An Untroubled Heart
02 Apr 2012 3 Comments
in Inspiration
It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged anything. In fact, it was last summer. With the start of school I’ve had no time at all! However, I think it’s time to start again. Why now?
Someone shared an online Bible Study with me a couple of months ago. We went through the book, “Made to Crave” by Lysa Terkeurst. If you haven’t had the chance to read that one yet, I highly recommend it. It’s about satisfying your deepest desire with God, not food. There’s so much to learn there that I’m considering doing a Bible study about it this summer. I could easily go through it again (and again) just to soak up the truths Lysa shares in the book. What do you locals think? Anyone vote for doing that this summer? Shoot, we could even do it online like the study I participated in.
But before I let myself get completely distracted, let me share the book that I’m going through now. It’s called, An Untroubled Heart by Micca Campbell… tag line, Finding a Faith that is stronger than all my Fears.
Stop. Did you hear what you just read? “Finding a Faith that is stronger than all my Fears.” Yeah, says a lot doesn’t it? By the way, we just started the Bible Study at Melissa Taylor’s Online Bible Studies if you care to join us. If you have a Kindle [or the Kindle app] you can get started right away. We’re just starting Chapter 3 today. 
Often times I like to share the things that inspire me on facebook. Or it might be something that causes me to stop and think. With this book, I’ve come across a couple of passages that are just too long for me to post on facebook. So for now, I’ll be sharing them on my blog. Hopefully that will be frequently, but I can’t guarantee anything. (And hopefully they won’t all be as long as this one.) 
Last week I was reading through Chapter 2. According to the Kindle version I’m on page 29 of 238. She starts the last paragraph by saying, “I get confused at times and think I’m supposed to accomplish this task alone, but then it becomes about me. The truth is, my biggest obligation is to maintain my relationship with God. When I lean on Him, my anxieties give way to peace.”
“It would be easy to give in to my fear and allow Satan to stop me. I could throw my manuscript up in the air and eat some gooey chocolate something. But I wouldn’t feel better. I’d feel defeated. God didn’t intend for you and me to live defeated. We were created to live by faith, not fear. We were made for greener pastures, where God’s mercy and goodness dwell with us, provide for us, shelter us, and enable us to do whatever God is calling us to do-be a parent, a schoolteacher, a musician, a writer, or maybe even someone who walks on water.”
How many times has that been you? OH forget it! Give me some chocolate! We laugh about it, but so many women are being defeated. I’m tired of it. Satan is not being given enough credit for his deceptions. People, the very first sin on earth was about food!
Oops… I’m getting off on my own tangent. Back to feeling defeated… ever felt that way? Ever felt like just throwing your hands up and walking away. Yeah, that’s Satan. That’s how he rolls. In those times, remember 2 Timothy 1:7 – “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” In that moment, we have a decision to make. In that moment do we give in to fear or do we bury our face in Jeses’ chest and let him carry the burden?
Alcoholics wake up each morning and have to say, “I will not drink today.” Similar with smokers or any other type of addict. I think I need to wake up each morning and say, “I will not give in to fear today. I will put my faith in the One who carried the cross… who carried the burden of my sin to the grave and back.” What are your fears? Will you trust Him with them?
Antoinette
Poetry Cafe
23 Apr 2010 Leave a Comment
in Inspiration
I went to a Poetry Cafe at school today. All the 6th, 5th, & 4th graders were to share a poem they had written, and it had to be a minute long. I was impressed. Some of those poems were really good! So, I had to share my son’s poem with you…
COLORS
This poem is about the lovely colors around me
And how beautiful a sight they are to me.
I love to see red, juicy apples
on green leafy tree.
I love to see the yellow sun
in the blue sky where I feel a breeze.
I love to see orange crackling fire
burning on brown sticks.
I love to see black, dry, dirt
getting dug by gray shovels and picks.
I love to see dark blue water
with popping tan sand dunes.
I love to see the indigo night sky
with the glowing white moon.
I also like white fluffy clouds
which look pleasantly fine.
I love to see purple bunches of grapes
on green long vines.
I love to see orange pumpkins
getting planted by seeds.
I love to see pretty necklaces
made with colorful beads.
I love to see lots of colorful books
all in colorful rows.
I love to see the pink and yellow sunrise
when the rooster crows.
I love to see lots of colorful crayons
all with colorful wrappers.
I love to see lots of colorful foods
especially tan crackers.
All of these colors are a beauty to my eyes
I don’t even have a favorite one.
I hope everyone like the poem,
but now it’s going to be done.
The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Beers
03 Mar 2009 Leave a Comment
in Inspiration
Got this from my Grandma and had to pass it along…
The Mayonnaise Jar & 2 Beers
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had
some items in front of him. When the class began, he
wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it
into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything
else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous ‘yes.’
The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided,
‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—
your faith, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite
passions—and if everything else was lost and only they
remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.
The sand is everything else—the small stuff. ‘If you
put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued,
‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and
energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
‘Pay attention to the things that are critical to your
happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first—the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.’
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said,
‘I’m glad you asked.’
The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life
may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.’
Have a wonderful day!
Antoinette
