Daniel Fast - Day Eighteen - Journal Entry

June 27, 2013

Psalm 37:39-40 "But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble. And the Lord helps them, and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked, and saves them, because the take refuge in Him."

Cross references:

Psalm 3:8  "Salvation belongs to the Lord; Thy blessing be upon they people. Selah."

Psalm 62:1-2  "My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken."

Does my soul wait in silence for God only? Silence? No.  Silence is so hard for me. Yet, You are my stronghold. You. You will deliver me from the enemy - from the battle - from our own sinful hearts. 

Psalm 9:9 "The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble."

Psalm 34:22  "The Lord redeems the soul of his servants; and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned."

Psalm 54:4 "Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul, He will recompense the evil to my foes; destroy them in faithfulness." 

You are the stronghold.  I sit in silence because there is nothing else for me to do. It is Your work.  Salvation belongs to You, Lord.

I wait. I actively wait by attending to You through Your word, prayer, praise, obedience, living joyfully before you.  I attend to You in these ways, waiting for Your plan to unfold, Your purposes to be accomplished, Your name to be lifted high.

The silence part is so hard, Lord. I ache when the waiting is long. I grieve when my efforts seem futile. Yet, this rescuing comes from you, not me.

My actions in waiting are focused on attending to You, living my life in worship before You.  My efforts are not there to deliver me. They are there to change me while exalting You in my life. More of You, less of me. More of Your truth and grace and less of my strivings.

Like Daniel and his friends, I can be bold and confident while I wait on Your deliverance.

Daniel 3:17  "If it be so, our God, whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O King."

Daniel 6:23  "The king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God."

I am not facing a fiery furnace or a den of lions, yet, I do face a hard path when this fast ends.

*A family eager to go back to "normal". 

*A husband who is hard to resist by way of eating habits.  He is eager to make my life "easy" which lends to falling into bad habits again.

*The stresses of life, my reactions to the hard things, my sinful patterns, these are hard to face without the firm boundaries of the fast.

Yet, I am growing.

I am learning.

I am reaching free of some of those strongholds in my life. I am finding You again, placing You, rightfully, where you belongs. 

You will deliver and rescue my soul and my body, my mind, my heart will be strengthened because of this work in my life.  I will find my refuge, strength and deliverance from You.

Psalm 9:10  "And those who know Thy name will put their trust in Thee, for Thou, O Lord, hast not forsaken those who seek Thee."

Journal Notes - Day Six

June 15, 2013

Psalm 37:23  The steps of a man are established by the Lord; and He delights in his way.

Cross references:

1 Samuel 2:9 

He keeps the feet of His godly ones, but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; for not by might shall a man prevail.

 

Psalm 40:2 

He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.

 

Psalm 66:9 

Who keeps us in life, and does not allow our feet to slip.

 

Psalm 119:5 

Oh that my ways may be established to keep they statutes!

 

Psalm 147:11 

The Lord favors those who fear Him, those who wait for His loving-kindness.

Journal Entry:
This is what I'm praying for, that you would establish my steps, Lord, and that my way would bring you delight.

You desire to firmly establish me on a rock - Your word and Your path. Your way will keep my foot from slipping. I don't fully understand what that way is yet.  But, for today, it is enough for me to know it is firm. By Your grace, I will not slip, and it will bring You delight.  I will wait on Your kindness in revealing Your plans for me.  I will fear Your holy name.

Tuesday, May 29 2012

Today's Good Things:
Good choices for meals
Did well on my first solo day
Did well on our first outing
Small bit of tidying up around the house = activity
Chose popcorn for snack instead of the sweet I was craving

Today's Not So Good Things:
Not always as patient as I should be
Missed an afternoon nap

Today was pretty good for a first day solo. The children were quiet this morning, so I was able to sleep in a bit after a very long night with baby. I'm feeling a little down, as she's down another 2oz on the scale today from Sunday.  I struggle so much every time and was SO hoping this baby would be better. Just can't seem to get that hindmilk in her system. Sigh. Pray for me to deal with this patiently and trust the Lord is going to bring us through.

I took the fam to my dd's sewing lessons today. I figured just driving in the car wouldn't be so bad. The littles played while we were there and I nursed baby. However, just carrying her around in her seat was tiring. I'll be staying home the rest of this week, for sure. ;)  Tomorrow is supposed to be really nice. After a rainy day, I'd love to take the children to the park, but I think I best stay home and rest. Maybe I can help them set up some kind of fun thing to do in the yard and hang out with baby on my swing instead. Just trying to balance the rest, nursing, and time with the others as best I can.

Hope to get a chance to read your updates tonight. Enjoying a movie with the bigs right now, though. Kinda special to stay up late together. :)

Saturday December 24, 2011

Today's Good Things:
Lovely morning opening gifts with our family
Made wise choices for dinner, avoiding the unhealthy carbs.
Controlled myself to take one small bite of "petz" which had enough sugar in it to last. ;)
Enjoyed a mid-morning nap

Today's Not So Good Things:
Still not getting my exercise in
House is pretty trashed, but I'm letting it be okay.

I feel pretty good about how my day went today. I did well with my choices at dinner at my il's as well as eating at home. I haven't been keeping up with my snacks as well as I should, but I'm still working to be careful. And, I'm applauding myself for that considering we're smack in the middle of the Season of Indulgence.

I spent my day yesterday an emotional wreck. I felt I had ruined Christmas by not working hard enough to make it special. I know I could have worked harder, but I am so grateful to the Lord for His patience with me.  He is gentle and His burden is light. If only I would truly learn to carry His burden rather than the one I strap on myself.  Today was a precious day with our children and again, with David's family. I believe our most meaningful Christmas Eve we've ever spent with them.  I'm humbled to see the Lord continuing to work and build our lives up and closer to Him. 

Tomorrow we spend our day focusing on your word.  Please help me to press forward with a heart eager to serve and obey.

Active Patience

I was updating my notes from the book I'm reading. As I was doing so, I felt this topic warranted it's own post. I am struck by the truth it holds and the simple way it challenges me in this journey. Here are some quotes and my thoughts I wanted to get down.

"The testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing." 
James 1:3-4

"...we often think of patience and waiting as an empty time--a time of doing nothing. But waiting can be a very important, even critical, time in our development.

Patience benefits our souls as much as it ever does our bodies. Remember, the Apostle Paul charged us to 'run with perseverance the race that is set before us' (Heb 12:1). Even in the midst of running a race, patience is key. Without patience, endurance and perseverance, discouragement sets in. And with discouragement comes defeat. Patience is not a passive time. Patience is a time of growing.

I'm encouraging active patience--patience that comes with taking the first step in the direction you know you need to go--perseverance. Paul didn't say to 'sit on the sidelines with your patience.' He clearly said to join the race.

You have joined the race. Patience will help you get to the goal line because it will help you put one foot in front of the other at a steady pace instead of sprinting out fast, wearing yourself out, and not finishing the race.

'...when you do one thing right--at the right time--the next thing works even better, and you, one day, will become what you want to become.'

People who lose weight and keep it off don't need to be extreme. Patience keeps them steady."

I find amazing encouragement and a bit of chiding in these words. I admit, I want to be skinny now.  Well, truth be told, I'd be happy if it was yesterday. ;-)  I confess, I get so upset and irritated when I work so hard for great results and they don't come fast enough. It's true, I hate being told I need to "just be patient".  However, I find great empowerment in this concept of Active Patience. It is true that when I think of patience, I equate that with sitting still and doing nothing. Yet, that is so far from the truth. Patience IS perseverance. Patience is ENDURANCE. Those are ACTIVE words. Those things require me to work and to work HARD.  And, they hold hope and promise for a reward. 

Honestly, I have such a great mountain to climb, I need all the Active Patience the Lord will grant. Yet, I can already see that the testing of my faith in this area is certainly creating an endurance I've never known. I can't remember the last time I have had to work so hard for so long, inching my way to my goal. This endurance that I am learning will one day have it's full effect. One day I will be mature and complete, lacking in nothing, and it will be because of the Active Patience the Lord created in me during this time. Therefore, I will not wish away this challenge. I will not envy those who are progressing faster than I am or have already met their goals. I will rejoice that the Lord has chosen yet another area in my life to refine and change so that I may develop the maturity and become complete in Him.

How truly grateful I am for the Lord's continued work in my life. He never stops transforming my life.