I’m now a wife.
What an amazing thing!
The wedding and honeymoon were beyond wonderful. Such exciting days and moments; God is so good, so faithful.
J and I had a handful of conversations while we were on our trip, and I wanted to write of one in particular here on heartnatured.
So many changes and adjustments in this season of life, so much growing and learning. I want to be habitually open and cultivate a heart ready and prepared for all God has for me in this new role. I want to be aware of where my affections lie, where self often rears its head. I want to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in his leading and guiding. I want to be clay in the Potter’s hands, able to be worked and formed into the woman He desires me to continually be, the best wife and friend I can be.
I want the Lord to be my ultimate satisfaction, the ulimate filler of my heart and soul — out of which will come the ability to be a strong, good, gentle, Spirit-filled wife and friend.
Thus, a month of simplicity. Scaling back on all social media platforms (minus one thing, that will be mentioned later). Learning discipline of mind and body, thus a simplified diet. Attentiveness to the difference between good/true pleasures and false ones. Not saying these things are false pleasures, I just know myself best, and eliminating that which distracts my heart is super helpful.
On the way home from Asheville, we listened to a sermon by Ravi Zacharias on pleasure.
“Anything that refreshes you without distracting you or destroying the final goal you have set is a legitimate pleasure.”
He makes these points…
1. Pleasure for pleasure’s sake will leave you empty. It has to have a greater purpose than merely just enjoyment.
2. All pleasure comes at a cost. For the true pleasure you pay the price before you enjoy it, for the false pleasure you pay the price after you enjoy it.
3. The closer you draw to good pleasure, the closer you draw to the heart of God. The closer you go to false pleasure, the farther from the heart of God you go.
True, good pleasures vs. false pleasures. Clear eyes, pure heart vs. distorted desires and reality.
My heart of hearts wants to draw closer to God continually, every day.
Simplicity. Intimacy with God. Strong relationship with my husband and family and friends.
I’m on a mission to define true, good pleasures. To love that which heals, not what hurts. Maintaining the integrity of worship by worshipping the Lord, in the mundane and the great, in the easy and the difficult. The greatest pleasure.
So this month, I may write a couple of times, but that’s it.
I will however be keeping up a “visual journal,” as I’ve dubbed it. Because of my passion for creativity and expression and capturing moments, I want to keep this activity going, because I truly enjoy it.
