Keep on keeping on

Do you ever just feeling like hanging it up?  I often feel like I’m stuck on a treadmill, working myself to death but not getting anywhere.  This is one of the joys of being a business owner, constantly trying to come up with new plans and ideas, trying to get things in motion, but it seems something always gets stuck in the wheel.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful for what I have, for getting the bills paid here and at home.  But, being in my and my husbands position is very wearing on you physically and mentally.  You have to be ready for whatever comes your way, you have to solve problems quickly, and  you have to decide what to cut or not cut. You have to motivate yourself and others who work alongside you.  You have to grin and bear it although deep down you want to lash out at anything and everyone. 

On days like this, I just have to remind myself of the scripture, “All these many people who have had faith in God are around us like a cloud. Let us put every thing out of our lives that keeps us from doing what we should. Let us keep running in the race that God has planned for us. Let us keep looking to Jesus. Our faith comes from Him and He is the One Who makes it perfect. He did not give up when He had to suffer shame and die on a cross. He knew of the joy that would be His later. Now He is sitting at the right side of God.”  (Hebrews 12:1-3 NLV) 

I must keep on keeping on until everything is over or until I’m supposed to do something else.

 

Transformers

Do you think the American church and church body have lost the true mission of what Christianity is all about?  I’ve felt that way for several years now.  It seems to me that the church at large is more about competing with other churches and denominations than it is about being a light to others and winning them to Christ.  We have forgotten that the church isn’t closed in between four walls.  The church is supposed to be a living body, constantly in motion…..going, so to speak. 

I have been one that just comes to church, sits on a pew, and listens to a sermon.  I’m trying to be more mindful of what following Christ is really supposed to look like.  It’s easy to come to church, talk about how awful the world is, and not doing anything.  I’m certainly not saying that we should go out into the street corners and speak on a megaphone, telling the world to turn away from their sin and follow Christ.  I think most of the world scoffs at that type of activity.  No, the church, you and I are an example of Christ.  What we do, how we behave, and what we say are a direct reflection of Christianity.  So, when you or I go into the workplace, school, the grocery store, the park, to exercise, or whatever you do throughout the week, who are you representing?  Do we really care about others or is everything we do self contained?  To reach people you have to be willing to see them from where they are and listen to their mess.  They may use colorful language, they may not have the same opinions as you, and they may wear their addictions like we wear our self righteousness.  Ouch, did I step on your toes?  Put some steel boots then.

I hear Christians say not to conform to the world.  I agree, but that doesn’t meaning hiding from it.  It doesn’t mean staying in the church expecting the lost to just show up on the doorsteps.  We are called to be transformers.  Salt to the earth, light to the lost.  “You are the salt of the earth. If salt loses its taste, how can it be made to taste like salt again? It is no good. It is thrown away and people walk on it. You are the light of the world. You cannot hide a city that is on a mountain. Men do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. They put it on a table so it gives light to all in the house. Let your light shine in front of men. Then they will see the good things you do and will honor your Father Who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16 (NLV)

Notice, where it says they will see the good things you do.  Those good things do not consist of putting others down, telling them they are going to hell, that you have it all figured out and they are foolish, that your political party was God ordained and theirs is stamped with 666.  This is why the world sees Christians full of hatred.  Jesus said to love God and love others.  What is love?  “Love does not give up. Love is kind. Love is not jealous. Love does not put itself up as being important. Love has no pride.Love does not do the wrong thing. Love never thinks of itself. Love does not get angry. Love does not remember the suffering that comes from being hurt by someone. Love is not happy with sin. Love is happy with the truth. Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLV)

God reached out to me in the depths of my sin, when I was a complete mess and saved me.  He saved me from self destruction, he saved me from hatred, he saved me from misery, he saved me from the hell that I was in and going to.  Remember where you came from, see others with Christ’s eyes and touch them with Christ’s heart.

 

It’s what you leave

A year ago my grandmother passed away.  I remember being by her bedside earlier in the day before she left this world.  She was in pain, moaning, and couldn’t communicate with those who loved her.  She had been in the hospital and a nursing home for over a month.  Somehow that day when I went to see her, I knew within my spirit it was the last time I’d see her.  I kissed her on the cheek as I was leaving and told her goodbye.  I knew it was a forever goodbye.  I walked to my car, crying, but I didn’t want her to stay here and suffer any longer.  I knew it was best for her to go, but I also knew my Mom and grandfather wasn’t ready to let her go.  When I got home, I told my husband what I felt.  I cried and waited to hear.  Just as I had thought, the phone rang after 10.  I knew what it was about.  I answered and heard my mother crying, telling me that Mamaw had passed away. 

My grandmother was the greatest influence on my life.  She taught me to love others, to love God, and to hope for the best in others.  She would fix a sandwich or a meal for anyone if she thought they were hungry.  She was a grandmother to anyone she encountered.   So because of this, we grandchildren always were comfortable with bringing our friends in to visit alongside us.  My grandmother had a servant’s heart.  She had an enormous heart for others, she would pray for all of her family everyday.  I would often come to visit and before I knocked on the door, I would hear her and my grandfather praying, calling out our names to God to save us or help us in our problems.  She has left a legacy for our family.  We all were touched by her and I know her prayers didn’t go unheard.  I miss you, Mamaw! 

 

Paradise Lost?

Paradise is available to all, but many are decieved and kept from it.  In the Garden of Eden, Satan appeared to Eve with the greatest tool of all that still keeps man from paradise; deception.  Satan enticed Eve with the desire of knowing all and promising that this one little action would not cause death.  In turn, a bite of this fruit that dripped at first with pleasure quickly caused the sour taste of sin to come into existence.  Man was then thrown out of Paradise.

Satan hasn’t changed in his plan, he wants to rob you, me, and others of paradise.  He entices mankind with promises of greatness, knowledge, and pleasure.  We become fooled into believing that this life is the only one we should be concerned with.  We question God and discount His existence.  We get trapped into this web of deciet and wonder why we keep searching for paradise.  We wonder why we feel so empty, even with the “best things in life.”  This is a cheap trade for an eternal richness, everlasting life.

Jesus came to give us abundant life.  John 10:10 says,”The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  Does this mean that Christians will have the best car, biggest house, and fullest bank account? No, this life is temporary.  The eternal life is where abundance is….where paradise is.  We are just passing through this life to get there.  Don’t loose paradise because there will be Hell to pay and that’s what Satan wants.

“A dying man asked a dying man for eternal life; a man without possessions asked a poor man for a Kingdom; a thief at the door of death asked to die like a thief and steal Paradise. One would have thought a saint would have been the first soul purchased over the counter of Calvary by the red coins of Redemption, but in the Divine plan it was a thief who was the escort of the King of kings into Paradise. If Our Lord had come merely as a teacher, the thief would never have asked for forgiveness. But since the thief’s request touched the reason of His coming to earth, namely, to save souls, the thief heard the immediate answer:

‘I promise thee, this day thou shalt be With Me in Paradise’ (Luke 23:43)

It was the thief’s last prayer, perhaps even his first. He knocked once, sought once, asked once, dared everything, and found everything. When even the disciples were doubting and only one was present at the Cross, the thief owned and acknowledged Him as Saviour.” ― Fulton J. Sheen, Life of Christ

 

This Bread is so Tasty

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”  Matthew 5:6

Since I was asked a few years ago to lead the teens, I have dug into the word more than I ever have in my life.  That’s a sad statement to make, but I’m just being honest. I used to do Bible study more as a religious checkmark on my homework assignment.  So, with that kind of attitude, I didn’t get much out of the word.   But when I begin studying the word and what I want to teach the teens, I find myself digging further and further into the Bible.  I feel like I learn more than I can tell the teens.   I don’t want to stop reading and when I do have to put it down to do life, I can’t wait to open it up again and learn more.  The more you read the word, the hungrier you become.  The more you want to come to the Lord’s table and eat.  Then when you are away from it, you’re thinking about what you’ve studied and it brings life to you to sustain you for the rest of the day.

When I prepare my lessons and teach the teens, I’m often aggravated afterwards  because I forgot to tell them some other points that I learned.  God is showing me that all I can do is tell them what I had for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  They have to choose to eat or come back for seconds.  To enjoy the word, you often have to dig yourself because that’s when you are most satisfied.  Those are the times that God reveals to you how to deal with whatever you are going through.  Those are the times that you filled.

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”  Isaiah 55:1

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Perfect Timepiece

God, you know the beginning and the end.
You designed the blueprint, you sketched the outline.
You placed within each of us a unique model in appearance and our innermost soul.

God knows our timeline.
He lets us decide how to spend it.
Quieten my soul to trust that Your hands control the clock, not I.
Let me hear every second
and react within the minute.

We don’t see God’s planner
Or the events that are to come.
But, they are on His calendar.
Do we choose to show up when He calls?

Will I just watch the sand disappear in the hourglass?
Will I be in the shadow of the sundial?
Position me in the right coordinates of Your GPS,
So that I meet who I’m supposed to and do what You want me to do.
I want to balance on Your pendulum.
Be on Your watch
In your perfect time.

 

A Geeky Weekend

“Think you’ve seen it all? Think again. Outside those doors, we might see anything. We could find new worlds, terrifying monsters, impossible things. And if you come with me… nothing will ever be the same again!” Dr. Who

 

Have you ever been to a sci-fi convention, comic book convention, or any of those type of con events?  I attended one this weekend as a vendor.  It was a very interesting experience.  I married a geek, and I mean that in a nice way, over 16 years ago.  Prior to knowing him, I would have never stepped foot in one of these types of events.  It just wasn’t my thing and I didn’t see the point of them.  It was an extremely well done event that spanned over three days.  Role playing games were set up throughout the day, sessions on various topics were available for people to attend, along with art exhibits and artists, science fiction authors, steampunk enthuisists, and many other various forms of geekiness. 

People donned costumes throughout the weekend, especially on Saturday for the costume party that was scheduled.  Young and old, dressed up as their favorite Dr. Who, Star Wars, and Star Trek characters.  Elves, Zombies, Vampires, and Steampunk costumes were adorned as well.  People conversed throughout the hallways, elevators, and vendor rooms about the topics of the weekend that interested them, displaying their knowledge upon the subject. 

Overall it was an interesting experience.  I will probably attend others in the future and perhaps even be brave enough to dress up in a costume as well.