Cantoya Goodness

I have a Saul (as in David & Saul–read 1 Samuel 16+  for the whole story) in my life. Seems like no matter what I do, Saul is constantly nitpicking & after me for whatever thing I did wrong now. It’s exhausting, believe me. My Saul isn’t trying to kill me or anything but doesn’t seem to be having any issues w/ dragging me through the mud.

So what are you doing about it?

Besides talking to my closest friends (who know Saul & whole situation) & getting their advice, I’m praying. Trust me, it’s easier said than done. There’s been plenty of times I wanted to pull a stunt, like David’s men wanted him to do. But something small & strong inside of me says, “No.” And as my previous blog states, I’m gonna follow that voice.

Okay, so you’re praying…what exactly?

I’ve asked the Lord to show me b/c I feel like I’m at my wit’s end w/ this whole fiasco. Here’s what He said:

Luke 6:27-36 (NKJV)

27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

So there you have it. I’m going to continue to love Saul & take the high road. I will not engage or encourage insecure behavior but I choose to love & to do good.

Genesis 3: 1-7  (NKJV)

1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

I love how daily the Lord shows me something new…

Like me, I’m sure you’ve heard this story somewhere around 2398 times. Eve was deceived by the serpent, ate the fruit (not an apple, imo), gave it to Adam, God asks, “What’s up guys?” etc etc etc.

What the Lord showed me was that once she heard what the serpent had to say about the fruit, she justified her disobedience. She noticed it was:

1) Good to eat. I mean, it’s not a “cheeto fruit” (how awesome would that be?!)

2) Looked good, too. It’s ripe & ready!

3) Besides being healthy & ripe, it has the added bonus of making her wise! win-win-win!

But it wasn’t a win at all. God made it perfectly clear that everything was aces except for that tree. Eve was justifying her disobedience. It didn’t matter that the fruit was ripe & made her wise, if God said, “don’t” then “don’t.”

I think we as Christians do this a lot. God (or our Pastor or some other authority figure) makes it very clear what we need to do or don’t do. For example, we all know that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. Ergo, we should treat our bodies well. “Well, it’s only cake & ice cream,” “Judy’s birthday is only once a year,” “I’ll work out super hard tomorrow”, etc.

Nothing wrong w/ cake, ice cream, birthdays, & what have you. The problem is when it’s not in moderation. Then what happens. “All the sudden,” your “fat” jeans are now your “skinny” jeans.

I’m not condemning anyone b/c I’m totally talking to myself, too.

The issue is hand is when we know what we should or shouldn’t do & rather than just obey the voice of the Lord, we make excuses why we don’t need to. Lemme let you in on a secret: There are no loopholes in the Bible. Previous experience has taught me over & over again, it’s MUCH BETTER & FASTER to quickly obey the Lord than to sit there & try to find a way to justify why you’re not obeying Him or the person He put in authority over you. Besides, He promises to make a way of escape from every temptation. So, really, you have no excuse.

“Well, it’s different for me because I didn’t know.”

Ha, well, now you know.

Anywho, that’s what the Lord was showing me. What did He show you?

I FINALLY got myself a massage on Mon. First one in at least 5 years. Now, I’m thinking I’m going to have to make this a bi-monthly thing.

The awesome/sad part about it? When it was over with, I realized how much control I had over my body. I moved faster, smoother, etc. It’s sad because that’s how NORMAL people are. They can turn their head when startled & not go, “ahhhh!”

Massages = awesome.

Last night, Chloe & I were in the basement getting ready to head upstairs….

Me: Chloe, head on upstairs, Honey.
Chloe: I can’t. *she’s literally frozen in place*
Me: *thinking she’s being silly* C’mon, Honey. Just move your little legs!
(About this time, Chloe looks up at me & I can see that she’s freaked out about something. She looks a cross between scared & concerned)

Chloe: Mommy, I can’t.
Me: Why? What is it?
Chloe: *runs to me* There are dogs there.
Me: Show me where.
Chloe: *points to the bottom of the stairs* Right there!
Me: *furious at the devil* Chloe, you tell those dogs in Jesus’ Name to leave! They have to obey you!
Chloe: *kinda giggles* Okay, Mommy!
Me: Say, “Leave dogs! In Jesus’ Name!”
Chloe: “Leave dogs! In Jesus’ Name!” *giggles*
Me: Is it all better?
Chloe: *giggles* Yeah, it’s better.

Fast forward to about 20 mins ago…

Me: Okay, Honey, it’s time to go upstairs
Chloe: Mommy, look!
Me: What?
Chloe: The dogs are gone! *insert giggles & dancing*
Me: Yeah they did! We have authority in Jesus’ Name! Thank You, Jesus!
Chloe: Thank You, Jesus!

I refuse to let fear or any other crap torment my family. Teach your children about the authority they have in Jesus.

Luke 10:19–”I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”

Chloe-ism: A hiliarious & often cute phrase that little Chloe says.

Here’s today’s Chloe-ism:

I’m working out & I see Chloe swiping my water & trying to be sneaky & drink it all. To be fair, my water was laced w/ Propel. Can’t blame her.

Me: Chloe, leave some water for Mommy.
Chloe: Umm…But I NEED it
Me: You “need” it?
Chloe: Yeah, I’m all sweaty
Me: From what?
Chloe:….from…all…the naps…yeah, I’m all sweaty from all the naps! *insert proud look*

I don’t know if it’s healthy or anything but I’m kind of proud of how she totally pulled that out of her butt.

Chloe’s mad dancing skills!

Edit: this is the THIRD time I’m typing this. Really starting to tick me off.

Those who know me know I’m an organizing FREAK. I was actually giddy once I found out about NAPO b/c I could totally do that. I’m the one who reads organizational books for pleasure. My poor husband just shakes his head b/c he knows that I’m learning some new method & I’m gonna make the whole house adapt to it.

So last night at church, *Tammy was preaching about keeping our physical & spiritual homes clean. She said something very powerful about poverty that I wanted to touch on. Mind you, I’m halfway pulling straight from her notes & halfway paraphrasing what she said:

“Get rid of junk! If you haven’t used it in a year, throw it out! Make a trip to the dump! Don’t have a poverty mentality. Hoarding is poverty. Hoarding is saying, ‘I need to keep this b/c I might use it someday. Even though the coffeemaker is busted, I need to keep it for parts. I need to keep this b/c I don’t know if I’ll have the money to replace this. I don’t know if God will provide.’ Poverty takes the place of prosperity. Cleanliness makes room for a blessing (Proverbs 11:24)!”

The Holy Spirit in His awesomeness gently showed me that there are some things that I’ve held onto b/c I didn’t believe that I would have the money to replace or update or whatever. Besides physically, there are some things emotionally that I’ve held onto. Past feelings, regrets, “coulda woulda shoulda”s–all of it is holding me back from the prosperous life the Lord wants to give me. Just like Proverbs says, it’s poverty or prosperity. You can’t have both.

Father, I don’t want poverty in any area of my life. You have only good things for me. I ask You to forgive me for hoarding onto those past hurts & regrets & I release it all to You. I ask for Your blessing & favor to flow throughout their lives. Lord, increase their finances, health, favor at jobs, & family. Cover them in Your glory and Your goodness.

Father, I thank You for Your Son, Jesus, & His precious blood that covers me. Thank You for forgiving me & for tossing my sin into the Sea of Forgetfulness. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, so I do not condemn myself. I am forgiven & I choose to move on. Thank You for being a wonderful Father. You gently show me areas that need adjustment & I quickly obey. My heart wants nothing more than to please You. Thank You for showing me another facet to Your beautiful Face.

*”Who’s Tammy?” you ask. Tammy is my group leader & friend, who’s an amazing pianist & singer. Her heart is so full of the Love of God & it’s evident in every area of her life (that I’ve seen anyways). Her marriage is strong, her kids are wonderful; she is the Proverbs 31 woman. I feel so honored to know this powerful woman of God.

Since we did this song on Sun, it’s been stuck in my head. Honestly, I’m okay w/ that b/c it’s a great song w/ great lyrics. Enjoy! P.S. I think she kinda sounds like the Cranberries chick/lead singer, don’t you?

1) a chicken
2) a goat
3) Nancy Kerrigan after she got her legs bashed in (see around the 2:00 mark for the whole “WHY?!”/infamous scene)

I have no idea why I’m awesome at those but I am.

Enjoy today’s random fact!