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Being Confident Of This

Grace for the work-in-progress woman

Simplifying Time With God ~ Grace and Truth Week 27

July 17, 2015 by jstults 6 Comments

It’s Friday again already and time for the Grace and Truth Christian Living link-up!

We’ve been through a couple of tough weeks lately due to a situation at our church that resulted in my husband resigning as pastor. So while I have your attention for a minute, can I ask you to pray with us about our future?  Right now, my husband is jobless, but we are counting it joy that the Lord continues to be faithful in this difficult time!

Lately, I’ve been convicted of the need to draw even nearer to God, especially considering our current circumstances. In fact, considering all that is going on in our world right now, I believe all Christians need to draw ever nearer!  Let’s humble ourselves before the Lord and pray for our lost world!

If you find it difficult to make time to draw near to God, then you’ll appreciate this week’s featured post from Betsy at Faith Spilling Over.  Betsy shares a simple technique for focusing your quiet time on a single verse. Even though the technique is simple, I believe it can be powerful to affect change in our daily lives!

Be sure to read below to learn Betsy’s secret for effective quiet time even in times of busyness. 🙂

And while you’re at it, why not join Betsy on Facebook? 🙂

Thank you, Betsy, for sharing with us last week.

See you all in the link-up!

Jen 🙂

Thanks for linking up with us last week. If you were featured, feel free to grab a featured button below!

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Grace & Truth : A Weekly Christian Link Up

Grace & Truth exists to point people to Jesus! We hope this link-up will be a source of encouragement each and every week. If you’re a blogger our hope is that you’ll use this space as a way to meet new friends within the Christian blogging community. If you’re a reader our hope is that you’ll meet new bloggers that love Jesus just as much as you do! Most of all, we hope you’ll meet Jesus here.

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Satisfaction Through Christ
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1.) Follow your hosts via their blog and/or social media channels. This is not mandatory, but appreciated!

2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. Please do not link DIY, Crafts, Recipes, etc. Links of this kind will be deleted. We also reserve the right to delete posts that don’t align with the theme or that are deemed by the hostesses to be inappropriate.

3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment! We want to encourage community, so please don’t link and run!

4.) All links are randomly sorted – feel free to link as early or as late as you’d like. The playing field is even!

In order to be featured next week:

5.) Grab a button or link back to encourage new linkers. This is not mandatory to participate, but is required to be featured.

6.) Each host will choose one link to feature and promote via their social media channels next week.

7.) By linking up you agree to allow the hosts to use your featured post image if you are chosen as a feature for next week.

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Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: #GraceTruth link-up, Christian bloggers, Christian Living Link-up, devotions, faith bloggers, quiet time

Fast-food Spirituality

September 1, 2013 by stultsmamaof4 20 Comments

If you had the choice and neither time nor money were factors, which would you choose:  fine dining or fast food?  A professionally cooked steak or a microwaved burger?  While I crave the occasional french fry or milkshake like any other person, given the choice between the two, I would rather eat a meal of real food than the more convenient alternative.

However, I can’t always say the same about my spiritual food.

Too often I let fast-food type nuggets of truth pass for quiet time with the Lord.

A quick prayer offered here and there.

A verse I saw on facebook.

Even a well-written, Christ-honoring blog post.

Don’t get me wrong, all of these convenient options are good; we should be continually praying and consistently abiding in Him.   I know that finding Mary moments in our Martha world is difficult, especially with little ones in the home! Those brief snacks help us to do just that.

But which of us mamas would feed our little blessings a steady diet of fast-food only?

We wouldn’t!  In fact, we often work hard to make sure they get what they need nutritionally.  We do things like sneak in veggies, plead with picky eaters, and sometimes even resort to the bribery of dessert because we know they need to eat those green beans! 🙂

In the same way, our heavenly Father does not wish to see us settle for a spiritual diet that lacks substance.

In the busyness of life, we often become content to "dine" on spiritual fast food - a quick prayer offered here and there, a verse of the day, an inspiring facebook meme. But such fast food alternatives fail to satisfy. What we really need is the spiritual food that comes from...  Fast Food Spirituality

“Come and dine,” the Master calleth, “Come and dine!”  He desires us to drink deeply of the Living Water,  not to live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.  He wants to see real growth so that we might experience that abundant life that He planned for us from the beginning.  He offers real spiritual food, the kind that satisfies.

And don’t we feel the difference, friends?

When I snack on spiritual fast food, I might feel okay for a little while.  I can check “quiet time” right off of my list.  I might even maintain a patient and loving demeanor for a time.  

But the truth is those little snacks are not enough to carry me through a long day and the next…and the next…and the next.  The temptation to substitute the quick, convenient alternative for a real meal eventually leaves me running on empty.  And if I carry that pattern out for a few days, that outward facade is sure to slip.  I become grouchy, impatient, unloving, and downright selfish. I’m dissatisfied with life.

Even my blessings become burdens.

On the other hand,  when I take the time to really dine with the Lord, I feel so alive, don’t you?  His presence provides me with a jolt of energy and grace that lasts a good while longer, and the benefits only multiply if I dine on His spiritual food consistently!

What would happen if we quit substituting spiritual snacks for the real deal?

Might we experience a deeper walk?

Would the fruits of the Spirit come more easily?  Would grace reign in our hearts and homes?

In the busyness of life, we often become content to "dine" on spiritual fast food - a quick prayer offered here and there, a verse of the day, an inspiring facebook meme. But such fast food alternatives fail to satisfy. What we really need is the spiritual food that comes from...  Fast Food Spirituality: what you need to feed your soul

My goal for the week is to choose the feast consistently, to be steadfast in my pursuit of real spiritual food.  I want to be satisfied in Him, not empty.

Will you join me, friends?

As a mama of four, I know what I’m asking is far from easy!  I’ve spent those long days unshowered and unfed.  I’ve trudged through those sleep-deprived trenches, just desperate to survive, never mind thriving.  And some days, yes, a fast-food option really is the best spiritual food we can manage.

But I also know the strength and endurance I need to be the wife and mother the Lord wants me to be cannot be gained from spiritual fast-food alone.

  “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you

the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!

Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant,

is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.

 But solid food is for the mature,

who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

Hebrews 5: 12-14

My brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s not be spiritual babes, content to feed on what is easy or convenient. Instead, let’s accept the challenge to dig deeper, to run to the banquet He prepares before us.  

Choose the best spiritual food, the Bread of Life.

Will you dine with the Father this week?

Jen 🙂

Filed Under: Christianity, Women of Faith Tagged With: Bible, Christ-centered living, Christian Women, Devotional Thought, devotions, Fast food, Lord, Religion and Spirituality, spiritual diet, spiritual disciplines, spiritual food

Choosing Mary Moments in a Martha World

May 2, 2013 by stultsmamaof4 25 Comments

Like many women, I’ve been really busy this week with a lot of good things.  In addition to my everyday tasks, two things in particular have taken up a fair amount of time: a Mother’s Day talk I am working on for church and a future blog post that just isn’t quite right yet.

They are both really good things, both uplifting to the Body of Christ and instructive for me, the writer.

However, last night and this morning God was working in my heart to show me a truth that I had learned before, but temporarily forgotten.  Good things can become bad things when they distract me from the BEST thing – my relationship with Him!

You see, I thought I was doing good by feverishly working on these projects in my spare time, which you can understand as a mother of four children is indeed very spare.

In my zeal and enthusiasm for this good work, I forgot to turn to the Source from whom the words flow.

I neglected the best work!

Sounds an awful lot like Martha, doesn’t it?

 

Luke 10:38- 42 reads:

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Martha was busy doing good things – taking care of others, preparing food to serve them, and so forth.  They were necessary preparations.  But when she expressed her frustration to the Lord about her sister Mary, He actually rebuked her instead!  He told her that Mary’s choice to fellowship with and learn from Him was the better choice, the BEST choice.

Jesus audaciously suggests that perhaps Martha should be choosing some Mary moments!

In a fast-paced world, we neglect the best things because we are busy with merely good things. Focus on choosing Mary moments in spite of your Martha world.

 

I had the opportunity earlier this year to attend a women’s conference, and the main speaker, Kimberly Sowell, so aptly narrated this story to us.  She reminded us that we live in a Martha World – full of work and busy schedules.

Those tasks, those good and necessary things that we do on a daily basis (raising up children, working, serving others, preparing meals, even work related to ministry) have to be done, but we must be careful not to let them distract us from the most important thing – abiding in Him.

Don’t make the mistake I made; don’t choose simply good things over the BEST thing.  Choose to make time for a Mary moment in spite of your Martha world.

 

And as soon as you start choosing Mary moments, don’t be surprised if something needs your immediate attention.

This morning, as soon as I sat down on my bed and opened my Bible, my preschoolers who were playing so nicely together suddenly needed my TOTAL attention.

Thankfully, God reminded me that Satan is always at work, and rather than getting frustrated and giving up, I was able to quickly attend to their needs and come right back to my Bible.

It wasn’t easy with two distracting 4-year-olds at my feet (and on my bed, sometimes even in my lap), but it was worthwhile, and I know He was pleased with my obedience.

I know because when I finished, I had peace.

Will you be choosing Mary moments today?

Jen 🙂

*This blog makes use of affiliate links. For more information, please visit the About page. Thank you for supporting the ministry of this site!

You just finished an excerpt from Being Confident of This: 30 Days to Discovering Your Identity in Christ. If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy the book!

 

For practical advice on how to focus on the Best thing, read more here.

*After writing this, several readers mentioned this book. I haven’t read it yet, but it looks excellent!

Don't just settle for good things - choose the best thing! Lesson from Mary and Martha in the Bible. #biblestudyforwomen #christianwomen #christiangrowth #book Being Confident of This | Choosing Mary Moments in a Martha World | giving your best yes | learning when to say yes and no | putting Christ first | making time with God a priority | quiet time | sitting at Jesus's feet | too busy | how to deal with busy schedule

Filed Under: Christianity, Women of Faith Tagged With: Abiding in Him, Bible study, Christian Women, Christianity, devotions, Martha, martha world, Mary, ministry, parenting, quiet time

Hi, I'm Jen: a work in progress. I'm imperfect - a mom of four, pastor's wife, discipler, and sinner saved only by grace. I like to sing, read, write, teach, and smile. I have a heart for encouraging women everywhere to understand God's limitless love for them and what His grace means for everyday living. Welcome! :) Read More…

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