http://meditationsoftheheart.wordpress.com/
Showing posts with label Awesome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Awesome. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Check It Out!
I was divinely inspired today to start a new blog specifically about what the Lord teaches me on a daily basis. This is such a pivotal time in my life where God is revealinng so much of Himself to me that it just made sense to share it with the rest of the world. Not only is this a good means of holding me accountable to meeting one-on-one with God each day, but it's also a great way to share God with others (as my "readers" extend beyond close friends and family). Hopefully you will find a greater depth of insight through this new blog!
http://meditationsoftheheart.wordpress.com/
http://meditationsoftheheart.wordpress.com/
A Good Ol' Fashioned Butt-Whoopin'!
I'm in the middle of a new Bible Study called "No Other Gods" by Kelly Minter. At first, I wasn't too interested. It seemed like surface material and I just kept hoping that it would get deeper. Boy, did it! Last week posed the question "Why Idols?" and addressed our identity, need, pain, silence and fear. Two days that week (need/pain) included the stories of Sarah and Hannah in the Bible. Both ladies wrestled with infertility and waiting on God to deliver them. Whoa! How relevant to my own life right now! The hardest lesson there was acknowledging that God had chosen to close Hannah's womb, on purpose, for a season. Practically speaking, God purposely brings pain and suffering into our lives for a reason. So often we believe that we can handle our life circumstances in our own strength. For me, I believed that if I just went to a doctor who performed certain procedures on me, then I wouldn't have any more trouble getting pregnant. Clearly that was a lie I was telling myself. Kelly writes "I cannot think of anything less satisfying than having myself as the big answer to everything." Thank goodness I do not have to rely on myself to get me through the difficult times in life. Thankfully I worship a God who willingly takes on those burdens for me so I do not have to carry them alone. In addition, He has a perfect plan for every one of those difficult situations that I'm faced with in this life. "All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to HIS purpose" (Rom. 8:28). This is a promise directly from God Himself. Psalm 84:11 also promises that "The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless." So why do I tempt myself with doubt and disbelief? Clearly, He has my best interests at heart. I need nothing more.
That was just what I learned last week! This week had revelations of its own. This week we discussed the topic of lies. Behind every false god is a lie, deceit, intimidation,, a door we've left open, and a prowling lion (waiting to seek and destroy). There were many things that Kelly said during this week's lesson that really made me think about the lies that I choose to believe everyday. Lies can be three things (as demonstrated by Eve in the Garden): 1. "Good for food" - meeting our physical needs, 2. "Pleasing to the eye" - meeting our emotional needs, and 3. "Desirable for gaining wisdom" - meeting our mental and spiritual needs. In regards to Eve's story and the deceit that she fell under, Kelly writes "Place me right in the middle of the garden where an angelic devil whispers sweetly in my ear while that piece of fruit shimmers in the sunlight, and my choice sadly becomes the same as Eve's." If we're honest, I think that most of us give in to the luring deceitfulness of Satan's lies. He wraps them up in pretty packages making it difficult for us to turn away and easy for us to accept. She goes on to boldly state that "Satan will tell us what's true, but he never tells us the truth." He manipulates the truth, twists it to meet our desires and wants, but doesn't necessarily always lie. The truth can be found in there somewhere. So we need to be ready and prepared, putting on the full armour of God, knowing His truth and standing on the Word. There were two things that stuck with me most this week. The first is a quote she relayed on behalf of a friend who is serving on the mission field in China, upon a recent trip back to America. "If it be any encouragement to you all, this is what I saw, especially in America: pain (deep, private, unanticipated, suffocating) met with stubborn hope (white-knuckled clinging to Him, rock-bottom conviction that His offer of Reconciliation (the cross) is the only viable option, and a willingness to risk believing that Redemption is not only something that means we get to go to heaven, but something that He is passionate to carry out now, in specific life situations, to make things show His brand of beauty - in which a healed relationship or person can reflect more glory than one who never knew brokenness.)" Secondly, she directs our attention to the story of Hezekiah and Sennacherib (2 Chron. 32). In short, Hezekiah's faith was put to the test, and Sennacherib and his men taunted him and tried to lead him to doubt in His God. Ultimately, Hezekiah and God both proved faithful in the end. Kelly writes "Regardless of the circumstances, it takes confidence to believe that God is going to protect and take care of us as we wait in difficult situations." Amen!
CLEARLY I needed to be reminded about these things as it has been easy to wallow in my self pity and unfortunate circumstances lately. But God will have none of it. He says to "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you." Guess I just needed to be reminded of that! So, thanks God (and Kelly Minter), for kickin' my butt and helping me remember all this!
That was just what I learned last week! This week had revelations of its own. This week we discussed the topic of lies. Behind every false god is a lie, deceit, intimidation,, a door we've left open, and a prowling lion (waiting to seek and destroy). There were many things that Kelly said during this week's lesson that really made me think about the lies that I choose to believe everyday. Lies can be three things (as demonstrated by Eve in the Garden): 1. "Good for food" - meeting our physical needs, 2. "Pleasing to the eye" - meeting our emotional needs, and 3. "Desirable for gaining wisdom" - meeting our mental and spiritual needs. In regards to Eve's story and the deceit that she fell under, Kelly writes "Place me right in the middle of the garden where an angelic devil whispers sweetly in my ear while that piece of fruit shimmers in the sunlight, and my choice sadly becomes the same as Eve's." If we're honest, I think that most of us give in to the luring deceitfulness of Satan's lies. He wraps them up in pretty packages making it difficult for us to turn away and easy for us to accept. She goes on to boldly state that "Satan will tell us what's true, but he never tells us the truth." He manipulates the truth, twists it to meet our desires and wants, but doesn't necessarily always lie. The truth can be found in there somewhere. So we need to be ready and prepared, putting on the full armour of God, knowing His truth and standing on the Word. There were two things that stuck with me most this week. The first is a quote she relayed on behalf of a friend who is serving on the mission field in China, upon a recent trip back to America. "If it be any encouragement to you all, this is what I saw, especially in America: pain (deep, private, unanticipated, suffocating) met with stubborn hope (white-knuckled clinging to Him, rock-bottom conviction that His offer of Reconciliation (the cross) is the only viable option, and a willingness to risk believing that Redemption is not only something that means we get to go to heaven, but something that He is passionate to carry out now, in specific life situations, to make things show His brand of beauty - in which a healed relationship or person can reflect more glory than one who never knew brokenness.)" Secondly, she directs our attention to the story of Hezekiah and Sennacherib (2 Chron. 32). In short, Hezekiah's faith was put to the test, and Sennacherib and his men taunted him and tried to lead him to doubt in His God. Ultimately, Hezekiah and God both proved faithful in the end. Kelly writes "Regardless of the circumstances, it takes confidence to believe that God is going to protect and take care of us as we wait in difficult situations." Amen!
CLEARLY I needed to be reminded about these things as it has been easy to wallow in my self pity and unfortunate circumstances lately. But God will have none of it. He says to "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you." Guess I just needed to be reminded of that! So, thanks God (and Kelly Minter), for kickin' my butt and helping me remember all this!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
How Much Is Your Marriage Worth?
As previously mentioned, Chris is reading "The Love Dare" with the guys in his accountability group. Each day has been something new and wonderful that we've been able to experience together. It starts out with simple dares such as tell her something encouraging or thoughtful today, or call her just to say hello and tell her you love her. Then, as each day progresses and you get further into the book, the dares become a little more exposed and poignant. One day, Chris was dared to ask me what 3 things are about him that frustrate me the most. He was also challenged to compile a list of the positive and negative attributes about me and do something very specific with each list. Each day he is challenged (and held accountable) to build on the previous days dare. For example, one day he might be asked to find a distinct way to compliment me throughout my day. Then the next day he is dared to do the same thing in addition to a new dare. The point here, obviously, is to become so familiar with this kind of treatment towards your spouse that it literally becomes second nature to always honor your spouse each day with this type of behavior. I would like to be the first to attest to the transforming power of this book in our marriage. Those who know us well know that we have been down some difficult roads over the last 6 years. We've had to go through things that you would never wish on anyone. And as a result of all that, we've had to work really hard at our marriage. But we've never been in such a great place as we are right now. Now, I will certainly attribute much of that to the fact that Chris' new job allows him to be home a lot more. But this book has added a whole new dimension to our relationship. Nowadays, Chris calls several times a day just to check in with me and see how my day is going, or will say "I Love You" countless times for no obvious reason, and (my personal favorite) will spend extra time each day just snuggling with me in the bed at the beginning and end of our days while giving me back rubs until I fall asleep. Hello personal attention!!! This is amazing! There are many ways that we give and receive love, but these last few weeks, it seems as if Chris has been a student of my love languages and has filled my "lovin' tank on a daily basis. How would this kind of attention NOT revolutionize your marriage? And, of course, as a result I aim to be more respectful and submissive to him in response to his treatment of me. It's a new found rhythm that we're operating on and I can't believe that it's taken us this long to understand how a successful, functioning marriage is supposed to be. At least we're here now and I encourage you to take the leap and read this book as well. After all, we have committed the rest of our lives to our spouses (that incidentally God ordained just for us), so why not do all we can to remind that person of exactly how and why we love them so much. So the real question is, how much are you willing to invest in your marriage? Is it worth your time and efforts to revolutionize your relationship? Even if you've failed in the past (and we all have), there's no reason why you can't begin now. I "dare" you to take the leap and watch where God takes you together.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Hold onto your pants Nancy - this puppy is gonna get awesome!
Hello World,
This is the voice of reason coming to you live from the Channel 4 Regional newsroom here in Concord. (That's Concord - not Conkerd - it sounds like it's spelled people). I have adorned the Burgundy Suit Coat of Inspiration and sit a top a tupperware container topped with a pillow - now I know what Mozart felt like. Those of you who frequent this blog hereafter to be known as "You Who View" or "You Viewers" may have noticed that the Harrell blog is a little one sided, some may say girly yet others say it has a touch of Communist China - nothing gets out of this place uncensored! Well this is a new day kids. If you Google the word "Awesome" this blog address will be on the top of the list - after the sponsored results of course. You can't go there there yet because the tide turns slowly but one day my good people you will be in Starbucks talking with complete strangers about what magnificent nugget of creative inspiration touched your life that morning. Some of you will be inclined to stop by and say "top of the mornin' to ya" before you even have your morning cup o' Joe. I cannot be held responsible for the failure of your marriage or the loss of your job due to your unquenchable need to know "what happened today?" with the Harrell's.
But this I can promise you America; I will not leave you stranded and we will stand together against the mediocrity of bloggers everywhere. If you vote for me I guarantee that you'll have cold water in every public water fountain, the mailman will come rain or snow, the Wolfpack will continue to dangle the carrot of excellence in front of you, and when you least expect it bring in the back-up QB and throw the game away. But most of all I promise not to leave you or forsake you. Greatness comes in ebbs and flows and though you may not glean daily the substance for life from this magnificent work of non-fiction literature I do commit to writing as often as the muses speak and not to give up. Just like my pledge to lose weight, clean out the garage and read more (real books with paper pages - not audio books on CD).
Ironically, my lovely co-anchor Melody is sitting behind me now in the bullpen (our home office) and she has no idea what I'm writing. It's exhilarating! I will not spell check any of my posts, will use improper verb tenses (tenses? is that right?) and will sprinkle seeds of punctuation - let them fall where they may (see "Parable of the Sower" Matthew 13:1). All aspects of formality will be thrown to the wind. This is raw magnificence people. This of course is the completely opposite side of the spectrum from what You Viewers expect. Melody now is behind me precisely measuring and cutting fabric as she sews; I think she probably spell checks her grocery list and she enjoys enlightening me to the true meanings of words I like to use at the wrong time ("When in Rome"). You may see an entire post of regurgitated inspiration at at other times you will see simple edits and add-ons in an attempt to maintain the balance of the universe and keep you the people, my people, properly informed.
Sign up now to receive e-mail update alerts and get in early because one day you're going to want to say "I was there" or "I remember exactly where I was the first time I read it" or "Do you remember that time...". Get ready for Christmas '09 and be looking for our new apparel line including T-shirts and lapel pins as well as the newest version of "Harrellopoly".
Gee, Brain, what are we going to do tonight?
The same thing we do every night, Pinky - try to take over the world!
Nanu Nanu
This is the voice of reason coming to you live from the Channel 4 Regional newsroom here in Concord. (That's Concord - not Conkerd - it sounds like it's spelled people). I have adorned the Burgundy Suit Coat of Inspiration and sit a top a tupperware container topped with a pillow - now I know what Mozart felt like. Those of you who frequent this blog hereafter to be known as "You Who View" or "You Viewers" may have noticed that the Harrell blog is a little one sided, some may say girly yet others say it has a touch of Communist China - nothing gets out of this place uncensored! Well this is a new day kids. If you Google the word "Awesome" this blog address will be on the top of the list - after the sponsored results of course. You can't go there there yet because the tide turns slowly but one day my good people you will be in Starbucks talking with complete strangers about what magnificent nugget of creative inspiration touched your life that morning. Some of you will be inclined to stop by and say "top of the mornin' to ya" before you even have your morning cup o' Joe. I cannot be held responsible for the failure of your marriage or the loss of your job due to your unquenchable need to know "what happened today?" with the Harrell's.
But this I can promise you America; I will not leave you stranded and we will stand together against the mediocrity of bloggers everywhere. If you vote for me I guarantee that you'll have cold water in every public water fountain, the mailman will come rain or snow, the Wolfpack will continue to dangle the carrot of excellence in front of you, and when you least expect it bring in the back-up QB and throw the game away. But most of all I promise not to leave you or forsake you. Greatness comes in ebbs and flows and though you may not glean daily the substance for life from this magnificent work of non-fiction literature I do commit to writing as often as the muses speak and not to give up. Just like my pledge to lose weight, clean out the garage and read more (real books with paper pages - not audio books on CD).
Ironically, my lovely co-anchor Melody is sitting behind me now in the bullpen (our home office) and she has no idea what I'm writing. It's exhilarating! I will not spell check any of my posts, will use improper verb tenses (tenses? is that right?) and will sprinkle seeds of punctuation - let them fall where they may (see "Parable of the Sower" Matthew 13:1). All aspects of formality will be thrown to the wind. This is raw magnificence people. This of course is the completely opposite side of the spectrum from what You Viewers expect. Melody now is behind me precisely measuring and cutting fabric as she sews; I think she probably spell checks her grocery list and she enjoys enlightening me to the true meanings of words I like to use at the wrong time ("When in Rome"). You may see an entire post of regurgitated inspiration at at other times you will see simple edits and add-ons in an attempt to maintain the balance of the universe and keep you the people, my people, properly informed.
Sign up now to receive e-mail update alerts and get in early because one day you're going to want to say "I was there" or "I remember exactly where I was the first time I read it" or "Do you remember that time...". Get ready for Christmas '09 and be looking for our new apparel line including T-shirts and lapel pins as well as the newest version of "Harrellopoly".
Gee, Brain, what are we going to do tonight?
The same thing we do every night, Pinky - try to take over the world!
Nanu Nanu
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