should you hurry up and read this?

What is time? Time, to me at least, seems to be some thing we have invented in our human minds to box in our lives: our happy moments, our struggles, our dreams...our death, etc. It's almost like we have this mindset that if we tell ourselves we only have to bear 4 more days of this struggle or it's only 5 more years of school til we get that dream job, or even perhaps that we expect to live 70 more years, it will make the struggles easier and the goals more accomplishable. But, in all reality is it true?--seem psychological to me--at least I can't remember the last time a watch made a powerpoint or got me a promotion anyway. We are constantly looking at the time and boxing life in..but should we be and does it help?

I, for one, am absolutely horrible at this. For visual purposes, if Time and I were married, it would be an emotionally abusive relationship. Time makes me stress, more so in the past than it does now. There was a point in my life that an unexpected change in plans, traffic problem, etc. of even 10 minutes would throw my schedule off kilter and cause me to worry worry worry--thinking I'll never get x,y,z task done now. Notice that though--it was always I'll never get this done, not we'll never get this done--yep, lack of faith in Who really gets things done (Philippians 4:13). And I tend to think that seems to be what time can be, or at least what it can become to us--a crutch, or something that can draw us away from our focus on God. I often find that I hesitate to apply the whole 'God is all-powerful' to my life and tough situations--though in the back of my mind I'm thinking it, my flesh is like 'woah, I am out of control, this ship is going down, this math doesn't work, this isn't logical.'...what I'm finding is that the greatest works of God are not logical. Love is not logical. Miracles are called miracles because they are exceptions to logic. But this really doesn't surprise me, it makes sense that the God who made our brains is greater than the brain itself...so what we can't fathom is like 'poof. done' to God. Time restrictions or not.

What's weird is that I find time is more inhibiting than well, hibiting (is that a word?). What I mean by that is so often it seems that time limits us rather than helps us--and essentially time is a mindset...think about it, have you ever held time? Ever influenced time? Yet, we try so hard to control it. Time boxes in God's abilities, those abilities which transcend time.

For instance, let's reflect on Joshua 10:12-14 where God made the sun stand still in the sky...that's right, time. stood. still. If God conquered time, which seems to be a cause for our hustle and bustle and shortness of life and so many woes, then surely we can trust Him with other things.

Matthew 6:34: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."...timeless wisdom.

I also recommend reading Ecclesiates 3:1-8.

so there's wrapped around the finger, but what about unwrapped around the finger? why leave a good gift wrapped ;)

Do you ever get excited about gifts? Have you ever received something that just made you think, 'wow, I'm important to them'? How much more is it when you get a gift that there's no reason for--something random not on your birthday or Christmas, etc.? Or especially when you receive a gift that you don't deserve--i.e. a person you stabbed in the back offer their time to help you with a project.--?

What's really neat is that there is a gift to get excited about, especially if you've already received it (I have 12 years ago, and I still get pumped up :))--that gift is salvation through Jesus Christ. What that means is forgiveness of your sins-because we're humans and the lineage of Adam, we have our human nature of sin and need forgiveness of eternity with God. But here's the even cooler part that makes it even more special: it's one of those gifts that there's no occasion for, that is given to you because you're important, and is one we don't deserve. I feel like I pretty regularly make mistakes and have definitely had my share of backstabbing and backturning on God...but yet, when I humble myself and ask Him to forgive me, it's unconditional love and He accepts me. That's legit. So yeah, it's the gift that keeps on giving, and someday I hope to spend eternity with Jesus Christ, who came to earth and lived a life of persecution, pain, and struggle, died a horrid death, and rose again that I might live with Him in Heaven. If that's not something to change my lifestyle for and to get WAYYY excited about, I'm really not sure what is. I hope you'll accept His gift too if you haven't already. (Romans 10:9), (John 3:16),(Romans 8:28).--and if you have recieved the gift, don't forget to rejoice in it!! (Philippians 4:4).

I leave you with a quote: "A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love. Never let anything so fill you with sorrow as to make you forget the joy of Christ risen."-Mother Teresa.

Church Waffles by Kenny Fusting.

So my blog tonight is to reference another quality blog. I read a friend's entry and found it very worthwhile. Here's the link: www.charisetheos.blogspot.com/2010/05/church-waffles.html. Enjoy.

behind those double doors is so much more than shiney floors

First off, I found out tonight that my cousin Hayley has a knot on her neck, so if anyone reading this could be much in prayer for her I'd appreciate it. She seems to face health problem after health problem.
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Today I didn't have any students to teach in Sunday School, so I joined in with the Adult class. One of the points that the teacher hit on, and something I've thought about recently is how we approach church and our mindset about it. Some people see church as a 'do-gooder' thing: a way to socialize with good people in society and uphold a good reputation. Others see church as a quota they need to fill in order to have any chance at Heaven, or at least to keep people happy. Then there are those who see it as a way to fellowship with other Christians and to be filled up with Spiritual nourishment. Obviously, I'm going to point to the last one as the correct approach.

I feel like a lot of times we get out of church exactly what we put into it. I guess that could be said about most anything in life. So often (and I've been guilty of this in my life) we make church a routine so much so that it becomes a burden rather than a blessing. We think "oh, it's Sunday again, I have to go get out my nice outfit and listen to some man ramble on about some topic I've probably already heard a million times....oh, what's for lunch?" Contrary to what many believe, what is said from the pulpit (at least at Unity Baptist Church), is not always the same thing (yes, there's variety in that 1000+ page book called the Bible :)).

A couple weeks back I was talking to a guy who'd asked me for my number on a Saturday night, and he was trying to get me to do something with him on Sunday, etc. etc. I explained to him that I had church, so he asked me about doing something Sunday night. I told him I had service again on Sunday night. He was completely blown away that we had 2 services in one day. He said it must be redundant and unnecessary to go twice in one day. Well sure, if all we did was sing 'Jesus loves me,' say 'be good people,' and go home. Instead, there are always new things to learn about and discover in the Bible. When God inspired this amazing Word, which is like a love letter to His people, I believe He didn't make it completely easy to read on purpose.--not to say the Bible cannot be understood, but what I mean is that He talks in metaphors and stories and parables, etc. It's an absolutely beautiful work. Church is essentially a gathering of people to 1.discuss God's Word, 2. worship God, 3. get nourishment and encouragement, and 4. fellowship. So we've got #1 down--discussing God's dynamic Word (the Bible) is something we could do more than 3 times a week for sure. What's really awesome as well is the fact that, even if you've heard the story of Noah 600 times, and maybe even have it memorized, that 601st time God could reveal something new to you. What's also neat, is (tying in the fellowship part) when we come together with fellow believers and other people from different walks of life we get different perspectives on it that we may have never seen by ourselves.

The second of the 4 purposes I've listed for church is to worship God. So often I hear the argument of "I don't have to go to church, I can worship God at home." This statement is true--you can worship God wherever you are, and we should, but the real question is, will you? Let's be honest: sometimes it takes encouragement and motivation of others to get us going when we have the option to be lazy. It's kind of like having running buddies in a marathon. So, getting up and going to church gets us in the mood to worship God. Also, what's great is that God has told us where 2 or more are gathered in His name, there He will be in the midst (Matthew 18:20)...so gather 'round!

This is another reason why having church twice in one day, or multiple times a week, is not pointless--God is always deserving of our worship. So even if we just gathered together to sing praises to His awesome name, it would not be pointless. In Revelation 5:11-14, we read of the end times, where the angels sing praises to God, all creatures in Heaven and on earth sing praises of His worth, and the elders and creatures bow down before Him and worship Him. The Bible tells us we are a little lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:7), and if they are constantly singing praises to God, how much more should we be with ALL that He has done for us.

The third of the 4 basic purposes of church was for us to get nourishment and encouragement. Hearing God's word and being surrounded by those that believe as you do should be a comfort and a fill up for the week ahead. The Sunday School teacher asked the class if we'd eaten this morning. Yes. Then he asked if we intended to eat again...Yes, of course. Then why is it that we find filling ourselves with spiritual food multiple times a day/week to be absurd or above and beyond?

When Satan was tempting Jesus in Matthew 4, one of Jesus' responses was (4:4) "...man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." Wow. The Son of God who had all power, understood that we cannot survive--especially thrive--on just physical food. We also need spiritual nourishment. Now, how many times a week this is necessary is not written in the Bible, and like I said, church is not a quota to be reached, but my theory is this: if you were given a free pass for an all you can eat buffet, would you just take one plate to the salad bar and be done? Certainly not...when the lettuce settled and your stomach started to grumble again, you'd go back for more, you'd search out the best dishes and pile 'er up. We should be this excited to dig into the Word--it's nourishment, and it's free.

Last of the 4 purposes was fellowship, and I kind of hit on this earlier. Fellowship helps to make the first 3 purposes more effective/successful. Plus, Christian fellowship should be like meeting up with your team before a softball game--you wouldn't go out onto the field without practicing, talking, and getting to know your team. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we're on the same team, and we're looking for a victory (to help more people see the awesomeness that is Christ Jesus!!).--in fact, the Bible describes the church several times as a Body (1 Corinthians 12:12). We must remember, then, that anytime we hurt a fellow believer, we hurt the body of Christ--and thus, we also hurt ourselves as part of the Body. This is a huge one, and one excuse many people have for not attending church--they've been hurt by someone in the church. While this is unfortunate, we must remember a few things:
1. a church by it's most basic definition is a gathering of humans--imperfect humans bound to make mistakes--thus our imperfections do not mean there will be a perfect gathering, even if we are worshiping a perfect Christ. So don't take it out on the church or give up just because someone(s) has hurt you. Picture this: If you were a UK fan, and another fan came up and kicked you in the shin for no reason, you wouldn't stop going to games, say the University of Kentucky is a horrible institution and should be destroyed, would you? That'd be absurd...it's the same with followers of Christ.
2. one of the key part of Christian faith is forgiveness. This is a door that swings both ways, true, but the other truth is that you can only control what happens on your end. So even if the other person in the situation doesn't forgive you for the bad situation, or doesn't seem to 'deserve' your forgiveness (none of us really deserve forgiveness), we are still called to take that pride and anger gulp and put a foot forward toward forgiveness for others hurting us.

Moral of the story is: don't hate church, don't dis church, don't look at church as if it's a duty, don't look at church as if it's a quota you must meet (sorry to break it to you, but Sunday sermons alone will not get you to Heaven--it's salvation that may be inspired by a Sunday sermon that gets the ticket). Do love church, do love (and forgive) church people and all of their flaws, do look at church as a privilege (many countries do not have this privilege), and do look at church as a way to worship an Awesome Creator/love on other Christians/get your scripture vitamin boost for the week/and dive deeper into the love letter that is from God (the Bible), so that we may get one glimpse and one step closer to knowing Him more intimately and having a home with Him in Heaven some day.

And, oh, what a day, that will be. :)

the Beast behind the Beauty

What can we learn from Walt Disney?

The nice thing about children's stories, at least the ones created when I was growing up, generally try to teach strong values and morals. This example: Beauty and the Beast. For those of us little girls that were enchanted by the love story, we often choose not to see the true hideousness of the Beast (or at least not at the end of the movie). But if you listen to the intro, the Beast was once an attractive prince that was very selfish and turned away helping someone beneath his status...then, he became the Beast.

We live in an amazing country with truly awesome and encouraging values, a high level of philanthropy, and pride in who we are. But the last one is where we sometimes run into problems. Sometimes we can become so confident in ourselves that we cease to think of others who are less fortunate, we can argue with family and friends until it destroys relationships, and we can somehow believe that we deserve better treatment that someone with different weight, height, skin color, social status, job, etc. etc.

Instead, we need to realize exactly what we are. Although I am definitely one who condones confidence, it definitely is something that has to come in balance. Neither you nor I are invincible--be it street fight, car wreck, blood clot, or nuclear bomb--there are most certainly things that make it obvious we all have a date that will be written on the right side of the dash on our tombstone. Even looking through a perspective of this life, there's not one of us that is good at EVERYTHING. For this reason, we need to realize our weaknesses and be able to admit them. I have found (yes, from experience with my own pride and weaknesses) that when we admit to ourselves and others what things we are not good at, it allows us to more fully use our strengths and grow in the areas which cause us to stumble.

...and here's the Truth of God's Word to back it up...

Proverbs 27:2, "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips."

2 Corinthians 10:17-18, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends."

Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall"

Mark 9:35 (speaking to the disciples), "And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, 'If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.'"

Proverbs 26:12, "Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him."

...so don't be like the Beast: one who must be punished for being prideful; but be the Beauty: kind, compassionate, selfless, and forgiving. And if you have problems with yellow dresses, then be the Prince that Beast turned back into after he received forgiveness and changes his prideful ways.

Wise Whys

So I have not blogged in a week. I've been somewhat distracted with finals and other adventures. Amazing how time flies.

So I've been sick from allergies for quite some time now and was finally convinced to go to the doctor. While I was waiting at the doctor, I was offered the typical doctor's office entertainment of soap operas and magazines. What I found most entertaining and perhaps most helpful was not either of these.

First, there was a little girl about 4 years old, who ran toward the bathroom when she walked in. There were 2 people with her, and one noticed her going into the men's restroom and told the other adult to go assist her. The little girl heard this, and with a slightly confused face threw her arms up and said, "they're both for girls." True, that there are not always major differences in female and male bathrooms. Also true, is that, if she was too short to see the sign or could not read, then she would not be able to differentiate based on her own depth of knowledge. This made me think of how we are in life--as children, adults, at whatever age. We like to think we know what we're doing. Most of the time (and I am completely guilty of this), we think we know what's best for us. So often in my life, I find this to be completely contrary to the truth. When I think something is best now, it may be best later, or not best at all. This is not to imply that I am stupid, but that, like the little girl--I may not be able to tell the difference between the two paths in my life just from appearances, or maybe I can't see the signs, only visible Above, that reveal what's coming next. Or perhaps the facts of what lays in front of me are clear and vivid to those around me, but I'm unable to interpret what they mean. This is so often true, and we need to be able to lose control to Someone who is in control of this plan. Someone can guide us to the correct doors and paths. Someone who will forgive us and redirect us when we choose the wrong door--this someone is Jesus Christ.

I suggest reading Proverbs 3. It's a great chapter about trusting beyond yourself and clinging to what is right. Also, keep in mind the scripture that says, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but the wise man listens to advice." (Proverbs 12:15). For those of you that write this off as not applying to your life because you're doing things just fine and this is clearly for some other heathen, yada yada, etc etc, notice the verse says the wise man listens to advice....listening?

Keep an open mind to what God has in store for you, and what His people are trying to reveal to you. Don't be hasty to believe everything you hear (from religious person or nonreligious person), but seek God's advice on what wisdom has been given to you.

The wisest man who ever lived (Solomon) sought wisdom...imagine that. I hope you will choose to seek it as well--happy is everyone that retains wisdom (Proverbs 3:18).

As "A" matter of fact, He's got that under control too

Miraculous Ways.

That's how God works. He speaks to our very weakness and knows JUST when to answer. Today has been a keen example of this for me. Last night I was preparing for a final I had today and finishing up a research paper for another class. I will admit that I'm not the best with managing stress on some day (even though this was the first day in over 6 months it had gotten to me so badly). So anyway, I was way overstressing in my overachiever state of "I've got to get an A" mindset.

This morning I woke up and listened to Southeast Christian's Living Word sermon on the radio while I was getting ready--nothing out of my normal routine. This morning's sermon was based off the scripture Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." What Pastor Kyle Idleman spoke to was the fact so often we often mistranslate this scripture into thinking we alone can do anything, and the fact that we measure our self-worth and success in the wrong light.

Specifically he was naming off lists of examples of things that we limit our worth to, or that makes us feel sucessful or valuable (depending on what extreme you go to). His list of examples referenced things like job promotions, the right car, exercising for looks and not health, and...getting all A's. Crazy. Sure I could write this off as nothing--merely a coincidence, but I don't really believe in chance, and I've seen enough evidence of God-incidences in my life to believe He ordains thing that enter my path. Now mind you, there was more that fell in line with the message and what I needed to hear than just that one phrase, but the fact that this message spoke to me so clearly about the exact struggle I was going through, and with Kyle mentioning it so plainly amazed me. :)

What's even more unique is the fact that my mother listened to the same sermon on the same station at the same time on her way to work and got something completely different out of it. When I began to tell her about what I'd heard on the radio this morning, she was like---no, that's not what it was about. The same message spoke to her about a completely different topic. This is testimony that God knows exactly what we need, how we need it, when we need it, and that He will speak to us if we are seeking to hear from Him. Also, this shows us that just because a sermon title or speaker at church may not seem to be something that we think fits our situation, we need not write it off or zone them out because there is always so much potential for God to speak to us--even in the little things of life, small gestures of people, etc.

With this in mind, it also gives us Christians an increased responsibility to be constantly aware that we could be positively or negatively impacting lives. So when you're having a gray cloud kind of day, be cautious that you don't spread your doubt/fear/anger/what have you, but that you seek to be a positive light. (Philippians 4:4) I'm not saying that you have to be chipper every day because that is certainly a challenge, but rather that you should constantly keep in mind the kind of reactions and impact your actions will cause. You have a bigger impact on lives (even those you may not see) than you realize.

Lastly, to reinforce what I said about God moving at just the right time. I was waiting on something today and was getting a little down that it had not yet came. I got to the point where I blew something miniscule into an issue even worth talking about--all because I didn't have patience and wait on God's timing and wisdom. As soon as I brought it up and vented to someone about it--leaving them with a negative taste in their mouth--what I was waiting on came. Imagine that. It's almost like another wake up call from God reminding me He's in charge, He's got a great plan, and if I wait on His perfect timing for all things in my life, He will bless me. Thank you God for that promise and for keeping me in check.

I completely believe God has a sense of humor. But like I said earlier, He speaks to each of us in the way we need and recieve it best--so maybe that's just God's 'I told you so' language for me :) I'm so glad I serve such a phenomenal, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and dynamic God. :)