Love what is happening in the Forrest Frank arena:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/2009083946589586

Favorite Substack this past week:

💭 What do you do with sadness?
For me, I’ve often ignored it, distracted from it, or covered it up. But in prayer, God began to show me why. He reminded me that prayer isn’t about avoiding pain—it’s about bringing it to Him and finding His presence right in the middle of it.

✨ That’s why I’m excited for our upcoming 40 Days of Prayer starting Sept 15 at Springs of Life. Prayer changes us. It steadies us. It draws us close.

Read more of my story + join the journey here 👇

https://starlalala77.substack.com/p/prayer-is-not-an-escape-its-the-place

August Tradition:

At our house we have BLT day! It started many years ago when we went for a walk and my mom bought some sausages for dinner. They had pepper in them. And my hubby can’t do pepper. So, He and our son in law went to the local meat market at the time and grabbed bacon. While they were there, they concocted the giant BLT idea and grabbed loaves of bread too.

Each year since, we have gathered together for BLT day. Yummy bacon, home grown delicious tomatoes, and lettuce. Don’t forget the Mayo and pickles!

Here is the only pic I got – this year.

Interesting thoughts on Delight:

Now this is going to be a bit like an adventure or a rodeo. You decide? There will be many parts (try to hold the thought lines)

Here is part 1

The Lord often speaks to me about something through a question I am pondering, then reveals a problem, and the solution through the revelation of something connected.

Question: How can we be better at “ask and move”? (explanation: how can we as Christians be better/get better at asking of the Lord, hearing what He says, and moving to do it, like Jesus)

As I prayed, I heard this: These were in rapid fire succession

• Stop trying to establish your own right way
• Submit to God’s right way
• Remember that Christ brought that right way for those who would believe
• The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart – proclaim it
• Call on the Lord

Then a pause and this one:

• Stop being disobedient and obstinate people

I decided to look up those two words: (these are my addition as I understood)

• Disobedient – neglecting, refusing to obey, omitting to do what is commanded (what is right)
• Obstinate – stubborn, fixed (in your own way), not yielding, argumentative

When I hit that word “stubborn” I thought of this verse:

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

1 Sam 15:23

Part 1 Conclusion: Stop trying to be smart, figuring out stuff, instead watch and pray, ask of the Lord and move. Watch in conversation, of needs, of interactions. Ask and move.

• Rebellion and stubbornness are doing your own thing
• Disobedient and obstinate is knowing to ask but not asking.

Part 2

So, if the Lord is wanting us to ask Him what to do, when to do it, and how to do it and to stop “just doing” on our own.

I asked, “How do we start today?”

He said, “Prayer & The Bible.”

How do we know what is the right way? The right way isn’t simply bright, organized, and executed well. The right way is Spirit led.

Is there another way? Yes – the way of the world.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts…

Ephesians 2:1-3

The enemy has a spirit too that works in the way of the world, and he is at work in those who are disobedient. The flesh is subject to that spirit, and it appeals to the cravings and desires and thoughts of the flesh.

⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:6-7

If we are not Spirit led – heaven directed – we a will not display His incomparable grace and reveal His kindness in Christ. This is the space where you know that God is leading, things line up, in right timing, and full of purpose. His grace is evident, and His kindness is felt. It’s when you know, even if it is hard that you waited on him, moved with him, and his fingerprints are on it.

Have you ever said or felt like, “Why do they keep doing things? Why don’t they pray, seek the Lord, ask for direction, follow the Lord?” What if it is not someone else that needs it. But you!

 ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. 

Ephesians 2:8-9

By His grace we can hear and be led by the Spirit of God through faith – not our own way. Have we figured out that we can’t just make it work? Why? So that no one can boast. No one can take credit. He alone gets the glory.

¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

Can you hear the Lord saying, “(Your name), I have works for you to do.”

But how Lord, how?

Part 3

The Lord gave me some scriptures:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and do not lean on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Psalm 32:8

He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

Psalm 25:9

The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him, though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

Psalm 37:23-24

My conclusion: The steps of a man (who is a follower of Jesus) are from God. They have been prepared, and He desires His way.

Final Part 4

After those verses I decided to look up that word delight in the last verse:

Delight – to incline to, to bend, to be pleased with, desire.

Ok, let’s go back real quick,

If Disobedience = gratifying the cravings of the flesh

Then obstinance is to overcome by being inclined to, to bend and delight in the Lord.

This is where I asked the Lord if there was anything else He wanted to say about this?

Here was His answer:

A man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9) This ” in all your ways” is an “as you go” kind of thing. Trust in Me and don’t lean on your own understanding, acknowledge Me, and I will instruct, help, lead you. This is how you express humility. How you delight in Me, and I will make your way good. – The Lord

I got curious and looked up the first instance of the word delight in the Bible. It is inside of a story in Genesis 34. A man named Shechem defiles Dinah – Jacob’s daughter – he has sex with her without being marriage to her. Later he asked to marry her because he was drawn to her, and his father offers Jacob land, commerce, and community among his people. He begs to marry her. Her brothers were angry about what happened to Dinah, so they agreed deceitfully to the marriage requiring that every male was circumcised to become one tribe. They agreed.

⁹ The young man, who was the most honored of all his father’s family, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter.

Genesis 34:9

Then the father and his son went to the city gate and told the whole town that these people are friendly toward us. We can live among them, trade, and marry their daughters on one condition – every male must be circumcised. Thinking that all that Jacobs people had would also become theirs – the men agreed, and all were circumcised.

Three days later, the brothers killed every male in the city, took their sister back, and looted the place.

Lesson: What you delight in can kill you if it is not godly delight.

Also – delighting in something is expressed in the act of obedience.

For Shechem – he delighted in a woman, and he agreed to an action that ultimately killed him

So, by way of contrast – for us – when we delight in the Lord is expressed in agreement to follow Him leading to life! That’s obedience!

Thanks for Listening,

Starla