maybe it was the oranges...

Last night as I was driving to the Prayer Supper, I was thinking about this blog and how long it's been since I've posted and how I have nothing (good) to say and so what's the point...  I was trying to figure out why I seem to have nothing to offer in this place and a word popped into my head:

navel gazing 





I received this cute card years ago from a cousin.
I wish I could remember what it said, but
I think she gave it to me, because this exactly
what I looked like as a child! :)

Maybe it was because I bought some big, beautiful navel oranges at the supermarket that morning, but as this term rolled around in my mind, I thought of how preoccupied I've been with myself; how I've been looking at the world, my circumstances, things and people through my own eyes of discontent.  Who wants to read about that?? 



Part of the reason I took a break from blogging last spring, was because I was beginning to notice a trend toward the negative in my writing.  (Unfortunately, this comes all to easily.)  While I have no desire to try and paint a "my life is so rosy and perfect" picture, I also committed to refraining from what I call "rebellious ranting."  This is where I just tell you all the junk in my life and leave it there.  I don't believe that's what God wants for me to share here or to live in my life.  Yes, there is junk.  Plenty!  But I refuse to dump my troubles off here without any sense of hope... I'm afraid if I started that, I would never ever stop.



So as I reached the half-way point of my drive to the church, I wondered what the opposite of navel gazing would be and immediately one word came to mind:

WORSHIP

Hmm.  Not service?  Not peace?

No, I thought, for only when my eyes are fixed on the Lord can I truly see life and the world, my circumstances and people as He sees them.  Only when I truly understand who He is, what He's done and is doing, will my life have meaning and purpose and value.

I almost wanted to keep driving past Charleswood Road so I could continue thinking and praying about these things, but alas, my van automatically turned into the parking lot where I arrived late to the teaching time of our monthly prayer supper nights.  It was 15 minutes into the Prayer:Remix DVD we had planned to watch, and I settled in quickly to try and figure out what Louie Giglio was going to share about prayer.

Giglio confronted the idea of how we usually pray (Dear Lord, thank you for this day, bless me, my family, the events of the day, forgive my sins, in Jesus' name, amen.) and suggested we start by understanding and acknowledging that we are blessed.  That the blessing promised to Abraham was fulfilled in Jesus and poured out on us, His followers, and that there is no further need to request God's blessing.  He has already given us everything we need!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."

Ephesians 1:3

This is worship!  Eyes off of me, and on to Him.



What if we chose to "remix" the way we pray and begin and end by acknowledging all we have and all we are in and through Christ? 

Would I even be able to begin to look for my navel?

words

For a girl who loves words as much as I do,

I sure don't have much to say here lately.

funny.

story

{quote from i am not but i know I AM by Louie Giglio}

"And how would we know when we have slipped back into the story of us? We know when we see these telling signs:

When I live like I'm privileged, I have lost the plot. In other words, when I start acting like I deserve a certain outcome or a higher standard of life, I have failed to strike the fatal blow to self and am living like I actually have rights in this world apart from God.

When I am demanding, I have lost the plot, insisting that God and others meet my needs on the timetable that I see fit.

When I act pompous, I have lost the plot, thinking that I am somebody while only proving that I haven't had a good look at God today.

When I crumble under the pressure, I have lost the plot, declaring that the outcome of life rests squarely on my shoulders, not His.

When I  start protecting, I have lost the plot, marking turf as though it were actually mine and forgetting that everything I have comes first from above.

When I crave the spotlight for myself, I have lost the plot, losing sight of the story line and the one true Star. And every time I do it I waste one of life's fleeting chances to make my life truly count by amplifying Him.

When I fail to celebrate the successes of others who are living for His fame, I have lost the plot, thinking that possibly we are on different teams when we actually share supporting roles in the same story.

When I dwell on feelings of being unloved, unnoticed, or insignificant, I have lost the plot, abandoning the miracle of knowing God on a first name basis.

But to die to self is to gain on an unfathomable scale- a daily funeral that is nothing more than the doorway to a life filled with the matchless wonder of all that HE is."

Then [Jesus] said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me, will save it.'

Luke 9:23-24

 what's your story?

bless

Numbers 6:22-26 (NLT)

 ²² Then the Lord said to Moses, 

²³ “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing:

 ²⁴ ‘May the Lord bless you

      and protect you.

 ²⁵ May the Lord smile on you

      and be gracious to you.

 ²⁶ May the Lord show you his favor

      and give you his peace.’

~*~

These verses have been rolling around in my head since I read them this morning.  The blessing ("may the Lord bless you and protect you...") is not something I've never heard before.  What I noticed in reading this today is the fact that the Lord tells Moses to tell Aaron (and his boys) to bless His people in this way.

instructed - commanded? - to bless

not because they felt like it.

not because anyone deserved it.

just because God told them they should.

Meg @ abarefootday wrote a series of lovely, inspiring posts about letter writing a while back, during National Letter Writing Week (who knew?).  Her pretty blog and authentic writing style made me think about this letter writing thing that I haven't done in quite a while.  Unfortunately, the thinking didn't turn into action.  :(

Until today!  When I heard the Lord tell me to bless.

Maybe my friends won't be so super-blessed by my cheese-y homemade valentines, but I hope they'll know they are loved and thought of whether near or far.

How are you blessing the people in your life?

aahhh....

My definition of a GOOD day:

sun pouring in the windows,

warm inside ~ cold outside,

plenty of time to clean the house from top to bottom,

and then have a full hour to enjoy it before the family comes home

and wrecks it lives in it.

good day.