Sermon Notes 05/15/11

Notes from sermon, CBC, (viewed by streaming online - missed the first part): 5/15/11

Fasting doesn't have to be just from food. Consider fasting from the "junk" that clutters up our lives with secular culture. Secular TV/movies, secular music/reading material, frivolous internet usage, etc.

"The habit of performing an action is more powerful than the action itself."
"Your daily habits are creating your future success or failure."

Remove from your focus at all costs anything that poisons your God-given future!!!

Successful people do daily what unsuccessful people do occasionally.
Successful Christians do daily what mediocre Christians do occasionally.

There is only TODAY! Time is the greatest resource of life. Time is not a force - time is a resource. Time will not do anything for you; it is what you do with it.

Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.


Thoughts: Once again, God has convicted me of my current lifestyle and has used a sermon to say exactly what I needed to hear. I no longer want to be a (less-than) mediocre Christian. I want to be a successful Christian! My daily habits are horrendous. I need to give up the things that don't matter so that I may focus on incorporating - DAILY - the things that do. I need to use every day as a way to show God that I love him and find ways to serve Him in this day. I need to decide what I will do with my time, and follow that to the best of my ability. Just like we need to decide what to do with our money and follow that. I need to remove the potentially destructive time-wasters of our lives (TV, video games, internet, etc.) and use that time for growing, learning, and teaching.

The time is now. The day is today. I WILL make changes. Baby steps towards God. Towards rewards in Heaven.

My Walk Today

What a shame that I have let this part of my life go, as in pretty much every other spiritual aspect of my life. At present, my Christian walk looks like this:

*I pray, but mostly for myself and my family, about what I want and need, about what I'd like God to do for me. I don't really listen for His still, small voice during these prayers, and when I pray with the children (at mealtimes and bedtime), it is mostly a generic, canned, and repeated prayer, void of real depth and meaning.

*I rarely read the Bible. Most of the scripture I am exposed to is through sermons, and is not followed up on and meditated upon.

*I do not go to church regularly, even though I LOVE our church and feel that it is where God wants us to be. We are not members, and are not plugged in in any way. We don't go to Community Group and we haven't been to Wednesday night services for pretty much the whole school year.

*I am not involved in a Bible study, though I paid for and started (but never got very far) in an online Beth Moore study over a year ago.

*We haven't been tithing regularly either, though we are trying to do better in this area as we are trying to implement Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover for our finances.

So there it is, in all of its ugly truth. My walk with Christ. A total joke. So much for making an impact. So much for leaving a legacy. So much for helping others. So much for showing my gratitude and love for my Savior who gave everything so that I might live. But I want to change. I want to know Him. I want to give up my current life and live a life that will bear much fruit. It's time to start over. It's time to start writing new pages in this book of my life. I know my spirit is ready. Now I need to (with help from God) overcome the weakness of my flesh.

January 24, 2010 Prayer Requests

There are many things on my mind right now, and as it is 2:00am, I probably shouldn't be mulling them over. But maybe if I get them out I will be able to sleep better.

I have not dwelled too much on the Haiti earthquake, but at the same time I am surrounded by news of it. I have prayed for the people of Haiti who are suffering, the people who are trying to help with the disaster recovery efforts, and that God would be present in that country and do a mighty work of revival there. But I think I need to do more. I have been selfish in so many ways. I could easily pare down the food budget, eat less, etc., so that we could give more. I'm not consistent in tithing either, which I know is a big spiritual problem.

God, please be with the people of Haiti. Please comfort those who have lost their loved ones, their homes, and their hope. Please bring peace to suffering hearts. Please provide safety for those who are risking their lives to save others. Please be with the mothers and fathers who are desperate to provide the basic necessities to their babies and children. Please be with the children who have lost one or both parents. And please allow us an opportunity to help in some tangible way.

We are struggling with the decision about what to do for George & Joshua's schooling. We keep going back and forth, and I really want it to be based on what God wants for us. There are pros and cons no matter what we do, and I truly do believe that our children can be salt and light whichever educational choice we make, but we are truly torn right now, and we don't have a lot of time left before we have to decide something.

Lord, please guide us in this big decision about how to pursue education for our boys. Above all we want to do your will, and if you are calling us to homeschool, help us to accept, embrace, and rejoice in that decision and do it to the very best of our abilities, trusting in you to preserve our sanity and help strengthen our discipline. Please provide some clear guidance so that we know what you would have us do.

The last big thing on my mind and heart is our housing situation (which is also tied to our financial situation, which is bad). The home in Lafayette is still up for sale, with the threat of foreclosure looming near. We can't really drop the price any lower without the possibility that the bank will just write us off and foreclose. But we are also unsure of its sell-ability due to the flooding and work that needs to be done to get it up to snuff. We did not make the best decisions with our money along the way, and perhaps had we trusted in God more and denied our selfish desires, we would not be in this situation. But as it is, our credit is probably trashed now and we have a mountain of debt.

God, we need you in this crisis. We are unsure how to proceed with this situation. We cannot afford both mortgages, and yet we know that we committed to paying these house payments. We want to settle our debt the way you would have us to. We also want to get out of debt, as we are slaves to it, and we know that is not what you want for us. Please remind us of your economy and what is important, and please help us to remember to consult you first before making purchase decisions. Help us to depend on you, trust you, and listen and obey.

Things That Matter

I thought maybe a blog would be a good way to document how God is working in my (or our, if Chris decides to participate along the way) life. I have tried journals before, but never really stuck with it (this is classic me). Considering how much faster it is for me to type, I figured that perhaps I would do better using this medium.

My plan is to use it as a prayer journal, a Bible Study thoughts journal, and just an overall spiritual journey journal. I am hoping to stick with it so that I may look back and see how God has answered prayers, led us to decisions, shown us direction, convicted us, and so forth. I am keeping it separate from our family blog, as I am not sure this will ever go public. For now it is just for us. Simply a way to give praise, thanks, cry out, or just document things that matter.