Our Daily Bread
YES! I do need a shepherd! We all need one! hehehe Yes, there are times that I need to be alone so God can talk to me uninterrupted. Even during those times, I know that a close friend is only a call or text message away if I need someone.
God does not want us wandering the wilderness alone. We will get picked off by the wolves! Well, maybe not literally picked off by wolves, but there are many temptations and traps out there that we can avoid if we travel with the flock!
Many folks don't like this analogy because they think it means that we should follow like a stupid sheep. Even a sheep has a choice whether to follow or wander off. Isn't it good to know that there are folks who care about us to help us stay near the flock? It is our choice, regardless of the method we choose to do that. Find your own personal way to stay connected to the flock.
Lord, thank you for being our good shepherd. I want to follow!
Teaching Tuesday
How do you grow in your Christian life? I have a tendency to mull and think about things for a while, slowly bringing things to consciousness and being able to process the things that God wants me to learn. After a while, I usually have an epiphany (definition: a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.). There is no formula for having an epiphany. Here is how they work for me.
1. Start by having a basic understanding that there is something you need to learn or realize to deepen your relationship with God. This can come from a sermon, a devotional, a conversation with a friend or almost anywhere! It can sometimes take a while for this to form in your mind and heart. Be open to the feelings. Be open to God's leadership.
2. Be earnest and faithful in prayer and Bible study to deepen the formation of the learning experience. You never know what experience will trigger deeper understanding. Be sensitive and open to God's leadership. For example, God lead me to a movie the other day to help me understand what he had for me in my future. Amazing stuff!
3. You may experience deep and intense feelings as the realization grows. For me, I realized several months ago that God was not going to lead me to the man I am supposed to be with for a very specific reason. I had a problem with putting a romantic relationship before my relationship with God! Why would he lead me to someone only to be put into second place! That helped me form a deeper understanding that eventually lead to my epiphany.
4. Don't be afraid to talk to God about it in your prayers. I laugh, cry, try to demand (yikes!), try to negotiate, argue and everything in between to understand what God wants me to learn. You will probably have some partial revelations or a partial understanding as you work through this. Keep trusting God to help you move through it all and grow. Over the weekend, I had some intense prayers with God about my life, as unordinary as it is! hehehe
5. Listen! Listen when you are praying. Be sensitive to God working in your life. God filled my heart with such peace and assurance Sunday afternoon that I was overwhelmed. He reassured me all weekend with example after example of him working in my life, sending messages of his love and grace. Look for those!
6. Talk about your experience with a close friend (or two or three). I called a close friend that was familiar with my struggle. We talked about it and prayed together. It was so amazing sharing this with someone close to me.
7. Don't be fooled that the battle is over. It takes practice to put into effect the things that God taught you. It takes discipline to trust and obey God as you walk every day. I started learning more songs. Learning more scriptures. Thinking of the things that are good and pure and holy instead of the other lesser things of this world. It works!
You can do this. If I can do it, then anyone can! hehehe
Other Stuff
I had a great evening last night. I went to my hero's house to drop some stuff off for our dinner tonight. We were going to do some prep work, but talked for almost 80 minutes before we even thought about it. We went over the recipe and what we had between the two of us. We had everything we needed except for some olive oil. I brought some from home today. I am so excited about cooking this meal tonight!
We then went to see a preview showing of the movie The Help. I will be reviewing that movie on Monday. All I have to say is that you need to see it! It was amazing! My hero and I really enjoyed it!
Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
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