Writings by Abby

New Revelation

2011-12-01T22:58:00.000-06:00

As most people know, I’m not a fan of the whole “Santa” thing at Christmas, and definitely have my own reasons for this. I mean when you think about it...you tell your child that Santa and the Easter Bunny are real, and that Christ is real too. But as they get older we tell them that Santa isn't real, Mom and Dad we're just having fun, and we tell them that there is no Easter Bunny who leaves chocolate filled eggs on the porch or a huge basket of toys and candy. But we still expect them to believe that Christ is real, that He really did come and die for them so they could be with Him. It just doesn't make sense. Anyways, a recent conversation with a co-worker has added a couple more “ideas” as to why I don't want to teach my future kids that Santa is real.

First of all, when you think about it, we've basically added Godlike attributes and characteristics to Santa. For example; We say that Santa “sees you when you're sleeping, He knows when you're awake, He knows if you've been bad or good” to me that's pretty much like saying he's omniscient (all knowing) and/or omnipresent (all present)...I mean, how else would he know if you're sleeping or not, or if you've been bad unless he has the ability to be everywhere at once and to know everything??

The second reason is that we tell our kids that it's wrong to lie, but yet we lie to them by telling them these characters are real...true they were based off of real people, and beliefs that other cultures had...but they never existed as what we have created them to be. Think about how it would feel to have told your kids over and over again not to lie, and them even getting in trouble for lying to you, and then explain to them that what you have told them for the past several years about Santa and the Easter Bunny isn't true, only to have them look you in the eyes and say “So you've been lying to me?” that kind of defeats the lesson of not lying. I mean, kids will do just about what ever Mom and Dad do, so in their minds it's justifying lying to them.

Anyhow, just my thoughts on a somewhat new revelation to me. Believe me, the last thing I want to do is to tell you how to think or to raise your kids, so I hope you don't take it as that. I'm just throwing the ideas out there. What you do and believe is up to you.

Cutting To the Core: Guys

2011-10-28T20:24:00.001-05:00

Ok...it's about to get a little bit personal here. As girls/women probably the biggest lies we will ever believe (next to the ones about ourselves) are the lies about guys. The biggest one of those being the lie that “I need a boyfriend to be happy.” the thought about wanting a boyfriend isn't bad at all, in fact it is perfectly natural. God created us with the desire to find “the one.” But where it becomes dangerous is when it becomes a NEED, an OBCESSION almost. It becomes dangerous when we let that desire consume us, when we let it control our every thought. It can become so easy to believe this lie, especially in today's society where books and media propose the idea that “you are no one unless you have a boyfriend,” and it's even harder when your friends all have boyfriends.But if we choose to believe the lie "I have to have a boyfriend to be happy" we will most likely end up believing the lie "I have to have a husband to be happy." Be careful what you allow your self to believe. What I desperately want you to know is that when it is time, God will bring the guy who fits you and is good for you. Remember it is all in God’s timing so don’t chase after guys or “fling” yourself at them. Trust that God will provide. We are told three (3) times in Song of Solomon “not to AWAKEN love until it so desires.” The first time is in chapter 2 verse 7;

“His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me. Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” (2:6-7)

The second time is in chapter 3 verse 5;

“Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go till I had brought him to my mother’s house, to the room of the one who conceived me. Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” (3:4-5)

And one last time in chapter 8 verse 4;

“His left arm is under my head and his right arm embraces me. Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” (8:3-4)

The Bible also tells us that this time of singleness in our lives is a gift and is to be enjoyed as such, it is a time where we can just focus on building our relationship with Christ. 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 says
“I want you to live as free of complications as possible. When you're unmarried, you're free to concentrate on simply pleasing the Master. Marriage involves you in all the nuts and bolts of domestic life and in wanting to please your spouse, leading to so many more demands on your attention. The time and energy that married people spend on caring for and nurturing each other, the unmarried can spend in becoming whole and holy instruments of God. I'm trying to be helpful and make it as easy as possible for you, not make things harder. All I want is for you to be able to develop a way of life in which you can spend plenty of time together with the Master without a lot of distractions.” [Message]
One thing you can do to help with the loneliness of the dateless life is to make a list of the qualities you wish to see in your FUTURE HUSBAND (not boyfriend). Here's an example:

"The Qualities I most Desire In My Future Husband"
1) He is a strong Chrisian man who love's God with his whole being
2) He respects my decision of purity until marriage
3) He supports the dream and vision God has given me
4) He has a good relationship with my parents (especially my dad)
5) He shares my same passions and desires
6) He's not affraid to dream big and then go for it.

Set your standards high and stick to them...even if everyone around you says that guy is impossible to find. Remember though, that we are all a work in progress (this includes guys), so he might not meet your list exactly at first, but don't settle for less that the “essentials” on your list.

The other lie we tend to believe about guys is that “It is OK to go out with a non-Christian.” Let's clear this one up right here. It is NOT! Dating is not a ministry tool to be used to bring the guy to Christ. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 that marrying or even dating an unbeliever is sin. “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” [Message]

Now before you jump to any conclusions, it is ok to be FRIENDS with unbelievers, but dating them is not wise. Before you even consider dating someone you should ask yourself the question: “Could I marry this guy?” Dating is a time to be spent preparing for marriage, it's time that a couple spends getting to know one another, getting to know each other's hearts in order to determine if they could possibly enter into marriage. If the answer to that question is no, then you should end the relationship with as little pain as possible. There are only two possible outcomes of dating a non-Christian (1) You will be a good influence on him, (only on rare occasions does the relationship turn out like this), or (2) He will be a bad influence on you. (this is what happens 99% of the time).
The final lie that is most often believed is that “I can’t handle the loneliness of staying pure.” In today's society it can seem like everywhere you turn more and more girls your age are giving themselves over to sexual peer pressure, and the media promotes it as the “in” thing. Once you've made the commitment to staying pure you can begin to feel like you are alone in this, but the truth is that you are not alone, girls everywhere, older and younger alike, struggle with staying pure. Don’t let guys talk you into doing things that go against God’s values. Purity is the best way to live life. Remember that list we mentioned earlier? Refer to it often throughout the relationship. Saving yourself for a godly marriage is a beautiful thing, and a godly man will show honor and respect to you for remaining pure for your marriage. Genesis 2:23 tells us that God created sex specifically for marriage, to make the relationship between man and woman even sweeter. But even in godly dating relationships, it can be hard to stay pure and to control human desires. And keep Jesus as the center focus of your relationship because He alone is the most important thing in your life and in your relationship. This is easily done by:

1)Keeping Jesus in your date night conversations.

2)Praying together during the time you spend together.

3)Hanging out out in public places like the movies, the mall, restaurants, and parks (only during daylight hours).

4)Hanging out with a group of friends.

5)Creating an accountability group among your female friends to keep each other accountable (in line).

Remember that the lies we CHOOSE to believe about guys are some of the most powerful lies...but don't neglect the tool you have been given to combat these lies (you Bible).

Romantically Redeemed

2011-10-03T22:26:00.000-05:00

Redemption

The act or process of redeeming, the state of being redeemed.

So I've been reading this book called “Redeeming Love,” it's a romance novel by Francine Rivers. I'm personally not a big fan of romance novels, but this one caught my attention...,mostly because it's based on the book of Hosea. It's a book about this girl, Angel, whom at a very young age is sold into prostitution. She grows up knowing no other way of life, til one day, after being nearly beaten to death a man (who heard God tell him he was to marry her, and whom she has only talked to a few times) comes to her rescue and buys her way out of the brothel and takes her to live with him as his wife on his farm.

Quite often through out this book I find myself frustrated with Angel and her “wishy washy” self. I get so excited because I think “YES! Finally she's got it! Michael doesn't care about her past....he loves her for who she is now, and who she can be!” and then she'll go back into a state of unworthiness and telling Michael that he shouldn't love her, that based on her past, based on the girl she had been, that she isn't worthy of love, and that she should never have been born. And it drives me crazy, it makes me want to get in the book and grab her myself and shake her till she realizes that none of that matters anymore. She has been not just forgiven...but she has been redeemed...her past no longer matters! After having gone after her when she left him twice, the third time Michael tells God that he is not going to force her to come back to him, she will have to choose to do so on her own. Michael waits patiently for Angel to return home, even though he is told by people that he should just give up on her, that she has most likely gone back to her old ways, and that she never really did love him. But after three long years of waiting Angel finally returns home to him...a changed woman. I love the ending to the book, I guess partially because the scene is similar to that in the ending of Pride and Prejudice. During the 2+ day journey back home to Michael, Angel wrestles with the many feeling inside her. She is overwhelming at the fact that Michael has waited all this time for her to return to him...and is excited about seeing him, but she also fears that he will be angry with her, and that this time he wont forgive her. As she crosses the field to where he is working she slowly begins to strip herself of what defines her, first her shawl, and then her shirtwaist, till finally she removes her corset and pantalets and ending it with removing the pins in her hair...stripping away every layer of pride, she appears before Michael humble, ashamed, and naked. Realizing the pain she has caused him, she falls to the ground before him weeping, asking for his forgiveness yet again. To her surprise Michael reaches down and draws her up to him, he looks with tear filled eyes into her's and calls her by her special name, the name he calls only during their most intimate times, “Tirzah."

The love expressed in this book is almost overwhelming to me as it not only reminds me of the love I hope to one day find in a husband, but it reminds me of the love that Jesus Christ has for all of us. A redemptive love, a love that says “I don't care who you were before you knew me” its a love that says “It doesn’t matter what you've done I just love you for who you are now and who you will become.” It just amazes me how, even though God knew every mistake we would make (and will make), every time we would turn our back on Him, He chose to redeem us from the curse we were living in, He chose to bring us into his home and to be one with us despite the fact that we were not pure. But through Him we have been cleansed and made new. He has taken us from our fallen state, washed us, and clothed us in His finest linens. And you know the best part? He did this knowing we would turn our backs on Him again, knowing we would leave Him, believing it was what was best. And He still stands there, waiting for the day we return to Him again, and in our state of brokenness before Him, He forgives us, and calls us His Beloved.

Vulnerability is Key

2011-09-05T23:55:00.000-05:00

I never wanted you

to see me cry
I never wanted you
to see weakness in my eyes.
I never wanted you
to see me broken,
to see me hurt.
For you I wanted
to be brave
to be strong,
For you I wanted
to be perfect.
I wanted you
to only see me brave
I wanted you
to only think of me as strong.
I wanted you
to always think of me,
to see me as perfect.

-------------------------
Vulnerability is something that we have been taught to think of as a bad thing. We've been taught to never let anyone see our weakness. The world tells us that the person who becomes vulnerable is the person who's weak, the world says that the hero never cries, never shows pain...that the one who's strong is the one that never shows himself to be vulnerable or in need of another person. But let me tell you this; the person who is truly strong is the one who can admit to being wrong, the person who is truly brave is the one who isn't afraid to let a few tears fall. vulnerability is essential in any relationship, whether it's our relationship with God, with our friends, our family, our boyfriend or girlfriend. Because it's when we are comfortable enough to let our guard down, even just a little, that our relationships are strengthened and tightened. When a person can open up and become vulnerable with another person or group of people, that is when true strength, true bravery, is seen. It's something I believe most of us need to remember, especially myself.

Beyond the Surface

2011-05-13T23:27:00.000-05:00

Last week I got the opportunity to travel to Phil Campbell with our church to help out with the disaster relief efforts after a tornado had ripped through the town and surrounding area’s leaving nothing but destruction behind it on April 27th 2011. One of the things I recall very clear in my mind is that driving into Phil Campbell it looked like nothing more than a big wind storm had hit the place, there were a few trees uprooted and laying in yards, but there was minimal damage. It wasn’t till we got further in, into the heart of Phil Campbell that the true nature of the problem became apparent. It was like there was a magic dividing line, and once it was crossed, we soon realized that what we saw coming in was nothing compared to what lied within. The place was practically flattened, the trees that did stand were nothing more than twigs in the air, they had been stripped of everything that had once made them beautiful, their leaves and their branches were gone. The roofs of buildings had collapsed, walls had caved in, and the places had been deemed unsafe. People had to resort to living in tents and hand made shelters. There was no running water, and no electricity to be found. Even our own building had been destroyed.

Some of the destruction.

Our South Campus...or what was left of it.

It kind of reminds me of how we, as people can be. Just like the minimal damage on the outskirts of Phil Campbell hid the devastation that lay within, we only allow people to see what is on the outside, we fake smiles and laughs to mask the pain that lies beneath. Our conversations consist of “Hey, how are you?” “Oh, I’m pretty good. How are you?” “I’m pretty good as well” and then we part ways, never bothering to go deeper then just the outside appearance, never bothering to see the hurt that people hold within. And in reality, most people want you to dig past the surface; they want you to take the mask off their face. They want to express to you how they really feel. Maybe we don’t take time to find out because we’re always in a hurry. Or maybe it’s because we’re afraid that if we stay around any longer we will have to become vulnerable to that person. But how can we expect to help a hurting world when we can even manage to dig a little past the cliché conversations with our friends and become vulnerable with each other? I don’t mean to spill your guts to some random person, but maybe be willing to listen to them a little longer than 10 seconds at a time.

This wasn’t the direction I had intended for this post to go, but apparently God had a something different in mind. I hope you got something out of this, I know that even though I was the one writing it, I learned from it…hahaha.

Blessings

The Heart of the Matter

2011-05-01T00:58:00.001-05:00

So, I had been thinking on this topic for a while, but due to all the other happenings in life it got pushed to the back of my mind. And a recent conversation with a friend of mine has once again brought it to the forefront of my mind, so that’s what I have decided to write about this time.

As girls we’ve all felt that desire to be kissed, and have maybe even dreamt about what it would be like to kiss our future husband, the guy we like, our boyfriend…etc. We dream about what our first kiss will be like, who it will be with, and that sort of stuff, I mean, we see it in so many moves (romantic ones or not), and the girl is always swept off her feet by “prince charming” somehow, whether it’s literal or figuratively. But that’s what we’ve been exposed to, so why wouldn’t we think about those things? But even though our hearts and minds wonder to that topic quite a bit most of us…if we were truly honest with each other and ourselves would admit that we are afraid that we will never get the chance to experience that. And with the way most people view relationships today, how they think they can just be dropped any moment and just move right on and go into the next relationship without thinking twice, it’s no wonder girls (even though this is for girls, guys are included somewhat too, because there can be some pretty cold, heartless girls out there too) are afraid to fall for someone. Now I’m not saying run out and fall for the first guy that promises to be there for you all the time, the first guy that makes you feel like a princess…because words and feelings will only last for so long, and then you are left with what is inside the heart. And that could either be a good thing or not. The Bible reminds us in Jeremiah 17:9 that

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?”

We’ve always been taught to follow your heart, I mean the big message that Disney puts out is a dream is a wish your heart makes, follow you dreams, follow your heart…” and so on. But that is obviously not what God tells us. Though I’m not saying it’s an easy thing, after all the heart is deceitful…it’s the king of tricks, the master of, well heart games. But most people fail to read the next part (Jeremiah 17:10) which says:

“But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
according to what their actions deserve.”

There might not be any human on earth that can truly understand the ways of the heart, but there is one who does know the heart. Who else should know the way the heart works than the Lord God, the one who created you, formed you, and made you in His image?

I know this is a short blog, but I want to remind you that these are just my thoughts on the subject, and I encourage you to do some digging for yourself. I hope I’ve left you with something to think about and to consider.

~Blessings.

Gotta Reach for Something

2011-03-26T20:35:00.001-05:00

"Here goes nothing,
Here goes everything,
Gotta reach for something
Or you’ll fall for anything”

These words seem to just keep echoing through my head as I think about what I believe. Not just “well I’m a Christian, I believe Christ died to save me from my sins.” I mean, who am I? What do I really, truly believe? Because in this world we live in we are so often defined by what we believe. In this world people are defined by their life style, and I have to wonder, when people look at me do they see just another teenager whose caught up in the craziness of this life? Or do they see someone who is passionate about the God that she serves? I especially like the line “gotta reach for something or you’ll fall for anything” because without a firm foundation we can easily be swayed from one thing to the next, from belief to belief, from idea to idea. If we don’t reach for any one idea, and take a firm hold of it, we will latch onto what ever new idea or thought comes by us…and not all of them will be good, but some might be.
It’s kind of like being “double minded,” trying to live two lives because we are driven by our emotions, by how we feel. The Bible says in James 1:8 that “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” I mean, how easy is it to say, “oh, I don’t feel like doing that”? I’m not trying to get down on anyone, because I know for a fact that we have all slipped and made that choice to listen to what our feelings tell us, or based a choice off of what our emotions told us at that time. I mean, if anyone should know about that, it should be me, after all I am a girl, and girls typically are known for being very emotional…haha. Not that I am proud of that or anything. But as Christians we can’t afford to be double minded, we can’t afford to be indecisive, we are to be firmly planted in what we believe, so that when the world looks at us we reflect the image of Christ. And one thing I know for sure, Christ is not indecisive, He isn’t swayed by emotions. So we need to make sure that we have a solid foundation, and that we don't base our actions on what we feel, but rather what we know and what we believe.
Well I didn't mean to get all "preachy" on you, but that's just what I felt God had lain on my heart, and that it needed to be shared. I hope I got my point across clearly, and that this makes you stop and think.

Set Apart in A Status Quo World

2011-03-01T09:53:00.002-06:00

It's a beautiful Alabama morning, and the first day of a new month. And being that it's the begining of a new month, I decided that there's no better way to begin this month than with the Word of God. So here we go.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. (2) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (3) For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. (4) Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, (5) so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (6) We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying let him use it in proportion to his faith. (7)If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; (8) if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”- Romans 12:1-8.
If God calls us to be living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to Him (Romans 12:1), then shouldn’t what we wear, what we speak, and the way we choose to live out our lives on a daily basis be based on the question “how does this glorify Him”? Because everything we do can be considered to be an act of worship. So here’s the big question, is the way you live your life holy and pleasing to God? When we chose to invite Christ to come dwell within us we were called to consecrate our selves, to set ourselves apart. To often we say “Here God, you can have this part of me, but you can’t have this, you can’t have my relationship with my boyfriend/girlfriend, I like this music, I know it’s not pleasing to you, but I like it, you can’t have it.” And we try to tell God what parts of us, what parts of our lives, He is allowed to be apart of, and we try to set boundaries for Him. But the reality is that God can’t be kept inside of a box. Wake up people, the reality is this, the life we do have, we only have because God has allowed us to live another day, another hour, another second, so why shouldn’t we give everything we are to the one who is life, the one who gave us life? I love the way the message reads, it states it like this: “So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” We are to be set apart for Him, and for His purpose, and the change that happens will be a change from the inside out. We must first change the way we think before we can change how we act or what we say.
To do this, we must make the concise choice to take the road less traveled, to make decisions that my cause us to be rejected by our peers. 1 Peter 2:4-6 tells us that with the choice to follow Christ comes rejection, “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him.” We are told that in this life we will experience the feeling of rejection, but it doesn’t end there, in fact it can only get better because we were chosen by Him. When the world discarded us, the King of kings chose us to be His very own, and not just that, He calls us His, we are precious to Him. It continues in verse five by saying “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house [a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (6) For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame” (NIV). As Christians God is shaping us for His purpose, and that purpose is to be a holy priesthood. He has called us to be in this world, but not of it. Yes, there is a difference, to be OF the world is to act the same way the world does, to talk the way they talk. To be IN the world is just to simply live amongst the people, not necessarily doing as they do, or talking as they talk. The people of the world should be able to look at our lives from a distance and say “hey, there’s something different about him, he’s not like the other Christians.” According to this verse we are not only chosen by Him, but we are “a precious cornerstone.” Something that is precious is something that is cherished or valued, it is something that is of a high cost or worth. Am I the only one who thinks that this is incredibly amazing? It continues to blow me away every time I read this verse and I still find it hard sometimes to believe that the King of kings finds us to be of such great worth that He sent His son to die for us. But He did, and I am so thankful for that!

Short Story

2011-02-20T19:36:00.000-06:00

Sheyla Gardens is sitting quietly near a meandering river sipping some tea her mother had made for her. She is a young girl of no more than 14, she wears a long, beautiful, flowing dress which lightly outlines her figure. Sheyla has lovely brown hair, which is tied up neatly underneath her shade hat. Her almond shaped eyes are a luscious brown. Though Sheyla prefers jeans and t-shirts to long dresses, her parents are high-class political figures and on occasion she must put up with wearing the fancy dresses, ball room shoes, a face absolutely coated in makeup….almost to the point where you no longer the true beauty that lies beneath. Might I add that the long, drawn out speeches they must attend are utterly boring at best. As Sheyla sits there she thinks back to simpler times as a little one, times when she could run and play as she pleased. Never a dress or skirt needed to be worn, a time when raggedy old shorts and hole torn shirts were an acceptable thing for her to wear. Times when she did not have to attend such drab gatherings, but rather a babysitter was called to watch her. When she could happily play with her best friend in the pastures till sunset. Things had changed so much sense then, since her parents had struck an oil well on their farm eight years ago. She and Kavon rarely saw each other much anymore, for now her life consists of being a picture perfect child, something that could ruin her parents career if anyone ever saw her with the poor farm boy, they mostly kept in touch through letters and phone calls, though there was the occasional secret rendesvous it there was never enough time to make up for all the time in between.
She glanced down at her long flowing dress and admired the smooth material for a moment, and thought to herself about how shocked Kavon would be to see her in a dress. Then she looked around at the flowing river and the trees. Taking a sip of her tea she sighed to herself, and thought about how Kavan would have loved to be there, and how she had no doubt that they would have waded through the water and clibed the big strong oak that was across the river...wether she was wearing a dress or not. "Oh how I miss Kavon" she sighed to herself again as she got up from the grass and began to head back towards the house.

Lust and Love

2011-02-15T21:17:00.000-06:00

He meanders down a dimly lit road; his dark hood pulled over his head so that no one knows for certain who he is. He keeps his head tucked low, so those who pass by don’t recognize his face. With his hands tucked deeply into the pockets of his jeans, he’s got every bit the look of a shady, sly, deceitful character. He continues down this road a ways, and stops briefly for a moment, just before rounding the corner onto a well lit, highly traveled path. He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a mask; quickly he places it over his dark, twisted face, making sure it’s secured before continuing. He is a master of disguise, and deceit is his favorite game. The name he goes by is one of shame, and humiliation, his name is Lust.

Having rounded the corner, his head comes up, and his face is no longer being hidden from view. He smiles at people as they walk by. He removes his dark hood to reveal a beauty no one ever thought possible. He chuckles a silent evil laugh to himself as those around him are fooled by what they see. You see my friend, not only does Lust love this game of masquerade he plays, but he has a favorite character. He enjoys nothing more then masquerading as the one called Love. To him there is no greater thrill than to have you held captive to him and then, just when your hopes are high, reveal his true self to you, and watch you crumble. But I have good news; there is one whose mission is to remove his mask forever, so that all will know who he really is. This one who will be the hero is called the Holy Spirit, but he cannot do so on his own, and he knows that. He brings a long one with him, the only one who can help undo what Lust has done, and his name is Love, yes, the very one that Lust mimics is the one who will help to open your eyes.

Holy Spirit and Love canvas the area in which Lust is known for dwelling, they seek him out, search high and low for any sign of where he’s been. And soon it becomes evident that though his trail is easy to follow, the mess he has made is not easy to undo, he has taken the lives of the innocent and he has broken them, built them up in order to tear them down. The air is thick with his promise of love, and the lies he has left behind him. The fear of trust is not easy to overcome; yet slowly but surely they begin to rebuild the wreckage left behind. And those who were hurt begin to take a stand, and join the crusade to reveal the true identity and nature of the one called Lust.

LOVE

2010-11-11T22:35:00.007-06:00

I have this thing about writing what ever it is that is on my heart at the moment, and this one is no different. So gentlemen, consider yourselves warned, this one is for the ladies…not that you can’t read it, it’s just geared more towards the females, who knows, you might learn something!
I don’t know why I am writing about love, I guess it’s just something that has been on my mind lately, and I don’t have an answer as to why that is. It seems that as girls we are programmed practically from birth to start thinking about that day when we find “our other half,” the person we were created to spend forever with, I mean, what girl doesn’t fanaticize about how she will meet her “knight in shining armor”? Go ahead, admit it, we’ve all done it, we’ve all dreamt of how our wedding will play out, what our wedding shower will look like, it just seems to be innate in every girl, something guys will never understand. Let’s face it, love is a confusing thing for everyone….even us ladies. It’s been said that falling in love is not finding the perfect person, but it is learning to love an imperfect person. And this is true, because no one is perfect, not even “prince charming.”
I guess this topic has been on my mind a lot lately because I have recently come to the realization that I am now, by law, considered to be an adult. Well I’ve known that, but it just hit home a few days ago for some reason. I have realized that the day that we all dream of is no longer impossible for me, that if I were to fall in love with someone, and we decided we wanted to get married, there really is no stopping us. And that thought, to be quite honest, is a bit overwhelming, in fact, I’ll go ahead and admit that it almost literally scares the crap out of me, because I still feel so much like a child. The thought of growing up and having the responsibilities that come with that in general scares me. I suppose you could call me somewhat of a hopeless romantic, but hey, I don’t care, because that is who I am, that is who God created me to be.

But, as there is with all things, love can have its downsides, it has its own “dark side” to it. Think back to when we were little, remember how many “crushes” you had? Well they were just that…CRUSHES. You would “fall in love” with a certain boy one day, only to find out the next day, that he liked this other girl, or maybe he would say something mean, something that made you cry, and you would be crushed. Well that’s the downside to love. Now I am not saying that love is a bad thing…that is not at all what my point is! I’m just attempting to enlighten you somewhat on the subject.
Now we’ve all seen those romantic movies, where a girl falls in love with this guy, and vice versa, and everything plays out so smoothly, so perfect, and the happy couple lives happily ever after, then we think to ourselves, “if only loving someone was truly like that, then life would be perfect.” Well friend, we all know reality doesn’t play out that way, relationships with people in general have their ups and downs, their good days and their bad. The best book I have read so far on the topic of dating, and relationships in general would have to be “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” by Joshua Harris. Where he talks about the pit falls of dating in general, and about looking at the idea of dating from the viewpoint of commitment, backed up with the purpose of the relationship ending in marriage. I love the verse he uses, it’s found in 1 Corinthians 7:32 and says: “I want you to live as free of complications as possible. When your unmarried, you’re free to concentrate on simply pleasing the Master. Marriage involves you in all the nuts and bolts of domestic life, and in wanting to please your spouse, leading to so many more demands on your attention. The time and energy married people spend on caring for and nurturing each other, the unmarried can spend in becoming….holy instruments of God.”

What I really want to write about hinges off of this verse that was just mentioned. First off it says “I want you to live as free of complications as possible,” well that makes sense, if our lives are full of complicated things, then there is no way we can possibly focus on God, and on His plan for us. It seems like it’s pretty easy for our lives to become complicated, especially in the area of relationships. But God wants us to live free of complications so that we may better focus our attention on Him, and if our relationship with out boyfriend or our girlfriend is hindering that, then we need to re-evaluate our reason for being in that relationship. Because what is of God will not take away from our relationship with Him. One of the things that society today tries to cram down our throats from a very young age is the “need” to have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. But by looking at this scripture, we can see that this idea is contradictory to God’s word. “When you are unmarried, you’re free to concentrate on simply pleasing the Master.” The world presents singleness to be almost somewhat of a disease, but we see through the Bible that singleness is a gift from God. It allows us the freedom we need to focus on Him, and what it is that He would have us doing in order to better serve Him while we are hear on the earth. We all long for that security that comes with having that boyfriend or that girlfriend, but the truth is, unless we are at that stage in life where we are ready for the commitment of marriage, there really is no point in pursuing a relationship, knowing it will eventually end, and possibly in heartache. By jumping from relationship to relationship before you are ready for the commitment that comes with marriage, you ever so slowly begin to give your heart away, piece by piece, bit by bit, until there is very little left. And no one wants to stand at the altar on his or her wedding day, and have but a fraction of your heart left to give to his or her spouse…even guys will admit to that. God’s gift of singleness is just that, a gift, and during that season in your life God will grant you the grace you need to walk through that time. Am I saying that it will be an easy thing to do? Well if I was, I would be lying to you! I know how hard it can be to see the people around you, your friends, having that relationship you so desire to have. Sometimes it can be especially hard for me because, not only do I have friends that are my age, but I also have friends who are also married, and many of the ones that are married also have children. I know that I am to young, at least in my book, for marriage, and far to young to be having kids, but that doesn’t mean that those desires aren’t there.
The point I just made are again stated in the next few sentences of 1 Corinthians 7:32, “Marriage involves you in all the nuts and bolts of domestic life, and in wanting to please your spouse, leading to so many more demands on your attention. The time and energy married people spend on caring for and nurturing each other, the unmarried can spend in becoming….holy instruments of God.” The time we have now, as single, unmarried people we can use to better serve God, to become His holy instruments. So be thankful for the time you have now, and use it to build strong, lasting friendships, and to build a strong intimate relationship with the Father Himself. And when the time is right, rest assured that God will bring that special someone into your life.

Thoughts on Christmas

2010-10-13T21:36:00.005-05:00

So I was talking about this topic with a close friend recently, and I've been thinking about it since then. What is the first thing you think of when you hear Christmas mentioned? I bet you thought of snow didn't you? Or of Santa Clause, and reigndeer? And that is typically what we all will think of, because that is what we have been taught. Most of us can recall our parents telling us that if we were good kids that on Christmas Eve Santa would climb down the chimney, and deliver toys and presents to us. Then he would climb back up the chimney, get into his slay that was pulled by flying reigndeer, and take off to the next house...delivering all the toys before Christmas morning. Now I don't know about you, but I always wondered how it was that a man as fat as Santa could squeeze into such a small space. But that is not my point here. The idea behind this blog is to get you thinking, and I hope I succeed.
You see, we have a great problem here, we teach our kids almost from the day they're born, all about the story of Santa Clause. We build him up to be this great and glorious man, when he is just a man; in fact, he's not even alive anymore. Yes, there was a man who was called Saint Nicholas...FACT! Yes, he did believe in giving to people, especially those who were in need...FACT! But truth supercedes fact. And the truth is that all though he did exist, we, in our human nature, have blown the story way out of proportion! The truth is that we all face that day when our kids grow up, and become "to old" for the Santa story. That time when we have to sit them down, and look into their hope-filled eyes and tell them that everything we have told them about Santa isn't true, that there really is no Santa Clause. No fat man in a red suit delivering presents to all the boys and girls. And then we watch as confusion comes over their face as we attempt to explain to them the true meaning of Christmas. Oh! Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas just as much as the next person, but we should love it for what it is and not for the "fluff" that the world makes it out to be.
Christmas is a time that we set aside to celebrate the birth of Christ, though most of us know He wasn't actually born on Christmas Eve. Sure, there's nothing wrong with setting up the Christmas tree, and decorating it, but instead of using that time to tell our kids about Santa, why not use that time to explain to them the birth of Christ? You say, "But my 2 year old doesn't understand that though." Oh, I would beg to differ, they seem to understand the Santa garbage just fine, and you don't have to go into grave detail. Just have a simple conversation with them. I personally believe that one of the reasons Youth Pastors and Children’s Pastors have such a hard time getting our kids to believe the story of the Virgin Birth, and the life of Jesus, all that He did while on earth, and all that He will do, is because from a very young age we fill the kids heads with garbage, with nothing but trash. And then as they get older we look at them and tell them, "Oh, Santa Clause doesn't really exist," "yeah, there's no such thing as the Easter Bunny," "but Jesus Christ, yes, He is real. He really did come to save us." How are they to know what to believe if everything else they have been told is false? Personally, I do not plan on teaching my kids anything but the truth from the absolute very beginning, no "fluff." Because I believe that it is important for them to know and understand the truth of Christmas, like I said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with joking about Santa, just as long as the child knows it's just a joke. Yes, I know, my thoughts probably seem crazy and out there, so what? Call me a scrooge if you would like to, but that doesn't change what I believe.
I hope this got you to thinking about what you are teaching/have taught/will teaching your kids, and even possibly your grandkids.

Worship

2010-01-25T21:04:00.001-06:00

Romans 12:1-2 “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable, or well pleasing and perfect.”

Worship is a way to honor God, to simply love on Him. And people worship God in different ways, to some people worship may be lifting of the hands, for some it may be doing a crazy dance. But either way, they’re bringing glory to God. There are people who are so totally overwhelmed by God, that His glory brings them to their knees, or even down on their face before Him, and yet at the same time worship for some people is just standing there quietly. Just because one person appears to just be standing there, while the other one is on their knees, doesn’t mean that neither of them aren’t worshiping God, they’re just worshiping Him differently.
Worship can be expressed through the arts, through music, through dance, through acting, through painting, and even through what we say and how we say it. In everything we do we can worship God, whether it be all out, hands raised worshiping, or it can be simply doing our very best for God, the Bible says that all we do should be done unto Him, for His glory (1Cor. 10:31), and by doing this we are offering worship to Him.
We were made by God, for God (Colossians 1:15-18), and God has created us to worship Him, (Isaiah 43:21 “This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.”). We were formed for the specific purpose of bringing glory to God, Isaiah 43:7 says “Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” Praise is the external form of worship. In Psalms we are told that His praise should constantly be on our lips, we are to worship Him with our voices. Psalms 34:1 says “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” We are to continually speak His praise throughout the day, even in those times when we don’t feel like doing it. Aside from praising God vocally we can also praise Him with instruments. Psalm 150:3-5 says to “Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet, Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals!”
Praise accomplishes several things; first off praise welcomes Gods presence. “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3). The Amplified says it this way, “But You are holy, O You Who dwell in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel [are offered].” God inhabits the praises of His people, praise draws God it, and it welcomes Him.
Secondly praise is obedience to God Himself; Psalm 150:6 says to “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” God created us to praise Him, if we keep quiet and do not praise Him, the very rocks and stones we walk upon will cry out and begin to praise Him (Luke 19:40 “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out”).
Praise and worship is a beautiful thing to God, He finds pleasure in it. In Psalm it says “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High” (Psalm 92:1). “Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful” (Psalm 135:3). It also transforms the worshiper. If we have truly worshiped God, we will not leave the same way we came in, something within us will have changed, we will be someone else, or we will think differently. We become like what we worship, and the more we worship God, the more we become like Him; “Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them” (Psalm 115:8).
The very essence of who God is, is worthy of our worship, “Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together” (Psalm 34:3). Psalm 48:1 puts it this way “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountains of His holiness.” Just His name is worthy of praise, and His holiness causes us to stand in awe before Him. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe” (Proverbs 8:10). Who is God? And why is He worthy of our worship? Glad you asked. First of all God is all-knowing, meaning He knows how everything works, He has the answer to every problem we face, and He knows every fact, and every detail. God knows all about us, He knew us even before we were formed in our mothers womb, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).
God is ever-present; He is every where at one time. He knows the past, He sees the present, and He has seen the future. God is not bound by time. He cannot be contained, or formed. In Psalm 139:7 the question is asked, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” The answer is no where, He is the source of all that is, He created everything, and He has always been, and always will be. “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’” (Acts 17:24-28).
God is much more than just all-knowing, and ever-present, He is powerful. He is the Lord God almighty, and is worthy of all our praise. There is nothing He cannot do; He healed the sick, made the blind to see, and the lame to walk. The mute to speak and He raised the dead. His character is flawless, there is none as perfect as He is. He is unchanging, and faithful, He is consistent, true to His Character. His love knows no boundaries, and He is wise. There are no other gods, Isaiah 45:22 says “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other.”

Lifting of the hands is an outward showing of praise, by raising our hands in worship to God we are expressing our love towards Him, we are receiving Him into us. The raising of hands is also a symbol of our surrender towards Him. In Nehemiah 8:6 “Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.” They raised their hands towards heaven as a way to express their love to the one who created them.
Shouting and the clapping of hands is used in worship to show victory and triumph, to let Satan know that we are victorious. It intimidates him. Psalm 47:1 instructs us to “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.” Psalm 66:1 says, “Make a joyful shout unto God, all you lands,” and in Psalm 95:1-2 the Bible again says, “Oh, come; let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.” The word “psalms” means “a song of praise accompanied by a musical instrument,” therefore we are again instructed to use both our voices and instruments to worship Him.

“O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker” (Psalm 95:6). Bowing or kneeling before God in worship expresses humility and submission to His authority. It also shows surrender to Him. Revelation 19:4 says that “The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne saying “Amen! Alleluia!”

Sources:

http://www.energizingword.org/Sermon%20Notes%202006/Worship/8%20%207-12-06%20AM%20The%20Body%20Language%20of%20Praise.pdf

The Bible

http://www.energizingword.org/Worship.html

What I've Learned

2009-09-27T13:50:00.000-05:00

I am proud to say,
I don’t need a guy to feel complete,
I am happy the way I am.
I have only one live,
I have only one love,
So I shall not waist it on those,
Who will mean little to me,
Once I have found my man
A wise person once told me this,
She said to me,
“Be careful not to give your heart away,
I’m telling you this because I know how you feel”
And she was right,
“I see how you care for him,
Just make sure it’s not a mistake,
Before you jump in.”
And you know what?
She was right,
I am glad I listened to the voice of wisdom!
So I urge you,
Do be careful,
Guard your heart,
Protect it,
Save something for “Mr. Right,”
So when he comes knocking at your door
You have something left for him!
I almost messed up,
I almost let my feelings get the best of me,
But I am proud to say,
I didn’t.

The Things I Love

2009-02-04T19:53:00.000-06:00

The loving tender care of my family,
The sloppy wet kisses from my dogs
These are the things I love.
The noise and the laughter of my
friends
The sound of rain gently falling onto the
aunning,
And the sound of crashing waves into the
beach,
These are the things I love.
The gentle hum from the wheels of my
skateboard
As it glides like an eagle over the
pavement, And the wind in my face,
These are the things I love.
The splashing of water as my friends and
I play in the pool
The cuddles at night from my faithful
puppies and good morning kisses too,
These are the things I love.