Creation

So many times, the eyes of a child are amazing! Tonight, Noly asked me if I was just going to sit in bed for awhile while she played with Daddy. I told her that I was going to read my Bible. She said, "Oh, you read that a lot." I told her I try to read it every day. She asked if we could read her Bible together first, so we did.

It's funny to me how a lot of the Bible stories that I know she has heard before have left her memory, and it is like she is hearing them for the first time. There were pictures of Adam and Eve with many trees all around them, and then there is a picture of the ONE tree they could not eat from. She looked at me like they had more than enough. Why would they ever need to eat from that one tree? They weren't missing out with all they had in front of them to eat. How true! But how our flesh craves that "one" thing. It craves what we shouldn't have and isn't content with the many other blessings we have right in front of us. God has given us more than we need and just wants us to find contentment in our relationship to Him. He knows what will harm us, yet we act like He is withholding something desirable from us.

Hopefully, both Noly and I learned something about obedience and God's love for us tonight.

Strep Throat and the Flu

That's what Noly has...both. I'm really thankful she is such a little trooper and doesn't complain much! We are on top of her fever better tonight, so she is more comfortable. Last night, it got up to 102.9, and then she fell asleep on Kevin. I didn't try taking it after that because I didn't want to wake her.

We are two weeks into our 21-day fast at church, and I'm amazed at how much more time I have had to read my Bible, pray, workout, etc while fasting tv. It has been a really good two weeks even though we have been struggling with non-stop sickness in one form or another. The sickness didn't change, but spending time with God gives me much more peace about it. Our Pastor taught about joy last week. He talked about how happiness is an emotion that comes or goes, but joy is a fruit of the Spirit. Even if you are sad, you can still have joy because of Who you know. That was so eye-opening, and it has made a difference in my attitude within our sickness.

I'm making this short because I have some Rice Krispy Treats cooling to try to get Noly to eat a little with her antibiotic. Hoping for a good night of restful sleep for all four of us!

Lukewarm

It's so easy to become lukewarm. You leave milk out on the counter too long...you get lukewarm. You leave your coffee sitting too long before you drink it...you get lukewarm. Yuck! You leave your heart unchallenged too long, and it also can become lukewarm. I realized that is where I have been, the place between hot and cold.

Growing up in church, it's easy to go through the motions of Christianity. I can even go spend time with orphans in the name of Christ and still be lukewarm. It's a matter of where my relationship with Him is. If I don't spend QUALITY time with Him to stay hot, I will become lukewarm, or even quite possibly cold. I can even read my Bible daily and still not dive into His presence, search for His heart, delight in His embrace.

So, I want to be hot. I want to be passionate. I want to walk about my life living in His presence. Abraham took Isaac to Moriah in obedience because of his close relationship with God. He knew God's character; he was His friend. If I am really, truly spending more time with Him, getting to know Him, I will better be able to do what He asks of me. When adversity comes, I will be less shaken because I will be planted DEEPLY in Him, rooted and blossoming with His beauty.

I don't want to be lukewarm, curdled milk. I want to be delicious, steaming hot coffee (even if I don't like coffee)!