Archives for Living category
Posted on Jan 16, 2008 under Living |
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5
I didn’t go to my 30th class reunion this year. Why? Because I hadn’t lost enough weight and I didn’t want anyone to see me fat. I was not content with myself.
I think many women place value on themselves in a similar way. We care entirely too much about how well we’ve kept our figure and how few lines mark our faces. I imagine that for men, the measure of success is the accumulation of money and power. As I mentioned a few days ago, it’s the big house, the flashy car, all the symbols of financial wealth that we believe the rest of the world will use to assess our value.
No matter how the world measures success, we should never lose site of God’s measurement – our devotion to Him. God does not care about our bank account, what car we drive or how many extra pounds we’ve put on in the last 30 years. God cares about us so much that he promises to never leave us.
As I strive to focus on God by honoring and adoring Him, I must remember that contentment is not having everything I want, but wanting everything I have. As long as I have God in my life and spend time with Him everyday, as long as God is my top priority, He will bring true contentment to life.
Posted on Jan 15, 2008 under Living |
Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31
It seems that every day, I’m feeling the stress and burden of daily life. Financial woes, troubles with kids and other family members, fears about health and safety all occupy my mind. I find myself hoping for a solution, someone to lead me to the answer or make everything right. I’ve even bought a lottery ticket now and then, hoping that a huge windfall would be the answer to all my problems.
My hope, though, is God. He is my strength and He has the answers to my prayers. No one is going to knock on my door with a check for millions of dollars of prize money; no one is going to swoop up my problems and make them all right. I have to put every bit of my hope in God and rely on his power to pull me through. When I’m down, He will lift me up and when I am too tired to go on He will carry me.
God is my strength and my hope must remain only in Him.
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.
