It’s days like today that make me ponder just how deep my faith runs. When I say faith, I mean trust. My thoughts may be a little incoherent or out of order but please bear with me for a while. Let me first say, I love my little family. I have a great husband who helps me out to the best he knows how and I have an adorable baby girl who recently turned 1 year old. I love both dearly.
But as all of you who are parents know, parenting isn’t easy! I have to say that it’s been a long-haul with a lot of frustrations. From post-partum depression which made it difficult to bond with baby the first few months, to dealing with colic, to dealing with a 1 year old who weighs only 17 pounds, still wakes up throughout the night, and is a very picky eater/drinker – it leaves my days and nights tired. It seems like the tough phases never end.
Now on the flip side of all this, I have been learning in my Christian walk that we can have victory over our sins and over our negative feelings. God picked me to be the parent of my little flower, not somebody else. God picked me to be who I am where I am doing what He wants me to be doing. So I should be living my life victorious and not letting parenting challenges and frustrations beat me right? I’ll answer that myself – RIGHT! I totally believe this, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty of every day, I don’t always live this trust out. I keep hearing phrases come out of my mouth like “I can’t do this another day” or “I don’t enjoy parenting right now” and while feelings can be legit they don’t always represent truth. God believes that I CAN do this another day and He will show me how to not only endure but enjoy the calling He has given me as a mom. Somehow I know I’ll get through these phases, even if they do come one right after the other in rapid succession. And somehow He will show me how to live victoriously each day, even on the really tough days. That’s what it means to be His – not to live under my circumstances but to push through them in confident victory knowing that I am more than able to do everything He has called me to do by the strength give to me by Him.
I hope seeing me lay out my raw struggles and thoughts can help others who are frustrated with their current life situations. We really need to learn to see how even the challenges are just a result of the blessing and calling He has for us. I feel so blessed to have given birth to a healthy beautiful child and I know one day I’m going to see this little baby turn into a lovely woman of God. How awesome that will be! But for now, I need to take it each day at a time trusting God through all of it – moment by moment!
Father, I thank You that You have given me the beautiful gift of a precious little life that is mine to nurture and train and raise in Your ways. I thank You that You have given me this calling and I know that You will give me the strength, energy, and creativity I need each day. I trust You! Father, who is in Heaven, blessed be Your name, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth and in my life as You will it. Give me each day my daily bread and lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and power and glory forever and ever, Amein.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
IF clauses, don't forget them!
Below is something I found recently on the internet and it makes sense! Let's not forget who we are and what it means to be His! Salvation is a gift to us, but it requires our whole lives!
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– IF you forgive you will be forgive.
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you
– IF you continue in the Word then you are a disciple.
Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed”;
– IF you don’t abide in Christ you will be cast forth as a branch.
Joh 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
– IF you don’t continue in his goodness you will be cut off.
Rom 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
– IF you continue in the faith you will be presented holy in his sight.
Col 1:21-23 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
– IF you hold fast unto the end you are Christ’s house.
Heb 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
– IF you hold your confidence steadfast unto the end you are a partaker of Christ.
Heb 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;
– IF after you are saved you sin willfully there remains no sacrifice for your sins.
Heb 10:26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
– IF you keep his commandments you know Christ.
1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
– IF what you have heard remains in you, ye will continue in the Son.
1Jn 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
******************************************************************************
– IF you forgive you will be forgive.
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you
– IF you continue in the Word then you are a disciple.
Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed”;
– IF you don’t abide in Christ you will be cast forth as a branch.
Joh 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
– IF you don’t continue in his goodness you will be cut off.
Rom 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
– IF you continue in the faith you will be presented holy in his sight.
Col 1:21-23 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
– IF you hold fast unto the end you are Christ’s house.
Heb 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
– IF you hold your confidence steadfast unto the end you are a partaker of Christ.
Heb 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;
– IF after you are saved you sin willfully there remains no sacrifice for your sins.
Heb 10:26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
– IF you keep his commandments you know Christ.
1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
– IF what you have heard remains in you, ye will continue in the Son.
1Jn 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Set-apart or just like the world?
I'm sitting here currently watching Christian TV. There is a pop Christian music 'star' performance and to be honest, if I can't hear the words I'd say it was just another secular performer. She sounds exactly like the pop music we'd find in today's culture.
Is this really the way we need to reach out to youth? Especially OUR (already Christian) youth? Teach them to be holy (set-apart) by telling them to be just like the world (not set apart)? Something just doesn't feel right about that.
I mean the older men are supposed to train the younger men to fulfill their God-given roles as adults and same with the older women teaching the younger. But I just don't see that as a whole in the Church today. By using the pop culture of our times, it is teaching kids to remain just that - kids! It's foolishness.
Recently I saw an advice question from a mom of a daughter wondering what age she should let her daughter date. The question shouldn’t be about what age kids should be dating as that isn't the real goal. It sorta puts it in the wrong spin/perspective. Dating is what the rest of western society does, but do we really want to subject our sons and daughters to all the emotions of dating? Hardly! It's like saying 'go play with a match, if you try enough times you might figure it out'. Does the thought of our teenage kids kissing multiple boys by the age of 20 really sound appealing or does it make parents uncomfortable? If the latter, then it's normal! God never meant it to be like it is today. It's just silliness and the foolishness of our culture.
The more I see the world in the church, the more I wanna go be a Quaker or something. I say that with some sarcasm, but for reals. Why does pop culture pervade our churches and our thought processes and mindsets? Is this what YHWH, a holy GOD, really intended for His people? From clothing to the music industry to family counseling to youth ministry – just looking too much like the world!
Is this really the way we need to reach out to youth? Especially OUR (already Christian) youth? Teach them to be holy (set-apart) by telling them to be just like the world (not set apart)? Something just doesn't feel right about that.
I mean the older men are supposed to train the younger men to fulfill their God-given roles as adults and same with the older women teaching the younger. But I just don't see that as a whole in the Church today. By using the pop culture of our times, it is teaching kids to remain just that - kids! It's foolishness.
Recently I saw an advice question from a mom of a daughter wondering what age she should let her daughter date. The question shouldn’t be about what age kids should be dating as that isn't the real goal. It sorta puts it in the wrong spin/perspective. Dating is what the rest of western society does, but do we really want to subject our sons and daughters to all the emotions of dating? Hardly! It's like saying 'go play with a match, if you try enough times you might figure it out'. Does the thought of our teenage kids kissing multiple boys by the age of 20 really sound appealing or does it make parents uncomfortable? If the latter, then it's normal! God never meant it to be like it is today. It's just silliness and the foolishness of our culture.
The more I see the world in the church, the more I wanna go be a Quaker or something. I say that with some sarcasm, but for reals. Why does pop culture pervade our churches and our thought processes and mindsets? Is this what YHWH, a holy GOD, really intended for His people? From clothing to the music industry to family counseling to youth ministry – just looking too much like the world!
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