My picture:His words - refining

Do you ever get the feeling that the Kingdom of Heaven is near?  Since moving here last summer I certainly do, this feels like a really thin place and that is wonderful for experiencing God and hearing from Him but it also seems to be that you are incredibly open to spiritual attack and efforts from the dark side to try and wear you down.

There are so many challenges about living here and I know that reading my everyday blog you would never know that as I always seem upbeat but the truth is I am upbeat, I'm really positive for the future and I believe that being here will have an amazing effect on me and my family as a whole.

This week the Lord has reminded me that He is the refiner and He will throw off my sinful ways and make me new and just how He wants me to be.  This is both exciting and scary at the same time.

At lunch this week a lovely new friend told em that a silversmith must sit and watch his silver as it is in the furnace refining for the only way he knows when it is just ready is when he can see his reflection in the metal.  Wow, how much that struck me, God watches us as He refines us and then when He sees Himself reflected back from us He knows His work is done!

And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Malachi 3:3

Fancy joining in?
As with other weeks if you would like to join me in using your picture and His words to share how God has spoken to you recently then do a post and leave me a link in the comments and I'll add it into the body of this post so you get some linky love and people can come visit.

 May our Lord be with you. Mich x

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Living to excess....... no more!

I'm very embarrassed writing this post but as a Christian I always feel when you recognise wrong behaviour and make a decision to change that you need to repent. I know many people hate that word, it sounds hard and not very forgiving but actually repentance is all about forgiveness. But it is not enough for me to pay lip service to whatever the sin is that I am turning my back on. Oh no, I have to confess my sins and then stop partaking in them and that is not always easy if I'm honest.

The dictionary tells us that the definition of repent is 'to feel sorry, self-reproachful or contrite for past conduct' and this of course is true. When we do wrong, we need to recognise it and as a Christian I must say sorry but it is not enough to just apologise and carry on with the sin or wrong-doing. Biblical repentance is about turning from sin and waking away from that past behaviour, thoughts or whatever it was. I am so lucky to have a perfect and loving God who has already paid the price for all the sins I have. So it is imperative that I do my part and try to live a life that Jesus would be proud of. You all know I'm fallible, I tell you enough on here and my blog strap line is about my imperfect journey but I cannot just rest on my laurels.

For years I have struggled with my weight and there is so much tied up in this problem. I know my overeating is sinful, I am full of greed and a glutton at times and until I am ready to give the issue to God it will remain with me, as it is far bigger than I am and I don't seem able to tackle it alone.

It was a revelation to me this week though that other areas of my life were filled with glutinous behaviour too. I have been tidying out some of the cupboards ready for our move and I started on my wardrobe and considering I have cleared it twice in the last year and given away probably at least 50 items of clothing, I was still able this time to clear about another 50 items. Great for the charity shop but why did I have that much to start with?  Sinful instant gratification is much of the answer, some things I gave away had labels and others were worn once and it does not end there, I know I have a large vacuum pack of clothes in the loft as well that still need sorting.

I gave away all this -

and Lord I want to turn away from the excess that has been in my life. I don't need to stuff my face with food or spend money to stifle my emotions or to try and deal with stuff I do not even consciously acknowledge is happening.

I desire to be content and to be able to talk about my feelings, emotions, fears etc and then to deal with them. No more food or shopping is necessary. As I write this it is late at night and when I wake tomorrow morning I pray Lord that you will help me to stay in the moment and to be really present so that I do not 'forget' that I am turning away from these sins Lord. Please draw me close and keep me there, help me to stay strong even if this is really uncomfortable.  I must remember to rely on you Lord. Holy Spirit come and fill me so there is no room left that I am trying to fill with anything other than you.

Lord I pray the Anglican prayer of confession -

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, 

we have sinned against you 

and against our neighbour 

in thought and word and deed, 

through negligence, through weakness, 

through our own deliberate fault. 

We are truly sorry, 

 and repent of all our sins. 

For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, 

who died for us, 

forgive us all that is past; 

and grant that we may serve you in newness of life 

to the glory of your name. 

Amen.

Tomorrow is a new day and one I look forward to with a sense of anticipation and expectation.  The Lord can work miracles and I ask for one to help me be more Christlike.

Anyone been in the same boat and got any encouraging words for me please?

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If you like what you have read and want to stay up-to-date then subscribe by email for free and receive blog posts directly to your in-box - just click the link Subscribe to Mummy From The Heart... by Email or perhaps you like to keep all your blog reading in one place, if that is the case you can follow me on BlogLovin too!