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Thank you Jannikitty! I wonder if you may have posted this title elsewhere on this forum. I ran across this book on the forum and it has brought me immense joy and insight since I originally posted this question. Thanks again and what a great book! Blessings!
Doing laundry, dishes, and vacuuming doesn't seem as important as it used to.
A book written along time ago helped me focus on the presence of God. It was called "Practicing the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence who was a monk who served most of the day fixing food in a kitchen. He found God right there in the pots and pans.
Awesome!!! I wish I would have had this link before I bought the book. Maybe I will have to pass my book on to someone else!
Blessings!
I've been a born-again Christian now for 9 months. I'm finding that I'm completely in love with God. I read the bible every chance I get, I ruminate over scriptures, I read tons of christian books, I listen to Christian music, etc. I can't get enough and feel like I am trying to make up for lost time. I feel so filled with the Holy Spirit that I can barely breathe at times.
But as a mom, I have a lot of things that I have to get done on a daily basis. I've actually missed picking my son up from school because I was so enthralled in music that I lost track of the hour. I've even missed a doctor appointment. Sometimes I feel like I should be worshiping God and learning about Him every moment that I can. Doing laundry, dishes, and vacuuming doesn't seem as important as it used to. Decorating our home? Who cares? I've found God!!! Why is any of this stuff important? Who wants to spend money on stuff when there are hungry children that need help? The times that I've just worshiped God at a specific prayer time and bible reading time didn't really seem like enough. Now I know why people become nuns and priests. The joy of devoting your entire life to worshiping God is very appealing to me right now.
Anyone else having a hard time balancing your old and new life now as a Christian?
Soon after I became a Christian, I was called by the Holy Spirit to work with children and young adults with special needs. Something that I never would have considered before (my training is in environmental planning/science). I now volunteer three days a week while my youngest is in preschool and I am applying to graduate school to teach children with special needs. I pray before I walk into the classroom, I pray while I am there, and I pray when I leave. I pray for the children, I pray for the teachers and I pray for their parents. I constantly feel so full of the Holy Spirit that I want to jump for joyI think that is why so much of the little stuff doesn't seem as important anymore. Thank you all again for your kind words and advice.
Blessings to you all!!!
I remember when you first posted that you felt called to do this, and I'm so excited for you!!! Good luck!!
I'm probably not the best person to answer your question about balance, but I've definitely gotten a lot better and calmed down a lot since I started posting here. There are still times when I get caught up in the whole "religious" side of being a Christian and the notion that unless I'm doing something church related or praying or Bible reading, etc., that God isn't pleased with me, but I keep myself in check by remembering that God has made me a steward of what He's given me to work with in life, and it's my responsibility to make the best use of it as a witness to those outside of the church. This goes along with the scripture (I can't remember the exact verse at the moment as I don't have my Bible on me, but I believe it's Galatians 3:22) "Whatever you do, do it with all your heart as unto the Lord". It reminds me that I don't have to be caught up in the whole church thing and like you said, a literal reading of Thessalonians for God to be pleased with me. Once I realized that God is pleased with me not because of my works, but because of Christ's sacrifice and the fact that no matter what I do I'm to do it with excellence whether it's washing dishes, doing homework, cleaning my clarinets, or some of the bigger things like ministering to someone in need, it helped me relax a lot more.
Sorry this post was so long, I'm really tired and rambling.Good luck to you on your journey and may God bless and make His presence known every step of the way.
I totally understand the busy part! I'm back in school now as a part time student making up missing credits before being full time again next year and still working my 32 hour a week job, so it's hard to find time to pray and what not. For awhile I tried getting up at 7 a.m. so I could read scripture and pray for an hour, but since I don't go to bed until 1 a.m. sometimes it was disastrous. Now I try to listen to Christian radio while driving, jam out to praise and worship while I study, and read my Bible on my lunch break if it isn't busy. Good to hear from you as well!
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