I'm way past this chapter, but I had taken some notes on this chapter (7) & thought I'd share.
Chapter 7:
This chapter revealed just how incredibly selfish I am... I am the queen of selfishness.
I.am.
Selfishness is the root of all sin.
Did you read that??? ALL SIN boils down to complete & utter selfishness. OUCH!
John 15:13 says, "Greater love hath NO man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
This selfishness can not live... it must die. I must lay it down. I must leave it behind.
James 4:6 says, "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."
This "grace talk" has always been... I don't know how you'd put it- but maybe looked upon as an "excuse to sin" my whole life. That was unexceptable. Everyone strived for perfection- or overcoming. Now I'm not opening this up for debate- I'm just saying I'm realizing that I have felt so defeated for so long because often times I would fail before I had even gotten out of the bed in the mornings- I would feel like a failure the rest of the day. I beat myself up often, because I felt like I wasn't "overcoming". This book has really helped me on the subject. "Grace" is not an excuse to sin. Grace is an humbling of one's self to realize their need for fogiveness & the love of God to cover our sins & to help us move on from that. It's all clearer to me now. He gives me new grace every single day- why? Because HE already knows I'm going to fail- I'm human. I'm in a fallen condition. I.will.sin.as.long.as.I.am.living.in.this.fallen.world. Does that go to say that I won't "overcome" some things in my life? NO. I do believe you can overcome sin in your life, people do it all the time (ex. acoholism, profantity, pornography, etc). I do believe people can overcome anger, busy bodiness, bitterness etc., but not without first realizing how much of the grace of God is needed to do that.
"but (HE) giveth grace to the HUMBLE"
(sorry kinda took a detour there- but I did get that from this chapter some)
THE OPPOSITE OF HUMILITY IS.... (drum roll please**) PRIDE.
I can become and artist with my life!!!!
You are you for a reason. God made me with my personality, my quirks, & all that goes with me FOR A REASON. Why do I want to try to be ANYthing else??? Why do we all compare & strive to be like so-and-so? WHY? From now on- I will work with the way I was created to become the person HE wants me to be- especially with my children.
GOD WANTS ME TO GROW INTO THE PERSON HE CREATED ME TO BE in order to give my children what they need.
Don't try to fulfill everone else's expectations!!!! <~~~~ This is huge for those of us trying to figure out parenting styles/ methods. Who cares what so-and-so are doing & how they believe you should raise, train or dicipline your children. Really they should be focused on their own children instead of staring you down thinking to themselves, "you really need to go wear that boy/girl out". They don't know the heart of your child. They have no clue of the issues that they don't see. All they have to go on is what they THINK they see & know. Therefore, don't worry about what those people think of you or your children. YOU know your child. YOU know the ins & outs of that child. YOU know their heart. YOU know what's best for that child. One more important thing on this- YOU know how your heart has been convicted in raising your precious ones. Others convictions DO NOT MATTER. If GOD in his awesomeness wanted us all to be the SAME in all aspects of life.... I truely believe he would've crafted us that way. If he wanted robots all doing the exact same thing all the time- HE couldn've done that, but in HIS great mercy HE didn't. He is more creative than that. He's the Master Artist. He created us ALL to be different- & that's a beautiful thing. :) **One more thing on this subject- I have often found myself using people in my same (or close to) season of life as my gauge or examples. I've used people who have children the same age as mine, who are well-behaved, compliant etc. One thing I'm learning- I should find examples of people who have raised (meaning their children are grown) intelligent, godly children. Someone who has children who still love & resepct them. Not people who are still growing children, because they're still learning just like I am.** Just thought I'd throw that in there. :)
This was a very convicting chapter to say the least.
I loved this response to Sarah Mae's letter to Sally:
"My sweet friend,
Selfishness is the very root of sin. I didn't even know I was selfish until I had children. But being self-absorbed never really made anyone happy. Putting aside my own needs and choosing to serve my family has helped me grow more in my walk with the Lord than anything else I have ever done. I wish someone had told me early in my marriage and mothering that I was lazy and I needed to decide to learn to work harder. Nothing excellent is ever accomplished by being lazy or selfish. Once I got of my pity party and decided that I was willing to do whatever it takes to build excellence into my life and home, my motivation increased an dmy vision for what I could accomplish stretched, and as I look back, I am now amazed at my capacity to work so hard and to get so much done. The end result is that my labor has been rewarded and I have felt the joy of building something of great worth. So develop a willing heart to become the best mom you can be by getting rid of the destructive attitude that we all have- that of selfishness- and decide to be an overcomer!! I believe in you!
Sending Love!
Sally"
Disclaimer:
**I'm using a new computer (without spell check)- please excuse all errors :).
WE ARE NOT POSTAGE STAMPS!!!
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