Ooohhhh....the Temptation!

It's finally here...Cyber Monday! I'm really feeling the burning desire to sit at home and spend money. I'm beginning to think that Cyber Monday for spendaholics like me is similar to alcohol to alcoholics. I'm nearly twitching in my chair as I write this...I have a million other things I should be doing, but I'm thinking about all the "deals" that I'm missing out on. 

Yesterday at church, pastor talked about how we all have a few "troubled spots" in our lives that we keep coming back to. It could be out of control spending, anger issues, or other temptations. If we have temptations that we find ourselves coming back to time and time again, we should equip ourselves with the armor God has given us to fight such thoughts. Memorize scriptures. He suggested to start by having 7 scriptures that relate to our temptations or reoccurring sins. Amen. I really need to equip myself with verses regarding self-control. 

Be Content

I must say I was surprised the other day when my friend encouraged me to start blogging again. She said she liked to read what I was posting. Good to know!! You know who you are...and Thank YOU! So here I am "back in the saddle again" so to speak. I am down to only one class so I have a little more time to blog. 

Thanksgiving is over and the holiday rush to get Christmas presents is here. Last year I did tackle the Black Friday sales. I came away with a lot of things I didn't need (some I still have) and a horrible sickness that lasted a few weeks (probably from lack of sleep). I decided to skip that stress this year and stay home. 

I did have an ulterior motive for staying home...to save myself from ME. I must say I do have a spending problem. I'm really ashamed of how much money I can waste so quickly. I still have this burning desire to go out and "get the deals". More is better, right? No, I don't think it is. 1 Tim.6:8 tells us "But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that."

Let's face it...I have a lot of really great coupons crying to be used today. Instead of using them for things I really don't need any way, I decided to get out my Bible. God lead me to that passage in 1 Tim. The next few verses go even further to say "people who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into may foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction." 1 Tim. 6:9 Interesting...so is it "bad" to go out and use my coupons to get things? After praying and meditating on this verse God pressed on my heart  No it's not horrible to go out shopping, BUT doing so could lead me astray in many ways such as wasting time driving and standing in line, fueling the desire to always want more or ignoring God and my family to get more things.

After reading this passage in 1 Timothy a few times my burning desire to run out and use those coupons finally subsided.

Dear Lord, let me see that you give me just enough for what I need. Help me to give more to others that are struggling just to live. 

Open my heart and mind to your gift of giving that YOU may be glorified through me. Amen.

He Brings Grace and Truth

"For the law was given to us through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:17

Wow! This verse pretty much sums up the whole Bible. God's law was handed down through Moses and his descendents. Jesus was born and replaced the old law. He brought grace to the world simply by having faith in the Lord.

So simple and beautiful. 

Live Like there's No Tomorrow

Love this song by Jason Gray "Good To Be Alive". It came to mind the other day at MOPS where the theme this year is Plunge based on 1 Peter 4:8 "love as if your life depended on it."

"I want to live like there's no tomorrow, love like I'm living on borrowed time"....beautiful lyrics! 

Though I have "down days" there really isn't time for self-pity, guilt or anxiety. I really just need to plunge into life and live like I'm on borrowed time. All the time God has given us here on Earth is a precious gift.

Delight in the LORD

I continue my slow progress on Jonah: Navigating A Life Interrupted by Priscilla Shirer. I felt defeated this morning when I realized I didn't feel well enough to attend church. I decided that I would not neglect my special Sunday morning time with the Lord and dug out my Jonah study.

I often think that I am very much like Jonah. Could I sleep in a boat in the middle of a storm to avoid facing my disobedience? Umm...probably. I'm actually very good at trying to "sleep away" things. It never seems to work. Life and God catch up with me.

A few points from today's video really struck home. First, Shirer said that sometimes the enemy entices us to do "good things" to avoid doing "God things". In other words, you might be doing some sort of serving (food pantry, Sunday School volunteer, etc) but it's not where (different country, different community, etc.) or with whom (with children, with Women, etc.) God wants you to serve. You are using another "good cause" to ignore God's command to "Arise" and "go" do what he commands. 

The other point that struck home with me was attitude. Jonah didn't really change his feeling toward Ninevah. Even when he finally went to Ninevah and followed God's will he didn't really want to go and help these people know the Lord. Shirer tells us to be like David and ask God to change our hearts.  
"Delight yourself in the Lord; and he will give you the desires of your heart." Ps. 37:4 
Shirer tells us this verse means we should ASK God to help us change the desires of our hearts to meet what the Lord asks us to do. We can do this through delighting in the Lord...submerging ourselves in his Word.

The third and final point that really caught my attention was how you know you are doing God's will. I have been struggling with this a lot lately. I'm very much a YES gal, so when people ask for help I have a hard time saying no. I have slowly learned to say "I will think about it" and pray before saying yes. Okay...so how do we know we're doing God's will? Shirer says that God gives us things that are challenging (outside our comfort zone) BUT that he will provide us the tools we need to get the job done.

I have felt the calling to be a nurse since I was in high school. However, I felt that it should come easy and I wouldn't have to work hard. I also thought it was a good career move because of job stability and pay. Don't get me wrong, I did care for people, but that wasn't my main focus back then. I have tried a few times to become a nurse and each time I hit a road block and ran the other direction. However, I have asked God to direct me these last few years. I've been praying for guidance and strength. I acknowledged that if this is the path He has for me that I can only do it with His help. Amazingly...doors are opening to me. It is still a challenge for me but things are falling into place. It is amazing how things change when you try to give it over to God and put it in His hands.

Dear Lord,
Please guide me and open my heart and mind to the task you have laid before me. Let me know that the journey will not be easy, but that I will have everything I need to serve You.
Amen.

Pride

The Lord has been pressing on me for weeks to release my pride and give glory to God for all things. I have been very stubborn...like a teenager rebelling or a two-year old throwing a tantrum. I have ignored the pressing feeling of pride for weeks. Yet over and over again pride has been a topic all around me. It was getting hard to ignore. I finally had a revelation last week that a lot of things I have been doing have been to make myself feel better than others - Pride. My eyes were open to a few areas of my life where I was held back because I wanted to accomplish them for prideful reasons. 

As I read through some verses on pride, I was shocked to find that pride was lumped in with such sins as murder and adultery. That was eye opening for me. 

"For from within, out of the hear of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride and foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man".   Mark 7:21-23 NKJ

Paul relates pride to the devil.

"not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condition as the devil."
1 Tim. 3:6 NKJ

Once again pride is lumped with "lusts of the flesh". Such things are of this world and not from our heavenly Father.

"For all that is in the world -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- is not of the Father but is of the world."  1 John 2:16 NKJ

Dear Lord, please let me give all things to you. All glory to You and set aside my pride. Let me do things for Your glory and not for my own. Amen.

Praise You

When should we to talk to God and praise Him? Through all things!

I have found that talking with God is my "prescription" for many things that ail me. The Bible tells us in Mark 1:35 ESV "And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed". Jesus himself sought solitude to pray (talk) with God. He made it his priority and even rose before the sun.  I have been trying to get up before everyone else in my family to pray and converse with God early in the morning. I admit that with the recent holidays I have strayed from this, but I have seen that when I don't set aside time to tell God what's on my mind my day is a little rougher. Ultimately, I will have to find some time during the day to pour out my heart.

"But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint".  Is. 40:31 ESV

"I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me."  Pr. 8:17 ESV

Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer

I have really been searching for God's voice in my life. I really try to set aside at least 15-30 minutes a day for prayer. Priscilla Shirer's book "Discerning the Voice of God" might be another way for me to find God's voice in my life. She starts the book by showing how God talked to his people in the past and how he talks to them now. Look for a book review in the future on this one.

Here is a song to send you on your way and remember to praise God and pour out your heart to HIM in all things. Even through the storms in your life.

Running to Your Arms!

This song reminds me to give everything over to God. Happy Independence day!!!

Lazy Mornings

Sometimes I just need a reminder to get up and going. Particularly on Monday! I love the first line of this song "lazy mornings, they multiply". No kidding! So get up and moving on this fine Monday morning!

This band has been featured on our Christian radio station, but I don't think there's anything overly Christian about them. I do really like their style of music. The lyrics are meaningful and simple. I listen to it while running or on the elliptical because most songs on their new album The Reckoning have a really great beat!

Don't get me wrong, some mornings are just tough to get going. It takes me a few cups of coffee and a few repeats of this song just to start to function. I do think that if you start your day off with some good, inspiring music you can have a change of attitude that will carryover through your whole day.

Cleaning A Family Activity

Embarrassed to have people drop by your house unannounced? What would Jesus think if he came to your house? Are you taking care of the things God has provided for you? These thoughts had me thinking that I need a better plan to maintain my house with help from my family.

Okay, so my character might look a little sinister, but I really want to talk about this website called Chore Wars . I came across this site while looking for a way to keep motivated to clean. It's a website where you make your own characters, parties and adventures. You pick the adventures (where you clean), how many points, any treasures (you make up treasure names) and any monsters (you make up the monsters).  Wow!! Now I have a plan. My husband is an avid gamer and sci-fi lover. We rarely clean together or help each other clean. Bam! The light bulb came on. I immediately emailed my husband the site and set up our family an account.

Now instead of nagging each other do do chores, we are often "battling" over who gets the points for doing the dishes or making the bed. It has also helped me to stay focused because we added the adventures (cleaning areas) that we want to tackle every day or week. The best part is that my husband gets to see what I am doing throughout the day and I feel more appreciated.

CHAOS (click here to learn more)

Another website I really like is FlyLady. Her motto is really encouraging "You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where we are. O.K.?" That was what really got me hooked on her "program". Baby steps and more baby steps. Let's be honest, with two young children there are days I do not have more than a few minutes to clean. I follow her "focus" on the days I have time (or remember). I've already seen results and I do not follow her list every day.

I have the flylady app on my smartphone, so I can plan my cleaning or quick check and see what she suggests for the day without having to go to my computer. I wish there was a phone app for Chore Wars. I think that would make it even easier to use. 

So between these two sites, I have been able to maintain a cleaner house, lessen the conflict with my husband and feel more "worth" in what I get done in a day. I can SEE the points I get for doing my chores every day! And I like to read the fun adventures when I encounter a "monster" while cleaning. This morning I chose the adventure "Evacuating the Kitty Krunchies" (cleaning the litter box). While doing that I encountered the monster Hairball of Horror. I ultimately defeated it and gained myself some experience points and gold coin. Not too bad for a few minutes of work.

Distracted

I have to admit I have been really distracted this week. My daughter had her second eye surgery last week, so I've been lacking sleep and a steady schedule. Praise God her recovery has started to go better. She had more pain this time, but the surgeon was pleased with how her eyes look so far.

I have also been distracted by our new kitty. Sophia had decided to name her Gumball and now likes to call her Shadow. I have never owned a cat before. To be honest, I never understood them and didn't like them. BUT I have come to love our kitty. She's very playful and full of love. Here she is in her favorite spot.

And here is our family project...building the cat condo. Kudos to my handy hubby for his craftmanship and design.

Book Review: The Messenger by Siri Mitchell

Rating: 4.5 of 5
Genre: Christian Fiction

I found this book listed as a limited time free kindle book on Gospel ebooks website.  (Thank you Lori for telling me about this free book resource.) I haven't read much Christian Historical Fiction, so I was excited to find this book.

The Messenger by Siri Mitchell is set during the American Revolutionary War. Jeremiah and Hannah are the main characters. Jeremiah was injured in a previous war and was unable to enlist in George Washington's army. Though he serves the Red Coats in his tavern, he is loyal to the Patriots. Hannah is a Quaker girl who was instructed by her Meeting to stay away from all aspects of the war and not to voice any political opinion at all.

This is my first read by Siri Mitchell and I think she chose an interesting way to write the book. She wrote the book from the viewpoint of two different characters and she used different language. The use of "thee" instead of other pronouns was a little tough to read in the beginning. I must admit, I put the book down for a few days because it started out slow and was a little difficult to read. BUT I really came to appreciate how Siri had very cleverly used older English in this book to bring on the feeling of a different era. I really like the way Siri had the separate characters flow together as she weaved the tale of living life in danger during the American Revolution.

There wasn't too much "Christianity" in this book besides Hannah's struggle with lying and a few bible passages that weren't actually quoted from the Bible.

There were a few times I didn't agree with the wording because I felt that the author went back to today's English, but overall I was impressed by Siri's story telling skills. In the end, I gave this book 4.5 stars because while it did have some stumbling blocks in the beginning, once I started about the third chapter, I couldn't put the book down.

Turmoil in the American Dream

Turmoil...confusion...inner conflict. I feel it. I feel it every time God presses on my heart to do something against the status quo...against the American Dream. More is better. Watch out for Number One. Super-size everything. What's a Christian to do in this materialistic society we live in?

I think that David Platt's book Radical has some answers. He asks if you would really "take up the cross" and follow Jesus. He goes into what that really means...what did it mean and biblical times and what does it mean today?

Growing up in the current climate here in the US might seem like the perfect place to spread the gospel. We have protection under free speech and little worry about any true dangerous persecution. BUT have we become complacent in our comfort?

I encourage you to read Radical and really think about how you live your life. I am only about 4 chapters into this book and it has really made me think about whether I am living a truly Christian life.

Here is a wonderful song to remind us what we should really be giving up to live in line with what God bids us do in the Bible. Sidewalk Prophets - You Can Have Me

Okay You have My Attention

How does God speak to us? Every day I search for this answer because I think he "speaks" to us in different ways. A song might come to mind, a special verse or something you see triggers a thought. Sometimes God will send me many messages over a few days. I have been asking God's guidance in my "calling" and what I should do. Last week I had the message ENDURANCE.  I read it in two different devotionals and then it was talked about at the sermon on Sunday.  I had started a new workout routine because I felt I needed to have a strong body to be able to do the next thing that God calls me to do. This gave me the push to really stick to my routine. The two biblical references that really stick with me are 

"...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily snares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." Heb. 12:1 NKJV 

 

and "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith". 2 Tim. 4:7 NKJV.

This week it is The Fruits of the Spirit. Again, I came across this in a book, two devotionals and at MOPS on Thursday. Okay, God...you finally have my attention.I am still meditating on this part of scripture and asking God for more guidance.

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things." Gal. 5:22-23 NIV.

Ask God to direct you, expect he will answer you and listen with patience for his answer. I am finding quicker answers to daily requests I have. For instance I often pray "God please use me today. Use me to spread Your light." Then I wait and usually I can see how God used me that day.

Operation $40K: Frugal Friday: Bless Others

Operation $40K: Frugal Friday: Bless Others: Did you know... One of each eleven Wisconsin families have a hard time putting food on the table? Almost half the people using food pantri...

When God Answers Prayers

I have seen so many people in need these last few weeks. My heart breaks for them and their families and I'm trying to do all that I can do to help. There was one person in particular I felt called to help. She is a single mother struggling with cancer. I gathered what I could for her for food and other resources and sent her a note saying that I wanted to help watch her 4 yr old if she needed. I didn't hear anything for a while. 

Today I urgently asked God to use me. Please, God please use me today. Well...to my surprise (why do these things still surprise me?!?!?) she called me just before I was leaving to take my daughter to school. The chemo is really taking it's toll this time and she wants her daughter to have someone to play with. I'm going to help her out as much as I can. I was amazed at how fast God can answer prayers. I am guessing that I am an answer to her prayers too. 

What do you pray for? Do you pray for other people and for God to change YOU? That has been my most fervent prayer as of late...change ME so that I can help people.

This was the verse today in my daily devotion: "So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing." 1 Cor. 9:26 NLT

I am still trying to find my purpose in life, but right now it seems to get myself into better mental and physical shape so I can really truly help people when they need it.

Life Interrupted and other thoughts

I am new to this blogging thing so I'm still trying to organize my blog and my thoughts. I would really like to find a way to put my goodreads widget on here so you can see the books I have. I may end up using a different site if I cannot get things to post on here like I want them to. My wonderful techie hubby will have to try to assist me.

I currently have a few books in the works (I seem to read more than one book at a time.) My friend, Mary, suggested I read a book by Priscilla Shirer called Life Interrupted: Navigating the Unexpected. Thank YOU, Mary!! This book is wonderful. Shirer uses the book of Jonah to show how "interruptions" in our life can actually be God's intervention showing us what He is calling us to do. Jonah is a quite short book in the Bible, so she is able to really go indepth into scripture.

I really enjoyed her chapter on second chances. Our God is the God of second chances, but just because we are given a second chance doesn't mean we aren't asked to complete the task God assigned us. Like Jonah, we could be running away and suddenly swallowed up only to be put back on the shore we were running from.

I highly recommend this book. It is based on scripture and the book of Jonah but it is not a "bible study" in the traditional sense. I would encourage you to dig out your bible and really look at the passages she discusses them in this book. Pray that God give you open your heart and mind to the message He is putting out there for you.

What does it mean to be the Lord's light? I think it means shining through the darkness in our life--whatever it is. The darkness could be an illness, an unpleasant person in your life, your past, anything that weighs on you. I do struggle to be a light through the darkness and I doubt I am alone. Jesus does offer us a way to let go of the things weighing on our hearts.

"Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."    Matt. 11: 28-30 ESV

Sometimes I need a song to remind me how to do this. My new favorite song is by Newworldson called Learning To Be The Light. 

Some of you know that I was recently baptized by immersion at Hillcrest Bible Church. In my renewed devotion to the Lord and as a way to reach others, I am creating this blog. I pray that I will be able to keep up with it as I have started so many things in my life only to quit after a short time. I have been reading quite a few Christian books lately. I'm going to start with doing some book reviews and add in some little nuggets or inspirational ideas that come to me. 

For those that do not know, the title of my blog is in reference to Jesus' sermon on the mount where he talks about being like salt and a light to the world. I think that as a Christian this is very important and also very difficult. This is my journey about learning through reading the Bible, Christian books, devotions and every day life. My goal is to read one book a month and to keep up with my daily Bible reading plan. Thank you for coming along on my journey. 

      "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.             

       You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:13-16 NIV