04/08/06

Romans 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Verse #4 is a powerful verse, is it not? For one who is wondering what God wants from them, what His will is, this verse has the ability to completely change a person. And fortunately that person was me!
I had a lot of worldly things to no longer conform to. It was difficult to remove myself from those "patterns". They were comfortable and safe. The people I was spending the majority of my time with were not "bad" people. In fact, they were extremely intelligent, passionate and fun, whoa- were they fun! But they were 100% "of this world".
When I met Mark I was living in a house with three other girls and we had a blast. But I saw the difference between them and the girls I had grown up going to church with. My house-mates were popular, but insecure. They had plans for the future, but were hopeless. They were happy, but not joyful. Living with them, and hanging out with their friends, presented a conflict of interest. If I wanted to know Gods will for my life according to this verse I needed to do two things. One: Stop Conforming. For me this meant moving back into my parent's house. Limiting, nearly stopping, my time with my friends because when I was with them it was a lot easier to slip back into my old patterns. Two: renew my mind. Mark and I went to church together and I met some really neat girls who were actively pursuing a relationship with Christ AND they were fun. My mom always told me "Birds of a feather flock together". If I wanted to make good decisions then I needed to hang out with people who were making good decisions.

This verse helped me understand that knowing God's will for my life is something I can take part in. My relationship was strengthened, returning to familiar grounds of consistent times of reading the Bible and prayer. I could PRAY again! God had a good, perfect and pleasing will for my life. I had abandoned the patterns that were keeping me from knowing that will.

Mark and I quickly fell in love and after just 6 months of knowing each other we were married. I moved into the condo he was living in. I started going to the church he had been going to. I got a new job. These were all very big and fast changes for me. Much to my dismay (and Mark's as well, I'm sure) I found myself feeling like I had given up everything I knew to live this wonderful life. I should've been feeling nothing but bliss, but I was feeling lonely and doubtful. This is when a cherished verse from my childhood left it's greatest mark on me. This is when verse #5 came into my life.
(to be continued...)
Today I am so thankful for...
1. Amy celebrating her birthday yesterday! I BIG Happy Birthday to you, we love you very
much Amy.
2. my time with my mom, Carrie and the boys at D-land yesterday. Ben enjoys himself more and more each time we go and it was a nice treat to have my mom with us.
3. Lauren coming down and spending the day with me and Ben! It is so nice to have a friend who I can spend hours with and always have a great time.
4. the (hilly) walk we went on to get lunch. It felt so good to be outside in the gorgeous weather after all the rain we've had. Not complaining though, I love the rain.
5. all the work Don and Dave did on our house today! It's really coming together, just a couple more things...
6. Mark being able to do an open house today for one of his clients.
7. the nice man at Home Depot that helped me find the right light bulbs. It would've taken me all night. H.D. is one of my least favorite places on earth, just ask my mom.
8. getting to talk to Mark just now and how excited I am that he has the next three days off work!! Our first weekend together in our new house!
9. frozen peas. Have I said that one before? Ben eats them like there's no tomorrow and I think they have some nutritional value.
10. the outlet in my closet so I can not only get dressed and put on make-up, but I can blow-dry and curl my hair too! It's like my own little salon! (If only there were a "no toddlers allowed" rule.)

Comments

Carrie P said…
Gavin loves this picture of Ben! Its so cute - he keeps asking to see it.
4:14 PM
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