Living Life for Christ Alone

Ever drag your feet into Mondays?  I do -some weeks more than others.  For me, it often depends on how the weekend went, what is going on during the week, if I feel like I can conquer it or not, or if I have enough things planned in the week that I look forward to.  But this week, since we are almost done with week 4 of potty training with little progress, among other challenges in life I face, I found myself really dragging. "Oh, no... Not another week of this. Here we go." I have to admit, this morning I was complaining to God about it.  There is safety in going to God with your complaints. It can even be healthy for you, as long as you take it one step farther.  If you do it like the Israelites, where you only say what you're upset about and you tear down the character of God by choosing the lie that your circumstances are proof He is not good to you, you dishonor Him. But if you do it like David, who always had God's character in mind while doing it, it can ...

It had been a long week full of challenges for me. I don't remember what all the challenges were, but the main thing I remember is that I’d had many moments of overwhelm, many moments where I wondered if I could make it through another day of more of the same.   But now, as I trudged onto the beach, a sense of joy flooded my soul. Here I was, in one of my “happy places”, alone with God.   You see, Kevin had given me the morning off to spend some time alone with Jesus while he watched the girls. I knew where I wanted to go, how I wanted to use that time. I was going to take a long, long, long, uninterrupted walk along the beach. Just me and Jesus.   The waves crashed, the white sand glistened in the sunlight, the sounds of seagulls could be heard, the smell of salty water filled the air, and I felt a sense of awe settling over my soul. I looked around at others there and wondered if they felt it too. How could they not? This was God’s creation, awesome beauty for all ...