Fasting Fiction?!

Turns out that if I'd chosen to read the next chapter in "A Love Worth Giving" - the book we've been reading in my Thursday Ladies Prayer Group - Wednesday of last week may have turned out a lot differently.  Won't ever know for sure, but the fact is that my mind would have been renewed and I probably would have made better choices.  So, though I really enjoy the Kingsbury novels, it appears that I might need to fast fiction for a while longer - at least on a day to day basis...  I know myself - and I really benefit from keeping my mind renewed in order to function on a loving level.  Life keeps me busy for sure.  Time to myself is precious.  So, I must choose wisely what I do with it.  The Lord has helped me to wean myself off of so much.  I don't feel deprived at all.  I've come a long way baby!

Years ago, I used to watch soap operas - 3 a day - on the same major network.  At one extremely stressful time in my life, I actually thought God was teaching me how to stand strong through them - ha!  Not that He couldn't or wouldn't do such a thing...  But, I've come to learn since that what I thought was great advice at the time was actually very harmful if lived out for very long at all.  Worldly ways of dealing with life's crazy issues might just lead to destruction!  My brother was in a horrific accident and came to stay with me - and that was the end of soap opera era.  No way was I going to watch that nonsense with a guest in the house.  Thank God for saving both of us!!

In more recent years, tv became less and less important to me.  My favorite evening shows either went off the air or became ridiculously pitiful in content - turning me off as I was growing in the Lord.  After a while, I only watched the news and mainly for the weather - but eventually, I figured out that I could avoid stress of bad news by tuning in to the radar channel for the weather report whenever I wanted to.  I don't miss tv.  My husband and kids still enjoy it.  I would rather read, write, or be online - as I pray for a lot of people online.

I love to write (and by write, I mean type) and don't get to do it near often enough.  Writing helps me to get my feelings out - so, it is therapeutic as well as something that I enjoy doing.  I also love to write under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit - which is also a choice.  Many times, by the time I make (or take) time to do it, life's pressures have hindered the inspiration.  I know the Holy Spirit is with me at all times, but - yielding is a choice - and sometimes I don't - and you know...when life gets in the way...and I make other choices...many of which aren't the best...my enemies - guilt, shame, and condemnation come to mess with my head - and then, it's hard to hear the inspiration coming from my heart.  

All that to say...my desire to fast fiction - even Christian fiction...is strong.  So, I will yield.  My family is my priority - and my sanity (and calm, loving, nurturing attitude) depends on keeping my mind renewed with the truth.  God's truth - the truth that keeps on setting me FREE!  I am glad that in the pages that I read, that I found good news about the little girl (who's more than just a character in the novel) who's healing had manifested.  Only God knew how important that would  be to me!!  He's so into small details.  : )

I do have a strong feeling that the family in the novels has a lot more truth to it than fiction - and I think I could probably write my own novels - fiction based on real life - with all of the craziness of my own life and family escapades...if only I had time.  That actually came to mind as I was reading.  One day!