Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Going Steady

Remember that phrase "going steady"?  It brings back memories of ninth and tenth grade.  haha!  I remember talking to my friends about who was going steady with who.  Good memories.  It was a big deal back then when a girl said she was going steady with a guy.  It meant they were serious.

"Going steady" according to Wikipedia is also called courtship.  WHOA!  In my little world as a teenager, I would have never put going steady and courtship as meaning the same thing! If I knew that, I probably would have found another way to describe peers who were exclusively girlfriend and boyfriend. As an adult, I understand it now and this intro about going steady leads me to my thought for this post.  hee hee!

For several weeks now, I haven't been posting on  my blog simply because I have been trying to figure out what to write about. I have had so many things that I have wanted to say, some of them quite challenging and deep. Others are just silly stuff that may not go along with the goal of this blog.  More than anything, though, I haven't posted on my blog because I didn't feel like I had enough time in my days to really seek the Lord; read His Word, meditate on it and journal about it. I feel when I do those things daily, then I write more effectively. However, that statement leads me to my next thought.

If you are reading this blog for the first time or just began reading it last week because I gave you this web address and if you don't really think you're quite into the idea of reading the Bible at all, much less on a daily basis, it's OKAY.  I hope you stick with me and finish reading what I have to say.  Give me a chance. ha!
My time in studying the Bible has been off and on lately instead of a steady devotion to my time with my heavenly Father. And honestly, I don't like living that way.  I want to be a gal who reads God's Word daily, who takes time to digest what I read and find ways in which to let those words that I've read sink into the depths of me and eventually be lived out in my actions, thoughts and attitudes.  I didn't post a blog basically because I felt that you all would be able to discern my lack of deep study of God's Word by how I wrote. Honestly, I felt very convicted these past few days about this silly struggle.  I realized the struggle derived from pride.....the negative/sinful kind.  And from that I realized some other important things. You ready? Here it goes.

Who am I to judge when I'm "good to go" in posting a blog?  I mean, seriously, my blog is titled GET REAL, WOMAN!  Good grief, why did I think I needed to wait to write something??  I don't know.  Mostly pride is what I figure it is. I wanted to look good in your eyes. I have NO clue who reads this blog. I just know you are reading it from all over the world, in countries that Christianity is not very popular or even almost illegal. And because I knew what countries people are reading this from, I've been very cautious on what I write. BUT that shouldn't be my concern. I serve a living God!  He is able to do whatever He wants and share His love and grace with the world however He wants. I, in my finite and very mortal self, cannot stop that or change His strategy. I just need to be obedient to the clear message I received from Him four months ago which prompted me to start this blog. I just need to write when I know I should and let God use it, if He wants, as a way to help bring others to know Him better or to know Him for the first time.

All that to say, going steady in my faith with the living God is more important than anything else. Get ready.... It's more important than having three square meals a day, than having toilet paper in the house, than having a toothbrush to get the fuzz off our teeth each morning and night, than having a car to get places, than having a husband who cares deeply for our needs and even blesses us with things we don't need, than having a family that is consistent in staying in touch with us, than having a job to pay the bills, than having a savings account to help us in emergency situations, than having a beauty that attracts others to us, than having a healthy family, than having all A's on our transcript, than having the latest fashions, than having a retirement plan, than having life insurance, than having relationships/connections with any one human being.  We NEED to go steady with God. We need to long for His fellowship, His wisdom, His protection, His guidance, His hope, His peace, His joy, His patience, His might/strength, His grace and some many more blessings He brings that I won't be able to list them all in this post.

Let us get real, women!  Why do we hold back our passion for Christ when two thousand years ago His passion for us lead Him to the cross to die in our place, to raise from the grave victorious over death/sin/eternal separation from the heavenly Father.  I'm telling myself this too just in case you think I'm preaching only to you. If you are not a believer in Jesus, PLEASE DON'T CHECK OUT OF THIS BLOG POST SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU DON'T AGREE.  You need to see that Christians are still very human and still have to make a daily choice in whom they trust, who they look to for guidance, who they believe is HIGHER than themselves.  It's daily.  It's hourly. It's a lifetime of choices to follow or not to follow.  Funny though, that we Christians have every reason to follow Christ.

Christ saves!  He restores!  He forgives--unconditionally!  He rescues us from darkness--confusion, abandonment, abuse and straight up wickedness!  He brings us into His marvelous light--hope, peace, joy, salvation, eternal life, abundant life here on earth, grace, understanding and wisdom!  So many more reasons to trust Christ and be passionately pursuing Him and His fame on a daily even hourly basis that they can't all be mentioned here unless you want to keep reading for hours and hours and unless I quote hundreds of scriptures that speak of His great blessings to us.

My heart cries out tonight to go steady with the Lord Jesus.  Quirky is a good word to describe the image in my mind that I just created with that statement. HOWEVER, we need to be steadfast in our pursuit of Him. He is near. Philippians 4:4-5 tells us this. CHRIST is near----always.  Our pursuit of Him begins as soon as we turn to Him and look into His Word and pray, listening for His heart about the things in our lives we face everyday.
Here's a familiar verse:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones." -Proverbs 3:5-8


We as Christian women need to be as passionate about knowing what Jesus thinks about us and our lives, about knowing how He wants us to live and about knowing His Word/hiding it in our hearts...... more passionate about those things than finding the best buys at the stores, cutting coupons to save money for our families, getting our kids to school on time, buying our kids toys and clothes and/or beautifying ourselves each day with cosmetics, clothes or both.  WHEW! That was a long sentence that probably could've been it's own paragraph, but I don't have an editing staff for this blog. Sorry if my writing is driving you crazy. I pray that you get something out of what I'm writing about regardless of my bad grammar.  Ha!

FOCUS........ Okay, I just hope you feel inspired to be true and passionate followers of our God and King.  This post I've just written was inspired by a verse that has been resonating in my mind this whole past week while I have been fighting fear and pride with this blogging opportunity. Here's the verse as a closing thought. Peace to you all this week. I love you all and I don't even know who you are. I will be praying for each of you this week. Pray for me that I continue to seek Christ and trust Him with all my heart and lean NOT on my own understanding. Thanks. God bless you and your family.

"You [the LORD] keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you., because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock. " -Isaiah 26:3-4

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

SO INSPIRED

Friends, I am placing the link for a YouTube "video" that presents a visual aid to one of my favorite songs of all time.  I've been listening to this song everyday in my car this week as I drive around running errands.  It is so inspiring.  It helps me put myself in the right place; knowing I am the one rescued from darkness and that God is the One who is my rescuer.  It reminds me to add to the beauty that God has already put all around me; adding to His beauty in an act of gratitude to Him.  I hope you are inspired and strengthened.  Love you all!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anozSBPJVQA

Thank you, MobileDayspring, for putting this together so that people like me could find it on YouTube and use it on our blog.  Blessings to you.

DEAR FRIENDS, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO ADD TO THE BEAUTY OF YOUR WORLD OUT OF THE GRATITUDE YOU HAVE IN YOUR HEART FOR THE REDEMPTION GOD HAS GIVEN YOU.

Monday, November 7, 2011

A Beautiful Difference

This is a neat photo. I took it while my son and I were taking a walk in our neighborhood's park this past week. As our feet were swishing through the leaves that covered almost every inch of ground in the park, we came upon this scene.  The camera didn't really capture what our eyes saw.  We saw the one green leaf in this photo was THE only green leaf within 20-30 feet in every direction.  I thought surely there could be something to learn from this. I have a few thoughts about this photo, but they don't seem that good to share just yet. So, it's your turn to participate in this blog. Let your creative side work a bit here.
WHAT CAPTION WOULD YOU GIVE THIS PICTURE? AND WHY DO YOU SAY THAT?
IS THERE ANY WISDOM TO GAIN FROM GOD'S CREATION CAPTURED IN THIS PHOTO?

Please leave your thoughts and responses to one or both of these questions in the comments section of this post. Let's see how many DIFFERENT views of this photo can get posted this week.
Blessings,
Becky

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

1000!

Wow! I just want to say that I am totally amazed by the response to this blog!  Whether you like what I write about or not, today Get Real, Woman! has been viewed more than 1,000 times since my first blog in the beginning of August 2011. That's amazing!

Women have been reading this blog in several countries: United States, Germany, England, Spain, Russia, and Turkey.  I don't know the names of you who read this blog, but I get to see from where in the world you are reading my blog.  It's exciting to think that friends from all over the world are reading about being a woman of Truth.  I will continue to attempt to write quality posts for this blog.  Please don't hesitate to leave comments, questions or push-backs to the topics I bring up. Thanks again for reminding me that I am not alone in my pursuit of being a woman of Truth in my every day life.
  
HAPPY 1000 PAGEVIEWS DAY!
Hope you have a blessed day and as always........GET REAL, WOMAN!   
Love,
Becky