Learning to Eat Daily
When I neglect being one on one with God for a season, life is more overwhelming, depressing and the daily chores become all that I can manage (and sometimes more than I can). But when I am continually aiming to be saturated by God's character, by His life in me, by reading His word, memorizing important scriptures, and just sitting and listening to Him. I have never regretted one second of my time.
When I do this I am also so much more likely to be tuned to what is being said in Church as well- I don't sit there thinking of my To Do lists or of who we will get together with afterwards. Because I am more united to his moving I can feel it all and hear it all so much more clearly when I am accustomed to how He sounds. If Christ needed daily communion with His father, why do we expect to wander through life on so much less than that. We so often get busy and put it off, or never had a plan to spend a second with Him at all in the first place. But then we forgo the daily bread that God gives our soul to feast on. Those days are much more fleshly focoused, and need oriented- because we haven't taken the time to feed our spiritual man.
If you don't even know where to start, or feel just so dried out spiritually where nothing can reach you- ease in one little toe at a time, don't lay pressures on yourself that God hasn't placed there. Take it easy, but don't stay there, move closer and closer at every chance you get. I enjoy reading a daily devotional book after I've read the Bible, or sometimes before. I can't recommend My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers enough. It should never take the place of you reading the bible for yourself, but when read along with the Word of God it is life changing. I love reading it. I enjoy reading the short little segments even throughout the day to get me re- focused on what is actually important in life.
There is much to be gleaned from the men of God that have walked before us. I am humbled by what I have read, revived, and refreshed-when we neglect to spend time with Him daily we miss His utmost in our lives, and are settling for much less than we can imagine. I challenge you to take up your Bible daily and read for yourself what God means to speak to you- you will not want to, your flesh will fight it, but in a daily devotion time with Christ you will be filled and even better, you will begin to look more like Him.
Spending that time with God daily was never meant to be a burden on us, but it can feel that way. It is not an obligation, or a duty but a reward- a deep time of heaven on earth time with the Creator. A time where He can lay His burdens on your heart, put your perspectives in order, and challenge you to see and do new things.
Today is a mighty fine time to start!!
I'll leave you with a little tidbit from My Utmost for His Highest:
Keep your life so constant in its contact with God tht His suprising power may break out on the right hand and on the left. Always be in a state of expectancy, ad see that you leave room for God to com in as He likes (p.25).
Our ordinary wits never worship God unless they are transfigured by the indwelling Son of God. We have to see that this mortal flesh is kept in perfect subjection to Him and that He works through it moment by moment. Are we living in such human dependence upon Jesus Christ that His life is being manifested moment by moment? (p. 222).
I'd love to hear what you do in your daily devotional time! Some people read one proverb a day in addition to their reading, others read a certain number of chapters from the Bible. What has worked best for you? Do you have a devotional book that you enjoy reading as well?
A Journey in Simplicity: Fasting for Simplification and To Be Re-Sensitized
Even though it hurts, for me to be useful and purposeful in life I need to shed pieces that hold me back and tether my desires, dreams and goals to anything other than Christ and what He has called me to. I challenge you to sit down and make a list right now, things you know hold you back, waste your time and/or are not glorifying to God.
There are some questions I am answering for myself (from The Rewards of Simplicity) that you may want to consider too:
Here is a list to help us start evaluating our time and energy:
- List your top priorities. What is most important to you? What (or Whom) do you value most?
- List your commitments. Consider everything, including work, church, household, family, children's extracurricular activities, hobbies, freelance work, even leisure time. Which of these commitments do you value most? Which of these fit into the top priorities you have already listed?
- Account for your time. How do you spend your waking hours? From the time you get up until the time you go to sleep, what are you doing with your time? Are you using any of your time for your top priorities? (Questions from p. 65)
Life is different for us all, and those of us with small kids know that while we would love life to flow efficiently so as to complete our tasks and enjoy life, it doesn't seem to work that way. Yet there are always things we can work on, no matter what stage of life you are in there are things that have crept in that you could do without.
Grab your list of priorities, commitments and time. Looking at each item on your list consider this:
- Does it add meaning/value to my life?
- How important is this to me?
- Does this conflict with or enhance my priorities?
- Cold I eliminate this from my life? (Questions from p.66)
Once you answer those questions honestly (which is a huge battle in itself) it is time to take action, you can do that in different ways. You could choose to eliminate one item off your list for a few days or a week, and then reevaluate. You should be able to determine quicky if it should be a permanent carving out or a toning down of that item.
Make sure you are doing this with the right motivation, " it is important to keep in mind the motivation for evaluating our time commitments and priorities-love. When we approach this evaluation with the three keys of simplification-faith, focus and function-we can be confident that the Holy Spirit will be controling the pencil".(The Rewards of Simplicity, p. 67)
After answering these questions, you may also decide to try a season of media fast, you have some different options to try:
- Cold turkey, see the problem and eliminate it all the way for a week. Keep up on email and/or use internet for work and essential research only.
- If that seems intense, try one day without electronic media of any kind. Again email and necessary research is okay for work.
- Take your pick of one of your problem media sources, one at a time eliminate it for a day or two or a week. Start with a firm goal in mind though.
Is that a lot to think about or what?! I need to answer these questions myself tonight and be honest with where I am at If you would like to take this walk with me you are welcome to follow along in comments, sending me an email if you are a more private sort of person, or just doing it without a word. Pray about what steps you should take to remove the clutter from your life.
Tomorrow (Monday) I am going to share with you what you should be doing during your media fast, it is interesting I think how a fast can leave you more nourished than when you have an array of foods (in our case media foods) to sample. This will be a great journey, so pray, make your lists, and check in tomorrow!
If you are just tuning in now and are interested in joining us be sure and check out my first post about this voyage:
A Journey in Simplicity: Starting Out
A Celebration of Harvest
This is a time of excitement for those who grow their own food because in September and October it is time to reap in the produce that was seeded in the Spring, and cared for through the hot Summer. A pumpkin has come to signify the end of the harvesting, and right now the fields are ripe with bright orange sunsets all day long. It is a huge sense of relief now because all that could be done has been done and it is time to celebrate!
I love that we can see the food being grown all around us, it reminds us to be getting ready for the next holiday, the holiday in which we give thanks for that years blessings, for God's provision and for the health of our families. God has most certainly been good this year, but really he is good every year.
Because we have been in harvest mode for the last several months, this verse from the Bible has been worn into the blisters in my hands. The rush to store, and can all that the vines and bushes produce before the nights get too cold and ruin the fruit. It all just speaks to me in a real way now. And yes, more hands always lighten the load and make the work much less tedious.
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Matthew 9:37
Is there a verse or quote that life helped you understand better? Do tell.
gather together
Each week we pick a night to worship together and read the Bible. The boys (and the daddy) play their guitars with me as we sing "Jesus Loves Me" (the ALL TIME favourite), and then they put down their instruments so that they can sing the remaining songs with me.
After a worship time we read out of the Bible, this year we are learning more about the fruits of the spirit. January is the Love month, we learn about how God loves, how we need to love and pray that God would help us love. Both B and I have felt God leading us to seek the fruits of the spirit much more seriously. The boys love learning about the fruits. These are sweet times we get to spend together.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against which there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
Operation Actually Read Bible
![[operationactuallyreadbible.jpg]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jCQ0uUrG60g/SObKD_qoZYI/AAAAAAAAAF4/vEc2fr44yeA/s1600/operationactuallyreadbible.jpg)
I am using the Into Thy Word Bible Reading Guide, I am starting a month late, but hope to make up my lost time. This is the most important book to me. I am going to try to read it all this year. I will cross off the books as I go along.
This challenge is hosted by becky at Operation Actually Read Bible. Just in case you'd like to read along and talk about it with me, you can go to the first link. I will check off the chapters on a regular basis as I get to it below. If you are interested in reading this way too, let me know.
Genesis 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Exodus 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Leviticus 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Deuteronomy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
Joshua 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Judges 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Ruth 1 2 3 4
1 Samuel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
2 Samuel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
1 Kings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
2 Kings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
1 Chronicles 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
2 Chronicles 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Ezra 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Nehemiah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Esther 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Job 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42
Psalms 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
Proverbs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Ecclesiastes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Song Of Solomon e="font-size:12px;"> 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Isaiah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
Jeremiah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52
Lamentations 1 2 3 4 5
Ezekiel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
Daniel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Hosea 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Joel 1 2 3
Amos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Obadiah 1
Jonah 1 2 3 4
Micah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Nahum 1 2 3
Habakkuk 1 2 3
Zephaniah 1 2 3
Haggai 1 2
Zechariah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Malachi 1 2 3 4
Matthew 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Mark 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Luke 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
John 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Acts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Romans 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
1 Corinthians 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
2 Corinthians 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Galatians 1 2 3 4 5 6
Ephesians 1 2 3 4 5 6
Philippians 1 2 3 4
Colossians 1 2 3 4
1 Thessalonians 1 2 3 4 5
2 Thessalonians 1 2 3
1 Timothy 1 2 3 4 5 6 <
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2 Timothy 1 2 3 4
Titus 1 2 3
Philemon 1
Hebrews 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
James 1 2 3 4 5
1 Peter 1 2 3 4 5
2 Peter 1 2 3
1 John 1 2 3 4 5
2 John 1
3 John 1
Jude 1
Revelation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
The Bible contains 1189 chapters: 929 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New. Reading 3 chapters each day and 5 chapters on Sundays will cover the entire Bible in one year. Follow some plan. Even one chapter each day will cover the New Testament in only 9 months. God's Word is alive. The more you expose yourself to it, the more it will expose itself to you.
© 1980, 1998 Permission to copy and pass this out! Print this out in your printer’s best ‘dpi’ setting and cut it out and put it in your Bible! R.J. Krejcir www.intothyword.com
authority
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted...
-Romans 13: 1+2
Politics, it can be a heated debate.
I am happy and proud that America voted in its first minority, I don't agree with him on some major issues but he is due to be our leader as of tomorrow. If I lived close I would go see, it is an event of a lifetime, even bigger- an event that will go down in history.
I don't fear, and I won't fret because I am told not to. I am told that to trust is what I am called to. Do we think that we as a nation put this man into office? That our votes brought him there?
This man, he is being placed as a leader of our nation and he is there because it was God's will. I am not saying he will be a good leader, or that he is godly, or any such things...but he is there, he will be there because God willed him there. This doesn't mean that he is anointed, that he is holy or any type of divine being. God spoke through a donkey, he could speak through rocks and he will use anything he chooses.
Jesus placed himself under authority even though he owned all authority. He knew God's plan and purpose would shine the strongest through obedience and subjection, even to a sinful man- but still the leader. At the same time he is never confused about who's power he really is living (and soon dying) under.
"Do you refuse to speak to me? " Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"Jesus answered, " You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above".
From then on Pilate tried to set Jesus free...
John 19: 10-12
God does the same for this nation, he is not threatened- this was in his plan, Obama being president was in God's plan. My trust is not in man, it is in God. I don't know Obama, but I know that all men are imperfect, they will all fail they will all come up short. God is big, bigger than any rockstar-president-idol. Why do any of us need to worry or fret. If we are walking the way God has called us, if we are living daily the way that He has asked us to, with fire, passion- we should have no worries, no stresses. Who am I to say that this is good or bad- only that God will use it as he wills as he chooses just as he has throughout the generations. Take a step back, see the bigger picture.
This, then, is how you should pray:Our Father in Heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.For yours is the kingdom and power and the glory forever. Amen. Matthew 6: 9-13
I am his servant, his daughter and I know with certainty that he loves me, and with security that he will do what is best for me. For a long time I thought that meant that he would keep me safe, protect me from heartbreak, hold my little hand and always whisper sweetness in my ear. I thought what was best always felt good. I am so humbled to come to a place of deeper understanding. How could I have ever thought that? In all truth, for me to learn most of the time it is through difficulty, heart ache and loss. I no longer need my life to be padded to know that He is there, I no longer need soft soled shoes to make my feet comfy- growth is thorns and thistles, it hurts.
should our currency say "In God We Trust"?
I know this could become a heated debate when I say I don't think that it should, but please listen for a second. It isn't something I am super-insanely promoting or anything, I just got a forward from someone at our church telling us to be sure to head over to MSNBC's Live vote on: Should 'In God We Trust' be removed from our currency? I went there, eager to see the results and then sat here staring at the computer screen. For the first time I felt funny about clicking that it should remain, for the first time...I feel more confused about how I feel, or more clear, I don't know.
Should it? I will give you my scattered feelings on it, and they are just that feelings...I haven't researched at all.
Should our currency say in God We Trust when they don't?
There are so many people, so many faiths, so many beliefs and I personally am not concerned with offending them by keeping those words on there, I am however concerned with pretending that they ARE like us, that they DO trust in God and that we are still one big happy united family. It seems deceitful to do that, like we are holding on to a past that is gone, and yet are still pretending. Why should they be proclaiming that they trust in God when they don't? I don't want them to say that they do if they don't, I would rather the boundaries be put back into place, and I feel that holding onto the notion that the US is a Christian nation is not really acceptable.
Why does it matter if our nation proclaims Christ? Does that affect how we walk? How we act or see things? NO! We are called to walk upright in the midst of any adversary, to stay the course in wet and dry seasons, and to have enough faith so that even if all around us the world falls, we stand steadfast in Christ. I say strip 'In God We Trust' off our dough and tattoo 'In God I Trust' onto our chests! Haha, maybe that is a little extreeme....but that is how we are called to walk, as if only He sees, and only He knows...and like every day is our last, right?
Okay, this all came out a little more animated than I had expected, but I spent the morning cleaning the bathrooms and sweeping and maybe the endorphins are kicking in. I'd love to hear your thoughts thoguh on why or why not you think it should go( or if you are going to get a good tattoo). What do you think?
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I (adoringly) HEART—>
