My friend Mitzi and I are working through the book Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow. It is amazing. I have done it before with a women's group at my old church and it really can transform your life. Mitzi and I could both use more calm in our lives right now, so we have committed to reading a chapter a week and then discussing it together. These are my reflections. :)
Here is my cup. It's actually my favorite one I have here at home and was a gift from my MIL. It's a big, colorful snowman mug. I love how it looks AND that it holds a lot of tea. It's also easy to clean. I feel a lot like that. I'm sturdy (German & Irish!) and often colorful and I can hold a lot. My friends often use me as a listening ear or a sounding board. I'm also pretty easy to clean. ;)
I wrote Philippians 4:11-13 on my white board, along with the list of never's. Hopefully that keeps them both my at the forefront of my mind.
Here's my paraphrase of our memory verse.
I didn't ever really need anything because I learned how to be happy with whatever I had. I know that I can live without anything or with everything. I know the secret to living in any situation, whether you're hungry or full, have a bunch of stuff or none at all. Here it is: I can do anything through my belief in Christ because He gives me His strength.
My definition of contentment is simply being happy with how things are.
Here's my paraphrase of our memory verse.
I didn't ever really need anything because I learned how to be happy with whatever I had. I know that I can live without anything or with everything. I know the secret to living in any situation, whether you're hungry or full, have a bunch of stuff or none at all. Here it is: I can do anything through my belief in Christ because He gives me His strength.
My definition of contentment is simply being happy with how things are.
So I wrote the 5 statements for contentment on my whiteboard and have been reading them multiple times a day. I just want to say, it's HARD to be content!!! I found out that I love to complain. It's just a casual mention here and there, but I do it all day long! It's a tough habit to break! I think Ella was truly able to have an attitude of contentment because she simply never complained and got out of the thought habits of comparing her life to other's. She made it, in her mind, to where it never occurred to her to even think about how her life was different and complain.
Here's my paraphrase of 1 Timothy 6:15.
The Lord will appear again when it is the right time, according to His plan. He is blessed and is the only supreme ruler of our lives. He is above all other things in importance and authority. He is the King of kinds, and the Lord of lords.
Here's my paraphrase of 1 Timothy 6:15.
The Lord will appear again when it is the right time, according to His plan. He is blessed and is the only supreme ruler of our lives. He is above all other things in importance and authority. He is the King of kinds, and the Lord of lords.
I have been letting the Lord be the Blessed Controller of my circumstances for the past few weeks. I had really been agonizing over my infertility and struggling with giving it to the Lord. Since I've had a quiet time at least every other day, I have known a peace that is truly beyond understanding. I can talk to friends and acquaintances and truly be happy for them without bemoaning my own state. It is amazing and I'm just so much happier than I have been in quite awhile.
As far as the story of the two monks, I know that I used to be the first monk, but right now I am more the second monk. I used to pray to the Lord to please, please, please bless me with another child! Make it a girl! Make it twins! And on, and on, and on. It's not wrong to pray to the Lord for your heart's desire. My sin was that my desire for another child had usurped my desire for the Lord's will to be done in my life above my own. Now that I am placing God's plan for my life before my own, I am finding things flow more smoothly and I have a restfulness that I did not have before.
I do think most women try to manipulate or control their situations, but I don't believe that it is just women. I believe all people do this. People are, by our very nature, sinful. Left alone, we will always desire what we do not have. Discontent breeds a desire to manipulate things to make them different so that we can achieve what we want. If we place our wants and plans in the Lord's hands and surrender them to Him, making ourselves obedient to His will, our wants and desires are transformed into His wants and desires for us.
This week I learned that the Lord does not want us to worry. Worry in and of itself is an idol. If I spend more of my time worrying about my circumstances than I do in pursuing my Lord, it means I am worshiping my circumstances instead of God. Eek! I learned that I am prone to worry, but the more I place myself and my plans for my life in the Lord's hands, the less I worry. If I have a daily quiet time and ask for the Lord to give me strength each day, I am not as concerned or anxious about the things happening in my world.
Lord, please help me to remember how truly important my daily quiet time is. Help me to remember how at peace and renewed I feel each day when I fellowship with You first. Amen.
As far as the story of the two monks, I know that I used to be the first monk, but right now I am more the second monk. I used to pray to the Lord to please, please, please bless me with another child! Make it a girl! Make it twins! And on, and on, and on. It's not wrong to pray to the Lord for your heart's desire. My sin was that my desire for another child had usurped my desire for the Lord's will to be done in my life above my own. Now that I am placing God's plan for my life before my own, I am finding things flow more smoothly and I have a restfulness that I did not have before.
I do think most women try to manipulate or control their situations, but I don't believe that it is just women. I believe all people do this. People are, by our very nature, sinful. Left alone, we will always desire what we do not have. Discontent breeds a desire to manipulate things to make them different so that we can achieve what we want. If we place our wants and plans in the Lord's hands and surrender them to Him, making ourselves obedient to His will, our wants and desires are transformed into His wants and desires for us.
This week I learned that the Lord does not want us to worry. Worry in and of itself is an idol. If I spend more of my time worrying about my circumstances than I do in pursuing my Lord, it means I am worshiping my circumstances instead of God. Eek! I learned that I am prone to worry, but the more I place myself and my plans for my life in the Lord's hands, the less I worry. If I have a daily quiet time and ask for the Lord to give me strength each day, I am not as concerned or anxious about the things happening in my world.
Lord, please help me to remember how truly important my daily quiet time is. Help me to remember how at peace and renewed I feel each day when I fellowship with You first. Amen.
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