A little Monday exercise for your journaling <3

Happy day after Easter to you!

Since last week was rightfully devoted heavier thoughts for Holy Week, and since we all know that everything is turned upside down in the world right now and it is basically all we talk about lately, I thought maybe we could work through a little exercise …

(not physical!! Don’t tune out on me!!!! ) ….

that I did in my journal this morning. 

I was reading from Oswald Chambers’ writing in My Utmost for His Highest so for reference here is the gist of his message:

Using this passage from Psalm 55:22…Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will sustain you. And in my own my mind I added the passages of Matthew 11 where Jesus offers us to take His yoke when we are feeling overwhelmed by our burdens. 

I made notes in my journal that look like this:

Important to learn which burdens are right to carry and which are wrong to carry.

No —> sin and doubt (not meant to carry these as Christ followers)

Yes —> the burdens of my calling and responsibilities assigned to me by God

BUT I must then cast OFF the no’s and roll the yes’s back on to Him.

Completely release the first and place ONE END of the second onto God, while retaining my share. 

Commit to Him whatever burdens He has placed on me. 

Don’t cast them aside BUT instead —> put it over on Him and place myself there with Him in the work. 

It is not our goal to separate ourselves from the burdens He places on us, but to roll them also on to His shoulders and bear them together. 

my notes taken from April 13 My Utmost for His Highest; Oswald Chambers, edited by James Reimann; Discovery House Publishers, 1992 by Oswald Chambers Association Publications LLC

From this taking of notes, I moved on to writing this prayer:

Lord, I pray You to show me this morning the burdens I am carrying that I shouldn’t be and then the ones that I need to roll over on to Your shoulders.

My next step was to think about what I would say is weighing me down lately and then I made two columns like this:

Need to cast away:

Need to roll over:

From here I thought about what I would call a “weight” on me and then I would carefully consider which column it needed to fall under. 

In the interest of not over sharing what is personal to me I will use this one example. 

I placed “Worries about the economy” under cast away because I know Jesus has commanded me to not worry about things I need physically to exist in this world, so that is a burden I am not meant to carry. 

But I also carry a burden for how I use the resources I do have. And that is a burden I am meant to carry so I wrote, “Responsibilities to steward all that we have been given,” under the roll over column. 

I want and need to share the working out of stewardship with God’s leading and guidance. 

So it would look something like this:

Need to cast away: Worries about the economy from Covid

Need to roll over: Responsible use of gifts/resources

I continued my two lists for some other current burdens and loads on my mind, heart, emotions and then when I finished I drew a little picture of what it looked like. 

You can see I am not a great artist, my handwriting hasn’t improved and I desperately need to see my hairdresser….but I do like to use pictures to help me visualize what I need to be doing in my spiritual and physical life. 

Looking at my simple drawing helped me as I intentionally focused on casting away the burdens that I have placed on myself and asked God to help me with the ones He has assigned. 

I have to move forward today living out this transaction from this morning. When anxiety or worry starts to crop up, I need to remember those arrows pushing them away from me and I need to pray to God to help me carry out what needs to be done to tend to what has been given us today by Him.

I hope you get something out of this little object lesson and I hope you are also reviewing all the stresses and heavy things presenting themselves as yours to carry today.

I hope you will, in your own style and way, ask God which are His to be shared in fellowship with Him and which you need to dump on the roadside and leave behind. 

Remember HE IS FOR US…not against us!

Sending hugs and prayers for your Monday to be lighter and shared with the One who loves you so much <3