"Thank God for the Chinese.' It was one of the best quotes of tonight, the night in which I saw the best fireworks show of my entire life, and learned the true secret to enjoying them.  If you're close enough, lay on the ground to watch them and it looks like they're falling on your head.  It's amazing!! 

So I realize if I just keep responding to others posts, my blog is going to remain very small :)  So, new update from me.

God is a good God, but sometimes He's frustratingly consistent.  For example, I felt recently that God wanted me to stop watching TV.  This is in no way saying that all TV is evil or that everyone should give it up, but God was showing me how much I watch it and depend on it.  For example, when I have free time, I prefer to lay on the couch watching TV for a couple of hours instead of doing more productive things.  Sometimes I even get cranky if I have to miss a show I wanted to see.  It was to the point where I felt like I needed the TV in order to pass boredom when I could easily be building my spiritual walk instead.

So, God probably talked to me for at least two months, and if I'm honest maybe even much, much longer.  I just didn't like it and didn't want to do it.  It got to the point where it seemed like every sermon at church and every time I read the Bible, was telling me the importance of being obedient.  I jokingly told a friend that I was reading the Psalms because it was safe, but God's conviction seemed to find me there too.  Grrr...  Then, to top it off, we had an entire sermon on obedience and I finally realized God wasn't going to leave me alone.  I ended up talking to the wife of our associate campus pastor about it and she basically spoke the truth in my life.  Stuff I already knew but definitely needed to hear again.  She said one thing that hit me.  She said that she knew that I didn't want to sacrifice God's best for my life because of the television. 

So I gave it up, and it's been about a month.  I do watch movies at group get togethers or with family, but that was about it.  But it is so easy to slip up in this.  I've realized that lately I've been slipping in my obedience.  ABC.com is a huge temptation because technically I'm not watching television, I'm on the computer. :oP  But I'm pretty close to dropping the whole thing.  I admit I've been watching tv again, not as much, but definitely watching it. 

I was hoping that He'd release me from this commitment soon, but I can tell it's going to be awhile.  I notice that my attitude toward the television has not yet changed, and I thing God's probably not going to release me from my commitiment until I don't feel such a strong pull and temptation from it.  It might be a while.

So like I said, God's frustratingly consistent and unmoving sometimes.

So I'm mainly writing this to encourage myself in obedience, and hopefully recieve a little encouragement from others.    But what about you?  Has God ever asked you to do something you don't really want to do?  Did you do it or not, and how did obedience or disobedience effect your life? 

Well, I don't know if this counts, but when I went to church camp around third grade it was the cool thing to have fake marraiges.  Someone would pretend to be the pastor and two people would walk up the "aisle" and get married.  Of course, kissing was out so I guess the ceremonies never were complete.  :)

   

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