I read three things this afternoon during my Sabbath Rest and those three things READ ME:
1) Gary Thomas' "Sacred Parenting" - Sacrifice: How Raising Children Teaches Us to Sacrifice - pgs. 178-188
~ "While we find it easy to "open up" a spiritual gift, it's not so easy to lay one down on God's behalf."
~ "Christianity was birthed in sacrifice and calls us to many acts of sacrifice."..."On the back of Christ's sacrifice"
~ "How do kids get nurtured with the active love, available counsel, and prayerful presence they so desperately need? On the backs of their mothers' sacrifices, that's how."
~ "Sometimes responsibility, loyalty, and maturity call us to willingly lay down our dreams for the sake of those we love - and in the hope that hose who come after us can accomplish even more than we could."
~ "However 'important' we may think we are, we should expect that God can do even more important things through our children. It is our duty to give them our full attention and our best effort, hoping that they can build on this to become influential Christians themselves..." (not becoming so busy with their "own ministries")
~ Matthew 14
A Post To Come to explain how reading this chapter read me...
2) John Eldredge's "Walking with God" - 'Learning How to Listen', 'Whole and Holy', 'Making Room for Joy' - pgs. 25 - 41
~ Since being introduced to "God Guides", I have entered the adventure of *Listening to God*. Not as immediately, regularly, or well as I would like, but a desire fulfilled more in the last year than ever before...and I call that Spiritual Growth. To read Eldredge's explanation of how he "Learned to Listen" resonates with me. I am encouraged to know I am not alone in Learning to be a Listener and that he's teaching others too!
~ Whole and Holy - Holiness is a calling I am so conscious to strive for and again I sometimes feel alone is my intensity of that striving. Wholeness/healing is also a drumbeat in my heart (connected to "Post To Come" above). And Eldredge articulates it in a way that I say, "YES!" "You can't find the holiness you want without deep wholeness. And you can't find the wholeness you want without deep holiness." Holiness of Christ --> Healing --> Wholeness --> Holiness
~ Eldredge heard from God on "Making Room for Joy" and this brought tears to my eyes - again, I am not alone in my struggle to experience the Christian Joy... that Joy that is just supposed to overflow from me because I Know Christ!?!?
3) Ann Voskamp's website "A Holy Experience"
One post on how she feels like she's "just not getting it all right". Again, brought tears to my eyes...this is a woman I do not know personally, but I have been ministered to deeply through her website writings. I admire her walk with God, being a decade or so down the road from me. I want to learn from her, because what she writes about resonates with what I want to grow in. And then to read that she feels inadequate "just like me." I am not alone - in my striving for holiness and God's sweet reminders to rely humbly on Him! In Ann Voskamp's own words, "Praise not Perfection; Grace not Grindstone." And what perfect timing as I am flailing in getting life back to "normal" after three weeks of upheaval due to my mother-in-law's illness and death, return home from a funeral, and decide on, buy, wrap, and mail Christmas presents! And then to read her next post...and cry more...this too is my heart's cry for a radical Christmas.
40 Days of Surrender - Day 61 - Surrender "Getting it all right" NOW - For a list of the "Daily Lesson" titles in the 40 Days of Surrender in one place, Click Here.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
40 Days of Surrender - Day 58
Thursday, December 8, 2011 - Keep Surrendering
It's been 25 days since I last posted and boy has it been a whirlwind and wow have God and I had quite the conversations!
November 2nd my mother-in-law was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer for the third time in 10 years. Nov. 9th she got news that it was inoperable and she was too weak for chemo so she had the option of choosing radiation and/or feeding tube (as the tumor was in her esophagus and causing swallowing trouble). Nov. 11th she opted against the radiation and against the feeding tube. Nov. 14-20th DH flew out to NC to spend some time with his mom and help his dad. He returned to NC Nov. 24-27th for the weekend of Thanksgiving instead of joining me and the kids in Ohio. DMIL passed away the evening of Nov. 28th. DH and I flew out Dec. 1st for the funeral on the 3rd and returned home 9pm on the 4th.
When I knew DH was going to be gone for the week before Thanksgiving and I was planning on being in Ohio with my parents the week of Thanksgiving anyway, I ended up going to Ohio a week earlier. That way I could be closer to NC if I needed to get to the funeral and the kids were already with my parents. As it turned out Mom, the kids, and I were in a hotel halfway back from Ohio when DH called the evening of the 28th with the news. My mom ended up staying 5 extra days to be with the kids so I could accompany DH to the funeral and fully focus on what needed to be done there (What an awesome Mom she is!)
So 2 weeks traveling and three weeks of upheaval and I have had a peace - I have truly sensed the prayers of the saints "holding up my arms in battle" for although overwhelmed at times, I have not been too stressed, anxious, or irritable that is not my "natural" response so I credit that to the working of the Holy Spirit in response to the prayers of His people. Thank you to anyone reading this who may be responsible for the evidence of God's hand "on earth as it is in heaven"!
And as my Dear Friend pointed out, it seems as though in the LORD's faithfulness He was preparing me for "such a time as this" by having me in this Fast of Surrender. For many of the aspects of my selfishness that I have been conscious to surrender in the last several weeks have pricked my heart again, guiding me to walk by the grace of godliness and not give in to the temptation of "fleshy feeling."
It is my desire to post some of these details in the days to come, so stay tuned...but with adjusting to "normal life" and it being in the midst of the Christmas season, I have no guesstimate on when or how often that blog-processing might be!
For a list of all the daily lesson titles in the 40 Days of Surrender in one place, Click Here.
It's been 25 days since I last posted and boy has it been a whirlwind and wow have God and I had quite the conversations!
November 2nd my mother-in-law was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer for the third time in 10 years. Nov. 9th she got news that it was inoperable and she was too weak for chemo so she had the option of choosing radiation and/or feeding tube (as the tumor was in her esophagus and causing swallowing trouble). Nov. 11th she opted against the radiation and against the feeding tube. Nov. 14-20th DH flew out to NC to spend some time with his mom and help his dad. He returned to NC Nov. 24-27th for the weekend of Thanksgiving instead of joining me and the kids in Ohio. DMIL passed away the evening of Nov. 28th. DH and I flew out Dec. 1st for the funeral on the 3rd and returned home 9pm on the 4th.
When I knew DH was going to be gone for the week before Thanksgiving and I was planning on being in Ohio with my parents the week of Thanksgiving anyway, I ended up going to Ohio a week earlier. That way I could be closer to NC if I needed to get to the funeral and the kids were already with my parents. As it turned out Mom, the kids, and I were in a hotel halfway back from Ohio when DH called the evening of the 28th with the news. My mom ended up staying 5 extra days to be with the kids so I could accompany DH to the funeral and fully focus on what needed to be done there (What an awesome Mom she is!)
So 2 weeks traveling and three weeks of upheaval and I have had a peace - I have truly sensed the prayers of the saints "holding up my arms in battle" for although overwhelmed at times, I have not been too stressed, anxious, or irritable that is not my "natural" response so I credit that to the working of the Holy Spirit in response to the prayers of His people. Thank you to anyone reading this who may be responsible for the evidence of God's hand "on earth as it is in heaven"!
And as my Dear Friend pointed out, it seems as though in the LORD's faithfulness He was preparing me for "such a time as this" by having me in this Fast of Surrender. For many of the aspects of my selfishness that I have been conscious to surrender in the last several weeks have pricked my heart again, guiding me to walk by the grace of godliness and not give in to the temptation of "fleshy feeling."
It is my desire to post some of these details in the days to come, so stay tuned...but with adjusting to "normal life" and it being in the midst of the Christmas season, I have no guesstimate on when or how often that blog-processing might be!
For a list of all the daily lesson titles in the 40 Days of Surrender in one place, Click Here.
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