Complacency

When God speaks... from the words of my son, Zechariah, "He is telling me good thingys."

God tells my son "to listen to mommy, and obey." He also told Zech, "to be a hero to fight the bad guys."

My pastor has been talking to us for the last month about CELEBRATING.

We need to FIND, FOCUS on, and BE EXCITED about the good things God has given us. It's that simple.

Or is it?

It's been a really rough six weeks. Sickness has been kicking my butt! I have been suffering from allergies nonstop. Without getting into the nitty gritty of it, life has been difficult. I don't want to celebrate. I want to cry and be miserable. I also don't want to get off the couch. I'm cranky! It's too hard, and too much work. I long for the day when I can breathe clearly and go outside without paying for it later.

Never in my life did I think I would say this. Cold weather is coming and I'm celebrating it.

When I'm feeling bad, and my energy is gone, it is not a simple decision to celebrate. It's work! It takes effort and concentration. It takes denying myself certain thought patterns.

How well do you do with celebrating? Is it natural? Or is it a conscious decision? If you are conscious of something, you think about it a lot, especially because you think it is important. A conscious decision or action is made or done deliberately by giving your full attention to it.

Sometimes it's much easier to just coast. No major ups or downs, everything is FINE. To move easily along but without using power. A complacent attitude sets in. An uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements.

God did NOT call us to live complacent lives. We need to be critical of ourselves. How else will we desire to change and become more?

Right now I'm reading This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti. If you've never picked up the book, I would highly recommend it. The plot is supernatural awareness. You will get a glimpse or an idea of what is going on in the world around us. There are angels and demons at war.

As I've been reading through the book, I have been convicted. One of the characters at the beginning of the story has the spirit of complacency about him at all times. He contemplates doing something, but then this smug satisfaction kicks in. It doesn't matter what he's doing. Everything's fine. At least that's what they want him to think.

Everything is NOT fine. We are in a battle constantly. Until you take your last breath, the enemy will not give up. He will never struggle with a complacent or lazy attitude. He is always on the prowl looking for someone to devour. We have got to be alert!

Prayer is powerful! Do not be deceived into thinking it doesn't matter and that it won't change things. It is one of the greatest tools you have against the enemy. It puts you into direct communication with the CREATOR of the universe. What an incredible audience we have at any given moment.

Lately, I've had the feeling that what I write here on my blog doesn't really matter. It's helpful for me to journal about what God is speaking into my life, but is it really changing anyone else? Does it matter?

I have used this blog as a tool to document my life, my spiritual journey. Often times I get discouraged at the numbers I see. I could take a week away from blogging, and my pageviews stay the same. I have a few posts that have really taken off. That is where all my traffic comes and goes to. It's all about crafts and free tutorials.

I think that's great, but it's not what I'm about. My heart is with God. I want to be used by Him to reach the world. So when I see the parts of my blog, that matter the most to me, ignored and untouched it discourages me.

I wouldn't say that I have given up. But I have definitely been taken by a spirit of complacency. What I say doesn't really matter. Why put my heart out there? You know what? It does matter to God! He sees my heart, and I'm going to continue to listen and obey Him.

I may not be a hero fighting "real" bad guys, but my words and my prayers can fight a real enemy. I will never stop fighting. I will never be satisfied. And I will do my best to FIND, FOCUS on, and CELEBRATE all the good things God has given me.