Get Out of the "It's For Me" Mindset - Guest Post by Amy Bayliss

When we do something for ourselves alone, we will become consistently frustrated and unfulfilled. Even cleaning our home cannot be for us. We will not find contentment or satisfaction in only serving ourselves for our own agendas.

 



I clearly remember many times when I did things with the wrong intentions. In particular, I was previously married to a man who was not a follower of Christ. Several times during our marriage I specifically heard God speak to my heart to do certain things, like:

• Write a new scripture on the refrigerator every week
• Leave a Bible in the bathroom
• Anoint the bedroom with oil and pray throughout it
• Keep God's word (sermons) or worship playing at all times
• Be completely submissive to my husband as long as it was in line with God's word

My thoughts were, "Great! That will certainly turn his heart!" While that may seem like a good thing, it wasn't. God showed me what my true intentions were. I desired for my former spouse to be a man of God, not for the sake of one of God's children turning to the heart of the Father and not for the sake of my boys' father going to heaven. Instead, my desire was that he become a man of God so that I would no longer be embarrassed to go to church alone or because I wanted to share the awesome stories of how my husband prayed for me and read the Bible to us on a daily basis. No, my heart didn't long for his salvation because God desired it or because it would save his soul. I desired it for selfish reasons. Our motives matter. We need to remain connected to the heart of the Father in order to know His heart.

If you've ever wanted to tear the 31st chapter of Proverbs out of your bible this book is for you. She is a wife, mom, business owner, seamstress, she serves the needy, speaks life and wisdom, and seems to be quite the major overachiever, perfectionist type. Except that...she's not.




Come along and journey with Amy and take a look at the real woman of Proverbs 31. She isn't as perfect as she seems. In fact, I think she is a lot like you and me. If you want the Kindle version, get it here: Pursuit of Proverbs 31 for Kindle. You can also download the free Kindle app on your PC, iPad, iPhone, or many other devices. For the downloadable, printable PDF version, get it here: Pursuit of Proverbs 31

Amy Bayliss

Amy is a small town Cajun girl living life in the big city. She and her husband Ryan have four children, all boys, ranging in age from toddler to teen! Amy is a full-time blogger and WP designer at My Southern Media. You can visit her at her personal blog, Cajun Joie de Vivre or you can follow her ramblings on Twitter and keep up with her mischief on Facebook.