26 April 2009
Away
I should mention that we are away for a week in Brisbane for a conference and a wedding so there probably won't be anything new here for a little bit. So far our plane has been delayed 4 1/2 hours, they lost our stroller (we have it back now) and Seth has been sleeping horrible...but other than that we are having a good time. Got to hear Joel Holm (Author of Church Centered Mission - good book) at church on Sunday which was very good. If anything interesting happens I'll be sure to jot it down.
21 April 2009
To Be Refreshed
Psalm 51:10-12 (NIV)
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
20 April 2009
Proverbs 2
...More on the previous post later. Now I thought I would share one of my favourite bits of scripture.
Proverbs 2:1-6
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
I came across these verses a few years ago when I was feeling very confused and frustrated about my future. I wanted understanding and the above scripture promised that if I did those things I would get it. So I decided to test out Gods word. I thought, He’s got to do it because He’s put it in the bible.
Christmas was coming up and Matt and I were going to spend a week at him mum and dad’s. I thought that would be a great place to try it out.
Looking at the first part it talks about accepting God’s words and storing up His commands within you. I took this to mean I should be getting into the Word and getting it into me. So that was my first step...to spend a lot of time reading my bible...especially when I didn’t feel like it. As I was doing this I did my best to open my ears to hear God speak. I spent a lot of time walking around the property praying and ‘calling out for insight and crying aloud for understanding’ and when I didn’t get anything I kept ‘looking for it as for silver and searching as for hidden treasure’.
I spent a good few days on this, and while I understand that this scripture is something I should be living out every day I felt desperate times called for desperate measures. And so this went on for a few days, and every time I wanted to give up I remembered about the part on silver and hidden treasure. I knew if there was a million dollars buried somewhere on the property I wouldn’t stop until I found it...so I kept going.
At this time I had been giving God two choices about what he could do with my life...yes that’s right, I gave God the options, and as I was spending time doing the above searching and not hearing a thing and getting very frustrated, God reminded me of that and basically said ‘what do you think you are doing’ oops... it suddenly dawned on me. I felt so embarrassed and basically repented of what I had been doing. Repenting for giving God options may seem a little extreme, but that is what I wanted to do because I was limiting God in my life and that is certainly not what I want to be doing. I went to bed peaceful that night and was determined to keep searching.
The next day I spent some time praying and offering up my future to God saying to him that if he wanted me in the same place for 5 more months or 5 more years I would be ok with that as long as it was what he wanted...then I felt God tell me everything would change in less than a year...that may seem a little strange and God certainly doesn’t give me that much information all the time, but less than a year later I got pregnant with my little boy and a few months later we moved to the beautiful spot we are living now.
So now I try to live that scripture so I can be more aware of what God is doing. Of course I don't always, and sometimes have to get back into it, but it's like anything...you have to keep practicing.
And if you read the previous post you will notice that God is doing some more stuff, but this time He hasn’t given me an idea of when or what, only a strong sense that he is doing something...and sanding off a few rough edges to get me ready, ouch.
P.S. If you want to read a really amazing picture of what it is to search for wisdom as for treasure, have a read of Job 28...
Proverbs 2:1-6
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
I came across these verses a few years ago when I was feeling very confused and frustrated about my future. I wanted understanding and the above scripture promised that if I did those things I would get it. So I decided to test out Gods word. I thought, He’s got to do it because He’s put it in the bible.
Christmas was coming up and Matt and I were going to spend a week at him mum and dad’s. I thought that would be a great place to try it out.
Looking at the first part it talks about accepting God’s words and storing up His commands within you. I took this to mean I should be getting into the Word and getting it into me. So that was my first step...to spend a lot of time reading my bible...especially when I didn’t feel like it. As I was doing this I did my best to open my ears to hear God speak. I spent a lot of time walking around the property praying and ‘calling out for insight and crying aloud for understanding’ and when I didn’t get anything I kept ‘looking for it as for silver and searching as for hidden treasure’.
I spent a good few days on this, and while I understand that this scripture is something I should be living out every day I felt desperate times called for desperate measures. And so this went on for a few days, and every time I wanted to give up I remembered about the part on silver and hidden treasure. I knew if there was a million dollars buried somewhere on the property I wouldn’t stop until I found it...so I kept going.
At this time I had been giving God two choices about what he could do with my life...yes that’s right, I gave God the options, and as I was spending time doing the above searching and not hearing a thing and getting very frustrated, God reminded me of that and basically said ‘what do you think you are doing’ oops... it suddenly dawned on me. I felt so embarrassed and basically repented of what I had been doing. Repenting for giving God options may seem a little extreme, but that is what I wanted to do because I was limiting God in my life and that is certainly not what I want to be doing. I went to bed peaceful that night and was determined to keep searching.
The next day I spent some time praying and offering up my future to God saying to him that if he wanted me in the same place for 5 more months or 5 more years I would be ok with that as long as it was what he wanted...then I felt God tell me everything would change in less than a year...that may seem a little strange and God certainly doesn’t give me that much information all the time, but less than a year later I got pregnant with my little boy and a few months later we moved to the beautiful spot we are living now.
So now I try to live that scripture so I can be more aware of what God is doing. Of course I don't always, and sometimes have to get back into it, but it's like anything...you have to keep practicing.
And if you read the previous post you will notice that God is doing some more stuff, but this time He hasn’t given me an idea of when or what, only a strong sense that he is doing something...and sanding off a few rough edges to get me ready, ouch.
P.S. If you want to read a really amazing picture of what it is to search for wisdom as for treasure, have a read of Job 28...
17 April 2009
...
Matt (my husband) and I are now in a position where we have neither the capacity nor the ability to do anything. So anything that happens is wholey and entirely God...I better hold on with two hands...
14 April 2009
Sometimes I Really Don't Like it When God Tries to Make Me a Better Person
It’s a long title I know, but not long ago God decided that I needed to have a better grasp on the concept of contentment… I was feeling a bit sorry for myself, not happy with my circumstances, but let me put things in perspective…
Before we moved to where we are now, we lived in a small place with the neighbour’s door facing ours. Many days we unwillingly got to watch what they were watching on TV (lucky us). It felt very crowded and there was no where to get away. I was discontent, thinking to myself, if only we lived somewhere better, then I would be happy.
Fast-forward a bit and here I am living across the road from the beach in a small community. I can see the ocean from my bedroom window and I take my son for walks on the beach most days. So there I was on the beach boohooing myself (I know it’s stupid, but I’m just being honest about where I was in my head.), and there is God with this exclamation point hanging over the situation. It’s easy to see why people would be discontent when they have little, but I discovered you can be just as discontent with plenty. But I was afraid that if I felt content with were I was in life, that I would stay there. I only half believed that, so that half battled with the other half of me that was willing to learn and change. I also noticed that there is a macabre satisfaction in being unhappy.
I love what Paul says in Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV) ‘…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.’
The great thing about being a Christian is that when you give your life to Christ and become like a servant to him, you are no longer bound by your circumstances, because circumstances are no obstruction to God’s plans. He can pick you up and put you down somewhere new in the blink of an eye. In fact, our move out here to the beach all happened within about 2 weeks. And that was really the light bulb for me. Learning that to be content does not mean you are satisfied with where you are in life, but it is an understanding that ‘I can do everything through him who gives me strength’. And one really great outcome that happened from not thinking about myself so much is that I can begin to hear God a whole lot clearer.
At the moment, nothing has changed except my attitude, and I am so grateful for that because I am enjoying the beach so much more now!
Before we moved to where we are now, we lived in a small place with the neighbour’s door facing ours. Many days we unwillingly got to watch what they were watching on TV (lucky us). It felt very crowded and there was no where to get away. I was discontent, thinking to myself, if only we lived somewhere better, then I would be happy.
Fast-forward a bit and here I am living across the road from the beach in a small community. I can see the ocean from my bedroom window and I take my son for walks on the beach most days. So there I was on the beach boohooing myself (I know it’s stupid, but I’m just being honest about where I was in my head.), and there is God with this exclamation point hanging over the situation. It’s easy to see why people would be discontent when they have little, but I discovered you can be just as discontent with plenty. But I was afraid that if I felt content with were I was in life, that I would stay there. I only half believed that, so that half battled with the other half of me that was willing to learn and change. I also noticed that there is a macabre satisfaction in being unhappy.
I love what Paul says in Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV) ‘…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.’
The great thing about being a Christian is that when you give your life to Christ and become like a servant to him, you are no longer bound by your circumstances, because circumstances are no obstruction to God’s plans. He can pick you up and put you down somewhere new in the blink of an eye. In fact, our move out here to the beach all happened within about 2 weeks. And that was really the light bulb for me. Learning that to be content does not mean you are satisfied with where you are in life, but it is an understanding that ‘I can do everything through him who gives me strength’. And one really great outcome that happened from not thinking about myself so much is that I can begin to hear God a whole lot clearer.
At the moment, nothing has changed except my attitude, and I am so grateful for that because I am enjoying the beach so much more now!
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