Carnality

Carnal--–adjective
1.pertaining to or characterized by the flesh or the body, its passions and appetites; sensual: carnal pleasures.
2. not spiritual; merely human; temporal; worldly: a man of secular, rather carnal, leanings.

Recently, God has been pulling me out of a fog of carnality that I have been wandering in for far too long. I used to hear that word, "carnal", and something about the very sound of it would make me bristle inside, like a porcupine raising its spikes in defense. I don't think I ever knew the true meaning of the word because I would deduce what I thought it meant from the context it was used in the sermon. I think deep down inside I didn't really want to know what it meant. My flesh wanted to reject the chastening of the Spirit that came with the word.

A known weakness of mine is the unwillingness to submit to authority, and I have struggled with this from the time I was a child. In school, I would always get a "NI" (Needs Improvement) beside the character trait "responds well to correction" on my report card. BIG problem! The root of it? Carnality! The part of me that it is of our base, sinful nature as humans. The part that thinks of only me, me, me. What feels good for me? What do I deserve? What do I want? How can I manipulate those around me to do, say think, what I want them to?

What is amazing to me is how God has opened my eyes to this awful, ugly, filthy condition of my heart. It is through Motherhood. We all know that to be a Mother is to be a servant to your family. How does the saying go? "A man's work is from sun to sun, but the work of a woman is never done"? Being a stay at home Mom, I believe, is the hardest, most exhausting, all-consuming job there ever was or ever could be. Not that I am complaining, because God has given me peace and joy in doing this. But I am just saying that one cannot fulfill God's will for a mother and wife in her home if one is full of the flesh. It will make it VERY HARD. Every whine, every cry, every underwear/panty full of poop you have to clean up will grate at your nerves, infuriate, and drive you into a deep hole of depression. One CANNOT be selfish and be a Biblical, God-fearing, home-serving Mother if one is full of the flesh.

God's Word says that in child bearing, shall a woman be saved. I need to study it out, but I don't think this is means exclusively the act of pushing a baby out of your uterus (or having one cut out, as is my case). No, the very act of motherhood can save you from yourself, from the very nature of sin. Open your eyes. Watch yourself, and how you respond to the needs of your children and husband. Is it with dread? Is it with an "Do I ever great a break?" attitude? If so, then whup! That's your flesh speaking. Join me in seeking to rid myself of my carnal nature. I'm right there with ya :).

I guess that's enough of my sermon for today. Expect more on this subject, as God is daily revealing his spiritual truths to me.

On a lighter note, I will share Elijah's funny conversation for today. We were playing with their play horses and barns when Elijah says, "This is Uncle ____'s church." I kind of laughed, because Uncle ___ does not go to church. I said, "We need to pray for Uncle ___ so he will get saved and go to church and then he can go to heaven." Elijah said, "No!" I said, "You don't want Uncle ___ to go to heaven?" Elijah--"No!" Me--"Where do you want him to go?" Elijah--"The petting zoo!" LOL Well, so much for my spiritual application for the day :).