Time to be accountable

Today I took coffee to my friend Michelle's house but I had another motive than just getting some caffeine and chatting. She's a new friend because recently I moved from Montana to Little Rock, Arkansas. Michelle works at my husband's office and we hit it off.

Recently, Michelle asked me to be an accountability partner, and I immediately said yes. In the past I've connected with friends in this way and it's really helped me on my Christian walk. Even though the word 'accountability' sounds overwhelming, I've found it's good just to have someone to talk to about: 1) things that are going well, 2) things that aren't going so well, and 3) how I'm dealing with them. As we chat, Michelle asks me questions about these things, and I ask her too.

Yet perhaps the most important part of meeting together is prayer and sharing God's Word. Today when we met Michelle and I spent five minutes praying for each other. Also during out talk, we brought in God's point-of-view on things. When Michelle was sharing her struggles, I talked about a Bible verse I had recently read that applied. Then, she did the same with me. Michelle not only shared her thoughts, she also reminded me of God's thoughts.

Have you ever considered having an accountability partner? Maybe you should think about it. Look around and think of someone who you enjoy being with—someone who is encouraging to you. This person doesn't have to have a perfect relationship with God, neither do you. In fact, hopefully through your time together you'll not only grow closer to each other, but closer to Him, too.

Perhaps you already have someone you share all the details of your life with. If so, consider taking that relationship to a new level. Pray, read Scripture, or read a devotional book together. Even best friends can become closer if they open up their whole lives to each other.

What's the Difference?

So here I am bushwhacking my way toward a deadline. Well, it seems that way. You should see my house right now, in its neglected state. No, never mind—you should not see it. And if you do show up at my door, you enter at your own risk. No guarantee you’ll find me.

But I am here, and right now I’m pondering the topic of Internet use gone wild. One guy I talked to recently admitted he was completely pulled in—he would say “addicted”—to MySpace, WoW, and porn.

He told me, “You reach a certain point after a while—and it doesn’t take much—where boom! your conscience is seared and you convince yourself that what you’re doing is OK. Your innocence is drained. You can do it, and do it, and do it all day long.”

That's intense!

In trying to overcome his Internet obsessions, he said an "accountability partner" wouldn’t work for him unless that person was willing to sit next to him every time he got online—which would be a lot. Otherwise, alone he could go online and do whatever he wanted, and then it wouldn’t bother him one bit to have to confess it.

Here’s the thing that got me: He said, though an accountability partner wouldn’t work for him, a godly mentor would—someone who could pour God into his life.

After we talked some more, I realized he saw the "accountability partner" as someone who checked up on him, kept him on track with what he was supposed to do—even if he couldn't, or wouldn't, honestly aspire to their standards.

On the other hand, to him, the "mentor" would be the person who took the time to be in relationship with him and to help spur him toward being in relationship with God.

In his mind, the mentor relationship is the one that would make a difference--the one that would lead to God transforming him deeply and impacting his online choices.

Sure changes up my thinking about friendship, accountability, and mentoring. Still thinking about this one. If you have any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

Jan

http://www.choose2livefree.com/