Sometimes I wonder how I can get thru everything during the day? I also feel this passion in my heart of my family becoming more & more self-reliant in terms of the foods we eat & the lives we live. (If the LORD leads, I will expand upon that in another blog.)
I really feel like I can't take on anything else. In fact I'm constantly reflecting on what if anything I need to pluck out!
God is so faithful to bring to light things that are & aren't producing fruit. I've been convicted for awhile that my on-line time was a lot of wasted time. A lot of surfing & getting sucked into vacume with my hand on the power switch unable to turn it off. That lack of self-control weakened my walls when it came to other things I would normally stay away from & I clearly heard from the LORD during my prayer time last week that it was time to take a stand against this weakness that had taken an idol in my walk.
I spent time with a wonderful friend last week & she reminded me how sometimes God allows drastic things to happen just so HE can get my attention. Since I'm so busy I havent been listening to HIS voice - the voice that should get my attention had gotten droaned out from the endless noise & chatter from everything else. It was time to recenter & bring everything back to HIM. I ended the week on a high note - was super productive with my bible-time, school, housework, & photography stuff.
Then, this weekend was amazing. It was a productive weekend. It was a weekend full of blessings. It was one of those great weekends you really wished would never end. My grandmother came & stayed with us, we were blessed with a new stove (not NEW but new to us), I had a great photo session, the rest of our homeschool year is organized, the classes I'm teaching are planned out & I'm ready to go. I feel like I'm walking on solid ground instead of feeling like I'm drowning!!!
This morning in our breakfast bible time, the boys & I read John 20. The Resurrection & Jesus making Himself known to the apostles & then the doubting Thomas story.
My heart just sang when we were done reading. The Bible is so wonderful, so constantly confirming what is right, and so convicting. I love that God's character is one of endless grace. I love how God desires us to forgive others not JUST for that persons sake but so our lives can be cleansed from the anger & bitterness that can hold us captive from experiencing peace & freedome. I love that God desires us to constantly strive for a never ending conversation with HIM. I love that even when God doesnt make HIS presence known HE is still there. HE sees & hears everything. There is nothing that anyone can hide from HIM.
As we read I reflected on some parenting issues we have been struggling with. There's been some small heart issues of sneakiness & manipulation that Mike & I have been praying about how to handle. God's timing is always so perfect -What an awesome chapter to read & review & talk about! Jake, Josh & I all talked about how God sees all & how its HIS great desire that we let go of any sins that we are holding onto - either because we're fearful of being found out about or fearful of not being forgiven by God. I told them that sin naturally has negative consequences but God wants to empower us with forgiveness. I instructed & led the boys in a prayer where we could pour out anything that we needed to ask God for forgiveness about.
Our memory verse this week is Proverbs 10:13
Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding,
But a rod is for the back of him who is devoid of understanding.
We all prayed together & it was an amazing experience to share with Jake & Josh. It was an awesome way to start this morning & I'm so excited to see what else God has in store for our week.
