Category Archives: Spiritual Journey

February 2, 2011 · 5:00 am

The NCML Project – Day One.

How did y’all do with the NCML Project yesterday?  I had already failed twice before my breakfast had digested. 

Me:  “Gah!  I hate pop-ups on the internet!”

Kris:  “Sooo, are you complaining?”

Busted.

The morning progresses, and I talk to my mom on the phone.   I might complain a little, and I might say something like, “I might just quit (I ain’t tellin’ y’all this part.)  My momma later sends me this text:

“God said to not let the word ‘quit’ go through your head.  You are where He wants you.  And, you need to read my friend’s blog today at dustytakle.com.”

She also added, “I love you” at the end to try to lessen the sting, I’m sure.

Complaining is a really bad habit.  And, apparently, I complain A LOT.  We don’t think we are complaining.  But, a mere sigh of exasperation is a complaint, ya know?  This NCML Project isn’t going to be easy.  And, Kris Takle LOVES making me accountable for it.  But, I’m not quitting.  It takes 30 days to form a habit, right?  Is it still 30 days?  I don’t know.  Anyhoo, I’m going to keep it up until the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart is pleasing to my Creator.  Amen.

Another good way to overcome complaining?  To focus on the blessings and gifts in your life.  I mean, how could anyone complain when they get to witness moments like this on any given day?

A sweet, little, punkin boy (with his four-legged buddy) watching his daddy clean up a Little Tikes car that has stood the test of time. 

Let’s focus on our blessings today.  Maybe, that’ll help?

And, don’t worry, I’m not going to be titling every post The NCML Project Day Whatever.  That would be torture.  Not that you’d complain about it or anything.

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January 18, 2011 · 5:00 am

Search My Heart.

I love it when I have my blogs already typed out waiting for me to press “post.”  It’s convenient.  I do not like it when I stare at that post with a look of disgust on my face, because I know it’s really not the words that were meant to go up on the Interweb that day.

So, here I sit.  The night before you will read this entry.  With a look of disgust on my face.  Typing a new post.  A post that is much more honest for what is going on in my heart today.

You want the truth?  You can’t handle the truth! 

Sorry.  I love repeating Jack.  And, I will tell him hello for y’all this weekend when we meet for a latte at the Sundance Film Festival.  I’m not at all excited about that.

Okay.  Back to the truth.  The truth is.  I question my thoughts often.  I turn my heart inside out searching for things that may be off a bit.  Am I judging this person?  Are my thoughts on this situation filtered through the Spirit? 

Sometimes, I come out of my heart search with a clear conscience.  Other times, I come out of it with a desperate cry for God to take whatever is not of Him and trash it.  And, replace it with right thinking.

I don’t walk in condemnation with my yuck stuff.  I release it immediately.  But, I do walk with a keen awareness of how much of my life still needs to die to Him.  I cannot tell you how many times I pray, “God, more of You.  Less of me.”  And, I have found that the best way for me to be aware of my own heart is constantly searching after His. 

I have learned that God is not a conquest.  I will not one day be done finding Him.  There is so much more to discover about who He is.  And, there is so much more of me that needs to die to Him.  Because, it is in my dying, that I live a life that brings glory to Him.  It is in my dying that I am a better wife.  A better mother.  A better friend. 

I need to die to myself today.  Again. 

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.  Psalm 139:23-24

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January 13, 2011 · 5:00 am

What If.

I’m gonna give it to ya straight.  I know I’ve blogged on this before, and I’m sure to blog on it again.  This is me.  In my head.  Driving my Yukon.  By myself.  Because, who helps one drive?  Stupid:  “by myself.”  But, I’m leavin’ it in this post.  ‘Cause I’m so see me, love me and all.  Rabbit trail, rabbit trail.

Back to inside my  head.  I’m drivin’ yesterday afternoon.  I’m thinking about how much Kris is gone lately.  He is a pilot.  Did y’all know that?  Those pilot people fly airplanes.  Away. 

Little fears start surfacing.

What if he is gone too much too often?  What if our marriage suffers?  What if my children suffer?  What if there is another snow day, and all of my kids are home ALL DAY AND NIGHT, and I’m the only parental reinforcement around? 

What if?

As fast as those thoughts went swirling around my head, another voice calmed my stormy mind.

“I will trust You.”

And, that was the next thought that dominated my little head.

When has He ever not proved Himself to me?

You may be allowing thoughts of fear consume your mind right now.  Worry.  Doubt. 

I can throw out the Matthew 6 scripture to you about not worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself.  But, honestly, that scripture has never helped me with my worry one bit.

I’m just sayin’.

Sorry, Dad.

But, I can tell you that God makes good on His promises.  I can tell you that He has made good of my ugly finances.  He has made good of my messy relationships.  He has made good of those times where I distanced myself from Him.  He has made good of those moments where I failed as a mother.  He has made good of my disappointments.  He has made good of my broken heart. 

He has made so much in my life good. 

So, what if?

I will trust Him.

And, you, my friend, can trust Him, too.

If you would like for me to pray with you today about something that has you worried or an area of your life that you really need to trust God in, comment here or email me personally at durstee@aol.com  I will pray for you today.

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January 5, 2011 · 5:00 am

Some Greek to Help With Peeps.

Soooo, how DO we respond to people who hurt us? 

We are patient with them.

Wha?  Patient?  What in the Sam Hill does patience have to do with it? 

Well, I’m glad you asked.  Two Greek words translate into the English word “patience.”  One is “hupomone.”  It means to “remain under.”  This is the patience we talk about when we are enduring tough circumstances.  But, circumstances are not people.  Oh, no. 

The Greek word, “makrothumia” is the sort of patience we need with people.  Bear with me.  Or, be PATIENT with me.  Ha!

Guess what drives makrothumia?  Give up?

MERCY.

Remember yesterday’s story of the king forgiving the servant’s debt?  He FORGAVE that debt.

Again, stay with me.

So, we first have to FORGIVE.

My good friend, Beth Moore, says,   “Patience is the vessel through which God pours His mercy.  Mercy is fueled by forgiveness.”

Okay, let’s just pretend Beth is my good friend. 

When we forgive, we let go free.  We let go of our power.  We cut that person loose.  They no longer owe us a thing.

Sometimes, I think that I have a right to hold this grudge or be angry….and, every right to be merciless.  But, God’s word calls us to forgive.  Who wants to carry the burden of unforgiveness?  The plus side?   When we forgive, God can be released to work the situation to our good.  And, don’t even think you can do it on your own.  You can’t.  That’s what the HS is for. 

Besides, the opposite of patience is judgment.  But, that’s another post for another day.

You see, the patience God desires for us to extend to others is the same patience that meant the salvation of our soul.

That’s all I’m sayin’. 

And, I hope I am CONSTANTLY reminded of this kind of patience….this kind of mercy….this kind of forgiveness…..

Until I love people CONSTANTLY.

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January 4, 2011 · 5:00 am

Debt.

23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him.  24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.  25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold – along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned – to pay the debt.  26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’  27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.  28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.  29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time.  ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded.  30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait.  He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.’  Matthew 18:23-30

 The nerve.  Right?  Is that what you’re thinking?  Yeah, me, too. 

 Yet, we can be that ungrateful, “you owe me” servant.  Someone wrongs us.  Hurts us.  They uncover us or tell something that isn’t true about us.  We expect retribution.  We demand them to take ownership in how they have mistreated or offended us.  We tell them to pay up!  And, we make sure everyone else around us knows they owe us, too. 

 I’ve done it.  You’ve done it.

 We have a huge capacity to be that slimy servant who was forgiven of an even larger debt than the one owed him.

 Haven’t we been forgiven of a huge debt?  I don’t know.  The debt of sin?  Replaced with a gift of salvation?  Eternal life?

 Yeah, that big debt.

 Still, we go out and demand others to pay up their, well, their smaller debts.  And, really.  Aren’t all debts smaller than the one we owed our King?

 I’m just sayin’.

 So, what should our response be to those we think owe us?

 Come back tomorrow, and I’ll tell ya.

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November 10, 2010 · 5:00 am

How to Get Control.

My dad just recently shared Andy Stanley’s message on “A Pot of Stew.”  It was uh-maze-ing.  I do not lie.  He talked about our appetite for always wanting more.  Since appetites are never fully and finally satisfied, we have to reframe our appetites with what is at stake. 

I have been studying the Fruit of the Spirit.  And, I just finished studying self-control.  Ugh.  What an ugly, step on the toes, kind of word.  You really can’t control your appetite without self-control.  And, you really can’t operate in self-control without the power of the Holy Spirit.  You know.  Since it’s a quality of the Fruit of the Spirit and all. 

I like Wikipedia’s definition of self-control:  “Self control or self-control is the ability to control one’s emotions, behavior and desires in order to obtain some reward later.”  God has an incredible future for you and me.  We just have to exercise a little self-control to get there. 

Of course, we find all of the qualities of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  But, six verses above that, we read, “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

Do ya see where there is going?  Feed the spirit.  The flesh will starve. 

And that, my friends, is how you demonstrate self-control.  That is how you run, Forrest, run from appetites that are going to wreak havoc in your lives.  Or from those awesome shoes on the DSW Shoe Warehouse rack. 

You feed your spirit.  With more of Him.  In HIM, we find contentment.  I kind of wrote about this here, but didn’t really address it from a how do I say no to those delish Jr. Mints sort of way.  Not that God has called me to starve THAT part of my flesh.  I’m just sayin’. 

I love this fifth verse in Psalm 63:  You satisfy me more than the richest feast….And, I love that David wrote this while hangin’ out in the dang wilderness.  Isn’t at that a beautiful picture of how much God satisfies us?

Soooo…..

Feed your Spirit.  It’ll make reframing that appetite of yours a whole lot easier.

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November 4, 2010 · 7:05 am

Put Yo Coat On!

I’m reading through the book of Colossians this week.  In the following passage, Paul encourages us to “clothe ourselves” in these God qualities:

 12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.  16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.  17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.  Colossians 3:12-17

If you leave your house without putting on this coat of mercy, kindness, humility, et cetera, et cetera, you leave your house naked.  (Pronounced “nekked.”) 

Since every member of my little family has appointed himself or herself “The Accountability Authority,” it is impossible to get away with taking off this coat.  So, when we behave or respond in a manner that fails to demonstrate those above God qualities, we simply tell, okay yell, “You bettah put yo coat on!” 

It usually diffuses whatever is causing the nakedness and keeps us accountable to clothe ourselves in these qualities that, let’s face it, make us better people. 

Mercy.  Kindness.  Humility.  Gentleness.  Patience.  Forgiveness.  Love.  Peace.  These really make life better and so much easier. 

So, before you go out around people today, put yo coat on!

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November 3, 2010 · 7:08 am

Listen To Your Donkey.

I think it’s funny how resistant I can be to learning from people I may not respect or agree with, at times.  Of course, God probably doesn’t view it as “funny.”  But He certainly must think I’m funny.  With all of my funny-ness and all.  And, it is most certain I think I am funnier than I truly am, yes? 

Learning from unlikely vessels.  We all can put up unteachable walls to these people.  Because, surely, we cannot learn from someone we don’t respect or like or view as less than?  Now, that’s humility.  Ahem. 

It’s definitely not a teachable spirit.

James 1:21 says, “So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has power to save your souls.” 

In other words, be teachable.  Accept the word, and be obedient to that word. 

But, we are often closed to learning from not only likely sources, but unlikely sources as well.  We close our spirit to anything new.  Perhaps, we fear something new may refute the old.  We fear we may be confronted with truth.  Or, we discount the teaching of people, because we don’t respect them.  When, we do this, when we put up these walls, we put God in a box. 

And, He won’t be put in a box.

Remember the story of Balaam in Numbers 22?  His donkey saw an angel of the Lord blocking their path, and he refused to go any further.  After three subsequent beatings by Balaam for his resistance, the donkey turned around and said, “Dude!  What have I done to deserve this beat down?”  Or something like that. 

Annndddd, Balaam responded to the donkey’s question.  As if a donkey talking to him was commonplace? 

Finally, the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes and he, too, saw the angel of the Lord standing there. 

The point is:  God can use anything or anyone as an instrument of His instruction. 

Humbling?  Of course, it can be.  It should be.  We need to be checked on making sure we have a correct estimation of ourselves.  And, to have a correct estimation of ourselves, we must have a correct estimation of God….who will not be put in a box. 

Be willing and eager to learn regardless of who He chooses as our unlikely teacher.  Listen to your donkey.  Don’t beat the crap out of him.  There is always a lesson.  For real.

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August 24, 2010 · 5:00 am

My Flesh Ain’t Starvin’.

Not like it really should.  Last night, I thought about the old saying, “Feed your spirit, and your flesh will starve.”  It boils down to issues of self-control and discipline.  I do okay a lot of the time.  But, not all of the time.

No, no.  Not all.  What am I supposed to be, a saint? 

Ahem.

I will admit that one of the reasons I listen to Christian music more than any other type of music is because it sets my mind on good things.  I find myself in an attitude of worship during those times.  It not only brings awareness to who God is, but it inspires me to want to be a better person.  It’s not that I don’t like a little of the other every now and again.  I do.  And, I play it.  Heavens, why else does my daughter ask her Aunt Jenny if she has any “Shot to the Heart” in her car?  Well, actually, that’s because of her Nan.  (Thanks, Mom.)

I just know me.  And, I know that certain types of music feed my spirit.  And, others don’t.  Period.

Then, there is the Word.  In preparation for dad’s upcoming series on the bible and such….I read this scripture:

“….People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  Matthew 4:4

Every word?  EVERY word?  Mercy, Pete.  I just like readin’ my favorite words.  Lord knows, I skip Leviticus every time I see the phrase “animal’s blood” show up.  That’s just gross.

But, this is not my point.

What is my point?

Oh, yeah.  I can quote scripture.  Impressed?  Sure you are.  The SAME scriptures over and over.  I don’t branch out there much. 

But, I am.  Because, y’all, my flesh wants a lot of things.  Like window treatments, a MacBook, a new pair of jeans….

Of course, those things are from the Lord.  Let’s think of better examples. 

My flesh can be envious.  It can be impatient.  I can be downright ugly.  So, I think David may have been onto something when he said, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you,” in Psalm 119. 

I’m gonna feed my spirit more.  Except Leviticus….I stand my ground on Leviticus. 

And, starve that flesh of mine.

Whew.

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August 4, 2010 · 5:00 am

Bounce Your Thoughts.

I have this sweet, little scripture hanging in my home:

Whatever is noble, right, pure, lovely…think on these things.  Philippians 4:8

I say “sweet, little” because, well, it’s a nice goal.  Don’t ya think?  But, who really takes it to heart and executes it in his or her life? 

Not me.  Not always.

I can let my thought life take me down a road of perpetual worry.  I can let my thought life cause me to become resentful of not having more time for myself.  I can let my thought life lead me down a road of becoming irritated with my husband, because he fails to see his clothes on the floor.  I can let my thought life do a lot of damage in a day. 

It can rob me of time that I can’t ever get back.  It can rob me of trusting in Him, because I worry.  It can rob me of enjoying a smile from my baby boy’s sweet face, because I’m thinking how little time I have to myself in a day.  It can rob me of appreciating how hard my husband works for our family. 

I’ve always heard we should “bounce our eyes” when confronted with something visually unhealthy.  That’s important.  But, so is bouncing our thoughts.  The moment we let a thought that is not noble, right, pure or lovely surface, we need to bounce it immediately.

What if every one of our thoughts was truly noble, right, pure, and lovely?  How different would our life look?  How much more would I enjoy the gifts God has given me?  How much more would I trust in my Savior who has NEVER let me down? 

This is exactly what God is working in my life right at this moment.  He is teaching me how much I need to bounce my thoughts.  And, oh boy, will I need some reminders and accountability on this one.

How is your thought life?

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