One of the things I love about being in Africa is the slow pace of life. (I have had the blessing of traveling there 9 times to minister in four different nations.)
Now I will admit, it can be so slow at times that it can become irritating. I remember one time in particular, in an area outside of Kampala, Uganda. I was up and ready, waiting promptly for the time I had been given to go and minister Sunday morning. Twenty minutes later, I called my host. He assured me he was on his way. An hour later, he arrived. (I remember thinking I could have gotten another hour’s worth of sleep like he probably did.)
You might think he lied to me. However, this is an area where cultures collide. I have come to learn when an African gives you a time for something, it usually means that is when you start getting ready for the event (and come whenever you are ready). And if someone tells you they are on their way, it means they are doing things toward getting ready, not that they are in the car enroute.
Was I late to minister? Nope. Since this is a cultural thing, and time means something totally different to them, people were just starting to arrive.
So, now in Africa, whenever I am given a time for something, we always laugh because I make them clarify to me, “Is that American time, or African time?” And I make sure they know when I need something to be American time. (African time just doesn’t work when you need to catch a plane to come home!)
I really do love being in Africa, and I love the Africans, because their emphasis is people and relationships.
One day in Busia, my dear Ugandan friend Sarah 
and I were walking down the road on a specific errand. As we passed one of the little market stores, someone came out and waved. We stopped to say hello, and next thing I knew, plastic chairs suddenly appeared and we were sitting in them, enjoying a soda. After about half an hour, we went on our way to complete the errand.
I always have a hard time coming back to the States, knowing my relaxing pace of life is about to end.
Our society prides itself on being busy. How often have you asked someone how they are doing, and the answer is telling you how busy they are? That seems to be the “standard” of whether or not your life is really important.
What has all of our busyness gotten us? Constantly being weary and tired!
Every year I ask God to give me a scripture He wants me to meditate on for that year. In 2014 it was Isaiah 30:15, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength” (NJKV). This verse is loaded with truth that I am still unpacking! (If you read that verse in a hurry, you might want to go back and read it s-l-o-w-l-y…)
Hebrews chapter three is all about coming into a place of rest. This is talking about both in our souls, and physically. I have discovered as I throw off the busyness, and slow down in my activities, it makes it much easier to calm my soul, and live in a place of peace and contentment.
This has to start with a shift in our mind set. Busyness does not equal importance. It does not equal a fulfilled life. Life should be about relationships; first with God, and then with others. But too often we are so busy doing the “stuff,” that the relationships are what get pushed aside.
If you are thinking you can’t slow down – you can’t take any time to just relax, or that you will spend time with others later, after ______ (fill in the blank) then please see that as a red engine light in your life. There may not be a later, for you, or for them. We know this in our head, but don’t really believe it (until our world is shattered with a death).
If you would like some specific things you can do to consciously slow down and live your life at a less busy and rushed pace, I have put together a list of suggestions. Click on the link below, and you will be taken to our library page. Just follow the instructions to access and/or download the PDF.
Seven Tips On How To Slow Down and Enjoy Life
So now you know how to do something 
like the Africans. Slow down, and take the time to be with God, and with those around you. Be African with me.
Gems from the Crown is a weekly blog from Crown of Glory Ministries to strengthen and encourage believers in Christ in their walk with God, especially in the areas of vision, authority, and identity. If you would like to have Gems from the Crown delivered directly to you, please click here.
“spiritual handyman” to fix everything, how about if we trust God to do things His own way, and ask Him to help us rise above the problems? That would be through His grace (His divine empowerment) which, by the way, He tells Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is all you need. Only when you are weak can everything be done completely by my power.” (ERV)
I tell people that God is my wheelchair! I depend on Him for everything. It is my personal relationship with Him that gets me through this life, and I must say, I don’t know how others live life without Him.
virtue…” Do you know what virtue is? It is doing what is right, and doing it the best way you possibly can, even when no one is looking. Virtue includes encouraging others to do the right thing, and doing what is right, even if it means you stand alone.
(added to you your faith). God has to be able to trust you with the little things, first. I tell the kids around me all the time, “The little things ARE the big things.” We grow in virtue by doing day-to-day things. Things like kids who want to have a pet sometimes need to prove they are ready to take care of it, by proving they are responsible by doing other things like keeping their room clean and helping with house work. That is actually growing in virtue!
pressure herself into that kind of a false image. She humorously decided her ministry was to have people over, letting them see her house messy and lived in, so they would feel better about their own houses. (And the result was more friends started inviting her to visit them, because they no longer cared how their house looked when she came.)
to change themselves to meet someone’s image of perfect (which is unattainable)?
need to eat better, or do something to move our bodies around more to be healthier than we are. (I fall into both of those categories.) But let’s do it for health reasons, because we know our bodies are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and we are to be good stewards of the body He has given us. Let it be because of the conviction of the Holy Spirit, knowing it is the direction He is taking us.
bring life into this world. If that has changed how I look, I consider it an honor and a gift from you that my body is reflecting that blessing. I am determined not to compare myself with others anymore. Teach me how to be content, confident, and happy with who I am, both on the inside where only you can see, and also on the outside at what those around me can see. 
by other children when we were young. Or we still feel the effects of being rejected by cruel classmates in school. We can be rejected by bosses and co-workers. We can experience a very painful rejection by our own children whom we love and did our best to raise, or face the ugly monster of rejection through an agonizing divorce.
That is a dangerous thing, and it sets you up for more rejection.
identity is based on what He says about us, we can be sure that we are not going to be faced with His rejection. He paid a very high price – far above gold or silver or any amount of money, to make sure we can be free from the effects of the kingdom of darkness and any rejection we received in our lives.
