Sometimes God asks me to fast:
- sweets
- carbs
- Diet Coke (Oh, that's a tough one)
- a particular meal every day
- etc...
This month was different!
One evening BEFORE the Week of fasting our family was sitting
in the dining room & I asked my husband, "What color in that
'inspiration painting' over there do you think I should choose to
paint the walls of this room?"
His reply: "Please, can we stop painting & redo-ing things &
just live for a while."
Ouch!
It was at that point that God asked me to fast...
ALL things associated with home decorating & improvements...
which included-
- HGTV (tough, cuz that's really the only TV I enjoy)
- Home magazines of any kind
- All decorating blog sites & websites
- All e-newsletters regarding improvements or projects
- conversation & thoughts about "what project to do next, etc"
The result...
I had NO idea how much of my time & energy has been spent
on this. All week long I was catching myself starting to think
about all this... numerous times a day. Numerous.
Now, we just moved, and it's OK to improve your
home... but I was thinking about it ALL the time!
My brain was constantly pondering, deciding, planning,
calculating, etc... it was ridiculous!
So now...
well, I still have lotsa things I want/need to do with our home,
but I'm gunna put "obsession" on a self, lower the number
of things I read, keep my thoughts in check... focus on what
is lasting!
My home is TOOL in God's hand.
I work for God!
I don't work for my house.
In the OT, when God blessed people they'd sometimes
turn that blessing into a shrine & worship it instead of the
Lord who gave them the blessing. When I read that I think,
"Wow, how dumb is that?"
Then I started doing it.
I will not do that.
Thank you, Jesus (and Chilly) for pointing it out to me!
I serve JESUS!
3 comments:
wow! this EXACT THING happened to me with moving, INCLUDING TJ saying almost the exact same words your husband said to you. And I took that as God speaking to me thru him too. So I had to give it up too! Even though there was a lot more I wanted to do.
I love that OT example you shared. So convicting.
I love you!
There was a great line in Streams in the Desert the other night; something about how we must never cherish the gift more than the Giver. I've been meditating on that this past week.
You are a STRONG woman, Netta :)
wow that's a good one. freddie and I are pretty hgtv-minded too :) maybe I've got my fast for next month...
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