Strongholds

Growing up in a Baptist church I earned several trophies for memorizing Bible verses. I would rattle off the "verse of the week" to my Sunday school teacher and by the time the little gold star had been applied to my chart I had already forgotten what I just recited. Except for one verse. I think I was in 3rd grade when I memorized Nahum 1:7. Nahum? Who in the heck was Nahum? I'm not sure why but that verse stuck with me. The King James Version of the verse is: "The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him."

It wasn't like I had a rough childhood, quite the opposite actually, or that I had any "troubles" at all but for whatever reason the verse was appealing to me and I simply liked it. I liked it so much that I made it my life verse (another Baptist tradition in which you choose and claim a verse in the Bible to apply to your life). And as all my friends were quoting Proverbs 3:5-6 or Philippians 4:13 (both great verses by the way) as their life verses I stood proudly claiming the Lord was my stronghold for all my days of trouble even though I had yet to experience them.

Then roughly 25 years later, I open my Bible study book, on breaking free of strongholds, to the last day of the last week and read, "Remember, we never find freedom from bondage in independence. We find it by taking the same handcuffs that once bound us to sin and binding ourselves to the wrist of Christ. When you're imprisoned in the will of God, your cell becomes the Holy of Holies. Never forget, there is only one Stronghold that frees when it binds." (Beth Moore, Breaking Free).

Stronghold...Stronghold...Stronghold. The Lord is a stronghold. It all clicked. What if 25 years ago, as a clueless 8-year-old, God impressed upon my heart Nahum 1:7 because He knew one day I would conquer my strongholds and would allow Him to become The Stronghold in my life?
What if He simply allowed the verse to stick so long ago so He could use it as a personal "I love you"? How incredible that God would set into motion something so small that would later become so profound to me.

I can tell you it has been a brutal battle breaking free of my strongholds. So many of them are literally in my head and I had no idea what a battlefield my mind could be. Pride, envy, anger, dissatisfaction and selfishness are just a few of the strongholds that I have battled. But I am learning to take captive the thoughts in my mind and focus them on God and the blessings He has graciously given me. The thoughts still come but I am catching them sooner than I ever did before. There are still times when I think I am doing a better job parenting than someone else but quickly remind myself I have a husband who is very helpful in raising our children. Other times I have noticed someone's blog with hundreds of followers but before I dwell on the numbers I stop and thank the Lord the writer is blogging for Him. I have a long way to go but it's these little victories that are leading me closer to freedom and to my Stronghold.

For dinner without the battle serve meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans for dinner tonight.

Meatloaf
1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 small onion finely chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients well and then shape into a loaf and place on a lightly greased baking dish and bake 45 minutes or until cooked through.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes
3 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
about a cup of Milk, warmed
1/2 stick of unsalted butter (who am I kidding, more like two sticks...)
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes AND garlic cloves until tender. Drain then mash potatoes while adding enough milk and butter to make creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Steamed Green Beans
1 lb of fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

Steam green beans 5 to 8 minutes or until tender but still bright green. Drain then in a large skillet melt butter and saute green beans 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.