He's my Breathing Room

Genesis 9 says, "You're here to bear fruit, reproduced, lavish life on the Earth, LIVE BOUNTIFULLY." The power in this one statement. All good things for us- in abundance! That's his goal. Live BOUNTIFULLY. The definition of BOUNTIFULLY is:  liberal in bestowing gifts, favors, or   bounties ; munificent; generous,  abundant; ample. God wants us to have a life FULL of favor- full of His generous love! This is speaking to me.  I live a life of fear and I'm trying my hardest to break those chains because I know he wants me to have a bountiful life full of all good things from Him!!!! Accept it today- I'm going to!

Genesis 8:20-21 (The Message)    Noah built an altar to  God . He selected clean animals and birds from every species and offered them as burnt offerings on the altar.  God  smelled the sweet fragrance and thought to himself, “I’ll never again curse the ground because of people. I know they have this bent toward evil from an early age, but I’ll never again kill off everything living as I’ve just done. Reading this hit me like a ton of bricks. He knows we have a bent toward evil from an early age. We are born into sin. It just is what it is. And he knows this and understands this! He gives GRACE.  I saw a great definition of "grace" yesterday while reading that called it "credit" and what an interesting thought. He gives us "credit" because he knows what we were born into and what we are fighting every day. Human nature. It's a battle every day to die out to the flesh and live in the Spirit.  He gives GRACE.

Chapter 7 of Genesis says "Noah did everything commanded him...." and we know by reading the precious Word that Noah was obedient and God spared his life (and his family's lives) when the flood waters came. Obedience. Such a beautiful gift we can give ourselves and our families! And look what blessings flowed for Noah when he listened- despite how crazy it sounded to be obedient (I mean, God was telling him to build a 450 feet long ship for a flood that would cover the entire Earth! That takes faith!) Let's cherish the gift of obedience today and the doors that it can open for us. <3

  Genesis 6 (The Message) states, " God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil - evil, evil, evil from morning to night.  God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart.  God said, "I'll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds - the works. I'm sorry I made them."  But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah.  We read that God saw human evil was out of control. It broke his heart and he regretted ever making the human race. BUT. BUT. BUT. God saw Noah! "Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah." When all else fails- be different. Be kind, be generous, be giving, be loving, be compassionate.... be different. Be that person that stands out like Noah did!

Genesis 5:2-    When God created the human race......  He created both male and female and blessed them, the whole human race. He. Blessed. Us. I know going from Genesis 4 where we talked about disobedience and obedience and how obedience is the breeding ground for blessings may be confusing, but go with me here- He blessed us because we are alive, breathing, and get the privilege to live this amazingly beautiful life.  It's a blessing, no matter how we slice it. Obedience obviously follows His plan for our lives as opposed to following our urges, wants, and motives. And following His plan leads to His favor. He works things out for our good!  But being alive, breathing, and getting the opportunity to live out this life is a blessing in itself. He created us- and blessed us. He sure did. For awhile there, I was lost in the chains of depression and couldn't see the beauty of just being alive. And then I saw a picture the other day of a younger person's hand next ...

Genesis 4:7 "... sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.” Sin is lying in wait for you. It's out to get you. The important thing to remember here is we were born into sin. God Almighty knows this. He knows it's sitting there waiting for us. It knows we are weak to it- bent towards it. It's unfortunate, but it's our human nature. HOWEVER- God is telling us here- it's waiting for that weak moment. Sin is waiting to pounce on us.... YOU'VE GOT TO MASTER IT. To master something means to be dominant; to conquer; to overcome. We have to be dominant over sin. We have to conquer sin. We have to overcome sin- otherwise sin turns into more sin.  Just like in Genesis 4 when Cain's jealousy and anger turned to murder. Sin breeds more sin.  We've got to master it! 

  Day 2 of the  #recoverychallenge  is post a picture of something that inspires your recovery. These babies right here- my family- they’re it for me. Being healthier. Learning to cope with the difficulties of life in a healthy way for them is it for me. ❤️ I love them more than life itself- and I want to get better for them.  #alcoholic   #alcoholism   #sober   #sobrietyjourney   #mentalhealth   #mentalhealthawareness