Teach me, O Lord...

 I am still here!  I am feeling the stirring and leading to attempt to begin to blog more consistently again.  I feel my Lord would rather me "share" here more often, rather than speed huge chunks of wasted time on social media sites.  I have also had several people (all of whom I had no idea they read my blog!) ask me if I was still blogging, and then encourage me to stick with it... it that was you, thank you, the Lord used you to spur me on!

I have been praying a passage of scripture over myself, and over my family, this past year... It is from Psalm 119, verses 33-40.

33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes,

And I shall observe it to the end.

34 Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law

And keep it with all my heart.

35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,

For I delight in it.

36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies

And not to dishonest gain.

37 Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity,

And revive me in Your ways.

38 Establish Your word to Your servant,

As that which produces reverence for You.

39 Turn away my reproach which I dread,

For Your ordinances are good.

40 Behold, I long for Your precepts;

Revive me through Your righteousness.

  Almost every time I read and pray this passage, a couple of "snippets" have made me linger on them a bit longer.. and ponder over them a bit.  They are, "Incline my heart to Your testimonies and not to dishonest gain;" and "Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, and revive me in Your ways."

Aren't these almost daily battles?

To not be dishonest for personal gain... in even the smallest things, (like when you tell you child you did not just eat a piece of chocolate because you don't want to share with him), but rather to have my heart inclined to the testimonies of God.  I desire to be honest in all things, from the smallest to the largest... when others are looking and when they are not.  I desire to be inclined to choose honesty over dishonesty, especially in the small things that no one other than my Lord Himself would ever know about.  I want my natural inclination to be towards God's testimonies and not to a dishonest word or action.

To turn my eyes away from looking at vanity, to instead be revived in the ways of God... I have been convicted that I have wasted too much time looking at things that are worthless and unfruitful.  These things have no power to revive my heart and my soul, these actually do quite the opposite.  There are times when they have drained me of joy and hope, and instead led me to despair and discouragement.  There are times when they have caused my flesh to rise up, quenching the power of the Spirit in my life.

I have intentionally evaluated what enters my heart and mind through my eyes.  I have found that social media and technology is not always a good thing and has an extremely strong draw that one really has to fight against. I desire to control my use of social media and technology rather than allowing them to control me.  My belief that TV is rarely a good thing was again confirmed.  I have been more intentional in evaluating books and magazines before I spend precious time with my head buried in them. 

As a result, my time "looking" on such things has significantly decreased, and many blessings have resulted. I have found that I am more clearly focused on my children and on teaching them, even if it takes extra time.  Some days I actually have a bit more time to get tasks completed around the house after schooling the boys, and on a really good day time to try a new recipe or cook a good dinner!  In the evenings my mind and heart are more focused on my husband, unless I am just exhausted from my day, and on those days (which seem to be many), I tend to just collapse in the bed.

The best part though is the difference in my thought life.  I find that I am not overly concerned with "likes" and "comments" from others, I am not easily offended because of others words, I am not comparing myself, my husband, and my kids with everyone else.  I am more focused on the Lord and what I am studying in the Word, I think more on the sermon from the previous Sunday, or our discussion in our small group class.  I have more time to pray.  I have more time to spend with "real" people.   I find that I am more eternally focused, more sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and much more fulfilled and satisfied with this wonderful life I have been blessed with.

So what about you?  What is your heart inclined to?  What do your eyes spend time on that in turn affects your heart and mind?  I encourage you to incline your heart and mind to God and His Word, there is nothing better to fill your heart and mind with...