It’s true; we had flurries all day. It was nothing like Atlanta or Norfolk VA, which has over 8 inches so far. But to be at the beach on a barrier island and have snow flurries, that is unusual. Well, I guess it must be global warming. Anyway, it was the worst weather we have had all week. I think the high was about 37 and it’s probably in the low 30’s already. Plus the wind was probably gusting over 25 mph all day. So, we really didn’t do much outside. Sean and Adair braved the cold this afternoon long enough for Adair to run a quick 2 miles. I really think it was so she could try out her new shoes.
So not getting outside and it snowing all day, well it made for a pretty long day. In fact, when it was 6:30, I was sure it was after 9PM. We did get to the outlet mall. We had to take back and exchange a couple of gifts from the Nike Factory outlet store. Then we went to Hudson’s Seafood for lunch. The Nike outlet store was crowded, but we were successful in finding exchanges with our presents, and it was snowing hard with a gusty wind when we arrived at Hudson’s. The food was pretty good and we enjoyed being with each other. After that we made a quick trip by StarBucks and then home.
Jennifer, Sean, Adair and Meleah are leaving early in the morning. They are going to drop Adair and Meleah off to see Sean’s mother in Daytona Beach. They will be there until New Years Day. Lisa is still not sure when they are going back, but it will probably late tomorrow or early Tuesday morning. I’m voting for the latter, but I’m not sure I get a vote. Anyway, my family is once again being scattered over the Eastern Seaboard. I guess it could be worse. I have had such a great time with them. I hope that they have enjoyed the time here. I know that Jennifer had a couple of bad migraine headaches when a couple of the weather fronts moved through. I guess she really isn’t ready to move back up north. I don’t care where they live really I don’t. My desire is to see them fulfill God’s plan in their life.
I’ve been reading Danny Silk’s “A Culture of Honor” this week in my spare time. I have to finish it by the end of the month for BASSM. I’ve read most of it before, but it is really impacting me even more this time. We need to have a relationship with Him, not with rules. Most of my life I have had a good relationship with rules. I’ve been lucky, I obeyed most of the rules and got ahead. But it’s not about obeying rules. It is about holding His heart in my hand and wanting to do everything in my power to protect it. If I do that, then I won’t need to worry about the rules.
For so many of us, myself included, when we blow it, we can’t forgive ourselves. We are so used to having relationship with the rules, so we feel that we must be punished, even when we are the one doing the punishing. But what we are really doing is making the work of Jesus “of no affect” in our life. In reality, He wants us to repent. And by repent, He means to change the way we act, and then move on. Sure, we have to deal with consequences, and we have to clean up our messes. But we have to forgive ourselves; otherwise we are prisoners in our own jail.
As long as we try to have relationship with rules, and not with Him, we will be stuck in this prison. Freedom, that’s what He has given us. Not chains! We are free, but then we put chains on ourselves. It doesn’t make sense, but we have been doing it for years. That is the fruit of religion. I want to help break chains off peoplel, not put them on. I want to give life and bring freedom into the room when I walk into it. And yet, I still find myself being ensnared in the ole “rules” mindset. So I understand that this is easily said, yet to embrace it as a lifestyle requires change on our part. And we all know that change is hard. So, for 2011 I choose in advance to forgive others, as well as myself, when rules are broken. I choose to try and restore relationship to Him and bring freedom and call out destiny to those I walk with. This can be done. It won’t be easy some times, but it can be done. I choose to do it as a lifestyle.
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