Content or Complacent?

Ok, so I will be the first to admit that I am not the greatest writer. In fact, my wife will probably read this, print it off, butcher it with red pen, and then hand it to me dutifully, with a cute mischievous smile on her face as if she did me some favor. (Sprinkle some sarcasm on that too!) No, I am only kidding. (Sort of)

I think that a lot of people use their blog in a negative way. Some people have very poor communication skills, and like myself, struggle in the area of positive confrontation. Consequently, their blog is used as a way to rail people around them for whatever reason that they can come up with, and then justify it in their "boldness." I think that is crazy, and I never want this blog to be one to voice my problems that I can't deal with. That being said, everyone needs to vent every now and then, so I may put up issues that are frustrating to me, or that excite me. I would love to hear your comments. I hope that through this, I am able to connect with a lot of new people on a daily basis. So if you stop by, and you like what you see, or even if you don't, leave me a comment. I would love to hear what you have to say.

So hear is what I am thinking right now:

A good buddy a while back gave me some encouragement after I told him that I struggle with having a daily quiet time. I told him that no matter how hard I tried, I could never get that 5,10, 15 minute, or how ever long it's supposed to be "time with God" everyday. It felt like something always interfered. When I did have that time, it was always filled with very distracting thoughts. I found myself to be caught up in a religious habit of doing something that really no longer had any meaning in my life. Now before I go any further, let me say that I think that it is important to daily commune with God through prayer, reading the word, and by just being still and knowing he is God. But that was not at all what I was doing. I was just being religious, staring at pages with lots of black words, daydreaming, and not really growing in my relationship with my creator. What I have learned is that when I grow in my relationship with my heavenly father the most, it is when I thirst for him. Having a quiet time with God from the heart of dreadful obligation is like force feeding yourself bottled water when your not thirsty. And sometimes, honestly, I wasn't thirsty. I hate to say that but it's true. The thing is, I am only thirsty when I am running the race. I am NOT usually thirsty when I am NOT exercising spiritually. I find that when I don't share my faith, when I don't give my best, when I don't live my life as an act of worship, and when I don't want God anywhere around, I find that I really don't need to be replenished. I am not running the race. I have become complacent. What a vicious cycle.

So my question is, are you content in your relationship with your heavenly father, or complacent? What about in your job? Your family? Your relationships? I feel like God has wired us, and inspired to want to put our best foot forward. But why don't we? I know I need LOTS of work in all those areas. My most fresh point of inspiration in this area is in James 1. I won't quote it, you go read it. Persevere. It builds faith. Are you content, or complacent?

Josh