31 Monday Jan 2011
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Do you guys know about YouVersion? If you’re looking for a Bible reading plan, this is a great online program that can help you do just that.
They have about 50 different reading plans available, plus it tracks and organizes your progress. Currently I’m working my way through a five-day reading plan on marriage.
30 Sunday Jan 2011
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Yesterday, our pastor preached on spending time with God. His sermon was entitled, “How to Hear God.”
No, it wasn’t a lot of off-the-wall weirdness (it’s a new church to us, so I was a bit curious). However, he made a strong point that so many people say they don’t hear God, and it’s because they never stop to spend time with Him and listen. Very basic statement, but really so very powerful.
He made this statement: “Do you really value hearing God’s voice?” If you did, then you would make time to hear it. It wouldn’t get pushed down on your to-do list (Yes, I could hear the “Ahem” and felt the heavenly kick in the pants).
Then the pastor gave several basic instructions, which I will list here for you, with some of his corresponding verses. I hope they speak as much to you as they did to me.
1. Set an appointment with God. Prepare. Set a time and place.
God said to Moses, “Go to the people. For the next two days get these people ready to meet the Holy God. Have them scrub their clothes so that on the third day they’ll be fully prepared, because on the third day God will come down on Mount Sinai and make his presence known to all the people. (Exodus 19:10-11 message)
And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. And the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mount; and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount, and Moses went up. (Exodus 19:19-20 nkv)
2. Be still and worship.
“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” (Psalm 46:10)
And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, (other translations say “Stand Still”) and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. . . . The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (Exodus 14:13-14 esv)
You shall not need to fight in this battle; take your positions, stand still, and see the deliverance of the Lord [Who is] with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you. . . . When he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers to sing to the Lord and praise Him in their holy [priestly] garments as they went out before the army, saying, Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever! And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were [self-] slaughtered. (2 Chronicles 20:17, 21-22 ab)
3. Pray and Read.
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. (Mark 1:35 nkjv)
I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words. (Psalm 119:147 nasb)
4. Listen and write.
All this the Lord made me understand by the writing by His hand upon me, all the work to be done according to the plan. (1 Chronicles 28:19 ab)
The word of the Lord was rare and precious in those days; there was no frequent or widely spread vision. (1 Samuel 3:1b esv)
08 Saturday Jan 2011
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Here is a great article about Beth Moore: “Control Your Mind”
It really goes along with what I have been thinking about this past year. That it’s the mental change that makes the real difference in becoming a true Proverbs 31 woman.
From the article:
“Our God is a jealous God. He says, ‘Listen, I want to be your one thing,’” said the popular Christian speaker. “I want you to be fully capable and practice the pure self discipline of shutting down every other voice so you can hear one thing.”
07 Friday Jan 2011
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I’d like to tell you about a really amazing thing that happened to me yesterday.
First of all, you guys remember that I’m participating in a Daniel Fast right now. And Wednesday was AWFUL. The girls hadn’t slept well all night, I woke up feeling rung out and just couldn’t shake it, but couldn’t even get a nap because of the constant in and out and dealing with contractors (We’re in the midst of renovating our home. While we are living in it.) And I was just so emotionally drained trying to be both Mommy and Daddy while my husband is serving overseas right now. I was truly weary. That night I begged God for help. And sleep.
And I got it. Really. Almost a full night of sleep. It was amazing.
As soon as I got the girls to preschool, I committed to truly sit down and pray. During that awful day on Wednesday, I had been unpacking (surprise, surprise) and found this collage poster that I had made in high school. And something taped on there caught my eye. It was 1 Chronicles 28:20. That verse came to me in the morning and I used that during my devotional time.
Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.
1 Chronicles 28:20 (esv)
Here is a slightly different translation of the same verse:
Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the Lord is finished correctly.
1 Chronicles 28:20 (nlt)
First of all, often in the Bible we’re told to be “be strong” and “be of good courage.” But how often is it that we (and by we, I mean me) forget that “God is our strength?” God doesn’t tell us to be strong and then actually expect to do that on our own. We can’t! Every time He tells us to do something, He gives everything we need to actually do it. Just like the parenting experts tell us in child-rearing, God sets us up for success!
I have been going through one of the hardest seasons in my life thus far, really trying to “be strong and courageous” on my own. Then I’d feel like a complete failure that I just couldn’t do it. I AM WEAK. I am puny. I am absolutely nothing. But God is MIGHTY. God is POWERFUL.
Looking at this verse, I came to this realization yesterday. I begged God, “Please by my strength because I am completely physically and emotionally weak. Please be my courage and please be my hope.” It’s true, I have been living in total fear and dismay and there is nothing that can pull me up out of that. I can’t do it, for sure. But nothing is impossible to God. NOTHING.
As I was praying, I really felt God was telling me to just “do the work.” Don’t get overwhelmed, don’t freak out at the quantity of work needed to be done. Just do it, as they say in the Nike ads. Don’t think, don’t whatever. Just DO THE WORK.
To this, I told God, “Okay, God, I really am willing to do the work. I really want to get this done. I can’t do it on my own physical strength and stamina. Please give me Your strength. If You can move mountains You can certainly move that mountain of boxes.”
And He did. I got so much done yesterday! I made a huge massive dent in that mountain of mine. I felt strength and stamina and energy flowing through me all day long. On top of that I felt emotionally stronger than I have in weeks. God gave me the courage to face that day and get through it. God gave me the hope to realize there is light at the end of this particular tunnel.
God is good. All the time, God is good.
05 Wednesday Jan 2011
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Yes, normally we do some sort of paper challenge this month, but since I still haven’t unpacked enough to find my “paper,” we’re doing it a little bit differently this year.
This year, I’m kindof working on a “from the inside out” kind of personal theme, so that is translating over into this challenge. So, this year, our January Challenge is:
CLOSETS.
And not just one closet. ALL OF THEM.
Yes, we are going to simplify, organize, and renew our homes from the inside out. Starting with the places where we shove, hide, and ignore the most.
Step 1:
Breathe. Don’t start hyperventillating on me now.
Step 2:
List every single closet you have in your home. Entryway, hall closet, linen, MBR, children’s, whatever. If it looks like a closet, smells like a closet, acts like a closet, for the purposes of this challenge, it’s a closet.
Step 3:
Name the problem. What is it that’s keeping these closets from being MIL- ready? (You know she’s gonna look inside them, LOL) Name the stressor that keeps you from keeping these closets MIL-ready. What is your mental roadblock?
This step might need a bit of a coffee/thinking break.
Step 3a: Decide on what you want in your home. Some people come up with a one word thought to cover their year instead of specific resolutions. (Like last year, I came up with the word “health.”) So for the purposes of this exercise, I would look at all these closets and create the mental picture of how these closets could be “health” to me and my family. I know it sounds wild, but if you just try the idea it might help create a organizational thought process as you go through this. Don’t worry, it’s just a crazy exercise.
Step 4:
Put your list of closets in order of easiest to hardest to solve/fix. Now mix the order like this. #1 easiest. (top of list) #2 absolute hardest. (bottom of list) #3 next easiest (top of list) #4 next hardest (bottom of list). And so on. The reason I do this is so you have easy ones to keep you motivated and so you can mark them off, but those don’t let you procrastinate from the hardest ones you always procrastinate on anyway.
Don’t worry, you’re not actually doing anything yet. You’re just making a list.
Step 5: Set up centers in your home. Garbage bags for garbage, place to put stuff to donate, etc.
Step 6: Itemize each closet and make a todo list for each one. You’re not doing it now, you’re just making a todo list! While you’re doing this, decide if there are things you need to get to complete this task. (Organization stuff, shelf liner, whatever.) Put them on your shopping list, and make sure you mark which closet they’re for. That way if you need to budget for items you can make sure you can purchase things in the order you’re working on the closets. It would really mess you up if you bought the stuff for closet #3 before the hard closet #2, giving you an excuse to procrastinate on that hard closet once again.
That’s all for now. You can choose how much of these steps to share with us, but I hope you at least share your list of closets, so we can have as much fun as you when you scratch them off!
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Dum dum Dumm. . . .
Challenge #1: GARBAGE!!!!!!
Tomorrow is Garbage day for me, so you all get to join in. How much garbage can you get out of your closets and your house before tomorrow? Come on folks, let’s see who can run out of garbage bags first!!!
Challenge #2: If that wasn’t enough for you, DO YOUR FIRST CLOSET TODAY!!!
TO COMPLETION. Don’t leave that “one random thing” undone. Get’er done!
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Make sure you focus on those tasks you need other people for. (Does DH need to sort/purge his side of the closet? Or do you need DS to go through that toy collection covering his closet?
Also, be sure to start whatever shopping you need to complete your projects. Be sure to have everything in your house that you will need to complete any projects during the week next week!
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OKAY GALS! It’s Tuesday! Ha! You all were hoping I had forgotten about this hadn’t you? Nope! It’s time to make progress!!!!!!!
Remember, this is WEEK 2 of the challenge! You have have only two weeks left after this one. Which means this is the TRUE CRUNCH WEEK. If you get behind this week, it’s going to put tons of pressure on you for the rest of the month. So, we really need to focus a ton this week on what to get done!
Come on! Let’s see how much we can get done this week. How about a reward? Who can get the most done this week, and I’ll send them a surprise! (I found my “surprise” stash last night!)
Wahoo!
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TODAY’S POP CHALLENGE:
WORK ON YOUR HARDEST AND WORST CLOSET.
Yes, you heard me. Today you must work on your hardest and worst closet. And report back and tell us what you plan to work on (before) and what you accomplished (after).
So, get going!!!!
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This is where it always gets icky. This is where you get bogged down in something, can’t get other things done because you’re waiting on that one thing you need from something else, whatever. You know what I’m talking about.
Don’t worry. I’m right there with you.
Completely frustrating and stressful to no end, right?
My advice for this week?
PRESS ON.
Keep on pushing through the bogginess. (Yes, I just made up that word.) Step back for a second and look at the problem from a different angle. Can you work around it, under it, over it? Is this a problem that needs tons of brute force strength – ie. keep pushing through it?
Do whatever you have to do to keep forward momentum. I’m serious. If you’re anything like me, this is where you usually stop. This is where you say, “I’ll deal with this later” or “when so-and-so does what they are supposed to do, then I’ll come back and do what I’m supposed to do. And then nothing ever gets accomplished, the problem never gets solved, and it’s never DONE.
And that’s what we want, folks. DONE. As in, stick a fork in it. Well done, burnt to a crisp, done.
So, today’s task is to tell us all:
A) If you have hit a boggy spot, what it is. (No excuses, no blaming, no whining. Just name the issue/problem.)
B) What you are going to do about it. How are you going to keep FOWARD MOMENTUM happening.
This isn’t a negative posting, but just acknowleging that things don’t usually work as planned, and how we are going to proactively, positively, keep pushing on!
And if you haven’t updated us in a while, please let us know about your progress!
THIS IS THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH.
It is time to get your game face on. Get your hiney in gear. Blah blah blah.
GET MOVING!!!!!!
Come on gals, let’s get all this stuff DONE!!!! You can do it! It’s one more big big week of a solid push, and we can start the year off right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6 more days gals! 6 MORE DAYS!
(PS. You really want to get all this done now. Trust me. I’ve already decided next month’s challenge. It’s “the desk” and “paper.” Yeah, that’s right, you heard me. Don’t groan and moan – I heard you through the computer! So anyway, YOU NEED TO GET THIS DONE SO YOU CAN BE READY TO START THE NEXT CHALLENGE!)
03 Monday Jan 2011
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On Sunday this week, my pastor called for a church-wide fast, calling it a “Daniel Fast.” Now this is quite “unusual” for me and not something I’m used to in my personal church background. This is how it’s explained through the website:
The purpose of the Daniel Fast is to gain a healthier life and/or healing [Isaiah 58:8]. Daniel and his friends fasted meats, bread [sweets] and wine. Some can’t do all the items, but we encourage you to do at least one. Daniel entered a fast that included prayer for 21 days. However the Daniel Fast doesn’t have to be food, it could be TV, Facebook or any other activity you enjoy. The Daniel Fast is more than just withholding food or other things, It involves a spiritual commitment to God. God gave Daniel knowledge and understanding. Withholding food does not make us smart, but God gives wisdom to those who have the self-discipline to withhold food and take that time in praying and reading His Word.
Beginning on January 3, join us as we enter a Daniel Fast through January 23. Pray about what the focus of your fast should be and make that decision for yourself.
Why Fast? The purpose of the Daniel Fast is to gain a healthier life and/or healing (Isa. 58:8). It is a time of spiritual commitment to God.
How Long? 21 days, beginning on Monday, January 3 and ending on Sunday, January 23.
Who Can Fast? Any believer in Christ may participate. We do this together as a church, but fasting is a deeply personal experience. It does not benefit to compare your fast with others. However, it is good to encourage one another to remain committed to the fast.
I wish I could explain it as well as the pastor did, and unfortunately the recording isn’t up on the website yet, or I’d link it here.
I have personally committed to giving up all sweets and dairy (but still keep whole grains and lean meats etc). I was planning to re-start the South Beach Diet anyway, so this will fall right in line with that. And I really love the idea of bringing the spiritual aspect in to this.
I am always a HUGE fan of setting New Year’s goals, and will share here one day how I go about doing that. But one thing that is really getting through since we began attending this church is how the pastor has been harping on giving God your “first fruits” not just “leftovers.” How giving back to God the first of your money redeems the rest, so that it all can give glory back to God. He specifically made a point yesterday that we are to give God the “first fruits” of EVERYTHING: our first thoughts in the morning, our first words that we speak, and that is why he has called for this Daniel fast now, so that we as a corporate entity are giving God the first weeks of our year. Redeeming everything we have and are and do so that everything can be redeemed and be fruitful back to God.
So, today is Day 1. I am entering my own little devotional time, and was trying to figure out how to begin. Then I remembered this verse from yesterday:
Now while I (this is Daniel) was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. Daniel 9:20-21(nasb)
So, to truly begin this spiritual fast, I must begin by praying and speaking (or writing this blog, as I translate that for myself into modern day) and confessing my sins and the sins of my people. So, that’s how I’m gonna start.
I also want to point out that to those who might be new at this to take a good look at the book of Daniel. You’ll notice that he spent a lot of time confessing, very specifically. And also here in verse 21, it does say that Gabriel doesn’t come to him until “the time of the evening offering.” So it would appear that Daniel had been in prayer all day, every day for 21 days, before he got a message from God. I’m not saying that I expect Gabriel to appear to me, or that it might take 21 days for God to give me the words He needs me to hear. I just want to make sure that you and I understand that this isn’t a fix-it-quick kindof prayer, and that we must be patient and wait on the Lord’s timing.
Becoming a Modern Proverbs 31 Woman 