So I'm reading my bible this morning. Wait....backtrack....rewind! I pray before reading this morning that God would reveal something new to me in His Word that I haven't seen before. And just like God is the loving God he is he answered me with this....
Two new things revealed to me in Mark:
1. When the rich man came to Jesus and asked what must he do to inherit eternal life, declaring that he had kept all of the commandments, Jesus looked at him and LOVED him and said, "One thing you lack...Go sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then, come follow me." Mark 10:17-21
----Jesus loved this man. A man whom had followed him and obeyed his commandments, yet when wanting to know how to inherit the kingdom, Jesus answered him with LOVE. A man that just ran up to Jesus. How much more does he love us? His children whom he knows, or should know if you have a relationship with him?
2. Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and his disciples kept falling asleep. He got on to them three times and asked them to pray for him, but they just kept falling asleep. So, Jesus' betrayer comes to find him in the garden, Judas gives the kiss of death signal, and they go in to arrest Jesus. Swords come out, an ear gets cut off, and then, "...a young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind." Mark 14:43-51
----Really??? In all of the seriousness of what was happening, a young man ran away naked? OMGness...this was just too hilarious for me. I mean, why? Why put that in the Word? What is the importance of this? My pastor tells me that this is actually the writer talking about himself and that some believe writers mention themselves in the third person throughout scripture, but I just don't know. Sometimes we, as men, can interpret things wrong, huh? So, I just thought that maybe it has some significance that will show in the latter part of my reading, or maybe it was just an observation made by the writer. Like, out of the corner of his eye there was this crazy dude, almost naked. "Where did he come from? I don't know, but he was there and in a flash, he was naked, then gone." Wonder if it freaked him out? Kinda just made my day to read that.
AND that about sums it up. God showed me that even though he may ask us to give up many things, even our riches, he asks because he loves us. He knows what's best for us before we even realize it is best. Also, He made me laugh. Plain out laugh.
Thanks God. I love you!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Keeping Up With the Jones'
So, I was doing some thinking this morning about just how awesome my life is and how much I have to be thankful for. I was just thinking about how Tiffany is getting braces tomorrow and how fortunate I am to be able to afford that. Now, I did have help from her bio dad, but still, for 2yrs. or so, I am going to have to pay for half of the monthly payments to keep those bad boys on her teeth.
Recently, I was getting bummed out about how I have to clean houses every Friday. It's getting hard on my body, and my body is letting me know. This is very hard for me to take because I exercise and think of myself as being, somewhat, in shape. None the less, I was thinking, "There would be no way for me to even be able to think about braces if it wasn't for my cleaning jobs." Then, I got to thinking about how these cleaning jobs have allowed me to pay off hospital bills that would have went to collections. Man, we are getting it done and are financially in the best place we have been, ever! I do give consideration to the fact that we had to let a lot go 2 years ago and take a path that some find non-Christian, shameful and wimpy- Bankruptcy.
Thinking of all I thought I needed and had to be back then. Needing the bigger, nicer house. Needing to have nice things. Needing to go out to eat all the time. I thought that I deserved all of these things. I was completely wrong. The desire and need for these things is what caused us to be so deep in debt that we totally lost control. We rented the house we were buying just to get in a bigger home that was further in the country. Well, it didn't take long for our renters to ditch out on paying rent, which left us struggling to make two car payments, along with the load of other bills we had acquired. The extra cost in gas to go to town was something we didn't expect, either. We were deep in over our heads and soon became the ones who were ditching out on our bills. So, bankruptcy was the path for us. We lost both houses and had to become renters ourselves. But it was the best choice we ever could have made!
We have been able to keep our heads above water. Sometimes, just barely, but we are doing it! It hasn't been easy and it hasn't happened without a lot of hard work. On a side note, we don't have charge cards and only ever did have one- Sears (paid and cut up). We buy what we can afford. If we want it, we wait until we have the money to buy it. And we don't try to keep up with the Jones'. I shop at Goodwill and get my clothes on clearance. We buy cars off of Craigslist at income tax time (no car payment is the stuff!), my kids don't do the latest and greatest things, I don't purchase everything they want, and we ALWAYS give 10% of our income back to God. Do I want to keep up with the Jones'? Oh, heck yeah- some days. Do I want to live in a 1200 sq. foot, 1980's, three bedroom, 1 1/2 bath home for the rest of my life? Not necessarily. My heart desires the nice, fancy, roomy house that some of my friends have. Yes, it does! But I love our $750 payment, and our awesome landlord. I mean, the Lord couldn't have blessed us with a better one. But just when my heart starts to desire more and my mind wants me to do less work, I think about all that I already have and how much my hard work has helped us get there. I know that I can have a nice, roomy home,one day, when the kids are grown, and it's just Bill and me. Or maybe we won't ever have the nice, roomy home. We will still have a home- a special place that Bill and I make our own. And we will continue to work hard.
We don't have health insurance. We don't have a new car. We CAN'T keep up with the Jones' and I'm alright with that. But what we do have is an unwavering faith in Jesus Christ that if we continue to live our lives changed, transformed, and filled with a desire for others to feel this same contentment, we will be just fine. God has taken care of us up until now, and he will continue to take care of us for the rest of our lives.
This morning, me and a friend were talking about our spinning class and how the resistance works on the bikes. During the course of our workout, we are asked to turn 5 to the right, or turn 10 to the right. This tightens the resistance and makes the workout harder. Well, there are some in the class who never tighten the resistance, making their workout easier than others. They don't have to work as hard as we do. This frustrates the instructors. As a "client" of their gallery, everyone who spins there, or works out there, are representatives of that gallery. And you know what she said that had such a deeper meaning to me spiritually? She said, "...and people complain that they don't lose weight. I don't want them going around telling people that they spin here. It makes us look bad."
When I got home, that comment hit me like a ton of bricks. This is exactly how I feel about MY Jesus Christ. In life, people don't want to do the hard work that it takes to be a representative of Jesus Christ. They don't want their "bike" to have any resistance. They get saved, go to church, and are o.k. with that. They make no heart change. No lifestyle change.
Being saved is not a piece of cake- it takes hard work. In order to get closer to Jesus, to feel contentment, to understand why people like me are the way they are, you have to change. Scripture tells us, "...with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desire, to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:22-24. It's a tall order to change everything we once were, without God, into something completely different (holy and righteous), but as hard as it is, we should be diligently working hard,-turning those 10 turns to the right- to become the person that Christ made us to be, and whom He loves completely. He is our maker, and wants us to benefit from all that He has to give. He just requires a little bit of hard work along the way, to help get us there. He's not gonna make us do the hard work, but we will reap the benefits if we do.
Tell me what you think....
Recently, I was getting bummed out about how I have to clean houses every Friday. It's getting hard on my body, and my body is letting me know. This is very hard for me to take because I exercise and think of myself as being, somewhat, in shape. None the less, I was thinking, "There would be no way for me to even be able to think about braces if it wasn't for my cleaning jobs." Then, I got to thinking about how these cleaning jobs have allowed me to pay off hospital bills that would have went to collections. Man, we are getting it done and are financially in the best place we have been, ever! I do give consideration to the fact that we had to let a lot go 2 years ago and take a path that some find non-Christian, shameful and wimpy- Bankruptcy.
Thinking of all I thought I needed and had to be back then. Needing the bigger, nicer house. Needing to have nice things. Needing to go out to eat all the time. I thought that I deserved all of these things. I was completely wrong. The desire and need for these things is what caused us to be so deep in debt that we totally lost control. We rented the house we were buying just to get in a bigger home that was further in the country. Well, it didn't take long for our renters to ditch out on paying rent, which left us struggling to make two car payments, along with the load of other bills we had acquired. The extra cost in gas to go to town was something we didn't expect, either. We were deep in over our heads and soon became the ones who were ditching out on our bills. So, bankruptcy was the path for us. We lost both houses and had to become renters ourselves. But it was the best choice we ever could have made!
We have been able to keep our heads above water. Sometimes, just barely, but we are doing it! It hasn't been easy and it hasn't happened without a lot of hard work. On a side note, we don't have charge cards and only ever did have one- Sears (paid and cut up). We buy what we can afford. If we want it, we wait until we have the money to buy it. And we don't try to keep up with the Jones'. I shop at Goodwill and get my clothes on clearance. We buy cars off of Craigslist at income tax time (no car payment is the stuff!), my kids don't do the latest and greatest things, I don't purchase everything they want, and we ALWAYS give 10% of our income back to God. Do I want to keep up with the Jones'? Oh, heck yeah- some days. Do I want to live in a 1200 sq. foot, 1980's, three bedroom, 1 1/2 bath home for the rest of my life? Not necessarily. My heart desires the nice, fancy, roomy house that some of my friends have. Yes, it does! But I love our $750 payment, and our awesome landlord. I mean, the Lord couldn't have blessed us with a better one. But just when my heart starts to desire more and my mind wants me to do less work, I think about all that I already have and how much my hard work has helped us get there. I know that I can have a nice, roomy home,one day, when the kids are grown, and it's just Bill and me. Or maybe we won't ever have the nice, roomy home. We will still have a home- a special place that Bill and I make our own. And we will continue to work hard.
We don't have health insurance. We don't have a new car. We CAN'T keep up with the Jones' and I'm alright with that. But what we do have is an unwavering faith in Jesus Christ that if we continue to live our lives changed, transformed, and filled with a desire for others to feel this same contentment, we will be just fine. God has taken care of us up until now, and he will continue to take care of us for the rest of our lives.
This morning, me and a friend were talking about our spinning class and how the resistance works on the bikes. During the course of our workout, we are asked to turn 5 to the right, or turn 10 to the right. This tightens the resistance and makes the workout harder. Well, there are some in the class who never tighten the resistance, making their workout easier than others. They don't have to work as hard as we do. This frustrates the instructors. As a "client" of their gallery, everyone who spins there, or works out there, are representatives of that gallery. And you know what she said that had such a deeper meaning to me spiritually? She said, "...and people complain that they don't lose weight. I don't want them going around telling people that they spin here. It makes us look bad."
When I got home, that comment hit me like a ton of bricks. This is exactly how I feel about MY Jesus Christ. In life, people don't want to do the hard work that it takes to be a representative of Jesus Christ. They don't want their "bike" to have any resistance. They get saved, go to church, and are o.k. with that. They make no heart change. No lifestyle change.
Being saved is not a piece of cake- it takes hard work. In order to get closer to Jesus, to feel contentment, to understand why people like me are the way they are, you have to change. Scripture tells us, "...with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desire, to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:22-24. It's a tall order to change everything we once were, without God, into something completely different (holy and righteous), but as hard as it is, we should be diligently working hard,-turning those 10 turns to the right- to become the person that Christ made us to be, and whom He loves completely. He is our maker, and wants us to benefit from all that He has to give. He just requires a little bit of hard work along the way, to help get us there. He's not gonna make us do the hard work, but we will reap the benefits if we do.
Tell me what you think....
Monday, December 6, 2010
Since Last Time
It's been at least 2 weeks since I have last posted. So, here we go.....
Last blog, our family was gonna go to family counseling. We tried one night of counseling (where the whole family went, but only Bill and I spoke with Pastor Jackie and his wife for 2 hrs. or so) and haven't made a commitment to continue. Pastor Jackie had some amazing things to say, we just got so busy and haven't even had one free week night. I'm thinking we will start back in January.
On another note, lots of other things going on with Genesis Church, of which I am heavily involved. We have an ongoing drama that started last Sunday (yep, I'm in it) and will continue every Sunday until Christmas Eve. I have been feeling the acting bug starting to gnaw its way into my brain, so this drama came at the perfect moment.
Also, Pastor Chris has challenged all of the staff to read The Gospels in the New Testament. I can honestly say that, sad as it sounds, I have not been able to make time (and believe me, there would be time if I would make time) to read. Three chapters a day and I can't even make time to do that. The problem is is that I know that I could just sit down and read the chapters, but I want to make sure I retain it, and learn something from it. Therefore, I do not read....uuuggghhhh. I WILL do better! I have to!!! I mean, what is a relationship with Jesus Christ if I am not cultivating that relationship? Yes, I am still a Christian, and I still know that I am saved, but how will I know my creator--what he wants from me, what my purpose is according to his word? These are things that are important to me! How important? I thought it was the reason I live.....Well, maybe not. I'm not making my time with him a priority--one thing I tell my husband is vital in making our relationship work. Maybe that's why I have such a stinking bad attitude these days.
So today, I vow to make time for my first love, Jesus Christ! Who is willing to take this journey with me? Well, I know some of the staff of Genesis Church are, but who else???? Looking to hear from you soon!!!
Last blog, our family was gonna go to family counseling. We tried one night of counseling (where the whole family went, but only Bill and I spoke with Pastor Jackie and his wife for 2 hrs. or so) and haven't made a commitment to continue. Pastor Jackie had some amazing things to say, we just got so busy and haven't even had one free week night. I'm thinking we will start back in January.
On another note, lots of other things going on with Genesis Church, of which I am heavily involved. We have an ongoing drama that started last Sunday (yep, I'm in it) and will continue every Sunday until Christmas Eve. I have been feeling the acting bug starting to gnaw its way into my brain, so this drama came at the perfect moment.
Also, Pastor Chris has challenged all of the staff to read The Gospels in the New Testament. I can honestly say that, sad as it sounds, I have not been able to make time (and believe me, there would be time if I would make time) to read. Three chapters a day and I can't even make time to do that. The problem is is that I know that I could just sit down and read the chapters, but I want to make sure I retain it, and learn something from it. Therefore, I do not read....uuuggghhhh. I WILL do better! I have to!!! I mean, what is a relationship with Jesus Christ if I am not cultivating that relationship? Yes, I am still a Christian, and I still know that I am saved, but how will I know my creator--what he wants from me, what my purpose is according to his word? These are things that are important to me! How important? I thought it was the reason I live.....Well, maybe not. I'm not making my time with him a priority--one thing I tell my husband is vital in making our relationship work. Maybe that's why I have such a stinking bad attitude these days.
So today, I vow to make time for my first love, Jesus Christ! Who is willing to take this journey with me? Well, I know some of the staff of Genesis Church are, but who else???? Looking to hear from you soon!!!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Family Counseling
Through the 13 yrs. Bill and I have been married, we have learned that we could benefit from family counseling. We have mentioned this on several occasions, and even attempted family counseling through a non-christian agency to try to better understand the dynamics of our mixed family, and make some changes. For whatever reason, we did not continue with counseling and life, as we knew it, continued. Well, in the past few years, as kids have grown into teenagers, we see that a need for family counseling still exists. Thus, tonight, we begin our journey. Please pray for us and that this time will be effective in pushing us toward unity. Love to you all!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Election Day
Today is election day, and to tell you the truth, politics is the furthest thing from my mind. I know everyone is pumped about voting and about how important it all is, but I'm not willing to vote ignorantly. My life has been so busy and all about my life as it happens, that I have no idea what/who to vote for/against and I feel like if I go out and just vote based off of the party I'm in, I'm flippantly voting, so love me or hate me, I'm not voting today. Don't get me wrong, I know voting is important and each vote makes a difference, but a part of me says, "Does it really?" A part of me says, "What if we are voting, but aren't really voting? Maybe we think we have control of the polls, but we really don't." Crazy, skeptical...I know. So with all that said, I will pray for all of you who are headed to vote! May God bless all of those involved and place the men/women in the positions He wants them in.
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