Thursday, January 20, 2011
Healthy Soul, Healthy Heart: Jumping off a cliff?
Healthy Soul, Healthy Heart: Jumping off a cliff?: "Good morning to all of you! What a beautiful day the Lord has made! This morning as I took my kids to school, I was blown away by the..."
Jumping off a cliff?
Good morning to all of you! What a beautiful day the Lord has made!
This morning as I took my kids to school, I was blown away by the beauty all around! Everything looked so peaceful. The trees and bushes twinkled and sparkled in the sun! Magical, just magical!
Okay, as you know, I'm a very sensitive person! And at this point in my juncture, I feel God in pretty much every thing that I see and do! Today was no different! God has been teaching me to see the beauty in everything. Of course there is always going to be bad and dark areas in our lives. But not letting that block our vision of the beauty that God has made, is a very important step!
The beauty of the trees this morning reminded me of one of the first experiences that I had as a Christian. God had been dealing with me in a lot of areas in my life and had put a friend in my path who loaned me the book "A Love Worth Giving" by Max Lucado. Okay, so here I was, totally mesmerized by God's true love, and walking very early in the morning. I had all those "I'm alive, yoohoo!" feelings and my body was on fire for God! And the stars in the sky, man they were so beautiful, and I realized that God had made them for me! You too! God was so BIG! And I was small, like a child. Even though I was a wife and mother, an adult, I acted in childish ways. I had to grow up. Be what God had intended for me to be. I had to quit following the crowd or even what my flesh wanted, and do what was right. In every single situation. Now, I will tell you that I have failed miserably. But instead of blaming others, I turn the finger around to myself! Because I can choose.
I have mentioned that it's high time that we all got radical. Well, I still stand by that.
I have been lied to. I have been manipulated. But it's my own fault.
When children do something wrong and say "well, so and so did it!" what do we say?
We say "if they jumped off a cliff, would you do it to?" We say right is right and wrong is wrong!
But as we reach adulthood, we say gray. Things become fuzzy. We inject feelings, past hurts, excuses, and reasoning into the equation. Instead of searching for truth, integrity, and self control, we jump off the cliff with everyone else.
Okay, so what am I getting at?
I guess, no, I know that I must make a decision. Take the road of least resistance or the narrow road that leads to ultimate peace and happiness.
But first we have to wrap our minds around the fact that following God's way of true life does not mean that we wont ever be able to have fun. That we'll never have anything that tastes good. No it doesn't mean that at all. What it means is balance. Taking responsibility, respecting ourselves and others, doing what is right even when we don't feel like it. It was never meant to be easy. But that's the beauty of it.
The roads are icy. It's cold. Maybe you get the winter blues. But with out the cold and ice we wouldn't have such beautiful scenery. The sparkle. Snowmen. Sledding. Hot chocolate. With out the icky stuff we wouldn't appreciate the special, unique "stuff" all around us! Or in us!
So you and I can be the twinkling in the world! We can choose to shine. Let Jesus shine through us! By deciding to do what is right. In the cold, in the dark, by doing what is right, not perfect, but striving for it though, we can help change someone else's cold and dark point of view!
It's hard to change. Thank goodness we have a wonder, powerful, loving, and forgiving God, who can do what we can't.
I am accepting God's ways and throwing the rest away. Please join me, we can change the world!
I mentioned Max Lucado's book earlier. It's really a great book! It's a radical look at love. It helped me to get past myself and see what "love" is and how to use it! I highly recommend it.
Okay, I'm done. I'll get off my soap box, until tomorrow!
Peace to all of you! Have a great day!
Blessing~Becca
This morning as I took my kids to school, I was blown away by the beauty all around! Everything looked so peaceful. The trees and bushes twinkled and sparkled in the sun! Magical, just magical!
Okay, as you know, I'm a very sensitive person! And at this point in my juncture, I feel God in pretty much every thing that I see and do! Today was no different! God has been teaching me to see the beauty in everything. Of course there is always going to be bad and dark areas in our lives. But not letting that block our vision of the beauty that God has made, is a very important step!
The beauty of the trees this morning reminded me of one of the first experiences that I had as a Christian. God had been dealing with me in a lot of areas in my life and had put a friend in my path who loaned me the book "A Love Worth Giving" by Max Lucado. Okay, so here I was, totally mesmerized by God's true love, and walking very early in the morning. I had all those "I'm alive, yoohoo!" feelings and my body was on fire for God! And the stars in the sky, man they were so beautiful, and I realized that God had made them for me! You too! God was so BIG! And I was small, like a child. Even though I was a wife and mother, an adult, I acted in childish ways. I had to grow up. Be what God had intended for me to be. I had to quit following the crowd or even what my flesh wanted, and do what was right. In every single situation. Now, I will tell you that I have failed miserably. But instead of blaming others, I turn the finger around to myself! Because I can choose.
I have mentioned that it's high time that we all got radical. Well, I still stand by that.
I have been lied to. I have been manipulated. But it's my own fault.
When children do something wrong and say "well, so and so did it!" what do we say?
We say "if they jumped off a cliff, would you do it to?" We say right is right and wrong is wrong!
But as we reach adulthood, we say gray. Things become fuzzy. We inject feelings, past hurts, excuses, and reasoning into the equation. Instead of searching for truth, integrity, and self control, we jump off the cliff with everyone else.
Okay, so what am I getting at?
I guess, no, I know that I must make a decision. Take the road of least resistance or the narrow road that leads to ultimate peace and happiness.
But first we have to wrap our minds around the fact that following God's way of true life does not mean that we wont ever be able to have fun. That we'll never have anything that tastes good. No it doesn't mean that at all. What it means is balance. Taking responsibility, respecting ourselves and others, doing what is right even when we don't feel like it. It was never meant to be easy. But that's the beauty of it.
The roads are icy. It's cold. Maybe you get the winter blues. But with out the cold and ice we wouldn't have such beautiful scenery. The sparkle. Snowmen. Sledding. Hot chocolate. With out the icky stuff we wouldn't appreciate the special, unique "stuff" all around us! Or in us!
So you and I can be the twinkling in the world! We can choose to shine. Let Jesus shine through us! By deciding to do what is right. In the cold, in the dark, by doing what is right, not perfect, but striving for it though, we can help change someone else's cold and dark point of view!
It's hard to change. Thank goodness we have a wonder, powerful, loving, and forgiving God, who can do what we can't.
I am accepting God's ways and throwing the rest away. Please join me, we can change the world!
I mentioned Max Lucado's book earlier. It's really a great book! It's a radical look at love. It helped me to get past myself and see what "love" is and how to use it! I highly recommend it.
Okay, I'm done. I'll get off my soap box, until tomorrow!
Peace to all of you! Have a great day!
Blessing~Becca
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Healthy Soul, Healthy Heart: Life in the New Year?
Healthy Soul, Healthy Heart: Life in the New Year?: "Good morning, to all my brothers and sisters in Christ! Wow, we made it! The holidays are now sweet memories and we are ready to..."
Life in the New Year?
Good morning, to all my brothers and sisters in Christ! Wow, we made it! The holidays are now sweet memories and we are ready to face the new year! Now, to decide, life or death?
In the Old Testiment, God gets mad! He gave us so much! For one, the world. And two, everything we needed to survive and be happy. On top of that, He loved (still does) us. Can you imagine the hurt that God felt when Adam and Eve ate from the only tree that He said not to! And frustration! Here He made us in His image, provided everything we could ever need and we strayed! And it didn't take us very long to do it, either.
You know, at this very moment, we could all be sitting around, doing a little gardening, naked, with not a care in the world. Living in peace, love'n each other, heck, love'n life - every minute of it! Kids playing and us not worrying about new snow boots or underwear or what they will eat for lunch. But here we are! Maybe in the hardest times of our lives!
But there is hope!
There is hope and there is a promise!
But we must answer the call!
God spoke through Moses, saying, "Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep His commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in His ways. If you do this , you will live. . . and the Lord your God will bless you. . . . but if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen,. .. . . then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. . . Today I have given you the blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing your-self firmly to Him. This is the key to your life." (Deuteronomy 30:15-20)
My goodness! What to do? Well, think about this! Heaven and earth are your witness to the choice you make. If you are to choose to live for yourself, do what you want with out any regard to how it will affect those around you, decide to be disrespectful and neglect responsibility, then you choose death. And your actions will certainly affect those who care for you, maybe bringing death to them also.
See, it's taken me along time to understand this, but this isn't a game! The mistakes we make that don't bear fruit of guilt or remorse, it's like spitting on everything and anything that God has brought into our lives! Let me share this again: wrong attitudes keep us from God. Our pride. Not someone else. Us! This is where respect and responsibility come into play.
Do you honestly think you'll get tomorrow back? I know this seems crazy, but I felt that way. Oh, I'll do it tomorrow, I would say. Or I'm going to be able to do that later. Then my twenties were gone. Now, after not appreciating what I had then and maybe lost, I'm am determined to take the time to live and love and be so thankful for what I have. I'm choosing life. The life that only God can give me!
We have a choice. And what ever choice we do make, it will be hard. But if we choose the life choice - we will have peace, love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. I did not not mean a life with out pains and struggles. But the right choice will make us brave and strong. The right choice will free us from anything that is holding us back. God will have our backs! Anything is possible with God!
God is so great to us! My brothers and sisters, we are blessed!
This year let's make it our duty to share this love with everyone we come into contact with! Everyone! Hold the door open. Smile at someone who is grumpy. Sincerely ask how someone is doing. Slow down and think of those around you! Make time to read the good book! Laugh! Have fun! And invite others to have fun also!
Life or death.
Be moved, my brothers and sisters, be moved! Choose the life God has intended for us! Live each moment to the fullest for our Lord. And don't be discouraged, I know that there will be times when we just can't, we're not perfect. Then take that time to be still and listen for God.
Make the choice and really live!
Well, that's all I got today! Happy New Year to you all! Hey, let me know how things are working for you. If you've seen a change in some aspect of your life because of our Lord and Savior, please share! Our stories help to encourage others!
May the Good Lord bless and keep you! And have a wonderful day! And remember that you are wonderfully made!
Blessings~Becca
In the Old Testiment, God gets mad! He gave us so much! For one, the world. And two, everything we needed to survive and be happy. On top of that, He loved (still does) us. Can you imagine the hurt that God felt when Adam and Eve ate from the only tree that He said not to! And frustration! Here He made us in His image, provided everything we could ever need and we strayed! And it didn't take us very long to do it, either.
You know, at this very moment, we could all be sitting around, doing a little gardening, naked, with not a care in the world. Living in peace, love'n each other, heck, love'n life - every minute of it! Kids playing and us not worrying about new snow boots or underwear or what they will eat for lunch. But here we are! Maybe in the hardest times of our lives!
But there is hope!
There is hope and there is a promise!
But we must answer the call!
God spoke through Moses, saying, "Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep His commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in His ways. If you do this , you will live. . . and the Lord your God will bless you. . . . but if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen,. .. . . then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. . . Today I have given you the blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing your-self firmly to Him. This is the key to your life." (Deuteronomy 30:15-20)
My goodness! What to do? Well, think about this! Heaven and earth are your witness to the choice you make. If you are to choose to live for yourself, do what you want with out any regard to how it will affect those around you, decide to be disrespectful and neglect responsibility, then you choose death. And your actions will certainly affect those who care for you, maybe bringing death to them also.
See, it's taken me along time to understand this, but this isn't a game! The mistakes we make that don't bear fruit of guilt or remorse, it's like spitting on everything and anything that God has brought into our lives! Let me share this again: wrong attitudes keep us from God. Our pride. Not someone else. Us! This is where respect and responsibility come into play.
Do you honestly think you'll get tomorrow back? I know this seems crazy, but I felt that way. Oh, I'll do it tomorrow, I would say. Or I'm going to be able to do that later. Then my twenties were gone. Now, after not appreciating what I had then and maybe lost, I'm am determined to take the time to live and love and be so thankful for what I have. I'm choosing life. The life that only God can give me!
We have a choice. And what ever choice we do make, it will be hard. But if we choose the life choice - we will have peace, love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. I did not not mean a life with out pains and struggles. But the right choice will make us brave and strong. The right choice will free us from anything that is holding us back. God will have our backs! Anything is possible with God!
God is so great to us! My brothers and sisters, we are blessed!
This year let's make it our duty to share this love with everyone we come into contact with! Everyone! Hold the door open. Smile at someone who is grumpy. Sincerely ask how someone is doing. Slow down and think of those around you! Make time to read the good book! Laugh! Have fun! And invite others to have fun also!
Life or death.
Be moved, my brothers and sisters, be moved! Choose the life God has intended for us! Live each moment to the fullest for our Lord. And don't be discouraged, I know that there will be times when we just can't, we're not perfect. Then take that time to be still and listen for God.
Make the choice and really live!
Well, that's all I got today! Happy New Year to you all! Hey, let me know how things are working for you. If you've seen a change in some aspect of your life because of our Lord and Savior, please share! Our stories help to encourage others!
May the Good Lord bless and keep you! And have a wonderful day! And remember that you are wonderfully made!
Blessings~Becca
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)