Using What You Have

I'm on a mission to use as many of the groceries I have in my house right now before the move at the end of the month. Needless to say our meals are going to be getting more and more interesting as the month moves along. However, using what you have is a concept of good stewardship that I really need to be more mindful of on a regular basis.

As I was thinking about this, I thought even how much more this concept runs true spiritually speaking. Each week I sit under 4 plus hours of sound biblical teaching, have my own personal time with the Lord and then I read more than a couple really inspirational blogs and books regularly. But how many times do I actually use what I'm learning...the Biblical instruction, the good ideas, the use of God's word....it does me no good to have it if I am not striving to apply it to my life. This is an area that I can become so complacent in...much like the groceries that are shoved to the back of the pantry...I know the can of peas is back there....and in a pinch I can use them...they aren't my first, second or even third choice...but if I am super hungry and it's all that's left...I can make do. I CAN eat them. Sometimes I find myself treating my spiritual life the same way. Rating the goodness of the verses, trying everything BUT going to the Word...looking at it with distaste as if it was not good for me.

It's a trap. One set by the enemy to entice us to go towards other fixes for our issues. But the only real fix for ourselves is His Word. It's the best there is. Friends might have good advice and well intentioned counselors might encourage your heart, but in the middle of the night when all that stands between you and your thoughts is the Word of God....realize.. you've got everything you could ever need. Right there.

Static Cling to the Promises

This time of year it's not unusual to struggle with static cling. Most recently I introduce Savannah to a can of aerosol hairspray that I used solely for the purpose of getting rid of static electricity. She was a little weirded out when I told her to spray it on her pants and they would quit clinging to her skin....but it worked!

As I was thinking about the many spiritual lessons that God taught me over the last year they all seemed to center around one thing....clinging to the promises of God. I'm just like the next woman...I struggle with real-to-me issues....health, family, friends, money, home, schedules, busyness, reading God's Word, sorrow, pain...but of all the issues I've struggled with over the last 12 months, the greatest amount of peace and comfort I've found is when I've clung to the promises of God. His Word is full of nuggets of encouragement and understanding. Sure, my friends are great, my mom is great, my husband is the best....but when it comes to bearing my soul...there is no one I trust like Jesus. There are no one's words that comfort quite like the Father's. There's no one who can empathize with me, quite like the Father. He is who I want to cling to in the good and the bad. His promises are the advice I want to seek in the good and the bad. I want to be clinging...always....like static cling on a winter's day...to the promises of our all knowing, loving God.

Thank you God for proving yourself to me .... for proving your promises true every day. 

If you're struggling to trust the promises of God, here are some verses to get you started:

Source: tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

Do you have a favorite promise of God?

A Few of My Favorite things

Here are a few of my favorite best things of 2011.

Favorite Book I read: One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

Favorite Free App for my iphone: Instagram

Favorite New Recipe I Tried: Amish Sweet Bread

Favorite New (to me) Song: What Do I Know of Holy - Addison Road

Favorite New Christmas Song: Celebrate the Day- Reliant K


So...did you have any new favorites of 2011? I'd love to hear about them!

Control

I hear the word control used a lot these days:

Control your own destiny.
Give Control to God.
Appetite Control.
Lose Control.
Control Freak
Temperature Control
Out of Control
In Control
Control Top
Beauty Control

....and the list could go on.

I've been thinking quite a bit about who is really in control of my life. Seems that some areas in my life I do OK in letting God have His way....at least that's what I thought. But lately I've been thinking about those area that I don't relinquish to Him so easily and I a reminded that His Word says....I can't serve two masters. I can't serve my flesh and Him. I can't love the world and love Him. I can't. So when I find myself compelled to serve myself...whether with my time, food, even my family before or instead of serving HIM then who is really in control.

I realize that serving others can be a mechanism that we can also serve God, but I don't believe that every time I have ever done something for someone else that I was serving God. Good people abound in our bad world. Very famous people in media do good things but haven't a clue about letting God control their life. I don't want to be like that. I want to ask God how I can serve Him. Yes....that includes serving my family, at my job, at church and other places....as HE directs...not as I direct my steps. I want HIM to call all the shots and I wonder how different my life will look if I do!!!

It's something I'm working on (or should I say...HE is working on in me) this year...and the year after that....and the year after that...(you get the picture).

Out with the Old

Happy New Year!

I love the turn of one month to the next and even more so, one year to the next. There's just something about that clean slate feeling. God even knew how much we would relish do-overs...He tells us His mercies are NEW every MORNING. Thank you Lord!

I'm giving this year to the Lord in a way I haven't before. I really do want each day to amount to something good....but in the quietness of this particular moment, I know that in order for that to happen I have to throw out some old habits and even "good" things and set my eyes on eternity, Jesus and the things that are valued in HIS eyes.

So here are a few things I am hoping to throw out this year:

1. Negative self-talk - you know....the kind that talks back at you in the mirror or when you think about a bad experience...yes, that one. I am going to embrace the scriptures and God's thoughts about me.

2. Busyness - I'm not promoting laziness - I am promoting a lifestyle of doing things that will matter down the road....like being more intentional with my kids, writing more, being more hospitable, encouraging more. But I'm throwing off wasting time and the life sucking activities that are the culprits for stress and fatigue.

3. Disorganization- I'd like to become that super clean freakishly crazy obsessive cleaning machine...but it's not gonna happen. It's not me. What I would like to throw out is all the "stuff" that is making my life way more cluttered than I like. I do this every year and would really like to stay organized for more than 2 weeks this year! Let the kitchen cabinet cleaning begin!

4. Lazy parenting- now I will talk about laziness. I am throwing it out....Bruce and I told the kids (maybe warned is a better word) today at the family table that there were going to be some changes coming beginning Monday. They include a detailed chore chart, menu planning, financial planning and more. I know that some of those things might not scream PARENTING, but, I think if we can be more diligent about teaching our kids how to work hard, live healthy, manage their money then we will have done a good job in raising responsible adults. Spiritually we will be spending a great deal of time focusing on Kindness and Obedience with Tucker (and ...if you've hung with Tucker recently then you probably know why these are our primary focuses). For Savannah we are hoping to help her overcome her fear of bad weather by recognizing God is in control of all our days....what an accomplishment if we can help her learn this lesson this early in her life!

5. Self-abuse- Now before you dial 911, let me assure you that I am not doing anything drastic to myself. BUT.....I am throwing out NOT TAKING CARE OF MYSELF. First, I want to take better care of myself spiritually. Reading and memorizing God's Word, reading books that will assist me in my walk and journaling more about the work God is doing. Physically, I have never taken care of myself. I rarely go to the doctor, it's been at least 4 years since I got new glasses, I buy cheap shampoo, rarely use lotion (is this becoming TMI?) and will skip breakfast or eat something totally gross and unhealthy if I need to. I don't get regular hair cuts, I forget to moisturize, I don't get pedicures unless my mom is in town, I will suffer when I don't need to....and this is all STUPID and very UNWISE!....and doesn't earn me any points in the MOMgame. This physical body isn't going to last forever and even though cheap shampoo isn't going to kill me...taking better care of myself is definitely something God is CONVICTING me that I need to do. So eating better foods, taking better care of myself and setting a better example are things I am going to work hard at in 2011. Hopefully by doing a few things for myself I will be better equipped to serve others.

So....there you have it. The old stuff. The garbage. The gunk that's gettin' thrown away. Goodbye old....hello new year. What are you going to work on in 2011?