Amen That

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ~ Philippians 2:1-2

Are you encouraged in your fellowship? Are you an encouragement? This verse hit me this morning in new ways that it never has before even though I've read it many times before. It amazes me how you can read the Scriptures over and over again and how various passages may jump out at you on any give day depending on what you need to hear. For me, this verse related to my marriage this morning. Your marriage? Yes, my marriage. You see I'm not always the encouraging spouse contrary to believe and I have an extremely hard time biting my tongue when my common sense doesn't jive with my husbands. I have been called to love my husband as Christ loves me and more than often I am the first one throwing the stones than trying to bless him with my words. We are one in Spirit and when it comes to the stress load of family, work and making it all come together I tend to be the one that wants to say "told you" instead of being united with him. I need to make Christ's joy complete not only in being like minded with other believers, but what about being like minded in love with my spouse? Don't misunderstand me, I don't have to agree with everything he does and when he asks me my opinion I need to give it even if it's not always what he wants to hear, but there is a tone in which I can express my opinion that can show love and there is a way to lovingly and compassionately disagree. We need to be on the same page with our spouses and if we can't be we need to pray that God would guide and direct us before we wound each other. The enemy loves that kind of destruction and we need to be guarded against the chaos he loves to create when we are not of the same like mindedness. No more! I will try my best to be an encouragement to my man! After all, there's enough in this world to knock him down and I don't need to be part of it. Amen to that! ~

Through Growth

Once you were less than nothing; now you are God's own. Once you knew very little of God's kindness; now your very lives have been changed by it. ~ 1 Peter 2:10

Our backyard is huge and right now it is luscious as it's been mowed just this afternoon, but give it a few days and out of what looks like nothingness you'll see many Aspen trees trying to pop up. We have a group of four or five big Aspen trees in the middle of our yard and these little baby trees called "quakes" throw themselves up out of the ground as they take life and roots from the middle of the yard. That's how it is with us. We were once nothing. Only by grace and an amazing love that we will never understand from God above do we pop up to breath and live. We become God's children and his word and ways start to take root into our lives and we are able to persevere through his kindness. When we were on our own in this self serving world we had no idea what we were missing and there was no way we could understand the changed lives of others. Once we let that root take hold in our hearts and accept that amazing love that flows from the one true eternal king, we become changed and want to show off that new found freedom in Him. Just like the baby Aspen trees popping up out of the ground from and through the fresh new root system, we too can pop up and show off the new root system we have found. We need to grow and be unashamed of the changes that have taken place within us through him. Grow on! ~

Change = Good

August has arrived; which means my family is getting geared up for mom to go to work and the boys are gearing up for school to start. What happened to the summer? This is the same question a lot of us are asking, but I really don't feel like I have had much of a vacation; well, maybe a working one. Cody and the boys went fishing this morning out at Stagecoach Reservoir and didn't catch a thing, but had a great time just being the boys and doing their thing (feeding crawdads). Now they are out in the garage doing some reorganization; which really just means moving things from one spot to another making things we don't use more accessible and appealing to the eye. It'll just be moved again in another couple of months to the other side of the garage, let's be real here. I enjoyed my time this morning alone trying to figure out how to unpack the rest of our stuff, catching up on some reading and doing some daily chores. Sometimes I feel a little lost when I'm left all alone; as if I'm not sure what to do when I don't have anything or anyone else to worry about. What a strange feeling. At lunch, Samuel let us know that he wished I didn't have to go to work Monday and all Isaac said to that was, "Well why not? That means school is starting soon!" Guess he's a little excited for his new upcoming adventure. Samuel can't wait for his little brother to be at school with him either...it'll be good and I know they will watch out for each other. The question is what will my husband do with all his time? For the first time in seven years he will also have a life changing experience when he realizes he has eight hours a day without anyone here with him. Wow! Somebody write this down on a calendar as I will never admit to it if you ask me if I said it, but I guess (and here it goes)............change is good. ~

Morph On

God is looking for those with changed hearts and minds. Whoever has that kind of change in his life will get his praise from God. ~ Romans 2:29

How has your heart and mind changed since you came to know Christ? If you haven't noticed much change you may need to check yourself spiritually to see if your commitment to Christ was real as there should have been a change made somewhere within your heart and mind. Contrary to what I have heard some say, I do believe there is a change no matter what your walk in life was; good, or bad. One doesn't have to be leading a life of sin for there to be change; that is not the only change that should take place. There was and still is tremendous change for me just in the act of learning how to let go of control among many other things. I dare say that there are Christians out there who believe that because they are not sinning there is no change needed. To them I would say to be wary of complacency. If you're stagnant than you're probably not moving forward either. Here's what I know from experience: even though I don't have a life of unbridled sin, I do still live here on this earth which requires me to keep in check everyday with my Heavenly Father. I've learned that I need to accept change, be more open to loving others, be more forgiving, more patient and I definitely need to be more trusting in the Lord. What I have learned is that my life may not need a change from blatant sin, but my change may be a need to continually morph into more characteristics of Christ - to be more Christlike. To become closer to what he wants me to be also comes with a whole lot of praise from the Almighty and that's the praise I'm after....so morph on! ~

What Relief

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ~ 1 John 4:4

For the last few weeks someone, or some people, have been breaking into businesses (three, or four) here in Oak Creek and stealing mostly alcohol and leaving a wake of vandalism in their path without being caught. Ever since my husband and I decided to go ahead and apply for our wine/beer license I have been fearful that they would target our establishment next. Last night it was only our second night serving and sure enough, we got the call at about 1:30 a.m. from the Sheriff's Department and received a visit from a deputy at our house. Apparently the culprits where trying to break into Shorty's and were apprehended before they could even make a dent in the door they were trying to get into. THANK GOD! Not only was our little restaurant saved, but the suspects were caught and my little home town can go back to normal. At church this morning we were told, "Well, I know this sounds strange, but to bad they didn't try to break into your place first. God had your back." I do know that God had our back and I know they would have eventually got caught, but I do feel a sense of God's covering over our restaurant. They didn't even get close enough to the back door to do damage before they were caught, even though the Sheriff's Department is certain that was their target from their positioning. It's almost as if they hit a brick wall when they decided to mess with Shorty's at 2:00 a.m. and for that I am thankful. Now I just pray for the suspects and hope they have learned something from their run in with the law, but only time will tell. For now, I'm relieved and my fear is gone as I know that God's will for my family overcame the plan of the evil one. What relief! ~

Conquered Love

Jesus said, "I've told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I've conquered the world." ~ John 16:33

I'll be candid and completely honest here. Even though I am a follower of the only one true living God and have accepted his son as my Lord and Savior, most of the time I struggle with the whole trust issue with (and hang on to your hats) Jesus especially. If things aren't working out the way I want them too it's an even bigger struggle. However, in the last few years of my life I am beginning to understand this trust thing with Jesus a little better. Not that I have it down; it seems like it's a daily struggle with me, but I am learning that if I trust him instead of myself than no matter what the circumstances, I seem to come out the other end unscathed and okay. I have to be reminded daily that the bible is chalked full of promises to us, His children and that includes me no matter how unworthy I feel. However, sometimes I think that we forget that he never said, "Now that you are a follower of me your life will be easy." We just want to think that. For me, I know that trusting Jesus and God is sometimes hard because I don't always feel His presence. I have to remember that he is always with me no matter what's going on and He has my back no matter if I feel Him there, or not. I do know that his love for me is unshakable and unmovable at all times...so on that I can rest assured and conquer the world. ~

Only Temporary

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. ~
James 1:2-4

To consider challenges in life a gift is a little than I can stomach, but I have to admit that there is some truth to that kind of thinking. After all, I can look back at my life and think of several circumstances that were monumental in moving me, or my family closer to God and His will and they were almost all presented in some form of a challenge, or huge change. I don't know that I consider them gifts, but I do consider them as opportunities for God to reveal himself to me in drastic ways, or maybe it's an opportunity for me to be refined in character and Christ likeness. When there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel and you only have God to hang onto sometimes that's the best place to be. When we have to trust in Him and Him alone to make things work out that hang terrifyingly in the balance, we are usually right where He wants us to be. I've often thought that if spiritual warfare is thick in my life and my life seems to be in check with God's ways than I must be doing something right because the enemy is really trying to take me down. I must be on to something, if I can just hang on. Trials, tests and challenges are all part of God's plan sometimes whether we want to admit it or not. He did not promise a life of roses and butterflies at all times; in fact, He warned us that there would be trials....so take heart... maybe you're right where God wants you to be; I promise it really is only temporary. ~

Thank Jesus

I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. ~ Philippians 4:13

We have just finished our second move in the last 7 months; yes, you read that right, we have moved twice since December! Granted the second move was only about two blocks away from the first, but if you don't already know this about me, I hate change! However, God blessed us with both moves...so after much thought and prayer we did it yet again. During this last upheaval I remember thinking to myself I really don't know how I'm doing this again; I can't believe I'm not withered with exhaustion. I mean really, here we are moving again in the midst of operating and really still getting a two month old restaurant off the ground (also proving to be a huge blessing), raising our boys and trying to keep ourselves grounded. What are we thinking! It occurred to me in the midst of my thought that maybe I'm not exhausted because I am in the midst of a bigger plan for my life and because I'm not fighting it (at this particular moment; believe me, I usually put up a good fight) God is supplying enormous amounts of strength. When I look back at the last two years of my life and especially the last seven months, I feel like it's been more like five years; we have been through a lot and we have made life altering changes that we felt were guided by God. So when I read this scripture this morning the truth of it rang clear to me; I have tremendous strength in Christ and I have never been more aware of that than now. His will; not mine, coupled with His strength; also not mine, is AMAZING! Thank you, Jesus! ~

Finished Victory

Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. ~ Romans 8:37

Despite the monotony of daily chores such as doing the same dishes, washing the same laundry and playing the same action figures games over and over with your fiery five year old....victory is ours. Even despite the never ending bills, the broken down car, the faltering health or even failing health of our loved ones....victory is ours. How about through a broken economy, a broken marriage, a broken child, a lost job, or even the loss of a loved one....victory is ours. Scripture says that victory is not only ours through Christ, but OVERWHELMING victory is ours; OVERWHELMING. I know we won't truly know what that all entails, or even how that feels down here as that victory is reserved for those of us who cross the finish line, but I assure you it will be glorious and I can't wait. One of my little tricks for getting through difficulties is to remember that I win at the end and that if I could just see how God is using my circumstances to refine my sometimes rough exterior, or interior I would be glad for it. I think to myself that if I could zoom out and see the bigger picture for what it really is, how God sees it, I would understand everything. Sometimes I just have to understand that I'm NOT GOING TO understand everything. It's okay. One day I will and one day I will have complete victory over my life when I stand with Jesus Christ after having finished the race. Run on! Victory is yours! ~

Pure Love

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ~ Jesus in John 17:20-21

Have you ever sat back and wondered how the "church body" would be if we got rid of doctrine and denominations and actually were acutely in tuned with each other based solely on the relationship we each have with Christ? My husband has often said that he believes God is up there shaking his head at all of us "Christians" as we debate and argue over things that have nothing to really do with our salvation instead of just focusing on loving each other as he has called us too. There is a place for doctrine and making sure that our fundamental belief system is intact as Christ would have it, but sometimes we forget how to just love people. Here is an example from my mind bank: I remember once hearing an argument straight from a Pastor's mouth that smokers are all going to hell because of their habitual addiction. I thought, Wow! What about God's grace to these people? What about his forgiveness? Furthermore, I hope no one actually believes him. Furthermore, at that moment I prayed that no newcomer, or unbeliever was in ear shot of him for fear that they may be ever turned off to this Christ person. It may be true that you'll smell like hell from smoking, but just because you smoke doesn't send you there. Last time I checked that particular issue had not forbearance on my salvation. My point is that we get so caught up in social, personal and sometimes doctrinal differences that the true message of salvation gets muddied. Let's watch ourselves, love each other and become the one church body that Christ longs for us to be. We need to get rid of the pettiness and get down to the heart issue of salvation and the basics of Christ's pure love. ~

Health Depends

What in God's name are we thinking? Why do we keep ourselves so busy? Don't we realize that is part of the stress? Here we are, on the edge of monumental decisions....AGAIN! Why can't we just have a normal life? When will things slow down? I know, I know, everyone is busy, but that doesn't make it right, or even slightly okay with me; I want simplicity! Excuse me if I want to be settled for a while (longer than 7 months, thank you) instead of following society's muddied idea to be extremely busy and always striving for more. Don't get me wrong, I believe everyone should strive for something better, but who says it has to be constant? Who says we have to go from one accomplishment to the other without stopping? DO NOT PASS GO AND DO NOT COLLECT $200! YOU MUST GO, GO, GO! I'm tired and I need a break. Now, with all that being said, my desire for a slower pace and OUR need for it as humans all came to a head last Friday when my husband was thrown into a forced night off when he was stricken with Transient Global Amnesia (TGA). He lost all memory of Friday and the week prior and was forced to stay in the hospital over night for observation. Yes, his memory has come back; all except for Friday, the day of the attack, but it just goes to show that we are still human and we all need to slow down. I'm thankful my man is okay, but I will be more conscious of this family's stress level and I will be looking for more opportunities to slow down. Our health depends on it. ~