Psalm 105:4

When I started out writing for this blog about 10 weeks ago I made up my mind that I was going to be completely honest and transparent with anyone who was willing to read it.  It's time to fess up to all of you.  I've been completely consumed by Christmas.  The shopping, cooking, cleaning, wrapping, planning, and partying that makes this season so festive, have completely consumed me.    I've been so busy with my holiday preparations that I have spent little to no time in the Word the past couple weeks.  I love this time of year.  I really do.  The music and the lights make my heart flutter.  I don't think I've ever grown up when it comes to Christmas.  Is that really such a bad thing?  Well....I wonder what Jesus thinks of me getting so busy with all the holiday fun that I don't have time to spend with Him.  I've been avoiding writing this post because I haven't been spending time with Him like I usually do.  So I figured I'd better just confess.  Also, if I own up to it like this, chances are I'll get myself back on the right track. 

Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually.

Psalm 105:4

Now I know I'm not alone here.  I know at least one other person reading this loves this time of year even more than I do.  I also know there are probably more than a few of you who are reading this who don't love this time of year.  Maybe it brings up memories that you don't care to think about, or maybe you aren't close to the family you so long to be with.  Either way this time of year can be the most joyful for some and the most painful for others.   Whichever end of the spectrum you find yourself on,  Jesus is there and He never changes.  Psalm 105 tells us to seek the Lord and His strength.  The most obvious ways we can seek His strength is by reading His Word and by praying.   This sounds very trite and simple but it's through these things that we gain intimate fellowship with The Almighty.  Through prayer and reading, He imparts His wisdom to us.  He feeds our souls and nurtures our spirits, teaching and correcting us gently.  So why do we avoid it?  Well, maybe that's not a fair question.  I don't know that I avoid it necessarily.  Right now, I'm just not making time for it.  As I type that, I'm sad.  That's usually my favorite time of day!   

Our lives are so busy.  We allow them to be.  We glorify busy.  Most of the time we are busy doing good things.  But we are busy all the same.  Personally I let the day to day activities consume my mind and my time.  As I think about it in comparison to this scripture, if I were seeking the Lord continually throughout my day, from start to finish, wouldn't my day go much smoother?  Well, it might not go smoother but perhaps my reactions to things would be different.  Maybe my perspective on things would be more godly?  My thoughts, my words, and my actions might be different, even if my day wasn't going as planned.  If I am seeking the Lord and His strength and seeking his face continually surely He would give me some wisdom along the way.   Honestly, I could really use that. I make bad decisions on a daily basis.  It's a gift.  I'm really good at making a mess of my life when I go my own way and do my own thing.  After a few days I can convince myself that I'm right in what I'm doing or how I'm thinking.  The path gets rather wide pretty quickly and before I know it I'm dancing my way down it.  

I want to start a new habit.  I want to make this my new normal.  Seeking His strength and face continually, before anything else and during everything else.  I'm sure there are some of you that have this spiritual discipline.  I really hope to be like you some day.  I can be really good at it for a long time but then life seems to always get the better of me.  Lord help us all to seek your face and your strength every moment of every day for the rest of our lives.  

John 14:15

Well the most hectic, I mean joyful, time of the year is upon us.  I'm officially behind on blog posting.  The Thanksgiving leftovers have been purged from my refrigerator and there is an 8 foot twinkling, glittery, pine scented symbol of the season in my living room.  Company has come and gone and I'm finally getting back into my everyday routine.  I've consumed 5 pieces of Christmas candy and 1 large mug of coffee, so let's talk about this scripture.  I had to laugh because the last blog post ended up centering around obedience, so when I got the next card out, and it was John 14:15, I just smiled and shook my head.

If you love me, obey my commandments.  John 14:15

Let's be honest, obedience is hard.  Ok, it's not always hard, it really just depends on the situation.  As a mother of 4, this is a topic that is discussed at length rather frequently in my home.   I guess I hadn't considered that perhaps my children should obey me because they love me.  Mostly I think they should obey me because I'm in authority over them.  Does Jesus want us to obey out of love or out of the authority that He has over us?  In honestly sitting here searching my heart right now, rarely do I obey out of love.  Most times I'm motivated by guilt, fear, or a plain ol' sense of duty.  Not love.  When Jesus tells the disciples and us to obey his commandments he's talking about all of the

instructions that He has given us in the Gospels and in the rest of the New Testament.  Let's find some examples.   Wow, I just googled (don't you just love google?) New Testament commandments.  One website says there are 1,050 of them.  If you want the website let me know and I'll give you the link.   I'm going to fish out a few that are a struggle for me.

• Bless those who curse you  Matt 5:44
• Cast all your cares upon God 1Peter 5:7
• Think on what is true, lovely, just, pure..... Phil 4:8
• Do not worry about tomorrow Matt 6:25-34
• Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth  Eph 4:29

Ok, this is my short list of things that I struggle to obey in.  I'm a worrier.  I let my mind run away and way over think and over analyze things.  As a people pleaser, I struggle when people "curse me" or don't like me.  I also have trouble controlling my mouth, the things I say, the way I say them and with the color in which I say them.  God is working on me.  Honestly though, I hadn't thought of this as an obedience issue.  I hadn't thought of the obedience issue as a motivation of my heart.  Obeying out of love is foreign to me.  BUT....I want to learn this.  If God is my Father, and He is telling me if I love him then I will obey, He most certainly is telling me this because He loves me and obeying is going to produce something really awesome in my life!  I know some of you are probably reading this and thinking I must be either dumb or really slow.  The answer to that is yes and yes, most of the time.  I shouldn't obey because I feel like I have to, but because I LOVE Jesus.  I do love Jesus.  I just never thought of obedience as an act of love.  THIS IS EXCITING TO ME!

Now that I've thought through this and worked it out in my head and my heart, I want to apply it.  I want to live this out in my walk with Jesus, obeying out of love.  I want to teach this to my children, obeying because they love me, not because I'm the boss of them.  I really think this is a game changer for me!  Where are you struggling to obey?  What things are you doing, or not doing, simply out of duty?  Where you can you add a heart of love to your obedience to your Lord and Savior?  I'll pray you find those spots in your life.