If We Are The Body...

It's an older song by Casting Crowns, but one that is so true.  I heard it on the radio on the way to work the other day and it has been consistently stuck in my head :)  Not a bad song to have stuck in my head by any means, and it has given me time to think about what the words really mean and evaluate how I treat others.  Not just visitors in church, but people I encounter on the streets, my students, family and friends -- everyone. 

It's crowded in worship today

As she slips in trying to fade into the faces
The girl's teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way

A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgemental glances
Tells him that his chances are better out on the road
Jesus payed much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the body of Christ

Jesus is the way

Blessings in Christ,

 

What does "Successful" Mean?

Have you stopped to think about that?  Society tells us, or at least the culture where I grew up says, that successful is based upon how much money you make.  Even where I live currently a decent number of people determine success by their income.  Is that the only way to be successful?  Others define it by being in a specific self marketing company that is growing in the area -- because they claim that company is all about helping others.  What about other professions that help others?  Parents, nurses, doctors, and teachers are just a few others that are all about helping others.  Are these folks not successful? 

What does the Bible say about success?  Biblical success is all about transformation.  The first step to success in God's eyes is accepting the gift that God gave to us, eternal life through His Son, Jesus.  At this point can transformation begin which is accomplished by the Holy Spirit and not by our own accord.  To continue our transformation, we need to obey God.  God does not care how much money we have, what kind of posessions we own, rather He cares about our devotion to Him.  That is how He measures success. 

A great picture from gotquestions.org showing the difference between Biblical success and society's success:

Picture two hands. In the right hand there are the offer of true contentment, the ability to handle life’s problems without being overcome by them, amazing peace that sees us through all circumstances, wisdom to know what to do, knowledge and constant direction for life, love for others, acceptance of ourselves, joy no matter what, and at the end of life, an eternity with the God who freely gives all these gifts. The other hand holds all the money and power and success the world has to offer, without any of what the right hand holds. Which would you choose? The Bible says, “Where your treasure is, there also is your heart” (Matthew 6:21). That which is in the right hand is the biblical definition of success.

Which would you rather?  I would rather success in God's eyes that's for sure. 

Blessings in Christ,

 

Attitudes are Contagious...

"Attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching?"

That is how a Church sign reads.  It's not a sign I drive by often, but I do pass it on the way to Church.  So when I saw this sign on Sunday, it made me think about my own attitude.

I know lately my attitude has not been worth catching.  Do I think that I always have to be positive?  No.  I believe we are all going to have our bad days, but it's when the good days come few and far between that we need to start thinking about why we have a negative attitude. 

When I feel myself getting a negative attitude, I try to stop and ask myself this question.  Most of the time that is enough to stop it there in the tracks. 

We are supposed to be living for Christ.  Surely being negative all the time does not show Christ's love that He has for us and we are supposed to share with the world...?  But on the otherhand, putting on a fake front that as Christians we are always happy is not a good thing either because that can deter people from "trying" to be a Christian.  We need to remain human, having positive and negative attitudes and anything in between.  It is a matter of how we express our attitudes while we do not bring others down. 

Blessings in Christ,

How Obedient Are You?

I heard a message based off this scripture yesterday morning and wanted to share it with you. 

Genesis 12:1-4 (NKJV)

Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."  So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him.  And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Genesis 22:1-3  (NKJV)

Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."  Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son ISaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two fo his young men with him, and Issac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him."

How obedient are you?  Are you the type of person who at the first second you have heard God talking to you that you will jump to it or will you wait and see if that voice keeps speaking to you? 

If someone asks you to give up your most valued posession, resource, etc, how do you react?  Do you immediately obey or will you hem and haw over what to do?

Obeying is extremely difficult sometimes.  Sometimes it is even the "unpopular" thing to do based on mainstream society.  But God is not mainstream society.  

Obeying is a difficult thing for me to do generally.  I am a questioning personality.  I like to know reasons behind a decision or an order, but with God that is not always known until later.  I tend to be slower to obey what may be God speaking to me because I second guess myself and wonder if it is God or if it is satan saying the words.  Typically these are situations where I do not find clear guidance on whether it is right or wrong in the Bible.  Those situations are a bit easier for me to respond and obey quickly when I have heard God respond.  This is something I know I need to keep working on.  Isn't that part of why we say "walk in faith"??  We're continuously moving along a path...

Blessings in Christ,

A Bunch of...Random.

I haven't had much inspiration for posts lately.  I started classes at a university three weeks ago and that has pretty much taken over my life.  When all is said and done I will be a high school math teacher, Lord willing. 

This summer has been rather dry, making it hard to keep up with the garden!  At our new apartment we are allowed to have an actual garden!  I say that because the apartment we were at last summer did not allow for that so we had pots on our balcony which turned out to be not very fruitful.  Hopefully the bunnies will leave the rest of our plants alone this summer so we can actually have some produce!  They already ate the leaves from full two rows of green bean plants...

Just a picture of our garden...can you guess where the beans were?!  Hehe.  Hopefully the rest of you are having better luck with your gardens :)

Blessings in Christ,

 

Words from a Child's Mouth

I am in awe at some of the things that come from my 5 year old cousin's mouth sometimes.  Not because they are bad words.  But because of what she seems to know about God even though her mom tries to take God entirely out of the picture.

I do not talk much about God to her, as I've said before, I don't wish to start a family rift.  I have talked to her a little bit about my veil and about why I wear skirts and always have my shoulders covered (as she calls it).

One day while in the waiting room at the doctor's, the little one told her mom Mom, you know what I think?  I think when we talk, God is telling us what to say and we are speaking for Him.  Although not entirely correct because we know there is the devil who comes into play and can cause us to say words, I think it is amazing that she would be able to grasp that concept.  Her mom's response?  No honey, you are in control of your words.  While I understand why it is not a good idea to let a child believe that they have no control over what comes out of their mouths, I do not think taking God completely out of the picture was appropriate either.  But then again, my cousin is not a religious person at all. 

Yesterday she asked to see my shoulders, probably the 10th time in two months, and again I told her no because I keep mine covered all the time.  She asked if it was because I didn't want others to see my body and I said yes.  Her response?  That's good, I know some people like for others to see their body but I don't like when they do that!  She continued to say that she likes to keep covered up too and doesn't like for people to see her body.  I can only hope that she keeps that same thinking as she grows up and experiences more and more peer pressure to fit "the mold".

Then last night on the way home from dinner out, my 5 year old cousin tells her mom how God is a "boy".  Her mom challenges her saying that maybe God is a girl.  The 5 year old contemplates this thought for a minute and proceeds to say, No, God must be a boy because He seems like a boy in the book.  Again, for a 5 year old to process that in half a minute?  I was blown away, good thing her mom couldn't see my face because I was grinning.  So amazed at the knowledge of a child who has not been brought up to know God by her parents. 

I don't have my own children yet, but if God allows that to happen one day, I can only hope that my children will speak so freely of God, allowing adults to be amazed at their knowledge and faith in the Lord.

Blessings in Christ,

 

Headcovering in the News

I was searching the internet for new links to add for headcoverings and modest dress and came across this USA Today article from 2006!  I got so excited!!  Crazy, I know, but it is exciting to me to come across an article that discussed Christian "haircovering".  The article did not focus on sects that normally cover, but rather mainline Christians who are choosing to cover and wear more modest clothing. 

This was written in 2006!!  Back in 2006 I hadn't even heard about headcovering except for what I had seen in Amish settlements but I had absolutely no clue why they wore it. 

Here's the story for anyone who would like to read it.  Rather simple article, but I was still happy to see it. 

Blessings in Christ,

 

My Biggest Struggle as a Christian

I've been thinking lately about what my biggest struggle as a Christian is.  As basic as this sounds, I figure it might be forgiving others as well as myself.  It is nothing I am proud of by any means, but I think the first step to correcting the issue is recognizing what the issue actually is. 

I don't know that scritpure states we must forgive ourself, or maybe allow ourselves to be forgiven, but I think that if we don't forgive ourselves we can not truly forgive others or allow God to have complete control over our lives. 

There are so many things that I have done wrong in my life, some I have forgiven myself for and allowed myself to be forgiven for as well as learned the lesson and moved on.  There are many that I still need to allow myself to be forgiven for as well. 

I have many people whom I need to forgive.  It seems that as soon as I think I have truly forgiven the person for whatever it may have been but then the scene comes up again and I need to start all over again.  Sometimes it gets quite frustrating.  I feel that I take one step forward and two steps back at many times. 

There are quite a few people whom I need to ask forgiveness from.  That is not something I am good at, I was not taught to ask for forgiveness.  I was taught to apologize, but not to ask for forgiveness.  It is something of a relatively new concept to me that I am still trying to get myself in the habit of doing.  Although I am sure it will come with time. 

I know everyone has their struggles, but sometimes it's hard to remember that I'm not alone.  That others have struggles as well, no matter how well they can hide them, and that God is always with me, guiding me and teaching me what it is He has for me to learn.

Blessings in Christ,

 

Giving to God

One of my favorite radio stations to listen while at work started their spring pledge drive last Tuesday.  They are a Christian radio station and they have decided not to have sponsors advertise so that those sponsors cannot tell them what to speak of and what kind of music to play on their station.  They are listener supported, hence, the pledge drive. 

The DJs keep urging people to "give ".  To give "sacraficially", to give like little children -- giving in faith, comparing donating to their radio station to the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible as well as the story when Jesus healed the 10 lepers and only 1 followed Him.  They continually said that God will bless those who give 10-fold.  They asked listeners to give in faith that God would take care of their needs while the DJs of the radio station would sit in front of their computers and monitor how much was being donated.  That didn't make sense to me...  

I'm sure some people think of this as part of their tithe. 

I got to wondering, for those who may be like me and not be a member of a church, or have a church that I attend regularly.  How do you give back to God?  I have in the past donated to food banks and considered that part of my tithe.  But recently I haven't found a cause which I feel led to give to.  Would a radio station be considered an acceptable way to give to God?  If not, how would you follow the command to give 10% back to God?  This is something I have struggled with knowing what to do on...

Blessings in Christ,

Easter

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter celebration tomorrow!  Such a wonderful thought to realize that those who believe are saved because of what was done for us. 

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Blessings in Christ,

 

Sharing God with Children

My younger cousins are starting to get older now, the oldest will be 5 in about 3 weeks.  She is mighty curious and always asking questions.  Not only does she ask the questions but she wants in depth answers, not just the short ones we sometimes give children.  For a year now she has asked about my veil, "what is it?", "why do you wear it?". 

My dilema is that I know her parents do not believe and have told me before "we are not religious".  How much do I tell her? 

In other subjects, her mom is quite open with her.  My cousin asked what cremation was and her mom answered it.  I wasn't about to be the one who told a 4 year old about cremation...luckily her mom was there! 

But anyway, I digress.  I have told her what it is called, a veil.  But I have side-stepped the question of why I wear it in the past.  If she were to ask me again in the future now I would tell her it is something I believe in.  But I know then there would be "why do you believe in it?". 

Do I tell her why, saying it's in the Bible...which will only bring more questions?  Or I do brush it off? 

I would also love to be able to take her to Church with me one Sunday, but obviously that is up to her parents and I do not see them agreeing to that at this point at least. 

I think if it were not my little cousin, I would have no problem answering her questions because I do it all the time anyway.  But I do not want to step on my family's toes. 

Blessings in Christ,

 

Prayer Request

I don't often have prayer requests, but this little girl could use all the prayers we can offer.

A friend's daughter was burned pretty badly last night.  She is at the closest children's hopsital which I am sure will do a wonderful job of treating her.  But we all know that God is the ultimate healer.  I am not sure the exact level of burns she received and I haven't heard anything today about how she's doing.  But, if you would, please pray for her and the family as well as for her doctors.  I know the family would appreciate all the prayers people can offer. 

Thank you.

Blessings in Christ,

Five Fingers of Prayer

I found this in "The Vendor", it does not say who originally wrote this, but I loved it and felt the need to share it with you!

1. Your thumb is nearest to you.  So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you, your family, your friends and your close associates.  They are the easiest to remember.  To pray for our loved ones is, as C.S. Lewis once said, a "sweet duty."

2. The next finger is the pointing finger.  Pray for those who teach, instruct, and heal.  This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers.  They need support and wisdom in point others in the right direction.  Keep them in your prayers.  It is also better to pray for these people than to use this finger to point at them judgementally.  Yes, they make mistakes, but remember they are mere humans.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger.  It reminds us of our leaders.  Pray for the President, leaders in business and industry, and our administrators; these people shape our nation and guide public opinion.  They need God's guidance.  Sometimes it seems we live in days where nobody cares about God's leadership, but remember, even when people don't care, God is still in charge.

4. The fourth finger is next.  Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify.  It shoudl remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble, or in pain.  They need our prayers day and night.  You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our litle finger, the smallest finger of all.  Which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others.  As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you."  Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself.

By the time you have prayers for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective so that you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.  Should you find it hard to get to sleep tonight, just remember the homeless family who has no bed in which to lie.

Blessings in Christ,

 

Sharing God's Word

Matthew 4:17-19:

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

This is just one place in the Bible where we are told to go spread the word of Jesus and His teachings to others.  But to what extent?  Do we have to in order to enter heaven?

I do not feel like I have to verbally tell people about God.  I feel that the way I dress and act carries more weight than any words I could say.  That doesn't mean to say that if someone asks me a question I won't answer it.  Sure, I will give it by best to answer, but I will not walk up to someone and start a conversation about God and try to share The Word with them.  Maybe that is not the right way to do things, but to me, the best way to turn people towards God is not by talking to them but rather by showing them. 
Isn't the phrase "a picture is worth 1000 words"?  If I can live a Godly life, then I believe that will be more beneficial to others than all the words that I could say to them. 

Blessings in Christ,

 

Addictive vs. Authentic

I found a comparison of addictive love and authentic love in a book I was reading "Learning to Trust Again".  

Addictive love says...
1. I can't live without you.  You give my life meaning.
2. You make me feel valuable.  When I'm with you, I am somebody.
3. I can't make it on my own.
4. I want you to be a total part of my life, and I want to be a total part of yours.
5. All of the hard times are worth the good times.  I will be here forever, no matter what happens.
6. I can't bear to think of you sharing your thoughts and feelings with someone else.  You are the the only one who has ever understood me.
7. You should be sensitive to my needs.  I have feelings, you know, and I need you to take that into consideration.
8. If you really care, you will treat me the way I need to be treated to feel good.

Authentic love says...
1. I can live without you, but I choose not to.
2. I am a valuable person, and you affirm that value to me.
3. I can make it on my own.  Having you as part of my life makes it easier.
4. We are two separate people with individual lives to lead.  I encourage you to puruse your interests, and I will pursue mine.  This kind of space and diversity is good for us.
5. Love should seek another's highest good.  To the best of my ability, I will do that for you.
6. We are richer for sharing our lives with other people.  I encourage you to have other close relationships.
7. Mutuality is the glue that holds us together.  I enjoy you, an din that enjoyment many of my needs for importance, belonging and intimacy are met.
8. I will accept the way you show me you care about me.  Sometimes I may have to ask you about your actions, but generally, I will take at face value what you say and do. 

I would have liked to see this written out prior to now, but I am thankful for seeing this at some point in my life.  I think of addictive love as loving another person before God and authentic love as loving God first, but then loving someone else too.  I think it is too easy, at least for me, to rely on other people rather than always relying on God first and foremost.  Maybe relying on and loving are two different things, but they seem like they kind of go hand-in-hand to me.  It is something that I have been working on but also something that I know I will continually need to work on. 

Blessings in Christ,

 

Separate from the World

For all of us living in the US, we know what 2012 is without needing to even read a newspaper, listen to the radio or watch the tv.  It's election year.  Most of us could hear about this just from being in the store with others, so many people are already set in their minds of who is the "best one for the job" and nothing really hasn't been decided yet.  Although many of us will read something in a newspaper or even possibly hear something on the radio. 

I, personally, have found people are so hot in debate about this election already, and cannot wait to share their thoughts with others.  So my question to you, how do you view the election?  Do you get involved in politics in any way or do you completely remove yourself from it?

I try to remove myself from it and pray that God will put the person in office whom He wants there.  Unfortunately, not everyone understands that nor will they let the conversation go at that.  I've been told that nobody should be allowed to "get away" with not voting and even been told by a gentleman that he will personally pick me up to get me to the polls in order to vote. 

I want to tell people to just let me be to live with my own convictions but since most of the these situations come up at work, I don't think I ought to.  I simply smile and say ok, have a good day! 

I know as Christians we are supposed to live a "separate life" but I wonder how some of you do it?  How do you define separate?  Do you try to explain to people your convictions or do you just let it go?  (To be clear, I am in no way trying to start a political debate with this post.)

Blessings in Christ,

And Still Searching...

Do you ever feel like you should just give up?  I certainly do.  And I'm at that point right now with trying to find a church. 

I don't really feel like I belong in most Mennonite churches because I am not that close-minded.  But then the ones that are more open-minded, I am more conservative than them.  I have found several churches on-line that looked like they would be a good match for me; however, after more praying and searching, it appears that they may be a bit left-field for me and perhaps not even Christian.  It is so hard to tell, all these churches claim to be Christian, but what I understand to be Christian is obviously different than how some define "Christian". 

I've considered home church, but in the area I live, there are not many who do that. 

To me, searching for a new church, while I am also searching for a denomination that I agree with is difficult.  I don't know how other people do it.  I think if I knew which denomination to search within it might be a little easier, but I don't even know that. 

How do you do it?  Look for a new church that is. 

Blessings in Christ,

 

The Homemaker's Salary

I read an article on yahoo last night, "How Much Is A Homemaker Worth?".  Quite interesting!  The whole article is here, but here is a quick breakdown.

Private Chef (including grocery shopping): 52,260 per year
House Cleaner: 6,136 per year
Child Care: 31,200 per year
Private Driver: 4,168 per year
Laundry Service: 936 per year
Lawn Maintenance: 1,560 per year
Grand Total: $96,261 per year!!!

When I saw that total, I was blown away!  Granted being a stay at home mom/wife is not something we get paid for, but you could think about it as saving your family that much money.  Or at least a portion of that sum!  Looks like God did know how important a woman can be and how much money she can save her family by following His teachings that a woman should be a "keeper at home".  (Yes, I know God knows everything well before we realize it!)

The contribution that a woman makes to her family is invaluable.  I don't think there is a real price tag to be put on it.  But I still found this interesting and thought maybe some of you would too. 
Blessings in Christ,

Altering Our God Given Glory...

I know I have raised the question before of trimming one's hair.  To many women, the word "shorn" (1 Cor 11:6) means "to cut".  However, I believe shorn means "to shave".  The greek word used for "shorn" translates to "shearing or cutting short the hair of the head".  To me, when I hear the word shorn, I automatically think of how you "shear" a sheep in the spring, cutting the wool so close to the skin that it is practically shaven.  That being said, I will trim my hair and I personally believe that is okay.  As of now, I have not felt convicted otherwise. 

However, if you do not agree with cutting your hair, would you consider altering it in any other way?  Such as, coloring it, taking vitamins to make it thicker, having it thinned, etc? 

I have a friend who has told me that cutting our hair is sinful because that's what shorn means, but then she recently told me she was considering starting to take a thyroid medication because it supposedly thickens your hair.  I see two problems with this, the first being if you do not have a thyroid problem and start taking something for it, nothing good will come of it for your body.  However, there are other products out there (ie. prenatal vitamins) that are known to give women thicker hair.  The second problem I see with it is if you are not cutting your hair because it is God's glory to a woman, then should you alter it in any other way?

My opinion is no, but I would like to hear what someone else thinks about this. 

I also think some of this has to do with the individual's motives behind wanting thicker hair.  Personally, I cannot think of a reason which would give necessity to having thicker hair, the only ones I can think of are for personal gain or out of envy. 

But I also suppose, it depends on each of our own convictions of what 1 Corinthians 11 is meaning.  Does it mean that we are only to not cut our hair, can we cut it but not short, can we do other alterations to it?  Literally speaking, the passage only speaks of a woman needing to cover her head unless she finds it okay for a woman to be shaven or shorn.  But is more implied?  What do you think?
Blessings in Christ,

 

Hating Christmas.

I work with two women who say they "hate Christmas" because one lost a son and the other lost a grandson.  For them, they say, that just makes Christmas too difficult.  I feel sad for these folks.  Why would you dwell on your loss so much that you hate one of the best celebrations ever?  The birth of our Lord and Savior. 

I can honestly say from experience, the first year is difficult.  Partially for my family because my grandma's death was only 6 days before Christmas, which was her favorite time of year.  However, this year was completely different than last year.  Sure, we missed her.  But we were able to focus on so many funny moments and her "sisu" (Finnish for determination/stubborn-ness) that this Christmas was a wonderful one.  We shared stories about her portioning out her treats that everyone gave her, if you were lucky enough to be offered one, you were expected to share one with 4 people (meaning you got a quarter) while she enjoyed a half of a treat :)  Some may say that it's not fair, or that she should have been sharing equally, but I think part of the reason why she did it was because she enjoyed us teasing her for how she so very conservatively shared these amazing treats!

But back to these ladies at work.  Both men have been gone for at least 3 years.  Now, I'm not saying that I think they should be completely over their losses, however, to still count each and every month that they've been gone and to say that Christmas is better spent by themselves than with their families because of their losses...

Almost everyone I work with has lost someone close to them, but they do not "hate Christmas" they embrace this time of celebration and enjoy spending it with their families.  That is what Christmas is about, is it not?  Fellowship with family and friends remembering the birth of Jesus and what that led to.  They also realize that those who have passed on are spending the one of the best celebrations in a Christian's life with Jesus. 

I keep praying for the words to say to either of these ladies, but so far I have not found any that seem fitting. 

I am not insensitive to either of these ladies' losses, but I do find myself annoyed by their very vocal hatred for the Christmas holiday.

I don't know the point of this post, except maybe to say that even through our losses, we still need to be grateful for the birth of our Redeemer... and maybe in part to vent too. 

So I leave you with... could you hate Christmas?  How would you deal with someone who openly hated the holiday due to a loss they suffered?

Blessings in Christ,