Fast Forward

I hate commercials! I mean I loath commercials...well, except the funny ones. I hate commercials so much that the little TV I do watch, I pre-record the shows so that I can fast forward through all of those stupid ads. I mean, they just play over and over and over again-the same old stuff!  Its almost as if marketing executives are trying to brainwash us or put us in some hypnotic trance!  Watching countless commercial after commercial wastes our time, and energy.

As diligent as I am to avoid commercials, I also need to diligent to avoid what I like to call "spiritual commercials." Spiritual commercials are those thoughts that pop into our head unexpectedly. For instance, I was looking out of the kitchen window while washing dishes the other day and observing the kids jump on the trampoline in the back yard. They laughed and jumped and I smiled at their enjoyment. Suddenly a thought popped into my mind about them being injured, which resulted in that thought going deeper to imagining even worse things that I don't even want to think of, much less type.  Where the heck did that come from? I was enjoying this beautiful story of my kids playing and was rudely interrupted by... a spiritual commercial. 

Unfortunately, I have not always been good at recognising those spiritual commercials for what they are-a blatant attack on my mind and emotions from the enemy. But when I read these words from our brother Paul in Philippians and 2 Corinthians, I am compelled to jump into action.

Philippians 4:8-9 reads, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." (NIV Translation)

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, "We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. ⁵ We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ." (NLT Translation)

Commercial interruption from a marketer that wants to brainwash you. He wants to rob you of your time, energy, joy, peace and anything else he can get his grubby little hands on.


So now what do I do? I do the same thing I do to any other commercial; I fast forward. I realize that like any other commercial-its a choice to sit through them and entertain what they are selling. That way I don't waste any time, energy, or attention on anything else, but instead enjoy the show.

Learning to sit at his feet.....

Not This Time

Christmas is a hard time for many people. If you are like me the weight of expectations can sometimes seem unbearable. Or the thought of wearing a fake smile to another holiday party is enough to make you want to get out the clippers and buzz off all of your hair. But this year, shortly after my birthday in October, I began to ask the Lord to change my attitude and reveal to me the reason that I protest Christmas kicking and screaming. In my mind and heart, I came to the throne room with my offering to lay down at his feet; it was an offering of my hurts, disappointments, and feelings of failure associated with the Christmas Seasons of the past. To some that may seem like a crappy offering to someone as Holy and Wonderful as Christ, but in my relationship with Him I have come to understand that those are perfect offerings! So, I approached the throne with open hands and left it all there vowing not to look back or sneak back and tell the Lord, "oh, I forgot to take this with me." and pick it up once again. Whew! What a relief to leave that behind! But now, the work would begin- walking it out. Believe me when I say that the temptation to go back and pick it up came often. Believe me when I tell you that circumstances presented themselves to tempt me to go back. Only by God's grace which has been sufficient for me (2 Corinthians 12:9) have I not. It is now 3 days before Christmas and I have had such peace and joy for the first Christmas in a very, very, very long time. I can't explain how it happened. My sweet husband has sat in amazement at the power of Christ and the work He has begun in me. I have come to realize that God is a lot like a great pool player or Bejeweled player if you know that game. He does something that sets something up for the next move, that sets something up for the next move.  This one little victory over my years of being Scrooge has given me the confidence to overcome other areas of my life that need refining. Praise God that He loves me enough to want to see me victorious and free!  He wants that for all of us!

The second portion of my prayer, reveal to me the reason that I protest Christmas, is still being revealed to me. Some of it has become clear while other parts are still foggy. So I wait for his perfect timing.

For those of you who are still struggling with the Christmas Season, please know you are not alone. But also know that the King of Kings waits patiently for you to bring your offering to the throne...when you are ready. 

Merry Christmas!

I am Learning to Sit at His Feet....