Blessings of 2010: Spiritual Growth

Talking about spiritual growth has always been awkward for me.  I'm afraid if I say too much I sound "holier than thou", but this year has been one of so much change for me that I do want to share.


1 Peter 1:16/Leviticus11:44-45; 19:2  has been a constant source of prayer and meditation the past 12 months.  "Be holy for I am holy."  Those are some powerful, soul searching words.  God isn't requesting holiness from His children; He's commanding it. 

It's been a long road, but as I've sought God's heart on holiness this year, I saw how much there was in my life that made me unholy.  I began to feel like a house that was picked up of clutter but wasn't vacuumed or dusted.  At first glance, things looked fine, but with closer inspection, the dirt shined clearly.

I skirt legalism because it's so divisive.  People avoid too many rules because they get jumbled.  No one wants to be a Pharisee.  Honestly, God didn't tell me to stop anything, for that matter.  He did show me how parts of my daily routines weren't holy, and then left me with the conviction.  I had to choose to be obedient and let go of unholiness, or I had to choose to continue living in what I now knew to be sin since the Lord had shown it to me.  What did this mean?  Well, TV was the first thing to go.  When I started paying attention to just how much sin I was watching on the tube, I saw how unholy many of my thoughts and attitudes were because of it. Not everything is off-limits.  I still love the Duggars (I can't decide if it's shock or awe or both), and sports are on a lot, but shows I used to love now make me uncomfortable.   I love to read.  I devour books like many people do chocolate, but I've started being pickier about titles.  Foul language isn't ok; God said so.  You get the idea.  Movies more of a struggle for me.  I love going to the movies and watching movies at home, but I'm learning the importance of filtering what I watch there too.  That's an area for continued improvement in 2011. 

Maybe to some people, all of this 'cleansing' does seem legalistic.  I understand that.  However, the difference at least attempting to be more holy has made is monumental.  Seeking God's will has been much clearer because I don't have so much dirt blocking out His voice.  My faith is stronger, and Isaac and I both enjoy me with positive attitudes. 

None of this makes me perfect.  I still make poor choices, get angry, and flat out choose to be disobedient to my Maker.  I just feel that I please Him more when I follow what Philippians 4:8 says: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.