Monday Musings- Power

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"And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst." Zechariah 2:5

For the past week, this verse has been on my heart. I have it on my desk at work, so I read it constantly throughout the day. God is just writing this on my heart. The whole chapter is intense. God is speaking to the prophet, Zechariah, with such an intensity about His people. God loves His people with a fierce love. He will fight for his children, and he will love his children even when they don't love him. He tells them that when the city does not have physical walls to protect them that he will be "a wall of fire" for them. He says that he "will be the glory in [their] midst"- or he will be their strength and power. 

These words mean different things depending on the day, but they challenge me to live as if God is protecting me with a "wall of fire"! Shouldn't that change the way I live my life? I have nothing to fear because when it seems that all my barriers to the world are brought down, God is my protection.When I am open to criticism, God is protecting me. When I love selflessly and open myself up to be hurt, God still protects me.  And he loves me fiercely as his own child. In Romans, Paul writes about this very thing. He says, 

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:13-14

Those verses lead into the second part of the verse in Zechariah. Not only is he protecting me, he is all around me; His glory is all around me. How powerful! He is protecting me, and he is living through me. I am walking around with the glory of God in my midst. I am led by the Spirit, which makes me free. I am free from all fear because I can call my Creator my Father, my dad. 

I hope you are encouraged by the power in these verses. Pray for God to make these verses real for you. Just this morning I prayed that God would be a wall of fire around me today, and that he would be the glory in my midst. Just pray the scriptures- God loves it when we speak his words back to him.

Much love,
-Adrienne

Monday Musings: Fall Edition

Wow!! How about this weather!! It feels like Fall and it is September in Middle Georgia! Woah!

In honor of the weather, we will talk about all things Fall today, so be prepared.

Porches: We will now be sitting on the porch often, as long as the dog doesn't bark at everyone who walks by. Maybe we'll get to know more neighbors with the cooler weather :)

Boots: Oh boots.....need I say more.

Scarves: So pretty, yet so simple. I didn't get to wear my scarves much last year, cuz it never got that cold, but you can bet that I will make a point to wear them this year. They are so much fun!!

Pumpkin Spice Latte: Totally had one last week, and my day was made. That WILL be happening again:)

Pumpkin bread: The hubby has already requested it, so I'm sure it will appear in the Fincher house in the near future. I might share my recipe (not really mine, but I'll send you in the right direction to find it) Maybe I could make some rounds to the neighbors....I know you want to be my neighbor now!

Leaves: I always try to make a point to notice the leaves changing in the fall. It is so easy to get busy and forget to look, but God creates such beauty that just radiates His own beauty. So thankful for beautiful colors in the Fall.

What do you love about Fall??

In Christ,
Adrienne

Monday Musings

Well, another week begins as it always does. Today we should discuss half marathons; not because they are such a fascinating subject in general, but because I am training for one. I know it's selfish, but I write about what I know (by the way that is a good writing tip: Write what you know).

Anyway, half-marathons are a strange thing. I never in my life thought I would ever run anything like that. I run 2 or 3 miles "for fun," but 13.1 is another story. Despite my lack of desire to run a half-marathon, my dear friend, Courtney, talked me into it. So, I am currently training for one in November.

We do long runs on the weekend, so Saturday we ran 6 miles-the furthest I've ever run! It turns out that I am actually enjoying this whole running thing more than I thought. There is quite a sense of accomplishment to go along with the training. I feel like I could do anything!! Well, most anything.

Enough rambling, the reason I'm especially thinking about running right now is because I ran across this book today called Every Body Matters by Gary Thomas. I've never heard of it before, but it is quite intriguing. It talks about how by exercising and taking care of our bodies we are honoring God. I mean, of course I've thought about that before, but I've never seen a whole book about being healthy so that we can serve God better. I'm carefully contemplating buying the book. I'll let you know if I do, and if it's any good:)

Enough exercise talk! Let's talk about this:

My afternoon treat after my morning workout on Saturday:) Yummy!!!

Have a good Monday!
Adrienne