Texting God (and other random thoughts)

I don't know about you, but I feel like I have a hard time ever focusing all of my mental power on one thing.  Even if I do manage to get up early to have time with God before the kids get up...it doesn't work.  Someone always gets up.  I feel like God is trying to teach me so many things but I'm only getting snippets of them because there are just so many other things going on (and most of them are things I can't just ignore...no matter how hard I try...like the grouchy baby in the background right now.)  


I was discussing this with my friend Jess today (we were both working in the nursery during church.) and she said that she has this very same problem (we both have three very small children...) and she felt like she was just "texting God."  Just about the most accurate description of what I'm feeling I've ever heard!  Spot on Jess.  ;)


Anyway, I thought maybe if I got some of the random thoughts down here I could get them more flushed out and have a better understanding of what God is trying to teach me.  


First up, I just LOOOOVED this quote from Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris.  
             "Maybe you've never thought about it in these terms, but coming to Jesus and listening to his words involves doctrine.  It involved knowing and understanding what the Bible teaches about who Jesus is, why we need him, how he saves us and changes us.  In other words, it involves knowing theological truth."
This is why doctrine is so important.  Because it DOES effect (or is it affect?) the way we live.   We can't know God if we don't know what the Bible says, and we can't love him rightly if we don't understand him rightly.

Moving on...I read this post on holiness yesterday on the Disciple's Notebook site and was struck so much by it.  When I was in college I did a very indepth study of holiness on my own.  I wanted to thoroughly understand it.  I mean...if God calls us to be holy as he is holy I figured it was pretty important that I had a very good grasp of just exactly what holy was.

"Holiness simply depends on your abandoning yourself to the indwelling Spirit of God, that he may maintain in health the life which he has himself communicated."
"It is true there are responsibilities. What are they? ....Second, an abandonment of the whole being to God, that He may possess the territory, and realize it according to His will, and for His glory"


So very often I let my own flesh creep in and push out the holiness that God is developing in  me.  I do it in a thousand tiny ways every day.  I do when I get frustrated.  I do it when I'm selfish.  I do it when I desire momentary enjoyment over knowing Christ and ultimate pleasure.  I need to be more conscious of all these times.  More conscious that I'm pushing out personal holiness when I do it.  I need to give it up to God so that I might be conformed to the image of his Son more and more.  


And finally, here's a picture of a dress I made for a friend's daughter.  Not the greatest picture but I was in a hurry and wanted to get a pic. before I gave it to them.  :)

Ok, lots more thoughts swirling around, lots more to think about and hash out, but that's enough for one night!  ;)