NorthStar Church Blog

Forty hour work weeks don’t exist. Fifty, sixty or seventy hour work weeks have become the norm in society today. Extracurricular activities also make our lives fast-paced and crazy. Some people really love their jobs and some are just ok with it. It’s not great but they can live with it. Still others hate their jobs and feel stuck. We are we supposed to do when we feel like we’re being pulled in all directions? What can we do when we feel that joy is being sucked out of our lives and our soul is rotting inside? Work is not a punishment from God but instead is a gift from God. Even Adam was given the job of naming and caring for all of the animals in the world. Here are four principals to apply to your life and job.

1) Get in touch with your reason for overwork. Why do people feel like they have to keep charging away and working their fingers to the bone? Some people feel competitive and think they’re useless if they can’t be the best at something. They don’t want to play but want to win. Envy is one of the reasons for this but fear is also a big factor. If downsizing occurs, their employer will know they are valuable and worth keeping. Now, employers expect long hours to be the norm so if the employee cuts back to regular working hours, they are now viewed as slacking. Some of us overwork to try to win someone’s approval. Pushing and driving yourself to win someone’s approval never works. God’s the only one who controls the future. Put in a fair day’s wage and leave the rest up to God. How many of us are driving ourselves to try to prove someone wrong? Others try to impress God or win God’s approval. God loves every fiber of our bodies and even went so far as to say that no matter what you and I do, He loves us and always will. It’s a free gift he gives to us.

2) Beware of the consequences of overwork. Stress, fatigue, loss of joy, divorce, heart attack and high blood pressure are some of the consequences that can happen when we overwork ourselves. The Japanese culture valued work so much that people were dying at their desks. The United States now exceeds logged in work hours when compared to Japan. Jesus says you can lose your health and also your soul if you work too much. What is the payoff of driving ourselves so hard? Will it make us happy when we get it? We’re making more money than we’ve ever made in our lives. Still, we’re not any more satisfied or happy than when we were making less.

3) Create a life where life works for us. Jesus says it’s perfectly fine to relax. We begin to define who we are by what we do. God has so many blessings he wants to give to us. Create a life that works for you. A step up isn’t always better for you and your family, especially if it takes up more of your time and energy and you’re already giving too much of that. There’s a lot to be said for the simple life. What about those of us that feel like we’re stuck in a job?

4) Go to your old job as a new person. Our motivation should be that we’re working for God. He needs us to be His ambassador. We are the ones who should take the time to minister to the outcast at work or to be a friend to a lonely person. Every person I know wants a life of meaning. Imagine your workplace as your mission field. God has placed you there on purpose. You’re supposed to be right where you are. It’s as in the story of Esther. She was picked for a job she didn’t ask for, didn’t want and ended up becoming a queen. She couldn’t get out of taking that job but it turned out God had placed her there for a reason, to save her people, much like God has done with you. Most of the time, God works in covert ways. So when you go back to the job that you wish you didn’t have and don’t want to keep doing, remember that you’re supposed to be there. It’s God’s will that you be right where you are right now.

Give your life to God. Accept Jesus as your life manager and Savior. Stop worrying about being number on at everything. Enjoy what God has blessed you with instead of being consumed by envy. Imagine your workplace as your ministry location.

“I have no peace! I have no quiet! I have no rest! And trouble keeps coming!” -Job 3:26 (GW)

Perhaps you can relate to Job in the above verse; no peace, no quiet in your life. In the second part of the Slowing Down series Pastor Roscoe discussed several steps on how to build more margin or white space in our busy lives. Margin allows for that calm, peace, rest and breathing room we all long for. Below are several steps to help you begin adding margin to your hectic schedules.

Accept your human limitations

Whether physical, mental or emotional God has created us with limitations in all areas of our lives. In our culture we tend to overestimate our limitations and abilities. Pain, stress, fatigue, and loss of joy are warnings that we’ve exceeded those set limits. When that happens we need to take a step back and figure out what limit we’ve exceeded.

Expect to have problems

“In this world you will have trouble” -John 16:33 (NIV)

Oftentimes things don’t go as planned. For this reason it is vital to have margin in our lives. When we do not allow room in our schedules for the unexpected, we become stressed and overwhelmed. Adding margin to our schedules will help to minimize the stress that occurs when faced with unexpected delays or road blocks.

Put space in your schedule

We must make a conscious choice to put space in our schedules. No one else will do it for us.

Periodically prune your activities

Sometimes we have to give up things that are good, things that we enjoy, even those things that are producing fruit in order to allow for margin. In an effort to maintain balance and margin if you add something to your schedule you should be taking something out. Be selective about what you choose to give your life to. If we don’t do the pruning God will.

Do less and trust God more

God can do a lot more in 20 minutes than we can do in 20 years. We must learn to trust God with every area of our lives. We must have faith and know that He is able.

Ladies Night “IN”

Mark your calendar and plan on attending the upcoming movie night on Friday February 29th at 7:00 p.m. at 2 Tintagel Way. Dress comfortably, bring your favorite movie snack to share and feel free to bring a friend. Stop by the information table and vote for your favorite “chick flick”…the movie with the most votes will determine which movie we will watch. See you there!

Discovering NorthStar 101 Membership Class
If you have been attending NorthStar for at least 2 months and want to take your commitment to the next level, this class is for you. Saturday, March 1 from 10 a.m. – noon in our church offices located at 1741 Rt. 9. Lunch is provided afterwards. Sign up by using the Connection Card. Space is limited.

Ladies Book Club
If you enjoy reading and want to meet other ladies at NorthStar, this is for you! Come together to discuss each month’s Christian novel. This club will help you learn more about female characters in the Bible and will help you strengthen friendships. The first meeting will be Sunday, March 2nd from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. at Mocha Lisa’s. The first book is Francine Rivers’ “Unveiled”, a novella about Tamar, a female character in the Bible. Books are available at Amazon.com, CBD.com or walmart.com. For more information, contact Marla at Marla2socal@yahoo.com.

How do we move from burnout to balance? We’re not very comfortable with silence. But, silence is necessary to hear God. Ask Him to help you slow down and be still so you can hear His voice speak to you. No matter where we live, we will have stress and problems. We romanticize places we used to live and think if we could just get back there, we would have less stress and be happier. When was the last time you felt pure joy and excitement about something? We have got to take time to be still and find God again. But how do we start? Use the letters in SLOW to remind you of these four steps:

1. S-Stop the constant push for more. If we’re serious about slowing down, we have to get to the root cause of what it is that’s driving us. What’s the motivation that’s making us rush all the time? Is it pride? Ego? Ambition? These things drive us at a fast and furious pace. We feel if we do more, people will love us more. Once we feel that our self worth is based on what we do rather than who we are, we get into a pattern where we can’t stop the drive for more. How can we find our self-worth? It’s not found in our career or our accomplishments. It’s found in our relationship with Jesus. He has a great unique plan for us to accomplish. In order to slow down, you have to deal with the root motivation about what keeps driving us for more. Having more, doing more, owning more won’t make us happy. Constant comparison is one of the biggest problems with our lives. As long as we’re comparing, we’re going to be prideful and jealous. We have to stop mindless pursuit of more.

2. L-Learn to say No. We get overloaded because we can’t say No. We fool ourselves into thinking things can’t be done or go on without us It’s always easier to get into things than it is to get out of things. It’s so much easier to add things to our schedule than to clear it. We’re trying to carry everything and we can’t add more on. The problem in society is that we are limited – there are limits to how much we can get done in a day. We can’t do it all Everything we say yes to has a price tag attached. Who do we normally cheat? Our families are the ones who end up getting the least of us. If we don’t choose to slow down, circumstances will occur that will force us to slow down. Your health will make you, your family will need your attention, or something else will happen that will force the issue. Slow down now. Learn to say no. Enjoy life. Stop going so fast. Park far away from the store and use the walk in to find some quiet joy. Pick the longest line in the checkout so you can take time to think.

3. O-Operate according to Jesus’ example. Jesus took the time away from everyone to refocus his life and to recharge himself. If God himself took time off by resting on the seventh day, you can take some time off, too. God commands us to take one day off per week. It’s that important. What should you do on that one day? Rest your body. Recharge your emotions. Put yourself around people who feed your well and give you care. Refocus your spirit. Realign your values. Over time, slight misalignments can change and shift everything. Refocus your life on that one day and get back on track. Get back to Jesus.

4. W-Wait for God’s timing. We worry because we think that God doesn’t know what He’s doing. Not only does God have a plan for you, He has it on His time table. It takes time to accomplish God’s plan. Don’t get frustrated because you won’t even be able to understand completely. Just trust God. Maybe you’re asking yourself about your dreams and goals and what you think God’s plan is for you. Trust God. He knows what He’s doing. Trust Him with your hopes, dreams and future here on Earth. Many of us give up too soon. Wait on God.

God took chaos and created a beautiful world. Give all of your life to God and accept Jesus as your life manager and Savior. Join a Growth Group. Commit to coming to the service for the next four weeks to listen to the rest of this series. Wait patiently on the Lord. Make Psalm 51:10 your prayer this week:

PALS (Parents and Little Stars)
The next PALS event will be held on Monday, February 11 @ 11:30 a.m. We will meet and play at Tiny Tots Tea Room in Clifton Park. Cost is $6 per child. Contact Toni at mamalyng@aol.com for more information. PALS is opened to parents with children four years of age and under and is a great way to meet people at NorthStar.

Growth Groups
Our next semester of Growth Groups starts the week of February 3. Make plans to attend a Growth Group because they are the key to getting connected to others here at NorthStar as well as your own personal and spiritual growth. Sign-ups start next week by using the Growth Group Card in your bulletin and placing it in the offering box. For more information, check out www.northstarchurch.com/gg

Ladies Book Club
NorthStar ladies who enjoy reading, this is for you! We will get together once a month to discuss that month’s book and strengthen friendships. The first meeting will be Sunday, March 2nd from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. at Mocha Lisa’s. The first book is Francine Rivers’ “Unveiled”, a novella about Tamar, a female character in the Bible. Books are available at Amazon.com and CBD.com and at the CPHM Library. For more information, contact Marla at Marla2socal@yahoo.com.

Darren Welson- February 2
Anne Skramsted- February 9
Teri Mostoller- February 10
Andy Burke- February 13
Tina Newhouse- February 14
Candy Moulton- February 19
Nicole Schreiber- February 23
John Stallmer- February 26

Modern church is modeled after Temple where meetings were held on Sundays and people also met at each others’ houses during the week.

In addition to meeting on Sunday mornings for service at NorthStar, Growth Groups can help in the spiritual and relational areas of your life. Growth groups are places where you share a meal, study the Bible, do a group community project, have social events and build relationships with others in your church community.

Church is supposed to affect every aspect and every day of your life, not only Sunday mornings. We need someone to share happy times as well as sad times with us. We were made for relationships. We need people in our lives. We’re going to have bad times but we can insulate ourselves from them being so hard. Your Growth Group will be your support during those times.

Here are some of the ways you can get the most out of your relationships.

1. Ask yourself – Am I being real? Don’t be a poser. Don’t act like you have it all together. Our common everyday practice is to confess your sins to each other and pray. If you act like you have it all together, you’re cutting yourself off from getting healed. Your greatest contribution in your life to helping others will be the experience of your most painful issues. We find encouragement if we know someone else is struggling with the same thing. Be realistic. Tell people what you need them to do for you. Be genuine with people.

2. Ask – Whose need can I meet? Give to receive. Go into it thinking that you want to give something away to someone else. It changes the way you look at life. If you know someone has a need in your group, you don’t need to just pray about it. You need to fill the need. Show God’s love not only outside our walls but also inside our walls. Growth Groups give us our prayer ministry. They give us our support.

3. Ask – How can I help with our meeting or relationship? Your satisfaction is what you give into it. How much you put into it will decide what you get out of it. You can get involved with by bringing the meal, leading the prayers, organizing, leading the lesson, leading worship. Ask how you can get personally involved and then do it.

4. Ask – Are my expectations realistic? Is it realistic to expect your Growth Group to meet your needs? How many hats do you wear in life? Demands are placed upon us that are sometimes impossible to meet. We aren’t realistic in our expectations of ourselves or others. It’s totally different when you put yourselves in other people’s shoes. Are you giving people grace and room to grow like you’re wanting them to give you? Growth leaders are human and make mistakes. Be more understanding of what you should expect.

5. Ask – Do I need to confront in love? When you join a Growth Group, you give your group permission to keep you accountable. If someone hurts you, go to tell them about it. If you look forward to having that conversation, you aren’t confronting out of love. You are doing it out of anger. We need people around us to point out what we don’t see. Don’t look the other way when confronting. Do it with a spirit of love.

6. Ask – What can I cut out of my schedule? How can we get more balance in our lives? If you are too busy to attend a Growth Group, you need to cut something out of your schedule. If you do attend and you are busy thinking of places you should be, you won’t be able to focus on God. Attend with an open mind. You can’t know everyone at NorthStar but you can know twelve or fifteen people really well. Change starts with us.

Accept Jesus as your life manager and savior. Join a Growth Group. Be open and honest with my group. Have realistic expectations of your group members.