Surprise! I just felt the need to blog tonight so here it is. We had a terrific day today. Had a lazy morning and then went across the river to big sister's house where we ate and played dominoes and then ate some more. [I know that's not part of my diet, but didn't my fast yesterday count for something?] It was raining when I got up and it rained all day. I dumped the rain gauge this evening and recorded .59 of an inch. Not too shabby when all that had been forecasted for the foothills was scattered showers. We even turned on the heater when we got back from across the river just to take the chill off. After the 109 degree days of last week, this has been such a blessing!!
Yesterday was my first fast and everything went perfectly. I got hungry but I never reached the point of panting after food thoughts. Although I am anticipating something like that might happen one of these Fridays. If that happens I guess my "test will be in the pudding" as they say. Or in this case, no pudding allowed. I don't know why I suddenly decided I wanted to give fasting a try except to say that I think it had something to do with Jesus' words "when you fast" in Matthew. I mean it was an assumption of His that I would fast. He didn't say "if you fast" He said "when." He just assumed that I would be fasting. So I picked Fridays and we'll see what happens.
The Lord has been doing a lot of really neat stuff in my life right now. Like the fasting on Fridays. And He's had me doing this study for the past month which, I might add, I have thoroughly enjoyed and learned a few things in the process [like the fact that the Prophets just lay God's big beautiful heart out before you as He woos us to Himself]. I can't believe I have only a few more days left. I'm using the book Know the Bible in 30 Days (like someone could really do that). But I thought why not check it out and I sent off to Guideposts for it. And it turned out to be a huge textbook of over 500 pages. There are 30 days in May and 30 chapters in the book. It takes me around 2 hours to do a day's study when you count the time spent reading the Bible passages you're supposed to read along with the chapter in the textbook--and I have read every one of them--and I did today's study yesterday because I knew I was going to be gone today. I would recommend it to anyone who has the time. (I guess that's one of the blessings of having not having children at home--I have lots of free time.)
The Lord also had me start journaling about 7 months ago. Wow! What a blessing that has turned out to be. In fact I wrote an entire blog about journaling just a little ways back. A week maybe??? Anyway you can scroll down and check out that blog if you're really interested. All I will say about it now is that I just wish I had started writing prayer journals 20 years ago when I came to Christ. It has created a whole new area of intimacy with my Lord and Savior, and I guess now I could add Confidant. Please, if you've never tried it. Give it a whirl. You won't necessarily reap the blessings immediately, but they will come. I think I had been journaling for about 3 months before I could really see the blessing that it had become for me. And now I can't go to sleep at night unless I've spent time in my journal.
Another thing the Lord is doing is this weird thing about skirts and dresses. I am a natural slob when it comes to my attire. Gasp!! I have to admit it. I am never comfortable unless I have on jeans and a T-shirt or shorts and a T-shirt. I have even been known to go to church in my jeans and a dressy top (as I said, I'm a fashion slob, I go strictly for comfort, you get the picture???). Well lately it's been really weird. All I seem to want to wear are skirts and dresses to church.
And I went shopping last Tuesday and bought 3 pairs of pantyhose!!! I know, it's really weird! I have had one pair of pantyhose for the past 5 years, well, maybe 4, so you can kind of figure out how often I used to wear pantyhose. Now I up and buy 3 pair just because I happened to sit at church last Sunday and wondered what would happen if I got a run in the pair I had. This is unheard of from me! So now I'm wondering what's up with this business? What are people going to think when they realize that they can't remember the last time they saw me in jeans? I even wore a skirt around the house all last week when it was so hot. Weird. Really weird.
Tonight I went blogging. I'd check out someone's blogroll and link to someone else and then link off them to someone else and I had a ball. The only problem is that I no more than turned around and it had been over 90 minutes since I'd come up for air. (Another blessing: I can do that now that I don't have children around.) But it was a lot of fun reading all these blogs about children and homeschooling. I miss having children. I miss having children a lot. But I went in search for answers and the Lord has shown me that I have the time, now that I don't have children, to do in-depth Bible studies and I have time to become so in love with Him that my day simply can't start until I've said "good morning" to Him. And it can't end until I've "talked" with Him for an hour or so every night in my prayer journal. Here I was feeling sorry for myself because I'm a grandmother without little children to love and He goes and shows me how much more time I have to fall in love with Him. God is so good!!!
I can't wait to see what He's going to teach me next. And I have learned that as long as we keep our hearts open to Him He will come in and fill them up. What an awesome God! Don't we have an awesome God? Yes, of course, we have an awesome God!! Keep writing your blogs and I will keep reading them.
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5 comments:
Well.... That's true - but I am a grandma and mother of four adopted children (and a foster child). I have never been so happy. I am not doing in-depth Bible-study (well, in a way I AM, because part of my job involves writing Sunday school lessons, and that requires it), but more critical to my faith walk is doing the in-depth sacrificial living. I have learned more about true love in the past few years than I ever expected. It is an enormous blessing.
I didn't mean to imply I'd chosen the "better way"; maybe it sounds like that... I'm so sorry, if so. I only meant that having this "second family" is also a form of "Bible Study", I guess.
I so understand your need to journal. I have been keeping one since I was a teenager. I now have a large Rubbermaid trunk full of all my musing. It has been over the last several years that God has prompted me to explore the written word a bit more diligently. I am currently working on several things in the hopes of at some point of getting published. I have only been blogging since the first of this year, but I have found it very interesting. I never in my wildest imagination thought that I would find so many like minded women who all had such a passion for the Lord. I so identified with your jumping from link to link. I love the expectation of never knowing where I will find myself. I love reading how God works in the lives of so many different women.
I enjoyed your post
In His Name
Annie,
A blessing it is!! And one that I wish was mine. I would love to have a house full of kids but I'm in my 60s and my husband is 77 so I don't think adoption is an option for us. I only meant that while I was looking at all I didn't have, God showed me there's much that He has blessed me with in other areas. I too live sacrificially even if it is just my beloved and I and I didn't mean to imply that "studying" was a better way. What is the faith, if we don't live it out?!! Thank you for your comments and I'm sorry if I didn't do a very good job of explaining myself. This was part of my personal journey through barrenness and I'm afraid I didn't make myself very clear. I hope you will visit my blog again.
Marj
I posted this comment over at Broken vessels, but I wanted to post it on your blog as well so you could get the info asap. I did a bit of internet searching and found a possible answer to your question.
Here is the web address:
http://www.neverthirsty.org/pp/corner/read/r00040.html
But here is the small snippet that cought my attention.
God Answers Prayer. God answers the prayers of 1) those who seek Him, 2) those who confess their sins and repent and 3) those who are righteous. Does God hear the prayers of non-Christians? According to Jeremiah 29:13. God says He will hear the prayer of any who seek Him and He proves it in Acts 10:31. This passage is a wonderful example of God answering the prayer of an unbeliever whose name is Cornelius. How else shall a man or woman be saved except to call on the name of the Lord.
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 'And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (NASB) Jeremiah 29:12-13
'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. (NASB) Acts 10:31
YSIC
Robin
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