Come, all who are thirsty

You know, today my heart is heavy. I am sad and I am going to send out a request here, instead of doing today's study lesson. I understand that with this being an open blog, there may be readers out there who have passed us by and grunted in disgust at what we write; what we believe. They may even mock Christians and have complete disregard for all things of God. There are many reasons people are that way.
First and foremost is simply because we are all sinners. Sin does some crazy stuff. We are born sinners and many of us are so lucky to be chosen into God's family. Secondly, Some of us are born into Christian homes and many of those homes are strong for the Lord and always remain in Him. Unfortunately not all do. In fact, to those cynics out there who think that Christians and preachers are always dabbling in extra affairs, you have seen what sin can do firsthand; you just thought Christians and preachers were immune.
When you are brought up in a strong Christian home, perhaps where your dad is a pastor, it is devastating when your pastor dad falls to sin. PEOPLE, Christianity is not a cure for sin. Christians sin every day and often times are the most prone to temptation. CHRIST is the cure for sin.
I know a family that is going through such a struggle. He was a pastor; talented for God. The kids were fantastic. The marriage seemed enviable. The kids loved their dad. They weren't perfect, but boy did they seem to make it work.
Currently dad is off with another woman from his congregation. Mom is brokenhearted because there seems to be no reason for his leaving. She was truly his helper and followed in his every pursuit. Kids are angry, to say the least. Dad has new kids he's taken on and has forgotten his own.
Guys, sin is terrible. It destroys even the best of lives. I feel I'm about to get up on a huge soap box here of how we as Christians should be ever careful in all that we do. Learn what inappropriate relationships with other men and women look like. Pastors have it hardest of all, I think. Our culture and our trends have made it increasingly more difficult for a pastor to remain pure while he is at the pulpit preaching.
Christian women; good, kind, compassionate, god-loving women sit in the congregation, in front of our pastors and next to our husbands wearing low cut shirts and short shirts and plain ol' sexy clothes. Christian men, protect your wives. Protect yourselves. Protect other men and their wives. How, you say? By being jealous for your wife and her body. She is not a trophy. She is your wife. What beautiful curves she has are yours to see and no one else's. Do you get it?
I am not some scorned wife here who is ticked off because someone caught my husband's eye. I am a sad and disappointed woman who has friends that don't seem to get it. I am a sister and a mom to people who don't get it. In our culture, we cannot be too careful or too modest. The best that can happen is that someones eyes can be spared. The worst that can happen is you may have more layers on that you wanted or you may not get to wear the latest trends in fashion. So what.
We are raising men and women of the future. Men nowadays aren't as strong as they once were and a lot of that is due to Satan using women to wear them down. Often the women are Christians. C'mon ladies, step up to the plate here and fight for your men. Be respectful of them even when they don't seem to care what you wear. Be respectful to your friends and their husbands with how you act and dress. Most importantly, honor God with your body and your mind. Ok, off soap box...
Sin destroys. Christians, we know this. People who wouldn't consider themselves Christians, you know something is off, but perhaps you don't know what. It's sin. It's destroying your family. It's ruining your kids. It's defiled your marriage. It's corrupted your life. It has lied to you telling you that what you are doing "isn't so bad." What are you going to do about it? Jesus Christ is the answer.
If you want to know more, you can ask questions in the comments or you can go here. I don't know if it's the best page to go to, but the diagrams are explained fairly well, I think.
In the meantime, please pray for the family I mentioned. Pray for our husbands, brothers and sons. Pray for our sisters, friends and daughters. Pray for purity in our nation. Pray for purity in our churches. Pray for purity in our homes. Pray for purity in our minds.

• God, we have become so corrupt and we say that it's not so bad. Surely I'm not offending. We all offend and yet we try to justify it somehow. Please give us minds that are aware and hearts that desire to change. Sin doesn't have to defeat us, so please give us the strength to do what's right no matter how alluring the alternative seems to be. The pleasure is only but for a moment but the pain can be forever.

Good Monday Morning!

Oh, I am so behind on this study. I don't have extra kids today, but Caleb is out on Thanksgiving break, so I am trying to have some quiet time with my three kids running around. We allowed them to stay up a little later...hoping they would sleep in a little, but no luck. So with that, I have read, prayed, and tried to focus on God's word in the midst of the loud noises this morning.

I've dropped the ball so badly on this study. I am still on week 1...Less is more. I'm convicted not only of my eating behaviors, but of my sleep habits, etc. I've been made aware of my sleepiness/fatigue caused by my fibromyalgia, and yes, that kicks my butt, but God has also shown me my love for sleep on days to where I have gotten plenty of rest. It was that conviction that got me up and at 'em this morning. Although I slept until 6, I could so easily put in a movie and have the kids lay around for an hour while I dose in and out. I'm actually still fighting that tempting thought as I type. Isn't that terrible? But God reminded me that resting is different than lazyiness, and that I need to get up and begin my day. So with that, I'm off to the shower and then to do laundry. Erin, it is Monday you know. :) Laundry day!!! :) I'm thinking of you guys so much and pray that you have a great day of moderation!

Dear Lord,
Please forgive me of my lazyness. Help me to always listen to my body...not just for when it is truly hungry, but also when it is time to rest. Help me not to give in to either before it is time because I know too much rest isn't good for me either. Help me to understand my firbromyalgia condition and to not confuse those symptoms with symptoms of the devil trying to steal my day. Please continue to speak to us in ways we can understand, and help the 3 of us glorify you with our bodies, but more importantly, with our hearts that drive our actions and attitudes. We love you Lord, help us to love you more...we believe, but help our unbelief.

God's Whisper

Today was an emotionally heavy day (noted why on my personal blog). I've been a Christian now for 22 years-wow, did I just say that? It still amazes me how God can speak to our hearts in the midst of whatever is going on...whether we are deep into worship, or worry, or going shopping, or caring for sick ones, etc...and somehow, you know it is just God. My prayer has been that God speak to me in ways that I understand. And in the midst of chaos-the sounds of Satan trying to fill my mind with other junk while I'm trying to worship-God whispers, and we actually hear Him! How cool is that? Anyway, this morning at our contemporary church service, Paul and I have all three sick kids sitting on the back row. Crayons and papers are everywhere. Cough drop wrappers are everywhere as if the kids thought they were candy. I had a daughter coughing in my face as she rested on my hip--for the whole service, mind you! And our Praise Team was a bit too loud. (boy, I am getting old!) As I am singing a song I have sung many times over, I heard God's voice reveal the words to me...

...Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here is my heart Lord, take & seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above.

I have recently seen just how prone I am to wander/wonder from/about God. Even though on days to where I can hear God's voice speak to me...I still fight the flesh to do what I want to do. I wonder why I do that...I guess it is because we are just so full of sin. The kind of sin that makes us prone to leave God all together. If I love God, why am I prone and tempted to NOT do His will? Why have I chosen not to listen to Him with this eating sin of mine? Ahgg...if I could only get all of that to line up!

Lord, thank you for speaking softly in midst of all of the other "voices" calling out to me this morning. Your voice is the Voice of Truth, and I will choose to listen. Help me to fight my flesh, ESPECIALLY when I don't understand why I do those things I do. Help me to hear, STOP, and OBEY. I know you want our obedience more than any sacrifice we could give. Help me to be obedient with a pure heart. Be with Erin and Michelle...help them to listen and obey as well. Thank you for giving me such dear friends...who help me wade through my murky waters, who encourages me to stay out of the puddles, and to love me enough to call my sin, sin.

The Queen of Busy

Okay...Erin, your post got me. I have been so busy with illnesses, kids, dad, family, etc. that I too, have put God on the back burner. It is just another thing I struggle with...ah! So, before starting my busy day of PTA, and doctor appts, and babysitting, I had to confess to God and apologize. It would truly break my heart for my kids to be too busy to spend quality time with me. It makes me wonder how I break God's heart with all of my busyness. They are all good things, and things that need to be done, but I've come to realize that if I can't focus on God throughout the day, my things to do will never get completed...no matter how many hours in the day.

A short blog, very short, but I do have to go...I have to drop the girls off with Jenn, and go to Caleb's Thanksgiving "Pow-Wow" within the hour. Keaton has a doctor's appt at 11:00...she ran a 103 fever last night. I guess after the whole MRSA thing, I'm a little freaked. I know,...hard to believe. :)

Love you guys! Thanks for hanging in there with me and for encouraging me to refocus. Enjoy the snow!!!

Here We Go Again

After the Holy Spirit strongly convicting me yesterday afternoon at my front door (yes, that was through you, Michelle), here I am. Sadly, the last date written in my journal for this study is October 30 and paying attention in any capacity to what I am putting in my mouth ends at about that date too. But today I woke early, which I know is the only time I will truly be able to focus my mind for the day. Thank you, Lord, for giving me the strength to roll out of bed when I really was cozy.

I am still on week one and today I did day 4.

God is my portion!

Psalm 16

Psalm 73:25-27

Oh, God, I confess my distraction and my idolatry of "life" (food, kids, adoption paperwork, etc) over you. You are my portion, God, and You are the only thing that will ultimately satisfy. I thank You for Christian women in my life to come alongside and support me. May I also be a support to them. I pray right now that Michelle and Sam will "taste and see that YOU are good" today. You are so good!

Thanks for persevering through my silence, Michelle. Sam, when we talked the other day I didn't ask how this part of your life is going. Hope to hear from you soon!

Greater is He that is in you

This is the first paragraph of today's lesson taken straight from the book.

• We do indeed have an enemy who seeks to undermine our confidence in God by breathing lies to us, who tells us to put off obeying until "tomorrow" and that the consequences of disobedience won't be severe. Continually he tells us God won't be enough. God doesn't really love us, care for us, or have our best at heart. All lies.
  
  Often, our greatest battles take place in our minds. Satan breathes lies, and we need to be prepared to counteract those lies with truth. Perhaps the greatest lie is that God won't be enough--if we run to Him, we won't really be satisfied. The serpent told Eve she needed more and when she believed him, her fate became as miserable as Cain's. Satan is a liar and the father of lies. He's after you as well. We are at war, and we must have a battle plan, a strategy.

It's hard for us to remember that we are fed lies daily. It's not our bellies that want...it's our souls. We are being lied to in so many ways and perhaps it's just that we lack the confidence in God that He will truly be sufficient. When we are faced with temptation today, we need to fight it with Scripture.

• God will sustain me
• I can cast my cares on Him
• Satan is a liar
• Through Christ I can be content
• God is not being glorified right now

Obviously there is more Scripture that can be quoted back to Satan, but the idea is that we actually do use Scripture. It isn't called a sword for nothing. In and of ourselves, we cannot accomplish anything, but greater is he that is in me that he that is in the world.

• God it is so important that I realize your power in me; that I don't have to give in to the flesh. You created me for your glory. Please give me the strength to glorify you. In all things. I don't want Satan to fool me any longer. I realize that I allow him to fool me and I confess my distrust in you and your word in regards to food. I want to give it to you. I do not want to continue being a slave to my sins and you have won that battle. Win the battle for me too.

Do not be like Cain

Good morning! Has it been a week already? I don't really know what I have been doing. I have been rather tired lately and that plays a big part in whether or not I feel like sitting at the computer, but I didn't realize that so much time had gone by. It's almost scary to realize that it's been a week since I've been in God's Word...and I didn't even know it. I have been doing the eating plan consistently, but not without its cheats. Darn that Halloween candy!

Today I read about Cain in Genesis 4:1-16. Cain and Abel were very similar from the description given. One was a farmer and the other a shepherd and it seemed both were of mind to sacrifice to God. The problem was that Cain either had the wrong heart in regards to his offering, or he knew he wasn't offering right and didn't care. Either way, God didn't accept his offering and Cain got mad. That's where the verse of the week comes in.

• Genesis 4:7-If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you but you must master it.

God tells Cain how to be accepted and instead of taking kindly to that warning, Cain gets angry and in his sin, he kills his brother. He was devoured by his sin. There is also reference to 1 John 1:7 which is a promise similar to the one in Genesis 4:7.

• 1 John 1:7-But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Cain was warned but didn't heed it. That wasn't wise. He broke fellowship with God and there were consequences. When we don't heed warnings and we give sin a foothold, we can easily be devoured by it. Walk in the light and not only will we have fellowship and we will be purified (accepted) but like Galatians 5:16 says, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

We have a helper to defeat the crouching sin. We are not expected to go it alone. 1 John 4:4 says that the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. With God as my strength and his Word as my weapon, I can defeat the desire of the flesh that wants to be mindless when eating.

• God, I don't mean to give in all the time. I want to be healthy. I want to be in good shape and quite honestly I want to fit in all those nice clothes I have waiting for me. I need you to make yourself known to me each time I walk in the kitchen. Remind me how much tastier you are than anything and that if I give Satan an inch, he can take over rather quickly and I don't want that! Thank you for loving me, the wretch that I am.
  

A Child of God or a Child of Satan?

First let me finish my post from the other day...

1 John is full of information in its short 5 chapters that shows us that we are more than just drones or puppets to God. Our relationship with him is more than blind compliance or obedience. It is active, or at least it should be. It's just that sometimes we may need to remember that it is because of God's work in our lives that we should be obedient and not that he works in our lives because of our obedience. God doesn't need me. I need him and this book gives many examples of things we would do if we are indeed in him. These things we would do are more of our cooperation with God's power and they can be evidences of our salvation.

Presently I am sitting here trying to gather my scattering thoughts, praying for clarity and understanding. Whenever I go to pray, thoughts and words pour into my mind making it impossible to talk to God. Does that ever happen to you? I hate it and it's frustrating, but God will take it away.

Here is an encouraging thought. Well, at least it is to me. We may never be perfect, but we will still resemble the one who gave us birth, spiritually speaking. If ever I doubt, and you both know I do a lot, it remains true that as the Father is, so is His child. It is not that we don't sin. It's what we do with that sin that tells us who's child we are.

With all this stupid Halloween candy around, I have found myself snacking here and there. They make them so small any more (anyone notice how the fun sized ones are about 1/2 as big as they used to be???). Well with their size I have given myself freedom to enjoy 2 and 3 at a time (sometimes more). Today-right now-I pray that when I do that, when I run to the chocolate, I want to be able to not only stop when I realize what I am doing, but also be able to call it sin and right away confess it, letting Satan know that he cannot have a hold on me. I am not his. Satan, I am not yours!!!

I hope you all enjoyed your fast today. I can't say as I'm enjoying it, but it is challenging me! I am thankful for that. I'd love to hear from you all. I am going to finish and call you now, Sam and see how things are going.

Let His wind fill your sail

Holy cow, we are doing terrible at keeping up with this new blog! I just got done with my 2 weeks of transcripts every day and that was just plain nuts for me! Who knew it would be impossible to do any computer work other that transcripts that whole time?!? Clearly not I.

At any rate, I am done and quite anxious to get back to this study and this blog! I haven't been doing so well and I know Sam, you have had a heck of a time with illnesses at your house. I don't know, have you all been able to keep up with the study? What week are you on? Sadly due to all that's going on here I am only on week 2.

With that in mind I will continue where I left off which is with week two, day one. First off, this week's memory verse is Genesis 4:7 and somehow that truth is hard to swallow. I fully know and believe and have experienced sin crouching at my door. That one is easy to believe. It's the part about being accepted simply for doing what is right. It's simple.

At any rate, the passage for today's lesson is I John chapters 1-5. Here, John is writing to believers and the task for today is to find the recurrent theme of cooperating with God's power and seeing that power become complete in you. It's going to take a while, especially since I am having a hard time focusing my mind this morning. I am everywhere right now just like I was in church yesterday. Man it was such a battle not letting my mind drift to anything and everything yesterday while Steve was preaching. The same thing is going on now, so I am going to get some breakfast and then I will take some time this afternoon or tonight to go in detail to see what I find. I will admit now that I am not very good at this, so we'll see how it turns out!

Have a good day ladies!

My first official blog

While I still haven't taken the time to read all the posts up to this point, I will go ahead and blog. I am thankful for you two and I am thankful that our God is gracious enough to meet me again at the point where I have put food before Him. Stressful and busy times in life make it so easy to ignore Him, when, in fact, it is so important to be in communion with Him during these times! I want to again REPLACE eating when I'm not hungry but just trying to fill that void with feasting on HIM. I want to do that because I hate how I still feel so unsatisified when I try to fill the void with food. I KNOW HE CAN FILL MY HUNGER BECAUSE MY HUNGER IS FOR HIM, I JUST FORGET THAT.

As I read through the Bible with my children, Jackson is always amazed at those Israelites. "They're worshipping idols again!" He shakes his head. He just doesn't understand why they keep doing what isn't working. Here I am shaking my head at myself. I'm running to food again! I am so sorry, Lord. I want to learn to run to you and be satisfied. That is my prayer.