In Christ Alone

I've been sitting here doing some homework for the last few hours. Im at the dining room table with my laptop, Bible, Kindle, iPhone, and 3 different devotion books, as well as a spiral notebook and index cards for writing down Bible verses that I want to memorize.

When I sat down it was roughly 8pm. I hadn't been sitting long and I was distracted. But thats ok--Tobi had asked me to paint her fingernails and she has not done that in a while, so of course, I jumped on the chance. She picked 2 colors--Cinderella(blue) and Pink Forever. She loves to mix it up and use different colors--forget using just one!

I got finished with that, and sat back down. And....stopped again, and this time got up to blow dry her hair. Of course, when I said, "Tobi we need to dry your hair.", of course her response was, "No, we don't need to." And off she went to her room. I waited about 5 minutes and got up, and found her on her bed, watching t.v. (Yes I know, that 5 minutes shouldn't have happened) I told her to come on, that we WERE drying her hair.

How many times do we get on to our kids because they have not obeyed immediately? They say, "Ok, just a minute." Or, "Why do I have to do that right now?"(after all, its easier to procrastinate, isn't it?)

I know how I feel when my kids don't comply and obey immediately. Makes me upset, and when I really sit and think about it, just flat out makes me sad. And I can't help but ask, "Why? Why can't they just follow through and get up immediately?"

I stop and think, how about Christ? How does it make him feel when we don't obey Him? When we sit there and say, "Ok, but not right now." "Ill do it in a few minutes." And the classic, "Oh, I'll wait until tomorrow!" I can envision Him standing there, heart broken at the disrespect of ignoring Him.

Isaiah 26:3
Amplified Bible (AMP)
3You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.
This was one of the verses I read tonight as I was working on devotions.

Trusting in the Lord--its one of the things we as Christians are to do. Not just some of the time. Not when its convenient. Not when times are rough and tough. But ALL of the time. When we don't rely on Him and trust Him with everything, isn't that the same as disobeying?

He wants us to trust and obey Him. He wants us to put our faith and trust in Him alone--in EVERYTHING.

Im being reminded of this very thing lately. I gotta put all my faith and trust in my Jesus to get me through every single day--in all that I do. I want my focus every day to be on Christ.

Its now 12:15am. The rest of my family has been in bed for 2 1/2 hours. I had NO idea that much time had passed. I've been sitting here reading scripture and writing scripture, unaware of the minutes on the clock that were just tickin away.

I needed this. I needed to just sit and spend some time with my heavenly daddy. And what an awesome thing it is to be able to do just that.

As I started to put my things away so I can head to bed, "In Christ Alone..my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song....."
Im trusting in Christ Alone.....are you?

Fasting..from Facebook?

What is fasting? Here are two definitions of "fasting"

Fasting: an abstinence from food, or a limiting of one's food, especially when voluntary and as a religious observance; fasting.

Christian fasting: Christian fasting is used to take your eyes off of things of the world and focus on God.
There have been a few times that our church has had time of fasting, if it was physically possible for you to participate, you were encouraged to do so. The last one I remember that was church wide, I however, was not able to participate. Why? Because I was about 5 1/2 months pregnant with my daughter. Now, that being said, the last time I remember there being a fast taking place at church, it wasn't just reguarding food. We were invited to fast from anything we chose--food, soda, chocolate, video games, tv, etc.
Our youth group has had a fasting weekend the last couple of years, called a 30 Hour Famine. I wouldn't let Colton participate in it because of his diabetes. They were told that if they had a medical condition that required them to eat, that they could still participate. However, I know how Colton is and I knew he'd forget to check his blood sugar, OR forget to bolus if he did eat something.

I was taking Colton to the doctor last week. I was listening to my fav station, KLOVE. And suddenly the thought came to into my brain...Its time for a break. A Facebook break. I've got a couple of friends who have done this as well. I thought to myself, "No way, are you serious?" And instantly the response to that question was clearly, "YES, SERIOUSLY!!" This thought/idea/suggestion didn't just pop into my head. It was clearly the Holy Spirit speaking to me.

I mulled it over in my head all day long. I mean, Im one of those people thats addicted to FB!! I post funny pics, funny things I've read or seen, funny ha-ha's that my kids have said, etc. I also use FB to post devotions and scriptures that I feel like Im suppose to share with others. I sat down that afternoon and updated my status and it basically said, "Im going to be taking a break from Facebook--Im fasting from it." I got several 'likes' on the status. I had some comments as well--encouraging me to go for it. And so, the next day, I emailed a few chosen people and let them know, that evening I would be deactivating my account, and that they could email me at my home address, or text me.

One week ago today, at 8:00pm, my Facebook Fast began. I thought it would be hard, but honestly it hasn't been too bad. I've had a couple of times where I've had a thought come to mind that I'd typically post as my status. Irritations with my favorite store-Wal-Mart(NOT), funny stuff Colton or Tobi has said, TONS of scriptures that I've read. As soon as I thought, "OH..I gotta put that on FB!"; my next thought was, "Oh wait, Nope, can't do that, Im fasting from it."

And again, I have not totally missed it. I have a few people that I 'talk' to ALL the time on there. And I've got some that I enjoy seeing their posts and often 'like' their status. This is a break that was much needed.

I started a Bible study at church on Wednesday nights on the book of James. Typically, I sign up for a class and then only attend one or two sessions. I either don't get to do the homework, or I just decide I'd rather stay at home. Im happy to say that 3 weeks into the study, I have only missed one night and thats because I helped out in childcare--but I still did the homework. I was done with this weeks home work a day early! No, Im not bragging about it, just simply stating how much easier its been to be able to do and focus on more things since I began this fast.

I get up every morning and I grab my phone from the charger and head into the kitchen to fix me some coffee. I sit down, grab my Bible, and my phone, or my Kindle and I pull up my Bible app. I read the devotions from the app, as well as from my Journey Devotion guide from church. Before last week, I'd have gotten up, grabbed my phone and looked at my facebook to see everyone's updates and see what had been going on the night before.
Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, etc. They are not important. No, seriously, don't shake your head and argue about it. And yes, you read right--I said, THEY ARE NOT IMPORTANT!
If they aren't important, what is?

Christ. He is what's important to me. Growing closer to Him is what's important to me. Being an example for my kids is important to me. Why should I expect them to make a point to read their Bible everyday, if Im not modeling that example? I've been deeply convicted about that. Thats why I do not start my day out, until after I've sat down, and read my devotion/Bible every morning. And I don't get out of bed until I've spent some time talking to my BFF, thanking him for a new day and lifting up needs of family/friends.
Before bed, I sit and read my Bible and work on my homework for Bible study.

Its funny, because I've heard a couple of people talking about different things and my response is, "What are you talkin about?" And then the next words I hear are "It was on facebook!", or "Didn't you see it on facebook?" My response to that is "No, I didn't, Im not on there right now; I deactivated my account." And then the reaction is so funny--the look of shock at me shutting down my account. Its really funny and I can't help but giggle about it. As I said, its just not that important. Im thankful I can make the decision to fast from whatever I choose--food, cokes(also trying to do that), or facebook. This is just week one of my fast. And Im praising God for giving me the strength to turn FB off and just walk away from it. What about you? What's important to you right now?