One Year Ago.......

For the first time in my life I did not spend New Year's Eve at church.(Oh Snap) Well, see, what happend was......my church here in Charlotte was so packed, 15 mins after it started that my family of 5 couldn't be seated and not wanting to stand in the back with 3 little ones, we opted to just go home. However, I actually had a wonderful night with the kids and my husband thanks to Just Dance 3, the Time Square Ball Drop, and the good folks down the street setting off fireworks (is that legal in NC???).

Anyways, after my husband and I put the kiddos down I started to think about where I was this time last year. And I realized just how far God has brought me and my family in one year's time. This time last year I was in Ohio, at church, just the kids and I, and while everyone was downstairs celebrating the New Year and eating the after service breakfast, I was in the sanctuary, pacing and crying out to God. You see this time last year my husband and I were separated and on the brink of divorce. We had tried counseling (a few times), time apart, talking, etc, but our marriage was at the point that nothing could help BUT GOD.

God told me that night that He would restore our marriage. Yet, as much as I wanted to I really didn't believe it. We were just too far gone. But God said that not only would He restore but He would give us a new love, a deeper love. Again, I didn't believe, but I asked Him to help me believe and trust that He would do what He said. Now, it didn't happen overnight, but 6 months after that conversation God restored us and since then we have been growing and loving each other more everyday. Not to say we don't have disagreements or annoy the heck out of each other. But we both are firmly rooted in the fact that "never again", never again will we speak divorce, never again will we take our marriage out of God's hands, because that's where it belongs.

This is my testimony, and it may not seem like a big deal to you, but it is to me and my family. Through the hardest times of that 6 months when it seemed everyone around me was telling me in one way or another to give up and prepare to move on, I still held on to what God spoke to me on New Years Eve. God can and will take a situation that looks dead, that everyone says is finished and not only revive it, but give it a brand new life, better than before. Trust God for whatever situation is heavy on your heart as you go into this New Year, and praise Him for the next New Year's Eve when you'll look back and remember how God did it for you in 2013!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Shiny New Toys!!!



Lord knows I have loved the Christmas holiday since I was a little girl. But now being the mother of 3 and having 2 nephews all between the ages of 8 and 3 to buy for Christmas has become quite stressful. "Toys Toys Toys" has been the main thing playing in my head for the last month. I try to enjoy the season, the cheer and most of all the celebration of the birth of my Lord and Savior but I'll admit it gets clouded with compulsion of consumerism.

Thankfully with the kids I buy for they seem to be impressed with how much they have and how shiny it is instead of what it is exactly. For example, they are all young enough to be impressed with lots of cheap shiny gifts under the tree that make it look grand and impressive than a couple really expensive gifts that may make the scene look less impressive. And these less expensive gifts might entertain them for awhile but ultimately they will grow tired of them.

However, as children get older they learn the importance of quality over quantity. They prefer a gaming system or a new computer to multiple less expensive gifts. They are no longer distracted by the shine, they want something that will last longer and they can do more with. (It's time to start teaching my kids that consumerism is wrong and that we just need to be together for Christmas instead of buying gifts) :)

In 1 Corinthians 13:11, it reads "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 childish ways behind me." As Christians on our walk with Christ, especially in the beginning, as we are learning the way, we might be impressed by charismatic preachers or enjoy music that are good to the ears but ultimately empty and meant for show and not helping us grow. We might be drawn to churches with the largest attendance assuming that they are doing the most for the Lord. But as we "grow up" in Christ, we learn to prefer substance over the shine. We will learn to see past the show and prefer things that will outlast this world and this life and usher us into the next. 

Dough over Bros ?

Recently as I was re-reading the betrayal of Jesus ( Matthew 26:14-16, 20-25, 47-56; Mark 14:10-11, 17-21, 42-50; Luke 22:1-6; 21-23; 47-53; John 18:2-11), I wanted to know exactly how much money Judas Iscariot received for turning Jesus in to the chief priests. In the scripture it says that he received thirty pieces of silver (Matt 26:15). My first thought is that this does not really seem like too much money for such treachery. I then, looked to the place most people look to for wisdom and guidance, Google. It gave me sites that began breaking down exactly how much 30 pieces of silver was back then; saying it was equal to 120 days wages and so on and so forth. Other sites gave a few different thoughts but they didn’t really seem that believable. You know how the internet is, you just can’t believe anything and everything people say *cough* wecanknow.com *cough* (if you don’t get that, read my last posting). But then God spoke to me and said, “Does it even matter?” Could I even put a price on such an act? Immediately I answered “No”. It doesn’t matter how much money Judas received to betray Jesus, no amount would be sufficient.
Judas’ actions show that he still didn’t understand exactly who Jesus is. Or better yet, Judas was so clouded with greed that he didn’t really think it through, because if he would have, he would have realized a few things. First, that Jesus would know that he was going to betray him even before he actually did (John 13:21-27). Second, nothing he could have possibly wanted to gain would be worth trading in the Messiah to get it. And third, he still didn’t understand that whatever he needed or wanted would have been provided if he just had enough faith to ask and believe. Judas did not have to resort to deceitful ways in order to get what he was after.
In Luke 22:3 and 4, it says that satan entered Judas before he went to the chief priests. But that doorway was already open because apparently Judas had a weakness for money. In John 12:3-6, he objected when Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus. Judas, outraged, stated that the perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor, but he really didn’t care about the poor, he was a thief. He was keeper of the money bag and he used to help himself to what was in it.
So let’s apply this to our lives today. If asked, “Would you betray Jesus for 30 silver coins,” I am guessing most, if not everyone would say a quick “no”. But even if we are not the ones who infamously betrayed Him with a kiss (Matthew 26:48,49), we are in a sense betraying Him daily when we turn away from who He is and chase after things of this world that are nothing when compared to Him. Our disloyalty comes when we use deceitful practices in order to retrieve the things we want instead of realizing the key to everything we want and need is already with us or in us. Now, in no way am I saying that we will become a modern day Judas and commit such an act, but what Judas’ biggest fault was that he left a door open for satan to enter and use against Jesus. So my advice is shut those doors. If there are little deceitful things that we are doing “behind Jesus’ back”, close the entry so the enemy has no way to come in and use us. Instead, take those things to Jesus, because He already knows of them. Ask He who already has forgiven us, He who laid down His own life for these little things and big things, He who even forgave those that crucified Him, including Judas (Luke 23:34) to not only shut the door but clean out the whole house.

We Can Know...... Can We???

So there is another website out there predicting the end of the world. Well, actually it is more than a website, it is a movement of some sort predicting the rapture of the Christian church will be on May 21, 2011 and the end of the world will be on October 21, 2011. Maybe you have seen the billboards, bumper stickers, T Shirts, license plates, etc, with saying “We Can Know”. And my questions is “can we?”
I was first alerted to this movement a few months ago and being the curious person I am I went to the website right away, www.wecanknow.com, and checked it out. I just skimmed it at first, brushing it off as some crazy people trying to scare the world into getting saved. But then last week when I saw a huge billboard near my house I thought to myself, “oh these people are serious”. So I went back to the website and took a second look, a little deeper this time. I wanted to see why they feel that “we can know” and also how do they come up with these dates (May and October 21, 2011).
They are basically saying two things:
1.There is a biblical timeline that leads up to these dates as being the end of times.
2.The reason they’re able to know this information is because God is pouring our His spirit in these last days in such a way that Bible scholars are able to understand the Bible in a new way. They reference the fact that Noah knew that the flood was coming and that God is doing that same thing today.
The first thing that might be hard to swallow for many believers, other than their statement that they know the date of the rapture and the end, but the closeness of these two dates. If they are right and the rapture is a little over a month away, the end is only 5 months after that. Many believe that there will be a 7 year tribulation period that will take place after the rapture and before the end. But even that is debatable.
However, my purpose or point is not to discredit this site or these people or say that they are lunatics. I know, for a fact, that the Bible can speak to various people in various ways. I even know that I personally might read a scripture at one time then come back later and receive something completely different from the same exact scripture. But some scriptures have never changed for me are…
Matthew 24
36 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Mark 13
32 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert ! You do not know when that time will come.
Acts 1
6. So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
As many times as I have read over these scriptures, before I received the holy spirit and now currently with the holy spirit, they still say the same thing to me. We will not know when He is coming, we just need to be ready at all times. There are also many parables that tell us to be ready, but parables can be confusing to some. So I’m just using these scriptures, to me they cannot be any plainer. YOU WILL NOT KNOW. Not “one day” God will change what He has previously said and will reveal that the end will come in 2011 to only some.
In my opinion, if people are spending time searching the scriptures, studying and only focusing on figuring out the time when Jesus will return, they are neglecting the time they need to spend doing what Jesus commanded us to do. Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation”. Also let’s allow for a quick and I mean quick second that Jesus will rapture the church next month. Not everyone will make it to then because people are dying every day. Jesus may call them home April 30, 2011 and if they are listening to these people who are telling them they have until May 21, they may not be ready for their time.
So this is my point, we do not need to know when Jesus will return, we just need to be ready at ALL times. And while we are waiting we need to get as many people on board as possible, not by scaring them into submission, but showing them how to walk in faith and love.
And on May 22, 2011, when the rapture is still yet to come, are people still going to be living “saved”? Or are they going to revert back to their sinful ways?

Up a Hill

Have you ever noticed when you commit your life to Christ and start living your life for Him that some people in your life fall off? Or maybe you have already been living your life for Him and you are taking your ministry to the next level and even people who supported you before begin to question and speak against where you are going. This is not new, it even happened to Jesus. In Matthew 5:1-2 it says (The Message) “1 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down 2 and taught his climbing companions……”
So basically Jesus saw that he had a lot of people gathered together listening to Him so He decided to take it to the next level. He went up the hill and then those who made the climb with Him he began to teach. To me this seems to be saying that He wanted to see who would go higher with Him, who would elevate, who would just put in the extra work to follow Him. And when He went up the whole crowd did not go, only some. It also does not say that He looked to those who chose not to follow and begged and pleaded for them to come. He just went about His business.
So, everyone is not going to go the extra mile or elevate themselves in order to hear a word. Everyone will not support you as you take your ministry to a higher level. Some people are comfortable being a part of the crowd at a comfortable level.

FAITH -fear = Peace

We all experience fear in some shape or form throughout our lives. Fear a parent has when they see their teenage child heading down wrong path. Fear a child has of attending school due to bully. Or even just the fear the unknown. No matter what fears people have present in their lives, if that fear rules your life, you will be missing out on the best of what God has to offer you. Through my daily walk with God, I’ve realized that I cannot have both fear and faith at the same time. It’s either, or, because one cancels out the other.
Various biblical characters find themselves in undeniably dangerous situations, but they are preserved and protected by God due to their faith. Like Daniel, who was thrown into the lion’s den; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were protected while in the fiery furnace; or Noah, who built an ark before one single raindrop hit the ground.
One of my favorite stories about faith is David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). When David went up against this giant, by all physical standards, he was unprepared. Instead of wearing the standard issued armor, he wore his regular shepherd boy clothes. Also, instead of a sword, 5 stones and a sling was his weapon of choice. But despite what he “lacked” he had the most protective thing of all, his faith. Faith, that he maintained even when those who should have been on his side tried to speak doubt and fear into his faith. Like when his own brother (1 Samuel 17:28) questioned David’s reason for even being there and tried to insult him. Or when King Saul (1 Samuel 17:33) basically called him too green to fight the giant. In my opinion, David’s unyielding faith is what really won the battle. If you look closely at how it played out, you can clearly see how faith completely ruled over the scare tactics the giant was trying to use. In 1 Samuel 17:49-51, it says that the stone David slung knocked the giant to the ground, David was then able to stand OVER the giant. Next, he took the giant’s OWN sword and cut off his head. Talk about insult to injury. I sometimes wonder if David could have just said “die Goliath” and the giant would have fallen dead, because I believe that David’s faith was just that great.
So how do these stories from long ago apply to your current fears in this day in age, you ask? Well, the equation will never change FAITH – fear = Peace. Better yet, not only peace but victory. Your faith in God is the only thing that can give you victory over any situation that may be making you fearful. Whether it is trusting that God will provide for you and your family after being fired from a job, or turning away from the career path because God said otherwise. It could even be having faith that God has covered your house giving you peace and the ability to sleep easy throughout the night. Matthew 6:25-34, tells us to not worry because everything we need will be provided for us. So whatever the danger is in your life, either real or imagined, causing you to be fearful, overtake it with FAITH so that you can live in Peace instead of fear..

If Jesus, Why Not Me?

Since high school and maybe even before that, one of the most popular topics people, including me, chose to discuss, was how “untrue” their friends are. “She stabbed me in the back, they threw me under the bus, he cheated, etc etc.” A lot of conversations, arguments, and status updates have in some way addressed this issue. But now, as a 25 year old, I have grown tired of hearing about the lack of “true friends”, especially by people my age and older.
You’d think the Son of God would want his friends to be the holiest of holy. Preachers, teachers, Rabbi’s etc etc, but that’s not who He wanted. The disciples were everyday people, fishermen, political activists, even tax collectors. For example, when Jesus called Levi (Mark 2:13-17) he was sitting at a tax collector booth. Later, Jesus even went to Levi’s house for dinner and among the dinner guests were tax collectors and “sinners.” When the Pharisees or as I like to refer to them “The Original Haters”, saw this they questioned Jesus. And to this He responded “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (v17)
Now what does this all have to do with “true” friends? Jesus did not look at Levi and say I don’t like what you do, or who you associate with so you cannot follow me. In fact, Jesus’ friends weren’t perfect at all. They denied him (Mark 14:68), betrayed him (Mark14:45) and at times didn’t fully trust in him (Matt 14:30-31), yet he still loved them anyways. So as Christians aka people striving to be “Christ-like,” what would make us think that we are better that Him, that we should cast those who seem “unworthy” of our friendship aside? Maybe, just maybe, you were placed in that person’s life to show them how to be a true friend, not to scold and talk about them for not being one. Try being a doctor to the sick, instead of only associating with the healthy.