"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called
children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him." 1 John 3:1
I was talking to a friend about contentment. I realize that I fail to acknowledge the blessings that have been "lavished" upon me, yet I am continually asking for more. I recently contemplated... that if you clip a coupon and then buy the product without using it... The time clipping the coupon was most certainly wasted as was the savings it offered. When I pray, do I use the "coupons" aka "tidbits of wisdom" that I have gained in my devotions?
I was thinking over the past few years of prayer. Some things I noted were:
1) I asked for funds and the ability to give generously to those in need (above our tithe) yet I failed to budget wisely on many occasions. Looking back, I can see that when we WERE budgeting wisely, we DID have funds to share with others and were able to do so with great joy.
2) I asked for better health yet failed to change my diet & exercise routines. I've gotten a lot better about that since last year. AND since I've been running I have noticed some changes in my overall health. It seems that what I had asked for all those years before was really worthless chatter. I'm really looking forward to what blessings may come from doing a better job these days.
3) I asked for contentment, and then I ordered some catalogs, drooled over the weekly ads in the newspaper, and then logged onto realtor.com just to browse. My actions led to more discontent and then I started the entire saga all over again.
I'm stuck in this cycle of ups and downs (as are many I suppose). It's amazing what pull evil has on our everyday lives. I keep reminding myself that when I don't stick to the budget, when I sit on my lazy butt instead of exercising, and when I don't avoid known temptations... I'm simply feeding the devil's gain instead of allowing the Lord to bask in the glory of his child.
So I suppose I should clip my coupons of wisdom and do something to make them visible to me more often so that when I'm praying for specifics, I'm aware of what my "out of pocket cost" may be for cashing in on an answer to that prayer. Just think... A coupon booklet as a prayer journal!!!! Oh ya... I need to think on that idea. I like it... Just haven't put it all together in my mind yet. Anyone want to help me with it?
4 comments:
Great post Jenny. I think we all need to do that. Thanks for sharing your heart.
What a good analogy! I understand things when I read them and say "oh, that's so wonderful! I need to remember that!" Then forget quickly! Like coupons, we need to put them in our line of sight when we are making our list or doing the shopping...Like Marci was doing with painting the verses in her house! I think a prayer journal is an excellent idea, one that you make a habit of reading through what you've written in the past.
I've taken to writing in the sidelines of my Bible (my grandma would KILL me) whenever a verse "speaks" to me or I will circle and underline verses that need to be drilled into my heart. But what good is it if I never flip back every now and then and look at what God is speaking to me? A journal can do the same thing. It will be interesting to see what you work out as your own way to put those "clippings" where they will do you the most good. Keep us updated!
Yeah. Those catalogs will stomp all over contentment every time. I throw them in the garbage and think, I just don't even need to know what's in there. If I know I'll need it.
Kate
What a challenging post. You are so right about all those points. I struggle with the same things. Thanks for sharing and thanks for dropping by my blog as well :)
Love,
Joy
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