Following God - even when it's not convenient.

Lately, I have been pondering a thought that permeates all elements of my life, I just cannot figure out how to word in a witty and concise way. Maybe some of you can help.

I coach gymnastics in the evenings and we tell our girls that they will never get stronger without conditioning. We relate it to school and any thing else that we can think of to make them understand a little better. Since I coach a younger team, they always look to the big girls and want to do what they are doing. We tell them that if their arms are not strong enough to do a pull up and a push up, then they will not be strong enough to support them in a back handspring.

I have caught myself using this thought process in other parts of my life as well. If you want to improve at anything, you must, at some point, become uncomfortable. If you want to become a black belt at martial arts, you are going to have to work through the other belts first. You will have to get some bruises in order to learn how to block. In order to learn how to dive, you will have to learn how to drive your heels up and hold your body tight. You will go through several belly flops before you become strong enough to dive correctly.

In other words, you are perfectly prepared to do exactly what you are doing right now, but nothing else.

I had the chance this last week to reaaaaaalllllllly step out of my comfort zone. I had a casual friend that was in kidney failure. I went through the testing and ended up being a good enough match to be able to donate. On Friday, my friend went from kidney failure to having normal kidney function numbers. I am so so happy for him. Everyone is making a big deal about me donating the kidney, but to me, that was not the hard part. The hard part to me is the down time, not the surgery itself. I do not like being "weak." I do not like having to depend on others. Giving up a physical part is not hard, the vulnerability that comes with that is the difficult part.

However, if there was no "uncomfortableness," then how would that be serving others? It is easy to be generous if you don't have to go out of your way to do it.

This has been quite the spiritual journey for me. I have always thought of myself as somewhat caring, but have never really had to test it before. I really have had to trust that this is what God wanted me to do, even though it was definitely NOT convenient.

I have seen amazing spiritual growth in my husband as well. I have seen him step really out of his comfort zone and take the other family under his wing as well. He has risen above and beyond anything I have ever witnessed in him before.

My hope through this journey is that I will help myself to remember that God doesn't call the equipped, but equips the called and that he will prepare you for the journey He has for you - although there are no guarantees that the journey will be an easy one. I hope that my kids will learn this lesson in their life as well.

No one wants to push beyond the comfort zone, but that is where the greatest rewards are.

I just hope that I remember this as May rolls around and it is time for the Iron Girl Triathalon that I have signed up for. Anyone want to teach me how to swim?

Never Let Go

Well, I don't know if anyone really visits here anymore, so we will see I guess.

I had visions of grandeur of writing several posts a week over the summer, but obviously that did not happen.

So, I will do a short recap of what has gone on with us since my last update.

My oldest daughter J started having some lightheadedness issues and unexplained weight loss.  We are still trying to figure out the cause, but we have eliminated heart issues.  In the interim, she found a lump in her chest that we ended up having to get removed.  Tests showed that it was benign, thank goodness.  She has started her junior year in high school, so it is going to be a tough year.  To help balance her life a little better and to help heal from 2 years of injuries back to back, she is most likely not going to compete at any gymnastics meets this year and will be cutting back on her practice hours.  Then, she will be in the best possible shape both physically and academically for her senior year.

My youngest daughter, M, has started 7th grade and is still really enjoying JH.  She is about halfway through her braces journey and will be glad to get it over with.  She is considering looking at other sports, so we will start thinking about that, although no decisions have been made either way.

My DH received a promotion at work.  Woo hoo!  He has started working on getting healthier as well.  I am so very proud of him.

I am still coaching gymnastics and working at the kids school, so nothing ever changes with me.

My main purpose in writing tonight is for therapy for myself.  While I cannot go into much detail, I do need to work some things out in my heart and soul, and writing has always helped me do that.  So, if you are reading just to catch up on the family, you can stop reading now.  :-)

My spiritual family is in a lot of pain right now.  There has been a betrayal that has affected many, many people.  The fallout from this is life-changing in a vast myriad of ways.  Anyone that has ever been through a huge life changing event - death, divorce, infidelity, violence, etc. can probably relate to what emotions are surfacing.  Anger, denial, acceptance, disappointment, confusion, hopeful, hopeless - all rotating through repeatedly.  I have no idea what I will be feeling in 10 minutes, much less in 10 days.  I do know, however, that all of us MUST remember that God is God and we are not.  Neither is anyone else.  We MUST all remember that we are the body of Christ and that while it is painful to lose a part of the body, that the body can still work and do it's job.  We all MUST remember that we have all failed and fallen short of the glory of God.

We sang this song today and I could feel God's arms holding me while saying these words by Matt Redman:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I'm caught in the middle of the storms of this life
I won't turn back
I know you are near

And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?

(Chorus:)
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

And I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We'll live to know You here on the earth

(Chorus)

Yes, I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

(Chorus 2x's)



If you have never heard this song, you can listen to it here:






I will be singing this song a lot in the coming days, I'm sure.

My mom also lost her last living brother today.  So all in all, today was kind of sucky.  But, the good thing is, this heart will hold on for that light that is coming.

Thanks to any of you that still visit.

I will hope to post a happier post soon with pictures and funny stuff.

Would you like me to bubble wrap you?

This is a pretty pointless entry, but I am posting it out of curiosity.

What do you think/feel when someone tells you that they will pray for you? Do you feel thankful, blessed, or comforted? Or do you feel empty, puzzled, or awkward?

Do you really feel like it makes any difference? I mean, everything is in God's hands, right? So, will praying actually do anything? Will it change God's mind? Will it make him mad when you ask for things?

I will tell you my take on it, because, after all, that is why I blog. :-)

I feel like prayer is almost like bubble wrap. Whether prayer changes your circumstances or not, I feel it will at least make things easier to deal with. If you had to fall down a flight of stairs, wouldn't you prefer it to happen while wrapped up in bubble wrap? Will it still hurt? Probably, but maybe not as much.

Let me know your thoughts, please.

Thanks for stopping by.

What would your sign say?

Do you ever wish people could wear some kind of sign that gives everyone kind of a heads up on things you need to know about them? Or vice versa?

For example, I often wonder if I walked around with a sign that said, "ADD. OCD. Depression. Low self esteem. Slightly neurotic," if it would make people be more conscientious with their words and actions, or if it would scare them off or make them decide I was not worth getting to know?

What if the signs said only positive things? "Devoted wife and mother. Desire to be Christ-like. Persistent." Would that then make people want to get to know me? Would they be disappointed if they chose to get to know me based on my sign, and then saw all of the "bad" traits later?

What if it were that everyone wore a sign? Would you greet the person with the sign that said "Addict" or "Murderer" the same way as you would the people whose signs said "Clean and Sober" or "Protective of loved ones?"

What if the signs had positives on one side and negatives on the other? Would you want to only show one side, or would you show both sides?



Some days, I wish I had a sign so that people would know that I have ADD and would therefore not sit and click their pen next to me. They would know that I struggle with self esteem issues and depression and they would not say things in a joking manner that keeps me up crying at night. They would know that I am a little OCD and would not do things willy nilly without a list to check off. Other days, I wish I had my other sign so that people would know that I take my family and my faith seriously.

Then there are days that I wish that other people wore signs so that I could figure out what in the world is going on in people's heads sometimes.


However, one of my favorite things to do is to try to figure out what makes people "click." I love to people watch and find out about them. So, I think the signs would take away from that.

Also, I know that to God, I might as well be wearing a sign since he knows my true heart and spirit. He is the one whose opinion matters most, and that is what I need to remember.

So, my question to you is:

If you could know, beforehand, what would be on the front and back of peoples signs, would you choose to do so?

Would you want to wear a sign?

What would each side of your sign say?

If God made your sign, would it say the same thing as if you made it yourself?

Is it a tradition for you to trim your butt?

There is a story that I read somewhere that goes something like this:

A woman is teaching her daughter how to make a roast. She gets out the roast and proceeds to slice the end off of it and throw it out. The daughter asks her mother why she threw part of the meat away. Her mom told her that was what you were supposed to do. The daughter asked why again. The mom said that she did not know, that she did it because HER mom did that. They then called the grandmother and asked her the reason. She said that she did it because HER mom always did that when she was making a roast. They then called the great-grandmother and asked her why she always cut the end off of her roasts before cooking them. The grandmother's response? 'Because my pan was too small.'

At church recently, we were discussing about what do we do because of tradition and what do we do because it is what God wants us to do. I believe so many of us have developed not only our sense of right and wrong, but our entire belief system on what we learned from our parents.

While this is okay for small children, as one matures, we need to learn to think for ourselves. With this growth, we also need to learn WHY we think what we think and to be able to defend and support it. I believe that any religion out there has the goal of reaching out to others to try to teach them about God/Jesus/Allah/Buddha, etc. I cannot think of any religion off hand that encourages people to completely avoid others and to not ever try to spread the word. In order to successfully do this, you must have some ammunition. You must have some ready answers and to be able to support your words.

If someone asks you what religion you are, you can give a simple answer. What, if after that, they ask what your religion believes in? That answer, while a little more in depth, would not be too difficult. Then, what if they ask you WHY you believe that? Could you answer that? How would you answer that?

We talked about visiting other churches with your friends. I think it helps you to start asking questions when you are exposed to other beliefs. It makes you see that there are different sets of beliefs out there, and while we may never know this side of heaven which religion is the closest to being right, it will help you make an informed decision if you actively search for info.

Hopefully no one picks a religion because it seems easier than others. It is not supposed to be easy. I mean, Adam and Eve were the only people in the world at one point and they only had 1 rule. They had an intimate relationship with God and they blew it, so we cannot expect to not fail.

I hope that the girls that I teach on Sunday's will at some point question their beliefs. I hope that when it happens, their parents realize what a sign of maturity it is and will allow them to make this journey. I also hope that they understand that all differences may not be salvation issues. Some differences are due to different core beliefs and other are just matters of preference or tradition. That is something I hope these young ladies, and everyone else as well, realize as they spiritually mature. I also hope that they realize that people can agree to disagree and still respect each other's beliefs.

If you are still reading, I really appreciate you listening to your ramblings. I would love any feedback any of you may have, positive or negative. My only request is that no one bashes any one else's comments.

So, do you "trim your butt" because your pan is too small, or because that is how you're parents did it? (In other words, do you believe what you believe because you looked for the answers, or because you followed what your parent's did?)

Thank you for reading!

Come back and visit again.

I do hope to get a more "fun" entry up soon.

Hey - remember me??

Wow, it has been a long time. Not sure if anyone still visits or not, but if so, I’m glad you’re here.


I kind of took a blogging break over the summer. I enjoyed my wonderful kiddos and my sweet hubby. Each summer I realize how little time I have left with my kids at home. J. is going into 10th grade this year and M. is starting 6th grade – Junior High!! I cannot believe they are that old. Nor can I believe that I am old enough to have children that old. I still believe that I am a decade younger than I am. It is always a big shock when I realize that I will be turning 40 in January instead of 30.


While we did not do anything extravagant this summer, we did get to spend some quality time together. We had day hours at the gym, which let us have the evenings all together, which will not happen during the school year.


Since I tend to be verbose, here is the Reader’s Digest Condensed Version of our summer:

- J. got to go to church camp in Arkansas
- The girls got to gymnastics camp and train with the GA Gym Dawgs. They loved it!
- We got to spend some time at our family’s cabin in the mountains – our favorite place
- Vacation Bible School
- Anniversary trip with hubby to Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Cherokee
- Starting on the orthodontic road with M.
- My baby girl turning 12
- Drivers Ed. For J.
- J. getting a boot on her foot for tearing up a ligament/tendon and bone bruising
- Went to funerals for 3 different people
- NOT GIVING IN TO THE DEPRESSION MONSTER!!


The depression monster really tried to get me this summer as I had a lot of things hitting me all at once from many different locations. I really worked hard into not giving in, but it took everything in my power. While normally I have a very low sense of self worth, I was actually quite proud of myself for being able to hold it together this time. I have never had some of the things happen to me before that I had to deal with over the summer; nor have I ever been treated the way I was by some this summer. I got hurt very deeply while dealing with some stresses at my jobs as well as a lot of changes going on at church and at home. There were many nights that I cried myself to sleep, and many days that I hid in the bathroom and cried. There were many times that I could not stop thinking on all of the things that were going on. However, I NEVER gave up hope! This was due to many factors – good friends, good family, and a great God. I remembered all of the wonderful things my “online” friends and my “church” friends, and my “work” friends and my family have said to me along the way. I also remembered the promises that my Father in Heaven made me about never forsaking me and that if He led me to it, He would lead me through it.


I appreciate all of you sticking with me and for being such an important part of my life.
Also, you friends listed over there on the right of my page? I truly love you all and send my apologies for not visiting your sites lately. I kind of removed myself from the blog world for a little while. I did miss you all dearly and hope that I will be accepted back.
Now I am going to spend my last evening with my family before school starts.

Hug your family – you never know when it will be the last chance you get.

Teenage epiphany

To clarify at the beginning, this is an epiphany that my teenage daughter had. NOT an epiphany that I had about teenagers. I'm still waiting on that to happen.



As you saw in my last post, J. was baptized earlier this month. Before that, she obviously had been doing a lot of thinking. One night, she came to me and said this:



'You know that phrase that you hear people say - "God is Love?' (I John 4:8) Well, you hear it a lot but don't ever think about it. If you do, it is kind of hard to make that phrase make sense. So I started thinking about it. Then I thought of that passage in the bible that says "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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." (I Corinthians 13) If God is love, then you could say that God equals love. So, you could go through this passage and replace the word "love" with "God." That would make the "God is love" phrase make a lot more sense. '



I was blown away! I had never thought of this in this fashion before. It got me to thinking more about it.



Here is how that passage would read with the replacements made:

GOD is patient

GOD is kind

[GOD] does not envy

[GOD] does not boast

[GOD] is not proud

[GOD] is not rude

[GOD] is not self-seeking

[GOD] is not easily angered

[GOD] keeps no record of wrongs

GOD does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth

[GOD] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
GOD never fails



That is powerful stuff in my opinion.



If you look at this passage in The Message translation, the sentence that precedes the passages states, "So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love." Again, if you replace love with "God," it is right on target again.



This has been floating around in my head for the last couple of weeks since she said it. It has really got me thinking. I wonder if this thought went through the authors head when he wrote these words?



Irregardless, it got my teenagers thought processes going in an awesome direction - there are a LOT worse things that she could be thinking about!



Thank you for stopping by and reading.



I do want to ask 2 favors from you:



1) Please visit my friends on the right sidebar over there. Many of them are going through a lot right now and some kind words would go a long way. Just don't leave me for them. They are much more talented writers than I am and lead much more exciting lives than I do. You will enjoy their sites more than mine, I promise. But remember how insecure I am and still come back and visit me, please??????



2) Leave me a comment and let me know you were here. You don't have to say anything other than "I was here." I just like to know I am not alone. Plus, it helps my insecurity issues when I look at my blog and see that I have comments posted. :-)

Marching forth on March Fourth!

What a happy, happy time! My oldest daughter, J., got baptized Wednesday night!

(As stated when M. got baptized in July, I am not wanting to start a theological debate or anything. I just want you readers to understand what baptism means to us:

The word baptize comes from the Greek word "baptizo" and literally means, "to dip, to immerse, to plunge." In addition to the literal meaning of the word, immersion is practiced because it was the practice of the church in apostolic times. Still further, only immersion conforms to the description of baptisms as given by the apostle Paul in Romans 6:3-5 where he speaks of it as a burial and resurrection.

We believe that baptism by immersion is a necessary response of faith to God’s free grace. It is not a work we do to earn God’s favor, but rather, a work God does for us."We see this as one of the steps necessary to becoming a Christian - giving your life to God.)

Okay, now back to the pictures. For those of you that are not from the same religion as us, I will have a running commentary on what is going on with each of the pictures. For those of you that were there, or know what is going on, feel free to just look at the pictures if you want.

Here is the excited Dad, waiting on J. to get ready:

Here is our good friend V.T. getting the baptistry ready. By getting it ready, I mean removing the foam rocket that had mistakenly and mysteriously landed in the baptistry earlier.




My sweet M. and our "adopted" sister B.B. She bridges J. and M. together nicely, don't you think? With her blue eyes like M. and dark hair like J., she blends right in.


Friends waiting on J. (There was a lot of waiting on J.)







Behind the scenes: J., MM., KJ., and CT:

I absolutely LOVE this picture. The kids are being led in prayer by one of our youth ministers.

Here we go!

J. realizing that the water is really cold:

Before I go any farther, I have a couple of disclaimers to throw in. When I was young, it seemed to always be the minister who did the baptizing. I have observed that more and more people are choosing to be baptized by someone who has been a big influence on them spiritually. J. and CT, the young man in the picture, have been talking a lot lately about Christianity, life as a teenager, being spiritual leaders, etc. They are not "dating" or "going out" or whatever the term is these days. J. calls him her big brother and he calls her his little sister. I didn't want any inaccurate beliefs about them to be floating around making either of them uncomfortable.



Okay, back to our regularly scheduled program. Again.



Here, CT is asking J if she believes that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he died for her sins.






Based on her agreement and confession of her belief, she is baptized:
































Lest you think I wasn't there, here is proof. My left hand is holding on to J.'s hand.




Notice KJ's expression? J had just slipped coming up the steps. She is a true gymnast.


I LOVE this picture. I love these girls. I love this picture of these girls.




The "hugging" aftermath:









We are all so very thankful to you that were there in person, those that have prayed for any of us in the past, and those of you that will pray for us in the future.



Please continue to pray that we will be able to be good parents to our daughters and that we will raise them to be strong Christian women.



As always, leave us a note in the guestbook to let us know you were here!



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I thought that I liked roller coasters . . . .

As I have stated before, comparing life to a roller coaster ride is quite an accurate analogy. The nervousness and tenseness over what is coming, the fear as it gets closer, the desire to turn around and get off as you crest, the terror and thrill as you plummet, the amazement that you survived after the descent, the wonderment if you can handle it again as a new climb begins, and finally, exultation at the end that you survived it and could survive it again.



This past week has been one of those roller coaster rides. There were so many emotions that were experienced this week that it has left us a little dazed.



We had 3 gymnastics meets this weekend. (Don't worry, the whole post isn't about gymnastics.) The team that I coach had their very first meet ever. This was also my first meet as a team coach. I was nervous for myself and each of my 15 girls. However, they all did such an amazing job and came in 2nd place as a team! Woo-hoo! My own daughters each competed this weekend as well. M. scored a 9.5 on vault! It was a beautiful vault. She also brought her all around score up by around 2 points from her first meet. (When scores are measured by tenths of points, a 2 point change is quite an improvement.) Her team came in second place as well. Their team score came up by about 5 points from their last meet, which is incredible. J. scored her highest all-around score ever! Her team came in first place, by about 5 points. So, all in all, an incredible weekend gymnastics wise.



However, in the midst of all of this, we got hit with several not so wonderful things. I really cannot go into much detail of the exact circumstance. Even if I did so, it would not do an accurate job conveying the emotions involved. I can say that it struck our foundation really hard. I will try to use a hypothetical situation to help everyone understand. Think of something that is a vital part of your life or someone in your immediate family's life. It could be a job, school, church, a group of friends, a support group, or something like that. Now, imagine that you all of a sudden found out that it was no longer going to be the same. Imagine that it was going to change so drastically that it scared you. If it is your job that you are thinking of, imagine if someone in headquarters was going to revamp your whole department, and your favorite boss or mentor was no longer going to be there. Granted, there are reasons for this decision, whether you agree with them or not. However, you struggle because the people making the decision are basing their decision on what they feel is best for a department that they are not a part of. If you work in the department, you will see this decision completely differently than those that are not as emotionally involved. You also know how the news will be received by those affected. You know that it should have been handled differently. They know it too, but they realized it too late.



You know that there had to be a legitimate reason for the decision. You have to trust that those in charge know what they are doing. You have to have faith that they are looking out for those they are leading. You have to accept what has happened, maybe not quietly, but you have to accept it. You have to. Or else you will self destruct. You have to believe that the entity that is such a strong part of your life will still be there for you. You have to realize that those involved are humans, and that you must have grace.



The hard part is watching your child cry herself to sleep at night. It is hard watching her friends cry. It is hard to see them go through so much inner turmoil - more than they normally go through. It is hard seeing the fear in your child's eyes because they don't know what is going to happen next. It is hard to explain to them that there may be something good that comes from this. It is hard to know that they feel unimportant. It is just hard.



I am at the point on the roller coaster ride where I want to get off. This isn't fun anymore. I want to go back to 2 weeks ago when my kids were happy. When they felt important and loved. When they felt like their opinions mattered to others. However, I know that this isn't possible.



I know that all decisions cannot be based on what we want. I know that these things happen and I cannot change them. I also know at the end, when this ride is over, I will feel exultant to have survived, as will my children. I will feel a little better prepared for the next ride. I am starting to see some of the "good" already. I see my oldest daughter deciding to step up and be a leader to help some of the other kids who are upset and scared. She and several of her other friends talked and decided to step up together to help with this. I see other teenagers so affected by emotion that I know they will never be the same. They will be more approachable and more appreciative. I believe this will force some of the kids affected to take more control of themselves. I wonder if some of them may have gotten too dependant or too comfortable in their comfort zone. This may open some of their eyes to the fact that they alone control their lives. I see people showing passion that before were kind of lackadaisical. Passion, whether positive or negative, is much more effective than nonchalance. Passion shows care. Used properly, it can be a very powerful tool. I see more parents becoming involved. I see leaders realizing that decisions on paper and decisions in real life are two different things.



So, am I happy about these events? No, absolutely not.

Do I think that it is what is best? For my family, no, definitely not. As a whole? I'm not sure yet.

Do I think good can come out of this? Yes

Am I scared of the changes? No. I am terrified.

Do I trust those that made the decision? Yes

Am I a barrel of contradictions? Yes and no. :-)

Do I believe that God will help guide us through? Oh yes!



So, if you have read to the end, kudos to you. It probably makes no sense whatsoever. I just needed to get it all out.



Thank you for listening. I would love to hear how any of you have dealt with unforeseen life-altering events. I want it all - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Where in the world are you?

As usual, our minister Jody, got my wheels turning this weekend.


Have you ever thought about the demographics of our planet? It has crossed my mind, but I have not really dwelt on it much.


Have you ever really thought about the difference between how those of us that live in America versus those that do NOT live in America? Again, I have thought about it. I’m sure you fellow Americans have thought about it as well.


Have you ever gotten frustrated that you could not get in touch with someone because they did not read their email often enough? (Yes for me.) What about ones that did not even have email? (Oh my goodness yes.) And the ones that don’t answer their cell phones? (Um, certainly.) How about those that don’t even have cell phones? (Yes, yes, yes!) Do you ever find it hard to believe that there are people in the world that don’t have email or cell phones? (Resounding YES from me, again.)


Well, our minister mentioned a website called 100 people. They took the worlds demographics and converted them into numbers we can wrap our minds around. Look at this:

If the World were 100 PEOPLE:

50 would be female

50 would be male

5 would be from North America

9 would be from Latin America & the Caribbean

12 would be from Europe

61 would be from Asia

13 would be from Africa


31 would be Christian

21 would be Muslim

14 would be Hindu

6 would be Buddhist

12 would believe in other religions

16 would not be religious or identify themselves as being aligned with a particular faith

17 would speak Chinese

8 would speak Hindustani

8 would speak English

7 would speak Spanish

4 would speak Arabic

4 would speak Russian

3 would speak Bengali

2 would speak Malay-Indonesian

2 would speak French

45 would speak other languages


82 would be able to read and write

18 would not

76 males would have a primary school education

72 females would have a primary school education

66 males would have a secondary school education

63 females would have a secondary school education

1 would have a college education

83 would have access to safe drinking water

17 would use unimproved water

17 would be undernourished

53 would live on less than 2USD per day

50 would live in poverty

76 would have electricity

24 would not

34 would be cell phone subscribers

17 would be active internet users

1 would own a computer


A similar website had the following statistics:
18 would be white
82 would be non-white
89 would be hetero sexual
11 would be homosexual
5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth, and all of them would be US citizens
80 would live in substandard housing
24 would not have any electricity

So, apparently, I am quite the minority. I am a white Christian female with a college education, I speak English, I have a cell phone and access to the internet, and I do not live in poverty.

I live in one of the most affluent counties in my state. We live paycheck to paycheck and often feel inadequate around our more affluential friends and neighbors. This list helped me to realize that, truly, I am “rich” by the majority of the world’s standards.

While my head has known this fact for a while, the numbers broken down this way really helped me to get my mind around it.

The challenge I am issuing to myself, and to you, is this: What are we going to do with this knowledge? Do we try to introduce Jesus to those that don’t know him? Do we try to get drinking water to those that thirst? Do we try to get food to those that hunger? Do we try to teach those that cannot read? These seem like overwhelming tasks for you or me.

There are people who have devoted their lives to helping these people. If you are a member of a church, you probably support missionaries. Increasing your giving to church will help support those that are already out there working on these issues.

If you are not sure what to do about this, prayers for guidance and clarity are always beneficial for the person praying and for the issues and people being prayed for.

**I am not asking you to become a missionary or to sell all that you have to try to change the world. I just want to strike a chord within your heart. If we all changed our way of thinking just the tiniest bit, we could change the world. Compassion and generosity are contagious. If you display these traits, those around you will start trying to be the same. If you impart these traits on to your children, it will spread even faster. I wonder how long it would take to change the world?

Again, thank you for reading my ramblings!

Let me know you were here! I love to know that I am not talking to myself. Also, look through some of my previous comments and pay some of my visitors a visit as well.

Foiled again!!

This is one of those posts where I explore my shortcomings and point fingers at myself. Please enjoy. :-)

For any of you that attend church, have you ever had one of those times where you felt like the sermon was directed at you? Or was written because of you? Don't you love those? (My oldest daughter had this same situation a few weeks ago, it was much more enjoyable when the spiritual finger was pointing at her. For me, anyway.)

Anyway, our minister,Jody, has a wonderful way of bringing up issues that we all struggle with. He is able to hook us in with real life situations. Then, after we are all drawn in, he then is able to turn it around as if it were a mirror and force us all to look honestly at ourselves.

This week, his sermon was "Everyone has a gift." Well, those of you that know me and my husband know that we have always said that we didn't have any gifts. Our families are all very gifted in one way or the other. We laughed and said that the gifts must skip generations because in our opinion, our girls are very gifted. We decided that our gift is that we made good kids. Our church even had an online "test"once that was designed to help you discover your spiritual gifts. My hubby and I both took the test. Both of our results told us that we were "side-kicks" instead of "super-heroes." We were to find others with strong gifts and help them. We, of course, laughed hysterically and used it to prove our point.

Well, this week, our minister kind of shot our theory in the foot. (Thanks, Jody!) He made 3 points:

1) Everybody has a gift given to them specifically by God.

2) All gifts come from God.

3) Our gifts are supposed to be used for the good of others.

He used 6 scriptures to illustrate his point: 1 Corinthians 7:7 (But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that;) 1 Peter 4:10 (Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others;) Romans 12:6 (We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us;) 1 Corinthians 12:7 (Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good;) 1 Corinthians 12:11 (All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines;) and Ephesians 4:7 (But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.)

It was then pointed out that there is a distinct difference between being good at something and being gifted. This is the part that makes it impossible for my hubby and I to continue to use our argument that we have no gifts. We now have to amend it. I guess we now have to say that we have yet to discover our true gifts. I guess we better get to work.

The most difficult part was another thing that Jody pointed out. That by denying or questioning that we have been given gifts is basically questioning God's generosity. Oops. Never realized that. However, when we take credit ourselves for our gifts, we are robbing God of the glory. What a balancing act!

It all almost seems like an oxymoron - you must accept greatness, but accept it humbly. Wow. That really makes my head spin. On one hand, it seems impossible. On the other hand, it seems so simple. I guess that is how the Christian life is. "On paper," it sounds like it is easy, but once you start actually trying to "do" it, that's when it gets difficult. That is where grace comes in. A friend of mine once said it this way after her daughter pointed out something she was doing wrong. She said, "Well, you know, I'm not perfect. I strive to be like Jesus, but I can't. Grace fills in my shortcomings. Thank goodness." I like that. I envision it like we are a colander. Formed perfectly, but full of holes. Usually the holes let the bad stuff drain out and the stuff you want to keep stays in. However, there are a lot of times that some of the good stuff slips out and gets lost. God's grace helps "fill in the holes" so that the good stuff stays in better. Clear as mud??

Now, my husband and I must realize that God distributed gifts to each and every one of us lovingly and intentionally and specifically. Then, we need to do some serious self-examination and see what we can find.

Thank you for reading.

Leave me a note and let me know you were here. Also, let me know how you have discovered your God-given gifts.

Special time for my sweet M.

My sweet little girl turned 11 on Sunday. I will have some pictures up of her birthday later.

First, however, I have some pictures of another exciting event that happened to her on Sunday. She was baptized!! I know that each religion has it's own views and ways of doing things, so I will very briefly tell you what this step means to us:

"We believe that baptism by immersion is a necessary response of faith to God’s free grace. It is not a work we do to earn God’s favor, but rather, a work God does for us."

We see this as one of the steps necessary to becoming a Christian - giving your life to God.

I am not posting this to start a theological argument or anything like that. I am only posting this because it is such a meaningful experience for us.

Anyway, here are some pictures taken on that day.

Stepping down into the water:


Daddy asking her if she is ready to be baptized:


The dunking:




Coming out of the water:




Look at the smile on Dad and M.'s face, priceless:

Revelation

Not sure how many of you go to church. If you do not, then this post may not be as meaningful to you as it is to me.



First off, I love our church and our minister. He seems to have a knack for saying what I need to hear. Let me set the stage.



For those of you that do not know me, I struggle periodically with depression. Some times it is so far in the background of my psyche that I almost forget about it. Other times, I feel as if it is an entity similar to a second personality that is trying to take over my entire being. It clouds my insight as well as my outlook. It can be a vicious cycle that makes you feel like a failure for not being able to get "it" together as well as everyone else seems to be able to do. Which causes you to set even higher expectations of yourself. Ones that cannot be met. When you fail to meet your new set of standards, you sink even lower.



I have always had a hard time wondering why I cannot be strong enough, Christian enough, etc. to not fall to this and to fail over and over again.



Well, this past Sunday, my minister pointed out that Paul had similar feelings. I have read this passage many times, but hearing it in a different version (The Message) made it "click" better for some reason. In Romans 7, Paul states:



"I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.
17-20But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.
21-23It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
24I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?
25The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.



Okay, if Paul, who was one of the most amazing and influential people in the New Testament felt at the end of his rope at times, then maybe I'm not as much of a failure as I thought.



When I am mean to my kids, my spouse, and my friends; when I lose my temper; when I lie; when I speak bad of others; when I am un-supportive; when I SIN, I must remember that Jesus is the way to set things right. I cannot do it alone. When I feel as if I am the worst person on the planet, I must remember that Paul wondered at times if there was something wrong deep within himself.



I am thinking of making this my new mantra. Romans 7:15-25. Romans 7:15-25. I need to say it over and over in my head.



Hopefully by doing this, I can reach the next step. By agreeing that I have a problem and that I am a sinner, hopefully I can now begin to embrace the life that only HE can give.



I'm sorry for the theological post today. I hope that I do not offend anyone. My goal here is self-therapy at times. Today was definitely one of those times.



Thanks for reading!



I would love to hear any spiritual epiphanies that any of you have had.