Wrestling Match

Ephesians 4:17-19 “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.”

I truly hated the sermon this Sunday morning. Brian talked to us about the agreements that we have made with Satan, lies that Satan has whispered to us that we have accepted, or as the scripture words it, ways that our understanding has been darkened that cause us to somehow be separated from the life of Christ. One of the examples he gave was about a son who broke his father’s trust. So, the father slowly came to accept the lie that he could never trust his son again and furthermore, could never really trust anyone. You can imagine how believing that lie might affect the rest of your life and keep you from the fullness of life in Christ.

That got me to thinking about the kids I work with who believe all sorts of lies like, “I’m stupid,” “No one likes me,” “I can’t do math,” or even “I’m a good friend.” But then I started thinking about the lies I sometimes believe that make it OK for me to sin. Things like “It’s not hurting anyone,” “It helps me to be a better wife/counselor/daughter/fill in the blank,” or even the ever popular “Everyone does it…even Christians”.

Can you see why I hated this sermon? For some reason, while I was listening on Sunday, God brought to mind a particular area in my life that is a struggle. I started to wonder if maybe I’d made some agreements that were darkening my understanding and causing me to lose all sensitivity. And of course, since I went and asked God to show me those agreements (what was I thinking?), he began to bring them to mind. And because I like this particular sin and am not eager to give it up, I began a bit of a wrestling match with the Lord. OK, a really big wrestling match. It was all I could think about; some of those agreements were so much a part of my normal thought process and justification process that it was really hard to get to truth…especially because part of me just really didn’t want to see it. I like the lie better. (I can be pretty stubborn sometimes.)

After much agonizing and analyzing and general stubbornness, I decided that God was probably right, and I was probably wrong…go figure. So, I talked to Him about it and worked it all out. For now. We may wrestle about it again sometime, but I’m hoping that the scars will be good enough reminders that I won’t go there again.

Unfortunately, He has been showing me some other areas of agreement that I need to work on. Probably the biggest lie of all is that because I don’t do the “big” sins…murder, stealing, etc….that I’m OK and have it all together. Talk about living in ignorance.

This whole being a disciple of Christ thing is painful sometimes, but I think I'd rather wrestle than be "separated from the life of God".

Contracts

Just a quick update to let you know that we got a great offer on our house on Monday. As of yesterday afternoon, our house is under contract, and we have a contract on the house we wish to buy. Very exciting.

Please pray that all goes well until closing.

Center Stage

Our house is officially ready to show and listed as of this morning. Our realtor, whom I love, is a big proponent of "staging" a house to sell. I figured that since we are paying her good money, or will be when the house sells, I'd follow her advice. The house looks great, but there are some interesting phenomena that happen in a staged house; it's kind of like living in Whoville.

In A Staged Home...

1. No trash is produced...that is why you never see any trash cans.
2. No noses run...that is why you don't see any Kleenex boxes.
3. Dishes are never dirty...
4. Laundry is always clean and put away...
5. People don't run around in their underwear...how could you, the blinds are always open.
6. It never smells of fried food or other smelly cooking...just check the outlets for plug ins.
7. Music is always playing softly in the background.
8. Kitchen cabinets are neat and orderly with the cans and spices organized and facing forward...not unlike Sleeping with the Enemy.
9. Throw pillows are always where they should be.
10. The bathroom is always clean.

I don't mind living in Whoville for a time, but I'm not sure I can keep this up too long. Pray that our house sells quickly!

Welcome to the Craziness

Okay, it's been forever. So I'll just list some of our recent adventures in no particular order.

1. Whirlwind trip to Houston for brother's graduation.
2. Three hour WalMart trip for groceries for the Shannons.
3. Week long trip to Click ranch with the Shannon's (my side of the family).
4. Shot two rattlesnakes...have the rattles to prove it.
5. Three hour WalMart trip for groceries for the Clicks.
6. Week long trip to Click ranch with the Clicks.
7. Baby therapy with Emma and Ella.
8. Lots of jumpiness as many things sound like the rattle of rattlesnakes.
9. Decided we need a bigger house.
10. Spent two days looking at houses.
11. Found dream home.
12. Decided we must sell ours first.
13. Decided to get it ready in just a week.
14. Taking lots of Advil for cleaning/packing soreness.
15. Overseeing ranch improvements in the midst of house craziness.
16. Booked flight and room for Portell wedding.
17. Read 15-20 books on ranch trips.
18. No reading now; must clean/pack.
19. Decided having the house staged is a good idea.
20. Moving all but essentials to storage unit.
21. Discovered that ice cream scoops were not considered essential. What?@!
22. Became World of Warcraft addict.
23. Having WoW withdrawals because of cleaning and packing.
24. Pursued several job possibilities/interviews.
25. Feeling God's protection and staying right where I am for now.

Well, there it is in a nutshell...kind of. I've been keeping up with the family posts, but not commenting. I know, that's evil. I'm also feeling great sympathy for Tyler and Kelly and their many moves. I'm hoping this is the last time for us forever! Would love to hear if any of the rest of you are going to the wedding. Well, I must go pack and clean some more.