as time- Adam himself had to wait for Eve to be created- but something all people still struggle with now and again. Waiting creates an emotion when the period of waiting lasts longer than we think it should. Ask any impatient person in a line and they will tell you something is happening (the line is moving too slowly, the checker should be working faster) that is causing them to wait longer than they believe to be necessary. 

Certain days of the year highlight waiting that has become downright painful. Valentine’s Day is a very uncomfortable day to some singles, while Mother’s Day & Father’s Day can carry a very heavy emotion for couples struggling with infertility. A myriad of other circumstances, from buying or selling a house to waiting on an adoption or organ transplant, carry with them some very real emotions tied to a period of waiting that anyone who has gone through them could relate about. A common expression in these times of waiting is the feeling of “if only that thing were here, how well could I steward that gift or spend my time!”. Singles that feel they would make a loving spouse, adults that feel they would make wonderful parents….yet there they still are are, waiting.

I’m currently in a big, huge season of “wait” of my own- one that has far outlasted any other previous seasons of waiting I have been through. There are some hard-learned lessons God has taught me- and through the past few years, I have been reminded of the other times I waited for things I deeply desired, and how each and every one taught me something very specific. While most times I could even see the reasons for the wait on the other side, even in the ones which I still can’t understand why I needed to go through the waiting season, I know God taught me some invaluable lessons through the process. I’m sharing with you some of the lessons from my wait, and I hope it encourages you and equips you for how to spend your wait.

  • Live in the present. One of the most difficult hurdles to get over in times of waiting, in my experience, has been to choose to be all-here in the present, even when I deeply desire a future that has yet to arrive. This has meant choosing to redirect my thoughts, spending time considering the blessings of this season, purposely planning activities that make the most of this time, and choosing to enjoy it as long as it may last. Embracing this is so incredibly freeing, and while it won’t eliminate the emotions of waiting, it does enable you to not dwell on the things you have yet to come into in your life with an unhealthy amount of time spent thinking about the things that have yet to pass in your life.
    “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34
    “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” Philippians 4:11
  • Trust in the Lord. Waiting isn’t a popular activity for a reason- it can leave you feeling dejected, uninspired, & with a sense of purposelessness. Yet, God has allowed you to be in that season for a reason, and trusting His reasons for the wait and purposing to be the best version of yourself in the season can serve to inspire and encourage you as you delve in to the Word of God, choose to be a good friend, and care about what others care about despite what seems to you to be a less-than-perfect circumstance.
    “Trust in the Lord and do good.” Psalm 37:3
  • Do good. The second part of Psalm 37:3 is often overlooked- it is a partnership; a related relationship between trusting in the Lord and doing good. Depending on what you’re going through, you might not want to be very involved in the lives of others. Whether you’re waiting to get married, to have a baby, to go to school, for that transplant to come through, or in a season of painful emotions you are waiting to pass, it can be very easy to decide to stay away from places that remind you of others that have those things you wish you had. I have found that following God in obedience and doing good among those whose circumstances can remind me of what I’m waiting for can be the most profound “good work” of faith in my season of waiting. I would challenge you to make the decision to stop shielding yourself from what makes you uncomfortable and discover the way acting in faith actually serves to sooth your heart during your wait, when you are doing it unto the Lord and not for how man is going to react to your actions.
    “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:17

I’ve made this graphic of Psalm 37:3 to share with you below. It very much impacted me when I spent time considering the impact of this verse & James 2:17 on my life- that without faith and works of faith, my trust in the Lord was dead. I encourage you to save the image, make it your phone screensaver, and walk in trust while doing good in Christ and find your purpose in the waiting!

I wanted to note that I am not implying that there is not a need to process the emotions of waiting- or diminish how deep those emotions may be. I encourage you to find your safe people- people you can share your journey with, be honest with about the emotions, cry with, laugh with, and have the safety in which to share the ups & downs of your journey. If you have no idea where to find these people, pray for people who will pray with you, pray for you, and encourage you to walk forward in faith & good works. Wherever you’re at, I encourage you to leave a comment below- I would love to be praying for you, too!

Trust in the Lord and do good