Put God First

What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

What occupies your idle time throughout the day?

What is the last thing you do before you go to sleep?

Since I was first introduced to my iPhone, I have been addicted to it.  From the moment I awake until I fall asleep, I found myself glued to that thing.  I was always texting, playing games, checking emails, ordering products, the possibilities were endless!  I felt like the iPhone was my lifeline; like it held all my desires and needs.  Then I saw the movie “Wall-E”.  I felt like I was becoming one of those futuristic fatties who were glued to their electronic communication devices 24/7.  Instead of going to visit friends and family, it was sufficient to just send them a quick text or post on Facebook.  Instead of playing with my son, I was playing games on my phone.  I can’t even count how many times I burnt up dinner while I was busy preparing some virtual meal on my Restaurant Story app.  The iPhone, slowly but surely, became my idol.

I always thought of idols like those described in the Old Testament.  Animals created from gold and precious jewels that people would actually pray to and worship, literally.  I never considered the idea that an idol could be anything that robs my time from God.  Anything that has priority over God is an idol! 

Needless to say, I had to quit my iPhone addiction cold turkey.  I replaced my iPhone with a less sophisticated phone and the only app I have downloaded is a bible app.  The first thing I do in the morning is read a daily devotional scripture.  I pray to God before I leave the house every morning.  I do these things so that I will begin the day with a godly state of mind.  Throughout the day, if I have down time, I may watch a little tv or socialize with friends and family but mostly I will take time to read the Bible and work on a project which would bring glory to God.  At night, before I go to sleep, I thank God for helping me make it through the day unscathed and for helping me make the most of those 24 hours. 

I have noticed I have much more peace and much more joy when I make God the priority in my day.  I feel less stress and I feel so much more hopeful.  There is a reason the first commandment is to love God with all your heart and put no other gods before Him.  When God comes first, all the struggles of the day seem small and you actually accomplish a lot more.  Devoting your minutes to God instead of social media, prime time television, secular music and activities, brings so much more fulfillment to life than any of those distractions the devil places in our path.  What is your idol today?  I challenge you to replace your idols with God’s word.  See for yourself how putting God first will transform you into a better person.

Parenting

My two children are my greatest blessings.  God gifted them to me at just the right time in my life and they have brought me great joy.  Since becoming a mother, I find that I have more motivation than ever to be the best I can be so that my children will have a positive role model in me and be inspired to accomplish the goals they set for themselves in life. 

One of my faults in parenting is that I often think of my children as my personal possessions.  As a child, I loved playing with dolls.  I cared for them like they were human.   I always kept their hair brushed and made sure they were well dressed.  I even talked to them like they were real and assured them of my love on a regular basis.  After my son was born, I treated him exactly the same way as I treated my dolls.  I always made sure he had nice clothes and shoes to wear, even if that meant I had to go without quality clothing and footwear.  I spent a good portion of my hard earned income on healthy food and quality child care.  I smothered him with my love and showered him with any worldly possession imaginable to make sure he was always entertained and well educated.  I always told him how much I loved him and I proved it by using all my resources to give him things and opportunities that I did not have when I was a child. 

I do the same with my daughter.  As a small child, I was very timid and shy.  I was often bullied and teased so eventually I learned to be tough as a means to defend myself.  After my husband and I were married, I prayed to God night and day for my daughter.  Before she was even born, I knew she was going to be the most beautiful, intelligent, confident little girl in God’s creation.  From conception, I called her my princess because I want her to be the beautiful, carefree child that I was not.  I always call her “my pretty princess” and have begun building the foundation for her to be the woman I want her to be.   

Then suddenly I realized I was making a terrible mistake.  I was imposing my will on my children instead of allowing them to seek out God’s will for their lives.  I was attempting to live vicariously through them, stealing their opportunity to make their own choices, and forcing them to be what I wanted them to be. 

After much prayer and meditation on God’s word, I am trying to transform my idea of parenting to allow God to have His way with my children and stop interfering with God’s plan.  I know I must trust God with my babies because they in fact are not mine.  They are not possessions like the dolls of my childhood.  They are God’s creation.  God allowed my husband and I to be their parents but that does not make us their owners.  We are to teach them God’s word and show them how to live godly lives.  We are not to dictate every step of their lives.  We must trust God to order their steps just like God has ordered ours.  I am confident that if God could do wondrous things in my life, He can do the same with my children.  No matter what God has in store for my children, I have to believe that they will be better off in His hands than in any plan I could ever possibly imagine.

Throughout the Bible, there are a multitude of stories of parents and their children.  I would recommend everyone to read those stories and be inspired.  The story I am most inspired by is Mary and Jesus.  Mary knew Jesus’ destiny the moment He was conceived.  How painful it must have felt to know her first born son would have to succumb to such a painful, torturous end!  How powerless she must have felt to stand there and watch her child murdered at the hands of those He was sent to save!  Yet she was obedient and never imposed her will upon her child.  She allowed God’s good and perfect plan to transpire and in part of her faithfulness and trust in God, we all are saved by His sacrifice!  Let us all be inspired to trust in God to direct the paths of our children for they are our future and only He knows their destiny…