I am excited about today's post as we continue considering comfort zones. Perhaps you've noticed I have curated seven posts about every topic in this year's series, A Year of Listening Up. I do this because, it 1.) helps me grow and expand my knowledge, 2.) injects a voice into 1Glories that is not my own, and 3.) gives other bloggers generate traffic to their own blogs/websites. It's a very tangible way in which we can all grow up and grow together. Here are seven wonderful posts, articles and/or sermons about going beyond our comfort zones. They all have a different slant on the concept and are quite enlightening. I pray they will speak to you, challenge you and encourage you. And, as always, if you have a post related to the topic, feel free to share in the comments.

Comfort Zones and Nudging Beyond Them - 7 Posts

Are you a Shark or a Goldfish? (Jon Gordon): This is a newsletter article Jon Gordon sent to subscribers discussing his 2009 book, The Shark and the Goldfish: Positive Ways to Thrive During Waves of Change. He explains how a layoff, and the uncertainty that accompanies change, led to him finding his life’s work. Change forces us to live, think and be outside our comfort zones. On that note;

The waves of change are always coming our way. But when the wave hits we have a choice. We can embrace it and ride it to a successful future or resist it and get crushed by the wave.

In water life, a Goldfish will become paralyzed by fear remaining in its comfort zone while waiting for someone to feed it. Sharks move forward with faith and they take action. They trust that their best days are ahead of them, not behind them. Creating a Business from Outside the Comfort Zone (Carol Graham – Hey Little Rebel): In this wonderful post, Carol shares how being nudged from her comfort zone left her feeling terrified, intimidated and, yet, highly motivated. She launched a business and gained an opportunity to feed a thousand people with just one cake. A challenge that sounds familiar to someone I know. (Matthew 14:13-21) Don’t Just Attend Multi-Cultural Events, Live Multi-Cultural Lives (J.D. Greear): This does not speak to comfort zones per se, rather, it speaks to the unity found in multi-culturalism. It’s From 2014, in which Greear suggests:

That’s why I say we are in a kairos moment regarding race. “Kairos” is a Greek word for time that implies a specially appointed moment in history. I believe that God has appointed this moment in the world for the church to rise up and demonstrate a unity in Christ that the world yearns for but has been unable to accomplish. What the flesh is unable to do through the law, God does in the gospel.

This statement contains as much - maybe more - truth and enlightenment now than when first written. As Greear says; “God did not call us to put on a multi-cultural display on the weekend, but to live out a multi-cultural wonder throughout the week.” We would be wise to step out of our comfort zones and seek God’s favor in making that happen. Today Was One of the Best Days of My Life… (Matthew Paul Turner): I love how Turner says that being pushed from his comfort zone took him to a place that allowed “grace to ferment” on a day and experience he’ll remember the rest of his life. That’s the power of the Holy Spirit at work. That day began simple enough, with a humble request:

“God, I believe you exist in every detail. Help me to see a glimpse of you today.”

Growth Happens Outside the Comfort Zone. (Anita Mathias's – Dreaming Beneath the Spires): Anita shares an observation of rowers who must choose between listening to a man with a bullhorn to get better or turn a deaf ear to him and lose the race as well as a spot on the team. As she says; “If they do not push themselves, their world shrinks.” It’s how we grow. Not from sitting quietly in a room, but from doing. Doing “things at which one is likely to fail, and then failing, and humbling oneself to ask for help. Or better still, succeeding and then accepting a new challenge. Growth comes from learning.” The (Dis)comforts of Wealth (Skye Jethani): In this great sermon, Tethani talks about his experiences watching The Martian. An unexpect seating arrangement had him distracted and uncomfortable. It got him pondering the reality that our aggressive pursuit of comfort as a means for feeling “nothing at all” - and there is risk in that, because it deadens the soul. Jethani uses Luke 16 to show how our comfort (particularly that of wealth), blinds us to the needs of others. Why Christian Case Makers Need to Learn a New Language (J. Warner Wallace - The Christian Apologetics Alliance): Wallace presents his experience as a gang detail and undercover officer in which he had to learn an entire new culture, language, norms to “understand the desires, ambitions, concerns and motivations of young men who were often on the wrong side of the law.” If you’re trying to reach people for Christ, he shares four tips you’ll want to keep in mind. As he says, “It’s time to step out of your comfort zone and into the world of those you are trying to reach.”