I wrote this morning's meditation about how God whispers to us, "The still, small voice of God." (I Need to Unplug) The way I typically roll on these things is that I write them at any point throughout the day and schedule them to post early the following morning. That way, they're sure to come through each morning without delay - just in case I get distracted and don't get the meditation written before late at night. ;)
Anyway, I read at least two devotionals each morning. Currently they are Joyce Meyer's New Day, New You, and Letting God - Christian Meditations for Recovery, by Episcopal Priest A. Philip Parham. This morning I wrote my meditation before reading Letting God. Then I got what I call a big smile from God.
The last few days of Letting God have focused on Psalm 23 verse by verse. Today it was verse 23:3a, "...he restores my soul." Parham must have had a vision back in 1987 about my morning reflection today:
"If we watch the sheep in a pasture, we will see them do an interesting thing. Sometime during the day, each sheep, entirely on its own, leaves the flock and trots over to the shepherd, one at a time. The shepherd tenderly caresses the nose and ears, rubs the neck and head, and whispers in its ear. Calmed, encouraged and reassured, the sheep goes back to graze with the rest."
(Parham, Letting God, August 24, italics mine)
WOW. :D
There is no such thing as coincidence. God wanted to make a point to me today. I'm not taking enough time away from my daily distractions to be with him.
While in treatment, I lived without my cell phone, and without any internet outside of gmail, for 30 days. While I spent most of my day in different groups and meetings, I made use of the hours outside of that to be in community with the women around me and to spend quiet time with just me and God. I did a lot of praying, had many spiritual conversations, constantly stuck my nose in the Good Book, and I learned how to be still. And God comforted me.
In the real world, I have the distractions of cell phone and internet readily at my fingertips. I can honestly say that I didn't follow through on my plan to return to them with moderation. I make excuses to myself, "But it's good, I'm writing daily meditations." "But it's good, I'm job searching." "But I need to send these emails." Okay, that's all fine and good, but what about checking in on twitter and facebook throughout the day to see if anyone has commented or if anyone new is following me on twitter? Good grief! I'm losing sight of the reasons I started all of this. It's not about me. It doesn't matter if anyone follows, comments or even reads what I put out there. If God wants to use me to reach someone, awesome, but I don't need to be looking for who that someone is.
So I'm making a schedule and setting some rules for myself. I will learn moderation regardless of how long it takes. Each day is a new day, and today I will make a change. Even if it's a small one.
And I'll trot over to my shepherd, and he will comfort me.
:D
8.25.2011
God Woot: Whispering Shepherd
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8.24.2011
Making Right Choices
I never heard of Joyce Meyer before a friend gave me one of her devotionals when I went into treatment. Now I am learning more about the message she shares and I. Love. Joyce. Meyer. She's awesome. And what I'm hearing so far is right in line with where I am right now and the messages God has been sending. Obviously, I suppose, since God speaks in many ways and therefore could very well be speaking to me through Joyce Meyer. There's no such thing as coincidence. :)
Right now she's in the middle of "Joyce's Boot Camp: Get Your Faith in Shape," a series of videos and articles about, well, getting your faith in shape. I discovered it after I started following her on Twitter. I've watched "Making Right Choices" parts 1 & 2 so far. Fantastic. I plan on finishing that chunk of the boot camp, then going back and watching it from the first video.
And as encouragement for the way I'm currently trying to address my issues and change my life, Joyce said, "As you feed yourself with the Word of God, that spiritual part of you will get stronger than the fleshly part of you. And God will give you VICTORY."
"And a good amen wouldn't hurt anything right about now." --Joyce Meyer
Amen! :D
Right now she's in the middle of "Joyce's Boot Camp: Get Your Faith in Shape," a series of videos and articles about, well, getting your faith in shape. I discovered it after I started following her on Twitter. I've watched "Making Right Choices" parts 1 & 2 so far. Fantastic. I plan on finishing that chunk of the boot camp, then going back and watching it from the first video.
And as encouragement for the way I'm currently trying to address my issues and change my life, Joyce said, "As you feed yourself with the Word of God, that spiritual part of you will get stronger than the fleshly part of you. And God will give you VICTORY."
"And a good amen wouldn't hurt anything right about now." --Joyce Meyer
Amen! :D
8.23.2011
Actually, They're Right
I've often seen those bumper stickers that say, "God is my co-pilot," or "Jesus is my co-pilot." In my head, I've hmmphed to myself and thought, "We-ell! God is more than my co-pilot, he's my pilot."
Thing is, calling him my pilot implies that I can stretch out in the back while he does the driving. Remembering the Divine Human Cooperative, God will only do what I cannot do. I can drive my car. God will not take the wheel to steer the car or put his foot on the pedal to determine my speed. But I don't have the map or the directions to get me where I'm going. God does. So God navigates me through my life, telling me when and where to turn, if I just need to keep going in the same direction, or if I need to make a legal u-turn when possible. He also will try to point out that I'm approaching a red light or stop sign if I get distracted.
So I need to listen for God's directions, because he is my co-pilot and he knows how to get me where he wants me to go.
Thing is, calling him my pilot implies that I can stretch out in the back while he does the driving. Remembering the Divine Human Cooperative, God will only do what I cannot do. I can drive my car. God will not take the wheel to steer the car or put his foot on the pedal to determine my speed. But I don't have the map or the directions to get me where I'm going. God does. So God navigates me through my life, telling me when and where to turn, if I just need to keep going in the same direction, or if I need to make a legal u-turn when possible. He also will try to point out that I'm approaching a red light or stop sign if I get distracted.
So I need to listen for God's directions, because he is my co-pilot and he knows how to get me where he wants me to go.
8.20.2011
A Brief Explanation
I'm recently unemployed, therefore I have time on my hands. The challenge will be to see whether or not I keep up with all this blogging and social media stuff when I am again earning a paycheck. I definitely want to keep up with Little Meditations because it is beneficial to me to reflect on at least one verse or lesson that I have read that day. It reinforces what I get out of reading the Good Book. The rest, well... is the rest.
Since I have other thoughts that may not always be based on scripture and sometimes my thoughts on certain scripture might turn into something more like a written sermon than a daily meditation (I have a specific one in mind. I'm looking forward to it - it's a good one), I decided to create an additional blog as a sidekick to Little Meditations. This one may be updated less or it may be updated more. It is a sidekick, after all. Sometimes the sidekick gets left out and sometimes it has to do more work.
That, and I've succombed to Twitter. Surprisingly, it wasn't as painful as giving in to getting a smartphone (but ONLY because it ended up being cheaper than my regular phone plan). Follow me if you dare: @LKBisms
Since I have other thoughts that may not always be based on scripture and sometimes my thoughts on certain scripture might turn into something more like a written sermon than a daily meditation (I have a specific one in mind. I'm looking forward to it - it's a good one), I decided to create an additional blog as a sidekick to Little Meditations. This one may be updated less or it may be updated more. It is a sidekick, after all. Sometimes the sidekick gets left out and sometimes it has to do more work.
That, and I've succombed to Twitter. Surprisingly, it wasn't as painful as giving in to getting a smartphone (but ONLY because it ended up being cheaper than my regular phone plan). Follow me if you dare: @LKBisms
In closing, here are my blessed children, two completely perfect gifts from God.
They are masters at the art of relaxation. I could take a lesson from them.
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