Sharing a Favorite Devotion

Since I'm vacationing with the three most awesome people in the whole wide world and can't write one of my "normal" posts.....(are any of my posts.."normal"??) I decided to share a devotion with you that spoke, maybe yelled at my soul. I keep this devotion in my Bible and read it periodically when I need reminding.....

This post was taken from the October 27, 2007, Our Daily Bread.....

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6

When we went on a weekend road trip with some friends, we had our first experience using a Global Positioning System. the GPS has a female voice so our friends John and Mary call their device Gladys. We programmed our destination into the GPS, and she did her job and plotted our course. Then we sat back. Having put our faith in this little navigator, we let her direct us.
"Turn right in .2 miles," Gladys said confidently. She was right--Gladys is always right. In fact, when we made an unexpected detour to get gas, she got a bit insistent: "Please make a U-turn....Please make a U-turn at your earliest convenience!"

Gladys had calculated a route for us, but we had gone a different way. That was our choice, naturally. But if we had continued going our own way, we would have become lost.

Isaiah 53:6 reminds us that just like sheep, we have a tendency to go astray. That's why we need a Shepherd to guide us and a Savior to pay the penalty for our sin.

No matter how far you've traveled in the wrong direction, it's not too late to turn around. God is ready to forgive and restore (Psalm 32:5). If you're headed down the wrong road, please make a U-turn.---Cindy Hess Kasper

No matter how far you've run from God, He's only a prayer away.

Learning to be Content

I'm trying to get in a pattern of doing tomorrow's post, today. That way I'm not trying to put a post out first thing in the morning when I'm half asleep and not thinking clearly.

For a couple of weeks, I've done pretty good at accomplishing that, but not this week. This week has been crazy busy and I've found myself having to go somewhere everyday. I'm usually just getting home in time to cook (barely) a bite for supper and in the evenings when DH is home, I try to stay off the computer and spend my time with him.

But that's not what this post is about...

I'm reading my devotions this morning and just having some one on One time with God and I'm taken to this scripture..

"Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little." Philippians 4: 11-12, NLT (emphasis mine)

It's easy, or so it seems, for me to find myself not being content. It's not in the "big" things....my marriage is awesome, my teens are awesome. I love our old, always in need of something being fixed house. My car is beautiful and paid for. I'm quite content with those things.

But it's those little things I find myself getting hung up on.....If I could only find curtains to match the bedspread...if I could get the pool water a little clearer...if I could grill chicken without burning the edges...if I could decorate my house as cool as ________ does.....

Don't roll your eyes or laugh..think about it.

Contentment.

It doesn't always come easy to me. But apparently, it didn't come easy to Paul either because in the above verses he said that he learned to be content.

To learn something means you are a student, you have to be taught. It means you don't know how to do something. So, Paul didn't know how to be content, he had to learn it....his words.

So if a great a man as Paul had to learn contentment, maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself, maybe I should just become a better student.

How to learn contentment?

Look out of my box. Get away from the tunnel vision that satan would love to keep me bound in.

The pool water isn't crystal clear?? At least we have a pool to jump in and cool off in these 100º days!

Curtains don't perfectly match the bedspread?? At least I have a house to hang curtains in!

Stop complaining about burnt chicken edges and thank God that I have chicken to eat.....and a ton of other stuff!

Decorating my house?? Again, thank God I have a house to decorate.

Does being discontent go hand in hand with self-pity?

I think so.

Self-pity has us so bound in the poor me mind frame that we can't be content....and that's just how Satan would like it.

So...with this morning's devotion I have decided that with God's help, I'm going to fight satan's little plan of keeping me discontent and dissatisfied.

"But the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one." 1 Thessalonians 3:3, NLT

Average Jane

Today is the day that I normally join Katy Lin over at The Great Adventure for My Husband Rocks, but I just really wanted to share this with you today.

I do encourage you to visit Katy Lin and link up with others sharing how awesome their hubby's are.

Yesterday while doing my devotions I had one of "those" moments. You know what I'm talking about. One of those moments when the Spirit just reveals something to you and it sticks.

The Scripture I was in was Matthew 4: 18-22.

"One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers- Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew- throwing their net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, 'Come, follow Me, and I will show you how to fish for people!' And they left their nets at once and followed Him.
A little farther up the shore He saw two other brothers, James and John sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And He called them to come too. They immediately followed Him, leaving the boat and their father behind." NLT

The devotion I was reading went on to say that in that day, Jewish boys often attended rabbinical schools until their 13th birthday, at which time only the best and the brightest would be chosen to follow the local rabbi. These chosen ones would follow the rabbi going where he went, eating what he ate...doing what he did.

Those who didn't "make it" picked up a trade--carpentry, fishing, being a shepherd.

It then pointed out that Simon, Andrew, James and John didn't "make it"....they were fishermen.

That's when I "got it"!! I believe these 4 men were awesome men of God, but in their world's eye, they didn't "make it". In their world's view, they weren't smart enough, rich enough, handsome enough...they didn't fit the mold---but they fit the mold just perfectly for Jesus.

They were just average Joe's who didn't make the world's cut and were trying to make a living working their family's businesses.

Me...I'm just an average Jane. Nothing special, just me. But God plainly showed me yesterday--and what's even better is that I got it--He wants to use this average Jane. I've just got to allow Him to do that. If I'll just do what He asks, He'll equip me for whatever He has in store.

I'm not saying that God can't or won't use the highly educated or wealthy people. NO SIR!! Jesus died for them as well and wants to use them just as much as any average Joe or Jane, but so often our world focus on those who shine. Those who have acheived great things. For me..just an average Jane...it was a great, eye-opening blessing to realize that Jesus chose those that had been rejected by the world's standards.

Makes me look at washing laundry, cleaning house and chasing kids in a whole new way......

My To-Do List

God has been dealing with me greatly on the approach I have with my daily devotions. I don't know about you, but too often I let my busy day get in the way...you know, I have a to-do list and I'm ashamed to admit, but many times, my quiet time gets put on my to-do list.

Got Philip's coffee made....check
Load of laundry in the wash....check
Devotions done....check
Dishwasher unloaded.....check

You get the picture, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that falls prey to that.

I've been experiencing a lot of chaos and frustrating moments (sometimes days) in my life lately, and like any "good child", I went running to Daddy crying, "What's wrong?? Why does everything seem to be falling apart! Everything is so crazy and out of control!" And like a good Father, He answers. He lets me gently know that I've not been spending real time with Him, that all I'm really doing is checking Him off my to-do list.

In order to try to understand my Father/child relationship with God better, I find myself comparing it to the relationship I have with my own children. Beth, our oldest, is a Senior in high school, working part time, has a steady boyfriend and is incredibly active in our church drama team. Her free time is extremely limited at best. In the midst of her busy lifestyle, I have to call a family night, or let her know that we haven't seen too much of her lately...remind her we miss her and would like to spend some time with her. So, she hangs out with us, all the while texting or reading or playing with her DS. She's checked us off her to-do list. She's not being mean or trying to hurt our feelings, she's just doing what we want...maybe trying to clear her conscience.

I think that's what I do with God from time to time..clear my conscience. Thankfully the Holy Spirit has called me down on that one and is trying to keep me focused on spending real time with my Father.

So I've started a journal. I've kept a prayer journal for a couple of years. If you don't do that, I'd like to encourage you to start. It's amazing to sit back and read over them and see the way God has worked and answered prayers in my life and in the lives of those I've prayed for. I've started another journal though and what I do in this one is write down what the Spirit is saying to me in the Scripture I've just read. Writing my thoughts down, first of all, keeps me accountable. If I get busy with the world and miss a few days spending time with my Father, the date on the previous page reminds me that I'm putting too much of the world first. It also causes me to really stop and think about what I've just read. How does it apply to my life? What is the Holy Spirit saying to me?

If, like me, you've put your quiet time on your to-do list, how about taking an eraser and removing it. Put it, first thing, on your Want to Do list. Trust me, you won't be dissapointed.

Blessings.....