Empty…

Gratefulness= a great fullness, complete, over-flowing, without angst or ache for anything more.

Rejoice in all things, my ears received that Truth but my heart has not fully developed the understanding of the need for thankfulness to experience the joy.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  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” (Philippians 4:6-8).

Somehow I missed the word thankful, my shallow eyes sadden me.   I had always concentrated on the part that I have to do, not the part that I have to be.  The doing part is the guarding of our hearts and the taking our thoughts captive.  The being part is the thankfulness.

Some of you may be wondering about the depravity of my soul.  Questions such as what has she done or how dark and deluded is her heart?  This depth of conviction was activated as I listened to myself in the simple act of complaining.  Complaining is a deadly past time that should not be endured. It eats at our hearts and burns out our joy.

Cast it out and embrace- Gratefulness=Great Fullness.

Prayer: I trust You Lord Jesus. Take me where I must go and I will entrust the fullness of me, to Your care.  So that I might witness and see with renewed eyes the gifts You have given.  Thank you Father God I am grateful for Your friendship and kindness, but most of all during this sliver of time Your faithfulness.  Love, your daughter Heather.

 

GRATEFUL

ADJECTIVE:

1. feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness; thankful:

Synonyms: thankful · appreciative · indebted · obliged · obligated ·

in someone’s debt · beholden

Powered by Oxford Dictionaries · © Oxford University Press

When I read this definition it brought home the absurdity of my state of being- ungrateful.  There can be no doubt that I am indebted, obligated and beholden to the Lord Jesus Christ for all things.  I somehow forgot along the way to let my thankfulness penetrate to my heart.  So that out of the overflow of my heart- thankfulness would be spoken.

Gratefulness is the only logical state of being for a Christ follower.

YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!!!

 

Wonderfully intelligent, and brilliantly crafty, at discovering new adventures- my new 2 year old.  If you are a parent you can easily read between the lines on this and you would be correct.  She is a whirlwind of activity.  An exhaustive fire ball of plans that are always one step ahead of my safety measures.  She wants, what she wants, when she wants it, at all times.  Pity the person that gets in the way of her strong will.  She will get louder and more destructive as she endures seconds of waiting for her needs to be met.

Somewhere in that last paragraph I stopped talking about my daughter and started talking about myself.  Ok, in all honestly that was at about sentence three.  I recently did not get what I wanted, when I wanted it.

If we are honest as parents sometimes we just hand our child those cookies in order to get the screaming to stop.  Not our greatest parental moments but sometimes we are just to tired or busy to do what is best for our children.

Thank God, our heavenly Father does not have our same weaknesses.  He always does what is best for us even when we throw our tantrums and refuse to wait or even worse refuse to endure what is best for us with- gasp- joy in our hearts.

I know I will reach a time when  I am able to look back at this hiccup in my plans and see the sovereign hand of God.  He knows what is best for my family even when I don’t have the strength, patience or maturity to see that. It just isn’t right now.  Right now,  I am rolling around on the floor, screeching with the best of them.  Someday I will see how this made me a better mother, daughter or wife.  It just isn’t right now, and that’s okay.

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, help me to see Your sovereign hand in this. Your obedient child awaits Your guidance.  I trust in Your strength and gracious heart  in this, even while I am screaming.  Please help me to live in Your joy each and every day.  Let Your love overwhelm me and leave me at rest in Your peace that passes human understanding. Help me, your obedient, albeit cranky daughter.  Love, Heather

Comment: How has God surprised you?  How has God left you wondering if He knows your heart?

Submit?

Why do we make the simple difficult? –  Rebellion or Obedience

Every step my husband and I take leads us to the cross for guidance.  Are we taking this job, or waiting, moving or staying? How are we raising are children?  All acts of submission are easy, until they are not.  What happens when the next step needs to be made, and the answer you have from God doesn’t make sense?  We make decisions more difficult than they are.  Fretting over the what-if’s.  The only what if that really matters is, What if we don’t obey? What are the consequences?  If we choose our own “logical” option we also choose the ugly, death-infused reality of rebellion.

Rebellion or Obedience

            When we think of rebellion we think of a rebel.  When we hear the word rebel our mind conjures up images of shady looking fellows one step away from landing in jail.  We don’t acknowledge God and look at the rebellion in our own hearts.  No one would willingly throw themselves or their beloved family members into the gates of hell, to be tormented by the natural consequences of our sin.  Yet when we choose to be “in charge” that is what we do.

Ephesians 5:22, Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do the Lord.  This is a rather simple command, until it isn’t.  My husband struggles with worries of failures hindering his obedient walk.  Tugging him toward self-reliance instead of obedience.  I struggle with submission to my husband, not on a base-level anymore as I did in my younger years but during times when I question if he has pressed in deep enough to Christ to receive an answer even if it does not align with his own self-will. I question John, because I know how hard it is to press into the Lord and receive what you don’t want to hear, but need to.  I fail in my willingness to submit, but I must trust because John has been endowed by God with the higher calling of being the spiritual leader of our home.  If God commands John to be the spiritual leader then he will grant John what he needs to lead in each and every situation, if he asks. All we need to do is ask for what we need, and then submit to the work that is inherent in the receiving. “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.  Keep on seeking, and you will find.  Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”  Matthew 7:7 NLT

These are the questions or factors I have found to intensify the angst in actively choosing obedience in my own walk-

• Do I have to wait for the solution?
• Does God’s answer line up with my plans for my life?
• Does God’s answer make loved one’s question our sanity?
• When God doesn’t seem to be listening to my heart.
• When I have to follow my husband into a decision I know is wrong for the family.
• When the answers of God seems contradictory to the promises God gave us.

 

What are some factors or questions that you have let hinder your walking in obedience? Comment below,  I would love to pray with you.