One Foot in Heaven

My daily devotional book, Jesus Calling, is filled with reminders of trusting our Lord and refusing to worry about the future. This morning I was renewed when I read this:
"If you use your magnificent mind to worry about tomorrow, you cloak yourself in dark unbelief. However, when the hope of heaven fills your thoughts, the Light of My Presence envelops you. Though heaven is future, it is also present tense. As you walk in the Light with Me, you have one foot one earth and one foot in heaven." (Sarah Young, p. 277)

Below is Exodus 15, a song that gives me strength!!

Righteous vs. Perfect

In reading about Abraham, I've come to the conclusion that it is possible to be righteous...but that doesn't mean we are perfect.  Abraham and Sarah follow God's will (throughout Genesis) to the best of their human ability.  But they didn't get everything perfect.  God continually "showed up" as an angel (or smoke or voice or travelling visitor) to tell Abraham that he was on the right track....and to keep it up!  He promised the same promise to this family on numerous occasions.  (see Gen. 12:1-3; Gen. 15:1; Gen. 16:11-12; Gen. 18:26-33) 

The promise God first gave Abraham later became a covenant.
So, what is a covenant?

cov·e·nant

 /ˈkʌvənənt/ Show Spell1. an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified.

2. Law . an incidental clause in such an agreement.

3. Ecclesiastical . a solemn agreement between the members of a church to act together in harmony with the precepts of the gospel.

4. ( initial capital letter ) History/Historical .

a. National Covenant.

b. Solemn League and Covenant.

5. Bible .

a. the conditional promises made to humanity by God, as revealed in Scripture.

b. the agreement between God and the ancient Israelites, in which God promised to protect them if they kept His law and were faithful to Him.

 

(Taken from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/covenant)

 

I've also been told, by a minister, that marriage is not a promise between two people.  It's a covenant.  This only makes sense, because we sign a legal document after the ceremony, right?

 

Just what does that legal document say?  Have you ever read your marriage license?

I'm pretty sure it's not based on Scripture...but I would have to double check.  It's legal jargon made by a governmental official in your state.  It's MADE by our GOVERNMENT.

 

Which raises another question - is our government righteous?

Well, it's certainly not perfect!!  We can all agree on that.

 

I feel like I'm talking in circles...but the whole point of this journal entry is to help myself wrap my head around God's definition of RIGHTEOUS.  Genesis 15:6 says, "Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteous."

 

What do you think?

 

 

 

Building a Nation

I recently visited a Jr. High Sunday School class at my church...and loved it!  (Why, you may ask?  I'm trying to get involved in the ministry there, because I love working with middle-school kids.  You can call me crazy.  Maybe it's because I'm still a kid at heart.)  Anyway, the lesson was GREAT!  It's taken from a teen curriculum called The Story.  You might've heard of the book/Bible with this title- it basically takes the Bible and puts it in a story format that is easier to understand as a whole context.  It's broken up into chapters, instead of books.  I seriously need to purchase my own copy.....it's totally awesome!!  The main idea of this concept was to highlight the fact that the Bible is a "grand narrative of God seeking relationship with human beings as it unfolds throughout history." (taken from The Story, Teen Curriculum)

Chapter 2 is called God Builds a Nation.  It is all about the history of Abraham, his sons, and the future generations that came from his lineage.  I was in awe as a lightbulb clicked in my brain about the nitty gritty history of my faith.  Sometimes, the early Old Testament books are the most daunting for me to read.  It's alot of names I can't pronounce and stuff I just don't understand.  But after hearing and reading this lesson, I'm very tempted to try again (and utilize resources that will help me understand....such as The Idiot's Guide to The Bible.  Another awesome book!)

Here's my personal synopsis and food-for-thought behind this chapter:
Abraham walks and talks with God as he obeys the command to leave his homeland and build a new nation.  BUILD and new NATION!  Can you even imagine doing this?  I've watched my mom help build a new school from the ground up.  I've experienced working at a brand-new, state-of-the-art school in it's first year.  It's C-R-A-Z-Y madness.  But it's also the most amazing, rewarding process to be part of.  And that was just one tiny school in the middle of one tiny city in the middle of.....well, you get the picture.  Abraham is one of my new heroes.  I will be studying Genesis for awhile...

Confessions of a Sleep-Deprived Mom

1:15 AM
Tonight is the night.  My husband and I finally decided to break our son of his horrible sleep habits.  (Habits that are totally and completely my fault to begin with.  I take full responsibility because I'm a cuddle-bug and my son has become one too.  To the point that he can't sleep all night in his own bed because he ends up in ours at some point; his parents have been too lazy to help him learn how to fall back asleep in HIS bed.)  He's never been the best sleeper, and I've read all the strategies of helping your baby form good sleep habits...but I haven't followed through.  Instead, I decided to follow my heart.  My cuddle time was just too precious to pass up!

So we're camped out in the living room, listening to the heart-breaking screams and watching the monitor screen (thank goodness for camera monitors!) to make sure he doesn't hurt himself.  All the while taking turns to go in and reassure him that we still love him, but "this is where Robbie goes night night."

Oh, the agony!

I don't even mind being up this late (or up all night for that matter.)  I'm used to getting little-to-no sleep these days.  However, the agony of walking away and hearing the screams become louder...oh my.  Gently breaking his tight seal of a hug those little arms are grasping so desperately for...wowser.  Agonizing.  Emotional torture, in fact.

I must admit that, in the past, I've been able to catch up and get rested during the week- becoming a couch potato that literally "can't" move due to exhaustion some days.  (Especially now that my body is working overtime to create another little human in this tummy of mine.)  But the buck stops here.  The excuses are over.  I want my energy back.  I want to be able to enjoy our weekdays together before Baby #2 makes his/her debut.

The Truth?  Sometimes I feel like a bad mom.  But I'm learning that sleep deprivation can make a person think crazy things.  I'm learning that all the new "rules" out there about parenting can really make a person insane....if you're someone like me who likes to follow rules.  Haha.  Every mother will follow her heart, because every baby is different.  Every family is different.  Every relationship is different.  We love our kids to the moon and back- and that should be the only measure of how "good" of a mom you are.

P.S.  I only had to break those precious arms away from me once.  After much ado, he fell asleep more quickly than I anticipated.  Maybe this won't be SOOOO bad after all....??