Idols

"Those who regard vain idols
Forsake their faithfulness, (Jonah 2:8 NASB)

Random thought before I get to the deep stuff. I was running today and someone I knew honked at me. Such a strange thing! I have been running in the mornings since we moved here but when you are in a new place you get used to doing these things without having someone recognize you. Like going to the grocery store, I have gotten used to NOT seeing anyone I know. So when I knew the person that honked at me today it felt different. Okay, end of random thought.

Now about the bible verse above. How convicting is it to know that when we put our hope or sole focus on an idol we lose our faithfulness. This is a lesson that is being impressed on both of our hearts. When we first ventured out here last June, we were driven by being debt free. That was our sole purpose for traveling. I would say that we made being debt free an idol. We talked about it a lot, it was the focus of our conversation sometimes....too much of the focus. We have since learned that making that an idol is not good. That might be what drove us to do this experience but it is not all why we are here. It is a perk, yes, but we have to be certain that we are not serving the money but we are fully serving the Lord. That means that when we feel discernment to give money away rather than pay on our mortgage, we best be doing that. Wherever God leads we better be paying attention. And then becoming debt free can be an added bonus. I have found that other idols try to creep in too like the this drive to eat healthy. It is all important and good but I need to make sure that it is God driven. I find myself feeling proud because my kids only drink water or eat my healthy snacks. Bt what is important is teaching my kids why they need to eat healthy and guiding them on making good choices. It is not about their behavior changes, it is about their hearts. When we allow idols to creep in....and that is exactly how they do it....we lose our focus and have difficulty discerning the spirit. And we miss out on so many things. Aside from eliminating debt, God has so many other plans for us with traveling.

At MOPS this week we were challenged to think about contentment and blessings as the holidays are approaching. We were given a notebook to write down at least 100 blessings that we have in our life. When I got the notebook, I was so excited because I knew exactly what to do with it. Dan and I are not getting each other Christmas gifts this year, but I am making a home made one for him. In the notebook I am filling each page with 100 reasons why I respect him. Talk about taking your focus off of idols or anything negative. This has been a process to fill the notebook but I am being taught to focus on all the blessings and treasures that I find in our relationship. You become thankful instead of focused on idols or worldly things. I challenge any of you to do something similar, at least the 100 things you are thankful for. It is a very neat process for the soul.