Simplicity

Simplicity is my new favorite word for 2013.

This last year I found myself running from the things in life that really matter keeping myself consumed with busyness.  In the meantime, who really needs me the most I was putting everyone else in front of....maybe avoiding it because it's much harder to deal with the people you love the most. It's amazing once you get a conviction in your heart to change you seem to hear many messages from people speaking truth to you without them realizing it. 

One of the recent sermons I heard was 2 Peter 1: 4  you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason make every effort to add to your faith goodness and to goodness knowledge and to knowledge SELF-CONTROL and to self control perseverance and to perseverance godliness.

My faith hasn't been shaken but I do know its time for it to grow! To be very truthful to stop imposing like my faith is strong enough to lead others.. I'm missing the knowledge part!  I can easily have a strong relationship with Jesus while being in communication with him by prayer and just seeing him walking with me daily but I'm left with wanting more.... to know scripture his word by heart to have clearer understanding and grasp the meaning of scripture! I NEED to know and use scripture more to speak truth, to protect, and to live more like Christ. It's like going to battle every day without any weapons.

I always find myself signing up for bibles studies and leading them without fully committed to them.. I go to them but I'm just in too many that I'm not committed and it becomes just a great social hour. 

What speaks to me the most is to have self control . It tugs at my heart!  This time in life is busy and it can be overwhelming. I need the word of God to be my foundation and my strength. I want to be able to say NO to the busyness... to refocus my importance on the one who has the answers! Just as Jesus needed to take a time of 40 days to hear the voice of God, I feel he's called me to take this time to dig deeper into the one most important area of my life and that's my understanding and knowledge of Jesus! I was so busy trying to make it to different things that time with the Lord was cut short or limited to the material of the study.  I want to have the quiet time where he leads me, to be still so his word can penetrate my heart. The bible studies can be such a crutch of relying on our time with God. Depending only on that time for him to speak to us when our mind is racing thinking of the next thing. Instead, for a season I want to just let God lead my focus to see what he wants to teach me.

I  also want to dig deeper to understanding my husband and children. I want to surround them in prayer and teach them what it looks like to be devoted to God. I want to learn along side of the family God has given me, that Jesus is the answer! 

My sister was here last week speaking such great truth to me and it challenged me in this area in my life ... she rattled off her scriptures she had been learning and memorizing... Romans 8: 1-10 it rolled off her tongue so easily .. it was impressive! Crazy that next Sunday the whole sermon was about the same verses. Ok God I get it ... I need to start memorizing...here I go ... If you see me out around town ask me to say these verses... you can be my accountability. 

Romans 8: 1-4 

Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.because through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 for what the law was powerless to do in that is was weakened by the sinful nature God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. and so he condemned sin in sinful man 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the spirit. 

Yes, this year is about Simplicity going back to the basics and the first place I start is learning God's word to help this battle of  busyness. To rebuild the foundation of this family to dig the roots so deep it can withstand any storm that comes our way!