I've been trying to keep up with my daily dose of Brennan Manning since my friend Kim gave me a copy of The Ragamuffin Gospel:  Good News for the Bedraggled, Burnt Out, and Beat Up.
Today I read an insight of his that casts some light on what I think a lot of us are working through this season:  trying to do enough, or the other side-feeling bad about not trying enough.

"American spirituality still seems to start with self, not with God.  Personal responsibility replaces personal response...The emphasis is always on what I do rather than on what God is doing in my life.  In this macho approach God is reduced to a benign old spectator on the sidelines...We become convinced that we can do a pretty good job of following Jesus if we just, once and for all, make up our minds and really buckle down to do it."

How freeing it is, indeed, to not put off letting Jesus work until we have it all put together.  I can think of a million reasons why I'm not firing on all cylinders right now-and if I can only___________ than I'll get right with Jesus.

We can almost instinctively talk about our debt, having small kids, not kicking our bad habits, our living situation, our poor diet, or lack of exercise as if they are God's major barriers-not just our struggles or limitations.  Let's own the limitations as ours (not God's), and let our redemption come from Christ (not us).

Jesus works beyond circumstance.  If you're having a hard time right now, that's okay.  We all do, we're not there yet.  Rather than overly dwelling on limitations we can own them/admit them, let Jesus in, and follow him on to new life.

I think Christ has a lot to say about it beyond our circumstance/need/limitations/sin/brokenness/struggle.  How are you responding to what Jesus is doing  in you?  How are you responding to what Jesus is doing in your cell?  How are we responding to what Jesus is doing in the megalopolis?