beckoning distractions

A week ago I posted about Nehemiah confronting distractions by staying put.  He had both distractions and obstacles all along the way of getting the wall rebuilt.  The Babylonians tried several ways to trip him up, & in one instance he sent a reply to a distraction.  He said, "so I sent messengers to them with this reply: "I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?" (Nehemiah 6:3)  Perseverance & passion at its best!

Tonight the Lord is reminding me of this verse, because the past few days I forgot.  Remembering to say to my constant distractions 'I can't come down, I'm carrying on a great project...'  There were a couple days this week that my family felt like the distraction, but in reality family is the gargantuan part of 'a great project' for God!  My distractions have more to do with screens which consume my time.  God was reminding me tonight-- as I so wanted to just vegg out on the couch and turn on re-runs of a favorite show (wanting to "come down")-- that He asked me to carry out a great work by finishing reading through the Bible in a very short time & follow it by starting 3 different Beth Moore studies at the same time. Basically He is asking me to do what He asked the men to do in these verses:  Ezekiel 3:2, "So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat."  and that the Lord said, "... Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things" (Psalm 81:10).  and "Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth" (Ezekiel 3:3).  and Jeremiah 1:17, ""Get yourself ready!..."    And then as I read through Matthew and Mark tonight He showed me how with each responsibility He gives and I take seriously He'll give more, but when I don't take them seriously He'll take them all away.  So what are my personal responsibilities?  In this order: My relationship with God, my relationship with me, my relationship with my husband, my relationship with my children, home-schooling, ministry.  To be honest they just got in the order they're supposed to be in!! 150 days ago it was more like: me, screens, children, my husband, homeschool, friends, and distantly God.  I prefer it the way it's meant to be which is what it is today; I know a lot of people think they are supposed to be last, but the fact of the matter is that if I don't take care of myself (spiritually, emotionally, physically) then there is no way I'll be able to care for others... I'd burn out and die before ever getting anywhere with anyone else. God is definitely first these days, though screens fight for the first position.  Whatever my time is given to is first. Period. and my relationship with Him flows into all of my relationships and activities which creates a nice solid #1 foundation.   Anyway, Matthew is written to the Jews which is who all the prophets were warning in the Old Testament so it flows right in with the overall message of "HELLOOOO PEOPLE!!! WAKE UP!! I"M SERIOUS HERE!...."  God is serious, He is not playing around with us when it comes to having a loving thus obedient relationship with Him. So... "I am carrying on a great project, I cannot go down" will be repeating in my mind as I do what I want to do by being in a loving relationship with Him and eating His Word (& getting enough sleep, & spending time with my family)... and not doing what I don't want to do which is being consumed by screens.