Nothing comes easy

The last few months I've been feeling God's pull for me to go deeper; I've increased my time in the word, in prayer, and in just seeking Him. The payoff has been awesome - I am feeling God's presence and His love like I don't remember feeling for a long time, if ever this strong.

But it has not been easy. First it is hard to add more discipline to your life. If you are one of those folks for whom discipline comes easy, then great for you - I am not. It is hard to maintain the focus long enough to get and keep the pattern established. It is hard to find time. It is hard to stay dedicated when you have to push yourself every step of the way.

But even worse is the attacks from the enemy. I hate his tactics; unfortunately they are effective way too often. Every time I am in a spot where I am almost in a spiritual high, feeling like I am floating above any problems, unconcerned with the things of this world and totally focused on God, then the enemy swoops in with a vile attack.

All too often the attack is some sort of temptation. If he can get you to fail, then you feel guilty, then all focus on God is gone while you focus on beating yourself up. Man, I can't count how often I go through this pattern. To feel so good, then to lose it all and feel so vile and retched ... to be floating and then have the weight of sin and this world pull you back down ... horrid. Probably one of the worst feelings in the world. No pun intended.

The other attack is to get you to focus on something else besides God - bring up the cares of your life, something that gets you mad, whatever it takes to break that communion of spirit to Spirit.

Nothing comes easy - we are in a war; every day, every thought, is a battleground. But, greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. And we are more than conquerors. Just keep claiming it, keep believing it, and keep pushing the focus back on God.

Keep up the good fight.

Book: The Shack

I've recently read the book The Shack.

Wow - blow me away. God has been showing me more about His love lately, and this book just reinforced that and took it to a whole new level. The character of God is so different than what the standard view of Him is, even from most Christians, and the author nailed it in my opinion. But especially the love and the way God handles us just shown out from this book.

Let's try this again!

1 year, 2 1/2 months since my last post. Well, I never meant for this to be a regular thing, having to post something whether I had real content or not. I got on a bit of a roll at the beginning, then just stopped.

But lately I've been feeling like I need to start back up again. I'm not sure why - I don't expect to be widely read, or have people following my ramblings ... I just real feel like it is what I am supposed to do. If I rely on that impression, I have 2 choices - submit and do it, or rebel and not. So in the interest of being obedient, striving for better relationship with Him ... here goes.