Welcome to “30 Days of Praise!” Every once in a while I go into a month long journey of fasting, praying and praising. It helps me re-commit my life to Christ, keep my priorities in order, slow down from the craziness of everyday life and take time to really listen to what God wants to tell me. I am always amazed and excited where my journey takes me, and this time I will be journaling everyday and sharing my experiences with you.
Day 4~
Last night my two nieces Makenzie(9) and Elaine(12) spent the night. It really felt like a SUPER BIG treat to them because usually it is their two older brothers who come over. They were so excited that they were the chosen two! 
Makenzie kept telling Elaine, “your going to feel like a princess when you are at Aunties house and you will never want to leave!” That really made me smile that the kids love coming over, and helped me realize they don’t really care if I have it all together or not, they just want to feel important and loved!
We made nacho’s for a snack and watched a movie before bed. We stayed up late so I was not surprised when they slept in this morning. I was actually glad for it because I was able to write today’s post without interupting my precious time with them. (I promised I would not “work” while they were here!) When they got up I surprised them with a tea party using my expensive china, tea pot and all! I love this set so much, and the pieces are so fragile I hardly use them but keep them safetly displayed in the curio cabinet where I can enjoy looking at them everytime I walk by. I knew they would be delighted that I brought out my best china for their visit, and they were! To go with the tea party I made miniature chocolate chip pancakes which I served on a platter. The girls loved them so much and called them “soft cookies”. I even allowed them to pour their own tea, which I confess I was a little nervous about! LOL I really wouldn’t have been too heart broken if something broke. After all that’s life. But I knew I didn’t have the money to replace it and I really do enjoy having a tea pot in the house! Thankfully they have had lots of practice having tea parties and the china is safely tucked away back in the cabinet!
It wasn’t until I started cleaning up the dishes that I realized what I had done. I participated in the tea party. I had promised God I would fast until noon every day, and without even thinking I ate breakfast. I was nearly to tears when I realized my mistake, and probably would have been if the girls had not been here. But I knew they were having so much fun and I didn’t want them to think I was disappointed in spending time with them, so I kept it to myself. The most frustrating part was that just yesterday I had such a battle with the fasting and I conquered it, only to fail miserably this morning without even blinking an eye. It was so natural to eat breakfast and I was so caught up in the moment with the girls I completely forgot about my commitment to God. Although I ment to do well today, I still found myself doing wrong.
Paul says it perfectly in Romans:
The Book, NLT
Romans 6:14-25 “The law is good, then. The trouble is not with the law but with me, because I am sold into slavery, with sin as my master. I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can’t help myself, because it is the sin inside me that makes me do these evil things. I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right. I want to, but I can’t. When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it. It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person that I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: in my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin”
I think we can all relate to these scriptures. When I try to do good, I still find myself doing wrong. We cannot conquer sin by ourselves, our sinful nature makes sure of that. That is why we all need a Savior. To help give us the strength to conquer these battles in our lives. It was such a simple promise I made, and yet I got caught up with the cares of this life and could not fulfill it. I thank God He is forgiving and helps me pick up the pieces and gives me the courage to keep going. Sadly many people I know would have quit, thinking that because they had failed there was no point in continuing. But God doesn’t want us to quit! He knows we are not perfect. And He want’s us to keep striving no matter what mistakes and failures we make along the way!
Before the girls left I curled their hair and gave them “princess” hairstyles. I wanted Makenzie’s words to be true, “your going to feel like a princess at Aunties!” I hope they both left feeling like they are the two most special girls in the world!
*note* I always read the King James Version because it is the oldest and most accurate translation of the bible. It is okay to read other translations to help you understand better, but always compare it to the KJV and make sure they are saying the same thing. I have read many translations and always find it sad how the scriptures are changed and don’t have the same meaning. This is just one more trick the devil has against Christians. If he can “water down” the word and change it’s meaning, we will not fully comprehend all that God has for us to learn. To save you from reading all day I quoted the simplest version.
About Sarah @ Stand By Faith
