A New Year and a Renewed Relationship

As 2012 began, I thought long and hard about what I wanted out of this new year. Like most Mom's of toddlers and a soon-to-arrive baby boy, first and foremost, I want a healthy family (an a well-behaved toddler). I don't have enough foresight to make a list of accomplishments or goals because honestly, I just want to be able to continue to shower on a regular basis once Sam gets here. Ha! So I tried to come up with a word or idea about what I wanted 2012 to look like. The word laid heaviest on my heart was "Faithfulness." I want to grow in my faith and constant trust in God as well as become a more faithful servant of His. Part of that journey meant renewing my relationship with God and getting into His word daily, seeking Him hourly, and following Him always, no matter the cost. My personal mission for this year, happened to follow closely with the mission of our church. Funny, how that happens! Our church is at a cross-roads with what direction to pursue next. Our church has been richly blessed by God and seeks to serve Him and obey Him in every decision they make. I love that about the church family that God has given our family. As part of us seeking God's will for our church, we entered into a 21-day Fast. Now, I know what you are probably thinking (because it is what I thought), "A FAST?!" Isn't that sort-of "Old Testament" and maybe a bit "Radical"? Well God quickly convicted me regarding the fast and John and I set out on this journey of discovering who God really is and what He wants for our lives. Now, you know that I am 8 months pregnant, so I obviously can not follow the Daniel Fast to the "T" so John and I decided to give up things that we believed were sources of "Earthly Pleasure." Namely, Fried Foods and Soft Drinks. Oh, how I love my Diet Cokes!

We are now 15 days into the Fast and I have to say that this has been the most eye-opening experience in my Christian life thus far. Guess what?! When you actively seek God, read your Bible daily, and remove earthly pleasures, God reveals Himself over and over again. I have always used the excuse that when I have a problem or are faced with a decision, that I don't know the Bible well enough to find my answer from the scriptures. The biggest thing that I have learned through this process is that God can use ANY passage of scripture to speak directly to your heart about whatever your situation. I am ashamed that I have been a follower since I was 6 and I just grasped this foundational concept.

Before we began the fast, I prayed that God would prepare my heart and my mind to hear what He wanted to say. And Boy! did He ever. The very week before we began the Fast, God brought some areas of my family's life under the microscope of His perfect sight. What we saw was a little hard to swallow. God shook my family up quite a bit, but Praise His Name! He is also bringing us back together, made whole through Him!

I want to take some time to highlight the things that He has taught me thus far. Things I want to remember forever as lessons learned during our time of fasting and seeking His face:

Lessons Learned:

1. God promises, that if we believe in Him because of what He has already done in our lives then "You shall see greater things than that" John 1:50-51. He tells us, just wait, you haven't seen anything yet!

2. This one has been HUGE! In John 2:25 "He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in man." I have been so guilty of being disappointed in everyone else's sins and shortcomings and wanting so badly for justice to be done, that I have forgotten that I am just as guilty and require just as much grace and mercy as they do. God has really convicted me about this flaw.

3. My life, my desires, my motivations, must come from Him. "He must become greater: I must become less" John 3:30. I am learning that if it doesn't glorify God, it isn't worth my time and energy.

4. Jesus came to save us. However, we must also, chose to make better choices and act according to the things He has revealed to us. "See you are well again. Stop sinning of something worse may happen to you" John 5:14. The shake-up that occurred in my family was sort-of painful, however, Praise God, He is mending us now and correcting us now, rather than later when our choices could have caused greater harm.

I am sure that I will have more to say as we come to a close on our fast. If you ever get the opportunity to do something that stretches your comfort zone and focuses you more on God, DO IT! You will not regret it. He will come through each and every time.