On Sunday of this week, we started a new online Bible
study with Proverbs 31! I am so excited
because I love anything Proverbs 31! Our
study this time around is by one of my favorite authors, Lysa TerKeurst….and
her book, Made to Crave! I have
read this book already and it is amazing.
If you want to jump in on the study…please do! Go here to sign up: http://proverbs31.org/online-bible-studies/
“My soul yearns, even faints, for
the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living
God.” Psalm 84:2
For three years now I have been doing a 365 photo a day blog
and last year I started writing every Thursday about my faith and whatever was
on my heart. I felt like this was
something I was supposed to do. When I
started writing…it was crazy nerve wracking and literally pouring out my heart
on the keyboard. Ladies started to email
me and thank me for writing what I wrote.
People that I didn’t think even cared about it…would take time to write
me or stop to talk to me to tell me how it impacted them. I
started to crave this. I started to
crave responses to my photos and writing. I began checking my email, facebook
and instagram accounts way more than I ever had before. I began thinking about
it a lot. Blogging or instagraming or
facebooking---whatever it is in this social media world can become addicting
and more about the numbers and responses than what it really is supposed to be
about for me. For me, it’s about pointing
people to Jesus.
“Do
not love the world or anything in the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of
sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-
comes not from the Father but from the world.” ~1 John 2:15-16 Three
ways that Satan will try and lure us away from God – Cravings…Lust of the eyes…Boasting. “In
other words trying to get our physical needs met outside the will of God.” Lysa
TerKeurst
Pointing people to Jesus was my initial reason for taking
my pictures and adding scripture or quotes.
Pointing people to Jesus was why I started writing about my faith on
Thursday’s. But I slowly started to realize
that I was craving the responses people were giving me. What began as obedience started to shift to
being about ME. I started to rely on
peoples “likes” and allowing it to define me.
If they like it then they like me.
I relied on this as a definition of who I am instead of knowing WHOSE I
am and WHO defines me. That’s God…I’m
defined by God and God alone. I felt so
stupid realizing that I was craving this but I needed this wake up. I needed it to bring me back to why I began doing
this.
Lysa states in her book, Made to Crave, “With
Jesus, if we want to gain, we must give up.” I want you to look to Jesus when
you see a photo of His beauty on my blog.
I want you to look to Jesus if something I write resonates with
you. I don’t want any of the credit. I don’t want to think that this is all
me. Because it’s not. It’s God…He gets the glory.
1 Thessalonians 4:11–Aspire to live quietly, and to
mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so
that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
On
my blog…or anywhere…I have a chance to speak truth and do what He has asked me
to do. I don’t want to make it about
putting more of me out there than Him. I
don’t want to idolize something more than God.
I don’t want to crave the numbers or comments on my blog or social media
more than I crave God.
“We
consume what we think about. And what we think about can consume us if we’re
not careful.” ~Lysa TerKeurst
My
pastor said this weekend that “Pride says I’ve got this. Humility says He’s got this.” This is so true. I can’t do this on my own. As Lysa states…”God made us to crave.” He made us to crave Him. Just as the verse above states…“My
soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living
God.” Psalm 84:2
So for me…this Bible study is more than craving food and numbers
on the scale. (Although, I need to lose the last 5 pounds---it’s always the
last 5 pounds that are the hardest.) I crave numbers elsewhere…in the land of
Social Media. God has already started
working on me and I’m so thankful and excited to see where I will be at the end
of this study.
If
you know nothing of the quiet life, then when do you really listen to God? When
do you get to know Him? The quiet life can listen to God. ~David Guzik
EMPOWERED!
Lysa Terkeurst says, “The more saturated we are with God’s truth,
the more powerfully resistant we become.”
This is freedom and I choose freedom.
Beautifully written and the pictures are incredible! I too need to let go of some things and "let God".... Thanks for the encouragement!
ReplyDeleteThank you Janet! :)
DeleteGood, good stuff. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks BJ =)
DeleteBeautiful and I always enjoy seeing your blog and beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing and bringing to life our study. Debbie W. (OBS Facebook Team Leader and Blog Hop Team)
ReplyDeleteaww...thanks Debbie!! =) Love Blog Hop day and being encouraged by all the beautiful writers. Happy Thursday!
DeleteBeautiful! Very well written You have a very smart Pastor as this was my favorite part "My pastor said this weekend that “Pride says I’ve got this. Humility says He’s got this.” Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYour words spoke right to me today! I also wrote about FB, Instagram, etc in a different way...however; I 'resembled' many of your remarks too! Thank you for sharing your heart and for "stepping on my toes" today! xoxo
ReplyDeleteOh the struggles of not letting pride take over when you share your creativity with the world. It is a delicate balance, for sure, and I am so familiar with what you are saying! Thank you for reminding me that I'm not the only one, but that God requires that we give everything back to Him! Beautiful pictures of God's creations :)
ReplyDeleteWell, I knew I had some problems with the lust of the flesh: eating and the lust of the eyes: shopping, but I thought I was safe on the pride of life. I guess not. Thanks for the warning.
ReplyDeleteHello! I can really resonate with your post. I did a blog in 2012 and remember feeling so high (or so low) based on whether other people saw it, enjoyed it, shared it... With the new M2C study, I'm trying blogging again - but I pray I can heed your warning!! Fingers crossed!!
ReplyDeleteWrite Miriam!! Write for you and for Jesus! :)
DeleteThanks for the encouragement, Michelle! Ironically, the blog I did in 2012 was all FOOD themed. Here's a quote about how much it dominated my thoughts:
Delete"I love food. I mean - I really, really LOVE food. It's thrilling to make, beautiful to behold, satisfying to eat. Flavorful, colorful, seductive. Ubiquitous across time and circumstance. Both the center of wholesome events and the catalyst for wanton nights. If I wanted a 2012 goal to be interesting and fun, it had to be about - food". (http://foodrainbowyear.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-it-began.html).
Now here I am - 2 years later. And a really rough 2 years it's been. I lost 2 beloved grandparents and my first child. We have been praying for another baby for over 20months. They could have been sanctifying struggles. I trust they will be eventually...but it's taken this M2C bible study to realize that so far, I've run to food far more than I've run to God.
I'm taking your advice and giving writing another shot! It has always been a good way for me to reflect and let God speak to/through me. Here's my M2C journey so far: http://cravingsconfidential.blogspot.com :)
God bless!!
That is a lot! I pray for peace and healing and His timing. That is a hard one for me...His timing. I'm so glad you are writing!! I am headed over there now!! :)
DeleteThanks Ladies! M2C will be awesome for all of us!! Empowered!! "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness"....for when I am weak, then I am strong!! 2 Cor.12:9-10
ReplyDelete