Posted on Jan 14, 2008 under Living |
Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
It seems we all hang on to this life, grasping at ways to make it last longer and working to acquire as much as we can while we’re here. We desire more stuff, more fame, more financial success. And yet, none of this matters. Nothing on this earth matters.
It is only God that matters. Satan plants the seed in our minds that we need a bigger house, a flashier car, nicer clothes or even a better body. We find ourselves desiring these things, but we must resist the temptation of pursuing the things that really don’t matter. The only one we need to impress is God and He is not impressed by these things. He is impressed by our hearts and by our devotion to Him.
From this day forth I am going to make a real effort to turn away from those desires that do not bring me closer to God. I will remain focused on God.
Posted on Jan 13, 2008 under Living |
A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Galatians 6:7-8
Such a simple concept and yet it slips my mind almost daily. In order to reap the gifts of the Spirit, eternal life with God, I must sow seed of goodness. I must follow the Lord’s commandments and His way.
When I choose my own selfish desires at the expense of my family, friends or God, I’m sowing seeds that will ultimately destroy my chance at eternal happiness. No matter how much I pray for God’s blessings, I must do my part to bring them about. I must make the choices in my life that God has directed me to make. I can’t just pray and expect God to hand me what I want; I must follow his word as well.
I know that my most challenging issue to overcome is my sharp, biting tongue. Also a problem is my tendency to “disappear” into my own thoughts and not want to associate with people. Both of these affect my children and husband. I must make a great attempt to give of myself, to speak with love and sow the seeds that will grow into eternal life.
Posted on Jan 07, 2008 under Living |
“Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
Wow. That’s powerful.
Jesus said that we must give up everything to be His disciple. Everything. He didn’t say “most stuff” or shiny things.” He said everything.
I don’t think that Jesus wants me to walk away from my husband or my children, my granddaughter or my parents. What Jesus is saying is that God must be first in my life. I must be willing to walk away from anything that keeps me from my first priority - God. As long as I keep God as number one in my life, everything else will follow suit.
The problem is that some things in my life don’t enhance my relationship with God and other things just get in the way of it. Those are the things that I need to discard. I don’t make changes easily and I don’t like throwing things out, so pruning my life is quite a task. I know that God’s pruning of my life will make my entire existence more abundant and fuller than I ever imagined. I just need to make God my top priority and everything else will work out just fine.
Posted on Jan 05, 2008 under Living |
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
Colossians 3:23
Excuses. I have excuses. I’ve been mothering for nearly 30 years. I’ve cooked and cleaned and I’m burned out. No one appreciates the things I do around the house anyway.
None of that matters, though. God has blessed me with a husband who goes to work every day, children who are healthy and good, a home that is warm and food on the table. These are blessings and tending to these blessings should be a labor of love, not a point of resentment. When I fold my fifth load of clothes from the dryer, the folds should be as neat and crisp as those from the first load that morning. When the dishwasher finishes, I should gladly empty the clean dishes and start reloading the dirty ones, grateful that we have food to put on those dishes.
I really need to stop doing half-hearted jobs and start to strive for excellence in all I do. Every job is important and should be made into a song of praise to God who has provided so much to this family. God has entrusted this family and our home to my care and I must not disappoint. I must strive for excellence as a testament to God’s blessings.
