Lent

This is my first year of actually going through Lent with an understanding and a heart to learn more about it. I grew up knowing about it and I remember going to school with many classmates who would come to class one Wednesday morning every year with Ashes on their forehead in the shape of a cross. I sadly always figured oh that's a "Catholic" thing.

Then this year Lent was brought up to my attention more and one of my big sister's in Christ challenged me to do the 40 day fast with her giving up sweets. Fasting has always been a battle for me, giving up food for a meal or day sounds like torture but this year God has been teaching/pruning/sifting through my heart and showing me how I idolize food using it to bring comfort instead of Him who is my comforter.

As I have been researching I read Ann Voscamps blog about Lent and she referenced this little devotion book. This is my first morning sitting and meditating through it. It is amazing!! I highly recommend it and it is great for family devotions too!! Here is poem from week one, "Identifying Discontent"

Awe-Full

Great and holy God

awe and reverence

fear and trembling

do not come easily to us

for we are not

Old Testament Jews

or Moses

or mystics

or sensitive enough.

Forgive us

for slouching into Your presence

with little expectation

and less awe

than we would eagerly give a visiting dignitary

We need

neither Jehovah nor a buddy-

neither the "the Great and Powerful Oz nor "the man upstairs."

Help us

to want what we need...

You

God

and may the alter of our hearts tremble with delight

at

Your visitation

amen.

-Frederick Ohler

March adventures!

Last week a few friends (Sally, Erica, Lisa) came into town for a little visit for Spring Break! It was a true blessing!

On our first full day we went downtown to see the Peabody ducks and then we were going to go to the Civil Rights Museum but most of us had already been so we decided to check out the Slave Haven house, underground railroad museum. We had no idea was to expect but we decided to check it out.

I am SO glad that we did!! It opened my eyes to so much and I just couldn't believe all that I was learning. The house is still kept in original condition and the tour guides made everything come alive! Praise the Lord for this home and the man who built this home with the intention to help slaves escape from a life that seemed hopeless.

*taking a painting class so I'll post some pictures of the final product here soon!

February Adventure!

Well its been a while since I have been able to sit down and journal out about my adventures.

Last weekend I was able to enjoy my monthly adventure and since it was February I thought it would be fitting to check off my list, spending 24hrs with the Lord (the Love of my life). I had no idea where I was going to go but I knew the Lord did and what a blessing this time away was. I always love going on a women’s retreat with church, you get to get away from the hussle and bussle of life, be out of your house with your best friends and other women who are tiered and thirsty for a fresh sip of the Word along with the desire to have their hearts changed to be more like Christ’s.

This was going to be a bit different in some ways and I was so excited to see what the Lord was going to teach me through this time. I had nothing planned I just wanted to rest in Him and let Him lead our time together. So Friday afternoon I set out for about an hour drive to a sweet farm house that was offered to me and I just couldn’t believe how perfect it was! I drove down a long gravel drive way through beautiful pine trees, acres of fields with beautiful black cows roaming with baby cows following right behind their mommas. My heart just leaped with joy and thanksgiving of God’s grace to be experiencing this. I quickly got settled in and was tucked in bed by 6:00 o’clock ready to read and pray till my hearts desire. Though I was so excited for this time and even asking that the Lord would give me energy to stay awake as long as possible He knew that the first thing I needed was rest. Yep at 6:30pm my head was on my pillow and I was out! I woke up a few hours later thinking “oh Lord no, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you!” and He graciously said “Rest”. So 12 hours later at 6:15 the Lord gently woke me up to His sun rise, the bright reds, oranges and yellow colors beaming through the forest of trees into my bedroom window and I leaped out of bed like a child on Christmas morning. I didn’t want to miss this beautiful painting that He had made, I felt like it was just for me. So that morning I stayed in bed from 6 till about 12:30 just devouring His word and gleaning wisdom from a few other books I brought along.

I am still on the course to read through the Bible in a year and I am a bit behind according to the schedule but I'm totally okay with that cause God doesn't work according to a schedule and finishing Exodus was perfect for my time with Him last weekend. As I began reading I had kept thinking "Gosh Lord, I wish I had a day like this every week" and He gently reminded me, you are suppose to have a day like this every week....it's called the Sabbath!

Exodus 35:2 "For six days , work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. whoever does any work on it must be put to death.".... DEATH- this is serious stuff, God's not joking around with this. How many times I have heard this and read this yet it is still such a challenge or I feel guilty because there is so much "stuff" I should be doing. That is SO far from the truth! That is nothing but the enemy trying to get me to not spend 6+ hrs straight with the Lord and to really rest from a hard/busy work week. So new challenge.... from here on out this year I want to create the habit of having a Sabbath day- where I do stay home and sit still with the Lord, I don't go run errands, do laundry, clean the house, etc.

This past month as I have been reading through “One Thousand Gifts”, I have been praying that the Lord would help me see the details in my life, that the lens that I look through wouldn't be set on the broad scope but it would be more of a magnified glass. From Exodus 25-34 God is explaining to Moses all the details on how He wants the Tabernacle built inside and out. These chapters I use to just skim through thinking I'm not going to learn from these... ahh how prideful and wrong was I!! As I was reading the Lord began to show me how He is a detailed God and letting me see a little bit more about Him. Did you know that the Lord likes Almond flowers? Those are the flowers He chose to make His lampstand out of. Did you know that He likes acacia wood? Thats the type of wood He chose to make the table out of. He likes blues, purples, scarlet and finely twisted linen. He could have chosen any colors to be royalty colors but He liked for those colors to be royal. He wanted the finest craftsman's to make his curtains. He wanted things to be lined with gold, for things to be set in just the right spot in just the right way. Now to think, we are His tabernacles. That He has fashioned us in such a way that every little detail is just as He wants it. Then to think how I take my body for granted and treat it like it's a trash can when its actual royalty, when its actually His craftsmanship, when actually my body is the home for the HOLY sprit and its to represent a Holy God.

How sweet is God to begin to show me how to look through the magnified glass lens on my life. How to look for the almond flowers, the acacia wood, to pay attention to colors, to individual items and to give thanks then in return He gives joy! Though I may say Lord thank you for my clothes may I not forget to say thank you for the laundry machine that cleans them for me, the dryer that dries them for me, the laundry soap and dryer sheets that I am able to buy, the laundry basket that I am able to put my clothes in and the hangers I have to hang the clothes on and then the chest of drawers I am able to store them in. How one thing I use to give thanks for has now turned into eight things I give God thanks for!

thank you's:

128.farms

129.pine trees

130. grass

131. hot bathes

132.cattle

133. durt roads

134. people who enjoy working on the farm

135. a map

136. hot chocolate

137. tea kettle

138. sun rises

139. almond flowers

140. seasons-winter, spring, summer, fall

141. the sound of cows mooing

142. lady bugs

143. hammocks