Entry 4

Being newly married and having a baby on the way can do a lot to a person. :) On one hand, I have daily overwhelming joy at my blessings. Of having an amazing supportive and loving husband, and a healthy little girl on the way, but at the same time, during times of big change the flesh (the spiritually dead person we were before we were given Christ's life) loves to rear its ugly head. It loves to make you feel like all of the things in your life that are out of your control (medical bills, unpaid maternity leave, health problems, etc.) should be in your control, and you better figure it out fast! This is just my personal example on what is impacting my life currently, but we ALL, each and every one of us, deal with ebs and flows of this ever changing world every day. This is when we have the opportunity to decide how do deal with these situations. Our "default" and "old programming" loves to immediately resort to worry, anxiety, and the effort to control; while our Spirit is waiting patiently for us to acknowledge what is already there. The Spirit is there to remind us,

 "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." Ephesians 1:3

²⁵ “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" Matthew 6:25-27

Because we have been stuck in these fleshly bodies since the day we were born into this world, initially, and for as long as we decide to, our default will be to resort to worldly and wrong thinking when it comes to issues of concern. But, if in those moments, we recognize what we are doing, and where this wrong thinking is coming from, we can acknowledge, "This is old programming. This is not who I am anymore, and this is not the Truth. It's time to switch to a relevant channel."

It's like how one of my favorite authors, Bob George states, our mind is like an AM/FM radio. Let's say AM is our old way of thinking, and FM is Christ's mind inside us (no offense to AM radio. It's just an example ;)). We may be initially accustomed to flipping to AM, since that is what we have been listening to for years, but once we start choosing to switch to FM when the opportunity arises, eventually, that will be the one we automatically turn to. It can take a while to develop this new habit (I'm a prime example of that. :)),  but I've seen it happen. My Grandma was a prime example. I know she had gone through some very tough circumstances in her life, but by the time I was blessed to know her, until she went to join our Savior, we always used to say she had "one foot in Heaven" all of the time. I think she had just gotten so used to referring to the Lord about everything that He became her mind most of the time. Of course, when people would compliment her on anything in regard to her faith, she would always say, "It isn't the bush, it's God in the bush, and any old bush will do." So true! :)

Renewing your mind with the Truth that is inside you is the answer. It's not something we have to "try" to do. It's already in there. We just have to refer to the Lord and He will take care of the programming, one day, one moment at a time. So, today, I am going to remember this myself. Any time a worried thought enters my mind, I will refer to my sweet Savior and trust in His love for me and my family. The Lord will provide. He has already provided and He is faithful.

Blessings and love to you all and I hope you have a wonderful day resting in Jesus' love for you and for me!

~Emily

"For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness(Which we've already been given through Jesus Christ), and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
 Matthew 6:32-34 (Parentheses added :))