Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. ~ Romans 15:7
Have you ever felt like an outsider? Has it been hard for you to accept others for who they are? One of my many weaknesses is that sometimes it's hard for me to accept how other people think, or how they view things; which let's face it, is a form of superiority on my part; SHAME ON ME! This is a characteristic of mine that I am learning to trust into God's hands and change because the truth of the matter is that I have felt VERY inferior when I hang out with certain people and I absolutely loathe that feeling...I don't want to make anyone else feel that way and it saddens me that I may. We are to accept each other, always. Is that a hard pill for you to swallow? The way you can gauge how you are with acceptance is to take evaluation of your friendships...have you had a few, a couple, or maybe even a handful go by the wayside? Even though I am tremendously blessed with many good friends, I can look back and see a few friendships that have slipped away that I thought would last forever? Why? If I'm honest, it wasn't all them, I probably was not as accepting as I could have been....whew, that was hard and sad to admit. Over the weekend we got to hang out with some dear friends of ours from Broomfield and over dinner on Saturday night we got into the conversation of relationships. My dear friend said, "We don't have the right to write people off. We just don't. That's not ours. We need to learn to get over our pettiness sometimes. Only God would have that right and he never has done that to any of us. Who do we think we are?" WOW! She's right. Only God would have that right and he never has. It struck a cord with me. Acceptance is dearly needed in our families, among siblings, among children, among parents, among friends, among coworkers, among spouses, in every relationship. Then I ran across this scripture this morning and I once again thought of my dear friends; she has every right in my mind to write certain people off in her life and she never did either. Incredible. Let me just tell all my friends and family, I'm not perfect and never will be, and neither will you, but I will love you always and continue my quest of complete acceptance. Remind me if you need to! Nothing should separate good friends. Nothing....because here's the revelation I had, if we are unwilling to accept someone, or if we are willing to write someone off for their wrongs, then how good are we at forgiveness? In effect, you are unforgiving if you write someone off because the reason you most likely wrote them off was because they hurt you. Maybe they didn't think like you and you couldn't accept that. How petty! Not at all like the Jesus we supposedly than honor and follow and call our Lord. Oh! Ouch! That revelation hurts me. I am so sorry. I don't want to be that way. Let's start with acceptance and love each other the way Christ loves us. Christ could have written me off time and time again, but he never has....who am I to say that I can then? Acceptance! What a statement of faith we could be to this world with that one word and action. ~
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
There Waiting
The father of the prodigal son said, "Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." So they began to celebrate. ~ Luke 15:23-24
Do you know that God celebrates you? You know that God celebrates when people come to him and find his salvation, but can you fathom that he does that no matter where you've been, or what you've done? It's true. I once heard a friend of mine say, "You can not do anything bad enough for God not to love you." Blew me away! I have always had the head knowledge that God loves me, but to hear it like that, "there's nothing I can do bad enough for God to quit loving me" hit my heart. He made us in his image, he will always love his crown creation. Think of the biggest violation against you, or your family....do you know that if the person who did that to you comes to know God, he is forgiven? Hard to imagine, uh? Do you know that God even loves them? That's not to say that we have a "get out of jail free" card, but it's to say, "Hey, we all make mistakes. Some bigger than others, but I will ALWAYS love you." Everyone has been a prodigal son or daughter in their own way; whether it be huge, or in a small turn of the back, we all have. No matter where we've been, or what we do, when we come back to God there is a huge celebration in heaven and the angels rejoice with him in the loudest concert you can even imagine. You see, there is complete hope when someone either comes back, or just starts out their journey; there is light at the end of the dark worldly tunnel at that very moment. It's a time to celebrate! Think of a promotion you've gotten at work, an accomplishment you received at school, think of a loved one coming home from serving overseas...now times that celebration by thousands! Can you see his face beaming? He loves you, he wants to celebrate your return. God wants to give everything to us and as long as we come back he will always be there waiting....for you. ~
Do you know that God celebrates you? You know that God celebrates when people come to him and find his salvation, but can you fathom that he does that no matter where you've been, or what you've done? It's true. I once heard a friend of mine say, "You can not do anything bad enough for God not to love you." Blew me away! I have always had the head knowledge that God loves me, but to hear it like that, "there's nothing I can do bad enough for God to quit loving me" hit my heart. He made us in his image, he will always love his crown creation. Think of the biggest violation against you, or your family....do you know that if the person who did that to you comes to know God, he is forgiven? Hard to imagine, uh? Do you know that God even loves them? That's not to say that we have a "get out of jail free" card, but it's to say, "Hey, we all make mistakes. Some bigger than others, but I will ALWAYS love you." Everyone has been a prodigal son or daughter in their own way; whether it be huge, or in a small turn of the back, we all have. No matter where we've been, or what we do, when we come back to God there is a huge celebration in heaven and the angels rejoice with him in the loudest concert you can even imagine. You see, there is complete hope when someone either comes back, or just starts out their journey; there is light at the end of the dark worldly tunnel at that very moment. It's a time to celebrate! Think of a promotion you've gotten at work, an accomplishment you received at school, think of a loved one coming home from serving overseas...now times that celebration by thousands! Can you see his face beaming? He loves you, he wants to celebrate your return. God wants to give everything to us and as long as we come back he will always be there waiting....for you. ~
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Give Best
Encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. ~
1 Thessalonians 5:11
How often do you feel encouraged? How often do you encourage others? I know I myself need help in the area of giving encouragement; especially to those closest to me; I'm not always the builder. Encourage, according to Webster, means to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope. Unfortunately, my mouth runs amok sometimes and spills out every kind of discouragement. One of my goals this year is to become a more supportive and encouraging wife in not only my actions, but also in my words. There are times I am far from inspiring and if I'm not inspiring then I must be expiring. Expire, according to Webster, means to emit the breath of. How sad is that?! Courage is a huge part of encouragement and according to Webster, the definition of courage is mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. If I'm not encouraging people to be strong with courage then I am discouraging and supplying no strength, or support system for those who may really need it. Lastly, to be encouraging means to give hope and according to Webster, hope is to expect with confidence. If I take that hope away, or never give that hope than I am giving hopelessness, which also according to Webster is having no expectation of good or success; another word for despair. So...if I'm not encouraging I am expiring, discouraging, and despairing to those around me and am a life sucking, unsupportive and complete doubter of all good. Is that you? I know I personally steer clear of those people because, and hang on to your seats, they are all to often selfish takers from me than givers. It's always about them. However, that's me somedays....OH how I want to be an encourager! I want to breath life into peoples situations! I want to help them persevere and strengthen them! I want to expect only good for them and I want them to expect only good for themselves! What a different world we would live in if we would all make a conscious effort to build up instead of tear down. Our marriages, our children, our other family relationships, our friendships, our work places, our very beings would be transformed! Oh how I want that for me and mine. I want to leave that to my children. In the movie Bambi, Thumper's mother had good advice, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." I say if you can't be encouraging, than don't say anything at all. Now if I could only live by my own words....I'm going to give it my best. ~
1 Thessalonians 5:11
How often do you feel encouraged? How often do you encourage others? I know I myself need help in the area of giving encouragement; especially to those closest to me; I'm not always the builder. Encourage, according to Webster, means to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope. Unfortunately, my mouth runs amok sometimes and spills out every kind of discouragement. One of my goals this year is to become a more supportive and encouraging wife in not only my actions, but also in my words. There are times I am far from inspiring and if I'm not inspiring then I must be expiring. Expire, according to Webster, means to emit the breath of. How sad is that?! Courage is a huge part of encouragement and according to Webster, the definition of courage is mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. If I'm not encouraging people to be strong with courage then I am discouraging and supplying no strength, or support system for those who may really need it. Lastly, to be encouraging means to give hope and according to Webster, hope is to expect with confidence. If I take that hope away, or never give that hope than I am giving hopelessness, which also according to Webster is having no expectation of good or success; another word for despair. So...if I'm not encouraging I am expiring, discouraging, and despairing to those around me and am a life sucking, unsupportive and complete doubter of all good. Is that you? I know I personally steer clear of those people because, and hang on to your seats, they are all to often selfish takers from me than givers. It's always about them. However, that's me somedays....OH how I want to be an encourager! I want to breath life into peoples situations! I want to help them persevere and strengthen them! I want to expect only good for them and I want them to expect only good for themselves! What a different world we would live in if we would all make a conscious effort to build up instead of tear down. Our marriages, our children, our other family relationships, our friendships, our work places, our very beings would be transformed! Oh how I want that for me and mine. I want to leave that to my children. In the movie Bambi, Thumper's mother had good advice, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." I say if you can't be encouraging, than don't say anything at all. Now if I could only live by my own words....I'm going to give it my best. ~
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Parent Wants
For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. ~ James 3:16
"What happened?" I ask my four year old as I run out into the yard to find my six year old crying and Isaac standing over him with somewhat of a sly look on his face.
"Well, I wanted to see Sam's new Spiderman bat and he wouldn't let me...so I hit him," Isaac answers nonchalantly.
"Isaac, if Sam had it first, you can't take it out of his hand. Plus, you should not have hit your brother. You needed to wait until he was done playing with it instead of ripping it out of his hand." I reach for Samuel and rub the top of his head where there is sure to be a small welt.
Everywhere you look in this world today people are trying to get what they want when they want it. I know the story of my boys is small and maybe even trite, but the point is that envy and selfishness start at an early age. I've said it before, this world is full of narcissistic people who care more about themselves and what they want than anything else. There's the Ponzi scheme, the murdered spouse for money, the thief, the man who covets his neighbors wife, and even me...who sometimes envies her friends' possessions when mine are more than enough. I wish I could spend my tax return on a big screen flat panel t.v., but no, we have to owe instead. We wonder why the world is so messed up sometimes and I suggest that it's partly because of the envy and selfish ambitions of a fallen world. After all, if we didn't have envy we would all be content with what we have and there would be no room for jealousy. For some, if we didn't envy we would not have the evil thoughts that then invade our minds and cause the turmoil in our lives. Our lives would not be polluted with thoughts of how to keep up with, or even beat the Jones' and we'd have more time and space for selfless acts and thoughts. If we were not selfish, we would put others first most of the time and we would not be in constant pursuit of our own happiness. Don't get me wrong, we need to be in pursuit of our dreams and desires, but sometimes we get our own dreams and desires confused with the ones God has placed in our hearts. Without envy and selfishness we would be more concerned with what GOD wants us to do and not with what WE want to do. In turn, peace and love would prevail and disorder and evil would dissipate.
Later that night Sam did get a small welt, but his little brother asked him to forgive him and they went on their happy way. It starts young, but if we could teach our children how God would want them to deal with envy and selfishness we would be giving our children and their future a healthy start and I know that's what every parent wants. ~
"What happened?" I ask my four year old as I run out into the yard to find my six year old crying and Isaac standing over him with somewhat of a sly look on his face.
"Well, I wanted to see Sam's new Spiderman bat and he wouldn't let me...so I hit him," Isaac answers nonchalantly.
"Isaac, if Sam had it first, you can't take it out of his hand. Plus, you should not have hit your brother. You needed to wait until he was done playing with it instead of ripping it out of his hand." I reach for Samuel and rub the top of his head where there is sure to be a small welt.
Everywhere you look in this world today people are trying to get what they want when they want it. I know the story of my boys is small and maybe even trite, but the point is that envy and selfishness start at an early age. I've said it before, this world is full of narcissistic people who care more about themselves and what they want than anything else. There's the Ponzi scheme, the murdered spouse for money, the thief, the man who covets his neighbors wife, and even me...who sometimes envies her friends' possessions when mine are more than enough. I wish I could spend my tax return on a big screen flat panel t.v., but no, we have to owe instead. We wonder why the world is so messed up sometimes and I suggest that it's partly because of the envy and selfish ambitions of a fallen world. After all, if we didn't have envy we would all be content with what we have and there would be no room for jealousy. For some, if we didn't envy we would not have the evil thoughts that then invade our minds and cause the turmoil in our lives. Our lives would not be polluted with thoughts of how to keep up with, or even beat the Jones' and we'd have more time and space for selfless acts and thoughts. If we were not selfish, we would put others first most of the time and we would not be in constant pursuit of our own happiness. Don't get me wrong, we need to be in pursuit of our dreams and desires, but sometimes we get our own dreams and desires confused with the ones God has placed in our hearts. Without envy and selfishness we would be more concerned with what GOD wants us to do and not with what WE want to do. In turn, peace and love would prevail and disorder and evil would dissipate.
Later that night Sam did get a small welt, but his little brother asked him to forgive him and they went on their happy way. It starts young, but if we could teach our children how God would want them to deal with envy and selfishness we would be giving our children and their future a healthy start and I know that's what every parent wants. ~
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Beautiful Park
Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. ~ Colossians 3:21
"Remember? We are not to exasperate our children, honey." This has become one of my many sayings lately as I watch my two sons and their father wrestle sometimes to the brink of someone getting upset. They all wrestle frequently and most of the time it is innocent, out of love and they are just having a good time. I've learned to back off, but sometimes one of them (usually one of the boys; not my knight) will get upset and the other two have a slight tendency to push them a little, or "egg" them on. Anytime it's one brother to another I say, "Quit it!" but if it's my husband, my newest moto comes flying out of my mouth. Then it happened. The day I was told the same thing by my heavenly groom...."I didn't mean that only for fathers, Janine." What? My son had been bouncing off of the walls all morning long and had come to me with strange requests all morning long also. "Can I fill dad's rubber gloves up with water to see how much they can hold?" NO! "Can we make cookies this morning?" NO! "Can I give my stuffed animals a bath?" NO! Then here he came again and, of course, while I was busy! Inevitably he always asks me things when I'm in the middle of doing something that I think is important. "Can we go to the park?" N - wait a minute, I'm getting something "YOU'RE DISCOURAGING YOUR SON!" What happened? In just a few seconds my perspective changed and I heard it, "It's not just for fathers, Janine. You are embittering and discouraging your son also when you don't take the opportunity to play with him; which is part of serving me." You see, I had always read that scripture to mean that we are not to make our children unnecessarily angered. Well, yeah! HELLO! That's exactly what I was doing. That's exactly what I do a lot of the time. I make them UNNECESSARILY angered because I don't feel like I have the time for their requests. At that moment I realized that needed to change in me and I prayed that it would. One of my New Years goals is to be more of a spontaneous mother and here I was saying no to everything when really, what does it hurt to stop and bake cookies with my four year old? What's the difference between frustrating my children with my Noes when they could be Yeses as opposed to frustrating them any other way? Let's face it, sometimes I'm going to discourage them because there are indisputable NO answers, but if it can be a YES, then why not? So, moms, let's be a little more spontaneous and stop discouraging our children by not giving them the attention they deserve. Granted, it's not always going to be possible, or easy, but it can be so rewarding! When we can we need to be more encouraging instead of discouraging to our children. By the way, it was a beautiful day at the park! ~
"Remember? We are not to exasperate our children, honey." This has become one of my many sayings lately as I watch my two sons and their father wrestle sometimes to the brink of someone getting upset. They all wrestle frequently and most of the time it is innocent, out of love and they are just having a good time. I've learned to back off, but sometimes one of them (usually one of the boys; not my knight) will get upset and the other two have a slight tendency to push them a little, or "egg" them on. Anytime it's one brother to another I say, "Quit it!" but if it's my husband, my newest moto comes flying out of my mouth. Then it happened. The day I was told the same thing by my heavenly groom...."I didn't mean that only for fathers, Janine." What? My son had been bouncing off of the walls all morning long and had come to me with strange requests all morning long also. "Can I fill dad's rubber gloves up with water to see how much they can hold?" NO! "Can we make cookies this morning?" NO! "Can I give my stuffed animals a bath?" NO! Then here he came again and, of course, while I was busy! Inevitably he always asks me things when I'm in the middle of doing something that I think is important. "Can we go to the park?" N - wait a minute, I'm getting something "YOU'RE DISCOURAGING YOUR SON!" What happened? In just a few seconds my perspective changed and I heard it, "It's not just for fathers, Janine. You are embittering and discouraging your son also when you don't take the opportunity to play with him; which is part of serving me." You see, I had always read that scripture to mean that we are not to make our children unnecessarily angered. Well, yeah! HELLO! That's exactly what I was doing. That's exactly what I do a lot of the time. I make them UNNECESSARILY angered because I don't feel like I have the time for their requests. At that moment I realized that needed to change in me and I prayed that it would. One of my New Years goals is to be more of a spontaneous mother and here I was saying no to everything when really, what does it hurt to stop and bake cookies with my four year old? What's the difference between frustrating my children with my Noes when they could be Yeses as opposed to frustrating them any other way? Let's face it, sometimes I'm going to discourage them because there are indisputable NO answers, but if it can be a YES, then why not? So, moms, let's be a little more spontaneous and stop discouraging our children by not giving them the attention they deserve. Granted, it's not always going to be possible, or easy, but it can be so rewarding! When we can we need to be more encouraging instead of discouraging to our children. By the way, it was a beautiful day at the park! ~
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Move Forward
Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." ~
Luke 9:23-27
In order to completely accept Jesus and everything He did for us on the cross, we are also commanded to follow Him daily. This is the harder part; to everyday sacrifice our humanly and worldly wants so that we can become more Christ like. Everyday we make choices to either live selfishly, or for Him in sometimes a sacrificial way; giving up something we want to further His kingdom. The truth of the matter is that whatever choice we make also helps shape where we will spend eternity. You can not proclaim to follow Christ and have the narcissistic mentality that much of this world holds today. It is not ALL about YOU....in fact, very little of it is about you. To continually seek out worldly happiness and pleasures will only lead you to hurt and hard feelings. The true source of joy comes from resting in Him and in His truths, promises and complete will for our lives. He is in control. The sooner we come to realize that we are not in as much control as we think we are and as soon as we learn to be content where we are and with what we have the sooner joy will enter our hearts and souls....our very beings. It's like being pulled behind a boat on a tube, or water skis - if we stay in the wake of the boat we have much smoother water. On the other hand, if you venture outside of the wake you start to get into choppy territory; water that only experienced water skiers can navigate. The same is true with Christ. If you stay behind His lead and take up your cross daily the smoother life seems to be no matter what is going on around you, but as soon as you leave his lead you enter into areas that are harder to navigate and you are more likely to falter. All I know for sure is that I don't want Him to be ashamed of me when I meet him face to face as the scriptures indicate will happen to some...so I'll pick up my cross and move forward. ~
Luke 9:23-27
In order to completely accept Jesus and everything He did for us on the cross, we are also commanded to follow Him daily. This is the harder part; to everyday sacrifice our humanly and worldly wants so that we can become more Christ like. Everyday we make choices to either live selfishly, or for Him in sometimes a sacrificial way; giving up something we want to further His kingdom. The truth of the matter is that whatever choice we make also helps shape where we will spend eternity. You can not proclaim to follow Christ and have the narcissistic mentality that much of this world holds today. It is not ALL about YOU....in fact, very little of it is about you. To continually seek out worldly happiness and pleasures will only lead you to hurt and hard feelings. The true source of joy comes from resting in Him and in His truths, promises and complete will for our lives. He is in control. The sooner we come to realize that we are not in as much control as we think we are and as soon as we learn to be content where we are and with what we have the sooner joy will enter our hearts and souls....our very beings. It's like being pulled behind a boat on a tube, or water skis - if we stay in the wake of the boat we have much smoother water. On the other hand, if you venture outside of the wake you start to get into choppy territory; water that only experienced water skiers can navigate. The same is true with Christ. If you stay behind His lead and take up your cross daily the smoother life seems to be no matter what is going on around you, but as soon as you leave his lead you enter into areas that are harder to navigate and you are more likely to falter. All I know for sure is that I don't want Him to be ashamed of me when I meet him face to face as the scriptures indicate will happen to some...so I'll pick up my cross and move forward. ~
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Long Hallelujah
From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you. I have become a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge. My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long. ~ Psalm 71:6-8
Have you ever heard the song There will be a day by Jeremy Camp? If you haven't I suggest you find a copy and listen....NOW! Literally....GO! This song brings me to my knees every time and I am absolutely in love with it; my heart is filled with thanksgiving and gladness and complete joy every time I hear it. I have to stop what I'm doing and crank it; sometimes I have to stop what I'm doing all together and fall to my knees. This song has an amazing affect on me no matter how many times I hear it; God gave Jeremy Camp that song for me. This song brings complete praise from my heart to my lips and before I know whats happening my sight becomes blurry with those tears of praise. There is a reason Jeremy Camp has become one of my favorite artists, his music touches me to praise my God like no other....so when I read this verse this morning for my daily quiet time and that song then came across the SIRIUS Christian station moments later, I was, of course, moved. God has truly been with us through everything and every moment since our birth and even before that when he fashioned us into his image in our mother's womb. Sometimes the sting, pain and suffering of life is more than we will ever understand, but He is my refuge, has been with me all the time, He understands and there will be a day when there will be no more tears. I will praise Him until that day and forever more! Declaring His splendor all day long! Hallelujah! ~
Have you ever heard the song There will be a day by Jeremy Camp? If you haven't I suggest you find a copy and listen....NOW! Literally....GO! This song brings me to my knees every time and I am absolutely in love with it; my heart is filled with thanksgiving and gladness and complete joy every time I hear it. I have to stop what I'm doing and crank it; sometimes I have to stop what I'm doing all together and fall to my knees. This song has an amazing affect on me no matter how many times I hear it; God gave Jeremy Camp that song for me. This song brings complete praise from my heart to my lips and before I know whats happening my sight becomes blurry with those tears of praise. There is a reason Jeremy Camp has become one of my favorite artists, his music touches me to praise my God like no other....so when I read this verse this morning for my daily quiet time and that song then came across the SIRIUS Christian station moments later, I was, of course, moved. God has truly been with us through everything and every moment since our birth and even before that when he fashioned us into his image in our mother's womb. Sometimes the sting, pain and suffering of life is more than we will ever understand, but He is my refuge, has been with me all the time, He understands and there will be a day when there will be no more tears. I will praise Him until that day and forever more! Declaring His splendor all day long! Hallelujah! ~
Monday, April 6, 2009
Like Duh
My husband is yapping on the phone, Isaac is watching a movie for his rest time and I'm supposed to be cracking down on the income taxes, but here I am blogging instead. Cody has scheduled the fire suppression system to be installed on April 20th...so the restaurant is getting close to opening and I am getting nervous/excited. We sat down and put together our menu over the weekend, the walls in the restaurant are painted a nice light brown now and staff is getting prepared...oh boy! Samuel wasn't feeling well over the weekend, but still insisted on taking part in the Easter program at church on Sunday that he's been practicing for two months...so we let him participate and only had to take him off the stage once during the program to go to the bathroom. Diarrhea waits for no one, but at least he didn't blow chunks like I was a little worried he would do, but nothing ever came up...thank God. Isaac and I made flashcards this afternoon for the alphabet and his numbers; don't know why, he seems to have his letters and his numbers up to 20 nailed down. Maybe I should start teaching him to read a little; I think he already knows how a little; I don't know how many times I have asked him, "How did you know what it says?" To which he states, "Cause I can read it mom!" Like duh! ~
Friday, April 3, 2009
Refine Away
The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath. ~ Proverbs 11:23
Do you ever feel like the desires of your heart are being squashed? That what you want and hope for is never going to happen? I've felt like that. In fact, I felt like that just last week when the job I really thought I had in the bag was taken from me and given to someone else. What? That is supposed to be mine! You're making a mistake! However, just like God says that all things work out for those who believe in Him, I also have to remember that the desire of my heart to go back to work full-time will only end up working out too...just maybe not the way I've imagined, or in the timing I've imagined. (NOTE: Did you hear yourself Janine, not your timing either!) Here it is a week later and I can honestly say that it's probably a good thing for me and my family that I didn't get that job, but I really wanted it. The fact of the matter is that I would rather work closer to home and my children's school and I my husband...so maybe it's not that bad after all. I also know that the desire to go back to work is a responsible and good decision coming from a heart that only wants to do what's in God's will...so I have to trust that He has a plan that I just don't see in this puzzle I call my life. It's not a wicked heart that is asking, for according to scripture, that would be disastrous, but it's with a right heart and so I have to know that my desire will only end in good if I can just trust and hold on. Once again, perseverance, trust and love in my Lord are all characteristics that are being refined in my spiritual walk; Hallelujah! Refine away, Lord, refine away! ~
Do you ever feel like the desires of your heart are being squashed? That what you want and hope for is never going to happen? I've felt like that. In fact, I felt like that just last week when the job I really thought I had in the bag was taken from me and given to someone else. What? That is supposed to be mine! You're making a mistake! However, just like God says that all things work out for those who believe in Him, I also have to remember that the desire of my heart to go back to work full-time will only end up working out too...just maybe not the way I've imagined, or in the timing I've imagined. (NOTE: Did you hear yourself Janine, not your timing either!) Here it is a week later and I can honestly say that it's probably a good thing for me and my family that I didn't get that job, but I really wanted it. The fact of the matter is that I would rather work closer to home and my children's school and I my husband...so maybe it's not that bad after all. I also know that the desire to go back to work is a responsible and good decision coming from a heart that only wants to do what's in God's will...so I have to trust that He has a plan that I just don't see in this puzzle I call my life. It's not a wicked heart that is asking, for according to scripture, that would be disastrous, but it's with a right heart and so I have to know that my desire will only end in good if I can just trust and hold on. Once again, perseverance, trust and love in my Lord are all characteristics that are being refined in my spiritual walk; Hallelujah! Refine away, Lord, refine away! ~
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Silver Lining
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:11
Have you ever seen an adult throw a tantrum? I mean a three year old tantrum? What did you think? Unfortunately, a lot of us we get caught throwing tantrums merely out of pure selfishness. We live in a country that beckons us to a sense of entitlement and when we don't get it we throw ourselves into a frenzy. My son loves to have what I call a "foot stomping" tantrum; you know the kind, when he doesn't get his way he jumps up and down and throws himself onto the floor. How many of us do that? Maybe not in that way, but have you ever thought Why does it always work out for them and not for me? Boo hoo hoo. Doesn't that sound like a child? Oh please, I know you have been there - you're human, and I will admit that I've been there more than once. How about the "it's not fair" syndrome? Have any of that going on? In these economic times I think a lot of people are probably saying that, and you know what, to some degree it's not fair. Don't get me wrong, there have been people beyond our control who have helped put us in this financial crisis - no doubt, but is it really ALL their fault? Or where you trying to keep up with "The Jones" because after all, and hear me out....we deserve it? So, we try to live beyond our means because apperance is everything and pride gets in our way, or maybe because we simply don't like to tell ourselves NO. Well, who ever said we deserved everything? Who ever promised us that? OURSELVES! If we deserved everything than we have to take the bad with the good too, but no one wants to do that. There is a silver lining to this recession, and let me just fill you in on what it is: we are learning the value of what is really important and it doesn't have everything to do with money. We are "growing up" more in character and learning to leave a different kind of legacy for our children. A legacy that doesn't revolve around the almighty dollar that then doesn't cause us to throw fits when we don't get what we want and one that in royal return helps us to leave behind the ungodly childish behavior. Praise God! There is hope in this recession silver lining! ~
Have you ever seen an adult throw a tantrum? I mean a three year old tantrum? What did you think? Unfortunately, a lot of us we get caught throwing tantrums merely out of pure selfishness. We live in a country that beckons us to a sense of entitlement and when we don't get it we throw ourselves into a frenzy. My son loves to have what I call a "foot stomping" tantrum; you know the kind, when he doesn't get his way he jumps up and down and throws himself onto the floor. How many of us do that? Maybe not in that way, but have you ever thought Why does it always work out for them and not for me? Boo hoo hoo. Doesn't that sound like a child? Oh please, I know you have been there - you're human, and I will admit that I've been there more than once. How about the "it's not fair" syndrome? Have any of that going on? In these economic times I think a lot of people are probably saying that, and you know what, to some degree it's not fair. Don't get me wrong, there have been people beyond our control who have helped put us in this financial crisis - no doubt, but is it really ALL their fault? Or where you trying to keep up with "The Jones" because after all, and hear me out....we deserve it? So, we try to live beyond our means because apperance is everything and pride gets in our way, or maybe because we simply don't like to tell ourselves NO. Well, who ever said we deserved everything? Who ever promised us that? OURSELVES! If we deserved everything than we have to take the bad with the good too, but no one wants to do that. There is a silver lining to this recession, and let me just fill you in on what it is: we are learning the value of what is really important and it doesn't have everything to do with money. We are "growing up" more in character and learning to leave a different kind of legacy for our children. A legacy that doesn't revolve around the almighty dollar that then doesn't cause us to throw fits when we don't get what we want and one that in royal return helps us to leave behind the ungodly childish behavior. Praise God! There is hope in this recession silver lining! ~
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
My Ambition
It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation. ~ Romans 15:20
Have you ever longed to be a missionary? When I was in junior high I thought I would be a missionary to a foreign country; it was always a dream of mine to live in another country and to preach the gospel to others. My dream of living in another country passed when I started really studying other cultures in an ethics class in college, I mean REALLY studying them and not just reading about them. Not that they don't fascinate me, but I have no desire to LIVE somewhere other then the USA and I applaud those foreign missionaries who have made other countries their home....it's just not for me. However, I have learned that the gospel doesn't only need to be preached on foreign soil, but it's much needed right here in the wealthiest country of all; especially now. I have realized that for me personally, my soul is much happier when it's involved in some sort of ministry and I don't have to go thousands of miles away to do it. As Christians, God has called us to be lights in the culture and society for which we live in; we are where we are supposed to be. Sometimes I think I would have fit right in with the '50's era; I could have easily accepted being a stay at home wife with a dress and apron fastened around my child bearing waist while I cooked and cleaned for my family. However, God facilitated my life around this century and there is a reason for that...so that I could help Him here and now and I intend to do the best I can where I'm at. ~
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