Priority #1: My Relationship with God

Yes, I am a Christian.  Yes, I am a born-again, saved by the blood of the lamb, bible-believing woman.  I have, in the past, let my shyness, timidity, and desire to be liked by everyone get in the way of sharing that. 

Not anymore.

My God deserves more from me.

My family deserves more from me.

The world deserves more from me.

2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV) says, "For God did not give you a spirit of timidity, but one of power, of love, and of self-discipline."   I am done being timid, I am ready to be powerful through Him, love like He does, and exemplify self-discipline as He has called me to.

So, on to the practical side of this priority.  How am I going to go about repairing and building my relationship with God?

Spend time in His Word and truly, deeply try to comprehend it's message for me.  Psalm 119:11 (NIV), says, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."  Why is it important to be in the Word, memorize scripture, and spend time studying as much as possible?  That one's simple.  A person whose mind is on the Word of God is unlikely to fall into sin.  A person whose mind is on the Word is much more likely to turn to God in times of trial rather than turning away from Him.  A person whose mind is on the Word is much more likely to walk in Jesus' footsteps. 

I am currently doing a study with my Mom and sisters, but that only requires one short session a week.  I would like to spend time daily in the Word, but I'm not 100% sure where to start.  I am working on getting something together, so any suggestions would be appreciated!!

Pray intentionally.  In Luke 22:39 - 46, Jesus tells his disciples to pray intentionally.  In verse 46, he specifically tells them to, "...Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation".  Pray is powerful, very powerful.  I am ashamed to say that I have wasted many a prayer, praying because it was what I was supposed to do.  Without even thinking about it, though, I am getting better about praying intentionally.  I think that a lot of that has to do with my awakened sense of gratitude for the blessings in our life as well as a renewed sense of seeking God. 

My Mom once bought me an AWESOME prayer journal as a result of this blog post she read.  It really was an awesome journal.  Sadly, it was underused and didn't make the cut during one of my pregnancy purges.  Sorry, Mom.  But, I can say that using a prayer journal like that is very, very helpful for intentional prayer and I am going to start one right away.  I WILL make ample use of it this time! 

Seek accountability from fellow Christians who are strong in their walk.  There are a lot of Biblical precepts pertaining to accountability, so I won't list them here, but this is a great article if you're interested in learning why accountability is important.

This has always, always been hard for me.  I do not like feeling that vulnerable with others.  I consider my family my "accountability partners", but I also know that's not always the best situation.  I think finding someone to be accountable to will be the hardest thing to do.  I am praying over it, though, and know that God will send me the right person to share this walk with.

Spend time in fellowship with Christian brothers and sisters.  Why go to church?  Can't I just worship at home?  Doesn't the bible say, "where to or more are gathered?".  I struggle with the answer to this, but I can't say that I've ever developed a very valid reason for it, probably because there just isn't one.  Here's a neat article I've found that is a response to a letter from someone who was basically "anti-church".  It definitely opened my eyes as to why I should be in church, in fellowship with believers, as often as possible.

This is one of those things that will probably be discussed A LOT with my future accountability partner!  I struggle with what we call the "can't make it in time syndrome" and have been absent from church more often than present in recent years.

And finally, thank Him continually.  I am a bit of a complainer.  Sometimes, I just like to be a Debbie Downer.  I don't know why.  Maybe I like it when someone replies, "it's not that bad, look at it this way".  MM would probably say that it's because I just like to be upset about something or like drama.  He may be right, but I hope not.

The past year has really shown me what it means to be thankful to God.  He has given us our beautiful, healthy Bunny, He has blessed us with financial security even with me being a SAHM, we have a roof over our heads, food to eat, family that loves us, and wonderful friends.  I should not have ANYTHING to complain about. 

The great thing is, I'm starting to change.

I look at my daughter and tell God how truly grateful I am that He chose us to be her parents.  I see my husband in his role as a father and thank God for such a wonderful man to guide our child(ren).  And with every prayer of thanks, my heart gets lighter and my outlook brighter.  I'm not 100% sure, but I think the difference is noticeable.  (On most days.)


I know God has been waiting for me to put Him back in His rightful place as my #1 priority.  I know He has amazing things in mind for me.  I cannot wait to truly know Him again.  My time as a lukewarm Christian has gone on far too long.  I am ready to be on FIRE! 

Unplugging

Hey, everyone! The family is all back in our cozy little home, safe and sound, after an amazing mini-vacation in San Antonio. (Well, the dogs' mini-vacation was at the kennel, but they don't know the difference, right?)

Tomorrow I'm participating in a movement initiated by Kimba at A Soft Place to Land. Starting at 10 p.m. tonight and ending at 10 p.m. tomorrow night, I'm unplugging the internet. You can learn more about it here.

I know that this is going to be hard for me to do, but I also know that I can do it. I have some great pictures from our trip to post, but they will wait. My commitment as of right now is to go internet-free for just 24 hours. I will, of course, use the internet at work if what I'm focusing on requires it, but I will ignore Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, Eonline, Drudge Report, 3FC, Craftster, Hotmail, SparkPeople, Yahoo Mail and all the other internet sites that I frequent. I'm contemplating having an internet "fast" for two 24-hours periods a week, but I want to see how tomorrow goes!

Well, this is me signing off for now. I thank you for reading and hope you have a blessed day!