So, I like shiny things… I like new dresses… I like pretty new home décor… I like new paint... All the shiny new things. If it weren’t for my husband, we’d be poorer than dirt! I have a serious problem! I will readily admit that! I have gotten better because he helped me in that area, but I am still who I am, and I still like shiny things.
At the beginning of our marriage, I was awful! I would spend money just because I was angry with him. I eventually grew up, and after a few years, I relinquished all of the finances to him. I told him that he needed to stop letting me spend money! That was the beginning of me getting better about it… but I still like shiny things, and there have been more times when he says yes, just because he loves me and wants me to have my shiny things. I have wasted HOURS just window shopping or browsing the internet. I do not typically buy anything because I want to honor my husband, but the time I have wasted is shameful.
Beginning on January 1, 2025, Jake decided that we would begin reading the Bible each night as a family. We have not missed a day! We read a Psalm, a Proverb, and right now, a chapter in 2 Samuel. An amazing thing has happened in the months that we have been committed to getting into His Word. I have had very little desire to browse. I used to log off work, make dinner, clean up, then immediately grab my phone and begin browsing… but every time I have habitually grabbed my phone, I lose interest and put it away. It is uninteresting to me! I never thought there was anything wrong with it, but Jake has been praying that if there is anything thing in our lives that we need to get rid of, to show us. It occurred to me just the other day… I think this is a thing that God is trying to show me that I need to reign in. He is removing the desire and replacing it with Himself!
It may sound like a small or mundane thing, but this is something that I truly love… shopping! I love to justify it; I love to browse… I just love it! And before anyone thinks that Jake has ever complained about it, he has not! This was all God’s revelation to me that I have a problem wasting precious time browsing my phone for deals and shiny things instead of with my family and my Lord! I thank God for this revelation!
Is there something that you may find innocent that God might be trying to reveal to you? Are you endlessly browsing FaceBook reels? Shopping (even if you’re not making the purchase like me), or maybe even just lying on the couch doing nothing. There are so many things that this can apply to. Start reading His Word daily and see what He may reveal to you. You may be surprised!
Proverbs 3:9-10
Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
All of my life (75+ years of rational learning and reading), I have made attempts to take time in God's Word daily. It has only been in the last few years that I LOOK FORWARD to spending time reading and praying and listening to God's Word and teaching! Before that, it was a chore, a duty, a "gotta do this thing today!" Reading and listening to The Bible Recap has helped me come to this point, but mostly it is just the Lord working in my heart in answer to my prayer, "Create in me A NEW HEART!" Thank you for sharing, Kristen.