From The Words of Beth Moore

I couldn't help but post this today - very inspiring. It's from Beth Moore's Breaking Free study.

Somewhere in the midst of my morning time with God, I ask Him to satisfy all my longings and fill all my hollow places with His lavish, unfailing love. This frees me from craving the approval of others and requiring others to fill my "cup." Then, if someone takes the time to demonstrate his or her love to me, that's the overflow! I am free to appreciate it and enjoy it, but I didn't emotionally require it! See how the love of God that permeates the life through His Holy Spirit brings freedom? Not only am I freed, I am able to free others from having to boost me up emotionally all the time. Hallelujah! Where the Spirit of the Lord's lavish love is, there is freedom!! Try it and see!

If we're not experiencing satisfaction, a hindrance exists and we want to identify it and ask God to remove it. Ordinarily, the primary hindrance to satisfaction in our lives is refusing Him access to our empty places.

Those are amazing words from an amazing woman! Too often I have found myself craving the approval of others, and when I haven't received it my heart aches. I feel like a disappointment to those I haven't been able to please. God has been working on me in this department. It hasn't been easy, but it's been a great learning experience.

I have watched a couple in their marriage go through this same thing. All the wife wanted was for her husband to acknowledge certain things she did. She wanted his approval so much on certain tasks, that she didn't focus on the approval she was getting in other areas. He wasn't filling her cup the way she wanted it filled.

I have found myself doing the exact same thing. I have tried so hard to get approval from others in certain situations to no avail. My cup is still empty when I leave them and I feel so defeated. I hold out my cup and desire for a Caffe Latte with sugar, cinnamon, and a hint of vanilla. Instead, I wind up with a cold cup of last night's decaf.

So how do I fix it? By asking God to fill my hollow places, not another individual. I need His lavish, unfailing love; not love from any other human being. So when I receive that love from a friend or family member, it's just icing on the cake. Without it I'm okay, but with it I'm even better!

Think about that next time you realize your dependant upon the approval of your spouse, friend, or someone in your family. Have you asked God to fill your cup with His love first?

Crazy Saturday

Today was both memorable and draining. This morning I woke up to Spongebob Squarepants. I got to snuggle on the couch with Caleb and watch Saturday morning cartoons. How much better can it get than that? The plan for today was to attend the Wheel of Fortune auditions with my mother. She called me at noon to say that I had the date wrong - it was next month. Blow me down! The newspaper told me wrong. That just gives us one more month to get our game plan together.

Then I came up with the crazy idea to have a mom/daughter day. I convinced Mom to go to lunch and the movies. It would be some great bonding time. After lunch we bought our tickets, drinks, and popcorn. It was movie time! We walked in about 3 minutes late and assumed that the previews were still on. After about 10 minutes of watching the same "preview" I realized that we were in the wrong movie. Oops, wrong time slot! We took our popcorn to the car and chowed down.

Here I was thinking we were headed back home, but no! We went to not one, but two grocery stores, and Walmart. She made me go shopping three times! Have I mentioned how much I despise the grocery store? Just ask me and I'll tell you. There we are standing in front of the hams picking the perfect one. Five seconds later I find myself being smacked in the jaw by a ham. How does that happen? I got slapped by a ham. Walking down the aisles holding my jaw and looking for Cheese Whiz, I thought to myself "what happened to Wheel of Fortune?" Seriously, what happened to my dream of buying an E and winning $25,000?

After dying Easter eggs with Mom and Caleb, learning from an eight year old how to dance like Elvis, and forcing him to try a bite of the tuna casserole that he refused to eat I was so ready to go home. For those of you reading this I'm definitely giving you the short version. I must say God has a great sense of humor. My day did not at all go as planned. But I think I passed the test - I stayed calm most of the day. That is a huge accomplishment for me. Have you met my mother? Ok Mom I know you're reading this and I'm kidding - a little.

That's my day in a nutshell. Life is good!