January 31, 2010

Time has been too short to blog daily as I had planned but I have finished Proverbs, am 1/3 of the way through the Psalms and have begun Ecclesiasites and Romans. One thing certainly prevails in Proverbs and Ecclesiasites: Speak less, Listen more. A practice I must concentrate on.

Ecclesiasites has proven to be an interesting little gem. So far a prevailing theme is not to work so hard you can't enjoy what you labor for and that it is not your responsibility to save for your heirs. You should enjoy what you have been blessed and teach your heirs to make thier own way. Very interesting to say the least especially in light of the challenges my family are currently facing....So, Pa, buy all the movies you want, give away what you want to give away and if you go out penniless, so be it!

Today, in the Max Lucado devotional I am again reminded that God can and will overcome the obstacles to what He has called me to do and be. I am reminded that many whom he called have faced massive obstacles. That seems to be the point. We are not supposed to be able to answer the task on our own for we need to be able to give God all the credit. So, I continue to wait....which is what Romans told me to do today.....just wait; it is all in God's time.

January 13, 2010

I finished up Hebrews last night. May my eyes be fixed on Jesus and may I always remember those who paved the path for me just as the writer of Hebrews remembered the forefathers. It is in remembering all that God worked out in our forefathers and remembering what God has already done in our own lives that we can be confident and fix our eyes on the one that can lead us into a perfect kingdom of peace and unity.

Psalm 20 is a prayer I pray for those near and dear to me today.

I also started Romans today.

January 11, 2010

Well I've read so much since my last post it's going to be difficult to sum it up. I've added a devotional reading to my day out of Moments of Grace by Max Lucado. One of the devotions spurred me to start reading Hebrews and it's as if I'm reading it for the first time. You know that moment when it clicks and suddenly you see it all with very new eyes. What Jesus did for me was just that....unspeakable, unexplainable GRACE! I am so thankful and so very undeserving. As I continue reading David's laments regarding his enemies, I am becoming ever more so aware that I don't have to look beyond the mirror to find who my enemy is as it seems I am my own worst enemy. As Chiche' as that sounds, it rings true. My energy level is low, I seem powerless over my addictions to cigarettes and sugar. I spend more time than I ever should on meaningless activity on Facebook. I never exercise and I seem to just allow myself to be paralyzed by a force that I can not identify. So how do I cry out to God to slash my enemy when it is I who would be slashed? I have the want to but somehow I lack the will. I know where to seek to find it, I am not always sure that I know exactly how to do that though.



I feel called to pay closer attention to my dreams as the psalmist also points out that God works in my heart and tests me even in the night. I may find wisdom, that all important thing that the Psalmist and King Solomon speak so much about, even in my sleep. Proverbs continues to exalt the search for wisdom and knowledge and continues to warn about the folly of the fool. The fool being the one who is without God. Proverbs also continues to praise the one who is able to tame the tounge, to refrain from Gossip, to leave a quarrel before it starts, to control anger and not let it lead to violence. He continues to uphold integrity and a search for justice. May I too, seek with those kind of eyes.



In Hebrews today I re-read something I have at some point taken note of and that is:

1. Draw Near to God with a sincere heart.


2. Hold on UNSWERVINGLY to the hope we profess.


3. Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

The third reminds us of the importance of corporate worship and study and Christian fellowship. How thankful I am to have found that in the Friendship Class and Longs Chapel.

The writer of Hebrews in this 10th chapter then calls us to remember the early yearnings of our faith and the confidence we had in those moments and to reclaim that confidence and that passion.

Then there is yesterday's Sermon. I had the opportunity to visit the church where my former pastor, Rob Fuquay, went. As always Rob had a sermon tailor made just for me. I'm sure, however, that everyone in that place felt the same as Rob has that gift of crafting a sermon that can universally touch the hearts of all the hearers in such a way that each one believes it was crafted just for them. The reminder is that we sometimes must go is low as needing to be "fed by ravens" in order to remember our dependence on God. The scary part of the whole story was that sometimes to find God's will we must "leave". My immediate fear was "oh good Lord, do I need to leave Longs Chapel to be able to answer the call God has on my life. I mean really, the obstacle is there, am I supposed to remove myself and start over somewhere new to petition for my ministerial liscense. I know I am not supposed to leave my family, I mean, my family is certainly God given to me and that just makes no sense. Then there was the "out." It may be things or activities you are supposed to leave. Well there are plenty of things that can apply there: smoking, refined sugar, facebook, just to name the top 3! So I'm left pondering more......pondering in the Word.

January 1, 2010

I believe I'm ready to put 2009 behind us. It ended with so much news of death and illness. All while I continue to read the Psalms and all about God's presence with us and protection over us during times of battle and attack. I have some goals for the New Year. #1 on the list is to bring my son home. He needs to be here. We need to be a family. Even through the struggles this week, life has felt more normal, more right. So, I seek God's direction, I seek the wisdom and knowledge that Proverbs talks about. I want to rise in the morning and fall asleep at night in search of God's direction. Here is to 2010!