the weight of opinion

Ever felt like you had to defend yourself to someone? A choice you made, an outfit you wore, a way of life. A child's upbringing, your 'social status', a church move, your spending habits. Seems that everyone has an opinion to offer up, but what about the unspoken opinion? The opinion that doesn't use words. The opinion that uses a shrug, a huff, a silent pause, a frowny text face, a nervous laugh. 

And we fall for it. The need to defend. It creeps up on us. Like a wet blanket right over our shoulders. It weights us down and makes us say things. Things like, 'it's more economical' or 'it's all I had' or 'it just didn't work' or 'it's what my mom did'.  

Why do we do that? Why do we let opinion weigh us down? Why do we feel the need to defend? Why do we think our thinking and decisions and upbringings are not enough? Because that's what we say when we speak from under that wet blanket. We say, loud and clear, it's not enough. We say, I need that weight! Your opinion matters! Wait. What? Since when do we need someone else to make choices for us? Since when do we need a 'gallery' weighing in on our decision making? Since when do we need a filter of opinion for the Spirit?

Gods word says that every weight that so easily entangles can be thrown off. Every entangling sin that would cause us to lose this great race. When we allow the burden of opinion to start weighing on us it affects our choices. Our decision to choose this or that. Our ability to hear clearly from the Spirit. It affects those tiny choices that should bring pleasure and yet, somehow, bring confusion and later on paralysis. If this cycle of wearing the weight of opinion continues, we will make no decisions without that comfy blamket to 'weigh in'.  

I don't know about you, but that weight is one I don't have the strength to bear. Christ has freed me from the entanglement of sin and wearing that wet blanket is like picking up my sin from the foot of the cross and throwing it on again! Gross! Forgive me Jesus! Forgive me for allowing the weight of opinion to matter more to me than the promises in your word. You are all I need. It's your opinion of me alone that matters. You call me your daughter, your beloved, your righteousness.

You call me free. Indeed. Unshackled. Unfettered. Without weights.

So, the next time you want to open your mouth with a polite way to defend your decision, don't. Let God be your defender. Stand tall and allow the righteousness of Christ within you to shine forth like the dawn.

Mornings

Mornings I like best. The quiet of the predawn stillness, the comfort of my bedside slippers, the routine of grinding those much-needed beans of coffee and the reading of the Word and other great books. But the part I enjoy, no savor, the most is the sleepy twitter that comes from the second bedroom on the left. My girls' room. You see they are teenagers now and share a room. This is because we have downsized a great deal from 2800 square ft to 900. Yikes! But necessary. I love their twittering because they have become each other's best friend. They share jokes and funny stories, stuff they've read and experienced and dreams they hope to fulfill in their futures and it all makes a wonderful twitter that I am savoring. Yes, savoring. For I know this twittering has an expiration date. A very close one at that. When the girls were younger, babies even, I would sit and long for them to pass quickly through the tough stage they were in just so I could get some relief, but all that longing has turned them into teenagers and now I am putting the brakes on their development by savoring each and every moment. Life around this home has finally come to a normal pace and we have learned to be thankful for each experience. Oh, and no more wishful, "please let this pass quickly" prayers. Not matter how tough the stage is. 

So yes, morning quietness, darkness, coffeeness, and twittering are my joys. Thank you Lord, for each day brings new mercies and new sights, sounds and pleasures to enjoy. 

This is the day The Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it. 

A Challenge

Well, after ignoring this blog for almost a year, I decided to connect it with a challenge. The #Hellomornings Winter Challenge It's a period of 12 weeks that you set aside for getting up early, reading God's word, preparing for your day, exercising and whatever else the Lord leads you to do. All before your family rises, so you can greet them instead of be woken up by them.  This allows you to set the tone for your day and set the mood for the home.

I participated in this last year and it's time for another one. I loved the accountability and all that I accomplished and the amount of growth I experienced, just me and the Lord.

In Katie's 15 Transformational Tips for the Night Owl, she suggested we find a "why" for our participation.

My WHY: I know the value of getting up early to pray, study, plan and stretch but I need accountability beyond my husband :) I see that I am a more settled and focused mamma when I am prepared for my family. I notice that I am more responsive to their needs and desires if I have taken care of my needs first. My brain functions better when I have put a few hours of quiet time between me and the girls' alarm clock :)

So, that's my WHY...

HelloMornings, again.