God's Purposes

I know we've been doing lots of posting lately and not so much commenting, so I hope that doesn't mean everyone is feeling overwhelmed by the volume of stuff to read on this blog. But hey, I guess we all have a choice how much time we spend here, so I will stop feeling guilty about adding to it and just get on with it...

I haven't started this week's lessons yet, either, but this daily devotional from My Utmost for His Highest had a few lines that really struck me in relation to what Brianne shared on Tuesday night as well as what I posted last week. Since it seems our group is often of one mind and generally relates to the same concepts, I thought I'd share it with all of you. In case you can't/don't want to take time to read the whole devotional here are a few lines in particular that have me thinking:

What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires.

If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are.

If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like one key to ridding my life of idols truly is making room and allowing those things to become a greater reality in my life... believing God's intentions, increasing fellowship and oneness with God, and releasing my own agenda and purposes.

So nothing terribly new and exciting here, but I always feel even more convinced about things when I put them down in black and white. Once again it seems we all ultimately are seeking the same thing: that the Holy Spirit will help us fill our minds with Him, with His truth, His love, His glory.

Thanks so much for sharing life with me, girls. I'll be praying for each of you!

Thoughts

Hello, hope you all are having a good week!

I admit, I haven't started this week's study yet (a super-crabby (and rightfully so!) 15 month old with 3 molars descending has had something to do with that ... and I'm really into napping on the couch lately!)

HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that I'm not learning something. Here is some wisdom from Flip's sister (Flip is Bri's monthly calendar), Flipahmena. This encouraged me as I find myself wondering how in the world I am going to put to action/thought all the glorious things God has revealed lately through this study and you lovely Noggies. (Underlines mine.)

God is never more than a thought away. Frank Laubach wrote, "We can keep two things in mind at once. Indeed, we cannot keep one thing in mind more than a half a second. Mind is a flowing something. It oscillates. Concentration is merely the continuous return to the same problem from a million angles. So my problem is this: can I bring God back in my mind-flow every few seconds so that God shall always be in my mind as an after-image, shall always be one of the elements in every concept and precept? I choose to make the rest of my life an experiment in answering this question." (AT LEAST WE HAVE THE REST OF OUR LIVES FOR THIS EXPERIMENT! I'M GOING TO NEED IT!)

To make my mind a home for Jesus, I deliberately fill my mind with the kinds of things God says are important.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent and praiseworthy - think about such things.

We often want to be able to hear guidance from God about important decisions such as whom to marry or what job to take. But we also want to reserve the right to feed our minds on whatever junk comes along. Whatever repeatedly enters the mind occupies the mind, eventually shapes the mind, and will ultimately express itself in what you do and who you become. The events we attend, the material we read (or don't), the music we listen to, the images we watch ... the daydreams we entertain - these are shaping our minds. And ultimately they make our minds receptive or deaf toward the still small voice of God.

Paul says, "We take every thought captive!" (2 Corinthians 10:5) That sounds exhausting. (YES IT DOES) Do we have to filter 185 billion mental images through the course of our lives? But of course, we don't do this on our own. God will help us fill our minds with the right kind of thoughts. God is never more than a thought away.

So, I guess this is my prayer request for the week: that the Holy Spirit will help me fill my mind with Him, with His truth, His love, His glory. That I will be aware of it. That I will grant myself grace as God does, and won't get wrapped up in doing it the right way, but that I would just try. And be happy with and encouraged by those baby steps, as Beth said.

Have a super day!

Strength in the next Generation...what is the answer?

So here is an additional musing after our conversations tonight. How did the next generation please God to be able to go into the Promised Land? Why didn't they get their own 40 years of waiting? And here is my thinking on it--relating to my conversation concerning the difficulty of perservering and having faith when your mentor, your "human guide" starts to faulter and doubt and become bitter. These kids that made it to the promised land were just that, kids at the time their parents, mentors, grandparents, etc doubted God...said they would rather have Egypt than His way and basically snubbed their nose at where God was leading them and at what His promises were...I would say they were full of bitterness and doubt.
So does anyone know...how did these kids end up differently? How did they overcome the previous generation's laments and bitterness....how did they take a different approach and follow God or please Him so that they were able enter the Promised Land? I mean it isn't like they were in a bubble for 40 years and the months prior and didn't hear the lamenting of their elders and their elders doubt, and sit around the campfire and be inundated with that line of thought. So my question is...what was different...I think the answer to this would help at least me. ( I myself will be reading further in Numbers tonight to try to find the answer...)

I want to be the person that through the battle can see the joy and not just the doubt and the emptyness...that can sing when the lions are approaching...and can worship when my flesh is burning. That is my prayer...that is my goal...to be so clairvoyant on Christ and His purpose and His goal that all else falls away and I become one with my Savior and my God--and therefore find peace ONLY in Him and everything else (material possessions, etc) is just a bonus.
As a wise gal said tonight (paraphrasing) it sucks to be human... :) and yet I must add that it is good because we get grace along the way.

Highlighting

I have a confession to make...I love to highlight...yes, I'm a highlighting fool. SO when I came across this quote I just had to post it because it seems to echo what a lot of us have been saying during this bible study...

"I'm learning that there is a vast difference between a highlighted verse in my bible and a highlighted verse in my life." -Mark Hall (lead singer of Casting Crowns).

So here is another prayer request--that I can go from LOVING to highlight my Bible to ACTUALLY highlighting the verses in my life...

demons and angels

Lately I appear to be stumbling across some "solid" tunes that relate to what we are studying.

After spending way too much time trying to figure out how in the world I could post this song, I have to leave you with a weak link:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mMIUpWKGs44

Check it out when you have time. This song is sung by Storyside: B, a Christian band I have been hearing on Sirius and other local radio stations. I recently purchased their cd because I like their song, "Be Still" so well, but as I've listened to the rest of the cd, I was struck by this song, "Demons and Angels."

As I tried to search for it on the World Wide Web, I was disappointed that there were no good recordings of the song. I clicked on the link I am sharing and was mildly irritated b/c who likes Final Fantasy games? Not me. But as I watched the battle between cartoon figures (excuse me, game enthusiasts, animae) I tried to look past the silliness, over-the-top drama, and tried not to think about the gamers out there, palms sweating as they take on a different persona and try to fight imaginary demons.

I thought about how we typically do not see what is going on in the spiritual world, and could this be a rudimentary picture of what is happening right now!? Our souls are being fought over, we are caught between demons and angels. All this idol talk isn't idle (ha ha ha) ... Jesus didn't die for our sins unless He knew how serious the battle is, how important it was to save us, how dearly and deeply He loves us and longs for us to have an abundant life. And so often I make choices that move me away from Him and how that must grieve Him. I just pray my heart and mind GETS IT and truly starts to apply all that He is revealing to me.

So, nothing really NEW here, just a reaffirmation of the battle, and maybe just another way to internalize what is going on and how we must CHOOSE to make room for Him. (I'm telling myself this, trust me!)

Meat, Manna, Milk and Honey OR Life After Death

So I worked on my lessons this weekend about the Israelites and their deliverance and the Promised Land. Right now I'm thinking about two lines from Day 3 in particular: "God's promises aren't necessarily realized without struggle," and "We have to believe that where God wants to take us will be better than what we're clinging to, even if we can't imagine it." I don't know about the rest of you, but man, those are hitting home with me right now!

Those of you who knew me before my NOG days know that Tori's arrival into our family was a surprise, and not a completely welcomed surprise at first. But as I began to process some of the emotions my pregnancy stirred up, I felt like God told me that I was entering a season of pruning for bearing greater fruit. A time in which parts would be cut away--but only to reveal a deeper beauty underneath. And that sounded pretty good to me at the time... greater fruit, deeper beauty. Good stuff, right? Those promises sounded encouraging and purpose-giving.

But now, now that I'm really entering into that season (and if I'm honest about it, most days I'm not even entering it so much by choice as much as by the fact that it simply can't be avoided), I'm not feeling so encouraged or full of purpose or beauty. More like isolated and resentful and ugly. Wondering why on earth I ever thought the promise of being "pruned" was encouraging at all, and realizing that some parts of my life that I am/was pretty attached to are being cut away. And honestly, it kind of hurts.

Then I read this bit about the Israelites wanting to go back to Egypt because they were tired of eating manna every day. How they would have paid the price of their freedom to have what they somehow remembered as being a pretty good set up back in Egypt. Silly Israelites. Then later, when they could even see with their own eyes the greatness of the land God promised them, they lost heart because it just seemed too daunting. They wanted to give up. Give up on remembering God's goodness in the past. Give up on seeing through their circumstances to the greater purpose and promise. Just plain give up on believing God.

And suddenly, I'm just a big fat ungrateful Israelite.... Wishing for the "comfort" of Egypt's shackles around my wrists. Tossing piles of manna to the side because I've just had enough of it. Licking the drops of honey off my fingers as I turn and walk the other way because I don't have it in me to fight for more, all the while forgetting that the battle isn't mine, anyway. I'm tempted to give up. Give up on remembering God's goodness in the past. Give up on seeing through the circumstances to the greater purpose and promise. Just plain give up on believing God.

So, as usual, it seems to come down to a choice.

Am I willing to be pruned--to suffer a thousand tiny "deaths" to allow for the new life God offers? Because with pruning, the new life can't grow 'til after the death occurs. When an artist carves a sculpture, the beauty can't be revealed until a lot of the surface is cut away.

Will I keep my focus on the free-flowing milk and honey and look past the "giants" of my circumstances? I can't visibly see my Promised Land right now like the Israelites could, and that makes it seem even more difficult. But the question is still the same: Will I choose to believe God's promises to me, or not? Do I really believe where He promises to take me is better than where I am now? Will I make room in my life for what He has promised to give?

I'm not sure exactly what saying yes to those questions looks like. And like many of us have admitted, I'm not always sure I really feel that "yes" way down deep inside, even when I say it externally. But as our courageous blog initiatior asked... Is there anything else worth chasing? Nope.

I believe, Lord. Help me in my unbelief!

Brave

Hey Girls!
So this is my first time actually posting and not just commenting on someone else's post....how exciting! See, I'm also behind the times Tiff...actually worse...I'm not even on Facebook!! I was meaning to post yesterday but spent all of my time reading the posts...you guys are awesome bloggers!! I LOVE reading all of them so keep them coming!!

I know most of you have already said this...but hugs out to all of you! I can't even begin to describe how REFRESHING it is to have a group that is brutally honest about our shortcomings, fears, and idols...and the psycho thing is that I completely relate with them all! I am part of another group and we met the other night and people were giving very trite answers to some very difficult questions. I THANK you that this is not the case with our group. This stuff is really HARD and I'm glad that sometimes that IS the answer...it's just plain hard.

I also resonate with Beth in wondering if I really want to change. I'm pretty comfortable with all my idols and quite FEARFUL of saying goodbye. One of my favorite songs (which I'm sure many of you know) is Brave by Nichole Nordeman...here are the lyrics...italics mine...(sorry, no video here:)

The gate is wide
The road is paved in moderation
The crowd is kind and quick to pull you in
Welcome to the middle ground
You're safe and sound and
Until now it's where I've been
'Cause it's been fear that ties me down to everything
But it's been love, Your love, that cuts the strings
So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

I am small
And I speak when I'm spoken to
But I am willing to risk it all
I say Your name
Just Your name and I'm ready to jump
Even ready to fall...
Why did I take this vow of compromise?
Why did I try to keep it all inside?
So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave
I've never known a fire that didn't begin with a flame
Every storm will start with just a drop of rain
But if you believe in me
That changes everything
So long, I'm gone
So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
I wanna be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

Fellow noggers...my prayer request is that I'm brave and can say goodbye to my idols...I know it will be slow and painful...I'm praying for all of you also in this so that we can be a flame that starts a fire of nogging!!

Sheila