Hey sweet blog sisters!
Let's get this summer blog rolling!!! This week I thought I would throw out a couple of quotes from the first chapter of our blog book, Satisfy My Thirsty Soul, that really spoke to me personally. Please feel free to add your thoughts on these quotes as well as adding your own for discussion. So here we go....
"I longed for intimacy, ecstasy and a deep relationship with my Bridegroom, but as the years passed and life became hectic and complicated, I settled for serving the One I loved. My loving Bridegroom walked the earth, searching, calling, bending down and tenderly whispering to my heart in hopes of slowing me down long enough to embrace Him...I was too busy doing good things for Him."
I spent a good part of my life "doing and doing"...always at church or at my children's Christian schools. I was so busy doing "good" that I had no time for devotions or anything more than a quick prayer in time of need. I was always on the go and I felt pretty proud of myself and all I accomplished. AND THEN..."when we place more emphasis on loving others than on loving God, we are headed for spiritual and physical exhaustion." That would be me...completely spent...and I mean COMPLETELY. In a very sick and twisted way I had turned what I thought was serving and worshiping God, into serving and worshiping myself and others.
I also LOVED the quote from C. S. Lewis..."in the process of being worshiped...God communicates His presence to men." I don't know about you girls, but I want God to communicate His presence to me. There are times I NEED to know He is with me, guiding and loving me along life's path. I need to know I am heading in the right direction. I need to hear His voice direct me...help me know what to say and even more importantly in my case, what NOT to say. I know if you are joining us this summer on this journey learning how to make worship of God a lifestyle, you are every bit as serious as I am about your desire for His presence in every area of your life.
I know this for sure, my friends, if we ask God to make us into true worshipers, lovers of Him first and then of others, these are prayers He is anxiously waiting to answer. This is going to be one wild and wonderful ride this summer! I can hardly wait to hear from you...
Love to you, my searching sisters...
Cherri
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Absolutely loving this so far!This study is coming at the perfect time for me. I too am searching for a deeper intimacy with God. I feel like I have been there before, but unfortunately through time and circumstances had let it slip away. I'm really looking forward to going further into the book! Linda Dillow is a wonderfully gifted author.
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny! I can completely relate with you. I remember when I first came to know the Lord...How I loved Him and His Word! At fifteen my mom could not get me to STOP reading the Bible. I talked of my sweet Jesus all the time, and He was the focus in my life...but then BOYS became a focus and then a certain one and before I knew it, I was married with little ones and my focus was going in a hundred different directions. Jesus got a portion of my focus, but that early sweet intimacy had faded. I am so grateful for gifted authors and teachers who guide us back to our first love!!!! I am looking forward to hearing more from you in the future and growing along with you! So glad you are enjoying the study! Blessings to you!
ReplyDeleteCherri
This book is off to an awesome start. Today is a perfect example to me that intimacy with The Lord will be on purpose every time. I Started work at 3 am... Now, almost 6 pm and haven't stopped running. My bible reading is caught up for the next couple of days... but I really need to and want to spend time with Him every day. That is what I desire... to be more consistent, have a real faith that makes a real difference in my life as well as on others. Not a vending machine type of relationship!!!
ReplyDeleteThe first chapter of the book shows me what needs to be yielded... my words, my attitude, my work, my waiting.
So much of what you wrote, Lynn, spoke to me. I think in the past I have thought about intimacy with
ReplyDeleteGod as a "mountain top experience" that happened because of a speaker's message or even the environment of retreat or something similar. I thought it needed an outside catalyst. And though I believe all those things have great value in that they can lead you to intimacy and show you what God has to offer in that place, intimacy with God is like you said..."on purpose." Yielding our lives...every part of them to Him is living a purposefully intimate life. Maybe we get too caught up in the "feeling" instead of the yielding? What do you think?
I have enjoyed this first chapter very much and it reminded me of an Oswald Chambers entry...check out his thoughts on January 6th concerning worship. Here's a bit of it: "there are not three levels of spiritual life--worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God's idea is that the three should go together as one...." (from the updated edition of "My Utmost For His Highest.")
ReplyDeleteWow, Judy! That is so true. I never thought of myself as a "spiritual frog" before, but that can sometimes be so true of me. I, too, and loving this new (to me) view of worship as a continual mindset and a moment by moment choice...while I am waiting...while I am working...while I am playing.
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