30 Day Journey, Days 12-27

I know I've been a little silent on this journey. However, that definitely doesn't mean God hasn't been working. As I wrapped up my final day in my "No Other gods" study by Kelly Minter, God really made it clear to me what He's been doing in the last 27 days. When I began this study eight weeks ago, I didn't put down entertainment as one of my idols. I felt that I spent a relatively small amount of time sitting in front of the TV or reading or whatever. The last two days we spent time in the book of Ruth. In Ruth, we see God's provision and His timing. The future probably looked pretty bleak to Ruth as she set out from Moab with Naomi to Judah. Her husband had died, she had no children, there was no man to provide for them (big deal in those days), she was leaving her family & friends and her gods. She was commited to helping Naomi, though, and she went. Just so happens, on her first day in the barley field, Boaz showed up and went beyond his duty to help her and her family and had the workers leave extra barley behind for her to pick up. At the end of the book, Naomi is able to have an heir through Ruth & Boaz's baby, Obed. Blessed beyond belief! This is surely not what Naomi & Ruth thought they had ahead of them as they left Moab. God did that, and He continues to do this today. He clicks the pieces of the puzzles we call life together to form a beautiful picture of His grace and provision. I was taken aback by Him this morning, as I realized how perfect His timing was in asking me to do this 30 day journey of purity. Maybe I didn't spend much time on entertainment  (because what Mom has time for that, am I right?!), but I was using it as a coping skill, like I've talked about before.  I would stay up reading, because I didn't want to think about my problems. When we did watch TV at night, Ryan & I weren't spending real quality time together. Personally,  some shows and books were desensitizing me to what God's Word calls sin. This all clicked this morning. By setting aside entertainment, I've been able to grieve the anniversary of my mom's death by turning to God. He has brought healing through my tears and through the moments where I am awake at 3:00am and all I can think about is her, so I turn to Him and pray. He has brought me and Ryan closer through card games and conversation and real quality time. He has enabled me to be bold in my beliefs and what He's called me to do and to care less what others think about my choices. God's timing is perfect. I realized today that time spent isn't necessarily the only clue that something is an idol in our lives, and God showed me how removing it and making room for Him has blessed me abundantly - even in this short month! How good and amazing and wonderful is He! 

30 Day Journey, Days 8-11

I tell you what, I cannot believe it's been four days since my last post! Last week was busy! Besides having to run lots of errands, I also spent 2 1/2 days cleaning up my backyard. I feel so empowered, because I used the leaf blower all on my own! :)

I was more consistent this past week with getting up early in the morning and spending time with the Lord before I did anything else. What a huge difference that made in my day! Just that sweet time spent prepared me to be more patient, to see God's hand at work and readily praise Him and reminded me to pray more frequently throughout the day. I have noticed on days I spend with the Lord, I am more prone to stop and pray with Zooey (or by myself) when it seems like a situation is getting frustrating or my anger is rising up in me. It truly makes a difference. Moms (& Dads) - if you are having a hard day with your little ones, I'd really encourage you to do this. Of course, the principle applies to any relationship, really, but I've noticed that after praying with Zooey she often (in fact, 9/10 times) becomes calmer and is more apt to obey. God is amazing! Little miracles...

As I sat down to my study (No Other Gods, by Kelly Minter), I really identified with something she said about the experience of Christianity. She said if she could change anything about her early Christian experience, she "would switch the percentage of time (I'm guessing about 90%) spent on focusing on all the 'bad' things in my life that weren't supposed to be there with the 10% spent focusing on Christ. I fear we have this terribly backward. We spend too much time trying to rid ourselves of rebellion, lust, jealousy, materialism, drug addictions, and whatever other idols rule our lives, while spending this minuscule amount of time on knowing the One True God."

I have such a guilt complex that I totally relate to this. I know in my heart of hearts that Jesus died to set me free from guilt. I know that guilt is from Satan. God has worked mightily in my life in the last four years about guilt. Praise God! However, there are those moments when I just royally screw up before His throne, I go against His Word, and I am overwhelmed with guilt sometimes to the point that it consumes my every thought and emotion. Have you ever been there? The opposite should be true. We should consume our every thought with God's grace and Jesus' amazing character. Will we become perfect when we do this? No! Of course not; we're human. BUT - when we truly open our eyes and our hearts to all that Jesus has done to cover our multitude of sins, it gives us a heart that longs to please Him with our whole self, so the sin stuff starts to fade away and we start to live out our faith. James 4:7-9 says, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up." When we see our sin for the ugliness that it is, the Spirit causes us to yearn for God and to worship Him with our lives in ways that are impossible on our own.

In Isaiah 55:1-9, God called the Israelites (and us) to "come" 3 times, "listen"/"hear"/"give ear" 4 times and to "eat" 2 times. We're also called to "delight," "seek," "see," "call" and "turn." You're probably reading this and going, "So?" All of this comes back to what God's heart for us, found in verse 2: "...and your soul will delight in the richest of fare." Why settle for the measly temporary pleasure that sin provides, when God promises to delight us, to satisfy us, with His rich blessing?

Will you come to the Lord, eat of His good Word, give ear and listen to what He has to say, see Jesus for the King He is, seek the Lord while He may still be found and "call on Him when He is near?" I think if you do, you'll be awestruck by the way He satiates your soul with His love. This, my friends, is the key to being able to live a pure and holy life.

30 Days, Day 1-2

Hello! Wouldn't you know it, yesterday morning started off with some snags? Since I've been sick, I've been sleeping in to catch up on some much needed rest. I got up, fed Zooey breakfast and put her in roomtime, all set to do have my quiet time. This was the day that she decided to cry and cry about roomtime - which, by the way, she hasn't done in I don't even know how long. She was just inconsolable, so I got her out. I never did get the chance to sit down and really get into the Word; however, I was able to do my devotional on parenting. 

The immediate struggles I faced with cutting out TV (well, inappropriate ones) was that I am not really able to watch TV with Ryan at night. This posed a problem, because he is the type who  has to watch TV to unwind and be able to go to sleep at night. The first night, I wanted to be alone for a bit anyway, to read my Bible and pray, as I was really missing my mom. I needed to grieve with Jesus, so I took the time to do that. Last night, he was watching a show that had some raunchy kind of humor to it, so I read the news on my iPad and listened to some Christian music until he was done with that show. Then we kind of watched a game show until it was time for bed. Another thing that was hard for me was to hit the gym yesterday without my usual playlist. I really do enjoy Christian music, and in fact listen to it most of the time while driving, at home, etc. When I'm working out, I like music with a good beat, that's energizing, and let's be honest - a lot of Christian music is just a little too soft. So, that was a challenge. I ended up playing Natalie Grant and skipping over a lot of the softer, slower songs. These are some struggles I've noticed so far.

Now, for the good things. I have found when I have a bit of downtime, I'm looking to my Bible or other devotional app on the iPad to read a plan. Listening to Christian music while working out left me with more positive feeling, because I was praising the Lord while I worked out. Even two days in, I'm seeing that I'm connecting with Him a little more often than I normally do. I find I am also a little more sensitive to what's around me, even when I'm at home, and that's good. Instead of clicking on a link or keeping my attention focused on the TV show that's on, I'm turning away from things that aren't filling my mind with something godly. 

Philippians 4:8-9 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard form me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

The key to peace is to keep my focus on God and the things that He deems true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. While it is nice sometimes just to veg out and be entertained, it shouldn't become our main escape. Jesus should. He is an escape that will leave us feeling full. All the other stuff fades and still leaves us with a sense of "what do I do now?" I saw this the other night when instead of reading or watching TV to escape my feelings about my mom, I read the Bible and talked to the Lord. I felt like a little bit of that weight had been lifted, and I felt encouraged to know that He is always with me and will carry that burden and get me through it.

Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." Like my friend said when we were talking about this, how does a novel or TV show help to renew our minds and transform us into the person God wants us to be? Again, I do not feel that all TV or all novels are inerrantly bad. I do think it is important for us as Christians to be aware that things we read and watch DO effect us. That's why it's so important that the time we spend with God is the most important time of our day. Earnestly seeking Him will lead to a conviction if our choice of entertainment is something we should avoid. And of course, His Word is very clear about what is sinful and what is not, so if our entertainment is not in line with what He would be ok with, then it's probably not something we should be entertained by.

If you're along for the ride on this journey, I'd love to hear what's been good or bad for you. Please comment!

A 30 Day Journey of Purity

As I mentioned here entertainment can be a problem for me. I have been reading some great blogs lately about "Magic Mike" and "50 Shades of Grey." If you'd like to read those articles, here are the links: http://melissajenna.com/2012/06/30/50-shades-of-magic-mike-in-which-i-am-very-uncool/ http://tolovehonorandvacuum.com/2012/07/magic-mike-marriage-and-womens-libido/ After reading these articles, I hit the little "Like" button for Facebook at the bottom of the page. It was pointed out to me by someone that "people can't selectively (say) one thing is inappropriate when they divulge in inappropriate things themselves." Good point. I'll get back to this in a minute. Right now, "Magic Mike" and "50 Shades of Grey" are all the rage. The books are still topping the charts on Amazon as of this morning. The media is in a craze about both. There are articles, blog entries, spots on TV news about both "MM" and "50," and I have heard people I know talking about them, posting about them on Facebook or Twitter. These are things that are being called "mommy porn" by some of the bloggers I read who have read these books. Some of these women like the "mommy porn." Some of them are against it. Some are Christians; some are not. God has called Christians to a different standard of living. While "50 Shades of Grey" (or more!) may be popular in the society we live in, God only has two: holy and unholy. His Word makes this very clear. Sin is either a black or white; there are no gray areas. Last Sunday, I heard a pastor say, "Instead of asking ourselves, 'how far is too far?,' we should be asking ourselves, 'how holy is too holy? how pure is too pure?'" This has been running through my mind all week, and then I received the above comment. That is why I am going on a fast from secular entertainment for 30 days. 1 Peter 1:15 says "But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy." My prayer when I studied this in BSF last year was that the Lord would make me pure and blameless, a woman whose life is pleasing to the Lord. When I look at what Christ gave for me to set me free, so that I could live, my heart and soul burst with the desire to give all that I can to Him. This includes my time, and my time spent on entertainment that does not lead to godliness seems wasted. I think of a recent book I read, how there was cursing on practically every page. It had a good plot. It had interesting characters. Even though God put it on my heart to stop reading it, I disobeyed Him. And you know, it did seep in. I didn't think it would. I rationalized my sin and disobediene, because I wanted to continue on, to find out what happened. But isn't it interesting, how when I started to get mad, profanity would come into my angry thoughts (as if they weren't bad enough on their own). Garbage in, garbage out. I love 1 Corinthians 7:23, which says, "You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men." When all I can think about is the book I'm reading, when I do that but don't read my Bible, I'm becoming a slave to it little by little. James 1:21-25 says, "Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." God has given me, and all Christians, the amazing opportunity to grow closer to Him and become more like Him through the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work. But if I am too focused on the world around me to focus on Him, the world starts to hold a greater place in my heart and I lose focus of what's really important, the true life that Christ came to give me. I am not just biding time here on this earth. I am here for a purpose, first and foremost to worship God with my whole life and being and to tell others about Him. So, this is a first post in many on God's work of purification in my heart in the area of entertainment. I invite you to join me. Will you take the challenge to cut out your favorite TV show for a month? Believe me - it's going to be hard for me to miss "Burn Notice" for a whole month! Will you put your secular novel on hold and join me in replacing that time with reading the Bible or a devotional or another Christian book? Will you commit with me to read the Bible daily for the next 30 days? Will you join me in cutting out secular music and praising God when you have music on? I am praying for myself and for you that God will grow your relationship in Him during this fast and will give you a heart that desires Him above all else and one that can see the things of the world a little bit more clearly through the spiritual glasses He's given us through the Spirit.