HIM vs. YOU

Moms....pay attention to what you believe. There are many popular things you can see and read as a Christian woman that may or may not be in accordance with God’s word. The Bible never teaches that this world is about you. God loves you and cares about you. He wants you to love Him, obey Him, and serve Him.

There's a popular trend now, made even more popular by some recent publications, that YOU are in charge of your destiny. That only YOU can change your life.  Be careful! There's nothing scriptural about that belief!  Nothing in scripture says you are in charge, despite what might be shouted out in the world's view.

Your life and how you live your life should be for HIS GLORY, not for YOURS. It’s not for your happiness, contrary to what you may read apart from scripture. God wants you to be HOLY.  In becoming holy, you'll find true happiness....which is joy! Joy is something that can't fade with problems, trials, struggles in life.  Happiness comes and goes. Joe remains....or should.

Check what you read with God’s word. Don’t believe it because it’s popular and it’s trending on social media. Women often allow their feelings to dictate their beliefs, which can lead down untrue paths. Don’t be one of those women.

God loves you! He wants you to love you, but He also wants you to love HIM and rely on HIM, not yourself.  And self help done should be for His glory, not your own.

First Love - A Life Pleasing to God

If you pay attention closely, you can tell what is someone’s first love. 

If, for a Christian, his/her first love is God, Christ, His church....it will be evident by what shows in his/her life. If it is not God, Christ, the church....it will be blaring and screaming something else. 

Priorities are evident if we pay attention.

If I were to ask someone what was most important in my life, if I'm honest, sometimes it might look like things other than God, Christ, and the church were most important.  Social media isn't always an appropriate "judge" of what's most important in someone's life, but on the other hand....that's what we put out for others to see.  Yes, our close family and friends and acquaintances can see other examples, as well, but so much of our true life is hidden.  That's okay.  the Bible tells us to live quiet lives. 

It's appropriate that the passage below is under the heading, "A Life Pleasing to God".  

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.


9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

This is my desire, so I should make it a goal to evaluate and judge my life by this standard in God's Word.  May my first love be what God desires for it to be.  

R-E-S-P-E-C-T GOD

This was a recent post on our parent's page: 
Never make light of spiritual matters. Your children are watching how you respect God, Jesus, the church, as well as your attitude towards sin, worship, grace, mercy, and on and on. Making light of something that’s of spiritual importance isn’t sharing the gospel message with others. Jesus died on the cross for those things and because of those things. That’s nothing to take lightly.

Nothing makes me sadder than to see spiritual times and spiritual matters become a time of entertainment or in fun.  It doesn't really matter what I feel about it or what you might feel about it, though. What matters is what God feels...what Jesus feels....what we might make others feel about it.  The thought of hurting my Lord and my Savior brings tears to my eyes, does it yours?  I think of the song, "Does He Still Feel the Nails". Am I crucifying him all over again if I am not having the reverence I should during worship?  God's grace and mercy is sufficient. He's loving and will forgive me, of course, but what about when I deliberately continue to fail in this area, never realizing it's sin?  That's a scary thought that I don't take lightly.

As a parent, I pray that I've taught and trained my children to revere the name of the Lord....to not trample on Christ's death on the cross...and that they will never deliberately "make Him feel the nails".

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,  for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 11:28-29 (read all of chapter 11 to see what "Therefore" is THERE FOR).

The Power Washer

Last week I had the opportunity to use an extremely powerful power washer for a few days. I cleaned the gunk and grime off of a huge concrete slab, often times maneuvering over it an inch at a time to ensure that it was all as clean as possible. As I worked, I thought about the spiritual application of this massive tool.

First of all,  I thought about the incredible power of this washer. It was a super-duper power washer! It even took most of the painted basketball and volleyball marked lines off of the concrete!

In the same way, God is the ultimate power washer!  There is no higher power!  And just as the machine gives the "gift" of high-powered water, and the water does the cleaning, God gave the gift of His Son on the cross, and His blood shed did the cleansing for those who accept that gift and obey His Word.  

I also thought about the time and care I spent going over every spot, making sure no stains were left. I asked myself this question: Am I as careful to look for the "spots and blemishes" of my spiritual life, taking care to repent of the sins and name them one by one?  The blood of Jesus will continually clean off the spots in my life when I repent of those sins and strive to live a life in faithful obedience to His Will.  Just as no spot was too bad to withstand the power of that power washer, no sin is "too big" for the blood of Jesus.  His blood has the power to wash it all away, making me clean and pure.

And then the last thought from the power washer was the fact that, no matter how powerful the machine was, the water was, the pressure was, unless I held it in my hand....unless I pushed the handle, the machine couldn't do the work it was supposed to do. Now God can do work without me. In fact He works all of the time and everywhere without my help. He doesn't need my help and He doesn't need yours; however, for Him to work in my life...for His Spirit to work in my life....my heart must be willing to allow Him to work.  He can do things that abruptly make my heart willing to obey, willing to listen, willing to change, but if I'm defiant, unwilling to change, unwilling to submit, unwilling to do anything at all, He can't change me the way He wants to.  I have to "allow" the power to work in my life.  And although I did NOTHING to clean the spots off of the concrete (I had no power!), I had to "allow" the power washer to do it's job by me doing my job.  God's Spirit can work in my life, molding me and helping me grow in the fruits, but only if I allow Him to work.  It is as simple as saying, "Here you go God. Do what needs to be done!".

It's interesting how simple things in life can have deep spiritual meaning if we will just look.  There are spiritual applications all around us if we will just open our eyes!  So whether you find yourself folding laundry, washing dishes, playing catch, walking, or using a power washer, look for the spiritual side of life.  God will teach when we take the time to learn.

"Quit Scaring the Children!"

Sunday night our congregation hosted a youth event where many surrounding towns came to join in the worship and fellowship time together.  The speaker, Brandon, who is a youth minister, had a wonderful lesson from Daniel 3 about the "Fiery Furnace".  If you know the story, you know that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego wouldn't bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar's idol and so he threw them into an extremely hot furnace.  God saved the three men, even putting a forth man who looked like "as son of a god" into the fire with them.  He saved them because of their faith in Him.

Brandon talked encouraged all of us to be like these men - not caving in to anything in the world, but standing firm in our faith in God.  One thing he also said was to the adults in the audience. He specifically said to those "45 and older" (which I take offense in since I'm barely over that age! Haha!) was to for "us" to QUIT SCARING THE CHILDREN.  He realizes, as we all do, that this world has its problems.  The up-coming election has many people worried and scared about the future, even to the point of posting ridiculous and outlandish things on social media that are meant to be a scare tactic and pursuade people to vote for their chosen candidate.  The problem with all of this is that we are telling the children we are scared, afraid, and fearful for their future.  And as Christians, there's a big problem with our example when we are showing fear over faith.  God says, "Do not fear" over and over and over again in His Word, yet many times we get so bogged down in fear that we can't see those promises.

So what can you and I do instead of being afraid at the outcomes of elections and the future for our children and grandchildren?  We can pray.  We SHOULD pray!  And we can show our children and grandchildren that CHRIST is King, no matter what happens in this world.  What else can we do?  We can be strong and courageous, keeping the faith at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did, not caving in to fear, even through the "hottest fire" we can imagine.

Just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's example showed and proved to King Nebuchadnezzar that there is only One God, you possibly may show someone else the same.  Someone may come to know Him because of that faith.

QUIT SCARING THE CHILDREN!  Let them see your strong faith! Let them see your hope and trust in the Lord.  In doing so, you're growing their own faith in Him.

Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God.

Daniel 3:28

Let It Go

That popular song title from the movie, "FROZEN", was the theme for a youth rally we attended at the Faith Village Church of Christ in Wichita Falls yesterday.

Trying to "let go" of whatever it is that is keeping us from being in a closer relationship with God/Jesus and keeping us from staying on the straight and narrow path definitely needs to go.  But sometimes it's hard to let it go. Sometimes we want to cling to it.  It's not that we don't want to follow Jesus.  It's not that we don't want to be in close connection with God, it's just that we want the pleasures of the world sometimes, too.  We want it both ways.  We want to ride the fence, so to speak.

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  Revelation 3:15-16

God would rather have us either way - for him or against him - than to have us be lukewarm and indecisive and not fully committed.  When we are lukewarm, we really aren't doing anything to help his cause, anyway. In fact, we are only hurting it. 

After the first speaker was finished yesterday, the youth had a card that they were to write on listing something they needed to let go of.  Afterwards, they threw their card into a fire and watched it burn. It's not that easy to let go of a problem, but the illustration of it being burned on paper surely encouraged the teens to at least work on letting go of their issue.

This scripture goes along well with the "Let It Go" thought and happens to be our scripture for the week: For your ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all your paths.  Proverbs 5:21.  Knowing that God sees everything should keep us on the straight and narrow.  A healthy fear of the Lord is important!  But sometimes we forget that He is all-knowing.  He examines and He knows, but He also loves and cares for us. He wants us to love Him for who He is and for what He has done - and we should.

There's No God Like You!

There's just something about the sound of rain, isn't there?  It started early this morning and is still going...hopefully all day long! I've got the back door open, just to listen to it.  It's peaceful and calming.

I know that the Lord is great,

    that our Lord is greater than all gods.

The Lord does whatever pleases him,

    in the heavens and on the earth,

    in the seas and all their depths.

He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;

    he sends lightning with the rain

    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

Psalm 135:5-7

After several years of drought, we are thankful for the rains we've had. Praising God for the rain comes naturally, even to those who may not truly know Him.

Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?

    Do the skies themselves send down showers?

No, it is you, Lord our God.

    Therefore our hope is in you,

    for you are the one who does all this.

Jeremiah 14:22

Our praise to Him should not waver.  He, alone, is God. No idol can bring rain.  He IS the ONE who does all this. Let's never forget to give Him praise.

Making the Most of Your Mistakes

Even though we don't like to think about it, God often gives us our trials, mistakes, and painful times to teach us something or to grow us in some fruit.  Maybe you're lacking in love.  God will give you an opportunity to grow in that area.  Maybe you're lacking in patience or self-control. God will give you plenty of growth opportunities.  Other times He allows us to go through the storms and process of the mistake instead of taking away the pain.

Some of the storms in our lives are simply out of our control, but others of them we have caused ourselves.  What we do with those hard times is how we can learn to make the most of our mistakes/trials/troubles.  What we do with them can become our ministry.

In my Wednesday night ladies' class, we have been studying how our mistakes can be used to minister to others.  Although I had written last week and studied the lesson both last week and this week, it wasn't until looking at it for the final time yesterday that this verse seemed to jump out at me. I've enlarged the part that jumped.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 

Do you see that?!  God comforts us in our troubles SO THAT we can comfort others in the same way.  There's another reason for the trials we go through!  It is so that we can help others!  It's so that we can share His love with others!  It's to bring us closer to someone!

Yet, often times we're afraid to use our trials for good.  Sometimes we don't want to bring up those painful times because...well, they're painful.  Maybe we still feel guilty about them. Maybe we don't want to think of the rough times.  Maybe we're content just in our own little world where we don't have to acknowledge the past.  But sometimes God wants us to get out of our comfort zone. Sometimes someone else needs us to share.  Sometimes we are missing out on an opportunity to share Jesus with others because we're afraid.  Let's get bold! Let's get brave!  Let's comfort others with the same comfort we, ourselves, received!

God wants us to make the most of our mistakes.  That's the end goal - to learn from them, to grow because of them, and to help others.  In doing so, our mistakes will become our ministry.  That's how we make the very most of those mistakes, troubles, and trials....using them to help others.

Fellowship With God

Do you ever think about what it would have been like to be Eve before the first sin?  Walking around in the garden of Eden, not a care in the world, just enjoying the beautiful creation and enjoying talks with God and spending so much time with Adam.  Doesn't it sound wonderful - before the fall? It sure does to me! I can't even imagine how it must have been.

As Christians, we have a fellowship with God, as well. It's different than Eve's was, of course, but it's still a closeness, an intimacy, that is there for us if we take advantage of it. 

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  

 1 John 1:5-9

But just like sin got in the way of Eve's fellowship with God, it gets in the way of our fellowship with God, as well.  However, the blood of Jesus was shed for our sins, and though we will still mess up from time to time, we can continue in that fellowship with God by following out His commands:  Walk in the light and by confessing our sins.

God WANTS us to walk in the light! He longs for us to have fellowship with Him!  Isn't that wonderful news?!  He's not putting guards at the entrance with flaming swords denying us further access from Him.  Jesus did away with all barriers between us and God. He was and is our bridge to Our Heavenly Father!

Below is a breakdown of the words above from the original Greek meaning (www.blueletterbible.com) and from the Vine's dictionary on that site.  It's great seeing the original meaning to gain further understanding into the scriptures.

Fellowship: fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation

Walk: To make one's way, progress; to make due use of opportunities

Darkness: of ignorance respecting divine things and human duties, and the accompanying ungodliness and immorality

The light: God is light because light has the extremely delicate, subtle, pure, brilliant quality of truth and its knowledge...together with the spiritual purity associated with it....that which is exposed to the view of ....all, openly, publicly reason, mind....the power of understanding esp. moral and spiritual truth

We have: To have (hold) in the hand, in the sense of wearing, to have (hold) possession of the mind (refers to alarm, agitating emotions, etc.), to hold fast keep, to have or comprise or involve, to regard or consider or hold as

One with another: with, after, behind

Cleanses: In a moral sense: a) to free from defilement of sin and from faults, b) to purify from wickedness, c) to free from guilt of sin, to purify, d) to consecrate by cleansing or purifying, e) to consecrate, dedicate

Sin: that which is done wrong, sin, an offense, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act

Deceive: to cause to stray, to lead astray, lead aside from the right way, b) to go astray, wander, roam about...to lead away from the truth, to lead into error, to deceive...to be led into error...to be led aside from the path of virtue, to go astray, sin...to sever or fall away from the truth of heretics...to be led away into error and sin

Truth: what is true in things appertaining to God and the duties of man, moral and religious truth...the truth as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God and the execution of his purposes through Christ, and respecting the duties of man, opposing alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles and the inventions of the Jews, and the corrupt opinions and precepts of false teachers even among Christians

Confess: to confess, i.e. to admit or declare one's self guilty of what one is accused of...to profess...
to declare openly, speak out freely

Faithful: of persons who show themselves faithful in the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties...one who kept his plighted faith, worthy of trust...that can be relied on

Just: righteous, observing divine laws...innocent, faultless, guiltless

Unrighteousness: unrighteousness of heart and life...a deed violating law and justice, act of unrighteousness

Fly Away, Butterfly!

For our daughter, Lauren....our beautiful butterfly! 
(Written September 2014, but first time to publish.)

Once upon a time there lived a little caterpillar. She lived in a small town with her parents and three younger brothers.

The little caterpillar loved to explore. She traveled to other places, learning and doing all kinds of things. She met all kinds of people. She made lots of friends along the way.

The little caterpillar also enjoyed being at home, with her family. She sang songs. She played games. She learned important things that helped her grow and mature. She learned a lot from a very special Book. Her parents told her that this Book was the greatest book of all! So she read from it every day. She learned some very great things from the Book. Yes, she had a very wonderful, happy life.

The most important thing the little caterpillar learned was that she had a Creator. Her Creator loved her! She also had a Savior. Her Savior loved her! So much so that He gave His life for her! 

The little caterpillar couldn't image a love so wonderful as that love, but from that day on began to share that Good News with others.

Something began to change. The caterpillar stopped growing, stopped shedding her new skin, and she felt all safe and secure and content, but yet felt like there was something more she was supposed to experience. 

Her family was excited about her growing up, but realized that she would soon be making a big step in her life - a step that would change their family forever. They were happy and sad...all at the same time, but knew that the Creator was with her, and that He would guide her steps and direct her paths.

The little caterpillar began to feel different. She changed. She changed more and more each and every day, but these changes were different than the ones she had had before. One day something very wonderful happened! The little caterpillar was no longer a caterpillar! Her Creator had transformed her into a beautiful butterfly!

And so it was that it was time for her to fly away. And she did. She flew away from her safe and secure home. She ventured into new and exciting places, continuing to tell the world what the Creator and Savior had done for her. She shared words from the Book with others daily.

The beautiful butterfly would come back to visit her family whenever she could. Oh, they missed her, but were so excited to hear all about her new life!  They were thankful that the Creator had done such a magnificent thing for their little girl and sister. 

     

The little caterpillar brothers looked forward to seeing those changes in their own lives some day. They were learning more and more about the Creator and Savior, as. well.

The beautiful butterfly learned to spread her wings and fly in ways she would have never believed she could. She had great faith in what she could do, because of the One who made her. He gave her dreams wings! He gave her plans and paths that led to all kinds of new things. And that was just the way it was supposed to be. It was the Creator's wonderful plan that she would learn to fly away. He knew she would all along.

    

"Fly away, beautiful butterfly! Fly away!", she heard her Creator, Savior, and family sing as she flew. And she knew that this was way it was supposed to be. 

Thank You, God!

Well, the snow I was excited about Friday caused our weekend to be a little different than we expected.  The Area Championship basketball game for our HS boys was rescheduled until tonight.  The Saturday basketball game for our youngest, whose team is in a city league, was canceled.  Worship and classes were canceled for our church family all day yesterday, except that we had a short service and lunch with our Tipton Children's Home church family.  Plans changed, making this week crammed even fuller!

But, even with the few conflicts of basketball games mixed with livestock shows today and tomorrow, I'm still thankful that the snow and ice caused us to slow down a stay home more.  It enabled me to catch up with some things I needed to get done.  It allowed me to get better prepared for this week's events.  It gave me more time with the family since they were in the house even more. So, thank you, God! I needed that!

This morning, two of our boys and my husband are going to get pigs ready for the show that starts at noon.  Goats will also weigh in this morning.  As the youngest was getting ready, he said, "You know? The thing about stock shows is that everyone helps everyone."  Yes, they do! In fact, my husband said that if everyone hadn't pitched in to help him yesterday afternoon and evening, he couldn't have gotten done with all of the pigs that the TCH kids have to show.  What a great thing that everyone helps everyone!  Isn't that the way all of life should be?  Thank you, God, for little things like stock shows, where real-life examples are lived out for us to see and learn from.  Help us to always be willing to help others when they need it - and even when they don't - help us to still reach out to do what we can do to ease their load.

Thank you, God, for this "work" week full of activities and opportunities.  May we use each day to glorify you and to shine our lights brightly for Jesus.  Help us to look for opportunities to share Your Son with others as we go throughout the days.

Be still, and know that I am God.

    I will be exalted among the nations,

    I will be exalted in the earth!”

Psalm 46:10

God Is Love

This morning as I was reading this passage, I realized that there is nothing else that could be added to it by my words.  It's simple. It's plain.  I can't add any thoughts.  I can just ask one question.  Do I love like God wants me to love?  Do you?  Read this passage....examine your heart.....and answer that question.  I made the parts that stuck out to me, especially, in bold.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. 1 John 4:7-21

THERE IS A GOD; HE IS ALIVE!

This is one of my very favorite songs and most know it from it's unusual page number in some of the song books, 728b.  Why the "B"??  I'm sure there's a reason, but I don't know it!  But it's made for interesting conversations and thoughts!

Here are the lyrics to "There is a God".  They are GREAT!

There is, beyond the azure blue

A God, concealed from human sight

He tinted skies with heav'nly hue

And framed the worlds with His great might

Chorus:

There is a God (There is a God), He is alive (He is alive)

In Him we live (In Him we live) and we survive (and we survive)

From dust our God (From dust our God) created man (created man)

He is our God (He is our God), the great I Am (the great I Am)

There was a long, long time ago

A God whose voice the prophets heard

He is the God that we should know

Who speaks from His inspired word

Repeat Chorus

Secure is life from mortal mind

God holds the germ within His hand

Though men may search they cannot find

For God alone does understand

Repeat Chorus

Our God, whose Son upon a tree

A life was willing there to give

That He from sin might set man free

And evermore with Him could live

Repeat Chorus

"By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." Hebrews 11:3

"None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." 1 Corinthians 2:8

The TRUTH About 4-H and FFA

Interesting that I should see this post...not five minutes since my 16-year-old son came home to rescue our goats. A few of them had gotten out of their pen and the huge Boer buck was trapped in a knot with a halter on his hoof.  He was lying there looking dead when I ran out to help.  I thought he was dead, all sprawled out and not moving.  He was scared, and if he could have talked, I'm certain that he would have said, "Thank You" if he could have, once he was freed.

And then this:  CNN'S article asking, "Does 4-H Desensitize Kids to Killing Animals?"   It's amazing really, that people really believe 4-H hurts kids or could hurt kids.  It's amazing too, that so many that cry out about animals being killed for food, actually do eat animals themselves, or animal products.  The article does show positives and negatives, so it's not totally bashing 4-H.  But, in this post, I'm focusing on those who are against it.

What people like this don't realize is that God made the animals for PEOPLE to use.  He provided them for us. That was his plan. Too many in the world have mixed it up and think that PEOPLE were created for ANIMALS.  Completely, completely false.  God said for man/woman to rule over the animals.  Care for the animals. Tend to the animals.  And after the flood, to use the animals for food.  

The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands.  Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. Genesis 9:2-3

God set man/woman apart from the animal world.  Man/woman have souls.  Animals do not. Contrary to the popular movie, "All Dogs Go to Heaven", no they don't.  In fact, NO ANIMALS go to heaven. Heaven is reserved for God's people - those who have become followers of His Son, Jesus.  

God blessed them (Adam and Eve) and said, "Be fertile, increase in number, fill the earth, and be its master. Rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that crawl on the earth." Genesis 1:28

Sure animals bring joy to our lives, but they can also teach us things - like responsibility through the 4-H or FFA program. They teach a strong work ethic - something that is missing in many families today who want everything handed to them.  

I remember like yesterday leading my calf onto the trailer to go to market. I cried all the way there.  And then "Sam" slammed me into the side of the trailer, making my shoulder bang up to the metal side with his 1000 plus pound body.  I wasn't happy with Sam for hurting me. I was crying because he was going and crying because he was hurt.  Sam came back home in different packaging than he went on that trailer.  Our family was fed by Sam.  Sam couldn't live forever.  He had served his purpose.  Now the work and feeding program he was on during his life was benefiting my family in his death.

If I didn't care about that animal project, why would I still remember it so vividly?  I wouldn't.  I remember the good times with Sam...and that one bad time of him hurting me.  I remember all of my calves that same way.  

My children do the same with their goats and pigs.  It's a learning experience that they will take with them for the rest of their lives.  They are learning great lessons.  4-H is GOOD.  It's GREAT!  FFA is GOOD. It's GREAT!  

The  4-H and FFA programs are vital to our communities and even our cities.  I think it would be great if those who are so opposed to "farm" and "agriculture" saw how those two entities would affect the very products that are in their homes.  Almost EVERYTHING is tied to agriculture in some way.  If I could snap my fingers and make "their" stuff with ag-related products disappear, they would be shocked at what would be missing!  Ha! If only that could really happen!

So, parents....don't be afraid your child is going to be warped from joining the local 4-H club or FFA chapter.  If anything, it will make them stronger.  It will make them appreciate the things God has given to us - the things He created for us.

Oklahoma FFA State Convention - 2014

                                     
Last week was the annual Oklahoma FFA State Convention.  This year's theme was "Ignite".  I attended the event, as usual, and enjoyed spending time with our two boys that are in FFA, plus our college daughter came to stay and attend for a little while.

During the Convention, many awards were given for the year of FFA accomplishments.  Both of our sons have competed in various events, but the oldest was awarded with a special award of Proficiency for his Ag Communications/Broadcasting work.

He's already working on trying to win 1st in this division next year, although 2nd is great, too!

There are so many neat things to see, do and hear while at the convention. This year, sand artist Joe Castillo performed. He was amazing!

I think someone said he had been on America's Got Talent. I found his website at joecastillo.com, if you are interested in watching his work.  He was a spiritual man, which was evident by his words.

The State Chorus was great again this year, though no one from our small town was in it for a change.  Oklahoma FFA Alumni, Colte Julian was part of the group and entertained the audience with his Jerry Lee Lewis style!

Perhaps the best part of this year's convention, to me, was the last keynote speaker, Walter Bond.  Walter is a former NBA player turned motivational speaker.  We watched some of his speeches on YouTube, so if you're interested, you can check him out! He was great and inspiring!

We had a big group of FFA members this year, even with five or six missing at the time of this picture!

FFA in Oklahoma is probably different.  A prayer was held at the beginning of the convention.  People tell about their faith in God, their love for Jesus, and they give glory to God throughout the whole thing.  That doesn't happen everywhere.  I'm thankful that it does here.

As we were leaving, I saw this group praying together.  Guess who it was?  The new officers who had just found out they would be leading the 2014-2015 FFA year.  That's what makes this organization great - at least in Oklahoma - and hopefully all around the world.

Coming Home

Later on this afternoon, our oldest child will be back home. Lauren will have completed her first year of college!  She will officially be a Sophomore.

It seems like yesterday that we dropped her off, driving back home without her, tears streaming. We weren't sure what life would be like without her here. But, just like she did, we adjusted. We learned to enjoy her weekend visits. At Christmas she was here longer, then transferred closer where we've been able to see her a lot more often.  And now she'll be home for three and a half months.

There will, most likely, be an adjustment to Lauren living back at home. Her brothers have adjusted to life without an older sister bossing them around, for one! Ha ha!  She will have to get used to being home, too.  She won't have quite as much freedom as she had before, but will have more, in a way.  My rule for her coming home was that she didn't have to help around the house if she was here for only a weekend, but if it was more than three days, she was no longer a guest. She was part of the family....and the family works together! :)

This relationship between a college child and her family makes me think of God and His children.  Maybe the reason some of His children feel distant from Him is that they aren't around Him enough.  Maybe they just visit from time to time, but don't ever stay long enough to be really familiar with Him.

God longs for His children to be close to Him. He doesn't want just occasional weekend visits. He wants full-time custody!  He wants His children to feel so comfortable with Him that they can tell Him anything - and they do.  He wants that closeness. He wants their hearts.

When we give our lives fully to Our Heavenly Father, it won't be an adjustment each time we come home to Him.  It will be natural.  Coming Home.......that's what God wants from His children.  All of them.

Satan's Darts

Have you ever had one of those days that nothing seemed to go right?  Did it ever continue into two days?  I'm sure you've all had bad days that never seemed to end.  Tuesday and Wednesday were days, for me, that everything seemed to go wrong.

I'm going to make a little timeline....not for you....but for my future reference.  Who would want to forget two days of bad?! Ha ha!

Tuesday morning:
Youngest son sick....stayed home from school.
I'm working on my ladies Bible class lesson about being compassionate.
About 10:00 a.m. I get a call that the tablecloths ordered for our Jr. Sr. banquet came in all wrong. Instead of 14 black rectangle cloths, we have 125 white rectangle cloths.  And the napkins that are supposed to be white are black.
I tell one of the sponsors not to worry.....use my motto of "no stress" - and assure her that I'll take care of the table issue. Start working on that and figure out that the 12 inch centerpieces I ordered, but hadn't even opened the box or looked at, were actually 25" wall hangings!
I get stressed!  I don't like to be stressed. I tell sick son that we have to drive to Hobby Lobby - about an hour away.  On the way, I call H.L. to see how many of these 12 inch centerpieces they have. They have 4. I call another on - about another hour away. They have 3. I call two others that are about 2 hours and 15 min. away, but where my daughter goes to school. Those stores have 3 and 4, and I would be seeing her the next day. The total 14 I need!
Win!  Yay!  But, they're all full price - $20 each - instead of 1/2 price like the box of huge ones were. And now I'll need to return the huge ones to get reimbursed for them.
While in the other towns, we go to Sam's Club and purchase black rectangle tablecloths that can be cut in half and used as table toppers.
Okay.....the day is almost over! I get back home and start working on my lesson again.

Wednesday morning:
I finish it and the outline at 1:00 a.m.  But guess what? The new software on my Apple laptop has a different saving system and the lesson didn't save!  It was now blank. I have my outline, but that isn't how I teach.  So, at 1:00 a.m., I go searching for something to teach.  And I have to wake up at 4:00 a.m. to get ready and go to a golf tournament.
I find a lesson about Attitudes.  I think God directed me to that - knowing I was going to need it!
I go to sleep at 2:30 A.M.  I hear my boys up about 3:30 a.m.   I wake up at 4:00 a.m. and get ready.
The golf tournament starts almost 30 minutes late, no big deal, but makes us later getting home.
My daughter, whose college is 10 or so miles from the golf course gets lost trying to get to the golf course because the GPS puts SOUTH in the address instead of NORTH.  Mine did that, too, but I got it changed. She didn't know that, though. I wait at the clubhouse for 30 minutes for her to get there.  Finally she does.  I'm getting sad that I've missed so much of the tournament.
We go to find our team - spread out over the course.  WE LOOK FOR 1 1/2 HOURS BEFORE FINDING THEM!  I am NOT kidding!  One and a half hours of driving a golf cart all over a 3 1/2 mile course!  Could NOT find them. Craziest thing ever!  Finally. Finally. Finally.  We found them. I was really almost in tears.
Not a minutes after we found them, a cheap black bead bracelet - with a Tiger paw print - I was wearing happened to catch on the mini pencil that is inserted in the golf score card section of the steering wheel in the golf cart. The bracelet broke in pieces sending beads and the paw all over the cart path! That was actually funny and helped lighten up the day!
We eat with my daughter. One of my boys rides home with me and the other is still with the team. We head home.
On the way home, I decide to call a party store that is about an hour from home and half-way between where I am at that time and my home.  About 6 weeks ago I ordered a LOT of stuff for a big alumni banquet we are having for my husband work - the children's home. We are celebrating its 90th year of existance.  Would you believe that the party store, after telling me they had to order that much, and it needed to be done way in advance, is now telling me that they were just planning to get it off the shelf?  That they had 9 in stock??  And I need more than 30 of everything?!!  They have none of the paperwork. They are positive they can have it when I need it by Monday, but they will have to call and get it. They wanted to know how much I needed, but I didn't have the information with me. It was at home. I just was hoping the box was in, and since I was going through - I could stop by and get it. But they have NONE of IT and no record of it. The manager vaguely remembers something about plates.  Oh boy!  I was nice, but obviously frustrated about the whole situation.  And still am.  They are supposed to be getting me 50 of everything, then I will buy what I need from that stock.

I got home at 6:20 and got to the church building at 6:45....made copies of the outlines for class....rearranged the classroom to how we need it for Wednesday night....and was wearing thin on my few hours of sleep.
Just wow.

The Attitude lesson went well and helped me. The songs we sang during the devotional time helped, too. Prayer helped.  I was beginning to just laugh at the two days I had had. And then, thinking about people who are undergoing serious health problems made me realize that my two bad days weren't all that bad.

On the way home I talked to my husband on the phone. He's been away for work related childcare meetings for a whole week. I said, "I think Satan's throwing darts at me!"  He said he thought Satan was just looking at me and laughing, thinking, "Look how busy she is and how that's all she's doing." Now, there may be some truth to that, but I still think he's throwing darts because if all of that had gone as planned, the busyness wasn't really that much.  It was the problems thrown in to the situations that made them bad.

Satan throws his darts, but I decided on the way home yesterday that Satan couldn't hurt me with his darts, just as long as I kept my Armor of God on. If I took it off, that was when I would be hurt by his evil deeds.  My Armor stayed strong!  Satan was defeated!  Praise the Lord! And today is a new day!

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Ephesians 6:10-18

Turn On the Power!

For years, I have purchased those yard light stakes, wanting something pretty that would give a little light in the flower beds.  Facing the hot summer sun and the extreme winds we have often in Southwest Oklahoma, most of the little lights didn't ever make it too long or put off much light at all.

Some time last year, towards the end of summer, I bought two more expensive light stakes.  I remember my son's quote when I bought them: "Mom, you buy those things all the time, but they never work." He's right.  They never had.  But these seemed better. They were a little more expensive, which is why I only got two of them.

We didn't put them out for a long time.  They just sat somewhere, waiting to be used.  Finally, I had my oldest son stick them in the front flower bed.  They were solar powered, but sadly, they didn't work.  I kept thinking that maybe he had done something wrong, but he assured me he hadn't.

A few weeks ago, I was at Walmart and saw some of those lights.  I noticed a coating over the sensor, so thought maybe that was the problem - he had left that coating on. When I got home I went to check the lights, but the coating was off.  However, I did notice something that neither of us realized the lights had on them: An ON/OFF switch!  Wow!  All of this time they weren't even on!   I couldn't wait to tease my son about this because it's usually me who doesn't notice simple things, not him!  Ha ha!

Would you believe that those lights have been working quite well ever since?  Imagine that!  They just needed to be turned on to be connected to their source of power!

This story reminds me of a Christian.

At first, when someoneone becomes a Christian, she is so excited!  (Initial purchase of lights)

"And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.  When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing." Acts 8:38-39

She may tell others about her new decision to walk with Jesus, but right after that initial excitement....nothing.  (Telling my son about the new lights. Leaving them sitting around for months.)

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." James 2:14-17 

Nothing about her life changes.  She continues to do what she's always done.  She isn't doing anything that the Lord prepared for her, in advance, to do. She isn't involved with her church family.  She might attend worship - if she feels like it or doesn't have anything better to do. Some times things get in the way. She doesn't have enough time to worship the Lord. (Lights just sitting in a pile with other stuff. Not being used.)

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

Then one day she realize that the on/off switch needs to be turned on (Flipping the switch and causing the light to work.) She realized that staying connected to Jesus and God is the only way to let her light shine!)

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." John 15:1-8

She began to read the Bible daily. She began to pray more often and more fervently. She began to get involved with her church family more - going to worship each and every time, going to Bible classes, helping teaching classes, visiting others, staying after worship to visit, asking others questions and getting to know about her new brothers and sisters in Christ.

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." Romans 8:5-11

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God." Romans 8:26-27

She began to feel connected, and because of that connection, she began to notice things in her life that needed to change.

"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:16-18, 22-25

Just as my little yard lights didn't work without being turned on so that it could connect with its power (the sun),  a person's life as a Christian can't work unless it's turned on and connected to the source of POWER.  God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit - that is the power a Christian must have in order to stay connected.  And only then did she realize that the connection to the power would cause her to grow in her Christian walk.

Does YOUR switch need flipped on?

Ifs and Promises

Last month our song leader did something really neat at the beginning of each worship service. He would read a scripture that had an "IF" clause.  Each of the scriptures had a promise of God, but the catch was the "IF" clause.  In other words, we had to carry out our end of the deal in order to claim that particular promise of God.

Here are just a few scriptures that have these clauses in them. Below the passage  I will break it down and over emphasize the IF (clause/condition) that is our responsibility and the WILL (promise) that is God's promise to His children.  However, you will notice that not all of the promises are positive. Some are negative.  But they are only negative if we are negative in our Christian walk.  God's promises have conditions.  Those conditions are determined by how we live our lives.  Scripture verifies that fact over and over.  

But God's promises are abundant on the positive side! He wants to pour out His blessings upon His children - and He does!  He wants to see us learn by our mistakes and follow more closely to Him! He wants us to put our complete and total trust and faith in Him.  

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all^[ sin.

⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 1 John 5-10

IFS AND PROMISES

THE IF CLAUSE:  If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness

GOD'S PROMISE:  we lie and do not live out the truth.

THE IF CLAUSE: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light

GOD'S PROMISE - we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all^[ sin.

THE IF CLAUSE: If we claim to be without sin

GOD'S PROMISE: we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

^{THE IF CLAUSE: If} we confess our sins

GOD'S PROMISE: he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 

THE IF CLAUSE: If we claim we have not sinned

GOD'S PROMISE: we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

And let's finish this thought with another great "If and Promise":

 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But IF anybody does sin, WE HAVE an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 

1 John 2:1-2