To Do Or Not To Do, That Is The Question

So it's 1:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. I've been laying in bed, reading the Bible, talking to Papa. We've had lots of conversations lately. He's convicted me to change the way I view stuff. Stuff like stress and rest, clutter and organization, being alone and being loved.

You see, I have this nasty habit. It's called overdoing it. I overdo and over think and over analyze until I'm a crazed wreck of a woman. He's been showing me how I've always been that way, and His way is different. I'm a difficult student. I don't learn my lessons easily. I have to be repeatedly thumped in the head, especially when it comes to the overdoing part of things. Once again, I have pushed myself too much. I am in pain, and it's my own fault. Why can't I learn this lesson? He specifically told me to stop: "Stop doing too much and leaving no time for Me. Stop trying to make it all work on your own. My way is easier. My way is better. My way is the ONLY way."

So why don't I get it? I'm human. I think I know everything. I always think, today... today is the day I will be able to do everything I want to get done and I will feel great. I know I shouldn't. I know that every single time I push myself too far, I suffer the consequences. I begin to hurt, and then I don't sleep, which causes the next day to be bad, and the cycle continues until I find myself stuck in bed, unable to function. Why can't I just listen the first time?

Don't get me wrong... I do rest. Just not enough, or maybe I should say often enough. But then I have days like today where I feel the need to do and do and do. I traveled to Tulsa and back the last two days, and while that is a relatively short trip, for me, it's hard. I know better than to push too hard the next day. Well, I should know better anyway... But what did I do? I "pushed through" the pain and ended up pushing too hard.

One of my sweet sistas even told me yesterday to rest today. Instead, I listened to "Queen Melissa" and cleaned part of the garage, finished up laundry, straightened up the house and sorted through the girls' clothes... then attempted to ride my bike. How many times do I have to be thumped over the head? Apparently a lot. I really should listen.

In searching my Bible tonight about rest,  I found these verses:

Hebrews 4: 9-11 “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”

Deuteronomy 28:15  "But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you."

 Ouch.... I'm being disobedient. Crap. So what do I do? I go back to The Word to find out what He says about obedience....

Luke 6:46 "Why do you call me, "Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?"

John 14:15  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

James 1:22 "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says"

Ok Papa, I'm listening. Lord please forgive me for my disobedience. Please help me to obey. Show me what I am to do each day, and I will do no more than what You ask. Thank you for showing me my sins. Thank you for forgiving me, and for bringing a wonderful family and Sweet Sistas to remind me to listen and be obedient. Help me when I stumble Lord, and lift me up out of the mire of mess I have created. Show me Your plans, and guide me through them. Thank you Papa... I love you!


So Dear Friends and Family, if you see me doing instead of resting, remind me it's a sin and I'm deceiving myself. Pray for me, that I will be obedient to His plan and stop relying on my own. And if you have to, if I don't seem to be getting it... A little thump just might be what I need.

Perfect

Are you perfect? No... no one is. Despite this fact, many of us strive for a perfection we will never reach. For most women, it's that perfect look-- hair, clothes, makeup, shoes, accessories, and weight. Or maybe it's the perfect life-- homemaker, business woman, mother, or a combination of the three. How about that perfectly clean, immaculately decorated and perfectly organized home that other women would be jealous of? Ahhh.... there it is. In seeking those "perfect" things, who are we really trying to prove our perfection to? Our peers? Our families? Ourselves? Why are we striving for things we cannot attain, things that will not make us happy after all? Why stress ourselves to the point of no return, when we don't have to?

 We live in a world where there's a constant bombardment of "buy this, you need this, you can't have a 'perfect' life without this". Enough is enough.. We don't need the world's version of perfect. We will never have that version, as it is constantly changing. Look around you. Do you REALLY need this season's "perfect" shoe? What happens next season? Oh there's a new perfect shoe! Do you REALLY need to lose those last five pounds to be perfect? Who says? The same people who decided a size two was too big? Why are we listening to the world around us?? Is the world perfect? I think not.
What is perfection anyway?

The definition states this: the condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects.

Huh... So being perfect is being free from defects and flaws.. Who can claim that and be telling the truth? Not a single one of us. Not one. We are all imperfect. We are all flawed. We all have those things that we hide from everyone else and hope no one ever finds out how far from perfect we are. We wear masks everywhere we go... work, church, the kids' schools and parties, even, for some of us, in our own homes. How sad is that? I have flaws and defects, people. I'm only human.

But you see, there's this One who IS perfect. He knew we were so messed up and sin had so overtaken the world, we couldn't do anything to save ourselves. There's absolutely no way. He had to send Himself, as Jesus, to save us. He had to show us just how much He loves us, because in the world around us, we are being told constantly: "You aren't worthy of love. You aren't perfect. You won't be perfect until you buy this or do that or change this thing over here." He says: "You are loved. You aren't perfect, but I am, and in my perfection, you will be saved. You will be exactly who I designed you to be, if you will just love ME."

Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Philippians 3:18-19 says "For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things"

We are all sinners. All of us. None of us is perfect.  The good news is, we have a Papa who loves us and is perfect. He can change us, perfect us, make us a new creation that is more than anything we could have imagined. Don't you want that? Don't you want to stop striving and stressing and reaching for those things that won't fulfill that need in you? There's only one way to fill that need, and that is with a PERSONAL, INTENTIONAL, REAL relationship with Papa. Not religion, relationship. Not perfection by the world's standards, but perfection according to the Only standard that should matter... Our loving, patiently waiting Savior.

If you don't know Him, or don't know HOW to accept the Love He already has for you, please pray. Ask Him to guide you to Him, to forgive your sins and to show you what is truth and what is lies, what is real and what is not, and most importantly, what is His definition of love. If you need someone to walk you through it, call your local pastor, a friend who shows God's love, or even message me! Papa will guide you to Him, and you will be so glad He did.