I Changed My Mind--A Woman's Perogative, OK?

Resting on God’s Promises and Grace

I moved the computer out to the living room where I can interact with my husband while he does his favorite thing—watch. Now I’m not in a distant room and I can write on my blog while I am with him. So I am going to continue with my blog after all. How blessed am I to be able to do this? I know that moving it was an inspiration of the Holy Spirit because I really did want to continue blogging. I kept reading other's blogs, but really wanted to write. Divine inspiration stepped in and gave me a solution. God answers prayer.

Faith is a choice. There is no magical moment when we are endowed with faith. We conciously choose to believe in God and His promises. We choose to believe that what the Bible says is true. With that choice and commitment comes the blessings of grace.

I read, pray and meditate (I meditate by writing, not sitting and thinking) on God's word. All of Jesus teachings and the writings of the new testament urge us to be in fellowship with other believers. “Whenever 2 or 3 are gathered in My Name, Jesus says, there I will be also.” We don’t gather at church, the group of believers ARE the church. We’re not required to go to church so much as we are gather together to uplift, challenge and encourage each other in His Name. I praise the Lord for the group of believers that I have found in Valley Baptist Church.

I have found that the more I commit to the Lord, the more uplifted I am. I lose my fears because faith and fear cannot co-exist. If I believe that God is holding me in His hands, what can I fear—Nothing!

That does not mean that I leave my home unlocked when my husband is out of town. I am not foolish. I still look where I step because I live in the rural desert and we have rattlesnakes. I wear a seatbelt when I drive. It’s just that the consuming thoughts of “what could possibly happen” do not dominate my thought processes any longer. I stay out of my head by helping others. There are always places to volunteer. The Baptist philosophy is that of missions. Not just support of foreign missions, but helping in the direct community. Giving of oneself is a good treatment for my depression. Commitment to continue serving is an important part of my anti-depressant treatment. Eating healthy and getting enough exercise—that is, being a good steward of my earthly temple helps me stay positive. Reading, radio ,movies and t.v. watching are limited to things that uplift me these days.

If you think of your brain as a computer and you input garbage……….well, you know the old saying, “Garbage in, garbage out” I wanted to clean up what came out of my mouth—well, I quit reading, watching and listening to things that had negative messages and trash talking in them. Those things quit rolling around in my thoughts so that I no longer think in a negative way—ready to make a cutting remark or snide comment. I wanted to become a person who was supportive and gracious, not just one of the guys. I wanted to be that soft place for my husband to fall, instead of someone trying to nag him into being a better man. If I am a better woman, he will be a better man.

With God’s grace, I am getting there!