Monday, August 20, 2012

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: my first experience with our new study   

I am so excited about the new study we are undertaking this fall, “Unglued.” I will admit that I have some serious “unglued” moments; moments where my emotions get the best of me and those around me get the worst of me. To get ready for the study I got my book early and have started reading it and trying to apply it to my life. The devil takes notice when we are trying to make godly progress in any area of our lives and he quickly pounces to see if he can undo what God is trying to do.

1 Peter 5:8 “Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

He sank his teeth into me last Thursday night. My son was having a last hurrah party with about 8 friends before they each head off for their first year of college. There was food and laughter and outrageous games outside in the summer heat. At about 3 in the morning all those boys decided they needed to take showers, so the shower in the “kids” bathroom was turned on and off, on and off.  After the 7th on and off, one of the pipes in that shower decided it had taken enough and it cracked under the pressure. A few moments later I got a knock on my bedroom door from my daughter telling me that it was raining in my living room.

Enter “the witch.” I jumped from my bed and went into the kid’s bathroom. I could hear water running even though the faucet was turned off. I went into my master bedroom closet (the wardrobe) and removed the panel that covers the pipes to the 2nd bathroom and was literally sprayed in the face by a stream of water. Now this is the point where I would normally come unglued and start screaming at everyone in my watery path, but the lessons I was starting to learn were reverberating in my mind. My emotions in the moment did not have to dictate my reactions. And trust me, I was feeling a LOT of emotions.

Life and relationships can be messy, and our emotions and reactions can be just as messy. As we study “Unglued” let’s learn from each other and from God, who gifted us with emotions so that we can enjoy life and each other. 

~Cyndi 

Action Step: Are you ready to accept an invitation to imperfect progress? We can face things that are out of our control and not act out of control!  Our study of "Unglued" begins Tuesday, September 4th.  We would love to have you join us- there is a seat waiting just for you.

5 comments:

  1. Thank you for this blog Cyndi! I have to say reading this I really became excited about the "Unglued" study. I can absolutely testify to the devil always trying to undo the progress God is making in my life. Amen that we can face things out of our control and not act out of control!

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  2. I am so glad you are excited about the upcoming study and I too thank Cyndi for again sharing from her own life. A sticky-statement from the book says, "Your reactions determine your reach". This REALLY stuck with me. How I react to tough moments will determine how effectively I reach others for Christ--especially those closest to me who do not know Him. WOW. This is no fluffy study, girls--and it is not a self-help book. Make no mistake--our maturity matters to God and it has great impact to the Kingdom! Love to all!

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  3. I really appreciate your blog. Excellent analogy (one that really spoke to me) and thanks so much for sharing. Ivy

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  4. I need to get this book! I came home Sunday after church to find my husband in the bathroom floor with extreme stomach pain and very upset. I can't stand to see a man cry and at this time I knew I could not break down, I needed to keep myself together. I go him in the bed, got the heating pad and reached for pain meds. At this point I knew I had to quite him down so I reached for a dining room chair, sat next to him and started reading from the Bible. I'm learning more and more what God wants us to do to calm our emotions.

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  5. Tanya- Thank you for sharing with us on the blog today. You are in our prayers and we will miss you tonight. You are doing sacred work, dear one.
    We will make sure you have a book. xoxo

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