Place Your Life Before God Romans 12:1-2 Message
1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.
I am learning that if I am having trouble or struggling with something that I need to ask more for Gods help and stop trying to do everything on my own. I needed a reminder that taking my every day ordinary life to God is exactly what he wants. One of the struggles I am having right now is my eating. I want to eat all the time and feel like I have little self-control. I know that eating at 10:00 is not what I need to be doing and my mind seems to be focused on eating that chocolate or popcorn until I eat it. Then I am frustrated with myself afterwards and feel crappy the next day.
For some reason I seem to gain weight in the spring and summer and I want that to be different this year.
When I read this verse I am reminded that it is less about what I can do and more about asking for Gods help and laying it at His feet. My everyday, ordinary life I love that. I am not asking to be a super model and he knows that I just want to feel healthy and not obsess about that chocolate until I eat it.
Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. - Wow I hope you take a minute or 10 with our amazing Father and soak in His Love.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Struggles in dealing with an addicted father
As I was listing to our Bible study this week the thought of having to call my dad was totally on my mind. I don't jump out and share this with everyone but know that there has to be women dealing with a similar situation. My biological Dad(if you know my family this is not my dad Mike) is an alcoholic and is still in that bondage today. Many things are so hard about that relationship. One of the hardest things I am dealing with at the moment is how far do I let him in our life, and the lies he continues to feed me. If you were to look at my life from the outside you might think we are normal and maybe even look put together. That's the great thing about just looking, the illusions we get look pretty and yet they are usually way off. We live in a nice house in a great neighborhood, I have a loving husband and two beautiful girls. All that is what you might see. Yet living the day to day is much different. I am passionate about living a life that has meaning and living it with Christ at the center. I have to because if I didn't I would be lost. As a women it shakes something inside of you to be lied to by your father. The relationship we are supposed to have with our Dads should be honest and loving, and yet can I be honest? The only time I hear "I Love You" from him is when he is drunk. No matter how much I walk in faith with Christ that still rocks my boat. Maybe it shouldn't but it does. All of this is right at the front of my brain right now because he called again last night and I need to return that phone call. With everything in my I don't want to and yet he is still my dad. I had to get this off my heart today and writing helps me. I want anyone dealing with this to feel that it's ok to want to scream, run and or cry. Some days I just crave normal whatever that is. I also wanted to add this list of characteristics that some children of alcoholics deal with. I don't want this to be something that we hang on to but the opposite. If you find that one of these describe you and you want to be freed, ask God to heal you. Ask for his help to over come this. Our God is a healer and Redeemer and if he heals that addict then he will heal their children too.
Adult Children:
...guess at what normal is.
...have difficulty in following a project through from beginning to end.
...lie when it would be just as easy to tell the truth.
...judge themselves without mercy.
...have difficulty having fun.
...take themselves very seriously.
...have difficulty with intimate relationships.
...overreact to changes over which they have no control.
...constantly seek approval and affirmation.
...feel that they are different from other people.
...are either super responsible or super irresponsible.
...are extremely loyal, even in the face of evidence that loyalty is undeserved.
...tend to lock themselves into a course of action without giving serious consideration to alternative behaviors or possible consequences. This impulsively leads to confusion, self loathing, and loss of control of their environment. As a result, they spend tremendous amounts of time cleaning up the mess.
I have to say the first time I read this list it made me feel that I was not as crazy as I thought. Most of these on some level have been a part of my life at one time or another. Sad but true. I am so thankful that God is not leaving me where I am today and that with His help these rough edges are being shaved away. I have listed the website where I copied this list and I am sure there are more out there like this.
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/adult/a/aa073097.htm
If you are dealing with a parent that struggles with addiction ask for God to surround you with His love. He is the only one who can brighten my day when I am dealing with an ugly situation with my Dad and I know that we can brighten yours.
Adult Children:
...guess at what normal is.
...have difficulty in following a project through from beginning to end.
...lie when it would be just as easy to tell the truth.
...judge themselves without mercy.
...have difficulty having fun.
...take themselves very seriously.
...have difficulty with intimate relationships.
...overreact to changes over which they have no control.
...constantly seek approval and affirmation.
...feel that they are different from other people.
...are either super responsible or super irresponsible.
...are extremely loyal, even in the face of evidence that loyalty is undeserved.
...tend to lock themselves into a course of action without giving serious consideration to alternative behaviors or possible consequences. This impulsively leads to confusion, self loathing, and loss of control of their environment. As a result, they spend tremendous amounts of time cleaning up the mess.
I have to say the first time I read this list it made me feel that I was not as crazy as I thought. Most of these on some level have been a part of my life at one time or another. Sad but true. I am so thankful that God is not leaving me where I am today and that with His help these rough edges are being shaved away. I have listed the website where I copied this list and I am sure there are more out there like this.
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/adult/a/aa073097.htm
If you are dealing with a parent that struggles with addiction ask for God to surround you with His love. He is the only one who can brighten my day when I am dealing with an ugly situation with my Dad and I know that we can brighten yours.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Cat and Mouse
Luke 11:10"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing—you're at least decent to your own children. And don't you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask him?
I had read this verse many weeks ago in the Message and liked the wording, cat and mouse game. I love that we can go to our Father and ask what is truly on our hearts. The Bible says to come with confidence in Hebrews 4:16.
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