Little By Little

Good morning! Today, Chapter 4 was titled "Little By Little".  It was an encouragement against discouragement! Ha, that sounds funny :)

Last night was a test, and I failed miserably! DH called to see if an item he ordered was in because we had time to pick it up and he had received a call the day before that this item would be in today.  Well, it wasn't in yet!  I know how DH is controlled by his circumstances so right away I shift into gear and try to make the situation seem better than it is.  Well, y'all, I crashed and burned!!

You see, he was upset at how the customer service lady handled the conversation while he argued that he had received a call yesterday that the item would be in today.  He was not pleased with her attitude and I tried to defend her (even though I was not the one talking to her, can you imagine?).  Things went down hill from there!

We went out to dinner since we had no boys (yay!) and I was upset at myself; too upset to enjoy our time together.  I had appologized, but still felt very guilty.  I prayed this morning that it didn't even occur to me what thoughts I should have taken captive last night, however one thing from the chapter that really did stick out is that my pride was in the way!  In Deuteronomy 7:22, God's people learn that God will clear out the land little by little so that the "beasts" of the field will not overcome them.  The "beast" for me last night was my pride.

You see, God is so smart :)  He clears the way slowly so we cannot let pride rise up and let us take the credit for what is happening in our lives!  I do know that sometimes God does spontaneous things but most of the time we, as Christians, have to go through a process.  This is the way God makes sure we know it's HIM and not us that is creating the changes.  Another Scripture from this morning is James 1:4 - "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  God allows perseverance to mature us!

I have learned that I am not condemned (Romans 8:1) as long as I walk by the Spirit!  So, have I learned my lesson? Maybe!  I do know that it is a process and I thank God that His mercies are new every morning and for His grace! 

Whew, I feel like I have been all over the place in this post! I hope you see that my heart is full and that is a great thing. I am enjoying all the scriptures and am amazed at how the Holy Spirit is bringing them to life so that I can understand and apply them to my life!  I am so excited about posting my journey through "Battlefield of the Mind"!  Not only to share with you about what God is doing in my life, but to help keep me accountable and to have a reference to look back on in the future!

I pray that God will do something wonderful in your life today :)