On to the fourth verse already! Where is the time going? For any of my friends who may read this and have no clue what in the world I'm talking about, let me back this train up for a second and explain... I, along with several others, am participating in Beth Moore's Siesta Scripture Memory Verse Team. We have committed to choosing and memorizing Bible verse every two weeks for all of 2013. I am so glad to be part of this, so far it has been amazing to see God working in my life through this!
So my verse for this week is simple, yet effective...
"Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me." Matthew 16:24 NLT
For Lent, I chose to give up negativity. I prayed and prayed about what I should give up and this just kept coming back to me. I think I was hoping for an easier answer! I'm not always a negative person - I'd like to think that more often than not I'm pretty positive. But it is the one quality about myself that I really, REALLY can't stand. Sometimes I jump to negative conclusions, sometimes I see the bad in things instead of only looking for the good. Is this God-honoring behavior? Or loving how Jesus would love? I don't think so. My hope is that by giving up this bad habit for 40 days the habit will be broken!
Will anyone else take up their cross and come along too??
Friday, February 15, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
SSMT Verse #3!
So...on to verse #3 already! I am so glad that my pal Nicole asked me to do this with her!! I was way excited about my verse last week. I felt like God really laid it on my heart to learn...but then I'll be darned if I could commit it to my memory! Never fear...I got it done! :)
This week snuck on me (as they all do). Why does time fly by so fast?? As I was pulling in to the Y last night for Dylan's swim team practice, I realized today was the first day of February and I hadn't picked a new verse yet. Again, never fear...with my Bible app on my phone and an hour of practice to sit through, I could certainly find a verse that spoke to me. So, I dropped Dylan off at the door (because we were naturally running late), said a quick prayer for some guidance of where to start in the Bible and headed down to the pool. Would I be able to concentrate with all the noise? I'm always intent on watching Dylan practice and he likes (??) my feedback after practice, so this was going to be a challenge. First stop...Colossians. Nah. How about Hebrews? Oh yeah...right where God led me to. The pool and all the kids in it could have gone down the drain and I would have never known it, I was so sucked in. Most specifically chapters 11 & 12. Whoa, baby. Moving words right there! It's so funny how you can read something 100 times, but the 101st time something moves within you and it's like the words jump right off the page and directly into your heart. I'd recap the chapters for you, but instead I'll challenge my four faithful followers to read them yourselves. Hopefully you'll be as moved as I was. :)
By the way, I did get scolded from Dylan for having my "face glued to my phone" the entire practice. He was kind enough to give me some grace when I told him I was reading the Bible and not on Facebook. It made for good conversation on the way home, talking about the verse I had picked!
God is clearly telling me to put the ways of the world aside and put more focus on Him. Something I thought I did a fairly good job of, but the verses I keep being led to, I know He is telling me I can do a better job! You have my attention, Lord, I'm listening!!!
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." Hebrews 12:1 NLT
This week snuck on me (as they all do). Why does time fly by so fast?? As I was pulling in to the Y last night for Dylan's swim team practice, I realized today was the first day of February and I hadn't picked a new verse yet. Again, never fear...with my Bible app on my phone and an hour of practice to sit through, I could certainly find a verse that spoke to me. So, I dropped Dylan off at the door (because we were naturally running late), said a quick prayer for some guidance of where to start in the Bible and headed down to the pool. Would I be able to concentrate with all the noise? I'm always intent on watching Dylan practice and he likes (??) my feedback after practice, so this was going to be a challenge. First stop...Colossians. Nah. How about Hebrews? Oh yeah...right where God led me to. The pool and all the kids in it could have gone down the drain and I would have never known it, I was so sucked in. Most specifically chapters 11 & 12. Whoa, baby. Moving words right there! It's so funny how you can read something 100 times, but the 101st time something moves within you and it's like the words jump right off the page and directly into your heart. I'd recap the chapters for you, but instead I'll challenge my four faithful followers to read them yourselves. Hopefully you'll be as moved as I was. :)
By the way, I did get scolded from Dylan for having my "face glued to my phone" the entire practice. He was kind enough to give me some grace when I told him I was reading the Bible and not on Facebook. It made for good conversation on the way home, talking about the verse I had picked!
God is clearly telling me to put the ways of the world aside and put more focus on Him. Something I thought I did a fairly good job of, but the verses I keep being led to, I know He is telling me I can do a better job! You have my attention, Lord, I'm listening!!!
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." Hebrews 12:1 NLT
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)