Kris S - February 26, 2010 - Comments (5)
Post by Cindi Wood
In this month's Journey magazine, I share about the fast, yep the FAST that changed my life. Now, if thoughts about giving up food leave you weak and feeling deprived, then take heart! No ditchin' the chocolates and passin' up the tacos on this one - but you will need to look the other way when those pangs of worry start to feed your cravings and cause you to lose focus.
Fasting from worry is all about giving up what's not good for you in the first place. Giving up worry is a command. And when we do so, we are living in obedience to what our Heavenly Father is commanding us to do.
"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." (Philippians 4:6 - Message)
And ... oh, the results are sweet and they are victorious ... if you just do it!
Right now, I'm choosing to detox my soul of this week's worry indulgences. Why don't you join me? The steps are plain, and there are only three:
1. Right here and right now, I'm relinquishing my hold on each concern.
2. I'm visualizing each one absorbed into His Heart.
3. As Christ displaces the worry, I crave His company and hunger for His peace.
Dear Sisters - if today you are bloated with worry, then allow Jehovah-Shalom to empty you of all that is not from Him and fill you with His peace - which truly satisfies.
Melanie - February 25, 2010 - Comments (0)
I read a post on Priscilla Shirer's blog today about her recent filming of Life Today and meeting Matt Chandler from Village Church in Dallas. I have nothing to say that compares to her words, so go visit her blog and read what she wrote.
For those of you who don't know, Matt Chandler is an incredible pastor with a phenomenal heart and he pastors a church in Dallas, Texas. He's in his mid-30's and was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor right after Thanksgiving. Please keep he and his family in your prayers.
Sophie - February 24, 2010 - Comments (3)
This afternoon I was doing some of my week six homework in Esther: It's Tough Being A Woman, and something Beth wrote really resonated with me:
"Glance over at your Bible. Think what you've been through with God in those pages....Think of the hope, guidance, assurance and affection you've sought. Think how thankful you are that God wrote something you can hold to your chest, rocking back and forth, when your heart is shattered and your sight too blurred to read. Every Bible is the Word of God, but with no ears to hear it, hearts to love it, or hands to warm themselves by the fire of it, man is tragically lost to it."
I underlined every single bit of that in my member book. Just so you know.
Here's the thing. This morning I woke up with a heavy heart, and as I was making coffee and getting breakfast ready, I told God how I was feeling. I didn't ask Him to make all my troubles disappear; I just told Him that I was feeling discouraged and needed to remember how much He loves me. Needed to feel how much He loves me, even. It may sound a little crazy, but I really wished that there was a way for God to give me a big ole hug.
Perhaps I've overshared. :-)
Anyway, just a few hours later, I was in a chapel service - still dealing with the heart heaviness - when someone read Psalm 86:11-13:
"Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths of the grave."
And then Jeremiah 32:38-41:
"They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul."
I try to be careful that I don't assign more meaning to things than they deserve, but let me tell you: I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that those passages were for me. They were for other people, too, of course - but I felt like God used His Word to give me a big ole hug. He's sweet like that, you know.
So when I read Beth's reminder that God gives us "hope, guidance, assurance, and affection" on the pages of His Word - well, I may have amen'd a little.
Because I know it's true.
Melanie - February 23, 2010 - Comments (6)
I'm in the middle of reading through the Bible in a year and was reading through the book of Proverbs this morning. That King Solomon knew what he was talking about.
Of course it helps that God asked him if there was any one thing he wanted and Solomon asked for wisdom. Which shows he was pretty wise in the first place because I'm not sure I would have had the wherewithal to ask for wisdom when I was a youth.
Or maybe even now.
But as I read through Proverbs, I started thinking about wisdom and wise words that people have shared with me over the years. The most recent advice that I took to heart was when someone I deeply admire and respect told me that she's realized in life that if you do anything in the hopes of making your name known instead of making God's name known, you're going to be deeply disappointed.
I'd love to know the best piece of advice you've ever received.
Sophie - February 22, 2010 - Comments (0)
I'm in the middle of working on a post about fear (in addition to struggling with fear, I am also scared to death of it - so you can imagine what a delight and a joy I am in moments of anxiety). But since it's taking a little longer than I expected to pull all the words into sentences and paragraphs that actually make sense, I thought I'd share a few links that may interest you if you're familiar with the faces at LifeWay's women's events.
- Priscilla Shirer has written a great recap of this past weekend's Going Beyond event.
- Travis Cottrell and his family have been on a great adventure with God for the last couple of months. Here's part one of the story; you can use his sidebar to click through to the other six (yes, I said SIX) parts. So, so encouraging.
- Don't forget about Beth Moore's So Long, Insecurity discussion group over at her blog. It's just week two, so you have plenty of time to catch up if you're just getting started.
Hope y'all have a wonderful week!
Melanie
Melanie
Sophie
Sophie
Paige
Paige
Kris
Kris