To Facebook or Not To Facebook

My husband has had a facebook account for a while now, and he thinks I should get one, too.  But I've been resistant.  I have enough ways of wasting my time as it is now.  And if I were to get a facebook page, I'm afraid that's what it would become for me... just another time waster.  But today I got to thinking, it would be a fun way to be able to share pictures with family.... although they would also have to have accounts.  And there are other people in my family who are just as resistant to facebook as me.  I suppose I could put up pictures here on my blog, but I'm hesitant to do that, as well.  At least with facebook (at least as far as I understand), only people you want can access your page.  So I'll have to keep thinking... I'd love to put up pictures of the kids, but there's a part of me that's leery of doing that.  Even though I met my wonderful husband online, I don't trust the web.  I suppose I'm a bit paranoid.  So for now I suppose I'll just have to stick with sending pictures in emails.  For whoever reads this blog, if you have an opinion on posting pictures here, on facebook, or an alternative way of sharing pictures online, I'd love to read your comments!

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One year ago tomorrow...

One year ago tomorrow my little sweetie asked Jesus to come into her heart. She was 4 years old, the same age as her older sister when she asked Jesus into her heart. What an exciting year this has been, watching her grow spiritually. I remember that first night so clearly. She had been in bed, but came out to me and said in an almost disappointed tone, "Mommy, I asked Jesus to come in to my heart, but I didn't see Him come in!" So I crawled into bed with her, and we discussed what it means to ask Jesus in to your heart. She said she knew she had done naughty things, and she was sorry and wanted Jesus to come live in her heart, but she couldn't understand why she didn't see Him enter her. Ah, the faith of a child!

Since then she has played with Jesus, colored with Jesus, and tried to give Jesus gifts. She has come to me, not understanding why He won't take her toys up to heaven with Him.

For the last several months my little sweetie has questioned me, wanting to understand how Jesus enters our hearts. When I couldn't give her an answer she was satisfied with, she said, "Maybe He crawls in." Then one night during our bedtime devotions we read a Bible story that said Jesus rules in our hearts. I could almost see a light bulb turn on over hear head and she exclaimed, "Ohhhhh! So that's how Jesus gets in our hearts! He rolls in!"

Yes, the faith of a child. Happy birthday, Sweetie!

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Coffee with Jesus

This afternoon has been so quiet! My hubby's parents took the girls for a sleepover today, so this afternoon has been just me and the cat. I straightened the apartment, made my oldest daughter's birthday present (She's going to be 8 next week! I keep thinking I'm not old enough for an 8 year old! Then I have to remind myself I'm in my 30's...), and now I'm just enjoying a quiet relaxing evening. I might have to make myself a cup of tea in a little while, as it seems cold in here, and tea just sounds good this evening. It's too bad I can't have coffee in the evening, but the caffeine would keep me awake all night. Actually, it's probably a good thing I have to stop drinking coffee at noon, or our grocery bill would probably double. :-)

Anyway, I promised I'd share about my quiet time and computer fasting from this past week, so here I am. To be honest, I only stayed away from the computer for a few days, and they weren't all consecutive. I think the easiest thing would be to copy some things from my journal.

Friday, 1/2/09 - I put away my computer this morning, for a few days. I spend more time with my computer than I do with Jesus. I even spend more time with my computer than I do with my kids. It's definitely time to get my priorities straight.
Saturday, 1/3/09 - My quiet time this morning was fantastic! I woke up before my alarm went off & had around an hour & 45 minutes in prayer & Bible reading, and it was amazing!
Sunday, 1/4/09 - This evening I opened up my computer to rip some praise songs into mp3s to use in my quiet time. That would have been fine, but I got sidetracked & spent a couple hours on the internet surfing, just doing worthless stuff. I think I need to set up some ground rules for myself with my computer.
Monday, 1/5/09 - I had another really great quiet time this morning! Having praise music to listen to with my headphones while everyone else was asleep was really cool.The songs really spoke to my heart, especially Draw Me Close To You. This morning my 5-year old got up while I was reading my Bible. Usually when she gets up she wants to cuddle, and I almost always say, "No, Mommy's having her quiet time with Jesus." I have a hard time praying when she's there, because she asks questions, and talks, and makes it hard for me to focus. But this morning I decided since I was done praying & was reading my Bible, I'd go ahead and hold her. So I picked her up and we cuddled while I read. Then I decided I might as well read out loud. I was reading the first 3 chapters of Exodus, so I read out loud to her while she snuggled in my arms. I don't know if she absorbed any of what I was reading, but it was nice to snuggle with her while I read.
Tuesday, 1/6/09 - This morning when my alarm went off I knew I should get up, but I didn't. I turned it off & went back to sleep. By the time I got up it was time to fix breakfast for the girls, then do school. I haven't been feeling so well all morning - I don't feel sick, but I am feeling emotionally drained. I think it's because I didn't have my quiet time this morning. It's almost like when I don't have any coffee & go through withdrawl & feel all sluggish... I've given my daughter some work she can do independently, and retreated to my room for my quiet time. So now I'm going to have my coffee with Jesus & see if I feel any better..... Later... Yes - I feel very much refreshed! Now I am prepared for my day.

Those are the only days I wrote in my journal, but I've definitely learned something... putting aside distractions (whatever they may be... computer, sleeping in, anything else I'm tempted with) and having a set time each day to meet with Jesus makes a huge difference in my day! I've also found coffee is very important when it comes to my quiet time. If I grind the coffee beans and program the coffee pot the night before to start in the morning, I am much more likely to get up and have my quiet time. (I can't grind the coffee beans early in the morning without taking the risk of waking my youngest daughter. She'll hear it and get up, and then quiet time is no longer quiet. *s*) When my alarm goes off I know I only have so long to get up and have my coffee before the coffee pot turns off and the coffee gets cold, and then I've wasted my coffee. But if I don't set up the coffee pot the night before, I have less motivation to get up in the morning. And once the rest of the family wakes up, it's very difficult to find quiet time without distractions. I know it sounds silly, but for me, coffee is essential to my quiet times. :-)

One day recently when I did sleep in and had my quiet time later in the day, my youngest daughter saw me taking my cup of coffee into my room, and we had the following conversation. "Mommy, are you going to have your coffee with Jesus?" "Yes, sweetie, I am." "But Mommy, Jesus can't drink coffee!" "Oh Darling, if Jesus wanted to, He could drink coffee! After all, He created it!"

I think that pretty much concludes my week! Oh, and not every morning that I had my quiet time was fantastic. I was talking to a friend about that on the phone the other day, and she reminded me that's the way it is with any relationship. Some days are terrific. And some are just OK, nothing spectacular. But I guess just the fact that Jesus wants me to keep coming to Him is spectacular!

Oh, and there's one last thing I'll share. This morning my daughter got up after I had finished having my Devotions. She was so disappointed I was done. "Mommy, I wanted you to hold me and read to me!" So I scooped her up and read out loud the next chapter from my reading in Exodus. That was so special to me; she's just turned 5, and wants me to read to her from my Bible. The amazing thing is, usually she is not interested in books without pictures. But I guess God can even use "grownup Bibles" to speak to His little children.

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real quick

I've just got a few minutes, but I wanted to make a quick post saying I haven't fallen off the planet. :-) I've had a really good week, and I'll write more about it tomorrow when I have more time. Have a great weekend!

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Friend of God

Lately in my Quiet Time I have seen certain people stand out as being called a "friend of God." The first, of course, are Adam and Eve. Imagine walking with God in the garden every evening! I've heard this story I don't know how many times in my life, but this time the thing that most stood out was that God came to the garden to walk with Adam and Eve. Wouldn't that be amazing? (Adam and Eve aren't called friends of God in this passage, but I can see a friendship between them, at least before the fall.)

Then we read about Cain killing his brother, Abel. I always thought Cain must have been a bad person, right to the core of his being. I mean, how can anyone even think of killing their own brother? But when God banished him from the land, Cain's response makes me think twice... "My punishment is too great for me to bear! You have banished me from my land and from Your presence...!" (Genesis 4:13-14) Now granted, Cain's first thought was being banished from his land, but the fact that he brings up being banished from God's presence tells me he must have had some sort of relationship with his heavenly Father.

Now comes one of my favorite people in the Bible; Enoch! I really wish we were told more about him. But what a legacy! "...Enoch lived another 300 years in close fellowship with God, and he had other sons and daughters.... He enjoyed a close relationship with God throughout his life. Then suddenly, he disappeared because God took him." (Genesis 5:22, 24) I've often wondered, what about Enoch set him apart so much that he above all others of his time enjoyed a close fellowship with God? What can I do to have what Enoch had? I long for that close relationship with my heavenly Father!

Well as you can probably guess, I'm reading through Genesis. :-) And I've come to see there are several people throughout this book who enjoyed a close relationship with God. I love how it says they enjoyed a close relationship with God. Because that truly is something to enjoy!

Even though I really long for this close relationship with God, lately it just seems out of my grasp. I don't feel close to Him. And I know we can't always rely on feelings because they don't truly gauge the heart. But I've been wondering, what can I do to grow closer to my Father?

Another passage I've recently read is where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac. That has always bothered me, that God would even ask Abraham to do such a thing! I know God had planned all along to spare Isaac, but it is still a really hard story for me to think about. But I guess the point was, Abraham was willing to give up everything he had for God.

Then later when God called Jacob to move his family, first he got rid of his household idols, and purified his family and moved to where God called him. I thought it was really strange that Jacob had idols, when he was obviously a God-fearing man. So I read a little bit about this, and apparently the idols were something of a "good luck charm." Jacob probably didn't worship the idols, but they were something he had with pagan roots that would have gotten in the way of his relationship with God.

So this morning I got to thinking, what do I have in my life that is getting in the way of my relationship with my heavenly Father? And if there is anything, am I willing to surrender it to Him? Well unfortunately, one thing does come to my mind; my computer. I use this thing more than I care to admit. :-) And nothing I do on it is wrong... but if there is any chance that my time on my computer is coming between me and God, then I need to change something. So for the time, I'm going to put my laptop back in its case, and put it away. I don't know how long it will be; it could be a couple days, it could be a week. But I am not going to use my computer until whatever stronghold it has over me is broken, and I can think of my self as a friend of God. I want to use this time to grow closer to Him.

In any case, I won't be blogging for a few days! But I'll be back. And hopefully then my faith will be refreshed, and I will feel what I know is true in my heart.

Oh, and Happy New Year!

~Emily

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