Reinvent Your Life

Written by Tom and Christine Sine

This article is courtesy of Christian Single magazine.

Life can seem little more than a fast-paced, exhausting blur at times. It's possible to find a less-stressed, more satisfying way of life — a way of life that counts for something, a way of life that really matters. Jesus showed us how: We can give ourselves to a dream that calls us beyond ourselves. We can make God's purposes our purposes.
 

Soul Mission: Establishing Your Life's Strategic Priorities

People from Miami to the Twin Cities and from Boston to Seattle are being intentional about taking their lives back. They're rediscovering an easier rhythm of life that is more in touch with their Creator and what He created them to do. They're finding a way of life that is less stressful and more celebrative, a way of life with more time and resources for the things that matter most.  
 
Allison is a single mom in Denver whose life is a constant balancing act. She lives in a chronic whirlwind of parenting two pre-school daughters, working, serving at church, and finding time for friendships. Allison confessed she feels like she is failing as a mom; she goes to work exhausted and feels defeated in her personal life. But she refuses to continue to live this way. She has started counseling to get help in reordering her priorities.
 
Cheryl is a 33-year-old nurse in Houston who has recently gone through a tough divorce. Her response was to submerge herself in her job, as many singles do, until she had a breakdown. It took almost a year to get her life sorted out. Cheryl recommitted her life to Christ and reordered her life by cutting back on work hours, making time to hang out with friends, and getting more involved in her church. She is enjoying a much more satisfying way of life.

What's the Purpose?
For too many of us, busyness has become the "applauded addiction." We are encouraged, sometimes even pushed, to fill our lives with meaningless stuff until there's no room for God or anything else that really matters. The problem is that this stuff — activities, work, money — doesn't fulfill our deep longing for purpose. We'll never find God's best for us simply by trying to get ahead in our careers or getting a bigger piece of the rock.
 
The process of reinventing your life begins with finding God's purpose for your life and sorting out your priorities. Focus on your purpose and then determine how to make changes in your life to live it out.

• Find God's call on your life. To find purpose for our lives, we need to be reminded of God's purposes through the study of His Word. Contrary to what our culture and even some churches try to tell us, God's notion of happiness is not focused on us and our needs.
  
• Make time to get away. Go some place where you can discover how to connect your life and God's purposes. God is speaking to us all the time, so if we don't hear Him, it's probably because we aren't listening so well.

Focused and Festive Living
Once you've discerned your sense of calling, try to write it in a single sentence. Include some of the Scripture you studied earlier. This mission statement will actually help you focus as you seek to reinvent your life into one that really makes a difference. It will help you find God's best for you — a less-stressed, more festive way of life where you put first things first.
 
Paul, for example, is a young accountant whose mission statement is simply "to be God's Jubilee in my community." He was deeply moved by the needs of poorer people in his community; his mission statement motivated him to do something about it. He started a ministry in his free time to help those in need start small businesses. As a part of this ministry, he helped churches in the community put on jubilee celebrations and block parties.
 
Maureen had recently walked through a difficult time of losing both of her parents and several of her closest friends. Out of her personal devastation, she discovered God was calling her to refocus her life to come alongside others going through tragic loss. Her mission statement contained a passage out of Isaiah 58:12: "to reclaim the land and rebuild the walls" of those suffering loss. As a result, Maureen has gone back to school to pursue a degree in counseling so she can respond to her sense of God’s call.

Put on the Wheels
After you've roughed out a beginning mission statement, the next step is to actually put wheels under it.

• Cut it out! Once you know God's purposes for your life, you can cut out the stuff that doesn't line up. Where can you free up time or money to pursue God's purposes? Pray for courage to do what it takes, even if it sounds pretty radical.
  
• Time's up. Take your weekly calendar, and prayerfully review your commitments. Get rid of everything that doesn't line up with God's call on your life. It might mean cutting your hours at work or quitting a part-time job and doing with less spending money. It might mean cutting time spent watching TV or even serving on a church committee. Once you've freed up your time, resist the urge to immediately fill your life with different activities. It's OK to have time to go for a walk with a friend or sit in the park and connect with God through His creation.
  
• Check it out. Examine your checkbook next. Examine your assets and budget in light of God's purposes. Think of ways you can reduce your debt to increase your flexibility. Dan, for example, is a successful 27-year-old businessman making a sizeable income, but he had a serious problem with credit card debt. His solution was to cut up all cards but one — which he froze in a block of ice. Resist spending the income you've freed up.
  
• Make a change. Once you've freed up time and money, set goals for every part of your life — such as your spiritual journey, relationships, exercise, budget, entertainment. Every goal should line up with your sense of God's call on your life. Share your goals with others; they can provide accountability and help you identify the easiest place to start making changes.

Too many changes at once can be overwhelming, so start small and make changes gradually. Once you've successfully developed one new discipline, celebrate it and move on to another area. This is your opportunity to create a way of life you can love.
 
God wants to help you discover how He can use you to make a difference — if only you have the time. You can take charge of your life now. Grab a few friends and begin the journey to discover a way of life you can love.

Tom and Christine Sine help Christians in many countries to creatively live out their faith in a rapidly changing world. They live with their Golden Retriever in Seattle, sponsor a ministry called Mustard Seed Associates [www.msainfo.org], and teach as adjuncts at Fuller Seminary. They’ve written numerous books including Living on Purpose: Finding God's Best For Your Life, from which this article is drawn.