Getting a Grip: Finding Balance in Your Daily Life (Interactions) - Softcover

Getting a Grip 11 S E S S I O N 1 GETTING A GRIP GETTING A GRIP ON YOUR LIFE T H E B I G P I C T U R E A mother stopped at her parents' home for just a few moments to pick something up. While she went into the house with her two little children, she left her car running in the driveway. As they were coming back out, her four-yearold boy ran to the car, opened the door, climbed in the driver's seat and accidentally hit the gearshift lever. He put the car into drive and it ran right through the garage door of her parents' house. The mother stood in stunned amazement as she watched the car crash through the door. There was nothing she could do. It was out of her control. Thankfully, no one was injured. Not many days later the woman's husband was driving the same car. He was dropping off a friend at home and his fouryear- old son was sitting in the backseat. As the father was driving up the driveway approaching his friend's garage, he realized that he was on glare ice. He put his foot on the brake but realized it wasn't going to do any good. As the car slid closer to the closed garage door, he said to his friend, 'I think we're in big trouble.' A moment later they crashed through the garage door. His little boy in the backseat quietly said, 'It's okay, Dad, the same thing happened to me last week.' I remember the father saying to me, 'Bill, it is hard to describe how helpless I felt when I realized I was on ice and that there was nothing I could do to stop my car from crashing through my friend's garage door. It was a horrible feeling. I was utterly out of control.' A W I D E A N G L E V I E W 1. Describe in detail a time you experienced being out of control. What feelings gripped your heart at that moment? A B I B L I C A L P O R T R A I T Read Genesis 1:1--27 2. How do you see God creating order out of chaos in the account of creation? What do you learn about the character of God in this passage? 3. Genesis 1:26 says, 'Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'' If human beings are created in the image of God, and God is a God of order, what do you learn about humanity from this passage? S H A R P E N I N G T H E F O C U S Read Snapshot 'An Honest Look at Your Life' Look closely at a few examples of what some lives might look like: AN HONEST LOOK AT YOUR LIFE If you took an honest inventory of your life, you might have to admit that some things are not the way they should be. It is a rare experience to find a person who feels they have a good grip on every area of their life. Most of us struggle with feeling that parts of our life are out of control. If we portrayed our life on a pie graph and were to honestly plot each area, each of our diagrams would look different. Person 1 Person 2 Person 3 Recreation Family Vocation Vocation Fitness Hobbies Friendships Spiritual Growth Family Family Spiritual Growth Recreation Vocation Friendships 4. What observations can you make about the life of one of the people represented above? 5. Take a few minutes and create your own pie graph. Be sure it honestly reflects the levels of priority and commitment in your life. Think about where you are investing your time and energy at this time in your life. Some areas you might want to plot are: your vocation, family life, friendships, recreation, hobbies, spiritual growth, and commitment to developing physical health. Plot these and any other areas that are important to you. What is one observation you can make about yourself by looking at your pie graph? What surprises you as you look at this representation of your life? 6. What is one area of your life in which you feel you have a good and healthy grip? What is contributing to this area being so positive? 7. What area do you need to get a grip on as soon as possible? What is standing in the way of you getting a grip on this area of your life? What needs to change if you are going to finally get a grip on it? Read Snapshot 'It's Time to Get a Grip' 8. In the coming five sessions we will look very closely at five specific areas in which you may need to get a grip on your life. Take a moment and assess your life. On the continuum below, mark where you are right now in each area: My Schedule My Physical Health My Personal Finances IT'S TIME TO GET A GRIP We live in a day and age of delayed responsibility. We hear the ads say, 'Buy today and don't pay for one full year!' Credit card use is at an all-time high. We plan to start dieting and exercising 'tomorrow'--- but we have had these plans every day for the last year! We forget that our actions have consequences, and that lack of action can have just as severe consequences. Waiting, delaying, and procrastinating make change only more difficult. It is time for us to get a grip and face reality. Postponing the battle, delaying the inevitable, and waiting until tomorrow will never make things any easier. If we are going to experience order in our chaotic lives, we need to acknowledge the disorder. We need to admit that things are spinning out of control. It's time to get a grip. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Spinning out I have a loose I have a good grip of control grip on this area on this area 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Spinning out I have a loose I have a good grip of control grip on this area on this area 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Spinning out I have a loose I have a good grip of control grip on this area on this area 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Spinning out I have a loose I have a good grip of control grip on this area on this area 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Spinning out I have a loose I have a good grip of control grip on this area on this area My Spiritual Growth My Relationships Identify one area of your life that your small group members can begin praying for you to grow and get a grip on in the coming weeks. 9. What is your strongest area right now? How can your small group members help you celebrate the strength you are experiencing in this area of your life? P U T T I N G Y O U R S E L F I N T H E P I C T U R E TIME INVENTORY Take time in the coming week to take an honest assessment of how much time you spend doing the following things: Amount of time in Item: a week: * Work and work-related activities ________ * Hobbies and recreational activities ________ * Watching TV ________ * Exercising and developing physical health ________ * Being with friends ________ * Time with your spouse (if married) ________ * Time with children (if you have them) ________ * Time reading the Bible and praying ________ * Time in worship and with other followers of Christ ________ * Other things you do: ____________________________________ ________ ____________________________________ ________