January 8th WOW Session

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ---Jeremiah 29:11

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• Upward Gaze

Hamster Lessons

Rattle, rattle, rattle, rattle. The noise interrupted Ellie’s sleep for the third consecutive night. She opened her eyes and caught the alarm clock’s red digits staring at her through the darkness. It was 2:30 a.m.—an hour when a house and its occupants should be silent or snoring. Should be. But down the hall, down two flights of stairs, and across the family room, a furry resident—their pet hamster—had decided to wake up and work out. Again.

Worried that the hamster would grow bored sitting it its cage, the kids had purchased and installed a plastic running wheel several days earlier. The creature loved it. Each night, long after the family had fallen asleep, it climbed aboard the yellow wheel and set it spinning round and round and round. Each morning, they found the critter fast asleep in a corner of his cage, exhausted from a night of running in circles.

Have you ever felt like a hamster—stuck on a spinning wheel of endless chores, mounting responsibilities, and more things on your plate than you have time to chew? As women, we tend to race from meeting to meeting, from one obligation straight to the next. Some of us work fifty-hour weeks in a stressful corporate environment. Some of us are frazzled moms of demanding preschoolers. And still others are a part of the “sandwich” generation—that special group of people who find themselves caring for aging parents while still trying to nourish their own growing children.

Too often our lives resemble Ellie’s furry friend. We race from obligation to obligation, from meeting to meeting, from one commitment to the next. In the process, we become run down, disgruntled, and ineffective. Ask yourself this question this month: Does this activity help me fulfill one of God’s purposes for my life? If the answer is yes, then embrace it and give it your all. But if the answer is no, it’s okay to release it—without guilt.

God never intended our lives to mimic a hamster on the wheel. He intends for us to enjoy a happy, healthy, and holy life of abundance!

• Inward Glimpse

1. What do you believe God's purposes are for your life?


2. What changes must you make to pursue those purposes?

• Outward Glance

1. Find one Sister and carry her name and her needs in your heart this month.