“Wholesome Chaos” by Pastor Randy

Happy Monday and Welcome Back to the “Refill with Randy” Blog!!!

Ok, technically I was the one who left for a few weeks but I’m glad to reconnect with you either way. I will share about some of my adventures while away in future posts, including this Wednesday’s All New Episode of “Refill with Randy” on FB & YouTube, but for today I wanted to give you a glimpse into my life these days.

Wholesome Chaos is a favorite podcast of mine by a Christian Dad & Daughter (Dan & Maggie Thurmon) who gained fame on TikTok for their positive messages and funny dance numbers. Check it out!

Wholesome chaos is also a good way to describe the life of an evangelist, preacher, husband, and father like myself. When people ask me how I am doing it’s hard not to answer with the typical, “keeping busy”, but there is a lot of truth in that statement.

On a typical week I wear many hats and serve in many different roles. In addition to the aforementioned evangelist, pastor, husband, and father I am also…

• President of Go Scatter Ministries
• Uber/Bus Driver for all of my kid’s school & sports
• Spiritual Care & Bereavement Counselor at Supportive Care (Hospice) of Orleans
• Blogger
• Sheriff’s Chaplain
• Care-Net Pastoral/ Peer Counselor
• Host of “Refill with Randy”
• Event Photographer
• Hands 4 Hope Volunteer
• Provider of Spiritual Care via Social Media
• Community Pastor/ Coffee Shop Chaplain
• Cupbearer to our cats
• Financial Advisor
• I.T.
• Graphic Designor
• Guest Speaker
• Missionary
• Sounding Board
• Friend

I could keep going but you get the picture. I am not listing these off to say “Look at me. Look at all I do” but simply to share with you that the old joke about a pastor working only 1 hr. a week needs to be retired ASAP. I also expect that most of you can relate to what it is like to try to keep a lot of plates spinning at the same time, trying to meet a lot of different expectations (many self-imposed), and trying to be all things to all people all the time.

You know who else had many different hats, many different expectations put upon him, and met the needs of many people? That’s right… JESUS! The main difference between Jesus and me though (and there are many) us that he prepared himself for a life of Wholesome Chaos by practicing two things as illustrated in this account from…

Mark‬ ‭1:35-39‬ “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him. When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.” (NLT‬‬)

1. He started the day in prayer away from all the other voices vying for his attention and talked to His Father about what He should do.
2. He learned to say NO to those things that others thought he should do but did not fit into God;s Agenda.

Throughout my ministry I have struggled to implement these same practices with different degrees of success and one thing I know is that when I do them consistently well I am more effective for the Kingdom, more at peace at the end of the day, and ultimately a better friend, family member, communicator, caregiver, example, etc. to those who God has called me into community with.

So, how about you? Do you ever get frustrated with how busy you are? Is it because others are demanding too much? Or is it because you say Yes too often because you listen to others vs taking the time to listen to The One Who wants to put you on the path to fulfill a purpose in this life that will impact others and impact His Kingdom?

I urge you to take some time today as we start a new week to get away to a place where you can tune into the voice of God and shut all others out. This may mean physically going somewhere or simply turning off your phone, PC, and tablets for 20 min. If you start to make this a habit, I would suggest at the start of each day, then I believe you will end each day feeling less frenzied and more fulfilled.

Give it a try even for a week or two and then let me know what happened. Did your call become clearer? Did it become easier to say no to the suggestions of others, not because they weren’t asking you to do good things but because God had better things in mind? Or did you sense something else happen as a side effect of spending that solitary time listening to The Lord.

PLEASE MESSAGE ME AND LET ME KNOW!!! 😇