Taking Heed.....

So this summer I have been bad about doing my quiet time/daily bible reading. I am habitually doing this every summer and so badly need to stop letting business take away from my prayer/reading time!

God knows this more than I do, obviously, and today when I became intentional about using Garyn's nap time to devote to Him, He spoke to me exactly about this sin I can't seem to stop doing. He is so amazing, that way!

I sat down with my bible, thinking what shall I read.....I love devotional books for there guidance and structure, but I don't have one right now that I haven't already done.....therefore I went back to Deuteronomy, where I think I left off from the last time. Deuteronomy 11 struck me as where I might have left off, and where I might need to read.....

When I came to Deuteronomy 11:16...I got that tingling, warm feeling of love and amazement.......
Deuteronomy 11:16-17 Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the Lord's anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.

Wow...my mind started swarming...
It is finally raining right now, my land is physically and mentally receiving it
Other gods have been receiving my worship
My heart has been deceived into thinking I could go without the daily word of God

When I was in college I was in a bible study group that included the same girls for 5 years. Our teacher was/is awesome and I learned so much from her. Once she had us write down everything we did for a week and how long we spent doing that particular thing. After that week, she explained to us that anything we spent a lot of time on, that wasn't adding to the glory of God, was a god. TV was the one thing I spent too much time on at that time, and I remember thinking..."How is TV a god?", but I learned that I was putting it ahead of God, the one and only.
These verses brought up that memory and told me that I was, again, allowing other things to come before my time with God and therefore worshipping them.

It was so refreshing and affirming to simply open up the bible today and pray for Him to speak through His word and instantly God gave me a lesson.....especially when I was thinking I needed a devotional book, bible study group or Dr. Dooley to teach me the word of God.

Jesus died for us and the veil was torn so that I can come to God anytime....Thank you, God!

Sometimes we all need to record what all we are putting time and effort into to reevaluate what is pleasing to God and what is disobeying. Its like when we journal our eating for diets, more or less, we are seeing what is good to our body and what isn't.

I pray that I can take heed to this lesson from God and change my ways.

Careful to Obey

I really quickly wanted to share my lesson of the day.....



I have been reading in Deuteronomy and today Deuteronomy 6 spoke to me. I have written it down in my little journal book and even went online to read more into it.



Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength Deuteronomy 6:5

(We sing this in the 5-6 yr old class I teach at church, so I can't help but sing it every time I hear it & do the signs I know for it)



These commandments (10 commandments) that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you lie down and when you walk along the road. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on your door frames of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9

So I have heard/ read this many of times but one thing that stuck out to me this time was the "tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads". I mean what actually does that mean? I almost said "ahh, forget it move along" but then I thought about Beth Moore and how her Hebrew translations are always so great. But to much avail, I was unable to find anything much online.....I haven't ever tried to do something like this before. However, I did find that the Jews of that time took those words literally and actually tied small scrolls of the verses to their hands and foreheads. Jesus later rebuked this practice. The verses, according to commentaries, are symbolic for the importance to follow God's commandments and allow that obedience to be visible to others. Have them upon your hearts and impress them on your children. Keep them at the forefront of your mind.

The next thing that stood out was :

In the future when your son asks you, "What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?" tell him:...........The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive.....And if we are careful to obey that will be our righteousness. Deuteronomy 6:20-25

Man, that was really what I needed to hear. We are in the future and asking this exact question all the time! I am always praying and studying on being a good example for Garyn. To hear those direct words from God through Moses, only helps me to know the direction and words to teach him about God. God is teaching me, His child. It will be our righteousness....basically our reputation, our justification, our faith and obedience that pleases God. I also like to think God is telling me I am doing His work through raising Garyn...sometimes I feel void in the serving department because I don't do many missions, I don't teach a bible study, I don't go out and spread the word enough. You know, not feeling like I am helping to spread the glory of God. But this is something He is calling me to do!

So Garyn is up from his nap now and I really need to play and do laundry (yes, probably at the same time) Tyler is still not home.....long story. But here are some pics of Garyn disobeying today:

I had a plant to die and the pot is still in the hallway with dirt in it. Which equals....

This is the 2ND time Garyn has done this....He knows not to do it and ran as soon as I found him in the act. I guess he thought Elmo would take the blame. I wonder, too, if he planned on filling the dump truck....So I grabbed the camera (so that I could show daddy) after I saw Garyn already up in the rocker watching his video, acting like he had done nothing wrong...
With that face how can you be mad! I can only hope God feels the same after we repent and ask forgiveness.

( He did this in the middle of me doing my hair...I know you girls will be looking at my frizz)

P.S. I have not been to seminary or anything so take my words for whatever they are worth to you. I just hope it will inspire someone to be careful to obey