Whoa!

This morning I awoke and absolutely, positively did NOT want to to go to church. This does not happen to me often. On the rare occasion that I do not want to go to church I know that that is when I need to go the most. So I got up. Clumsily brushed my teeth. Put my eyes in. Brushed through my bedridden hair. Dabbed on some makeup and thought to myself about how much I really don't enjoy putting it on. I put on some jeans (I was not going to put on a skirt and could hear my grandmother's voice scolding me for wearing jeans to CHURCH!). 

I made it to Sunday school with 30 minutes to spare.

I went to the sanctuary and was immediately hit with beautiful songs of worship. Slowly I could feel my reluctance to be there fall away. I sang along with songs such as, "awesome God" and "knowing You" and could feel my shoulders relax. By the time the preacher started to speak I was not shocked at all to find that his sermon was on legalism. I am not sure if I realized just what the definition of legalism was until it pierced me with conviction this morning. 

How is it that I can desire so much to be like Jesus but fall so very short each and every day. I am guilty of just as many of the same things that those pharisees were guilty of way back when. Then I get frustrated. I feel like I deserve things to be given to me in life but yet I know that all I deserve is death. Hallelujah Jesus died for me and I can't even comprehend it! 

I could go on and on with all of my thoughts this afternoon but I will not. I just wanted to share that its good to get out of bed and go to church even when pancakes and coffee and reading sound so much better.  Psalm 73:26 speaks it all, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."