A Life Worth Living

Make it Count...

The one thing we can be certain about in life is change, whether we "like" change or not it is the one thing we can count on happening. Fighting against it is going against the tide.  It's fruitless.

When you think of your life, what do you think about?  What do you yearn for?  In the quiet of your heart what is your desire?  The Bible says:

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be." (Matthew 6:21)

What is your treasure? Where is it? Is it in your possessions? The things that you have compiled throughout the course of your life?  Is it your job? Your family? YOU?  When you are alone, what are your deepest thoughts?  You know what I mean, when no one is around you, and you think about your life, what comes to mind?  Whatever comes to your mind, is what your treasure is.

Here is what my treasure is... I have found throughout the journey of my 47 years (so far), the greatest treasure I have found has been coming to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.  He is my greatest treasure.  Why is that?  How could I put Him above my family? My children?  I can because He is the One who gave my family to me.  When someone gives you a gift, do you look at the gift and not the giver and say, "thank you" ?  Imagine it is  your birthday, and someone gives you a birthday present, do you look down at that present and thank it?  No.  You look at the person with gratitude and thank them warmly for what they have given to you.The Bible says:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in Him, shall not perish but shall have ever lasting life." (John 3:16)

When God created Adam and Eve, He created them to live FOREVER.  They were NOT supposed to die.  Death, sickness and sin came into the world when they disobeyed God and chose to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

"But you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:17)

He had explained it to them before hand. There were no surprises, it happened as He said it would if they disobeyed.  There are reasons why God tells us not to do something.  Honestly, when you think about it, we are no different today then Adam and Eve were back then.  The Bible is full of direction and examples that were meant for us to learn from, and still we sometimes choose to go against God's Word, and when we do we often open up a whole lot more then we know how to handle...  Here is the good thing though, nothing surprises God.  He had a plan ready to bring people back to Him.  He loves us so much that He had a plan in place to bring us back to Him.  That plan was Jesus.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

There are those of us who have taken the "hard way" or gone off the pathway that God had originally chosen for our lives for a season and experience a "prodigal" time in our lives. We are the "hard headed ones." (I'm joking)... We chose the "hard way" and many of us have kicked ourselves all the way back down the road to our Father.  When you open up a door that God never meant you to open (and for good reasons) you have to deal with the consequences of your action, whatever that door was.  Even once you have returned to the Father, ol' slewfoot whispers constant accusations in your ear.  Oppression is a real thing and hard to recover. There are reasons in love that God has given us rules to live by.  One of them is because He knows what the pain and agony of breaking them can do to us.  But one of the many gifts He has given us, is free will.  We choose.  We live with whatever we choose... But again, even if you have made a "bad decision" in the past - God can take what has been meant for evil and turn it around for good.

Where is your treasure?

Each of us has to answer that individually.  I will say, that the greatest treasure that I have is knowing that I am a child of the Utmost High God.  That I belong to Him.  I gave my life to Him at the age of 21 and through this journey, He has been my greatest gift.  Not because of what He provides for me or has given me (and He has given me much), but because of who He is.  He is trustworthy, He is reliable, He is unchanging.  He is ever present.  He is my life. He is my Father.

There is a joy beyond any words I can describe in knowing Him.  It is referred to as a "personal" relationship for a reason, it's unique and it is extremely personal.  Afterall, "He knows my thoughts before I even think them!"(Psalms 139:2) . How can you possibly hide from the One who made you?  He is Lord of my life and King of my heart.  And I can say that in spite of all my waywardness and hard headedness and as an ex-prodigal having come to know Him has been (and is) my greatest treasure.  Why?  Because He gave my life true purpose.  In knowing Him there is a peace that God's got my back, no matter what I go through in this crazy life.  He is steadfast.  I can count on Him, even when things don't go my way.  Even when my plans are not His plans, I know that the plans He has for me are better than ANYTHING I could plan for myself.  I have gotten to a point in my life where I realize a life worth living is being smack in the center of His will. That's the BEST seat in this house of life.  It's upfront and personal.  It's "First Class" its peace and love and contentment and even in the midst of all the craziness going on in this world, all of that craziness flows around you when you personally have accepted God's gift of salvation, it passes over you because you know Who it is you belong to. God is in control.

We live in a sinful, dark world that is getting darker and darker around us. Common sense is something that is not so common any more.  There is a fury that is getting stronger as the last days come closer. 

"Many shall run to and fro and knowledge will increase." (Daniel 12:4)

"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

I think that Jesus recognized this because in John 17:15 He prayed:

"My prayer is not that You take them out of the world, but that You protect them from the evil one.  They are not of this world, even as I am not of the world."

It can be hard to stay focused, even as a Christian, there are so many things tugging at us in this life. And whether or not you believe it, we are in the middle of a spiritual storm that is growing in its fury.  It is hard not to get caught up in the storms around us, or the darts that the evil one tries to throw our way, or even caught up in our own fleshly desires; but if we keep focused we can rise up above the storm - keeping our eyes focused on Him, just as when Peter in Matthew 14:29 walked out of the boat onto the water his eyes were focused on Jesus.  His mind was set on Jesus before him.  When he started to look down and realize the incredible actual fact that he was walking on water, he started to sink.  When we focus on our situation and not on our God who ultimately is in control of the situation we lose focus, and we too sink.

A life worth living is realizing how short life is.  Realizing that we have a hope. That death is not the end.

"For me, to live is Christ, to die is to gain." (Philippians 1:21)

Where is your treasure?  Is it one that can be stolen?  Is it one that you can take with you when this life's journey is over?  Is it one that can withstand the pressures of life? Does it give you peace, joy and contentment that is everlasting? Whether or not we want to face it or believe it, we are living on borrowed time.  The Bible tells us:

"Man is like a mere breath; his days are like a passing shadow." (Psalm 144:4)

and also:

"Come on now you who say, 'today or tomorrow we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.  You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead you should say, 'If the Lord wills we will live and also do this and that...'" (James 4:13-15)

Maybe we need to look at what our treasure is and re-evaluate what is of value to us.  Rethink it because denying the truth doesn't stop the truth from being true.  God has given us His very best.  But it is a gift to be appreciative of and thankful for and most of all to accept because the gift His Son, Jesus gave us - His life, is the greatest treasure one can receive of all.  And its yours for the taking, you just have to open up your heart, your soul and your mind - and in return, you will find a life truly worth the living. One that will last through ALL eternity.

More Puhhhhhleaaase!!!

“More Puuuhhhlease, Mummy,” demanded the toddler sitting in the grocery cart seat pointing earnestly to the candy on the check-out shelf as his mother wheeled the cart forward in line. “No, I’m not buying any candy,” his mother responded with a sigh wearily gearing up for the latest temper tantrum to erupt like a meteorologist with their eye on an upcoming storm.  

Sure enough, first came the scrunching up and reddening of his little face as the storm began to brew, next came the ear wrenching battle cry loud enough to make even the deafest of person’s hear or a hearing person go deaf; then the twisting of his body and the banging of feet as little sneakers methodically banged against the steel cart. “More! More! More! More!”  His cries rained down upon unresponsive ears, becoming more intense as his mother refused to respond to his demands. Slowly she put items from the cart upon the checkout counter more concerned with whether or not she would have enough money to cover all the items, or if she would have to put some back…

Sometimes we act the same demanding way towards our own Heavenly Father.  "I want this!" We say pointing urgently towards something in our lives and when He either is silent in His answer or says, "No." We pitch a full fledged temper tantrum forgetting that God knows what is best for us, better then we do.

What about being thankful for what we have? What about taking the time to acknowledge the blessings we have in our lives?  We focus so much on what we don't have or what we want that we often don't take time to thank God for ALL the things we do have, including the people that we have in our lives.  It is not until something major occurs that we look back and think how blessed we are indeed.

 "Oh the good ol' days, remember when we..." We need to be thankful in the present tense. Now.

What about "paying it forward" even in some small measure towards someone else?  This past weekend I went away with my family to the Cape, when I came back home I realized I had left the book I was currently reading at the Inn.  A really good book on obtaining financial blessings.  I called the inn to see if anyone had turned it in and no one had (of course not, it was a REALLY good book). At first I was disappointed, but then I got to thinking that maybe someone who needed it more than me (if that is even possible...) would benefit from it.  In fact, I started praying for that person - that the book would minister to them and that God would use it to financially bless them.   It made me feel better looking outside myself, and thinking of someone else.  I shared this line of thought with a few of my girlfriends, and much to my surprise, this week I received a package in the mail.  It was another copy of the book, from one of my friends who felt led to "pay it forward" and be a blessing to me.  She had gone out with a friend for lunch earlier in the week and had brought money with her to pay for the lunch, but her friend had decided to be a blessing to her and treated her to lunch instead, so she decided to "pay that blessing forward" and use that money she had set aside to be a blessing to me.  And she was.  And in turn in being a blessing, we ARE blessed.  We should do things not so that we will get back - but because it is a blessing to be a blessing, so in turn we ARE blessed.

"Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38)

Maybe we should think about "paying it forward" in our lives.  Not being so concerned overly much about what WE want, what WE need and think about the needs of someone else.  A small gesture means so much.  When I was a child my mother had a saying (actually she made it into a chant), one that she said she had created over things we would say to her it went like this:

"Gimme, Gimme, can I have? Will you lend me? Can I borrow, I need, I want!"

It may have been something she could tease us about as children, and as a parent she taught us to think about others by teaching us how to give.  As grown ups its not something that is very attractive. 

Last February I was taken by surprise when I drove through Dunkin' Donuts to get coffee.  As I pulled up to the window to pay for it, the cashier said, "two dollars of your order has been paid for by the person who was in front of you.  They said to apply their change to the car behind them, and that car is you."  I was touched, I was moved.  A gesture so little made the start of my day so wonderful.  They didn't even KNOW who I was, or that I was struggling financially in my new status of being a divorced, single parent.  I immediately prayed that God would bless them a "double portion" of how He had used them to be a blessing to me.

What a joy it is to be a blessing to someone else.  I truly believe that it is better to give than to receive.

"Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)

"More puuuhhhhlllleaaase Lord.  More.  More of YOU, less of me.  Use me Father.  Help me to look outside of myself and be a blessing to someone else.  Show me how I can be used by You to make a difference in the life of someone else.  Not so that I will be glorified because of it, but so that YOU will receive all the glory, honor and praise.  You gave Your life for me.  The greatest gift of ALL.  Help me to follow by your example and be a blessing to others in my life, however I possibly can - be it financially or with the gifts you have given me (my skills) or in some particular way you choose to reveal to me that I can be a blessing to someone else.  In Jesus' most precious name I pray. Amen..."

 

Are You Blocked?

One of the awful side effects for a lot of breast cancer survivors (like myself), who have had lymph nodes removed during surgery is a something called lymphedema.  

I Googled the definition of Lymphedema and it came up as this:  

Lymphedema involves blockage of the lymph vessels, with a resulting accumulation of lymphatic fluid in the interstitial tissues of the body. The lymphatic system consists of lymph vessels and lymph nodes throughout the body. The lymph vessels collect lymphatic fluid, which consists of protein, water, fats, and wastes from cells. The lymph vessels transport the fluid to the lymph nodes, where waste materials and foreign materials are filtered out from the fluid. The fluid is then returned to the blood. When the vessels are damaged or missing, the lymph fluid cannot move freely throughout the system but accumulates. This accumulation of fluid results in abnormal swelling of the arm(s) or leg(s), and occasionally swelling in other parts of the body. (Definition taken from the Free Dictionary by Farlex)

How amazingly intricate God has made our bodies to function.  We cannot fully comprehend how wonderfully we are made.  Just as we have a physical body, we also have a spiritual body.

I have had a lot of doors opening and closing in my life lately; and as I was driving to my office today, I had a realization; just as the physical condition of lymphedema can cause a flow blockage in our physical bodies, we can allow or entertain things into our lives that can cause a spiritual blockage that keeps things from flowing in our spiritual bodies (or spiritual life),  and this doesn’t only pertain to cancer survivors, but to everyone.  Stress and anxiety can reveal itself and cause physical blockages in the form of other ailments or diseases. 

For me, I have found the symptoms indicating a spiritual blockage to be uneasiness, lack of peace, anxiety, lack of sleep, and a restless mind.  To be honest, it can feel like torment because it feels like you can’t seem to get it together, or get your life under control.  Sometimes it’s because we don’t want to examine or face whatever the reason for that blockage is.  It could be pride, or the flesh or just plain stubbornness keeping you from doing what needs to be done.   If you have given your life to Christ, your life is not your own anymore.  You have invited the Holy Spirit to come into your body and take residence there.  He moves things around and changes things about you that only He could do and if you fight against those changes, you can find yourself at war with yourself and that can also cause a spiritual blockage.

“I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives by faith in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

I have experienced both trunk lymphedema and spiritual blockage in my life. God healed me of the physical lymphedema through acupuncture (something I never before believed in).  I had believed solely in Western medicine.  After having countless appointments of special lymphedema massages with a lymphedema specialist (which felt wonderful when going through it – what massage does not feel wonderful when getting one?) but which effects didn’t last long after the massage was over.  I was told by the specialist that I could try one of two things:

1. I could purchase a huge jacket-like garment that I could sleep in that would be plugged in and would compress and decompress throughout the night helping to get the flow of my lymph nodes going again.  This jacket of course would have cost me thousands of dollars.
2. I could try something that has been successful with some other breast cancer survivors who experience lymphedema – acupuncture.  My first reaction to that suggestion was to wrinkle my nose up in distaste. I’m not a fan of needless and I did not believe in acupuncture, I instantly “poo-poo’d” that suggestion with a wave of my hand.  However, I did not want to sleep in a contraption that I had to pay thousands of dollars for (which wasn’t even an option because I didn’t have it) and which *might* not even resolve the issue. Ironically, following my appointment, I had a discussion with my brother about my options and found out that he had tried acupuncture for back pain and it had worked!  So I decided to give it a try, after all, nothing ventured, nothing gained.  

I went to the appointment with a skeptical this is a waste of time, I don’t believe this will work kind of attitude; much to my surprise I left the appointment feeling better than I had in a long time.  The needless did not hurt, in fact the fascinating thing is, truthfully you don’t even feel all those needles when they are placed at whatever point they are strategically placed at (depending upon what your symptoms are for coming there).  The truth is, it actually worked!  I was astonished, I was humbled and I became further convinced that there is more to the human body then we can conceive.  I went through about 12 treatments of acupuncture, and my lymphedema was healed.  The only thing that causes it to “flare up” occasionally is when I get under a lot of stress.  When that happens, it is usually because I’ve allowed a “spiritual blockage” to occur in my life and it in turn affects my physical body by having a flare up of lymphedema occur.  When that happens, I make an appointment with my acupuncturist and I re-examine what I have allowed in my life to cause that spiritual blockage.  (In saying all that – if you are one of my Pink sisters reading this post, and you are experiencing lymphedema – I would seriously consider giving acupuncture a try, God used it to work wonders for me). 

In the same way, allowing something to occur in my life that does not line up with the Word of God, or if I have allowed myself to put the desires of my flesh (and become spiritually stubborn to what God wants me to do – in other words “throw a spiritual temper tantrum”) above what God wants me to do or how God tells me to live, I have experienced spiritual blockage.  It is not until I have faced the reason for the blockage that I have been able to do what needs to be done in order to get back on track in my life again.  It is not something that is easy, especially if you are or have been a Prodigal.  In fact I can guarantee that most Christians going through a prodigal time in their walk know exactly what it is I am talking about.  The only way to break down that dam that has risen up and is causing uneasiness, lack of peace, anxiety, lack of sleep, and a restless mind is to face whatever it is that is causing it.  No matter how painful letting it go can be or how hard you want to hold on.

For those who truly love God and desire to be in His good and perfect will, He will bring you to a point where you want His good and perfect will in your life more than you want whatever it is that is holding you back from it.  It could take days, weeks, months or years for you to reach that point – that is ALL dependent upon how much you are willing to put up with or how long you are willing to fight against the Holy Spirit, because God never makes you do anything.  He has given each person free will to choose.  However, what some people refer to as “their conscience” is really the Holy Spirit nudging you to “change your mind” and eventually it will bring you to a point where you can’t fight against the flow anymore.  Sometimes we are our own blockage and we need to get out of the way of our own selves…

The most ironic thing is – that we think we know what is “best” for our lives, which is why we refuse to let go of things and trust that God has our best interest in mind.  You could be missing out on the best thing in your life because you don’t feel you “deserve” better, or you are not willing to let go of your concept of what is “best” for you.  All along God is shaking His head at your stubbornness because He has something so wonderful in store for you, but you stand before Him tight fisted holding on to what you believe is the best.  Your hand has to be open to receive what God has for you.  Are you happy with your life? Are you sleeping? Do you feel at peace?  Are you content with your life? Is it going the way you want? Do you feel as though you are in a spiritually good place?  Or are you filled with anxiety, trepidation, depression, uneasiness with a lack of peace?  If that is the case those are symptoms of being spiritually blocked and it’s time for you to re-evaluate your life and your situation and make the changes necessary to let all good things flow once again. It’s not easy to unclench those fists and release whatever you are holding, but believe me, from someone who personally knows, if you do, you will find that God has a flow of blessings headed your way that you never even imagined... And the first thing you should do - is start believing that.

“Above all else guard your heart because it is the wellspring of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

“Be very careful then how you live, not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.”  (Ephesians 5:15)

“Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, lean not to your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your path.”  (Proverb 3:5-7)

Turn Around...

“Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."… (James 4:14-15)

Time holds still for no one, as much as we would like to hold it tight in our hand and savor each moment...

Turn around

And the moment is gone.  Move on to the next one and there is nothing you can do to tie time down.

The 9 year old girl, who made wishes on daisies, ran through fields, no worries in her head, the same girl who twirled around and around giggling and laughing because it made her dizzy, excited because tomorrow she’ll turn those “much awaited double digits” – 10.

Turn around

That same double-digit girl, the one who did pirouettes at  the age of 9 looking forward to “13” sits on her bed looking at Teen Magazine. Barbie dolls now tucked away in a box on the attic floor, their former place of occupancy now taken up by ten different shades of neon fingernail polish and pictures of the latest boy band.

Turn around

That same girl’s sweet 16.  The world feels as though it is her stage, her thoughts are about the cute guy in English class, the upcoming weekend and her girlfriends blowing up her phone with texts.  What outfit she should wear tomorrow, which concert she should attend and how to successfully apply liquid eyeliner.

Turn around

She’s 18 and graduating from high school – hopes and plans gearing her up towards college and leaving home. Her car's packed up and that baby girl you brought home from the hospital just yesterday is off to begin her own life’s journey. Thoughts of the future filling her head, you stand in her empty bedroom looking at remnants of the years that have passed wondering how they have gone by so swiftly.  Remembering your own youth and in awe over the quick passage of time.  Time you can’t hold on to. Time you can’t bring back, time that has brought about many changes.  You were once that same girl and now you stand, looking at your daughter’s vacant room.  Reminiscing and wondering how time could go by so quickly.  Wishing there was a way to prolong each moment but knowing there is not.  Bittersweet moments – some you wish you could redo, others you wouldn’t change a bit.

Yesterday you were rejoicing over the pink bundle of joy you were just bringing home…

Yesterday - you were laughing in delight over the innocent tactics of a 9 year old…

Yesterday - you were wondering how you were going to make it through her teenage years…

Yesterday -you were staying up late waiting for her to come home from her first date. Thinking of all the ways you would maim the young man if he broke your daughter’s heart…

Yesterday – you were wondering when it was she had grown taller than you…

Turn around

And you’re wondering where the time has gone. Moments that you hadn’t known you had taken for granted, you realize you had.  Time waits for no man, stops for no one and you wonder why (as you have gotten older) those lazy days of summer have sped up?  What age did that begin to happen?  Why can’t they slow back down?

Turn around

Instead of looking ahead of you, you find yourself spending more time looking back.

Turn around

Your hair is grey, your body is older and simply not cooperating with you as it has done in days gone past... Yet you are the same person you always were.  Others may not see it.  They may view you as an “old person” but inside you are still the same.  You’re now known as a “Senior Citizen.”  And while it has some discounting perks, it’s hard to accept because:

Inside you are still  - that same 9 year old girl who lay on the grass and made shapes out of the clouds up above.  That same girl reappears when your grandchildren come to visit, and you revisit with them all those interesting discoveries of days gone past, as you introduce them to things your parents, aunts, uncles or grandparents introduced to you, when you were a child... Or perhaps you find yourself having that "how do youuuuu knowwww?" Argument with your grandchild at the table and your legs have suddenly shrunk down to the size of a 6 year old's and your feeling like your wearing those Mary Jane shiny black shoes again and your hair is in pinktails - all because your grandson questioned your "wisdom" with a "how do youuuuuuuuu know???" You shake your head and laugh at yourself for your childish response because you just realize he brought out that "inner child" in you.

Inside you are still  - that 13 year old who dances around the living room when a song from one of the boy bands you once worshiped comes on the radio, bringing with it all the memories of those teenage years.

Inside you are still  - that 16 year old who looks at that same boy band and giggles now at how old they look, but thinking how you would still “ooooh and aaaahhhh” over them if you saw them today in person.

Turn around

Life goes by so quickly. We don’t have any choice in the matter, time passes whether we want it to or not... The only choice we have is to live well, to make every moment count and to handle each moment as gracefully and sincerely as we can.  We have no control over how quickly it goes by or to some degree what happens in those moments we are given.  So laugh often, live fully, love greatly, hug tighter, don't forget to say your "I love you's" and thank God for each precious gift of a new day that He gives you.  Because that is what life is – a very precious gift.

Our cemeteries are full of markers of people who once had lived. They lived as you and I.  Real people, same worries, same problems, same laughter, same desires, loves and memories – only different eras. Each had their own story. What is your story? You may not be able to go back but you can live a life that is full of memories.  Memories you can bestow to your children and their children and their children’s children, so in a sense, we live on through others memories of us.

Turn around

Look, another moment is gone.. We are on to the next...  Hey, let's be that 9 year old, 10 year old, 13 year old, 18 year old, senior citizen - whatever stage we are at in life, let's make it count…

Creator or Creation - What is YOUR pleasure? Who are YOU Trying to Please?



Where do your priorities lie? With the Creator or with His creation? 
Who are you trying to please?
Things that should make you go hmmmmmm...

All of the Disney Princess stories dictate that we should teach our daughters that there is no better happiness (or “happily ever after”) than running into the arms of a man and riding off with him on the back of a horse off into a sunset.  While true love is certainly something worth looking forward to, the stories have it wrong.  The truth is our children should FIRST be taught that there is no better relationship than falling head over heels in love with one prince - the Prince of Peace.
 

What if we taught our children to sing love songs to Him?

What if we encouraged our children to find out who they are in Him?

To communicate with Him?

To grow in Him?

To develop a relationship with Him?

What would this give our children?  A confidence and desire in discovering who God created them to be.  A true self - confidence, not as the world gives – but as God gives.  It would teach them how beautiful they are in the eyes of their Heavenly Father.  It would set the example of how we are to love, because no greater love is there than what God gave us through the shed blood of His son, Jesus Christ who died for forgiveness of our sins.

“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

I saw a great quote once.  It said this:

“And when the prince reached the top of the tower, he found an empty room because THIS princess wanted to have HER OWN adventure!”

There is no greater adventure a girl can have than discovering WHO she is in Christ.  It is an adventure that will last ALL the days of her life.  For we are ever changing, ever growing, ever discovering and I believe we will until He calls us home to be with Him.

For our boys, learning to love God and look to Jesus as their example would show them how to be the leaders that God has called them to be. 

“But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” (1 Corinthians 11:3)

My own personal opinion is that God made man the head of each household, but He made woman the neck and everyone knows that the neck turns the head. J

The most important relationship a girl first has is with her father. We live in an imperfect world, in many circumstances a girl is in a situation where they have not/do not have a healthy relationship with a male figure and it skewers what a relationship with someone of the opposite sex should be like as that girl grows into womanhood.   One of the biggest mistakes that occurs is when a girl believes her own self-worth is based upon what someone of the opposite sex thinks of her or that she needs a guy to make her happy.  Instead of running after the Creator she runs after his creation.  I would call this “putting the cart before the horse.” True self-worth can only be found in knowing who you are in Christ FIRST.  The truth is you cannot find self-worth in the eyes of someone else, before you can learn to love someone else you need to love yourself (be comfortable in your own skin) and know who you truly are.

 In the book of Genesis God created Adam, Adam had fellowship with God before God brought Eve into His life (and notice God brought Eve into Adam’s life, Adam did not go “looking” for Eve).  God knew exactly what it was that Adam needed and fashioned a helpmate for him. (You can read all about this in Genesis Chapter 2).  There is an order to things and a reason for that order.

For those of us who are parents and have tried to instill a strong foundation and love for God and His Word within our children, we must also realize that God has only loaned our children to us.  They belong to HIM.  Our duty is to “train them up in the way they should go” (Proverbs 22:6) “and when they are old they shall not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6 continued).    

There are times when we try and our children rebel and go against ALL we have taught them to be.  This is where our trust in God has to come in.  This is where we recognize that while we can instill a foundation within our children with the best of our ability, we cannot give them our faith.  They have their own journey to experience.  They do not belong to US they belong to God.  We cannot give them our walk with Him, they have to develop this on their own.  Just as we have a “personal” relationship with God, we have to allow them to have their own personal relationship with God and this is where trust and prayer come in.

The BEST thing you can do for your child is pray for them and remember that as much as you love them, God loves them MORE and to remember that along with all the other qualities God provided you with, He gave you free will.  Just as you have free will, so do your children.  They have a choice.  How hard it must be for God to see us make choices that hurt us rather than help us. Wrong decisions instead of decisions that would benefit us… How wonderful that God can turn around and use our “bad” choices to glorify His work in spite of ourselves.  Hopefully drawing us closer to Him in the process… Trust your children to Him, even when you don’t see the “fruit” that you would expect to see having raised them in a Christian home, because like a seed you have planted in the ground, you cannot see on the surface what it is that God is doing deep below.  Keep praying, keep hoping and keep believing – even when it seems as though your prayers are in vain.  Prayers are never in vain.  God hears each one.  Sometimes we just have to give our son/daughter to God and trust that God knows what He is doing, because He does and sometimes He reveals it to us and sometimes He chooses not to.

"So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." (1 Corinthians 3:7)

We live in a sinful world, one that does not teach the importance of having a personal relationship with God, so deciding to have a personal relationship and make Jesus your Lord and Savior goes against the grain of what the world is teaching, no wonder it is so hard for our children to keep their heads above the sewage of what the world dictates is important and calls how they have been raised or what they believe as “politically incorrect.” (Talk about peer pressure… Even grown -ups give in to it.  You must hold yourself to the standard of “The Jones’” and if you don’t, you have fallen below the proverbial bar).  Those poor Jones’, what constant pressure they must feel.  Honestly, who is it more important to impress other adults or God?  Because when they stand before Him, what has been deemed as ‘successful” in the eyes of the world and other adults will be mere rubbish to God and as far as my Word shows me – we stand before Him ALONE, taking nothing of this world with us, other people’s opinions won’t matter  – all that will matter is what GOD thinks…

We have it so wrong.  We are so deceived.   And oh yes – make no mistake about it, I have seen Christians also take that “Jones’ mentality” into the church with them.  If you don’t belong to “this school” or join “this Bible study” you are “not” an “in” Christian, or if you don’t live in “this community,” or socialize with “this family” you must not have enough faith or be strong with your walk or “right” with God.  Or God forbid if you have “fallen” or “sinned” or in “a prodigal state” (as if not all of us come up short every day of our walk…).  The dangerous part of this is the church should be a place where you can fully get the support and help you need for whatever point you are in your walk, for whatever you are struggling with and whether or not other Christians admit it – we ALL have things that we struggle with), what a shame that in most circumstances we don’t feel as though we can confess or admit them to one another without being judged… (Ouch… Someone just stopped reading this post…) It is a dangerous mentality to have.  How can a hurting church successfully minister to the outside world without first trying to get their own house in order?  I believe this is what the letters to the churches in the book of Revelations  (Chapter 2) is all about.  We ARE the body of Christ.  If your finger feels pain – the whole body feels it.  (Honestly, think about the annoying pain of a paper cut – who does not dread getting one of these???) We are called to encourage each other and build each other up – not rejoice in tearing one another down.  There is no perfect church – we won’t be “perfect” until Jesus returns.  The church that acknowledges that they are filled with “broken people” is the church that gets it.  We are to walk in humility and the knowledge that it is only the shed blood of Jesus Christ that differentiates us between those that don’t know Jesus at all.  And with that being said, if God has blessed you with a Pastor who recognizes this and encourages the body of Christ to be transparent and merciful and humble and encourages what Jesus said was the greatest of the commandments:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-38)

Then thank God for him and pray and support your pastor in whatever way needed, because that is a pastor that as a friend of mine is in the habit of saying over and over and over again  “gets it” and understands and is fulfilling the calling that God has given him watching over His flock.

What else can we do?

We can walk humbly as Jesus did, looking to Him as our example.

We can pray and ask for wisdom and guidance and admit that we don’t have all of the answers, but recognize that we know who it is that does.
We can to the best of our ability give our children a strong spiritual foundation and pray that God will put in their lives people that will build upon it and help them grow and know their worth in Him.

The ironic thing is that one of our promises is:

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all else shall follow." (Matthew 6:33)

Who knows better than we do what that "all else" should be? (Be it a mate, be it provision, etc...) The thing is He desires us to seek HIM first. 

The best gift we can give our children is a strong foundation in Christ.  To teach them to look to Him as their example and IF they fail or fall or come short help them to understand  that we ALL  fail, fall and come short and that God is there to pick them up and give them a new beginning.  It is nothing but His grace, His mercy and His love that gets us from one part of our individual journeys to the next. And who knows better than God what is around the next corner? Things come as a surprise to us, but to the One who sees everything in full, it never does.

 

 

Three Golden Nuggets...

I took this picture of a bird getting ready to take flight over a beautiful large bay.  You were created to fly high - to soar! What is holding you back?

Throughout my twenty-seven years of being a  Christian, there are precious nuggets of wisdom I have picked up along the way. What better thing to do than share them?  After all, that is what we are called to do.   "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." (Proverbs 27:17)

1. Be very careful, then how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-17) - God is no respector of persons - He loves you, He wants to communicate with you.  That is why it is called a "personal" relationship .  He doesn't need a "third" party involved to communicate with you, His Holy Spirit is enough.  If He wants you to know something and you are opening to listening to Him, make no mistake about it, He will reveal His will to you. I would be wary of people who think they know what God's will is for your life unless somewhere in your spirit you are in agreement with what it is they are saying. Now I'm not saying God doesn't work through people or that He can't give someone a rhema word to give to you - He can, BUT if your spirit is not in agreement with what they are saying chances are they are talking from their own point of view or own desire and not from the point of God.  If you don't feel a confirmation in your spirit over what they are saying I would seriously question whether or not it is indeed from God or from that person themselves.  Your relationship with your Father is just that - your relationship, bring everything to Him in supplication and prayer. He's not going to reveal something to someone else about you that He has not in someway revealed to you Himself, or at least given you a feeling of agreement as to what it is you are being told. I have risen my eyebrow many a time towards people who have told me they "think" they know what it is God has planned for me before He has yet revealed it to me, myself.  This is where wisdom comes in. If God gives you a spirit of discernment about someone else, use spiritual maturity and pray for who ever it is He has spoken to you about, don't assume that you know more about what it is God wants for that person than they do. God doesn't work that way and chances are more than likely that it will put that person on the defensive and what "you" think God is telling you for them will not be well received and may make that person run in the total opposite direction.  Better for you to pay attention to what God is telling YOU about YOU then what you think He is telling you about someone else...
2. "Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not to your own understanding, in ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path." (Proverbs 3:5)  This one is hard to do because we are use to looking at things with our physical eyes and not with our spiritual ones.  It is hard when you are going through a situation to do this.  But it is walking BY faith and not by sight throughout the Bible we are given examples of people who have done this.  Some examples?  Noah - He was commanded by God to build a boat with NO water around Him.  The people in Noah's day must have thought he was out of his mind crazy!  But still Noah did it!  David went up against Goliath - a giant!  God used Moses to deliver His people Israel from Pharoah, in the physical realm all of this looked impossible, but with God ALL things are possible - even the situations you are worrying or fretting about. God is bigger than your problems no matter how impossible they seem.  Believe and trust Him for a solution and praise Him and watch it come to pass. We are given examples of people and situations throughout the Bible for a reason - to know that they still struggled with the same things and situations we struggle with today.  We are to learn by their stories just as God gives US situations to go through to share and pass on with others, so that they can learn. God knows your needs, He's aware of them.  He wants to see how you are going to respond.  Trust Him.
3. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God  and His Righteousness and all else shall follow." (Matthew 6:33) - God desires your undivided attention.  He is a jealous God. He wants you to put Him FIRST. Seek Him first.  Honestly, there is no greater feeling that being in love with Him.  Reaching a point in your life where what you desire most to do is to please Him.  I think for me that has come with having done the opposite and realizing that that doesn't work.  There is a very deep part inside of you that was created (just as your heart, your mind, your body was made) that is meant to be filled totally and fully with God.  As you grow older in your walk with Him you mature as you learn (or you should be...) and you realize there is no greater joy that being in love with God.  It fills the deepest utmost part of you in a way that nothing else can.  There are no suitable words to describe how wonderful a feeling it is to know that God loves you and to be able to express that love back.  You can't "out love" or "out give" God.  It is the ultimate relationship and anything else falls short of that relationship, it is the most important relationship you will ever experience in your life.  Everything else is - frosting.

Three nuggets of many that I have gathered on my walk  that stands out to share with you, maybe they are nuggets that you have also experienced in your own walk... God teaches us things so that we can grow and mature in Him and pass on our experiences and wisdom to those who walk alongside us or who are new Christians, they are meant to learn from and share.  "We are many members but we are one in the body of Christ" (Romans 12:5).  As long as we have breath in our bodies we should be growing, maturing and learning in Him.  It is one of the greatest parts of being a Christian, if you are feeling "stagnant" it is a sign that you should pray and see if there is something that God wants to change about you.  

"Lord if there be any evil in me or anything displeasing about me to you, I pray that you would reveal it."  

And then trust, because He is your Father, that He will.  After all, He loves you special...