Spiritual

There are all these milestones in life that have this stigma of “once I get there, my life will be complete”.  “Once I turn whatever age, I will have it all figured out.” “Once I get my license I will be free” “Once I finish school, I will have more time”  “Once I can fit into this size, I will feel good” “Once I get married, life will be perfect” and the list goes on and on and on. I am sure you can think of a few times in life where you have felt that way.

What I have realized, we will never “arrive” as the world puts it.  Life is never complete. We will never be finished growing, changing, learning, adapting, and developing. Some of you may think this is very disappointing. You may have been waiting for that promotion, or that location change, or that next vacation time to reach euphoria.  But let me let you in on a little secret, once you get there, it will be something else. The success of this world is just this never ending mirage of making you feel fulfilled. You will still be empty.  It is great when you are blessed by something like a house.  But once you have the house, there is the pet, or the boat, or the remodeling… That is just the impression the world puts out there.  So there’s this push to arrive at some place. And once you get there, there is no satisfaction, just wanting more. It’s a rough road down that path.

But you don’t have to feel like this.  There is more to life.  There is more to who you are.  It is not about what you do or what you have.  It is about who you are. But I have …

I am currently in a book group/bible study/accountability group with my closest girlfriends here in Grenada. We don’t really have a name for it so I just call it my “Girls Group”. And, it is just that– Our husbands always seem so surprised when we always go overtime and can’t seem to figure out what we have to talk about for 4+ hours! 🙂 We read a book together, we talk about life together, we laugh and cry and encourage, we pray together and worship God together. The last few months we have been reading Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist. (If you have never read anything by Shauna Niequist, I HIGHLY recommend it!! Cold Tangerines is my favorite so far) I had actually read Cold Tangerines in college with my softball D-group (devotional group). But, it has been really neat to go through it again in such a different place of life. It relates to my life in ways so completely different than the first time I read it and in other ways, quite similarly! Here is an excerpt from her chapter called Shalom…

“There is a way of living, a way of harmonizing and hitting a balance point, a converging of a thousand balance points and voices, layering together, twisting together, and there are moments when it all clicks into place just for a split second- God and marriage and forgiveness and something deep inside that feels like peace- and that’s the place I’m trying to get to…The word I use for it is shalom. It is the physical, sense-oriented, relational, communal, personal, ideological posture that arches God-ward. That’s the best way I can describe it. It’s equilibrium and free-fall, balance and shake. It’s a new dance, a new taste, the feeling of falling in love, the knowledge of …

As we raise our kids, what framework are we using to enable them to formulate a Christian world view? As their understanding of the world around them develops, where are they going for stable moral values and truth? Our culture today is changing rapidly and we need to be aware of the influences out there that are challenging our children. We need to be equipped to teach and train our children so they can develop a moral compass and build a framework of faith that will stand as they grow.

Hiding God’s word in your heart is a worthwhile practice. The bible is God’s word to man that reveals His character and His wisdom through truths that help us face every life circumstance.
God’s word is alive and active and gives us a connection to the heart of the creator of the universe.

Psalm 119:9,11 “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word. I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You”

God’s word enables us to live above mediocrity. We can use God’s word to instruct our children in the teachable moments in the lives of our kids.

Here are some tools that we used when the girls were young to begin to introduce our girls to the blessings and benefits of bible memorization.

GT and the Halo Express
This is a series of songs that uses scripture as the actual words to the song so your kids learn passages of the bible while they sing the songs.
Abeka alphabet bible memory cards These are the alphabet bible cards that we used with our girls. You memorize one verse for each letter of the alphabet. I would make up a short sing song melody for each …

I have always loved the book of the Bible, Philippians. But lately, I have been on an even bigger Philippians kick trying to read and absorb the encouragement that Paul shares in this book. I don’t want to just read it, I want to live it.

Look at this verse:
Philippians 2:1-4 “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

The chapter starts out right where we all need to begin.  We need to be one with Christ, unified in our heart, our soul, our mind… in every part of who we are.  Christ is the foundation, the cornerstone, the rock, the EVERYTHING. So in our unity with him, we have encouragement, purpose, and inspiration. Next it moves to what God is all about.  His love. His love is powerful, strong, and passionate.  It brings comfort through the security in being loved by our Father. When we share in the love of the Lord, we share in the experience. We share in the outpouring of tenderness and compassion through the bearing of the fruit of the Spirit. Through life with Christ, our joy becomes complete.  We live for a greater purpose than just ourselves. The joy we have in that goes so far beyond the “happiness” of the world. So in experiencing the pure joy we gain a different perspective about the purpose of life. Christ lives …

As Valentines Day quickly approaches, I cannot help but think of the legendary LOVE verse found in 1 Corinthians 13. For those of you that do not know it, it reads, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.  For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But …

Do you ever feel like something is holding you back from you being the person you want to be? Are you trying to push through something and feel like you are getting nowhere? Are you not reaching your goals and getting discouraged along the way? I know I often feel like this. Life is hard. Situations are rough. Sometimes its hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  But I believe in a God who loves me right where I am. I believe in a God who is always with me. I believe in a God who has a plan bigger than me. I believe in a God who can transform me to become more like Him. I believe in a God that has Purpose, Power, and Perseverance. The one thing I have to do, LET HIM DO HIS WORK IN MY LIFE. Check this verse out…

Philippians 3:12-14 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

So let’s break it down. Living with Christ is a journey. We have aspirations. We have desires. We are going somewhere. And we have to look to the Lord for what he desires for us. Christ has a plan. He has a purpose for us. We have to choose to live our life with him. But we have not arrived. We have not reached our goals. …

My Princess…You Don’t Have To Fit In

“I know you want to be accepted by others, but you were not made to fit in. You, My Princess, were created to stand out. Not to draw attention to yourself, but to live the kind of life that leads others to Me. Remember, it’s your choices that will pave your path to life. I will not force you to do anything. I have given you a free will to walk with Me or to walk away from Me. I want you to know that you can put on your crown at any time and let people know that you belong to Me. You have a royal call on your life. I want you to remember you wear the crown of everlasting life, and through you I will do abundantly more than you would ever dare to dream.

Love,

                                              Your King and Crown Giver

“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Galatians 1:10

This was my devotional today from Sheri Rose Shepherd’s “His Princess: Love Letters from Your King.” I love these devotionals because it reminds me of God’s promises and encourages me to live more deeply for God; not out of fear or uncertainty, but because these words illustrate God’s love and acceptance for me that makes me wonder why I wouldn’t follow Him in everything I do and say. Our culture continues to tell us that our significance comes from acceptance from others. But, this devotional, and God’s Word, tell us something much different! God didn’t make us to fit into this world, we are called to so much more. Our significance …

When we have opportunities to honor or bless someone we love at a birthday, anniversary or special event, we take the time to think about what that person means to us and try to create ways to make them feel important. We plan a party, we cook their favorite meal or invite over their special friends to help create a celebratory atmosphere. In our family, the honored guest chooses the menu for the meal and we set the special red plate at their place at the table. We incorporate the tradition of going around the table and saying something about the person being honored that day- some way they have blessed us or something about their character that we admire.…

How do you react when God says NO?

Sometimes we have good intentions and a great plan and a selfless vision and God still says NO. Sometimes we think we know better than God, what we need to handle a tough situation. Sometimes we assume we are truly trusting the sovereignty of God but we still get a NO answer to our prayer.

My relationship with my dad was complicated-at best. I have found myself thinking more about him in the past 10 days since his passing than I ever did over the past many years. I did pray for him ALL the time but with regards to actually thinking about his life, his feelings, his dreams, his regrets, his passions……I just didn’t think about him very often.…