"Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:18,19
Have you ever read something and it just hit you like a mack truck? That happened to me when I read these verses from Isaiah. I have been doing my little fast, not all that faithfully to be honest - there was that time I got a chicken wrap in the drive through and another time, I stopped to get something to eat because of convenience; I also peeked at my favorite websites a few times.
The truth was, I was feeling discouraged. It seemed despite my prayer for God to show me my false gods, my false beliefs and my false motivations, He wasn't showing me anything at all. This month was just hard, with no revelations or insights to brighten my path. Then two weeks ago happened.
These verses hit me straight between the eyes and revealed a false belief I had - that circumstances had to change for things to change. Those verses showed me that God can make a roadway EVEN IN THE WILDERNESS and that He can provide streams EVEN IN THE DESERT. He doesn't rely on outward things to affect change. He does a new thing and instead of pondering the past, I better take notice or I will miss it!
Then I went to my doctor's appointment to talk about my anemia. The doctor told me they were going to do iron infusions and all the vague, uncomfortable, somewhat worrying symptoms I was having were tied to the anemia. I got in my car and cried from relief. I haven't felt good for literally years and the idea that I might actually wake up and feel good was almost more than I could take in! I was praising the Lord for this HUGE answer to prayer, let me tell ya!
Then I went to a conference. It featured Kelly Minter, the author of the Bible study I just finished. She was really excellent and I learned a lot as she talked about Ruth in the Bible. I have been praying for the people in my neighborhood, particularly the kids my boys hang out with. But I felt stumped as to how to help them, what to do, what not to do. Kelly Minter said something that gave me one of those "ah-ha" moments. She talked about how sometimes a person just needs to be seen, to know they matter and are special. It seemed like God whispered in my ear "Just start there; just show them El Roi (the God who sees)."
But it wasn't until her assistant got up to share her personal testimony during the last fifteen minutes that the true revelation came. She shared how God changed her and got her into ministry and showed her where she was placing her faith in false gods. Then she gets out her Bible and shares some verses that were just a life line to her. They were in Isaiah 43:18, 19. I had goosebumps. That is not a very common passage, and while I could write it off as coincidence, I know it isn't. Then she said something that just sort of sent chills over me. She said, "I just know that there are ministries in Lima just waiting to be birthed and there are women here who are supposed to birth them."
It was then that God showed me a few more false idols and motivations in my life. You see, I wanted to move - we needed more room, I wanted a garden in the country, more dogs and I didn't feel terribly safe where we were. I prayed that God would move my husband with similar thoughts but when I brought it up to him, he didn't seem interested at all. I wasn't very happy about that and had been thinking how to change this; nevermind that I had prayed specifically that if my husband wanted to move that would be a sign that we should. See, I felt all spiritual because I was willing to do a few good works while I bided my time for the better place, while I half- heartedly prayed for the people in my neighborhood, thinking the whole time there wasn't anything I could do, really. I was unwilling to let go of my idol of a house in the country, lots of space and even realizing my dream of breeding and training dogs. I held on to that pretty tightly and it wasn't going to happen at my current residence.
So, even though my fast wasn't completely focused and committed, God was good to show me what I prayed for: the false god of a new house and my own agenda, false motivation of just biding my time and not truly loving the people around me and the false belief that God can't make a way in the wilderness, that you have to reach the Promised Land before you see the streams of His work. Praise the Lord that God is patient with me, full of grace and lovingkindness. Thank You Lord that You know my frame and I am just dust.
~Blessings, Bronte
Monday, March 29, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
MARCH MADNESS
If you like basketball at all, you know what March means - nonstop games at every level. During the first 10 years of my marriage, the only person suffering from March Madness was my dear husband. Now, there are at least two rabid fans and a third in training. My oldest son is as riveted as his dad while my youngest son would still rather draw the players than actually watch them play.
Needless to say, since my husband is a coach, March Madness has a different meaning for me. It is the last stretch after a long season for me. I am usually counting down the days until April arrives and with it, the re-emergence of not having to eat, breath and sleep basketball by proxy.
Actually March is my least favorite month of the year, and not just because I can't use the television. For one thing, it's not quite spring but not quite winter. I am usually longing for some sunshine about this time and don't want to even think about snow or cold temperatures. It is usually extremely muddy which is always interesting with a long-haired dog. It is the beginning of shedding season for afore-mentioned dog (NOT my favorite chore!). It is usually ugly outside with brown grass, bare branches and puddles everywhere. Not to mention, it seems everyone starts sniffling and sneezing with some bug or other.
Nope, March is definitely not my favorite month - by a long shot. But this month, I thought I would dedicate it to God. I decided to fast from two of my favorite things - eating out by myself (with a good book!) and hanging out on an internet bulletin board with other moms. These two things tend to be crutches in my life - the eating out gives me a way to escape all the things waiting for me to do at home and hanging out with my online friends is a way to vent and share my opinion ad nauseaum! (and who can get enough of my opinions? lol )
It sounded so spiritual to me - fasting from these things and praying that God would reveal to me three things - my false gods, my false beliefs and my false motivations. God does have a sense of humor. I have to admit to being very crabby these first few days of March. My oldest son has had some medical issues so I spent Monday at the hospital while he did a barium swallow (yum, yum). Today, I went to a hemotologist and learned that I need an iron transfusion. Don't get me wrong - I am thankful that I will finally have some energy - but somehow I thought, fasting and all, that I would be on this spiritual high. I would be calm and serene despite circumstances. I would be above the turmoil of this earth.
That is SO not the case! As I said, I've been crabby and irritable. I spent my prayer time this morning in tears, telling God I was really tired and didn't want to get up! (to get the full picture, add a foot stomp in there). If you asked my students, they would tell you not to mess with me this week.
I plan on blogging a couple times a week this month to record what I am learning and what God is showing me. Right now, I think He's showing me that I need to lay all my burdens down - that He will carry them for me. He's showing me that I need to focus on what is important and not on all the peripheals that don't really matter.
Hopefully, I can quit being crabby too!
~ Blessings, Bronte
Needless to say, since my husband is a coach, March Madness has a different meaning for me. It is the last stretch after a long season for me. I am usually counting down the days until April arrives and with it, the re-emergence of not having to eat, breath and sleep basketball by proxy.
Actually March is my least favorite month of the year, and not just because I can't use the television. For one thing, it's not quite spring but not quite winter. I am usually longing for some sunshine about this time and don't want to even think about snow or cold temperatures. It is usually extremely muddy which is always interesting with a long-haired dog. It is the beginning of shedding season for afore-mentioned dog (NOT my favorite chore!). It is usually ugly outside with brown grass, bare branches and puddles everywhere. Not to mention, it seems everyone starts sniffling and sneezing with some bug or other.
Nope, March is definitely not my favorite month - by a long shot. But this month, I thought I would dedicate it to God. I decided to fast from two of my favorite things - eating out by myself (with a good book!) and hanging out on an internet bulletin board with other moms. These two things tend to be crutches in my life - the eating out gives me a way to escape all the things waiting for me to do at home and hanging out with my online friends is a way to vent and share my opinion ad nauseaum! (and who can get enough of my opinions? lol )
It sounded so spiritual to me - fasting from these things and praying that God would reveal to me three things - my false gods, my false beliefs and my false motivations. God does have a sense of humor. I have to admit to being very crabby these first few days of March. My oldest son has had some medical issues so I spent Monday at the hospital while he did a barium swallow (yum, yum). Today, I went to a hemotologist and learned that I need an iron transfusion. Don't get me wrong - I am thankful that I will finally have some energy - but somehow I thought, fasting and all, that I would be on this spiritual high. I would be calm and serene despite circumstances. I would be above the turmoil of this earth.
That is SO not the case! As I said, I've been crabby and irritable. I spent my prayer time this morning in tears, telling God I was really tired and didn't want to get up! (to get the full picture, add a foot stomp in there). If you asked my students, they would tell you not to mess with me this week.
I plan on blogging a couple times a week this month to record what I am learning and what God is showing me. Right now, I think He's showing me that I need to lay all my burdens down - that He will carry them for me. He's showing me that I need to focus on what is important and not on all the peripheals that don't really matter.
Hopefully, I can quit being crabby too!
~ Blessings, Bronte
Saturday, February 27, 2010
AM I GOING TO BELIEVE THE GIANTS OR THE GIANT FRUIT?
You may read that title and think huh??? Yesterday, I was doing my Bible study on false gods by Kelly Minter. She was talking about how the Israelites had a hard time emotionally and intellectually leaving Egypt behind. They were at the border of the Promised Land the first time and Moses sent in the 12 spies. Joshua and Caleb, remembering God's promises and seeing the incredible bounty of the promised land, were very excited. The whole group dragged back giant fruit. The other ten, despite lugging those giant grapes all the way back to the camp, could only think about the other really big thing they saw - the giant people.
Several times in Scripture, there is reference to a race or group of people that apparently were way bigger than the average person. In common venacular maybe giants or just the equivalent of a whole country of Shaquille O'Neil's. Eitehr way, they looked rather intimidating.
So, on the edge of the Promised Land, the Israelites balked. Fear made them not want to go forward, to fight and defeat the giants so they could claim the Promised Land. It would be so easy for me to roll my eyes and to look down at them. After all, look at all the miracles God had performed for them. I mean, honestly - freed from Egypt and all the plagues and the Red Sea for goodness' sake! What was there to fear? God had promised them the land. He had led them here and had performed major, can't miss them miracles to get them there. So what were a few giants? The bigger they are, the harder they fall right?
Well, God hit me right between the eyes. I'm standing on the bank too. God has called me to write, yet all I can see are the giants in my path. A particularly large one knocked on my door this week. An article I had put out to a very large Christian publication had gone through several rounds of editors. The publication had gone through some major changes and I had worked with an editor, rewriting it even. It had been an eight month process. So, when I got the email stating they didn't want it - I was crushed. I felt like throwing in the towel. It was like that acceptance would have stamped me as a "real" writer and said that I could do it. Getting a rejection, well, it felt like the giant hadn't just knocked on my door, but had stepped on me too.
I threw myself a little pity party. It went on all week, as thing after thing interupted and disrupted my week - my oldest son was sick on Monday and then had to stay home again on Thursday. The times I had counted on to get things done were no longer existent. To top it off, Friday morning we had a school delay. I had a group that was coming in to talk to my students. Because of the delay, I had to cancel the group. So, instead of enjoying a morning sleeping in, I was frantically calling around to make sure the group didn't show up. I felt like I spent most mornings this week in a whirl of confusion and stress. Add to all this my husband being gone every night and I the giants seemed to be breathing down my neck!
It just seemed the obstacles to a writing career seemed too many and too much. But no matter how I felt, my goal this year is to live what I KNOW to be true. And the truth is, God has called me to write. God equips those He calls. He doesn't call you and then just leave you floundering on your own. I just need to take the next step - that step across the Jordan. I need to focus on the giant fruit, not the giant obstacles whether they come in the form of hurtful rejection or sick kids.
I'm going to claim my Promised Land and just let those giants try to get me!
~Blessings, Bronte
Several times in Scripture, there is reference to a race or group of people that apparently were way bigger than the average person. In common venacular maybe giants or just the equivalent of a whole country of Shaquille O'Neil's. Eitehr way, they looked rather intimidating.
So, on the edge of the Promised Land, the Israelites balked. Fear made them not want to go forward, to fight and defeat the giants so they could claim the Promised Land. It would be so easy for me to roll my eyes and to look down at them. After all, look at all the miracles God had performed for them. I mean, honestly - freed from Egypt and all the plagues and the Red Sea for goodness' sake! What was there to fear? God had promised them the land. He had led them here and had performed major, can't miss them miracles to get them there. So what were a few giants? The bigger they are, the harder they fall right?
Well, God hit me right between the eyes. I'm standing on the bank too. God has called me to write, yet all I can see are the giants in my path. A particularly large one knocked on my door this week. An article I had put out to a very large Christian publication had gone through several rounds of editors. The publication had gone through some major changes and I had worked with an editor, rewriting it even. It had been an eight month process. So, when I got the email stating they didn't want it - I was crushed. I felt like throwing in the towel. It was like that acceptance would have stamped me as a "real" writer and said that I could do it. Getting a rejection, well, it felt like the giant hadn't just knocked on my door, but had stepped on me too.
I threw myself a little pity party. It went on all week, as thing after thing interupted and disrupted my week - my oldest son was sick on Monday and then had to stay home again on Thursday. The times I had counted on to get things done were no longer existent. To top it off, Friday morning we had a school delay. I had a group that was coming in to talk to my students. Because of the delay, I had to cancel the group. So, instead of enjoying a morning sleeping in, I was frantically calling around to make sure the group didn't show up. I felt like I spent most mornings this week in a whirl of confusion and stress. Add to all this my husband being gone every night and I the giants seemed to be breathing down my neck!
It just seemed the obstacles to a writing career seemed too many and too much. But no matter how I felt, my goal this year is to live what I KNOW to be true. And the truth is, God has called me to write. God equips those He calls. He doesn't call you and then just leave you floundering on your own. I just need to take the next step - that step across the Jordan. I need to focus on the giant fruit, not the giant obstacles whether they come in the form of hurtful rejection or sick kids.
I'm going to claim my Promised Land and just let those giants try to get me!
~Blessings, Bronte
Monday, February 15, 2010
OUT OF CONTROL
I don't know about you but I want to be in control. I want to feel like I have some say in what happens to me every day. While our choices do influence our futures, the truth is nobody can predict what will happen five minutes from now, never mind tomorrow or next week.
The other day, I talked about how "being healthy" had sneaked into my life as a false god - something I was putting my faith in instead of God. I have been thinking about that and why that is. The reason is control. I want control and many of the things I do like trying to be more organized or more healthy or more, well, fill in the blank is to control things, to have a say in what does and doesn't happen in my life.
Don't get me wrong, having a neat, organized house is a blessing. I find if my house gets too cluttered, my mind feels somewhat cluttered too. It's also a blessing to keep a grasp on your time so you aren't squeezed to the last little inth degree and burn yourself out. But the truth is I can have a perfectly organized house, use good time management skills, eat only healthy foods and work out the perfect number of minutes every day and then get in a car accident and die this afternoon. There are no guarantees.
I think this is why "being healthy" is such an easy functional god to have. In the past 18 months, at 7 people I know in real life and online have been diagnosed with cancer. For a few of them, it isn't looking too good. I find myself looking for reasons WHY they got it. Maybe they were overweight or smoked or drank too many diet cokes and the fake sugar did them in. I want to know the reason so I can avoid it. While our choices can affect our health, that isn't always the case. I found this out when I woman I know was diagnosed with not one but two types of cancer. The one type was easily contained, but the other one is very aggressive. They found spots on her liver so it isn't looking good. She just had twins less than a year ago after years of infertility. It's heartbreaking and I can hardly think of the situation without tearing up.
The thing is she was thin. She ran marathons. She worked at the hospital so my guess is that she got her yearly mammograms and took good care of herself. Yet, she got cancer and she might not make it. Her situation drove home to me that none of us knows. We can't control everything and ultimately our lives and what happens in them are in God's hands.
"Without faith, it is impossible to please God..." I will add without faith, it is impossible to live this life with its crazy twists and turns. I am just thankful that my God is as Psalms 103 says, "The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness." With a God like that, I can be at peace even without being in control.
~ Blessings, Bronte
The other day, I talked about how "being healthy" had sneaked into my life as a false god - something I was putting my faith in instead of God. I have been thinking about that and why that is. The reason is control. I want control and many of the things I do like trying to be more organized or more healthy or more, well, fill in the blank is to control things, to have a say in what does and doesn't happen in my life.
Don't get me wrong, having a neat, organized house is a blessing. I find if my house gets too cluttered, my mind feels somewhat cluttered too. It's also a blessing to keep a grasp on your time so you aren't squeezed to the last little inth degree and burn yourself out. But the truth is I can have a perfectly organized house, use good time management skills, eat only healthy foods and work out the perfect number of minutes every day and then get in a car accident and die this afternoon. There are no guarantees.
I think this is why "being healthy" is such an easy functional god to have. In the past 18 months, at 7 people I know in real life and online have been diagnosed with cancer. For a few of them, it isn't looking too good. I find myself looking for reasons WHY they got it. Maybe they were overweight or smoked or drank too many diet cokes and the fake sugar did them in. I want to know the reason so I can avoid it. While our choices can affect our health, that isn't always the case. I found this out when I woman I know was diagnosed with not one but two types of cancer. The one type was easily contained, but the other one is very aggressive. They found spots on her liver so it isn't looking good. She just had twins less than a year ago after years of infertility. It's heartbreaking and I can hardly think of the situation without tearing up.
The thing is she was thin. She ran marathons. She worked at the hospital so my guess is that she got her yearly mammograms and took good care of herself. Yet, she got cancer and she might not make it. Her situation drove home to me that none of us knows. We can't control everything and ultimately our lives and what happens in them are in God's hands.
"Without faith, it is impossible to please God..." I will add without faith, it is impossible to live this life with its crazy twists and turns. I am just thankful that my God is as Psalms 103 says, "The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness." With a God like that, I can be at peace even without being in control.
~ Blessings, Bronte
THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE
I've been doing pretty well exercising and watching what I eat. In fact, I think I've lost not only a few pounds but some inches as well. However, since losing about 15 pounds since this summer, something strange has happened. I'm falling apart!
Everything you read tells you that once you lose weight you'll feel so great, but that has not been the case for me. My lower back went out. I have a pinched nerve in my neck/upper back at the moment. I had an endoscopy, colonoscopy and small bowel capsule. I've had h1n1 with walking pneumonia and a nasty case of the stomach flu. Makes me want to go eat a donut!
Right now I am doing this Bible study on false gods in our lives. Of course, I can usually recognize idols like watching too much tv or being on the computer too much. Those ones are fairly obvious. It's the more subtle ones that trip me up or hide in good intentions. The thing is many functional gods in our lives are derived from good things. Good things that have become a little too essential. I've been praying that God would reveal truth in my life - truth to see even the sneaky, not so obvious functional gods in my life.
So, imagine my surprise when my good intention of getting healthy was revealed as a god in my life. At first I was confused. I mean, taking care of myself by exercising and making good food choices is a good thing right? Getting to a weight that is appropriate for my height and build is also a good thing. I firmly believe that I need to be in good physical shape so I can do what God wants me to do. It's hard to fulfill your calling when you are lugging what amounts to a 3rd grader around with you all the time.
However, God showed me that my faith and hope had shifted from HIM, to being healthy. While it sounded good, being healthy and at my goal weight had become my promised land - it was where I would be happy and healthy and magically free from any threat of heart disease or cancer or any other scary health problem.
But the truth is there are no guarantees. It reminds of that guy I learned about in high school- Ponce de Leon. He found Florida but died unhappy because he desperately wanted to find the fountain of youth. His faith and hope were in something that wasn't reliable. Even if he had found this "fountain of youth", it would have disappointed and let him down.
It was a little scary to see how easily and slyly my focus had shifted from faith in God to faith in "being healthy." This doesn't mean that I am suddenly going to stop exercising or trying to make good food choices. But it does mean that I am going to stop stressing and obsessing about it all. God has the number of my days counted. He knows my future and what that will hold. Since I know He is good and He loves me more than I can possibly comprehend, I can relax and stop bowing down at the alter of "good health."
~Blessings,
Bronte
Everything you read tells you that once you lose weight you'll feel so great, but that has not been the case for me. My lower back went out. I have a pinched nerve in my neck/upper back at the moment. I had an endoscopy, colonoscopy and small bowel capsule. I've had h1n1 with walking pneumonia and a nasty case of the stomach flu. Makes me want to go eat a donut!
Right now I am doing this Bible study on false gods in our lives. Of course, I can usually recognize idols like watching too much tv or being on the computer too much. Those ones are fairly obvious. It's the more subtle ones that trip me up or hide in good intentions. The thing is many functional gods in our lives are derived from good things. Good things that have become a little too essential. I've been praying that God would reveal truth in my life - truth to see even the sneaky, not so obvious functional gods in my life.
So, imagine my surprise when my good intention of getting healthy was revealed as a god in my life. At first I was confused. I mean, taking care of myself by exercising and making good food choices is a good thing right? Getting to a weight that is appropriate for my height and build is also a good thing. I firmly believe that I need to be in good physical shape so I can do what God wants me to do. It's hard to fulfill your calling when you are lugging what amounts to a 3rd grader around with you all the time.
However, God showed me that my faith and hope had shifted from HIM, to being healthy. While it sounded good, being healthy and at my goal weight had become my promised land - it was where I would be happy and healthy and magically free from any threat of heart disease or cancer or any other scary health problem.
But the truth is there are no guarantees. It reminds of that guy I learned about in high school- Ponce de Leon. He found Florida but died unhappy because he desperately wanted to find the fountain of youth. His faith and hope were in something that wasn't reliable. Even if he had found this "fountain of youth", it would have disappointed and let him down.
It was a little scary to see how easily and slyly my focus had shifted from faith in God to faith in "being healthy." This doesn't mean that I am suddenly going to stop exercising or trying to make good food choices. But it does mean that I am going to stop stressing and obsessing about it all. God has the number of my days counted. He knows my future and what that will hold. Since I know He is good and He loves me more than I can possibly comprehend, I can relax and stop bowing down at the alter of "good health."
~Blessings,
Bronte
Sunday, January 17, 2010
MY INTERESTING ENCOUNTER
So, I said I would tell you all the second thing that happened to me. It was a very interesting encounber I had at McDonald's, of all places. I was sitting there eating my pancakes and doing my Bible study when I hear someone say rather awkwardly, "Are you reading a, uh, Bible?"
Startled, I looked up to see an older man with grey hair and a beard, and said, "Pardon me?"
He said, "Is that a Bible you are reading?" I answered yes, and he started talking to me. He showed me this very thick notebook, explaining that he was translating the Bible from English into Italian. I thought the notebook he was holding was the entire Bible but it was actually only the book of Luke. His goal was that his grandchildren would be able to learn Italian from reading the Bible. He had been working on translating idioms and phrases that would be hard for the average English speaker to pick up in Italian. You could tell by the way he talked, that he loved the Bible. It was a neat conversation and an interesting meeting.
Then before he left, he looked me right in the eye and said, "I just wanted to say that reading the Bible is the best investment of time you can make. God bless you." Then he left.
I was left with this feeling that God had reached down to say, "Good job - keep up the good work." God used someone else, someone I didn't even know, to encourage me. God's cool like that.
~Blessings,
Bronte
Startled, I looked up to see an older man with grey hair and a beard, and said, "Pardon me?"
He said, "Is that a Bible you are reading?" I answered yes, and he started talking to me. He showed me this very thick notebook, explaining that he was translating the Bible from English into Italian. I thought the notebook he was holding was the entire Bible but it was actually only the book of Luke. His goal was that his grandchildren would be able to learn Italian from reading the Bible. He had been working on translating idioms and phrases that would be hard for the average English speaker to pick up in Italian. You could tell by the way he talked, that he loved the Bible. It was a neat conversation and an interesting meeting.
Then before he left, he looked me right in the eye and said, "I just wanted to say that reading the Bible is the best investment of time you can make. God bless you." Then he left.
I was left with this feeling that God had reached down to say, "Good job - keep up the good work." God used someone else, someone I didn't even know, to encourage me. God's cool like that.
~Blessings,
Bronte
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
THAT'S MY GIRL!
From my last post, you might have gotten the idea that I am a little blue, and you would be correct. I'm not navy blue, just a wedgewood blue. I was praying the other day and I said, Lord, I know I have lots of things that I need to work on, but I just don't want to hear one more area that I am NOT up to snuff!"
Don't get me wrong - I really believe we are "to work out our salvation with fear and trembling." I don't mean we have to earn our salvation but that after we are saved, God starts sanctifying us - He loves us too much to leave us as we are. But to be honest, I've been feeling a bit sanctified-out. I needed a bit of encouragement.
God, as always, heard me and answered me in two ways - one He uses a lot with me and another one that was unique. First, was through something I read. God does that with me a lot - answers my questions or meets a need through what I am currently reading. I was doing my Bible study, Having a Mary Spirit by Joanna Weaver. This is the follow up book of Having a Mary Spirit in a Martha World. Anyway, she shared this story about her youngest son Josh who was born without a lot of muscle tone. This made him a bit slower in some of those developmental milestones and made some things a bit harder than it was for others. She shared how she was watching Josh hit a new milestone - sitting up and reaching for a toy and how hard it was for him. She and the babysitter whooped it up as if Josh had just won a gold medal. She scooped him up and said, "That's my boy!"
It then hit her that that was what God does with us - He is rooting for us, delighting in every bit of progress we make. He doesn't have a chart in hand and tap His divine foot as to why we haven't reached x milestone by y time. He knows how hard things are for us and He is cheering us on. He is ready to scoop me up and say, "That's my girl!" Weaver shared this story with her audience, as she was at a women's conference speaking at the time, and while she was speaking, another truth hit her - despite the response of the women listening, many of whom had tears in their eyes, it meant the MOST to Weaver because Josh belonged to her.
Just as my Father watches each little bit of progress, cheering me on, wanting the best for me, with a vested interest because I BELONG TO HIM! In Psalms it says God delights in us. Wow! What a concept - I sometimes have a hard time envisioning God clapping His hands in delight over the times I choose to obey or when I choose to extend kindness and grace to someone else or when I give some of my blessings to others. Kind of changes my focus from trying so hard to get it right all the time and just walking with God as He holds my hands and steadies me when the path gets rocky, resting in His strength not my own. Why? Because I'm His best girl!
Blessings,
Bronte
p.s. I'll share the second way tomorrow! :)
Don't get me wrong - I really believe we are "to work out our salvation with fear and trembling." I don't mean we have to earn our salvation but that after we are saved, God starts sanctifying us - He loves us too much to leave us as we are. But to be honest, I've been feeling a bit sanctified-out. I needed a bit of encouragement.
God, as always, heard me and answered me in two ways - one He uses a lot with me and another one that was unique. First, was through something I read. God does that with me a lot - answers my questions or meets a need through what I am currently reading. I was doing my Bible study, Having a Mary Spirit by Joanna Weaver. This is the follow up book of Having a Mary Spirit in a Martha World. Anyway, she shared this story about her youngest son Josh who was born without a lot of muscle tone. This made him a bit slower in some of those developmental milestones and made some things a bit harder than it was for others. She shared how she was watching Josh hit a new milestone - sitting up and reaching for a toy and how hard it was for him. She and the babysitter whooped it up as if Josh had just won a gold medal. She scooped him up and said, "That's my boy!"
It then hit her that that was what God does with us - He is rooting for us, delighting in every bit of progress we make. He doesn't have a chart in hand and tap His divine foot as to why we haven't reached x milestone by y time. He knows how hard things are for us and He is cheering us on. He is ready to scoop me up and say, "That's my girl!" Weaver shared this story with her audience, as she was at a women's conference speaking at the time, and while she was speaking, another truth hit her - despite the response of the women listening, many of whom had tears in their eyes, it meant the MOST to Weaver because Josh belonged to her.
Just as my Father watches each little bit of progress, cheering me on, wanting the best for me, with a vested interest because I BELONG TO HIM! In Psalms it says God delights in us. Wow! What a concept - I sometimes have a hard time envisioning God clapping His hands in delight over the times I choose to obey or when I choose to extend kindness and grace to someone else or when I give some of my blessings to others. Kind of changes my focus from trying so hard to get it right all the time and just walking with God as He holds my hands and steadies me when the path gets rocky, resting in His strength not my own. Why? Because I'm His best girl!
Blessings,
Bronte
p.s. I'll share the second way tomorrow! :)
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