Saturday, June 20, 2009

They point me to Him

Apart from the Word of God and friends, what helped me remain sane in the past few weeks were the numerous books which cluttered my bed and room.  Once again, I make sure that a member of their kind is inside my bag. I tried not to keep my mind idle for there is truth in the saying “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” Whenever grim or depressing thoughts enter my mind, I just open a helpful book to feed my mind with positive content.

  

The books which accompanied me :

 

Captivating : Unveiling the mystery of a woman’s soul by John and Stasi Eldredge.

 

Rereading this book led me back to finding my worth in God’s eyes. I was reminded of who I am and what qualities I have as a woman which mirrored God’s heart. 


The best part? It finally dawned on me that my desire to be loved mirrors the mind-boggling desire of God to be loved by His creation, us, the human beings.

 




The Renewed Mind: Becoming the Person God Wants You To Be by Larry Christenson

 

I have always held the opinion that whatever we feed our minds become the contents of our hearts. My heart and mind needed renewing. Thus, I read and reflected on five spiritual experiences that the book offers : dependence on God, facing challenges with the authority of Christ, patience, discipline and prayer. 

I believe that there was transformation within me.

 




Windows of the soul: Experiencing God in new ways by Ken Gire


I am still reading this one. It admonishes me to actively look into the windows of the soul anywhere and everywhere. To receive and learn from what I see and do as Christ would have done. A personal application for me is not to just resist the entry of negative things into my being but instead, only allow the positive from God to come in and exude from my heart. A challenge, indeed.

 



Today, I bought two new books (thanks to OMF Lit bookstorewww.omflit.com): 

(1) On the Anvil: Stories on being shaped into God’s image by Max Lucado, a favorite author, and 

(2) The Spirit-controlled Woman by Beverly LaHaye.

 










I know these too will help me continue my journey. 


I am pursuing God, desiring to be just like Mary who stayed to listen and just be with Jesus Christ.  

Because why were we created? 


To love God.


2 comments:

MelB said...

You are not going to believe this but I have been struggling these past few weeks. I needed reminding of who I was in Christ. I was up last night and wrote 5 pages in my notebook. I want to put some it ;] on my blog so hopefully I will get to it soon. I think it is similar to your post in some ways. Thanks for posting the books. I may consider them for my next reading. I just have to laugh because my end table in our family room is cluttered with similar books AND I always carry one of them with me. It's funny how as we walk things that were important to us are less so. I just want to keep my mind in the Lord always and it is not easy to do.

Jen said...

Hi Mel! Prayed for you and your struggles. It can be hard sometimes but thank God for providing us tools to help us get through those difficult days! Like books and blogs. Hope to read your blog about this soon!

Lion Chaser Manifesto

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshiping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion.

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson (www.evotional.com)