Top of the week to you ladies! I hope your weekend was a good one.  Jay and I had a great time hanging out with friends and family, and I loved all the thunder storms we had!

I have been thinking about something lately.  I was talking with a  friend last week about healing, and how sometimes God chooses to heal people and other times he does not, no matter how much we pray.  I was feeling very frustrated about this until she said something that I have not been able to get out of my head since:

God gives us everything we need to live a Godly life.

Notice how it’s not comfortable life. Or healthy life.  Or rich life.  Not that He is not able to bless us with health or wealth, but that unless it serves a higher purpose, these in themselves are not His priority for us.

At my church this week my father-in-law spoke about a verse he thinks is widely misunderstood.  Romans 8:28 says “And we know that God causes everything to work for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

He pointed out that this is not as much an earth promise as it is an eternity promise. I am sure persecuted Christians around the world base their hope on the eternal promise this passage portrays and don’t assume that the “good” means earthly comfort.

Just because we are suffering on this earth does not mean God has forgotten us.  What it does mean is that God sees the bigger picture.  How can we live with such a mindset that we see the bigger picture on a daily basis?

Michelle

Jay and I just had a wonderful one-year anniversary down in Texas last week, which explains why I took a break from blogging here at No Boys Allowed.  We got to visit some close friends, go to the beach, read John Grisham novels, eat at delicious Mexican restaurants, drive through a town that got smoked by a hurricane, check out a cool church in Houston, and attend a comedy show.  It was a fantastic trip!

Getting away from everyday routine is a priority for us, as it provides us with rest and perspective so we can be even more effective at home.  One thing we did was make a list of goals for the next year.  Jay pointed out that in a year, we have 4 dates which can act as ‘new beginnings,’ or opportunities to make a new start: New Year’s, birthdays, the start of a school year, and now our anniversary.

My list is entitled: “By this time next year…” I focused on making spiritual, physical, emotional, relational, intellectual, and financial goals.  For example: by this time next year, I will have memorized 24 passages of scripture, run the Hamilton 5km race, and completed an awareness package for sex trafficking.  My list has a total of 13 goals on it, and I am in the process of writing an action plan for each.

Why is this so important?

• Because I don’t want to get to the end of my life and wish I had lived life to the fullest
• Because I need a reminder of what I am passionate about and what my priorities are
• Because I do not want to waste the spirit, body, mind, talents, resources, and relationships God has blessed me with
• Because it will force me to rely on God

So my question to you is this: by this time next year, what will you want to have accomplished?  What type of person do you want to be? What steps must you take to get there?

I’d encourage you to think hard about this, write down your goals, and stick them on your wall.  And if you’re anything like me, checking them off will be very satisfying!  Please feel free to share some of your thoughts below.

Michelle

This is an excerpt from my prayer journal that I wrote on the weekend:

Dear God,

All my life I have assumed that I was the last ‘seed’ in the story, the one that represents those who hear your word and produce fruit.  But now I am questioning that.  Am I really producing fruit? Or am I fooling myself?  What desires do I have for “other things” that crowd out the message in my life?  How can I eliminate them?

Do any of you girls have things in your life that are crowding out God’s message and hindering you from producing fruit?  This passage has really got me questioning my day-to-day priorities. How many people have I led to Christ?  How many times have people missed out on hearing the Good News because I have been lazy?  My desire is to be the last seed in the story, the one that bears fruit.  Let’s take a good, honest look at ourselves this week and figure out what seed we represent in this story.  I’d love to hear what things are crowding out the message in your life and what you are doing to overcome them.

Michelle

Right now I’m listening through a series from The Meeting House entitled Soul Sisters. <<—-download it!

Here were my notes and thoughts from week one:

Girls can do whatever boys can do.  WHO CARES?!

That still keeps MAN as the centre of the equation.  We are made in GOD’S image. Measure up to Him instead.

“Genesis…God created male and female, in His image He created them.”

A woman’s first duty in life is to be an image bearer of God.

If a woman’s calling is to be like Jesus…what is she capable of?!

More next week!

Jay

After having a conversation with my friends this week, I learned that I am guilty of feeding my flesh.  Sounds weird, I know. Let me explain.

We were discussing Romans 7:14-25, where Paul is verbally exposing the battle that goes on inside of him.  It is the same one that we experience: “I want to do right, but I can’t.  I want to do what is good, but I don’t.  I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway…”

Can you relate?

I have discovered that I lack discipline in the most basic things.  I want to read my Bible, but as soon as I sit down, I get hungry and get up to get a snack, or get sleepy and take a nap, or get sidetracked and check facebook.  I want to pray, but I daydream or call a friend instead.  Eating a snack, taking a nap, or talking to friends are not bad things in themselves, but when they take away from our daily walk with Jesus, they become forces that can cripple our faith and make us completely apathetic and ineffective for God’s kingdom.

So my friends and I decided to ask ourselves this question throughout the next week:  Right now, am I feeding my flesh or my spirit? By wasting an hour on facebook, am I feeding my ego, my pride, or my boredom (flesh) or am I nurturing my relationship with God?  What about when I read God’s word? If I sense that God is calling me to fast and pray for someone, will I obey and feed my spirit or disobey by eating dinner?  Do I prioritize my physical health by working out everyday but neglect spending time with God?

This is not about food or drink or naps or facebook. This is about the motives of our hearts. Are we willing to invest the same amount of time feeding our spirit as we do on feeding our flesh?

I cant even imagine how different the world would look if more people asked this question!

Michelle