deep{er} #18: reflections

Hello, friends:)


Happy Saturday afternoon! Sorry for being late... my intensions were to write this yesterday (or earlier this week) but time got away from me! LOL! 

I hope you are doing well and that the Lord has spoken to your heart this week ❤️.  

UPDATE: Thank you thank you THANK YOU for your prayers the past weeks for my ankle and our worship. My ankle is doing better and worship last week was great! Wish we had a recording of it, but unfortunately we only have a photo that the pastor put on Facebook. 

Not sure about my outfit that day... I looked "good" when I left the house! LOL! 

OH! You have got to see this photo I took the other day in the study room! *NOTE: I really need to share a video of our study room! Fingers crossed next week! Trav and I were sitting in there, and of course Olsen was with us too, and outside our window were some new little birds! Yellow/green ones! So we were trying to watch them. 

Olsen was excited about seeing them too! LOL! ***NOTE: Trav just told me that he wished I had a good photo of the birds to share. Next time! LOL! 

REFLECTION: well.... let's see... I finished The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. LOVED it! I loved it so much that I bought my own copy, as well as the 40 day prayer devotional Draw the Circle. Today I'll finish up some of my thoughts on the last couple chapters in the book. 

• Making Good Decisions- Batterson tells the story of Daniel who made a resolution in Daniel 1:8 not to defile himself with the royal food. 
• I would not have looked at Daniel's choice as a "BIG deal"... but Batterson says that Daniel continues to make good decisions and serve God. That first decision will lead to a daily decision and together will lead to a different destiny. 
• Oh how I long to make better decisions! I feel like some decisions have been better... I'm working out (or was working out 6 days a week)...I'm eating healthier...but it's a bit more than that... 
• This little section of this book reminds me of another book that my friend JZ is reading The Best Yes. I want to make good decisions on a daily basis... I want to glorify God in all that I do... This little section of this book just makes me realize that ALL of my decisions are important. Eating right... what I watch on TV... how I speak to customer service when they are rude or have an attitude of not caring about the situation... or if I agree to a task that I don't really have time for... I need to make the best decisions that will honor God/etc. 
• Last thought on this little section of the book (literally, it was probably a paragraph long!)... my struggle is that sometimes I get it right and I make the right decision. But then there days when I just don't get it right. I just feel like a failure. One line from Batterson's book that struck me on this subject: If you keep trying, you're not failing. How great is my God!?!? He gives me a second chance and forgives me! And He never thinks I'm a failure. I need to remember this the next time I hear Satan telling me that I'm doing it wrong and can't' get anything right! I need to keep trying! 
• Goals- you never achieve goals if they aren't set. Batterson says that prayers turn into goals which turn into prayers. They give us prayer targets and help us to "think long", possibly could take a lifetime to achieve. Goals need to be specific and with deadlines.
• Backstory--- I LOVE lists. Would that count as goal setting? LOL! About 2 years ago, I started making goals for myself. I put them up on my cork board above my desk. They are simple (i.e. workout 3x a week, make 1 Pinterest meal a month). The first year I bombed my goals- I think I only accomplished one goal and probably not 100% of the time! LOL! This year I've done better and I think it's because I'm putting more specific goals down. This comes at a great time because as we end the year I start thinking of my new goals for the next year.
  
• This part of the book makes me look at my goals in a different light too. I've got a variety of goals--- losing weight/getting toned up, making better meals for Trav, taking Olsen to the dog park (bombed this!!!! BIG time!). I also have some spiritual goals--- pray three times a day. I guess this part of the book makes me want to make better goals... ones I can pray about and circle. Scripture says that without a vision, people perish [Prov. 29:18]. What's my life goal? Where do I want to be in 5 years? What do I want to see God do in my life? What part of my life do I need to give to God completely so I can see Him working and answering prayers? I'm not sure on some of the answers to these questions, but I know that I want to include the following as my 2015 goals-- and some of them have deadlines!!!: 
• Read one book/devotional every 3 months
• Monday-Friday pray using my prayer journal
• Memorize one scripture every month with Travis
• Practice piano on Thursdays
• Start a woman's bible study group- specifically for wives using The Power of a Praying Wife book *LOVE this book! 
• Pray using the names of God + memorize the names of God
• Find a way to share Jesus with family members before Easter- specifically asking if they have accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord, putting their trust in him.
• ***I have other spiritual goals... ones that are God-sized dreams;) 

I really really REALLY enjoyed this book! And in my post last week, I mentioned that I heard a sermon by James MacDonald about prayer. WoW! If you haven't watched/listened to it, check it out HERE.

I made lots of notes in my Bible and in my notebook-- LOVED it! Here are a few of my reflections: 

• Prayer is personal- not just saying (or chanting) a "prayer" given to me by my "religion"/faith
• Hardest part about developing the discipline of a sincere faith in prayer is DOING it! I've got to jump over those hurdles of feeling that I can't approach the Lord... I can! I can go boldly to His throne [Hebrews 4:16] because He is "The Lord my Righteousness", YHWH T'SIKENU. 
• Matthew 6 gives Jesus' answer to "how to pray"... this prayer is a model prayer. Each verse is a different category (i.e. addressing the Lord as our Father/other names, worshiping Him, giving thanks, asking for only what I need, etc). WOW! That blew my mind because as a kid we would say this prayer over and over and as quick as we could! My prayers now are way different, but I need to really follow Jesus' model to make my prayers deep{er}.

Ok--- so this week I had a SUPER LONG post! Next week, I think I have a special treat for you! I have it on my list of "things to do" (I'm setting a goal! LOL!) to make a video for you!!! I can't wait to share it ❤️.

My goals for this week:

1. Continue to pray hardest even when it's hardest to pray and get on my knees and pray!  
2. Continue with chapter 2 of the Dr. David Jeremiah Agents of Apocalypse--- Trav and I started this study last week:) LOVE it! ***We are a bit behind, some weeks it's harder to get it into our schedule because of Trav's work schedule. I'm hoping we can get a schedule and stick to it! 
3. Pick a devotional bible or study for my daily devotions.
4. Make a video for deep{er} post by Thursday, Dec. 18th!

I pray that God has been speaking to you--- and that you are blessed beyond what you have asked or wanted ❤️. Remember, if you need prayer, please contact me {savannahland2 at comcast dot net}. 

THANKS so much for stopping by today! Be blessed:}