Wake Up To God's Word! Social Experiment Chapter 1

Hey all! :)

Alrighty like I told you guys a few blogs back that my youth minister Kym, and I are doing a social experiment! We are both reading the same book, and blogging about our assigned chapters on here :) Its a way to see Kym's take on the book, Kym being a Wife, mother, youth minister, catholic! and so much more! And me being a catholic, being a junior in high school and still learning as I go:) You can visit Kym's blog by clicking -----> KYM   alright so here we go! :)

Our first book that we will be blogging about is "Wake Up to God's Word" By Mary H. Reaman :) 

Chapter 1 (my job! :))) haha)

So far this book is really interesting and cool to depict and figure out! In Chapter 1 the author is talking about the Israelites being slaves under Pharoah, and their journey to freedom. What I thought about while reading that part is how we are all slaves to the devil and to sin. This was something that was surrounding the Israelites, just like how sin, temptation, evil, greed, lust, dishonesty, and jealousy surround us on a daily basis.
"Though the idea of freedom must have sounded promising to the Israelites, they had to know it would cost something of them to gain it." (6)  Does that sound like our lives today?? Now when it said cost I thought... what?? But then once I re-read it I realized that its not the cost that we think of in our lives today, but the "cost"  of giving our lives to follow the Lord. That is what will lead us out of that sin, slavery and evil, and into that Freedom that we recieve following the Lord. Like it says in the book, Jesus set off on a journey and invited/told others to follow him on that path. The journey being freedom. This journey that the book talks about is not easy! It is helping us to grow, to learn and to live it out. That takes a lot! What stuck out to me in the beginning of this chapter is the fact that they refered to this journey as a "Transformation". Because turning away from that slavery and running to God, is a transformation, of your heart, mind, soul and whole being! :) This freedom may seem out of reach but, when you decide to take that step, it can only get closer!

Next in the chapter the book references a Cherokee Tradition Story of Two Wolves..
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.


"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."


The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"



The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Isnt that so true!?? The evil wolf being the devil and the beautiful wolf being the Lord. :) How relevant is that!

Some Key Points that I read and noticed were:

-Put on the Mind Of Christ
-For a better understanding of the word, dig deeper into scripture
-Ponder Jesus' call for us to be free
-Acknowledge that inside of us we have the capacity for both good and evil.
-When we are free from our selfish desires we move way from our "Ego"
-Become who God wants us to be
-Ger rid of the "Ego"
-Ego is an emotional response, but dont be locked down by it. Dont see yourself as a victium to it, live up to your full potential and overcome it.
-"The blueprint for dysfunction is something that every human carries within" (11)
- In the story of the Israelites the "ego" is represented by Pharoah, and his control over them.
-The "ego" is the "opponent" trying to distract and sabotage us. Also known as Satan, and Lucifer.
-Unleash Christ's consciousness and be truly free!
-Spread that freedom to the WORLD!
-God's word is within us, spread it! :)
-The living water is within our grasp!

All this "ego" is trying to do is to take us away from God and what we should be following and turn us in a different direction.

At the end of the chapter it gives you four things to do...

1. DEFINE and IDENTIFY what exactly your ego is. Sit quietly for 10 mins observe your thoughts as they come to you and do not resist them. Simply watch them. Do this for 10 to 20 mins in the morning and before you go to bed. This helps you determine what your ego is.
2. CONTEMPLATION-- Memorize this line... "Hear, O Israel, The LORD is our God, the Lord alone" Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Recite this line as often as you can. Contemplate and consider how your life journey is like the Israelites under Pharoh's rule.
3. PRAYER-- Pray that God will open you up to hearing his word in all the ways you can see it. Through people, actions, and so many more! :)
4. ACTION OF LOVING KINDNESS-- Look for someone who you think displays Christ's conciousness, Drop them a note or an email letting them know you noticed their compassion.

This first chapter covers a lot! :) I strongly encourage you to follow along with Kym and I! :) This book is giving great tips to show us how to uncover God's word :)

If you have any questions please comment here or email me at ashleywalz@gmail.com :)

Dont forget to look for chapter 2 on Kym's blog coming soon!
Please comment here with that you think!:) Feedback would be amazing! :)

Thanks for reading and God Bless,
Ashley