Saturday, February 23, 2013

What God Has Been Teaching Me - or at least trying to...

If I could physically see God today, He would be sitting down in His chair with His hands folded gently in front of Him while silently shaking His head in wonder that this one particular child learns more difficult lessons.  He has to be wondering how much longer it will be before she learns these lessons He is desperately trying to teach her. 

Oh.....that "her" would be me.  If I could, I would update my blog on a frequent basis telling of all the things Christ is trying to teach me but I can't stay logged on to the Internet ALLLLLLLLLL day!  :)  So instead, I just update when I can and in the midst, I learn.  Well, at least I TRY to learn.  I won't admit to being able to "wow" everyone with great decorating ideas like some friends I have.  I surely do not have missionary stories to tell like another friend.  No homeschooling ideas or great cooking recipes are coming from me.  The one neat thing I have learned recently is that I am free to be me.  My identity is not in what others think of me or how I compare to others!  We each have our "spot" in this world and I intend to fill my spot by living as Christ would have me to!  :) 

So - what am I learning???

1)  A renewed passion to read the Bible.  You may think "Well, shouldn't that be a given?"  Yes it should but, be honest - how many of you read out of habit and not because you WANT to?  Just a thought.  I will confess and say that I still don't read as much as I should or as consistently as I should but when I read, I ENJOY it!  And, God is teaching me through that!

2)  Prayer is not confined to a particular place, time or style.  I am NOT a morning person.  Yes, I still get up early every morning but I DON'T like it one little bit!  :)  But, I have been learning to pray at all kinds of times.  Of course, the Lord has a tendency to have a sense of humor where I am concerned so He has been waking me up at about 4 or 4:30 in the morning!  And, reminding me often that I can turn the radio off on my 25 minute drive to work.  Again - His sense of humor.....it is easy to pray when there is snow and ice on 39 which has to be the worst highway ever during the winter!  But, there is power in prayer.  Even those short few minutes when I get off the phone with a friend, receive a text from family, read a status on Facebook....there is no limit to prayer and that is a comforting thought!

3)  Music is such a powerful tool.  I love Pandora - I love being able to choose what "station" I need to listen to for the moment.  I am not a person who likes quiet.  I know, it is supposed to be good for you but it isn't always for me.  I like noise - especially when I am cleaning which is not something I enjoy!  Music helps me tolerate cleaning!  :))  This morning on the way to work I turned the radio on to catch the latest Odyssey episode (which should shock more than one family member).  The song I heard??  "I Know My Redeemer Lives".  Yea, music speaks to me!!

4)  Reading is so good for me.  I love to read!  I could spend most of my day reading.  I like to read books, blogs, short stories - you name it and I like to read it!  However, there is such a thing as filling my mind with just junk.  I don't mean stuff that NO Christian should read - I mean junk...or what some people would call "fluff".  So, I am on a mission!  I am looking for books to read!  And yes - Dave......I know our bookshelves are full of them and that is where I am starting!  :))  I am sorry - I had to put that in there!  Besides, I know for a fact he will be reading this soon!  :) 

5)  The last thing I will write about is how God is teaching me - ever so slowly - that more prayer and less talk is needed in my life.  And here, I shall insert a hearty "AMEN" from my children!  :))  I think they get tired of Mom's "talking" to them!  All Mom's know to stop "telling" our kids what to do is incredibly hard!  Funny thing, God is doing such a MUCH better job of leading my kids than I EVER will!! 

So - that is what I am learning!  And, how blessed I am that God is so patient with His teaching!!