Can I just say that today, my cup OVERFLOWS! Nothing in particular has stood out to make this day extraordinary. In fact, it's been completely and entirely ORDINARY. I'm talking, got the kids to school and still had to tell each of them to get shoes on roughly 5 times. I got stuck behind school busses and in traffic on my way to Ashtanga. My Ashtanga practice today was so-so, and because I got stuck in traffic, it was shorter than usual. My car has been going beserk since they "fixed" it after the guy rear ended us and the car mechanic set it on fire and replaced all the carpet...the kind of beserk where the blinker won't turn on, and the car randomly locks you IN? Yeah...totally ordinary kind of day. But it's in the ordinary, mundane beautiful that God arrives and reminds you that He is over it ALL! If ALL of our days were extraordinary, the extraordinary would be the mundane! ...and THEN what?! Everything would be a plane! There would be no mountaintop experiences! No valleys to walk through and come out on the other side a stronger, better, wiser person! There would be no "WOW" moments! No breakthroughs! No room for growth!
Piggy backing on my post from yesterday, as I petitioned God for energy and strength, He made me aware that in our "fasts of the past," I was not nourishing myself! OUCH! I spent my fasts clinging to Jesus...praying...seeking...turning away from my idol, food. I THOUGHT that I was doing my "temple," my body, a favor by withholding the things I loved. I THOUGHT I was doing my temple good by feeding it protein and veggies and fruits, but what I was ACTUALLY doing was feeding it WITHOUT nourishing it! Lord, I turn away. Help me. In the past, I was eating things like french fries and chips...carrots and hummus...avocados...black beans...salsa. Some of those are good choices, but what I'm finding this go around is that I was SNACKING. I was content in the past to just feed myself so I wasn't hungry. I was taking the small bit here and there so I could proceed until the next hunger pang. I wasn't FULL. I wasn't ENRICHED, WHOLE, SATISFIED!
Today, my husband reminded me not to SNACK on Jesus, but to sit with Him...to abide IN Him...to love, to learn from, to BE WITH Him, to be WHOLE, SATISFIED, ENRICHED with HIM! He is the WHOLE MEAL, friends! Yes, He is the Bread of Life! YES! He is the Living Water! He is the I AM! He's the WHOLE Shebang! He is the feast. Devour Him! Eat Him up! Dive into life with Him!
There's no snacking on Jesus! Revelation 3: 15-16 are sobering verses, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Oh, Brothers and Sisters, we cannot snack on Jesus. Snackers are lukewarm...half full...He desires our full attention...our full commitment...our full love. He wants us hot! The consequence of being snackers? That the Savior of the world would spit you out of his mouth. OH, I don't want the God of the Universe to chew me up and spit me out! In case you're wondering, that does seem harsh to me, friends. Yes. It totally does. But, the Creator made this grand plan, and the plan is full of grace. He calls all of us, "COME TO ME, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest! Matthew 11: 28" Grace beckons. Grace abounds. It's the NEW Covenant...available to everyone.
I can't believe that it has taken me three years of doing this fast and journaling my way through it through this blog to realize that fasts are not about withholding! They are all about praise! They are an offering, however small our offerings are to the Almighty God. They draw us in! They beckon us into His presence! They prepare us! They restore us! They redeem the things we shove into the depths and pretend are not there! Fasts are for us because God is for us! If we see them as a burden or a cross to carry, we come to it with the wrong mindset. We strip away the things that draw us away from our God..with joy...SO THAT we can find our way back! So beautiful a relationship this is that He would draw us in, romance us, restore us! So amazing a God we have that nothing and no one, no circumstance is "too far gone." No one is beyond His reach. No pit too deep. No sin too great. No one is too cold for grace to cover over. The Everlasting Father has seen to it that there is always a way out through His Son, Jesus. He is NEAR to the brokenhearted. If YOU are brokenhearted, he is right there with you..."YOURS is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3" Grace beckons. Grace abounds. It's the NEW Covenant...available to everyone.
"I have come so that you may have LIFE, and have it to the FULL!" ~John 10:10 Amen.
I sat down to tell you that Chipotle now has tofu as an option. I sat down to tell you about my amazing breakfast. This is what came out. It's not about the food anyway, friends.
All my love~
Kelly
Love it! Spot on! #GodisAmazing
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