A Different Kind of Resolution

A new year; a fresh start; a clean slate. Such hope and potential in these phrases. 

Most new year's resolutions are for keeping up appearances: healthy eating, exercise more, lose "x" pounds, clear the clutter. Those are all good, and I would never tell someone not to set such a goal. But in 2015, I want something that goes deeper.

I feel a longing in my soul to be transformed on the inside. To truly let the joy of The Lord be my strength in every circumstance (Nehemiah 8:10). To fend off the temptation to conform to this world's standards (Romans 12:2), and to strive for contentment (1Timothy 6:6) knowing that in all things, God will be working for my good (Romans 8:28). 

What makes these changes different from the typical New Year's resolution is 1. It is something that I hope to strive for every day for the rest of my life. I don't want to just be content in my current and near-future status; I pray that I will always be able to give thanks in all circumstances! (1 Thessalonians 5:-17) And 2. It's not only in my control. I have a helper, The Holy Spirit, to guide my heart and mind. If I am going to be able to resist the temptations of materialism, discontentment, etc., I need to arm myself with supernatural strength. I can exercise and build my spiritual muscles by studying and memorizing God's Word (The Bible), and by repenting of my sins daily and resting and trusting in The Lord (Isaiah 30:15). 

I hope that you take advantage of the opportunity that a new year brings. Whether your goals are physical, spiritual, organizational, financial- whatever- I pray that you will allow the joy of The Lord to be your source of strength, and that you will be content with what you do have and strive to honor God in it.

Source

I can't wait to see what happens in 2015!

Happy New Year!!!

Meal Plan Monday (6/9) and Scripture Memory

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend!

Last week was fun in the kitchen. I tried one new recipe, and did some freezer meals to have on-hand for friends and family.

This was our line-up for the week:

Grilled honey lime chicken sandwiches with sweet potato fries (new for us)

slider bun topped with avocado, tomato, and salsa verde

Broccoli cheese soup (no photo of the soup, but I got a pic of the HUGE bowl of fresh shredded Gouda!!!) I doubled the recipe and froze half. 

Fish tacos on Trader Joe's whole wheat tortilla topped with avocado, spinach, and salsa verde

Smoked finger ribs with baked sweet potatoes, and green beans

Homemade fruit bar popsicles 

Homemade cinnamon rolls

These were AMAZING and simple to make!

Sneak peak into this week's meals:

Grilled chicken and veggie kabobs with blue cheese stuffed red potatoes

Grilled peach and prosciutto pizza 

Veggie enchiladas with Mexican brown rice

Goat cheese pasta with farmer's market inspired salad

It's a busy second half of this week, but I'm really looking forward to it! I want to do my very best for the Lord in every task and appointment. I want to devote myself to refreshing my memory verses this week, specifically Ephesians 6:11-18 and Romans 1:16-23. I encourage you to get in God's Word and memorize it. It will change your life! 

Too Much Thinking About Myself continued...

"We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined to happiness, nor to health, but to holiness. Today we have far too many desires and interests, and our lives are being consumed and wasted by them. Many of them may be right, noble, and good, and may later be fulfilled, but in the meantime God must cause their importance to us to decrease. The only thing that truly matters is whether a person will accept the God who will make him holy. At all costs, a person must have the right relationship with God."

I must continually remind myself of my true purpose in order to function in true, constant fellowship with God and in right fellowship with my family. "Well, what is your true purpose?," you might ask. Two passages come to mind, and they are two that Ben and I have committed to memory together: 

(In regard to my purpose toward others) 1 Peter 4:7 "The end of all things is near, therefore be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, for love covers over a multitude of sins." 

(In regard to my purpose in Christ) Ecclesiastes 12:13 "Now all has been heard. Here is the conclusion of the matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind."

But, how can I do this in our culture? With all the pressure to perform well, appear to have it all together (this is multi-faceted), own this, wear that, sign my kids up for this, volunteer for this and that and this!?

"Our Lord’s teaching was always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a person— His purpose is to make a person exactly like Himself, and the Son of God is characterized by self-expenditure. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what He pours through us that really counts. God’s purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us. Our spiritual life cannot be measured by success as the world measures it, but only by what God pours through us— and we cannot measure that at all."

I must remember that My life is not being measured by God in the same way that the world measures. "What he pours through us..." For me, this is about how much I pray for others; how tender and patient I am with my kids; how I extend grace and respect with lots of affection (no matter how tired I am) to my husband. Read 1 Peter 4:7-10. As I said in part I of this post, I must stop thinking about my circumstances. Anti-self realization. Christ pouring through and out of me. Things we cannot measure. 

Oh, LORD, I want to be clear-minded, self-controlled, prayerful (especially for others), deeply loving of others, fearfully reverent of Your commands, and most of all, non-complaining, unaware of my circumstances. May I look for You in every detail of my days, whether I am in my quiet time or policing two squealing toddlers. Jesus, give me supernatural strength to live 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17, to "be joyful always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances."

Early Bird

At the new year, I shared that I planned to start getting up before my kids every day so that I could spend time consistently studying the Bible. I reported later on that it had been going well; I have been getting up around 6:00 a.m., about 30 minutes before my kids start stirring.  Yes, they get up early, but it's because I put them to bed early.

Almost this entire time, though, I have to confess that the time "5:30" has been on my mind & heart. After a convicting lesson on worship & prayer in my Sunday morning Bible study, I finally acted on my conviction, which I believe is from the Holy Spirit. 

I am professing this here in an effort to keep myself accountable. This is not going to be easy for me, but I did it all of last week, and I loved it! Having an additional half hour to pray and read and meditate is a perfect way to start my day. Not to mention, I have been squeezing in some workouts too. If that's not a recipe for a good morning, I don't know what is! 

Speaking of meditating, Ben felt convicted that we needed to implement some kind of "system" to our weekly scripture memory. We have been doing this for over a year together, and Ben has been doing it even longer; we've never had a system for choosing passages/verses... until now. His conviction is that we need to be focusing on memorizing verses useful for evangelism, that is, sharing with a non-believer the Good News contained within the 100% truth of the Bible. ALL of the Bible is The Gospel, but Ben has done lots of research and has come up with a list of key verses for leading someone to a relationship with Christ. So far, the verses we have memorized are as follows:

Romans 1:20-23

Ezekiel 18:4

James 2:10

Matthew 5:48

Romans 3:20

Romans 3:23

Romans 3:10

Now, go on a treasure hunt and look them up for yourself! I challenge you to memorize these verses and pray for an opportunity to share them with someone who does not know about Jesus.