When I re-commited by life to Christ, I felt I had done this. I was done with the old and now had my new life. So I'm done right? Wrong.
I've learned and am still learning that there are always more things we can take off. Some pop up out of nowhere, others have been there a while. A lot of times these things aren't even a big deal in our eyes. They aren't what we think of as big sins - if there is such a thing - a sin is a sin. Some may not even be sins at all. The Lord is constantly showing us what these things are if we only pay attention. And it's an amazing feeling to see yourself growing in the Lord when you do recognize these things to take off and then actually take them off.
So what does that look like in my life? Here are a couple things I've taken off recently...
Hogan and I just have a few favorite shows. If our tv is on, it's usually on the Food Network which is hilarious if you know my cooking habits. But I enjoy it, maybe because it's one of the few clean channels you can watch on tv these days. Who knows. We also enjoy The Amazing Race. Sure there are some others we will watch every now and then but for the most part this sums it up.
Well recently, we were flipping through the channels one night and came across the season premiere of The Bachelorette. I used to watch this back in the day and maybe none other than it's humorous and there was nothing else on, we stopped to watch. Well once you watch one show, why not keep up with it so we set our DVR to record future episodes. I was laying around at home a weekend or two later and tried to watch one of the recorded shows.
And I couldn't.
I started it, watched about 5 minutes, and stopped it. Sure, I could have probably sat there and watched it and laughed and pulled for my favorites to get a rose, but nothing in me wanted to. I felt icky. I felt like it was a waste of time. And I recognized the danger in that show. While I want noone else but my husband and I love who I am in Christ and the life he's blessed me with, that show lets the spirit of comparison come in. She is so pretty or those guys are so cute or the vacations they get to go on are so amazing...
it's dangerous!
That's not real life nor is it even something I want, but it cracks the door for those thoughts to come in. Obviously each person is different so if you can watch a show like that with a guarded heart, then that's awesome! I just can't. But I love that the Lord showed me I can't and why I can't and then I actually stopped it. That desire is no longer in me. I have taken it off.
*******
A completely different example is that I decided not to go to a small group on Thursday nights this summer. Thursday is the only weeknight Hogan and I could have to ourselves this summer...to cook dinner, to watch a show, to go for a walk, etc. We were both fine with the idea of a full week at first but I made the decision to not go. I can easily burn the candle at both ends and exhaust myself. But more than that, our marriage is my top priority after God. I want to invest in it. I want to enjoy time during the week with my husband. The Lord is showing me how to take off "busyness" and the way I can easily fill a schedule and replace it with rest and becoming the wife the Lord has called me to be to Hogan.
The Lord is changing my heart and I'm loving these new desires he's putting within me. Off with the old and on with the new!
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