The Disciplined Life

Last week's SFL talked about the spiritual disciplines.  For those of you who aren't familiar with that term, basically they are things to do to connect with God, such as reading your Bible, praying, fasting, gathering with other believers, and meditation.

One of the things I really liked about our discussion and the passages we were studying is that the purpose for the disciplines should be about connecting with God and not just checking off our spiritual To Do List.  That is something I have struggled with in the past.

There are 2 ways to practice the spiritual disciplines:

1.  Practicing them to make our flesh stronger through human effort.

2.  Practicing them to become weak & submit to God.

I have always done the first.  You know, read the Bible - check, pray - check, memorize a verse - check.  I am getting more disciplined under my own efforts with the wrong attitude.  So I may be improving in a specific area, but it is not necessarily God working through me to change, but me training myself to act differently.

Under this method, time in the disciplines can be very dry and changes are not long-lasting.  I easily get discouraged and stop doing it.

I don't want my time with God to be about checking something off my list, looking good to others, or training myself to be a better person.  I want to connect with God, get to know Him more, and through His power, change and become the person He wants me to be.  I want my time to be meaningful and worthwhile, not reading a chapter and then forgetting what I read immediately.

So the thing we discussed in our training groups is how do you connect with God?  How can you do it more?

I'm not really sure how I connect with God right now.  This looks so different for everyone and also changes depending on our life circumstances.  I had been getting up when Chris left for work and trying to get some time in with God before Sam wakes up, but I have been slacking lately.  I have done "devotions in the flesh" for so many years that it is hard to break out of old habits and REALLY spend time with God.

I'd love to hear how you connect with God.  When do you feel closest to Him?  

My 100th Post!!!

no words necessary

Sam Soundbytes

Sam's Pronunciations of Names

(Those names that aren't listed just mean that he can actually pronounce the name or that I can't figure out how to type it!)

Nit knee = Whitney

Dyin' or Why un = Ryan

Deh dur = Dexter

Wobby = Robby

A whine = Adeline

Lella = Ella

Ganma = Grandma

Meme = Remy

Do = Drew

Babbey = Abbey

Mommy or Bamber = Amber

Kwint = Clint

Beff = Jeff

and my personal favorite...

Pam = Sam

Happy Birthday Little Guy!

This little peanut turned 2 this morning!

2!!!

Sam, you are incredibly special to me!  I love to watch you think and learn and process.  I love your smile and that silly face you get when you are trying to distract mommy from your misdeeds!  You are a little bugger that blesses my life daily!

Spirit Led Life

Last week at SFL they discussed the Spirit Led life.  Unfortunately I was unable to be there due to a previous commitment.  A big thanks to Kami who came over today and discussed it with me!  And thanks to Chris, Jason & Stacie who shared some of their thoughts after the discussion.

I haven't had much time to think about this but I wanted to go ahead and blog about it since tonight we are discussing The Disciplined Life and I feel that a lot of my processing for both will come in the following weeks.

I don't remember learning much about the Holy Spirit growing up.  The only time I remember a sermon or any kind of teaching was actually as a young adult when I was at home visiting.  I think as I am reading through some of the Scripture and discussing things with others, that I attribute most of the Spirit's role in my life to Jesus.  So I have a lot to learn as far as who is the Holy Spirit?  What is His role in the Trinity?  What is His role in my life?  How do I recognize His presence in my life?

I distinctly remember learning (or at least my interpretation of what they were teaching) that being filled with the Holy Spirit was different than becoming a Christian, and not something that everyone would have.  And then the waters got even muddier in college when I visited other churches that were "Spirit-filled" that I thought were either extremely frightening or comical.

Since then, I think I have mostly ignored that aspect of the Godhead, that aspect of my life in Christ, and how the Spirit operates in the world.  I am anxious to learn more.

I guess that is all I really can say right now because I am just trying to understand it more, trying to see the Spirit in scripture and in life.  Kami recommended a book that she just finished reading and is really excited about called, "Surprised by the Power of the Holy Spirit" by Jack Deere.  I am planning on checking it out.

If you have read this book or any others, or just have thoughts or knowledge about the Holy Spirit, I'd love to hear more!

Sonship

We discussed Sonship at SFL 2 weeks ago.  So unfortunately this post won't be as dynamic as it may have been if I wrote it earlier.  Unlike some of the other weeks, I haven't really been processing this one.  I was thinking about why that is and I think it is because out of all of them, this is the one I struggle to believe the most.

Why?

Because it is the hardest one to fathom...

You see this incredible God that created us, gave us a chance to be redeemed from our sinful brokenness, and for some strange reason desires a relationship with me, has seen fit to actually crown us as co-heirs with Jesus Christ.

What?!  If I thought He was crazy to begin with wanting to have a relationship with me who has rejected Him countless times, He must really be crazy to give me that position of privilege and honor, next to the only One who deserves it.

Apparently, He didn't just save us from something, He saved us to something.  Something higher than we could ever imagine, something that makes all of our earthly hopes and dreams look like a pile of manure.

You see, as Christ's followers, we have now been adopted as sons & daughters of the Most High.  We are now royalty rather than slaves.

Here are some of the passages we looked at if you don't believe me or if you just want to marvel again at His mercy:

Luke 2:46-52

Isaiah 9:2-7

John 17:4

Matthew 5:43-45

Romans 8:13-23

1 Corinthians 4:15-17

Galatians 4-7

We discussed what it means to be Children of God, not just slaves to His purpose.

• A Child of God TRUSTS in the security and safety of God, while a slave trusts in the security and safety of the world around them.
• A Child of God is DEFINED by Christ's perfection, while a slave is defined by their sin, weakness, & failure.
• A Child of God BOASTS in their own weakness, while a slave boasts in their own accomplishments.

In looking at that list, who do you more identify with?  A Child of God or a slave?  I know that I identify more with a slave.  I can read God's word, recite some of it back to you, stating I am adopted as His daughter.  But at a heart level, I simply don't believe it.  I don't WANT to believe it, because it has the potential to shake EVERYTHING up.

If I truly believed this, how would my life change?

A few weeks ago at MOPS, our table dressed up for Halloween.  We were all beauty queens and our table leader, Christy, made us sashes and bought us crowns that light up.  I have my crown sitting out on my dresser where I get ready as a reminder to me that I am a princess.  I am hoping that as I grow closer to Christ, I will want to believe this truth.  That I will want to accept the crown that I have been offered and all the responsibilities and privileges that come with it.  That I will want to give up my mortal securities, definitions, and accomplishments for God's immortal security, definition, and delight in my weaknesses.

I am a Child of God.  I am a co-heir with Christ. 

Lordship Part Two

I have been meaning to post this for awhile now, but it is neat that I waited because I feel that I am learning more and more about this, so this post is more than it would have been.

Where I left off with my previous post, I was pretty freaked out about this whole thing.

You see during SFL that night, the sniper was hitting me right and left.  All my old insecurities about not knowing when I became a believer arose and I started to question my standing with Christ.  Have I really accepted Him?  Have I ever truly submitted to His Lordship?

Those insecurities were compounded by my "spiritual amnesia".  I felt paralyzed by my inability to remember anything in my past with God.  

But as the next couple of days unfolded, I began to spend more and more time reflecting on what Lordship meant to me now that I have learned so much more about God and my relationship with Him through this course.  I felt that He was telling me not to worry about the past, but to examine myself now and decide whether I would submit to His Lordship today.

While I still think I will continue to wrestle with what that exactly means, I can say confidently that I want to submit to Christ's Lordship.  I know that He gives life and that without His presence, my life ceases to mean anything.  So as scary as it might be, I want to submit to Him.

Once I'd rested in that fact and the realization that my past wasn't as important to my relationship with Him as the present and the future, He started to give me bits and pieces of my past walk with Him, encouraging me with times in my life in which I reached another crossroad and I had the choice to submit or walk away.  Thankfully, He has helped me to submit then and I am counting on Him to help me to submit going forward.

Since then, I have struggled with some issues and I found myself standing at more crossroads saying, OK.  I have submitted to You.  But now there is a new piece of information in my life, something that is worrisome and I am scared.  Will I trust You now?

I have learned that it is a step by step thing.  I will struggle to allow Him to be Lord over my everything the rest of my life.  It is not something I will accomplish now and forevermore because life will have new obstacles, new twists and turns that must be dealt with.  

My hope is in Him and even though I will fail, I need to hold onto that.

Birthday Blessings

I turned 34 today.

No longer am I am in early thirties, I am now in my mid-thirties.  That sounds weird to me.  I've never been one to stress about my age, because I feel it is all relative - like they say, you are only as old as you feel.  And I feel young.  Most days that is.

Maybe part of the freedom about turning a year older comes from the fact that I love my birthday so much.  How cool is it to have a day that people celebrate you & take extra time to tell you how they feel about you?!  I am even nice to myself on my birthday - like not making myself clean the house today, giving myself extra "sweet" points, and even laying down a little in my comfy, cozy bed during Sam's nap.

Today was no exception - I feel truly blessed!  Here are some highlights from the day:  getting some down time before Sam woke up this morning, hanging out with Amber, Lilly, and Gus and watching the kiddos play while we got to chat a little, Coke minus the guilt, candy minus the guilt, cupcake minus the guilt, quiet time at home for me, then shopping time alone for me, and now I am even squeezing in some blogging time.

Special birthday blessings included emails and ecards from friends, phone calls from family & dear old friends, extremely loving, thoughtful, and needed gifts (cute hat, babysitting coupons, massages, shopping $), and 3 blog posts dedicated to me by sweet sistas!

Now, no birthday is perfect and this one was no exception.  I had a meeting this evening that I had committed to a year ago, so I couldn't bail.  So instead of going to SFL with my hubs to learn about the Spirit-led life, I went to my stamp meeting.  But the meeting went well and I am back home comfy cozy awaiting my man.

And we get to celebrate together tomorrow night!  

Thank you to all who made this day special for me!  Love Ya!