Lesson # 2 :Pruning!! EEKS

I'm here, in beautiful Rosemary Beach, Fla. Yesterday was Terry's b'day and we are here for some time away/good food/long walks and re-charging ( and celebrating, a wee bit early, our anniversary and Valentine's , Feb. 13 and 14th- as well).
 We both do our devotionals in the morning. Not bragging here, it's about all I do! haha At home, he sits on one side of the fireplace and me the other! (we have one of those fireplaces that are open ended in 2 rooms). I love the quiet time! I'll admit, sometimes I get on FaceBook or check email instead of doing my lesson. yep, I do. Here, I am at the island, at this beautiful Beach House and he is sitting by the door looking outside at the little pool and the water pouring out of the big vases making  comforting "splash sounds". We are both "doing our thing" but doing "His" thing at the same time! That's what I love about Bible Studies.  You can do one with a friend or a stranger and still be doing it about God in your own way.There are a gazillion and one Bible Studies out there and , not only that, you can have about ten gazillion takes on EACH ONE! So, I hope you have your own "take" on your own,whether it's with me or doing another one. After all, it's all about finding the time (it's there! I always say God stops time for you to study His word!), and just doing it. Honestly, if I think I don't have time to do any kind of reading/studying, I find I run out of time that day. BUT, if I start off with God, I always seem to have time for everything else. Kinda weird, but true. I truly believe God just wants to visit with us!!! I have LEARNED I don't have to do all the talking! HAHAHAHA! Yes. I . Like. To. Talk. Even to God! But, I have LEARNED that sometimes if I just open my heart and BE STILL that 1. He whispers to me 2. He just wants me to sit in His Prescence 3. He wants me to just SETTLE DOWN. * Here's a JF example: Terry and I decided to take a walk after we got back from breakfast with Chi Chi. We walked thro this big neighborhood, into the little square with it's shops and across HWY 30A down to where you can walk to the beach. We went to the beach and just sat there for a little while and then we walked back up the boardwalk to this huge grassy square area. Around the area are some benches but mainly just big beautiful green grass. Terry went and plopped down with Chi Chi. So , not worrying about getting grass stains on my new jeans, so did I. We just sat there for about an hour. He made pictures of Chi Chi (HAHAHAHA, he never makes pictures!) and we just CHILLED. We didn't talk much, (we didn't have to!) , we just soaked up the warm sun and felt the grass on our behinds and watched our little dog  who almost  seemed to "SMILE" and say "thanks, mom and dad." I think what I'm saying is after all these years I've learned I don't have to be DOING SOMETHING all the time to enjoy myself. a few years ago I would've been thinking, "now what can we do next???". Not now. Now I'm enjoying being with Terry and enjoying God's creation. Whether it's in beautiful Rosemary Beach, Fla or on the walking trail at Lake Cyrus. (I will be adding pictures of our little time here,  including pix of us on the grassy area here, later, but I can't load them on my laptop so I'll do it when we return home). I guess what I'm saying is that having had 2 friends die in 2011 and another hit by a car in grave condition, I am realizing, ever more clearly, life is short. You can't tell that to someone in their 30's or even 40's sometimes. But come into the ages 50+ the realization is there.  God's GRASSY AREA is warm and inviting all the time. 24/7. No rain to keep you from it nor the cold. Or the heat! but perfect time and  perfect oasis. If you need a visual, picture that big grassy area in your mind. I know I will. And hey,Enjoy  your time but also enjoy time WITH GOD. (JF sermon of the day. Sorry). Now on to the REAL lesson! 


Today's lesson , from the little book, "Secrets of the Vine" is about PRUNING.  The author writes, "if disciplining is about sin, pruning is about self". YIKES. This gets harder and harder for me! He goes on to say, '
"In pruning, God asks you to let go of things that keep you from His kingdom purposes and your ultimate good. Pruning is how God changes the picture of your life from a basket that is almost empty to a basket that's starting to fill"

For me, I think I've surely had some fruit in my basket but for sure, I keep letting some fall out! Even before tasting it!!!! And most likely that is because I have a hard time with pruning. So, PRUNING VERSUS DISCIPLINE: WHICH IS IT???

Here is what Bruce says:
"You can distinguish pruning from discipline by asking a few simple questions. If you suspect that you are being pruned follow these steps:
1. Acknowledge that God is trying to get your attention. Decided that you don't want this season of turmoil to go to waste.
2. Trust that since a loving parent would tell a child why he or she is receiving correction, your loving Father will do now less. Believe that He wants you to know whethere you are experiencing discipline or pruning.
3. Ask the Lord to help you answer this question: Do I have a major sin that's causing you to discipline me?
4. Pray, Lord, I want to know. If You do not show me within a week from today that it is discipline, then I will take it by faith that it is pruning. God has many ways to let you know if sin is the issue--you will find the truth in a Scripture, a conversation, a teaching or a phone call from a friend.
5. If you conclude that you're being disciplined, sin is the problem. Repent and turn around. You'll never regret it.
6. If you conclude that you're being PRUNED, your response is just as crucial, and the rewards will be even greater. Ask God to show you clearly what He wants you to let go of, and trust Him enough to release it completely to Him.

You might be lookoing down the fence line of your life right now, seeing branches being hacked off, felling assaulted by circumstances--maybe even by God Himself--and wondering what God will do next. I must tell you that your heavenly Father loves you so much that He won't stop tending your life.  The most fruitful AND the most joy-filled Christians are the most pruned Christians!"

I find that I already know most of the time when God is pruning me. But, as per Jan,  many days I keep my ear muffs on. Case in point: EATING. I love to eat. And I love to eat just about anything!!! But have learned , over the last few years, that rich foods hurt my tummy.  I think God is pulling out the last stops for me to tell me to "SLOW DOWN ON THE OVER INDULGING" or He's gonna let me explode! LOL!  NIGHT BEFORE LAST  IS A GREAT EXAMPLE. We decided to run to a local dive and get a good ole dinner. I got a BIG FAT CHEESEBURGER and Terry got a personal pizza. Ordinarily , I would have wolfed the thing down,despite saying I wouldn't. Last night I cut it in half and put the rest in the refrigerator. TA DA!!!!  LAST NIGHT, I kinda slipped back. We went to a great restaurant and while I did get a huge salad vs. a big steak, I also got the most delicious dessert I've ever tasted (Banana Beignets with home made macadamian ice cream if you'd like to know! HAHA).So, I'm starting to get it but still have times I slip back. . I knew God was "pruning" me and telling me I didn't need to eat everything on the menu!
 Another thing for me--shopping. I am a: "if I see it , I usually want it no matter what" kind of girl. My SON-IN-LAW has helped me with a great way to not get everything I want, when I want it. He calls it the "FIVE MINUTE RULE". You can pick up the item and walk around with it,  for FIVE MINUTES weigh if : 1. you really need it 2. is it worth the money 3. will it make me happy.  I can't tell you how many times I have used that in the past few years!!!! I will walk around stores holding something and many times now, I'll put it back!!!!!! Again, a kind of pruning.   You can use that for anything. Food/shopping and even big ticket things you want to buy, like a house/car, etc. *(JON , YOU NEED TO WRITE A BOOK ON THIS! It would be the thinnest best seller of all times! HAHAHAHA).

So, you KNOW when He is chiding you, right? Gently chiding. When I do something I'm not supposed to be doing, whether it's over indulging on food/over indulging on shopping or  even over indulging on gossip I know He isn't happy. And just like when I was a kid, and knew my mother had those eyebrows in a frown, I don't like it when I make God mad/sad. I think God just nudges us when He wants us to let go of selfish/bad habits that can hinder us.  The thing is, I seem to back slide so often and it's flat out HARD! Sorry for all the personal examples but they are all I have!

What are your thoughts about this? Do you have some habits that are keeping you from a better relationship with God? Since I'm being honest, I may as well lay it all out here.  Here's A BIG one.  For me, it's running and checking emails or FaceBook or Voice Mails on my phone many times a day. And with iPhones, etc., it's easier than it's ever been to run and "just look". YES< THOSE THINGS CAN BE ADDICTIVE. I know!!! I LOVE to check what others are doing on FaceBook! It's fun to see what my family/friends are doing each day. But that can be fun but it can be obsessive. I have had days where I have to make myself stay away from the computer and do those things that God is telling me to do! (like clean my house! HAHA!). While here, for example, I can use the excuse that I can keep up with our kids but what did we do BEFORE iPhones and computers? Heck, I can hardly remember! And yes, they are great , too. Thankfully I can talk to Katie when she's driving from Huntsville to make sure everything is ok. Or talk and SEE Patrick, Kelley and Ryder on SKYPE!! THANK GOD!!! Just like anything else, I know I need to use my "electronic gifts" for good and not for evil.
 For real, what are things that you find are kicking your relationship with God out of your life?  As I say ALL THE TIME, the devil loves to get us. And it's things we "love", maybe not things we think of as things that are "devilish". My beautiful Apple Computer can be a stumbling block for me sometimes b/c it "calls to me" when God is wanting me to do other things. Same with my phone. I really didn't want an iPhone (seriously!) b/c of that very reason. It's so easy to scroll down it during lunch/while at a stop light/ even visiting with my MOTHER! (she asked me, a couple of months ago, are you SLEEPING? Poor thing, she thought I was dozing off but I was CHECKING MY PHONE and probably texting my sister!). Yes, some things we LOVE can be a detriment to our Spiritual relationship with our loving God. YES, I know the GRACE of God forgives me and gives me peace (NEED I SCREAM IT: I'm a Methodist! HAHA) , but I think God sometimes gets frustrated with just how many times and ways He can show me of things I need changing. And then, I think He allows things to happen. God help me, I need His help and I need to take off the EAR MUFFS!

 Now that I've laid my soul bare: How about YOU???Maybe writing things IN YOUR JOURNAL will help. (YES, I love journaling! It helps ME). Don't like to journal (>?!), well, talk to a friend!!! SHARE your thoughts. Still worried>>>? , talk to your pastor. But, don't let things get so tangled you can't get out. God doesn't want that from us. All He wants is us to be happy with Him. Not in the THINGS our world throws at us. I'm PREACHING TO THE CHOIR. So, I know exactly how you feel. Your issues might not be mine, but there are some things there . Unless of course your basket is overflowing with fruit. If so, hop out of this study! HAHAHAHAHA! I hope you are reading some of these words, and maybe see some things that you need work on. Heck, I see them and even write about them and STILL have a hard time backsliding. But, I believe God is a God of wonderful 2nd, 3rd and 1000 chances. Don't forget the chalkboard. AND, don't forget your basket. It looks lonely without anything in it!
Abundance is a beautiful thing. Let's have a bumper crop!