The Floor Is Her Buffet?

Abby has a very bad habit and I would suppose many other babies her age share in this same bad habit:  she enjoys eating food (and nonfood) off our floor.  Now that she's feeding herself somewhat eventually some of the food on her tray is flung off and ends up on the floor.  Most of the big pieces are picked up right away, but without fail there will be a stub of a green bean of a nibble of macaroni noodle that ends up under the cabinet ledge where I don't see it.  When she's allowed to explore and comes crawling back into the kitchen a few hours later, she locates the food she disposed of earlier.  (Maybe this is similar to dogs returning to the food they buried).  I'll be busy cooking or washing dishes and will notice she's chewing on something.  I'll quickly swipe my finger in her mouth to discover it's leftovers from the previous meal.  Ewww.  The sad thing is that I have lots of snacks and a pantry full of good food I would give her, but she chooses to eat off of the floor. 

I wonder if God sometimes looks at our behavior with disgust.  He's provided us with the spiritual nourishment we need and yet we choose to dig in the garbage can of self-help books, romance novels, TV talk shows, sexually explicit movies, God-bashing music, and prosperity-Gospel preachers to feed our soul.  How this must sadden His heart.  I've been guilty also.  I have the Bread of Life.  How dare I consider eating the husks the world has to offer?  All my hunger pangs will vanish when I feast on the spiritual food.  Yet I choose to wander away from the Father's house to pick through the leftovers on the floor. 

Note to self:

• It takes effort to make God's Word a priority in my life.  It goes against my sinful nature.  I must make it a priority by refusing to sit down and enjoy my music/TV show/morning walk/current book until I've consumed some of His Word. 
• Nothing but the Bread of Life will satisfy my hungry soul.  I must daily return to feast on the gourmet buffet God has provided.    I must not let it sit undevoured.
• If it's a temptation, avoid it.  Stay away from the places that offer the empty husks of the world.  If I know a TV show will enthrall me for the next hour and I haven't taken time to feast on God's Word that day, I should keep the TV off.  I must avoid the "junk food."
• Don't settle for milk, if steak and potatoes are an option.  I must use the tools God has provided to grow in my faith:  a concordance, online study helps, a spiritual mentor, a God-fearing husband.

"Jesus then said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always.' Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." John 6:32-35

Where have you been feasting today?

Spiritual Manna

In the busyness of daily living and raising a child, it's so easy to set aside the need for spiritual food.  This morning Abby was a fussy and in need of our weathered porch swing. I was able to take my Bible out and read a couple of chapters in Hebrews before she demanded 100% of my attention.  Hebrews 10:14 really caught my attention and I am feebly attempting to memorize it:  "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

In reading the book Feminine Threads I came across this quote by Dorothy Leigh, a Puritan who wrote a 1616 bestseller, The Mother's Blessing:

"For as the children of Israel must needs starve, except they gath'red every day in the wilderness and fed of it, so must your souls, except you gather the spiritual Manna out of the word every day, and feed of it continually:  for as they by this Manna comforted their lives; so by this heavenly Word of God, you shall comfort your souls, make them strong in Faith, and grow in true godliness, and finally preserve them with great joy, to everlasting life, through Faith in Christ; whereas, if you desire any food for your souls, that is not in the written Word of God, your soul die with it even in your hearts and mouths; even as they, that desired other food, died with it in their mouths [Num. 11:33] were it never so dainty:  so shall you, and there is no recovery for you."

Excerpt from Feminine Threads by Diana Lynn Severance and published by Christian Focus Publications.  Page 180.

May the Lord keep me from filling my belly with corn husks when I could be feasting daily at the King's table.

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