Encouraging one another, all the more
What do we know about spiritual gifts? Not a lot. A simple google search on “passages relating to spiritual gifts” pulled up about three passages from scripture. A little over a month ago I participated in a corporate fast with my church. Prior to the fast, we were asked to fast from something and to fast for something. The question being: “What distances you from God (that you could fast from) and what brings you closer to Him (that you could fast for)?”
For the past six years, God has been bringing me through a journey of enlightenment and freedom (that’s fancy talk, for “a bumpy road of obedience and discipline”). First, it started with the scaling back of material things to an almost minimalist lifestyle. I say almost minimalist because our tiny house is bursting with stuff, and I NEED IT ALL! Really I don’t NEED it, but the pieces I do have in my home have sentimental value and allow me to be creative by showing my personal style. My husband calls my style “granny chic” because my collection is filled with lace doilies, knitted blankets, tea cups, milk glass, scented candles, and nothing matches. Six years ago we went from a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home to a cozy 800 square foot home. We moved. I cried. But God was faithful.
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. -Proverbs 4:23
What if I told you there is a type of prayer without words? A prayer about being. With. Presence. Communion. Fellowship. What would you say?
As one year is wrapping up (no pun intended, :D) and a new year is approaching, it is common for our thoughts to reflect on what happened in the last year and focus our thoughts ahead. I would like to present to you a few challenges to think about and act upon before the year is over and a few to practice in the new year.
It’s been one of those seasons. You know, the dry kind? The kind where my prayer life looks like 5 minutes in the morning, 5 minutes at night, and maybe something at lunch if I remember. The kind where I lose my Bible somewhere underneath the stack of yet-to-be-folded laundry sitting on my bedroom floor. And the kind that leads a lackluster discipleship group because my own spiritual life has taken a hit.
“It is of the nature of desire not to be satisfied, and most men live only for the gratification of it.” – Aristotle
Did you know that the scriptures command us to give a reason for our faith?
November is my favorite month because for me it is the beginning of a two-month celebration! It begins with celebrating cooler weather and pumpkin-everything, then my birthday, Thanksgiving, the time it becomes truly acceptable to listen to Christmas music, Christmas (which is not just a day, but a season), and New Year’s. I just love holidays! And I probably overwhelm everyone I know with my crazy love for them.
My husband and I are seminary students, working our way through graduate school with a myriad of side jobs with odd hours to fit around our class schedules. This past March, we became parents and joined the community of crazy people attempting to juggle seminary, work, marriage, parenthood, friendships, individual interests, and sanity.