A Change in Heart

So many things have become a distraction lately for me from my daily readings.  With work, family, and other issues, I have been pushing God to last instead of first in my life.  I put a reminder on my phone about my daily readings on marriage and committment; therefore, have been spending a little bit of time with the Lord, but not like I should or like I used too.  It's crazy how satin takes every day life situations to distract us from spending time with God.  I thought being married to a man that loves God with all his heart and having a step son who reminds us to pray before meals or when a storm is about it hit, spending time with God would be so much easier.  Boy was I ever wrong...dishes, laundry, house cleaning, figuring out where to eat for dinner or if we have food in the fridge for dinner, etc. has really distracted me and taken my attention away.  (I even have a husband who tries hard to help around the house...can't imagine working full time and having to do all the household chores, I would never survive.)  Anyway tonight after a wedding shower, finishing up lesson plans, cooking, and doing dishes, I decided to take my pastor's advice and lock myself in a room with no distractions and just spend time with the Lord.  (That's so hard to do when I have a husband and son who are constantly knocking on door or walking in to ask a questions...I'm trying and maybe some day they will realize that this is my time with just me and the Lord.)  My original plans were to study up on Moses because this week in my class is M week and we are learning about Moses the baby.  I like to read over it and study it a little before teaching about it.   However, God lead me in a different direction.  I was looking for a notebook when I came across a Woman of Faith devotional, my friend and I had given out at a teen girls' retreat several years ago.  I opened it up to where I left off and began to read and look up scripture.  It was all about God's will for my life.  (ironic?!?! No, it was all God!) It's funny how God always seems to speak to us by finding several different ways to get across the same lesson.  Anyways as I was reading, a verse really stuck out to me, and I felt like I needed to share it with you! Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will." Do not be conformed to this world...how easy it is to conform to this world even when you are surrounded by a family who loves Him.  Life takes control so easily and satin loves distracting us from our magnificent God.  However, I am determined to stop letting him get the best of me and from stealing my time! I'm going to set my thoughts and time on the Lord and think about what is right and pure.  Philippians 4:8-9 says, "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.." So many times we become of this world and fall into what it says in Galatians 5:19-21 "When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God." How easy is it for us to fall into this...I know for me the easiest way I fall into one of these is by gossip.  How easy is it to listen to someone talk about someone else or even to start saying things as well.  I hate gossip and I hate that it's so easy to fall into it.  My sister-in-law has helped me so much with this issue...not so much with me doing it, but the way she would handle it when others started talking about someone else.  It was so encouraging and made me start realizing when I was doing it myself.  My heart's desire and prayer for this week is Psalm 19:14 "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."  Oh how I hope to someday have David's heart! What a man of God!