The Idol of Self in our All-Natural World

There have been quite a few health-related articles showing up on my facebook home page these days. Articles about how bad Subway is for you. Articles about the vaccination debate. Articles about how drinking Coke is one of the worst possible things you could do to your body. And to be honest? I'm quite tired of reading such articles.

While I have definite opinions about Subway, vaccinations and enjoying a Coke, this blog isn't the place to share such beliefs. But what I will share is this:

I'm worried that we've taken this whole healthy, natural living thing too far. 

Don't get me wrong: I'm all for eating healthy. Choosing fruits and veggies over Doritos and french fries. For substituting milk or water for pop. For exercising and taking care of our bodies. And if you're one of those who soaks your own grains, buys all organic and butchers your own cow: more power to ya. I wish I had your time, energy, and resources.

What worries me is, that in some ways, I think we've made idols of ourselves. Of our bodies. That we put more importance on what we put into our mouths and into our stomachs than on the One who knit our bodies together (Psalm 139:13-14, Matthew 15:10-11). That we're so concerned with making a better, longer life for ourselves that we forget the One who has our days written in His book (Psalm 139:16). That in the back of our minds, we think we can control outcomes and situations that are completely in His hands (Matthew 10:29-31).

Consider this:

• Do we spend more time researching vaccinations and all-natural options than we do in the Word?
• Do we spend more time arguing about the vaccination debate with others than we do sharing the Gospel with the lost?
• Do we spend more time cooking healthy, natural dinners for our families than we do in service to those who are hungry? Both at home and abroad?

I'm not trying to say there's a right and a wrong. I'm just wondering where our hearts are in all of this. And that my friend, is between you and God alone. May our hearts always seek Him first in everything we do.

"'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am jealous God . . .'" - Exodus 20:1-5, NASB (emphasis mine)

Every Story

I was sitting in a rocking chair the other day, drinking tea, and listening to music, when my eyes landed on the tagline of the Jesus Storybook Bible. 

"Every Story Whispers His Name"

It made me stop and think. How does my story whisper His name? 

What about your story? 

How does your life point to God? He's involved in your story, your life... Do you realize it? Do you see the thread of His grace woven through your life? 

Sometimes, because of my busyness, or my lack of focus, I forget, that even my story whispers God's name. Because He is the Author of this life I'm living...His name is whispered.

Disconnected from the Vine

Can I be honest with you? I am completely exhausted. Our little boy had one of the worst nights of his healthy life last night. I have three piles of (unfolded) clothes and towels on the couch. There's probably at least two, if not three, more loads I should get done in the next couple of days. I feel in over my head serving on the MOPS leadership team. Did I mention I'm just plain sleep-deprived? So all of this seems so much worse than it actually is?

I'll also admit that, the past week and a half, I've neglected time in the Word. So my relationship with the Lord has been rather distant. And my heart hasn't been in the right place as a believer's should be. I've been selfish with my time. Jealous of my husband's time which has been so busy with ministry-related events. Not wanting to do anything for the sake of the Gospel.

But the other night, in exhaustion, I finally picked up my Bible. I randomly flipped open to a passage in Jeremiah. Interestingly, whenever I've just "randomly flipped" open my Bible the past couple of weeks, it's always landed on this passage. I never read it until last night, though.

"Thus says the LORD, 'Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant.  

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.'" - Jeremiah 17:5-8, NASB (emphasis mine)

I was struck by this passage for a number of reasons:

The reminder not to trust in my own strength to accomplish things, to not put my trust and hope in other people but in God alone.

The truth that, as a believer, heat and drought will come. Difficult times, difficult seasons where I always feel tired simply because I am a mom of a one year old. Times when I feel like I have nothing to give and frankly don't even want to replenish that supply.

Yet, in those difficult times, those difficult seasons -- I should be growing. I should be bearing fruit.

Not because it saves me. But because it's a testament to the One who is my Strength. Who is my Supply. Who is the Giver of Life.

"'Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.'" - Jesus, John 15:4-5, NASB (emphasis mine)

So what should the exhausted, fearful me do? Get some sleep. And never, ever pull away from the Vine.