The Purpose of it all...

"This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." John 15:8

As I wrote a couple of posts ago, I'm in a time of "evaluation" and feeling the Lord whisper to be "be still." Now, if you know me AT.ALL. you know how hard this is for me. So many times we hear "you have to take care of YOURSELF" ... or "you need some YOU time"... or... "if you would do.... then YOU would feel...." While I agree... in some ways... I don't think our culture or even our Christian Culture knows how to handle this very well. God has made it clear to me that it is important to "be still"... AND "know that I am God." The purpose of self care, being still, getting rest, etc... is so that we can ultimately know God more intimately and therefore bear much fruit. The purpose of self care isn't self or self-indulgence! It is to allow us ... our old, tired, grumpy bodies to be formed into His image: so that we can bear the fruits of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." The purpose of self care is to ultimately glorify God, not self. I know, I'm raining on the parade. This revelation came to me after praying for days that God would help me understand where "self-care" fit in His purpose for my life. I want to walk that path VERY.CAREFULLY. It is so easy to think "Oh, if I spend this $$ on "A", then I will be more joyful to serve!" or "If I were able to go away and "do what I want to do" then I would be fulfilled to come home and do His service." OR maybe it looks like "I deserve a break!" No... friend... we deserve DEATH! ha. (ah, rats, lighten-up... right?) I have fallen into a pit of thinking I "need" or "deserve" this or that... when ultimately what I need Jesus. Now, He does give us breaks, and rest, in His time. The Mr. and I are going away this weekend and that is what prompted this entire thought process. I don't want it to be about ME... I want it to be about GOD making ME into his likeness. I want HIM to show us things through intimate communication with him... about our marriage, our children, our church, our ministry... I want Him to bring our hearts closer to each other and to Himself. And THAT, is what brings great JOY... and laughter... and FUN! I am then able to enjoy His provisions because I'm focused on HIM and NOT me! So, I think the purpose of "taking care of myself" isn't me. It's HIM. It's about prayer...deep prayer. It all starts with Him. We are getting away .... "Just the three of us."

I hope you enjoy your weekend... and when we get back we will be sharing about some exciting fundraising news!

Mrs. MCB!