Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Eph 6:10-18
This week there are no outfit photos. It was a fun and fast-paced week for us, and my mind was everywhere but remembering to take pictures of what I had on. I have been preparing to lead a Community Event (leadership training) for the Northern Iowa area MOPS leaders, that took place on Saturday.
Once again, I felt super-prepared and ready, but when Friday approached, Satan began his attack. This time it was
you are wasting their time. There is nothing that these women will take away from the training that they don't already know. Are you sure about the timing of your event? You probably only have one hour worth of material to discuss. Those ladies are going to be SO bored. They are never going to attend another leadership training after they attend yours.
I left Cedar Rapids with words of encouragement ringing in my ears, shocked that I would ever believe Satan's lies. E-mails of encouragement, and facebook posts were patiently waiting for me to read. I was blessed with new relationships! And. I know that the Holy Spirit was SO present in with this group. Thus, success.
AND THEN! I noticed a pattern. Satan has been attacking my thoughts and my patience level a LOT lately. But, I am also at one of those points in my faith walk where I feel that I am growing tremendously in my relationship with Jesus. Our church has been doing a series called "Roots: The Essential Relationships For Life" and we have really dug in to understanding the trinity, Satan, the church, one another, the lost, etc. And the messages have been those where I am furiously writing notes and actually going back to them after the service. They are messages that I can apply in my life daily, and have challenged me to re-evaluate my life style. So, of course Satan is on the attack.
Realizing this brought the verse above to mind. To continually clothe myself in the armor of God and take my stand against the devil's schemes. I was thinking back to my post about
toddler extra curriculars and realized how insecure that post sounded, and that's not me. {Though it did help to write it down so I could look back at it and laugh at myself a little!} Here is what I clothed myself this week:
“Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Don’t forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, even while I am locked up in this jail. Pray that every time I open my mouth I’ll be able to make Christ plain as day to them. Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.” -
Col 4:2-6 (did you notice the reminder to be "alert" and be constantly in prayer from the Ephesians passage above? neither did I until I wrote this post).
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:
The old has gone, the new is here!" -
II Cor 5:17
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body." -
Phil 1:20-24 (awesome reminder to be so intentional with our time, words, and actions).
What have you clothed yourself this week? I would love to hear!
