We’re recently started a new series called “reset”.  Last week, we talked about how Jesus makes it possible to reset all of life, giving us a fresh start in life that impacts every key area.  We’re going to look at many of these in depth, starting this week with how Jesus resets our goals.

When my wife and I were having our first baby, we were encouraged to write birth plan.  This is where you write down a plan for who’s in the room, and make choices about everything from epidurals to breastfeeding to how bright the lights should be.

I know someone who works closely with an OB, and she has some wild stories about how people let some of the small choices get in the way of the big picture.  In a perfect, routine childbirth, a parent’s ideal may be to have the lights just so, no pain with no drugs, and a favourite song playing at the exact moment the child is born.

But when things don’t go perfectly, there are some people who forget the point, or the goal.  They start to argue for their personal preferences, instead of arguing for a baby’s health.

When my wife and I were writing up a birth plan, we decided to stay goal focused.  The goal was to have a healthy child.  All our personal preferences, hopes and dreams for the birth experience were going to be expressed, but we’d drop them in an instant if things were going wrong.

That was a moment we reset our goals…to make sure they were focused on the right thing.  It’s not a bad thing in life to regularly reset our goals, and ensure we’re focused on the right ones.  Not just in childbirth.

We can get so bogged down in day to day tasks we forget the point in our careers.  Do we live to work, or work to live?

I heard a TED Talk (attached) that shared the job description of a hospital janitor.  It was what you’d expect – mop, clean, scrub, restock.  It had nothing at all to do with hospital patients and healthcare.  But some psychologists interviewed hospital janitors.  They met one who told them about how he stopped mopping the floor because a patient was walking slowly down the hall. Another told them how she ignored her supervisor and didn’t vacuum the visitor’s lounge because there were some family members who were there all day, every day.

In the drudgery of cleaning, these janitors remembered the real goal of the hospital, and perhaps even of their human race.  They reset their goals to be about more than cleaning, but about caring for others.

Question: When have you had to reset your goals?  Why did you do it?

Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community – so check out today’s reading here.

Reminder: The best way to grow spiritually this year is to join our Christianity 101 in the Cafe Course in Pickering starting this Wednesday,  January 22nd. Register for you and a friend today!

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - August 17, 2015

Monday - A New Idea - We Need Rest

Years ago, I started my own business in web hosting, when that was a newish industry. I was studying in university at the same time, and had always been able to do both, until a server crashed during midterms. I didn't let either midterms or my clients drop, I simply gave up sleep. It finally caught up with me, and I had to get out of my room and went for a late night walk. I eventually stumbled into a church, exhausted and scared that my business might not recover. I remember the minister listening, then suggesting, "get some rest…then consider, maybe God is trying to tell you something." I returned ready to solve my problems. I moved all the customers I could to one server. I ordered new server, then there was nothing I could do but wait. I could only rest. I felt completely different when I woke up. I could study, I could write papers, I could think, I could fix the problems that caused the crash. Rest is important! An estimated 3.3 million Canadians age 15 or older have problems getting enough sleep, which may be affecting their health and quality of life. A magazine of internal medicine summarized their research. The bottom line is: “sleep serves as an indicator of health and quality of life" Lack of rest leads to more tension, depression, fatigue and marital strain, at least for women, according to one study of 1,500 women in rural Wisconsin. And one medical publication found Middle-aged men who were at high risk of heart disease 50% less likely to die of a heart attack over nine years if they took frequent vacations. We need rest, and we’re not just going to look at physiological reasons, but theological. That our need for rest comes from God himself. Question: When was your longest stretch of sustained work with no day off? How did it impact you?

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