Sunday!

Hi ladies!

Hope ya'll are having a great weekend! Originally, it was planned just to mention that Sunday's feature is still in the works, we hope you are enjoying down time with your families before a new week and to check back on Monday for guaranteed fun with Angela.

...until tonight.

Let me set the scene:
Girls night out.
Movie theater.
EVERY seat is full. The theater is SO crowded that my girlfriend and I are sitting on the the second row.

Rewind:
A reoccuring life verse for me has been Proverbs 4:23.

My dad shared this verse in his sermon at our wedding.

It is engraved on the inside of both my husband's and my wedding bands.
It was even written on the wall above the water fountain at the YMCA I attended for my workout this morning.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

How does this verse apply to our life as wives and mothers? Back to the movie theater...

You see...it was my girlfriend's birthday and we wanted to celebrate with a good chick flick. Our selection of the evening happened to be He's Just Not That Into You. I had no clue what it was going to be about but knew that I loved the cast.

The movie begins. It quickly becomes apparent that the movie is all about relationships...friendships as well as dating, marital and extramarital relationships. Basically, there is no moral standard for sex (which isn't too much of a surprise for Hollywood) but the barometer for a "solid" relationship was subtle and disturbing...at least where marriage is concerned.

In summary, the most solid, stable relationship in the movie is between a "live-in" couple. The worst relationship happens to be between a married couple. There is a negative connotation of marriage...as if it is a burden. For example, in a heart to heart convo, two of the characters seriously conclude that "plenty of married people have figured out that they actually belong with someone else." This justification was followed by one of the girls tempting a handsome husband away from his beautiful wife. Plugged In Online hits the nail on the head when they write that the movie:

"largely reflects our culture's current ideas about love, sex and relationships—most of which are utterly disconnected from what Scripture has to say about these significant subjects. In that sense, the movie aptly illustrates Judges 17:6 'Every man did that which was right in his own eyes'"

All of this to say, I left the theater FURIOUS. It made me loathe seductive, floozy, homewreckin' women AND the men who fall for them. I immediately was spending my energy...on my night "off," mind you...mulling over the consequences of a series of subtle lies planted by the enemy. These lies were so consuming even for me that I was a breathe away from exerting the rest of my energy on bashing men on the ride home with my girlfriend.

The Lord stopped me in my tracks and reminded me:

HANNAH! Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life! I failed.

Yes, my intentions were merely to see a harmless movie for my friend's birthday, but I was instantly convicted of the consequence of what I put into my mind. I thought of the way I feel after I leave Bible Study each week...what it feels like after I compare my life to God's standard. I always leave feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, complete and full...

vs.

...the feelings above that overpowered me based on society's mindset. I left feeling heavy, burdened, weary, inadequate and empty.

It is my choice. With what am I going to fill my mind? I can dwell on the lies of society OR I can dwell on Truth and promises of God (guard my heart). My choice determines the outcome (the wellspring of life). THEN, the best thing I can do is focus on MY house. Who will I let build it? Who will I choose to watch over it?

"Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain. " --Psalm 127:1

He's just that into YOU!
Hannah :)