Journaling

For several years now I’ve had the habit of journaling.

Typically, I do it first thing in the morning before I start my day.

I’ve found that writing before the world has a chance to distract me means that my truer, unguarded self comes out on the page.

 

Sometimes, I vent about people and events.

Sometimes I remind myself I need to buy milk.

Always. by the end of the second page I find God there.

As I’m listing my thoughts I begin to think about and then ask the Lord’s opinion on things.

I begin to become aware of where He’s working in my life and where I need to pray and ask Him to intervene and help me.

 

Some days I write 3 pages, some days I write 10.

Always, I make a point of laying aside all pretenses and focusing on being my true self, writing my real feelings.

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Belonging to God

I was reading a bible study book and it mentioned Psalm 100:3, which says:

Know that the Lord is God.
    It is He who made us, and we are His;
    we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. (NIV)

 

There’s a lot of good stuff in this verse, but what really stuck out to me was the second line –

It is He who made us, and we are His,

 

According to this verse, it is God who made us.

We weren’t made by accident. We didn’t suddenly just exist.

We didn’t evolve from slime somewhere.

God made us.

On purpose.

He meant to do it.

 

Because God has made us, we belong to Him.

We are His people.

This means we aren’t our own.

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It’s Thanksgiving Week!

It’s that time of year!

Thanksgiving is only a few days away.

It kicks off the official holiday season.

Before we know it, Christmas will be here!

Lots of people say it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

For many women it’s often the hardest.

Extra cooking, guests, shopping, holiday parties, and events take a lot of our time, energy, and effort.

I could get tired just thinking about it!

 

Part of what drives us during this season is a desire to show our family how much we care and to give them a great family holiday filled with lots of memories and love.

That is a good thing as long as we keep it in check and don’t let it overwhelm us.

Unfortunately, too often we get so busy trying to get it right we lose sight of why we’re doing it.

This cheats us out of enjoying it and defeats the purpose of even doing it.

 

One of the other things that drives us this time of year is fear.

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He Will Supply All My Needs

I was in a Bible Study recently where the verse Philippians 4:19 came up.

It’s a very popular verse.

It says:

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

It’s reassurance that all our needs will be met.

It’s a good reminder that God is Yahweh Yireh – the God who provides.

People commonly recite this verse when they are concerned about material needs such as rent, utilities, groceries, etc.

That’s a valid and important part of it.

God does supply for all our material needs.

But – there are other aspects to it.

Ones we don’t always stop to realize and appreciate.

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