BLUSH

I’m convinced that God must play favorites! When it comes to the fruit of the spirit - He favors patience every time! It is the one fruit that I feel God is constantly wanting to grow in our lives! I mean I would be glad to produce a little love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness or faithfulness. I don’t even mind self control, but it seems like God is always choosing PATIENCE to be the character defining quality of my life! Thank you Lord!

I wonder sometimes if the other fruits feel left out? Seriously though, am I the only person out there who would like to focus on “gentleness” for a change! (that one sounds a little easier!:) )

There is a very long series of “unfortunate events” that leads into my pondering on PATIENCE, but I will save those very long details for another time! Just know that the day and details ended with flashing blue and red lights pulling me over and giving me a ticket for the expired registration in my husbands car. (Which I happened to be driving b/c he wanted to take mine tonight!) Nice!

I’m sure that today’s tests of patience will hold some deep meaning in my path of life but for tomorrow Lord, could I taste a sweeter fruit! :)

Finding myself very sad today as I think about all of the marriages crumbling around me. So many people have found themselves in a situation they never thought they would be in or ever wanted to be. It makes me sad to think that all of this could have been avoided. How? Where? What were the decisions that led to this point?

All I can conclude is that we must stay very close to God! I am reading Andy Stanley’s “Principle of the Path.” It’s a great book and I love it’s practicality. He points out that our direction leads to our destination! Decisions today directly effect tomorrow! Everything matters and if we do not stay close enough to God to follow His lead in our every decision, we can get off path and end up at a destination we never wanted to be.

We can’t complain, we can’t blame others, we can’t use our current situations as an excuse. The path we chose has gotten us to the place we are. Keeping this simple fact in mind helps me to keep my eyes on God and my focus on doing all I can to please Him! Then He will help me in my relationships, my parenting, my leadership and all of the many areas of my life.

My 5 month old, Avery loves her bottle! Take one look at her and you can tell! She is the cutest little ball of chub you can imagine! At her last doctors appointment they told me that I could start introducing solid foods to her diet! I was excited- new things to try excite me! So I began what has proven to be one of the most challenging “motherhood” jobs yet.

I slowly began to introduce cereal, creamy bananas, veggies, you know typical baby foods. Every time I would bring these foods out, Avery would pitch a fit! I mean, screaming, crying, throwing her body out of her seat fit!!! She is just not interested in solid food. She wants her milk! Occasionally I can get her to eat a few green beans, but try the peas and they end up all over me! I thought kids were supposed to like solid food and be excited about it? Now, if I have a cupcake or ice cream- she will lunge right in!

These frustrating moments with my daughter gave me some insight on how God must feel about us Christians! Most of the time we want the “milk” of Christianity; “our comfort food!” It makes us feel safe, it’s easy to digest, we don’t have to change anything. You know, exactly what I’m talking about. The God is great, He loves you so much, He’s got such great plans for your life, easy to drink in part of Christianity (also the foundation: the starting point.) But, when it comes to the tough stuff (solid food) the things in our life that might need to change in order to “be Holy as He is Holy” stuff- we are like Avery, rejecting it at all costs! Then sometimes some of it is not so bad, it fits our lifestyle so we will take that part of what the Bible says in! But the part that doesn’t work for us, that isn’t comfortable we spit out like Avery with her peas and say “no, not for me. “

The problem is Avery will one day have to eat solid food. She will have to eat her veggies, fruits, protiens and grains to ensure that she becomes a healthy individual. As Christians, we don’t get to pick and choose what part of the Bible we want to apply to our life, what feels good or makes sense. It is either all the truth or nothing! We can’t possibly mature in our faith without swallowing a few peas!

Hebrews 5:11-14

Food for thought!

Meghan

We have all heard the story of the incredibly loyal and loving Ruth in the 8th book of the Bible! But, have we ever stopped to read between the lines? The thing I love about the word of God is the many thought out layers that it all represents! You see God is a multi dimensional God and He will constantly reveal new things to us through His word. 

Today I felt the need to go back to the book of Ruth. I feel like God has been challenging me that this is a small part of “my story.” Confused and a little nervous (praying Carey won’t die in Mexico and I won’t have to follow my mother in law back to Texas) I asked God to give me a glimpse of what He wanted me to see! 

From what I already know of this story, it addresses faithfulness and loyalty as well as obedience. These are very important lessons that we can all learn and apply in our lives. Today, I saw a little deeper into the set up of the story. 

The back story begins when a man named Elimelech (where did they get their baby names from?) and his wife Naomi left Judah because of a famine and they moved with their two sons to the land of Moab. While in Moab, “E” dies and leaves Naomi to raise her two sons. She stays in Moab and eventually her two sons grow and marry two moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. They live there about 10 years and then the sons die as well! Now there is no description here, but I can only imagine the emotions of these 3 women. 1st Naomi who lost her love, her husband and is left as a single mom raising her two boys gets hit with another crisis. She looses her sons. Can you imagine the anger, sadness, doubt and questions in her mind? Then these two sweet women who have only been married 10 years and who have not had any children yet (thats what they lived for back then) loose their true loves, their husbands. 

Naomi hears that the famine is over in Judah and decides that she has nothing left and she might as well return home. She starts to leave with her daughter-in-laws and then realizes that there is no real reason for them to go with her. She has nothing to offer them in her current situation. She gives them encouragement and hope to stay behind and re-marry and enjoy life. Orpah takes her offer and kisses her goodbye. Ruth however, says she will not leave! 

Now lets hear some back story on Ruth. I don’t know her story but I can only imagine that over the course of her young life…God developed a strength of character in her. You see this by her determination. There is nothing in this book about her falling apart when her husband dies or feeling like her life is over. She doesn’t jump on the opportunity to leave her mother in law and remarry and have children (which would seem like the perfect opportunity and plan.) But she, sticks to her guns with determination and says “this is where I am supposed to be so I’m gonna go and trust God to do what He may!” 

If you don’t know the rest of the story-read it! It’s about risk, obedience and true love. You can’t get a more beautiful love story than Boaz and Ruth’s. And the end is even better. Let me spoil it for you! Because of all that happens- Ruth eventually becomes the great grandmother of King David and thus part of the line of Jesus! 

Here is the point! God orchestrates all things in our lives. He allows us to walk through difficult times to develop character within us and get us to the place He wants us to be. We can’t possibly see the big picture. He allowed Naomi’s family to experience famine and move to Moab. Because of “E“‘s death her family stayed in Moab. Here her sons married two beautiful women. They could have stayed in Moab forever- but that was not Gods plan. Through tragedy, God provides a way for Naomi to go home to Judah and through tragedy God establishes a strength and trust in Ruth to enable her to take a step of faith and go with Naomi ( in spite of Naomi’s protests that it did not make sense.) Then, because of obedience God orchestrates a love story that results eventually in the birth of His son! 

We don’t always understand the “script” of our life. We don’t know why things happen they way they do, but God does! He has a plan that is bigger than ours. If we can stay strong like Ruth in the midst of adversity, we will recognize the divine connections that God brings us along the way. And, we will be able to take steps of faith and obedience to walk in the purpose of God for our life! 

I love the excitement of knowing that God is at work! I love the passion that comes from complete devotion to Him and His purposes! I love gatherings of young people and leaders who are so expectant for God to rock their world and move in their lives! I love ministering with my handsome husband and walking out the purposes of God in our lives! 

We are here in the 2nd day of YFN (Youth For the Nations) an incredible youth camp devoted to teenagers and their leaders put together from the heart and passion of our good friends Jaycee and Anna Jennings. They and their team have a passion to see God change our culture and they know that it starts with these guys! Youth camps are awesome because they stir up the passion for the purposes of God! The coolest part is when people can leave and begin to walk out their purpose in life and don’t go back to the way things used to be! 

I feel this week an excitement building in me. I will have to write later about the revelation that I have had about the season of time we are living in…but can I just say “We were called for such a time as this!” What a privilege to live and serve in this generation. We have the opportunity to “be the change we want to see in this world” and if everyone of us could grasp ahold of that, we have the potential to live out our destiny every single day! 

I can’t wait to see what God is going to do this week! I am excited and expectant! What a way to live life! I love it! 

So I just sat down to pay some bills and take care of last minute details before heading out to Dallas! It has been a busy day of planning an packing! It’s hard to pack for a baby when you will be gone for 10 days, much less a 5 yr. old and her “high maintenance” mommy! 

I realized that I have not even had the time to celebrate the 4th of July and the FREEDOM that it represents, then I just passed over that thought and proceeded in my busyness! However; God had a bigger idea and BAM struck me with how sad it is that I can allow myself to be so busy that I don’t even take the time to celebrate this milestone of a holiday and all that it means to me as an American! 

Isn’t it ironic though that just as I allowed myself to get to busy to celebrate our freedom as a nation…most of us as Christians get to busy to celebrate our freedom in Christ! We have a lot to be thankful for and it wouldn’t hurt for us to slow down and recognize what God has done for us as his children and for us as Americans! 

Let Freedom ring in your heart today! 

Proverbs 23:29-35 has an interesting take on alcohol and drinking or the abuse there of…I would like to hear your take on this section of scripture. Read and let me know what you think this “book of wisdom” is trying to communicate to us. I would like to hear everyones opinion?

I think I talked my best friends ear off as we walked circles around the park on Thursday night! You see I have been struck by this simple, eye opening revelation that the answer for every problem, issue, frustration, lack of creativity, confusion, everything is a true deep relationship with Jesus! 

Now before you stop reading at what you think is an off the cuff church answer, think about it! The problem is that most of us know so much about God that we think that we know Him. I know a lot about President Obama from what I read in magazines and newspapers, watch on TV and hear people say…but I don’t know him. I don’t have a real relationship with the President so that I know what he is thinking and why he does the things he does, I don’t know him on a personal level, I know about him. 

As Christians, and even pastors I think we sometimes get so caught up in what we know about God…that we forget to take the time to know HIM! To think like he thinks, act like he would act, respond how he would respond, ect… Or we get so irritated with the frustrations of life that we don’t want to know God because then we would have to act like Him, so we distract ourselves with “ourselves.” 

I have many close friends walking through the fire of life right now…and I know the burn because I have been there on many occasions. But after coming out…I can see that the only way I made it through is by the grace and hand of God. Joyce Meyer spoke a message that I think tells us how to know if we really know God! If the fruit of God is evident in our life. 

She shared about the fruit of the spirit and how we all have it but sometimes it needs to be developed in us. Just like our old school cameras with “actual film.” You could take a picture of someone or something and “have” the picture but you could not develop the picture to show it to people without the dark room. Sometimes God allows us to walk through the dark places in life so that when we come out on the other side…His fruit will be evident in our lives. However, we have to be willing to walk through the process and give it the right amount of time. 

Do you have a real, true, deep relationship with Jesus Christ? If so are his fruits evident in your life? Peace (no matter what you face), Joy (true happiness and contentment) Love (for ourselves and the people around us), Patience ( strength to endure), Kindness (treating people the way Jesus would), Goodness, Gentleness and Self Control! 

In my quiet time this morning I was reading “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers. I love the simple and direct life long truths in this devotional. Todays study was based on Matthew 11:28 “Come to me….and I will give you rest.” 

The statement made was that “personal contact with Jesus changes everything.” The attitude necessary to simply “come” means letting go of EVERYTHING and deliberately committing it all to Him. It goes on to explain that when we do this, He doesn’t just give us rest by holding our hand as we lay down in bed and singing us to sleep but He lifts us out of our listlessness and exhaustion of trying to make it on our own and revives us with the majestic vitality of life that can only be found in him alone! 

As I read this I am taken back to how necessary a deep relationship with Jesus is b/c it is true: it changes everything. My outlook on life becomes brighter, the fear of the unknown becomes excitement for the future, the pressures of today strengthen me for tomorrow and I love people like I never have before! 

Pastor dave just preached a fabulous series on “who holds your remote.” Today as I sit reading 2 peter 2:19 I was reminded of this message. It says “whatever overcomes a person to that he is enslaved”

Really the thing in our life that takes up most of our thoughts, time and decisions is the thing that controls us. As we continue to dive into this time of prayer and seeking God let’s allow him to put his finger on any area of our life that has kept us enslaved! Let’s evaluate what takes up most of our thoughts, what drives our decisions and what we give our time to.