What does your life boil down to?

I recently went to an estate sale. Have you ever been to an estate sale? It's kind of like a garage sale on steroids. EVERYTHING MUST GO! might be the estate sale mantra. It is my understanding that family members take what they want from the loved ones items and the remaining "stuff" is sold. Prices are usually really cheap or fairly priced. Now, this sale that I was at the other day was really awesome! VERY well organized, clearly marked prices and an actual check out area. They even had boxes for easy shopping. Wow! The items for sale filled every room in the house, the basement, the garage, the driveway and two barns on the property. There were lots of antiques, oldtiques and uniques....the basement was over flowing with perfectly organized sections of seasonal decor. One area was Easter, one Christmas, one Fall, one was even 4th of July. It really was remarkable. There was china, casual dishes, place mats, silver pieces, serving bowls, silverware, Tupperware, etc. (there was even unopened food products from the cupboards with prices on it. There was clothes, books, furniture, purses, 1/2 used salon products....there was even a plethora of those free with purchase gifts you get when you purchase make-up from the fancy department store cosmetics department. You know the ones I'm talking about. I even saw a few family portraits for sale.

Oodles of people were carefully walking through the entire home, peering in every corner, making note of the decor, the style of the carpet, wood trim, etc. People were buying things left and right. Some people were even trying to bargain with the sellers. What does this have to do with Jesus? Oooo...surely you jest!! You know how I can bring everything back to Jesus!!

As I walked through the home I could not help but feel sad. An entire life and all the "stuff" of it was out there for all to see. Even worse, the stuff was all for sale. Now, I happen to know the woman that passed away. I did not know her well but the amount that I did know her, I knew her to be kind and loving. She obviously cared for her home and took great pride in its decor and appearance. She appeared to enjoy having gatherings that involved serving meals and she LOVED decorating her home for the upcoming holiday...whatever it may have been. As I looked over table after table of items, looking for a good deal, I could not help but think about how the woman must have felt as she purchased these items that I was now considering purchasing. She was obviously a girl who enjoyed shopping the housewares section of any store. (as do I) Did she get really excited after she found just the perfect thing? Did it bring her happiness as she brought it home and enjoyed it? Did the warm fuzzy, Norman Rockwell feelings of the next family gathering last for days after the actual event or did all those good feelings fade as the event got underway? Did she enjoy the planning and decorating more than she enjoyed the actual holiday? If only her "stuff " could talk...I wonder what it would say.

I will never know the answer to that but what I do know is that Jesus always points the questions we ask about others right back at us. What would my stuff say? Do I get too wrapped up in the perfection of a gathering? Is the planning of something way more enjoyable than the actual thing? Is the anticipation of a great day the greatest part of the day? Am I truly focusing on stuff or the things that Jesus tell us is most important. In our fallen world, our enemy would have us focus on all the thing surrounding an event or just the surroundings of every day life. The relationship with the people we are supposed to be sharing our time with becomes the after thought. The best stuff takes a back seat. As I am sure you can all relate too, it is the relationships and what they lack that often leave us feeling let down. Our Lord calls us to recognize when we fall into this kind of trap. He reminds us to be sure to get back on track and re re refocus on what is important- Loving God and then loving others. Not with perfection mind you, but to the best of our ability. In my life, the closer I get to Jesus, the better I can love those that he has put in my life. I often get all wrapped up in the wrapping of my life and not the actual guts of it. Know what I mean? It's just so easy to do....I hate that!

The estate sale experience was a call for me to look at my own life and see if I need to refocus. It was also a teaching moment for my children. I had an opportunity to talk with them about making sure that their lives are not just full of stuff that ends up on the front lawn with a FOR SALE tag on it. Without a relationship with our Creator, which leads us to have loving, genuine relationships with His children, our lives can easily turn into nothing more than an estate sale. Full of things that get sold to complete strangers for low, low prices.

So, this post is a call to make sure we are making the best of the time that the Lord has so graciously given us. It is the relationships that mean the most to God. Our relationship with Him. Our relationship with others. Be careful to not let the trappings of life trap you into focusing on the wrong elements of life. Blessings.

Time to fill the Pot Holes!

Spring is here in NE Ohio which means many things. The grass begins to show itself, the robins are fluttering about, gardens are getting planted...and bumpers fall off cars as bewildered motorists travel over canyons in the road, also know as....POTHOLES! Aaaahhh...Spring in Ohio. Nothing says spring like daffodils and auto body repair bills!

As I dodged a pot hole and avoided a bumper at the outer rim, (this truly happened by the way) I could not help but make an analogy between potholes and God. Just go with me...this is how my brain works.

To all my sisters in Christ who have not fully understood the amazing redeeming ability of our Creator, I share this with you....as I have experienced it.

Scripture calls Jesus our redeemer. (Ephesians 1:7-8)

What is the definition of redeem? I had an idea but it is one of those words that is really hard to grab ahold of. What does the dictionary say?

Redeem: to free from what distresses or harms; to free from captivity by payment of ransom;

to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental ; to buy back.

After knowing this, seeing Christ as my redeemer is much more clear. Scripture tells us that when we accept Christ as our savior, He redeems us from our sins and we get to be with Him, for eternity. Now, that is so huge. The idea of all that is sometimes too big for my lil' brain. Know what I mean? I needed God to explain how Christ as my redeemer was a good thing for my everyday, ordinary, run of the mill existence. After all, I am just a regular girl with a husband to make happy, kids to raise, a house to clean and laundry to get done. I needed more than just these big concepts. As I searched and asked for help with this question, God was once again faithful to help me out. (this is where the pot hole analogy comes in ;0)

Our lives are like the road. Our sins are like all those potholes. Now, these potholes could be something that we have done on purpose, knowing it was a sin, or they could be something that we didn't realize was a sin until later and/or the potholes are left by other peoples' sins. (I am sure you will agree that a persons actions effect more than just that one person.)

With all this in mind, as we travel down the road of our life, we are bound to come across potholes. Some are HUGE and cause us to stumble and there is just no way around it. Others are kind of small and if we go over them, just so, we seem to miss them completely. However, when we least expect it, those same small potholes catch us off guard and we run right over them and the result can be a dented fender or a bent bumper. The reality is, those potholes need to be filled in. Something needs to go IN them so the road we travel is smooth and passable.

Let's be real. What do potholes look like?

Here is a list that is by no means exhaustive. (remember, these potholes can be in your life because of you or because of someone else) It is important to remember, no matter HOW they got there, they are there and need to be dealt with.

loneliness self-centeredness promiscuity anxiety

abandonment cruelty abortion panic

debt impatience drugs grumbling

depression rudeness alcohol grouchiness

anger saying too much over spending passive aggression

jealousy not saying enough over eating holier than though-ness

bitterness pride under eating gossipy

boredom ungrateful heart worry physically abused/abusive

My friends...I could go on and on.

Now, what do you fill your potholes with?

If they are not filled correctly, the patch just pops out and often becomes worse than it was before. I think it is important to realize that some things on the above list are things that we might use to fill in our potholes. For example...if we were abandoned as a young girl, we might fill in that emptiness with promiscuity. If we are angry because an unresolved issue from our past, we might fill the pot hole of anger with alcohol or even something less obvious, like grouchiness. If we are prone to being a bit too prideful and think too much of ourselves, we might fall into filling that hole with gossip about other people. See what I mean? So often the sin and what we use to solve it, or fill it in, or deal with it...never actually takes care of it. More often than not, it makes it worse.

Now, in the light of Jesus as our Redeemer, we need to get to a place where we look to Him as the one who can fill in those potholes once and for all. When He fills them, they get filled with the one and only true fix. No need for anything else. The one who created us is the one who wants to free us from what distresses us and harms us. Our "potholes" will not be there to rumble over. BUT...Jesus can not redeem what we have lost, He can not free us from what harms us unless we give Him the go ahead.

Oh, my dear sisters (and brothers) in Christ, when I understood what it meant to have Christ as my redeemer, when I gave him permission to see all my potholes, he went right to work and lovinly filled them in. True, He is still working at it. It is/was a pretty bumpy road but He is accomplishing what He set out to do.

Have you given Him the chance, the ok, to fill in your "potholes"?

This is a question only you can answer.

Blessings.

The temptation of Jesus

I was so moved by a powerful lesson I recently heard on the radio.

Wow!!! Had to share.

Let's go to Luke 4: 1-13.

I will paraphrase as to what is going on (as I understand it). Just before the verses in Luke that I want to focus on, it is important to understand what had just happened. Jesus had been baptized by John, the Holy Spirit was flying around and God said he was well pleased with his son. Talk about a big day! Scripture goes on to say that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit and was led to the desert to be tempted, by the devil, for 40 days. Good grief. Talk about a let-down, right? Jesus is filled to the brim with the amazing attributes of God...then...he has to hang out in the desert with satan. Walk with me as we break this down. Huge stuff here...huge!

The first two verses of Luke 4...

(Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, [2] where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.) have a few things worth expounding on.

First, it was the Holy Spirit that did the leading. Jesus did not go there on his own. He was lead there by the HS. If someone is leading...it usually means they know where they are going...right? Well, following this logic, the Holy Spirit wanted Jesus to be tempted. Well, not wanted in the way I want an ice cream sundae, but more like....oh...kinda like the Holy Spirit lead Jesus to the desert to be tempted because He knew this is what had to be done. The temptation by satan was on the agenda. This happening was not a surprise to God or the Holy Spirit.

Second, how about the next verse that says he didn't eat anything for the entire time AND ALSO tells us he was hungry. (meaning no disrespect but...duh!) Don't you think we would assume he was hungry after not eating for 40 days? Kind of like saying the same thing over, right? Well, I think God added this so we would remember that Jesus was fully man and fully God at the same time. It is important for believers to really understand that Jesus had all the human desires, needs, wants, etc that we all do. Telling us that Christ did not eat for 40 days and he was hungry, helps us to recall the human form of our God.

One last focus on want to make regarding these verses in Luke is this....

If you think about it, the things that satan offers or tempts Jesus with are things that will happen. Scripture tells us they have happened or they are going to happen. For instance, satan takes Jesus to a high place and points out the kingdom below and says, "here, I will give this all to you". Satan again tempts Jesus by telling Him to jump from a high place. The obvious result would be Jesus dies from the fall but if He is truly the son of God, angels will save him. Well, scripture tells us that Jesus WILL eventually be the ruler of the world. Right now, it is still a fallen world and yuck happens...often. Praise God, Christ is due to come back and shaaaa...zam.... can't wait to see the wonder of THAT!! The second point, about tempting Jesus to jump or fall....scripture tells us he does fall, of sorts...actually He is crucified. His earthly form dies but rises again and because He is the son of God, He lives! So.....what is all this tempting actually about? How is satan tempting Him in these verses? Also, what on earth does this have to do with us as His followers? How can we apply this to our everyday lives?

Well, this is what I see. Jesus has the power to do whatever he wants. He is fully God. He can command the wind, the water, animals, make food fall from the sky, you name it. He could even snap his fingers and a 4 star hotel could appear right in the middle of the desert and a bell hop could wait on him hand and foot! Seriously! He could do all that. BUT...He didn't. He was tempted by satan to make His existence comfortable and perfect. He is tempted to prove himself...his worth.

Yet, He resisted. He resisted because His father had a plan. The plan had not come to fruition yet. Even though the things He was tempted with would eventually happen, He did not take matters into his own hands. Tempted as He was, He was patient. He waited. He did not get things accomplished on His own. He was about His fathers business and the proper time was important. What was the proper time? Well, whenever His dad said so.

So He waited.

He was tempted BUT he resisted....

and waited.

Having said allll that, the question is....Do we forge ahead on our own time? In our own will? Do we make things happen because we can? Or do we consult our Creator and wait on His timing?

Blessings.

Just in case!

I was listening to Tony Evans (if you have never heard him preach, I recommend you google him and get started! Very anointed in my opinion.) on the radio last night and I had such a revelation! He started chatting about some Old Testament times when the Israelites had started to worship other gods. Now, I have done lots of OT reading and I have to say, the times when this particular issue comes up always baffled me. Truly! It is mentioned in several places that the Hebrews would start to worship the gods of other people. Names such as Baal, Astarte, Bel, Dagon are mentioned in scripture. Here and there the Israelites would run to them for one reason or another and start to worship them.

I was so blown away by this time and time again. My initial thought would be...are you kidding me!! Good grief! After the whole Red Sea thing as well as all the other amazing, unexplainable things that only God can do, and seriously....other gods?? You could say I was shaking my head at what I considered their...narrow-mindedness, stupidity, etc. I never really understood what on earth was going through their minds. Until last night.

Scripture does not say that the Israelites completely began to disbelieve in God...it says they just began to worship other gods. Baal was a sort of fertility god. Fertility of people, land, crops, etc. You could say that these other gods were kinda like just in case gods. It may have gone something like this...."Weeelllllll, I still believe in my all powerful God but just in case, let me see what this other god is all about. It seems to be working for those Philistines. After all, I really want another baby and I really want this years crops to flourish. Saying a pray to someone else can't hurt. Right?"

Ouch!! Don't we do that same exact thing today?????? Don't we?? We might think along these lines, "Oh goodness, YES...I believe in the One True God, the Holy Trinity, etc but just in case, I need to make sure that I spend lots and lots of time and energy thinking and rethinking (maybe a bit of worrying) about my finances and making sure I have lots of money because if I don't take care of things, who will!" Or maybe something like this..."I need to make sure I have a very full, important career and spend lots of time on it. After all, it is my career that makes me feel needed, important, special, significant. God couldn't possibly do all that. Right? I know scripture says He can but just in case." Or how about these....1. God can't fill me like food does so when I feel down, I will run to the frig instead of my bible. 2. I need a huge pick-me-up and shopping does it for me! God can't make me feel that awesome. 3. If I just had a nicer home, a bigger home, a new car, a faster computer, blah, blah, blah...then I would be happy, satisfied, content, feel better, etc.

We too worship other gods just like those of the OT. For most of us, our "other gods" do not have names like we think of. Many of us confess our love for God in one breath and then behave in a way the very next moment that says we have other gods in our lives too. Our other gods have names like...Money, Self, Food, Shopping, STUFF, Career, Power, Worry, and the list goes on and on. Yikes.

I ask you my sisters, do you have any just in case gods? It is a big question that takes a mature person to truly look into their own heart and see if there are any "posers" in there. If can't find any, I would ask the Holy Spirit to help reveal them. If you think about it and decide you might have some just in case gods, I would refer you to Exodus 20:3,4. (just click the link)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exodus%2020&version=MSG

Many blessings!

PS...to all my dear sweet Catholic sisters....if you can't find your keys, who do you pray to for help? If you want to sell your house, who do you pray to for help? If you have a sick animal, who do you pray to for help? Just something to think about.

My new day planner is here!

Ok...I am one of those crazy chicks that LOVES her day planner. I try each year to wait til the start of the new year but as soon as August gets here, I know that those 18 month planners are available. Yep. I know. Crazy. I have spent several years finding what I think might be the perfect planner for me. I have tried several and right now I am totally in love with momAgenda. Check out their website if you are a planner nut like me. Anywho....

My beautiful new planner is here, I am getting all organized, marking down important dates, feeling very much in control! Then Sept 27th catches my eye. In my new planner, (month at a glance page for September)it has this written in the upper corner of Sept 27th...."Family Day: Have dinner with your kids." I stopped short. What has our culture come to? This activity needs to be written down? Made note of? That means it is something to remember rather than a regular occurrence. I have to say, sadness kinda came over me. Have our lives become so busy...is every family so busy that mealtime is a thing of the past?

In my life, I MUST monitor my time. Actually I have to protect every minute of my day. If I don't diligently protect it, soon it will be eaten up by things that don't even matter to me. I start to feel like a complete bystander in my own life. Uuuuggg!! Who wants that! I need reminders that I....I....I am the one in control of who I let into my precious time table. Because my kids are young (12,10,7) I can still dictate quite a bit of what eats up their time too. If I don't take great care in making sure their lives are not too busy, what will their idea of living be? Know what I mean? All this busyness HAS consequences. It seems we are addicted to activity. So many of us don't even know what to do if we have nothing to do. I bet you can think of someone right now (maybe even yourself) that freaks out when there is nothing going on, no where to be and nothing to do. I think that lots of us say we hate being so busy but can that really be true? Let's be honest, shall we. Who exactly is responsible for keeping us so busy? If I complain about being busy, I only have myself to blame. I am not a victim of this...I am a participant. It takes a strong person to look at their lives and get rid of things that need to go. Sometimes it is great things. Sometimes it is things that need to be eliminated for the time being. Often, it is tough choices that have to be made in order to free up some time in our lives to just be still!!!! Speaking of being still.....

In Psalm 46:10, God tells us...."be still and know that I am God." Sometimes it is as simple as that. JUST BE STILL already!! How can we put the things in our lives that God wants us to do if our days are already filled with what we have decided is a must. If you bring the word still back to the Hebrew meaning, it translates to "let go" or "release". God needs us to let go of our to do list. Release it all to Him. Be sure to have some time just to hear from our heavenly Father. Why? Well, scripture tells us He will give us peace and rest. Here are some wonderful, comforting verses that indicate the peaceful joy that God has for us. The catch is...He will not force this upon you. You see, He is always a gentleman. We have to ask for what He offers. We have to accept what He gives.

Jer 6:16 Walk in my ways and you will find rest for your souls.

Jer 31:25 I satisfy the weary ones ad refresh everyone who languishes

Matt 11:28 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

I have to be reminded from time to time, to make sure I am leaving room for God to speak to me. I must leave some time to be still. This is not only for my own well-being but I must remember, I have little eyes watching me and learning as they grow.

I saw this T-shirt...

As I was traveling back to my home in NE Ohio we stopped along the thru-way for a caffine and potty break. There were a bus load of teens that arrived just in front of us. (all using the potty too...that was a close one!) I noticed one t-shirt that I could NOT get out of my thoughts. It was black with white decor on it. In the middle, there was a cross with these words staggered within..."Be Holy or Die Trying"

Immediately my heart was sad. Obviously this was a very believing child but for some reason he was under the impression that he could DO something that would make him acceptable to God. Let's just think about this for a moment.

( are you thinking?)

How often in my life have I done something that was soooo completely unHoly? Oh heavens! (Please don't tally those up.) It would not be a stretch for the middle of the road, everyday, run of the mill, average kinda girl (or boy) to think about "being holy" and simply say....that is just too hard...I will fail at that so let me stick to the things I am good at... being holy is just too impossible so why bother!

What does it even mean to BE holy? Does that mean going to church everyday? (yuck!) Every Sunday? Does it mean never using cuss words? How about if you slip and swear when you stub a toe? Does that make you unholy for that day? What if you are PMS-ing and you are rude to a co-worker? Your mom calls and you get snippy with her? Can you be extra-holy on Friday to make up for being unholy on Thursday? I don't know about you but my head is spinning!! Where is the line of holiness? I did not get that memo! AAAAAaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!

Fortunately, we have a loving God who knew that we would slip into that mind set of trying to accomplish something that was simply impossible. Why impossible? Because we were given the ability to choose and we are all human beings. We are bound to make choices that suit our prideful hearts rather than choices that honor God and are "others" focused. We are flawed creatures that need our creator to help guide us. Because of His love for us, God sent his Son to be our personal guide.

My dear sisters, please don't get caught in that trap of trying to do things to earn a place with God. Your life will be eaten up by your To Do list. Your joy will be replaced with anxiety and guilt. God wants to be your soft place to fall. He wants to be your support system not your dictator. He wants you to dive into His word, swim around a bit. The water is perfect!

How do I know this? I read it in a really great book that I can't put down....The Bible. ;O) Let me share some verses that speak volumes to this.

A verse that speaks to YOUR importance to God...

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matt 6:26

A verse that speaks to God's desire for you to ENJOY your life and not be trapped by guilt, shame, to do lists... (answers specifically why Jesus came in the first place. How cool!)

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

A verse that speaks to HOW we can be okay with God.

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

John 10:10

A few verses that speak to the idea of TRYING TO BE HOLY and how it is not going to work!

For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Rom 3:28

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not by works, lest any man should boast. Eph 2:8,9

"nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified." Gal 2:16

Ok...I could go on and on! I so hope you get my point and that these verses cause you to dive into what else the Bible has to say to us.

In closing, the desire of my heart is to get the point across that it is not about doing things to be okay with God. It is not about being "enough" of something. God wants us as we are! We don't need to fix something about ourselves before we can get to know Him. He wants us to understand that He loves us BEFORE we come to him. He loves us and wants us to just believe it and in turn, get to know Him. I promise....the closer you get to God (even with all the junk you carry around) you will be amazed at the joy and love that will fill your soul. Come on in! The water is great!

Where do you run to?

Still working my way through the bible from cover to cover. Loving it! Truly. I am. I would encourage everyone to do it...at whatever pace you want. I made it to 1 Sam as of today. Once again, HUGE stuff. Let me share what God has been whispering to my heart now.

In 1 Sam 5, the Ark of the Covenant has been captured by the Philistines. The Israelites are freaking out. The Ark is where God was. (yes, that means, God was inside a box. Does that make sense to me? No. But it is scripture so I'm goin' with it. When I get to Heaven I WILL be asking, what was up with the box?)

Ok...so the Phil's have God, rather the box that contains God. They know that it is the "god" of the Israelites. The Phil's have their own god...a dude named Dagon. They decide to put God in the room where they store their god. Basically, a big fancy room with a statue of Dagon in it. They place the Ark next to it. ....

In the morning, they go check on the fancy room. Well, Dagon has fallen over, face first, at the base of the Ark. Heheheheh! How great is that! The Phil's just pick it back up, maybe saying "huh". The next day, the statue is once again face down but this time the head and arms had broken off. This made they MORE fearful. They wanted to get rid of the "god of the Israelites" because the power was too big. They moved it from city to city but no one wanted it with them because it was too powerful. They finally put it on some cows' backs and sent it back to the Jews. The cheers of joy from the Jews were heard by the Phil's which caused them to become even more fearful. They saw the Israelites as unstoppable because it was well known by all other people that the God of the Israelites was very powerful and had saved them time and time again. (something to keep in mind too....in 1 Sam 7 it talks about how the Israelites started to worship other gods while the Ark was held captive by the Phil's)

The first thing that comes to mind with all this is...

"If the Philistines had witnessed the power of God and they clearly believed it was real, why didn't they just acknowledge Him and start living in the light?" They would have been considered an "outsider" among the Jewish community but scripture mentions non-Jews living among the Hebrews several times. Now, it goes without saying that the Jews had lost their minds when they started worshipping other gods.

Then God whispered this to my heart...

"How often do you disregard My power and run to whatever god is the god of your life at the time?" Ouch. How often do we turn to shopping, money, food, my husband, parents, work, alcohol or drugs, even a Godly friend when we should simply stop running ANYWHERE and drop to our knees. It takes deep personal reflection and honesty to acknowledge that we, as believers, turn from the one true God when we have seen and experienced His power, and continue to run elsewhere for comfort.

Just something to think about. Sending blessings and hugs.