Wow - I have fallen asleep twice in here this morning. I've got to wake up. Well, I guess I will be - after I write this I will go jump in the shower and get ready for church. Yes, we are going this morning. I did get some of my things done this morning that I wanted to do, but not all my reading. Oh well. Nothing going on today other than church that I can think of at the moment Oh yeah. I didn't make it to the grocery yesterday and I suppose I should go today....
I DID do some baking yesterday. I tried my hand at honey oat bread. I think I mixed it together when the water and the oat mixture was too hot - cause it didn't rise to double its size as it is supposed to do. But you know what? I went ahead and divided it into two loaves and baked it. It did rise a little - but not much. But oh wow. I chopped some off last night to have with the chicken chili soup I made for dinner and it was good! It may not have gotten to the size it was supposed to, but it was crusty (my favorite part of bread) and it was so good. And true, I am NOT supposed to be eating bread.... but I did. Probably more than I should have. But, hey, doesn't the oats in the bread give it fiber? Just saying! Everyone needs fiber, right? It is so good. But I will have to watch how much of it I eat. I'm already a carb-holic, so this bread is not going to help much. It was so fun to bake, though.
We didn't go anywhere yesterday. I had seen on via the Next Door app that there was to be the 'protest' from 99th & Bell to 105th & Bell..... hubby was paranoid, talking about looting and all that, so we stayed home. Not a biggie. I got to bake, remember?
I'm running late this morning, as you can probably tell. This will be short, but if I don't write something, I just might get a text from someone who usually reads this. :-) Just like I do his. He was on my mind during the night and I was sending up prayers. I wonder what that was about.
Hmmm I hadn't noticed this guy walking before - he is walking two German shepherds. I often think of Sheeba and I miss her so much. I long to get another dog, but not one as big as she was. I still love German shepherds and Dobermans, but I don't know what I will end up with - when I do get another dog. It would definitely make me get out and walk each morning. And I need that. I guess I want one so bad I dreamt last night that I was rubbing the belly of a German Shepherd with my foot, and when I stopped, the dog (he/she) wrapped its legs around my foot to keep it moving. Silly though, isn't it? Most of my family is in to cats, and I wouldn't mind having one, but not with hubby. But I love dogs (growing up we never had cats, only dogs, and very small ones at that) and I long for one. Some day I will have another.
Have you ever prayed with 'violence'? I read the devotion last night and it talked about praying with violence. What does that mean? I feel it means that when we have passion about something and pray intensely for it, we are praying with violence. No, it doesn't mean fighting physically, but it does mean (I feel) like going at it with passion and power. Hmm how can I explain that?
One of the most violent things you will ever do is wrestle down everything that distracts you from your goal to carve out time or energy for whatever it is you want to do. Does that make sense? Take dieting, for example (because it seems I am always on one, right?). If I am going to stick to my goal of getting down to 145 pounds or less, I need to carve OUT of my diet breads, ice cream, and things that will ADD pounds and not subtract. I have to be focused, I have to insist on not giving in 'one time' because I am passionate about meeting my goal (of which I obviously am not that passionate. sigh).
There are people who are passionate about getting healthy. They will watch what they eat; they will work out daily; they will do things that will set themselves up for success, and not failure. They take control 'violently' to meet their goal.
And sometimes when we pray, we need to go to God and 'violently', passionately, seek Him and more of Him. Think about this. It's easy to confuse natural zeal with spiritual violence. Some people display incredible zeal for God - in the way they worship or share their faith or attend Bible studies. But if it's a natural zeal, it's a zeal that lasts only as long as others are watching. When that person is alone with God, the zeal fizzles, and the intense level of activity suddenly collapses. Natural zeal must be exchanged for true spiritual fervency - a zeal that is energized by an inward, holy fire that burns even when no one is looking. Fasting, when combined with prayer, is one of the most direct and efficient ways to accelerate the pace of your race, especially if you are feeling a little sluggish in your spirit. Fasting will help give you wisdom as you seek God for what you want Him to do. God gives wisdom to the wise; and if we choose to seek God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind and strength, He will give us wisdom in all things.
Proverbs 2:4, 7 Seek (wisdom) as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures.... He stores up sound wisdom for the upright.
The imagery portrays godly wisdom as hidden treasure stored up deep within a mountain, and to gain this treasure you must go mining fiercely for it.
Daniel 2:21: He gives wisdom to the wise.
When you are really, really, really thirsty, your body screams for water, right? What if we went after God 'thirsty' as if we really, really, really, needed a drink of His water - the refreshing water that only He can give.
Jesus gives us Living Water and with that we will thirst no more. Do you have it? Go after God passionate, longing for the closeness of Enoch, who is recorded of walking with God, and then he was not. What does that mean? Enoch walked so close with God that he did not die, but God took him up to be with Him. That is one of the Bible characters I would choose to be like. I want to walk so closely with God that I won't die, but that He will take me up to be with Him.
Gotta run and get dressed. Have a blessed day! Go after God!
Blessings!
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