Day 57: God's Battle

2 Chronicles 20:15

He said, "Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem!  Listen, King Jehoshaphat.  This is what the Lord says: "Do not be afraid!  Don't be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God's"

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The circumstances are different now, but the idea is the same.

All of our battles-- our fights-- our disappointments-- our illnesses-- our sadnesses-- our enemies

All if it is God's battle, not ours.

Our job is to love each other.  To help take care of each other.  To spread God's word.  To forgive our enemies and love our oppressors.

If we spent time thinking of ways to bless, we wouldn't have time to worry about the 'battles' that belong to God anyway. 

God fights for us.

I'd much rather rely on God for victory than my own human ideas/strength.  I think He does a much better job :)

Do you have a battle (either figuratively or literally)? If so-- "don't be afraid-- don't be discouraged-- for the battle is God's"

God Bless You :) and Happy Sunday

Kelly

Day 21: Finding Time For God

Romans 11-12-- Don't burn out; Keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant.  Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder.

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How do we keep ourselves, our body, 'fueled and aflame'?  Well..
*We eat food.
*We drink water.
*We sleep.
Those are all things we must do to fuel our physical body. If we don't do them, our physical body slowly gets weaker and weaker.

For our spiritual body we..
*Read the Bible
*Fellowship
*Pray
If we don't do them, our spiritual body slowly gets weaker and weaker.

So how do we balance 'It all'?

Life can get hectic at times..... Ok, lets face it.. Life is hectic MOST of the time.

Between kids, work, home, chores, responsibilities--it gets overwhelming at times (and I'm including Stay at Home Moms there... don't think that I don't think you work.  You totally do!)

So, where does God fit in with diaper changes, carpools, and cleaning lists?

The truth is that sometimes we are so busy that we forget to spend time with Him.  We are so tired, stressed, running on all cylinders, etc... that God gets put on the back burner.

I don't think we mean to do it. It just happens. Our schedule is full of softball practices, dance classes, regular cleaning, etc that we just don't think about penciling God in. 

Softball, dance, whatever we HAVE To do are tangible things.  We know we have to do them so they are probably written down somewhere on a list--- or if  you are like me they are written down on 3 lists because it takes that many for me to remember it.  But most people don't pencil God into their day.

Our spiritual body needs just as much nurishment as our physical one does.  You wouldn't not eat, sleep, or drink water for one day (hopefully... and if you did, you'd feel pretty drained).  In the same vein, don't deprive your spirit of things IT needs every day.  Reading the Bible, Fellowship, and Prayer.  It does the same thing to your spirit as depriving your physicial body does. It makes you weaker.

I've started writing Read Bible and Pray on my daily chore charts in my Homemaking journal.  Not that's its exactly a 'chore', but just so I won't forget to spend time with God that day.

My usual time when I'm working is in the morning before I roll out of bed (hopefully before the baby wakes up).  I have my Bible next to the bed, and I'll either go chapter to chapter or just open and read.  You can do it either way... you get something out of either.

I have index cards next to the bed as well where I write down a verse I want to remember.  It may only take 15 minutes, but you will see a big difference in how your day goes when you start off with Him.

It is a hectic world.  Finding time to breathe sometimes seems nearly impossible.  However, it is important that we find something that we can do to spend time with God.  Maybe play Gospel music in the car on the way to work instead of whatever you usually listen to.  Maybe reading the Bible to your kids at night before bed. Maybe writing a daily verse down on some paper and putting it in your pocket.  That way, everytime you put your hand in, you are reminded of God's word.  Maybe even take it out throughout the day and read it.

Lets be creative and find ways to spend more time with God.  We wouldn't deprive our physical body... lets not neglect our spiritual one.

God Bless You!

Kelly

Day 10: "With God ALL things are possible."

Matthew 19:26-- Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible.  But with God everything is possible.

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How's THAT for a promise?!?

With God All things are possible.

Everthing--
*a cure for cancer
*breaking long-time habits
*moving a mountain

All things.....

Nothing is impossible for Him----so (and here is the hard part) why doesn't he do everything we ask for?

Have you ever watched the movie Bruce Almighty?  There were some things I didn't agree with about that movie, but some things I did like.  Bruce, acting as God, answered everyone's 'Email Prayers' "Yes", thinking it would make them all happy--- But they weren't.

Everyone who prayed to win the lottery won--- but only got about a dollar when it was all divided. 

The streets were chaos... and all because everyone got what they thought they wanted.

An unanswered prayer can be a good thing (even if we don't realize it at the time). 

Thank God He can do anything we ask..... but only gives us what is best for us in the long run. 

God Bless You!

Kelly

Day 6: Just My Luck

Numbers 13:25-33-- After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Isreal at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran.  They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land.  This was their report to Moses: "We entered the land you sent us to explore, an it is indeed a bountiful country--a land flowing with milk and honey.  Here is the kind of fruit it produces.

BUT the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified.  We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!  The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hitites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country.  The Canannites live along the coast of the Medierrean Sea and along the Jordan Valley.

But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses.  "Let's go at once and take the land," he said. "We can certainly conquer it!"

But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed.  "We can't go up against them!  They are stronger than we are!"  So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: "The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there.  All the people we saw were huge.  We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak.  Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that's what they thought, too!"

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Can you imagine that type of let down? 

God's people, the Israelites, had wandered all that time. They had left everything they knew (even if it wasn't a great life, it was all they had known) to travel to this distant land that God had promised them.....

And when the scouts came back....

They couldn't go in.

Wonder how many of those thousands of people thought, "Well, that's just my luck." while stamping their feet and throwing their hands to the sky?

Apparently all of them, save Caleb, since they had to wander 40 years for their attitudes.

Now, I don't know about you, but I'm really hoping God doesn't punish me that way.

Who hasn't said, "Well, that's just my luck!"  Something goes wrong... we break a nail..... the car tears up right before a vacation... it rains on the wedding day... something... it's just my luck!

Tonight, I was so excited for the girls to go to bed because it's been a long day..... not a bad day, but a long day.  I got on here and was writing some posts (something I LOVE to do) and what happened?  My head started to pound. 

And I thought, "Man, that's just my luck! I wait all day for this, and now I have a headache."

Not nearly as bad as what the Israelites went through, but still... the sentiment was the same. 

Not everything in live is going to be rosey.  Sometimes stumbling blocks stand in our way either physically or spiritually.  Our goal is to push past those and focus on God and what we are doing for him.  And also his promises for us. 

Do you ever say that?  "Man, that's JUST my luck!"?  You aren't alone.  We just have to remember that even a slight inconvience or a big mountain (or army in the Israelites case) is no match for God.  Lets trust in Him. :)

God bless you :)

Kelly


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