Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Choosing the Meat



I know I do not write on here very much. I always wonder what people are really interested in. My daily routine stays pretty much the same and I don't even really bore Luke with all the details of that! There are the funny stories of my kids, but I worry sometimes that some of these will prove to be embarrassing to them as they get older and are able to freely read what I have shared about them with the whole world! They are entitled to some privacy, right? Then there are my thoughts. I struggle here too, because I have many thoughts. I am not sure when to share. When is God laying something on my heart, that He wants to change in me, am I supposed to share it? Does that take the heat off of me? Does God just want me to make changes and live them or to share them as if they were changes everyone needs to make?
A while back I changed the title of this blog from my name (it was created to keep people updated on my condition when I was in the hospital,) to 'Remember.' I did this because of one of the things God has laid on my heart very heavily for the past three years. I do believe that God puts us through things and allows us to experience circumstances that will either cause us to come to a point of surrender or defiance. In these moments, when we choose to surrender and let Him lead and take control, it always works to bring Him glory and often to change us in a way that makes us more like Him. And these are moments we are meant to remember, and NEVER forget. Not only are we to remember these moments, but we are to remember them correctly so that God is always the one being glorified. When we don't remember these things properly it can lead to pride and a false sense of accomplishment. And that is not a good place to be!!
When I came home from the hospital, fully aware of my second chance at life, I knew I wanted to live life focused on the eternal; on the things that really matter. One of the ways I decided to do this was to revamp my quiet time. I have always been a bit wishy washy in this area. I had never read straight through the Bible and although I had read most of it through out my life, I did not like the idea of just reading through. I enjoyed studying topically on the things that were affecting my life at the time. And for this reason, I was not very consistent. When I came home I was determined to read His whole letter to me, from begining to end. I found a 90 day challange and decided to try it. This was a big deal for me. I am not that fast a reader, and I am seldom left alone without interruption for more than ten minutes at a time. But I was determined. I would read even on the days I didn't 'feel it'.
I LOVED IT!!!! Reading straight through in such a short period of time meant I would still remember the beginnig when I came to the end. I have never had a problem believing in the inspiration and infalibility of the Word. I have never had a problem with so many authors and such a span of time being in one book, but to read it so quickly made it come alive in ways I had never seen before. The continuity throughout the whole book JUMPED of the page!!
I decided that for at least the next few years I would be relying soley on the Bible as the text of my quiet times. I do not have a problem with Christian books others have written. I think they are great, but I had decided that I needed to spend a considerable amount of time in JUST the Word. Eating of the meat He has provided for me. Trusting His Holy Spirit to highlight and teach me. And These three years have been a time of increadible amount of growth for me. I did slow down the tempo a bit. I have read in six month perionds for two years and plan to do it in a whole year next year. Each time It allows me a little more time to regurgitate, meditate, analize and study what I am reading. I LOVE IT!
It will never cease to amaze me that each time I see something new, something I never saw before, something deeper than I thought was there. His word is truly living, active and moving!!
I hope to always remember correctly and to never forget!