Are you settling for 'Good'?

I was listening to a sermon today from Alistair Begg. He has a sweet accent so every thing he says seems to be profound. Anyway, I heard him talk today about choosing things that are Best instead of just Good.

We can probably, should be able to, differentiate between good and bad. That usually isn't the hard part. But what if part of Satan's plan of destruction wasn't in getting us to always choose bad, but getting us to settle.

I wondered what kind of day we would have if always made the Best possible choices. There are plenty of good choices we make, but are we missing out on blessings because we are settling for something just plain good enough? 

Examples: There are lots of women who are good Christian women. But the best choice for me in picking a friend is someone who isn't afraid of confronting me when I am not living the way I should. 

There are not so many good shows on tv. But there is probably a best option when flipping through the channels. Or maybe the best choice is to sometimes hit the power button.

There are a lot of things to say to help lift up someone who is discouraged, but maybe the best choice is to pray with them.

I think Best choices is something that would take serious thought, consideration, and prayer throughout the day. You would really be intentional about the things you were doing, saying and watching. That sounds like a good day. No, a BEST day! But that is very easy for me to type. Maybe not so easy to do.

I am not really talking about every decision. Like pb and j or a turkey sandwich. I'm sure, unless you were allergic, they are both fine choices. But there are things that do matter. It matters how you talk to you kids. You might not have yelled, but you didn't make the best choice when disciplining them. (Yup, just didn't make the best choice about 5 minutes ago.)

Ok here is the real question: does the Best choice every vary? I would say yes, but of course you can disagree. Some days you might need to delay doing the dishes to spend some extra quality time with one of the kids who is acting out. But the next day the kids are fine and the laundry really needs to get done because no one has any clean socks!

Wondering how to figure out what the best choice is? Well good news! If you are a Christian, you've been given a gift! The Holy Spirit! John 16:7-8 says that the Holy Spirit was given to: "convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment". I think this is one of those instances where he can help us with judging the good or best choice. 

I don't want to miss out on any blessing the Lord has for you because I settled for something just 'good'. I doubt that you do either. Grab an accountability partner and set out for Best choices. I hope it makes your day!

Does God Hate You?

I heard a sermon 2 days ago by a local pastor on the radio. Yes I like listening to sermons on the radio. Anyway, he was saying God won't be up in heaven crying over the people cast down into Hell. The pastor said God HATES those who do not love him. I was kind of taken back. I was thinking that message isn't a good way to win people to the Lord. "Hey do you know Christ? No? Oh well then he Hates you." 

Then I started thinking about if it was a true statement. I did some research. Here is what I found.

Psalm 5:4-6 

⁴ For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome. ⁵ The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; ⁶ you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, LORD, detest.

In Romans where it talks about Gods Sovereign choice it says this, 

Romans 9:13 Just as it is written, 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.'

This was first stated in Malachi 1:2-3, and if I keep going with this we'll end up talking about God's Sovereign choice and I am just not smart enough to explain this intellectually.

Ok another verse that mentions God hating something is Pr 6:16 -19. These are the verses that talk about the '7 deadly sins' as they are so lovingly called. These verses don't actually say God hates a particular person, but the sins the themselves. 

Proverbs 6:16-19 

¹⁶ There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: ¹⁷ haughty eyes, a lying tongue,      hands that shed innocent blood, ¹⁸ a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,    ¹⁹ a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. 

We see that God obviously hates Evil. He hates those who are bloodthirsty; shed innocent blood. But I am not evil you say! I haven't killed anyone. Well it also says he hates Lying. We've all lied. No way around it. No excuses. We've all lied. But does that mean that God hates you?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say No. I can believe that God hates Evil. He has to. He is pure goodness and pure love. He can't tolerate evil. It is a direct contradiction to himself! So if you are a Christian, you aren't evil, you are a saint.

But that doesn't answer the question if God hates YOU! So you aren't a Christian. You don't love God. Dangerous territory I'd say. Well truthfully I think a lot of professed Christians don't Love God. Here is the perfect verse that totally go against God hating people. 

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 I would conclude that if God gave his sons life for the world, he doesn't hate the people he sent his son to die for.

Bottom line: God loves you. He wants you to be saved. He wants you to spend eternity with him. But if you decide not to believe in the one who wants to save you, you will be going to Hell. He can't spare you. That would be unjust. God is just.

Follower of Christ

        You know that in some countries it is illegal to be a Christian? Right. Of course you did. People are put in jail, families reject them, and they basically live out their life, however short it may be, alone. It is hard to be a follower of Christ when everyone else is Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, Mormon, and Christian.

Wait Christian!? Um... yeah. I heard a sermon on 94.1 The Voice and it really got me thinking. It is hard to follow Christ no matter who or where you are. You might not have been spit on by someone in your church, but have you ever been judged for ‘going over board?’ Or have you ever judged someone for acting too churchy?

      I started wondering: What if my daughter told me she wanted to be a missionary in the Congo when she grew up. Would I say ‘Honey, if that is what God has for you then I will support you 1000% percent’? I doubt it. I would probably say, “Oh honey I wanted you to go to college and be a Doctor, lawyer, engineer…!” How about the son who goes to a deeper relationship with Christ than his Christian parents ever had. The rest of the family feels judged and think he acts self righteous. Or the husband who feels uncomfortable when his wife asks him to pray with her over their children at night. 

     It’s cool to be a Christian who isn’t too much of a Christian. It’s cool to go to church, maybe teach the kids class everyone once and a while. But that is it. No time spent with the Lord during the week or in prayer. You don’t witness to the lady in the cubical next to you. In fact no one at work may even know you are a Christian. Or at least profess to be one… He isn't a part of your every day life. Just Sunday life.

    I am sad that I have been apart of this. I am sad that my daughters might be ridiculed not only in school, but in church! Not that I can clearly see the lies I’ve believed about Christian Culture, I am thinking of to change my own environment. How do you start a Christians being Tolerant of Christians Revolution!? That actually made me laughs a bit. We need to be tolerant of people’s (real, thriving, and obedient) relationships with the Lord even if it makes us uncomfortable. Now that I think a little more, maybe tolerant isn’t the word I’m looking for. We shouldn’t just accept someone’s relationship with the Lord, we should be jealous for our own thriving relationship with Christ.

Don’t feel threatened or judged. Usually that means you feel conviction about something you need to deal with. So deal with it! And start living out your faith with actions instead of just words. 

    Need a good kick in the pants to get you started? Try Beth Moore’s Breaking Free or Bondage Breaker by Neil T. Anderson. Get excited for the life and freedom that a life with Christ really brings.

Gender Roles

  I am old fashioned. Not just because of my name =) I believe Gender Roles exist and they exist for a reason. I believe that God created Man and Woman equal but really really really different. Both Genders are made in his image, but he has many attributes that he gave us individually.
  Lets talk Television shall we? I HATE sitcoms where the wife is a condescending and controlling. Not all of the wives portrayed on television are down right mean, controlling, and crass, but I have think back maybe to the Cosby Show days to find one. The woman is always the head of the house hold. She is generally skinny and more attractive than her husband with a professional job. He is usually dense, overweight, and lazy. We never see a hard working man who takes care of his family and is the head of his household. (Think Everybody Loves Raymond, According to Jim, King of Queens and a load of other shows that I can't remember the names of.)
  A lot of girls my age think this is what marriage should be like. I'm sorry, but I can't be around someone who is constantly putting her husband down TO HIS FACE! They talk to their husbands like they are the star of a bad sitcom on ABC. I just don't think this is what our Creator had in mind when he established marriage.
   I think we need strong men. I think men need to take their jobs at home seriously. You will be accountable to God for your family. You have a rough job guys. I don't envy you. But you need to stand up and be men. Get some accountability. Be Spiritual Leaders in your house. (Bonus: it is way easier to respect a man who is worthy of respect) If you have a sitcom wife, then take back the reigns. If you are a sitcom wife, stop controlling your husband. If our men were actually acting like men, then women would be free to act like women.  Thank you to all the men and husbands I know who are actually doing their jobs. Thank you to the women who let them.

The Great Misconception

Have you ever witnessed to someone who knew the truth but wasn't willing to give up their old life? They are content with their sin, their chains, and their burdens. They are convinced that living an intentional life for Christ will require them giving up all they hold dear. Christians don't have fun. That is the great misconception. 

Oh boy do we know some Christians that scowl constantly right!? Obviously being a Christian means you have to eat Bran flakes for breakfast everyday and watch Touched By An Angel reruns every Saturday night. I'm sorry but that is just not true! 

Lets face it. I am a fun person. I crack jokes, know a lot of useless facts (that ones for you MW) and I laugh a whole lot. Knowing who I am living life for doesn't change my personality. It changes what I joke and laugh about. 

Being (not just saying you are) a Christian does change you. You will give things up. No doubt about that. You can't keep living your old life once you accept the truth. But giving up things is hard right!? Sometimes yes. But sometimes No. As you start to conform your thoughts and your will to what God has for you, you find you aren't as concerned with those 'worldly things'. Don't expect over night success though. This is a process.

Would you like a personal example? I was a huge Gleek. I never missed an episode. I bought the first season! I loved Glee. Then after two of the main homosexual characters kissed, I was kinda like...ew. I was convicted to stop watching the show. So I didn't watch another episode after that. I've been told that there wasn't anymore guys kissing and it isn't that bad. I saw the previews for new episodes and was really tempted to start back up again. BUT! I knew I didn't need to watch the show anymore. It isn't good for me. My personal conviction was to stop watching it period. Who wants to relive high school anyway!? So I'm done and sometimes sad, but staying strong. There are TV shows that I can watch without getting that ew feeling.

I know that is a cheesy example of giving up something. Maybe you are being convicted about giving up drinking or a relationship. That is a lot harder than just a tv show. But please let me encourage you though. When you start taking out the bad and replacing it with Godly things, you will ALWAYS be more satisfied. You will always find more joy (notice I didn't say you will always be happy) in life when you live according to  Godly standards.
I am not here to be anyone's conscience. I'm not telling you to stop watching Glee or drinking or whatever. BUT, if you feel like you should stop, then do it! Obedience rocks and I am free to have plenty of fun. Christianity isn't about what I can't do. Christianity is about what has already been done for me.

SHOCKED!

Tell me honestly. Did anyone think the rapture would happen on Saturday May 21? I didn't. I mean really. The articles made those Harold Camping followers out to be real nut jobs. And maybe they were... but we all know how the media loves to make religious people out to be lunatics. How about Robert Fitzpatrick who gave his whole life savings, $140,000, to Camping and his campaign. I can't help but feel bad for this guy! Then I kind of laugh.. but I mostly feel bad! 

I just don't know how they could trust this guy when the Bible clearly states that we don't know the hour he is coming back! And it won't be when you expect him. Check out Matthew 24:36-44. 

So here it is. My question of the day. Would your life be different if we knew WHEN Christ was coming? 

To answer my own question honestly, I Would be living differently if I knew the exact time and date Christ was returning. I would be living A LOT differently. I'm guessing we all would. But is that right?

We know he is coming. And some of us might feel like it might be soon. So why aren't we living differently, with a sense of urgency? I think urgency is a hard thing to keep up. I was thinking on Friday "There are a lot of people I should witness to if tomorrow is the last day for me on earth." I didn't make one phone call or write one email because I knew I wasn't going anywhere. But wait!!! I could have just as easily died in a car accident! 

We don't need to know our last day on earth to really witness to people. We really should be doing it every day. I heard a sermon the other day that basically said this: Why would you hide the most important relationship of your life!? You wouldn't tell your husband or wife, 'I love you' in private and pretend not to know them in public! If Christ is important to you than act like it.

Bottom line: We can't live every day like its our last day on earth. That would be exhausting and full of money spending and crossing of things off our Bucket List. But we can live every day like it is important to the salvation of someone else.

Thoughts on Depression

                                               What is it?

A state of feeling sad : dejection (2) : a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies. This is diagnosed as clinical when someone has felt this way for at least 2 weeks. Not woke up on the wrong side of the bed, in a funk, out of sorts, kind of feeling that everyone has.

Who suffers from it?

David

"Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak" (Ps. 31:9-10).

Job, just read the book!

Elijah in 1 Kings 19 – I love this story because the Angle of the Lord has Elijah eat and sleep to get better. Then he goes on a 40 journey, just after he had been asking for death! Our bodies are a temple!

A survey in 2009 showed that there was no evidence to suggest that the frequency with which one attends church altered or diminished the occurrence of Depression. Supposedly 25% of church goers experience depression at some point and 15% are taking anti-depressants. I couldn’t find any other sources to back up these numbers.

Of course there has been a significant rise in the diagnosing of Depression mostly due to pharmaceutical companies and psychologists lowering the threshold of diagnosing the ‘illness’. It is no longer ok to just ok. You have to good, or great when someone asks how you are doing. If you respond ok or fine then something must be wrong and subsequent questions follow. Our society doesn’t recognize normal emotional fluctuations. Bi-Polar seems to be thrown around a lot.

What are some causes of Depression?

* Situational Depression – Job, housing, family dynamics

* Sin – Guilt induced depression

* Exhaustion – I listened to Dr. Dobson yesterday and he spoke about his own father’s bout with depression. His father was a traveling evangelical speaker. He worked himself to the point of exhaustion and had to quit. It took two years for him to recover. He found that he needed an athletic outlet and took up tennis.

* Chemical Imbalance – which can’t be proved but can be medicated

* A God given emotion

* And for Women, a hormonal imbalance or issue like after child birth

* Distorted thoughts – such as; I’m not as good as others, My family would be better off, and other self destructive thoughts.

This is not a complete list! This is just what I compiled from my research.

What does discouraged mean?

To deprive of courage, hope, or confidence, dishearten, dispirit.

So I was wondering if we sometimes jumping to conclusions and calling discouragement depression. There is a difference. We can all be discouraged at times. I would venture to say that Jesus was discouraged during his time on earth. I don’t know that he was Depressed.

I took a poll on my facebook last night and I had 31 comments.

I asked is :Depression a sin issue, chemical imbalance or normal emotion. (I discovered and thought of a few more later on after my research)

2 said Sin

1 said both

2 said normal emotion

2 said situation

Another cautioned us against judging and a few more just saying nice topic.

Than it just turned into a long discussion after that.

Pretty much most people didn’t believe it was solely a sin issue.

A lot of the people that commented had dealt with it themselves.

No one here pays to hear what I think, but here ya go!

I personally have dealt with 3 of these for sure and I do believe that A Chemical Imbalance plays a part in depression. BUT not to the extent that social media, psychotherapists, and pharmaceutical companies say they do.

But what it all comes back to is the focus that I am placing on myself. Maybe you’ve heard it said that the best medicine for depression and self loathing is to volunteer time to a bigger cause like a Homeless Shelter or Animal Shelter. We have a hard time thinking about ourselves when we are focusing on others.

I have been on medication before for Depression. Looking back, it was probably situational depression. Someone I was close to told me that Depression was solely a sin issue and that obviously I had to stop taking the meds and do some serious praying. I did just that. Went off of Zoloft cold turkey and prayed. I don’t remember what lifted me out of that depression, but you can bet it wasn’t someone judging me and telling me what to do. No way! The church has a big problem with Depression and drugs. I heard someone say on Dr. Dobson’s program that the same people who take Lipitor and other drugs for various reasons are the first to condemn you for taking an anti-depressant. Church, why are we so judgey!? Why do we all assume we are right? Everything is opinion! Your opinion is not fact. 

How am I handling my depression right now?

1, I learned that my destructive thoughts played a huge role in my depression. I believed lies and was repeating them to myself all day! I ‘captured my thoughts’ and started living and believing Biblical Truths. I have Isaiah 55:8 is taped to the wall by my kitchen sink. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD’

2, on those cloudy days I’ve sought the LORD with my whole heart. Making sure that I was walking closely with him and asking him to search my heart for any thing that I may have done that could cause me to feel this way today.

3, life continues. My girls still need me. I still need to get up and feed, clothe, and care for them. I have to choose to smile at them sometimes. I cannot just lie on the couch all day. It just isn’t an option! When I decide to be apart of life, usually, I find that things just aren’t as foggy.

4, This happened most recently. I was being disobedient. I knew I was. God asked me to do something and I didn’t want to. So I didn’t. For 2 weeks I was depressed. I knew what he wanted me to do and I knew that when I did, the depression would lift. So I finally sat down and obeyed. Obviously under great protest since it took two weeks. But when I sat there having completed my task, the cloud over my head was lifted.

My depression doesn’t happen as often as it use to. And when it does I am better equipped to handle it. But some days nothing helps. No amount of prayer, reading my Bible, and helping others lifts that fog. I don’t know what to say about that. I have no explanation.

The articles I read stemmed from a google search of the words depression and Christianity. There were many articles, but my favorite was from the Christianity Today Magazine. An Article in March 2009 called The Depression Epidemic.

Hope.

During the month of March my husband was still in Tax Season, our kids had 1 eye surgery, 3 follow up appointments, 1 neuro psych testing session, croup, and a broken collar bone (plus lots of time outs, fits, and early bed times). As I was driving to take Sydney for X-rays I was thinking how lucky I am.

Not for the basic stuff: house, car, job, food on the table and GREAT health insurance. But lucky that I know my life has purpose. Lucky that I know I have a creator who loves me and has a plan for my life and the life of my family. If I didn't know that there was a bigger purpose to my life, March might have be the death of me.

Jeremiah 29:11'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'

Even when I have a month like March, the worst month of the whole year if you ask me, I know that everything has a purpose.  I LOVE knowing that the Lord wants me to succeed! He wants what is best for me. Let me clarify, what HE knows is best for me. Not what I think is best for me. What he has in store is much better for me that anything I could dream. When I start surrendering to his will for my life I am much much happier.

I fell into a depressive state of mind for about 2 weeks. I know that God wanted me to do something I was too scared to do. I pushed it off for months. I got so depressed! I was reading my Bible, doing Bible study and praying. Doing all the things I'm 'suppose' to do. But nothing helped me out of the depression. I knew I was being disobedient. So when I finally sat down to do what I was suppose to do, the fog lifted. He rewards us for obedience. He definitely gives us consequences for heading the other way(ie, book of Jonah). I wasn't swallowed by a fish, but still!

So my next thought after how lucky I am was: What if you don't know God? What if you are just living life not knowing you have a purpose!  What if you don't know someone loves you more than you can imagine. I was instantly sad. No hope? How do you survive with no hope? I'm sure there are coping mechanisms. But nothing compares to the love of Christ.

A relationship with him doesn't guarantee an easy life. It doesn't guarantee money, friends, and health as some people preach (Prosperity Gospel). But it does guarantee you will never be alone. You will never need to wonder if you have been abandoned, although you might at times. It also guarantees the most important thing, Life. I won't go all fire and brimstone, and lake of fire. But trust me, heaven is something you don't want to miss out on.

Too Deep?

I spend a lot of time with God when I am involved in a Bible study or discipleship. I have homework to do or a lesson to prepare and I enjoy spending that time in the word. Then we have a 2 week break between Bible studies or there is a season where I am not involved and I suddenly realize its been 4 days (most of the time weeks) since I've even cracked my Bible. I was thinking yesterday, why do I do this? I really love learning and exploring God's Word. So why aren't I more diligent? Yesterday I realized it was because I was scared of going Deeper.

You might be thinking, "Why in the world is she scared?" or you are nodding your head in agreement... 

 I've always been a skeptic. I've also observed a lot of 'church people' in my 22 years as a Christian. (Yes I was 4) The people that I thought of as 'Deeper' always seemed to bug me. Announcing how many hours they spend in prayer a day. Or using to many Christian-eese terms. Or not being able to say one sentence without some sort of reference to themselves and their relationship to God. And they seem to push their convictions on to you! I can't stand hearing this sort of talk! It seems so self-righteous, self-centered, and well... just SELF!

Guess what I realized!? Those are personality flaws. Not a result of going deeper into a relationship with God. Our relationship is suppose to be PERSONAL! Not broadcast to anyone within listening distance. Not posted as your facebook status. And not rubbed in the face of people 'less deep'. Now I am all for sharing what God is doing in your life. But there is a difference between trying to portray yourself as deep and being deep. 

Oh and plus, what about the stuff I'll have to give up! I mean you can't try incorporate God in every part of your life then put him on pause at 8 p.m. because your favorite show is on. What if he doesn't approve? I've found that when I am going deeper into the word and what God has for me, I don't want to watch that show anymore. Read that magazine, or talk about that kind of stuff. I don't miss it! I know some things will require sacrifice, but so far it hasn't been something I'm overly attached to. Someday soon that will change. I'm sure of it.  

So I am not going to assume that I will start talking in Thee's and Thou's. I will take that leap. I will on a spiritual journey. I won't bore you in Sunday School with how awesome I am. I won't post every triumph over sin as my Facebook status. I will keep my personal relationship personal. If you notice a change in me for the better, that is wonderful. But I don't want to APPEAR deeper. I want to be deeper.

Lets Get Real People!

I am so DONE with excuses. Excuses for sin. Excuses for the reason why we sinned. Have you made excuses for yourself? Excuses for your spouse, kids, etc. I have. Madison didn't get enough sleep or Kenadi just misses her daddy and my favorite, Sydney is too young to know any better.

Why isn't this ok? Let me spell it out for you. Personal Responsibility. When you decide to call Sin something other than what it is, you are taking away personal responsibility. I've heard liars called 'dramatic'. I've heard people who stir up distention for personal gain are 'well meaning'. I've heard gossip called 'prayer requests', information, just girl talk. I've heard marital affairs blamed on the spouse who was cheated on. Oh yes this was at Churches. We are no different from 'The World' when we don't take responsibility for our actions.

How hard is it to say to someone, 'I don't need to know that'. Or 'I don't think that is true'. SUPER HARD! But man oh man is it effective! Call Sin, Sin! Gossip = Sin. Lying = Sin. Cheating of any kind = Sin. Be bold about this! This isn't a gray area. We just like to pretend it is by calling it something less ugly.

So here is my most favorite question about this subject: Why is Church Discipline reserved for 'Serious Sin'? If you were lying about someone at church and the Pastor called to talk to you about it would you keep on lying? If you were gossiping to a friend and she said to stop, would you? Even if it was just between friends, would you be brave enough to say 'Enough' to someone? Matthew 18:15-17 (below) outlines Church Discipline and it starts with a one on one conversation. It also says nothing about degrees of sin. 

I think we don't address stuff this because we don't want to hurt peoples feelings. Or those people are major contributors to the church, they are better than they use to be, or whatever reasons we can come up with for dodging confrontation. Have you ever seen a church 'Run' by a family or families? Have you seen people pushed out the doors of a church because they offended the wrong person? If the church wasn't so dysfunctional, sin wouldn't be sitting in the front row on Sunday. No body of believers will be perfect because it is made up of imperfect humans. 

But let us not be tolerant of these things. 

Sin is sin. No excuses.

Matthew 18:15-17

¹⁵ “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.¹⁷ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

After All Is Said and Done

We all sin. And since I believe we can't stop sinning until we arrive at Heaven's Gate, we'll deal with it for our whole life.  Sin is a choice. You could argue with me and have some valid points, but for the most part I think Sin is a choice. But what happens after that choice has been made, after the sin has been committed?

Conviction sets in! Conviction is the holy spirits way of letting us know we were WRONG! Do you feel your's anywhere? I feel mine in my stomach. I can't eat. I feel horrible and don't recover for days even after amends have been made.

Now what?! Well obviously we need to admit we were wrong. We might need to apologize to someone and talk to the Lord about what we've done. Seek forgiveness. Hard enough for you? YES! Next: Do Not Wait! Unconfessed sin is a toxic poison to us! It turns regular people into paranoid wackjobs! It comes between us and The Lord and our relationships. I'm sure you've seen it affect familes, jobs, and churches. So do it! Be quick about it!  After forgiveness is given everything goes back to normal right?

Not always. Sometimes our sins are more complicated and they affect us and our relationships for a period of time. Sometimes, even though we've been forgiven, the consequences are waiting. Would your kids be glad to know that discipline happens to adults? Not usually in the form of a spanking or grounding, but it surely happens.

Then (sometimes) comes something I'll call 'post op' guilt. We've been forgiven. We've dealt with the consequences. We've moved on. Then one day Satan says 'yeah you aren't over that'. 'You aren't forgiven'. Have you even lived with this 'post op' guilt? I have. For years! I was crippled by it! This 'post op' guilt affects relationships and it can affect our time with God. When we believe Satan's lies we can be just as crippled as if we hadn't of sought forgiveness in the first place!

The whole point comes down to this: Camp on Forgiveness. Stay there as long as you need to. Daily reminders of forgiveness instead of daily confessions of the same sin. Don't live in the shadow of guilt that is no longer warranted!

One more thing; if you've given forgiveness to someone for an offense, Don't hang it over their head. Let the wonderful forgiveness and mercy wash over you both and enjoy the healing =)

Tax Season Gift

I hate Tax Season. My husband is a tax account. So from February till April 15 I call myself a widow.  The first year we were married it wasn't so bad, we didn't have kids yet. Now that we have 3 girls, I call my self a single parent. He gets home just in time to help tuck them into bed. They go CRAZY when he gets home. My parenting starts to slack. I don't feel like cleaning. We end up using a lot of paper plates. Wait, why am I complaining!? This is titled Tax Season Gift!? Ok here is the gift...

For years I've been saying I need to be better about praying. I could go days (and days) without even thinking about it. I don't rely on God the way I should, even when I'm participating in a bible study or doing good with my quiet times. I've always just had a hard time. So (when I thought about it) I'd pray that I would start praying like I need to. I prayed that I would NEED God to be apart of my every moments. I did not know what I was praying for. Are you all shaking your head at me right now right? It's just as bad as praying for patience or humility. You are going to get it alright!!! 

This Tax Season has been especially hard. A couple of Saturdays ago I was literally on the floor of my closet crying. Then I started crying out to God. And I haven't stopped. He has reminded me daily, some days hourly to call out to him. He has been my strength through numerous trials. Every morning I have my alarm set 10 minutes before I have to get up. I've been doing this for months. Well lately I've been using that 10 minutes to pray before I even get out of bed. Even if the girls have all climbed in bed with me.

I always thought that you had to be on your knees, alone, in the quiet of your closet in order to pray and to hear his answer. But as I read 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Pray without ceasing,

I realized it didn't say Cease and Pray. I don't have to stop doing dishes or folding laundry to ask for help, strength or self control.

So now that I know why I am going through this season of strife, I can surely endure it. I am actually appreciative of this hardship. I don't know if God will always let me know the reason I am going through something difficult. BUT I know I can trust him. And now that I am a Pro Pray-er in the making I can handle anything!

Where is the Love?

I was sitting at the table feeding the girls lunch and for some reason thinking about love. Am I loved? Who do I love? Do I give love enough? Do I love enough people?

John 13:34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Ah we are suppose to love. Ok got that. 

With out love we are not a witness for Christ. Without Christ we have no love. In fact we don't even know love apart from him!

1 John 4:8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 

What is love? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 gives us a list of what love is. (The Message)

  Love never gives up.
   Love cares more for others than for self.
   Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
   Love doesn't strut,
   Doesn't have a swelled head,
   Doesn't force itself on others,
   Isn't always "me first,"
   Doesn't fly off the handle,
   Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
   Doesn't revel when others grovel,
   Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
   Puts up with anything,
   Trusts God always,
   Always looks for the best,
   Never looks back,
   But keeps going to the end.

Are you kidding me!? Is this possible!? Well not by our own doing that is for sure.

How can we show love to our husband, wife, children, co workers, neighbors, family members and the man asking for hand outs on the corner?

1 John 3:18Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Action. Love is a verb!

Are Christians Loving like we should be? Do people notice that we are different? If the answer is yes, then I believe that difference is love. But are we as Christians known for our ability to love? Some groups are known for their deeds. Some are known by their actions (mostly of hate). I don't think Christians are known for love like they should be. Let's change that. It starts with individuals, like you and me!

I personally am known for : Having cute girls, making a darn good cheesecake, and sarcasm (working on it). I'm going to replace Sarcasm with LOVE. I want to be known as someone who LOVES! 

What are you known for?