It must go back to this one truth...

No matter what we try to do or who we try to be, we in and of ourselves are not enough to 'make it' in the Christian life. I keep coming back to this one simple truth - it's He who completes us. It is HE who started the good work and it is HE who will continue and finish it. The other verse that keeps coming back to me is 'He will perfect all that concerns me'. It always goes back to him, the story always goes back to HIm because He is the creator of my being, the Initiator of this love relationship with mankind. No matter how much I try, I soon stumble and become dry. I keep forgetting that all nourishment and energy and power must come from the Source. It's like Y'shua said in John 15 I think it is, "I am the vine, you are the branches". I pretty much have to cling to Him for my everything in this life, from my daily bread, to carrying out His plan and purposes in my life, to living a righteous life. It has to flow from Him, from knowing Him and from coming to Him and calling on His name.

And not only do I need Him for my everything; I need Him to BE my everything! It's called a life surrendered and it's a daily moment by moment thing.

It's like someone in a hospital on life support, they are completely dependent upon it to live and function. From a medical standpoint, they will die without it. Am I this desperate to be connected to my Source? From a spiritual standpoint, my being fails within me and I dont realize it, but Im gasping for life anew. I think its why the Psalmist David says 'Do not take your Holy Spirit from me!'. It was a cry of desperation. I am crying out for the Living God. Because I know without His presence and power in my life, I am like a dead man and I am nothing. But it is in Him, I desire to live and to move and to have my being. It must go back to this one truth - Have Your way in me; I surrender my whole being to the Living God.

It's a simple, joyful Tuesday!

So it's a Tuesday morning, my little girl is sitting on my lap, and I have the windows open and worship playing on my laptop. I'm not sure what I want to say today except for: I'm content. I'm more content in this one week than I have been in a long time. I can see the LORD working in my life clearly and his blessings are so real to me. What has caused this change in me? I don't know but I'm sure the LORD had the biggest part in my transformation. This doesnt mean life is perfect or that I've suddenly become perfectly perfected. But I'm just loving my life again. I have a renewed hope and joy, and a renewed greater interest in the things of God. It's not that I wasnt interested previously, but that I had allowed negativity to fill my mind rather than good thoughts, but I find that I'm just so much happier when I think happy thoughts! No, I'm not saying positive thinking is everything because positive thinking alone doesn't make life different. But GOD makes all the difference and I have the greatest reason to be happy - because He gives me joy in so many ways!

Learn to embrace the ice!

All right, I won't keep you all wondering what on earth my title is all about, it's merely a very simple yet profound lesson I learned back in birthing class. The instructor had us hold ice in our hands for about 30 seconds to show us how to endure a contraction. She told us not to try to make the discomfort go away, but rather to embrace it as an okay thing that won't truly hurt us. I wish I'd remembered that one during actual labor! But even moreso, I am now realizing that this applies to life in a way.

When we are trusting in God, nothing that happens in life can truly harm us. But that doesn't mean life is a breeze. After all, we were never promised an easy life. But we were promised He'd be with us and we could ask the Father for our daily bread, everything we need to love Him and carrying out His purposes. So I've established that nothing can truly harm those in Christ Jesus.

So having this confidence, what do we do when life gets uncomfortable? When situations don't go our way, or when plans change, or when people disappoint us, or what about the little annoyances of the day? It's so easy to dread and fear things and get frustrated - to want to hurry up through this difficult season, difficult task, or even difficult persons!

This is something I struggle with almost daily, wanting to just hurry up and get done what I need to during the day, looking forward to a specific part of the day or part of the week. It's so easy for me to get frustrated when plans change. It's like I have this expectation that life should go the way I envision it in my mind. Already today, my toddler has erased my writing three times. This weekend I had a change of plans that was personally frustrating. It's easy to say to myself 'I have a right to feel frustrated and be angry'. Do I? Do I have a right to have an attitude when life doesn't go my way? Actually, I dont think I do and even if by chance I do, I dont have a right to dwell in my negative emotions. This isn't productive at all! So what DO I do then? Well, God gave me emotions but if they keep me from responding in a pure manner, then I need to change my thinking.

Mostly, I need to learn to go with the flow. I don't mean go with the flow when it comes to sin or anything. I mean to learn that life is going to throw curveballs, but that God has given me everything I need to deal with life as it comes. I have the Word of God which gives me wisdom for many circumstances. I have the Holy Spirit which produces the fruit of the spirit. I have the ability to enter in to prayer and worship. And I have the mind to choose which way to go, whether for sin or for righteousness.

How am I going to respond? With anger, dread, complaining, and selfishness? Or with compassion, determination, grace, and creativity? I can handle whatever comes my way because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and I know my Father provides my daily bread, everything I need for each day. So what have I to fear, nothing. I will embrace life, I won't push it away because I'm afraid to experience that which uncomfortable. How about you?

By the way, not every change that comes our way need be a difficult challenge to get all huffed about. You know the old saying 'when life throws lemons, make lemonade'? Well, sometimes life's 'lemons' aren't really that sour. It's our attitude that makes it sour. But really, we can make a lot of seemingly frustrating changes into something fun. It just takes a little creativity and a love of life. If the children are a bother, just take a break and enjoy them! They won't be little forever. If a friend calls with a problem while you're working on something, then take a break and minister love to that person! If you found out you gotta work harder or longer, do it to the best of your ability because you were the one picked for the job and you're good at it! I'm sure there are many examples I'm forgetting or that just don't apply to my personal experience, but you know what they are in your life. And what about the mundane things like cooking and cleaning and going to work and such? Why can't we have fun in these things too? It takes a bit of creavity to switch up the pace a little, but we were made with the ability to be creative because we have a creative God. Learn to look at life differently. After all, we have a faithful God. The sun comes up every morning and the sun sets every evening. Life really isn't all that bad when we know there is a God who is good and sovereign in everything. Embrace all of life, be faithful to God and to the tasks He's called you to, and dont forget to enjoy the blessings He gives you!

P.S. Speaking of putting this principle into practice, my words may not flow as well as they could, my toddler keeps interrupting. But that's life and I love it! :)

Trusting in the Nitty-Gritty of Life

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.

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!

******************************************************************************

– 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.

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!

Separate/Obedient - in the little things first!

I have to admit that sometimes I don't like being 'separate' because people think we're strange. But the people of God were never meant to look like the rest of the world. Obeying God is going to mean being 'strange' in the world's eyes at some point whether it's as simple as not eating pork or as big as moving where God tells you when to the world it might look foolish.

This reminds me of the Scripture that says "To whom much is given much is required" which goes along with the idea that we have to be faithful in the little things if God is going to trust us with the big things. If we're willing to be obedient in those seemingly little things such as keeping kosher (according to Torah) and not whine about it or question Him, then He can trust us to trusting in Him with our finances, with our life's decisions, with our families, ministry, etc.

It's just one way to look at it.