Coming back to the heart of Worship

You know I have heard 'our lives are our offering', and never thought a lot about it. I thought because I did a lot of good things, I was offering good things for God but I don't think that is the accurate picture of worship. It is in honoring and glorifying of God by gratefully offering back to him all the good gifts, and all the knowledge of his greatness and graciousness, that he has given. It involves praising him for what he is, thanking him for what he has done, desiring him to get himself more glory by further acts of mercy, judgment, and power, and trusting him with our concern for our own and others’ future well-being and so much more!

My evaluation of my worship came after I read The Shack, check out the website at: http://theshackbook.com/ The author does an amazing job of depcting God's love, and the whole idea of God and the trinity so beautifully. Read it! Even if you are a nonbeliever read it, I think you will find it as beautiful as a believer. I believe I had a lot of things wrong! Like God only loves me when I am doing right, reality is I am rarely right so I was missing out that God loved me IN SPITE OF MYSELF. The book is fiction but does make you think stop and think about what we make God out to be like.

The more God shows me, the more I see how little I worshiped him when I could have or should be. Why do learn to read? To read God's word, that is the purpose of reading, sure their are other benefits of being a reader but it's main purpose is to equip you for life with the armor of God. You have the handbook of the universe in your home that shows you how to love, raise your kids, handle conflict, appologize, and have good moral character. So to know how to read and not be dilegently reading his word is selling God short of worship. Reading about love in the Bible and learning that it's a choice(not always a feeling, though emotion is involved) and loving our creator back, showing that same love to others is another form of worship.

How we eat and care for our bodies is a form or worship. God gave me a new pair of glasses over the past 30 days and let me put the old ones on so you can see how I had been seeing. 'I need to loose weight, I don't look good, I can't have sex looking like this, This is gross'...had enough? I have, I want to throw those glasses away but through that perscription I also saw some good things and perhaps I will need that correction later to remember the good things or bad. Through the new pair I see: 'I am created to glorify God with my very existance. I take care of my body because God made me, I am his, to do other wise is not edifing him. He loves me right now even if I am not a super model. Through obiedience he will remove what isn't supposed to be here and glory to him!"

And so I will end my post with the chorus from Michael W. Smith's Heart of Worship

I'm coming back to the heart of worship

And it's all about You,

It's all about You, Jesus

I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it

When it's all about You,

It's all about You, Jesus

I'm Encouraged!

God is purposeful, I can't ignore. I won't ignore and I won't write Him off. Our lives EVERY step, EVERY thing is meant to be purposefully lived. I choose God's purpose, don't worry I am not claiming he has shown me the plan BUT he does guide me. I don't know where I am going but I am glad to go when God has commanded my step. It is 11:54 when I am typing this I read philippians 3:12-14 and I want to proclaim, "Press On Dear ones!" Read it, it's beautiful!

Monday: I am doing some of my regular house stuff at home. I do 1 load a day wash, folded, put away (Thanks Amanada Renolds, who told me that one when I first moved here 2 years ago) and I see the sock basket and a thought comes to me, wow that basket has a lot of socks in there, I should mate them. But I don't. 2 hours later Christine calls and we are chatting, she is doing laundry and I think of the socks again but again do nothing. Later in the afternoon Steven wants to put on his red Thomas shirt, I had washed it and I yet again am faced with the socks.

Tuesday morning : My sweet husband comes down, and says "ahh this is my last pair of socks, where are all the socks."(He didn't say this annoyed or mean just stating facts) I heard "you don't do your job well, what have you been doing" Inside my body I am upset and just wanting to burst out with anger and hostility and so I pray. When Justin comes back down I say, "I am sorry you are out of socks, could you just be encouraging to me." (No hostility, I was just letting him know I was feeling wounded, though Jesus had already dissipated the anger.

So I feel like the Holy Spirit was telling me to fold the socks, God loves us so much he didn't want me to have those feelings of rejection. He wanted to save my heart and Justin's of the pain of an argument over dumb stuff and even though I didn't follow the Spirits guidance(this time) he still resolved the situation.

Tuesday evening: I blogged about being distracted.

Wednesday message at Shiloh: Come home to your calling, what's distracting you? See God is always working! ALWAYS!

Beautiful message Mrs Cherry! Just what God wanted me to hear.

Yesterday I asked what are some of your distractions. Today I am asking, what are you doing about them?

PS you tell me yours and I will tell you mine:) Love you all!

Too many commitments=Distracted Wife & Mother

I have been trying to tone down the number of commitments in my life. All the running around, though usually all fun, good things with GREAT people really take a tole on my God given duties. Though I seemed to enjoy the time out and about and always doing things, it was still leaving me empty at the end of the day. My prayers have been to help me see your footprints, Oh God, give me ways to be a better Wife and Mother and I felt God say "slow down". How did God say that? He's been communicating through my husband, my children and my friend, Heike. Things haven't been running so wonderfully here, we have had serious behavior issues with our oldest son and have been getting ready to get some professional help but Jesus, the Great Physician has already been helping us through. Through my obiedience life just keeps getting better, more satisfaction. Just the changes of lessening commitments and focusing on God and his leading footprints have made a HUGE impact. Instead of coming home to stress cavern(I would walk in the door the clutter and mess would throw me in to perfection sickness, I was always appologizing for the mess) NOW I walk in to my tent(which I love tents..camping!!) and it is cozy and beckoning me in. So now I guess the challenge is replacing God with the habbits. The saying 'old habbits die hard' wasn't just a fluke saying BUT the difference this time for me is, though I am open to the change, I am not making the change I really feel like God is. So instead of picking up the phone to meet someone or do something, I pray first. God lead where I should go now.

What is distracting you from where God wants you to go? I am out of time, right now but I do want to know. Love you!

Praying for Wisdom

NObama 08
So, I have been talking to Justin and God a lot about the subject of politics, especially that of the presidential campaign. Since we haven't had cable for about a year and I rarely make time to get on internet and check in with current events, I have been doing a poor job of educating myself about the canidates, BUT I do know the God of the universe and he knows the canidates and their hearts. I will continue to pray for the canidates and our government, I will pray that the Holy Spirit leads me to informed, TRUE information and I will vote! What are you doing?