I've been thinking a lot lately (insert
wise crack here) ever since we got the house and all. It makes me
nervous on several levels. I have been so thankful and feeling (note the word *feeling*) eager to praise and worship God for His blessings.
First of all, feelings are not our friends. Disney movies and Hollywood have convinced us that 'we should always follow our hearts'.
This is baloney. Feelings change with the wind; wants and desires
can change on a dime (which is why affairs and divorce
happen). Rather we should be following truth, namely Christ, regardless of what our feelings might be.
So the reason why I'm feeling nervous is because while it is quite easy
for me to praise and worship God while I am getting want I want, I
don't know for certain that I would praise and worship Him with the
same devotion if Dippy ended up drowning in the pond. Or if Ryann
had a heart attack (she's been complaining of chest pains for the last
six months), or if something terrible happened and we were financially
in ruins again and ended up losing the dream home. Is my faith
conditioned upon my circumstances?
Dear God, please let me be faithful in both times of blessing and/or
devastation. Let me know You for who You are. Let me be an
example of perseverence to my family. Please keep my heart soft
and teachable. Thank you for choosing me to be a daughter of
Yours. Lord, please give me the faith and love for You that I
long for. You are the giver of all good gifts. I want the
gifts that I can keep after my flesh dies and blows away. I want
to be found faithful in the end and worthy to be called a follower of
the Messiah.
|
on December 27th, 2005 at 11:36 am
Thanks for that reminder!
Your reminder was so timely for me. I have been struggling with my feelings as of late; feelings toward God and toward my husband. I KNOW I love God and He loves me. I KNOW I want to serve Him….but (I hate that word) my feelings just aren’t there. I don’t necessarily feel like praising Him or getting into His word. I just know I need to. On the same page….my feelings for my husband have not been as evident as I would have liked them to be. I KNOW I love him and that he loves me. I KNOW that we are committed to one another but my feelings are just not there. Your blog is a great reminder that our feelings are part of our human nature but not to put our total trust and faith in them. Thanks for sharing at just the right time for me.
Pam
on December 27th, 2005 at 12:14 pm
Thanks for the reminder!
I so agree with you. THe Bible warns us that the heart is deceitfully wicked and to guard our hearts because they are the wellspring of life… not to FOLLOW our HEARTS. YOU are so right… the Bible instructs us to follow TRUTH… not what is deceiftully wicked!
And as to a thankful heart… the year that we lost our daughter, Sarah Hope, my oldest daughter (who was about 7 1/2 at the time) asked me on Thanksgiving Day (about 1 month after Sarah’s death) if I was Thankful for Sarah’s life and death. Had to really think before answering that one and eventually… tentatively came to the realization that if I trust and love God with ALL of my heart, soul and mind… that I would have to be thankful even for Sarah’s DEATH because it was part of His plan. Much easier said than done.
I also know the heartbreak of losing a house we wanted (though God provided a better situation later.) As a matter of fact, God always has a better plan… whether it be the beautiful dress we could not affort that Kaitlyn had hoped for for Christmas (that I later was able to buy for her ON SALE for $17!!!!) or the complete change of directions that God asked us to make in temporarily placing our children in public school for a brief season of heart change.
Trust and thank and praise in ALL things! Yes, it is wonderful to thank God for our blessings, but we have to expand our thinking as to what a blessing actually IS!!!!!
By the way, I am not preaching this TO you… but to myself… it is just that I do my best thinking when I am WRITING! 🙂
Christina
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/quietcajun
on December 27th, 2005 at 12:16 pm
thanks Jen
and AMEN!
on December 27th, 2005 at 12:18 pm
Untitled Comment
wow, Christina, that is truly amazing. thank you so much
on December 27th, 2005 at 12:30 pm
Trying IS Bravery!!!
I think the Lord allows all thing good and bad happen, for whatever reason I don’t know. I do know our Faith in Him should not change and we must never give up. He NEVER gives up on us…that’s why I say Trying is Bravery.
My prayers are with you and your family. Be strong, and please pray for me to be strong as well.
God Bless,
Amber
on December 27th, 2005 at 1:24 pm
Untitled Comment
"First of all, feelings are not our friends."
They may not ALL be our friends…but I think we need to give this more consideration. We were created in the image of GOD! Where did our feelings come from? I think we must be ever so cautious in saying flatly that feelings are not good. There ARE some feelings that are NOT OF GOD! The Bible cautions us about these, to be sure! Worry – Nope, not of HIM! Fear – Not of GOD either! THAT list goes on and on. But PRAISE? Absolutely of the Lord ~ as long as it is for Him! Thankfulness? Yep – all about God! LOVE?! GOD IS LOVE! THAT list goes ON AND ON AND ON as well…
I think the issue is not so much in wholeheartedly denying feelings as fleshly – but in not being discerning. We choose our friends, and if we are wise, we will be discerning in doing so – following Biblical principles. Do we, then, need to choose our feelings as well? I think so. Perhaps it is not that we ought to be stoics because all feelings are "bad" — but that we need to choose our emotional response based upon scripture. Does that make sense? We can choose to renew our minds according to His Word – or we can choose to flit from emotional response to emotional response. The first is a godly choice, I think. The second is foolishness.
"Disney movies and Hollywood have convinced us that 'we should always follow our hearts'. This is baloney."
Absolutely.
We DO have the Holy Spirit within us. And it is HE whom we ought to follow. And on occasion He may well lead through feelings – like those which are filling you to overflowing with praise and thanksgiving. When does our Lord NOT desire praise and thanksgiving?!?!
But we MUST use scripture to instruct us so we will know when our feelings are NOT OF GOD, so we can flee THOSE feelings!
"Rather we should be following truth, namely Christ, regardless of what our feelings might be"
ABSOLUTELY. But that doesn't mean we need to ignore those feelings!
"Is my faith conditioned upon my circumstances?"
How will you ever know, my friend, until your faith has been tested?!?! And PERHAPS, it is for you as it is for me…The testing for ME is in the BLESSINGS.
Because when I have dealt with persecution from my family, mourned with a friend after the death of her baby, mourned when another friend went crazy and killed his ex-wife (also a friend) and her mother with an axe and later committed suicide, suffered depression for years such that I prayed daily I would die and go to be with Jesus FOREVER, have ached and prayed for more children as did Hannah, have gone a year with no church home…(and does this list go on and on and on…), and have had everything that has meant anything to me slowly taken from me until I am left only (praise be to Him for His mercy) my family and my God…STILL I was able to say my God is on His throne, my God is GOOD, and I will EVER praise HIM.
For ME – it is harder to cling when things are GOOD. Or just somewhere in between – not great, not horrible. They just – are.
Read through the Psalms again, Jen. David was a man after God's own heart – and he was certainly NOT devoid of emotion! He probably, to our detriment, would have been prescribed Prozac (no offense to any anti-depressant-taking readers – I've taken it myself, and would be willing to do so again) – for all of his ups and downs.
I hope I don't sound like I have all the answers. Or any of them. Just typing everything I would be saying aloud to you right now.
It's OKAY that you are SO EXCITED! He is giving you GIFTS, Jen.
Wouldn't you be a little disappointed if you gave your children gifts on Christmas morning, and they were just "ho hum" about it?
How about your sweet "Back Then Girl." It wouldn't have been nearly as nice for YOU if she had just been ho hum about that precious gift – would it?
I can't say for SURE — but I think that's only the slightest taste of what it is for our Heavenly Father when He blesses US with good gifts.
Praise Him up and down and give thanks as loudly or as quietly as your heart desires, Jen.
Let Him draw you even closer to Him through His gifts and HIs lovingkindness, as well as through the trials you have faced in the past. And don't feel the least bit guilty for it!
In His abiding love,
Kari
Edited by asformeandmyhouse on Dec. 27, 2005 at 2:41 PM
on December 27th, 2005 at 3:36 pm
So true!
Hi, my name is Mikki. I just found your blog and love it. This last entry is something that I am constantly thinking/praying about all the time. God has blessed our family in SO many ways. Sometimes I look around and see other great Christian friends struggling and I ask God,” why not us”. I read in a Max Lucado book one time where a young girl had fallen in a pool at a party he was at, she was rescued but later that day while he was praying and thanking God for sparing her life – he felt God saying to him – ” would you still be praising Me if I had chosen not to spare her?”… Ughh.. that get’s me all the time. Even in the little discomforts where I fail to praise Him… I wonder how often I sadden His heart when I complain about the little things. Thanks for the entry.
Looking at your profile – looks like we have a lot in common. Glad I found your blog. It may ecourage me to blog more entries.
In Christ – Mikki
on December 27th, 2005 at 3:36 pm
Ryann's Chest Pains
I have been thinking all morning about Ryann’s chest pains. Does she consume much caffeine? I have struggled with chest pains and because I had rheumatic fever when I was 7 I have had many heart exams to make sure all is well. I have a mild sinus tachychardia and a heart murmur that comes and goes… anyway, my last bout with chest pains turned out to be from caffeine! I don’t drink hardly any soda and no coffee so I did not think about it, but I do drink caffeinated teas. When I first stopped drinking caffeine I had migraines, but I eventually adjusted. If Ryann is consuming caffeine that COULD be causing her heart to palpitate or heaviness in the chest… not really sharp pains… just discomfort.
Another thing that has caused me chest pains is upper body excercise. Like I said, because I have a mild heart problem I notice EVERY chest twinge!
I’ll be praying for Ryann!
Christina
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/quietcajun
on December 27th, 2005 at 6:09 pm
Untitled Comment
So many wonderful words written and wisdom shared. Thank you all for being honest and transparent. It truly is a blessing.
Susan
on December 27th, 2005 at 6:22 pm
I'd actually have to think to come up with a subject, so forget it!
I’ve been reading your blog for a while, and have enjoyed it tremendously! My entire family(I’m 16) has benefited from the message of some of your blogs as well. I’ve laughed aloud several times-who wouldn’t????
I did want to mention that the lovely white creature in the left hand corner is a fawn/doe(if you say that aloud, it sounds like martial arts…..haha). I really like that picture, too. Goats……haha.
Loving your sense of humor-Sarah!
on December 27th, 2005 at 6:43 pm
Untitled Comment
It has taken me a very long time to really accept God’s blessings. While I’ve always been thankful for them, they’ve made me a bit fearful at times. Fearful that something will happen to my children or my husband…after all, why should so many good people, good christians suffer so much while my life is so easy and non-tragic?
I am sooo undeserving and yet He constantly blesses me in so many ways! I think sometimes I forget that God LOVES me and that it’s okay to be happy about His gifts to me and my family. He’s not blessing me simply to test me by taking it all away later…but because He truly is loving and giving.
Rejoicing with you over your possible new dream home!
Love,
Marsha
on December 27th, 2005 at 7:43 pm
Hi Jen
I am so happy for you and your family. I promise I am NOT coveting..he he..
Seriously though, that was a wonderful heartfelt post:) It touched me. Enjoy HIS blessings:) Even if they are tangible. Much love, Jennifer
on December 27th, 2005 at 8:33 pm
Untitled Comment
Thanks for sharing from your heart. I know about those nervous feelings. It’s often hard for me to voice them. God bless!
on December 28th, 2005 at 4:06 pm
Thank you
I found your site about a week ago in a link that was sent to a military group. You have been a blessing.
Good luck with the house. And keep on the docs, and the prayers, with Ryanns chest pains. My oldest is having the same problem, and the docs say that everything is normal, though I know they are not. I am putting her in God’s hands.
I had to do the same with my husband’s sleep apnea. I felt so calm and peaceful after turning it over to God. I am able to sleep better, knowing that I do not have to be awake so that I can wake him. God knows what he is doing, it is not for me to worry about.
Thank you!!!
on December 28th, 2005 at 11:13 pm
OUCH!
Okay… I just wanted to thank you for replacing my name and circumstances with your own… you know, for anonymity’s sake.
on December 29th, 2005 at 11:02 am
one word…
Ditto!
on December 30th, 2005 at 6:45 pm
just LOVED this post!!!
nicely said 🙂 If only everyone had the same attitude, this world would be a nicer place.