On my Heart and mind

Why does it seem so many people want to blame God when things don't go right, but yet when they do go right they won't give God any credit? It seems to me that these types of people believe that everything good in their life is because of their own hard work and they did it all on their own. But as soon as one thing goes wrong it is not because of something they did themselves it is because of God. I believe that God is all powerful and he can do anything. I don't think God causes bad things to happen but I do believe that he does let it happen. All things happen for a reason, both good and bad. We should always learn something from everything that happens in our lives. One thing that is hard to remember is that God's time is not our time. He knows what is best for us. Maybe we should think of what we consider unanswered prayers as answered prayers God's way. Not everything that we ask for is good for us or in God's plan for us. It seems like so many want to take God out of our lives and only seek him when we want something. We should seek him always.

One of my friends and her family are truly seeking God in everything they do. I have always admired my friend's devotion toward God. It is very obvious the she and her family truly love to serve the Lord. They are now beginning a new chapter in their life and walk with the Lord. They are going to become missionaries. I pray that whatever the Lord has in store for them in this new venture that he keeps them safe and that the love of the Lord will continue to shine through their lives.

I was talking with my sister the other day. I don't remember exactly how the conversation got on the topic of her oldest daughter and her doctor but it did. Anyway, apparently my niece's doctor began to talk to her about God. My niece got offensive. My sister said "You don't talk to Andrea about God". My sister then proceeded to tell me that she had heard the doctor talking to another patient about God. I told her that it is good that the doctor was talking about God to her patients. My sister's reply crushed me. She said "You can talk too much about God". I thought at that time "No you never can talk too much about God", but I did not say it. I should have and I know it. I am very concerned about my sister's salvation and her kid's salvation

Steal a Car to avoid Church?

I posted a link to a news article on my facebook account the other day about a young 7 year old boy who stole his father's car to avoid going to church. I noticed that the other day on the View they were discussing it, although I did not pay much attention. However I do remember one of the hosts saying something to the effect they should make church a half hour and provide good snacks wanting to go to church. I am all for making church fun for the kids to help with the learning process. The other thing about this story was that so far it has seemed that everyone has made it out to be a joke. I mean com one. The kid stole a car, drove the car, and involved the police in a car chase. He could have hurt if not killed someone. There is nothing funny about that. The article said the boy was too young to prosecute, why? He was old enough to steal the car; he should be old enough to be prosecuted. Maybe he should not be allowed to get a driver's license until he reaches the age of 21. Was he really trying to run from Church or God?

 

Just a Question: Was your Heart Truly In It?

I have a question for some of you. You say that you accept the Jesus Christ is your personal Savior that he died on the cross for the redemption of your sins and you have been baptized. But yet you don't want anyone talking to you about God. Nor do you talk to anyone about God. You want to say whatever you want to, even if you use the F word all the time. You don't care to go to Church and worship the Lord. In fact you don't worship the Lord at all. You say you don't care that having extra marital sex is wrong let alone a bad example for your children. My question to you is a simple one, but yet can be very profound. When you were baptized and accepted Christ were you just going through the motions, was it just for show, or did you really truly feel it in your heart? Remember God knows your heart now and always. God knows if you truly meant it and if you're truly belong to him. I truly do pray for you my dear sister, and niece. I pray that you turn your life back to Christ giving yourself completely over to him. For that will be the only time you will truly feel complete.

He Carries You Through

Remember as long as you call on the Lord and follow him, he will never leave you. Even when you feel you are at the darkest point in your life the Lord will be there, he will never leave you.

 

 

Footprints in the Sand

 

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?"

The Lord replied, "The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you."

Submitting to Our Husbands

I thought that I would go a bit deeper into what I was saying about wives obeying our husbands. Maybe Obeying was the wrong word to use, only because it can be misconstrued. We as wives are to SUBMIT Ourselves to OUR HUSBANS. God has a distinct purpose for woman, it is to be man's HELP MEET. In Genesis 2:18 it says "And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him." Help
Meet is simply one who helps, we are to HELP our husbands. In Ephesians 5:22 it says: "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord." If we look further into
Ephesians 5: 23-25 it says;"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;". Someone made a comment to be about my earlier post saying that she thought I was saying that women should just allow our husband to beat us. No I never said that, but I did not go into a lot of detail either. God tells man to Love your wives as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it. If a husband is abusive he is not living according to God's word. God does not expect us to accept abuse by our husbands, however I am not too sure God would want us to use divorce as an escape either. Rather maybe he would want us to seek outside help and protection. Clearly if your husband is abusing you there are some underlying issues that he may need help in resolving. Now I am not saying that you need to stay and accept the abuse, go get help. But continue to pray for your husband and for his salvation.

Hold to your Vows

In church our Pastor has been talking about relationships. The study is off of the Book Of Ruth. We have discussed how after Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chillion had died Naomi wanted Orpah and Ruth to go back to their country, people and gods. Orpah went back, but Ruth stayed with Naomi out of love and devotion to her. It has made me think of people that I have known in my life that have married only to leave the marriage. Granted some left for Biblically based reasons, others left their marriage just because they fell out of love. I know of a couple that has been married for a long time now, and I am sure they have gone through many trials but they have stayed together. That is until now. I have heard that they are divorcing, when I asked the lady why and what happened she told me it was because her husband had a problem with his prescription pain medicine. Now I know she wants it to work out, because she has told me that. My concern is why even talk of divorce then. When we take our wedding vows we say for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in SICKNESS and in health as long as WE BOTH shall LIVE. We need to take those vows seriously and stick through even the hard times. If we don't we might just miss out on the Most Exciting and reward time of our lives here on Earth. My marriage has not been perfect by any means. Jeff and I have been separated before. However, I stood strong and prayed to God that he would save my marriage and bring Jeff and I back together. We have been married now for 12 years, and I pray that it will last another 40 +. Women we need to learn how to serve our husbands. We are not to be the head they are. Yes we MUST OBEY our husbands. Too many have taken that word out of the marriage vows. I did, but now I wish I had not. However, I am determined to OBEY my husband now. I am here to HELP make his life easier. I know he does all he can to support me and our daughter. Yes, he does drive me crazy at times with taking his time to get things done, but that is how he operates and I accept that. I just have to TRUST that my husband will get it done and all will be well. I try to do things that will help make it easier for him, things that will make him proud to call me his Wife.

 

Where are our Churches headed?

First off I want to say that I mean to offend no one with this post, nor am I saying one denomination is better than the other. I am just voicing my opinion based on what I have read to be true in the Bible. Tonight I came across an article online about the Episcopal Churches of America allowing priest in same sex relations to become bishops. I have never understood why a "Christian" church would even allow someone who practiced homosexuality as a leader in the church. The Bible clearly states that it is a sin. So why let someone who is breaking God's word like that be a leader? Now I know that every Preacher, Priest or whatever your denomination calls them does sin to some extent. But to do something that is an abomination, I would not want them leading me in worship. In Leviticus 18:22 the Bible says; Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. In Leviticus 20:13 is says; "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a women, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." So why if the Bible says it is a sin and that it is an abomination would we want our church leaders practicing homosexuality. Please understand I am not saying that homosexuals should not be allowed into church, I think they should. They just should not have a leadership position. Everyone should be welcome into a church to hear the Word of God. I have had friends in my life who are homosexuals, I pray for them and I hope that they will learn and accept their sin. I am not going to push them away, although I have lost touch with most. One I know of also used drugs, and a few years ago I learned he had passed away from Aids. Did he get Aids from his sexual behavior or the needles I don't know. I just know that he was a good caring individual who made wrong choices and unfortunately really did not know the Lord. I can only hope that in his last days he did accept the Lord and repent for his sins.

What I want Most

I love the Lord God and want to strive to serve him, uplift him in all that I do. Will I make mistakes along the way? Yes, for I am not perfect, but I rest with the assurance of God's Love the he will forgive me and help me along the way. What do I want most? For when it is my time to stand before God I want him to say; "Well Done Faithful Servant".

What Should I Wear??

I said in an earlier post that I would discuss modest dress and where the Lord is leading me right now, so I have decided I needed to follow through on that. One definition of Modest is; having or showing regard for the decencies
of behavior, speech, dress, etc. If we look at what society calls "in fashion" do those styles fall within that definition? Some would say yes, however I say no they do not meet that definition. I guess it really comes down to what someone sees as decent. So what does the dictionary define decent as? According the Merriam-Webster dictionary decent is defined as; appropriate, well-formed , handsome, conforming to standards of propriety, good taste, or morality, modestly clothed, free from immodesty or obscenity, fairly good, adequate, satisfactory, marked by moral integrity, kindness, and goodwill. So do you think that showing cleavage is modest? Would you want your 13 year old or younger daughter wearing a top that showed her cleavage? Maybe you should think about this, where your eyes are drawn to when you see a woman wearing a tight low cut top. They are drawn right to the breast, of course. Is that the first thing you want people to notice about you or your young daughter? What about short skirts or even shorts? So short that the just cover the buttocks. Is that decent? Again I ask where is your eyes drawn to? I guess it would depend on it you look at the front or the back of the girl wearing the skirt. If you are looking at the back then your eyes go right to the buttocks, if you are looking at her front your eyes…well you can see where I am going with that. So if that is where your eyes go how is that decent? How is that of moral integrity? We should want to draw attention to who we are, not draw attention to our bodies. You can have the perfect body and still the ugly. I remember a good friend used to tell me "Pretty is as Pretty does", there are no truer words. The nest thing is what God thinks about the way we should dress. In 1 Timothy 2: 9-10 Paul writes; In like manner also, that woman adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefastness, and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness)with good works. There is that word Modest that is how God wants us to dress.

The Bible also tells us,
The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are an abomination unto the LORD thy God. Deuteronomy 22:5. Within the last few months the Lord has been weighing on my heart once again to change the way I dress. I feel the Lord is directing me to wear only skirts and dresses or that of the like. I have tried this once before but never got rid of my jeans or sweats. This time I have gotten rid of most of them. I now only have one pair of sweat pants, and one pair of jeans. I have a variety of skirts and jumpers that I wear daily. This is where the Lord is leading me in my walk with him right now. I feel good about it too. I want attention drawn to my face not any other part of my body. I don't want to encourage a man to have lustful thoughts because of the way I dress. Do you want to cause a man to have lustful thoughts when he looks at you? If so you are creating the possibility for him to sin. According to the Bible lustful thoughts is a sin. Is that something you want to be responsible for? Or would you rather your appearance exhort God and your inner beauty?

Hold Thy Tongue

Why has it become acceptable to use swear everyday or at all for that matter. This morning while I was having coffee and watching Good Morning America, which I always do, I was surprised that they were promoting swearing every now and then. Now I am sure some will say they were not promoting it just doing a segment on it. For those of you who may not have gotten to see it the idea was that swearing increases pain tolerance. There was a study done on a small group of college students. The students had to stick their hands in ice water one group could use curse words while the other could not. The study showed that in the group of students that were allowed to swear they were able to keep their hand in the ice water 40 seconds longer than the one who could not swear. I have to wonder in the group that was not allowed to swear, what did they say what went through their minds. I know from the report they could say things like heck, shoot, darn but could they sing a song, could they pray. I ask this because I know for a fact that there are other ways to deal with pain other than cursing.

    When I went into labor with my daughter I was determined to have a natural birth. I wanted no drugs whatsoever. I figured if God wanted woman to have pain in childbirth then I was going to have pain. Now, I am told that my contractions were triple peaking almost the entire time. Mind you he doctors seemed amazed that I was not screaming in pain. I was rather relaxed through the entire process. I do remember that when I felt a contraction coming I would look at a light at the other end of the room and sing to myself "Jesus Loves Me". I feel that the Lord God was with me during the entire delivery as well as with Amber every time she went into distress with each contraction. Unfortunately I was unable to full fill my desire of having a natural birth. Do to Amber going into distress so much the doctors recommend a C-section. I agreed it was in the best interest of Amber to have the c-section. So, I got the drugs, and Amber arrived that night at 10:51.

    Those of us with young children know how fast they pick up on what we say. If you curse around your child just know that they will do same. My sister has foul mouth and so do her kids. Her oldest daughter swears like a sailor, (pardon the phrase). They really have to mind what they say when we come to visit. Of course they really don't and I worry that Amber will pick it up. But we don't go to visit much so hopefully if she ever does pick up that language from them we can stop it. What do you think God feels every time someone says a curse word or even takes his name in vain? Many people say oh G… just as much as they curse. In Colossians 3:8 it says; "But now you also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth." This scripture tells us that the use of curse words is wrong. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary; to use profanely insolent language against: blaspheme <curse God and die — Job 2:9>, it adds to utter imprecations: swear <cursing loudly>. The Merriam-Webster defines swear as; to use profane or obscene language. If what we say is to edify the Lord how using foul language is edifying the Lord. The answer is simple, it's not.

Just As I Am……

In church today our pastor mentioned Charlotte Elliott. At first I could not place her; however her name sounded so familiar. Before I tell you who she is, this is if you already don't know, I want to tell you a bit about her first. Miss Elliott was born March 18, 1789, to Charles Elliott and Eling Venn in Clapham, England where she lived for 32 years. Miss Elliott was an invalid and often in misery. Her father was a Godly man and often entertained other servants of Christ in his home. One night Dr Cesar Malan, of Geneva came to visit. He asked Miss Elliott is she knew herself to be really a Christian. She told Dr. Malan that religion was something that she did not care to discuss. Dr. Malan replied that he did not want to displease her so he would not pursue the question but rather pray that she would give her heart to Christ and put to use the gifts that He had bestowed upon her. After several days Miss Elliott apologized to Dr Malan for her conduct and confessed to him that his question to her troubled her greatly. She went on further to say; "I am miserable, I want to be saved. I want to come to Jesus; but I don't know how". Dr Malan replied; "Why not come just as you are?"
"You have only to come to Him just as you are". Miss Elliott gave her life over to Christ and lived it abundantly. She also put to use that extraordinarily Gift that God had bestowed upon her. That talent that God gave her was writing she was a poet. One of her most famous poems which has become one of the most well know Hymns around the world.

Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Hath broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, of that free love
The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,
Here for a season, then above,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

 

"Just As I Am "that is how we are to come to Christ. We need noting more than to give ourselves to him. It doesn't matter if we are weak and broken, if we are full of shame, God loves us all and it doesn't matter what we have done just that we come to him. On a side note "Just As I Am" is a very dear song to me. It was the song sung when I was baptized, along with my grandmother, mother and sister.

 

Dr John Julian wrote this about Miss Elliott:

Though week and feeble in body, she possessed a strong imagination and a well-cultured and intellectual mind..... Her verse is characterized by tenderness of feeling, plaintive simpliciy, deep devotion, and perfect rhythm. For those in sickness and sorrow, she has sung as few others have done.

Where Has Our Standards Gone?

For those of you who are older, do you ever wonder what has caused our society to become so tolerant toward sexuality here in America. Why is it that it is ok for a business to place commercial ad in the media that show woman in a sexual manner to sell something like tires or a hamburger. What does a woman in a bikini have to do with a hamburger, absolutely NOTHING!!! Good Morning America did a segment on this topic this past week. It reminded me of a topic that was discussed in my history class this past semester. This has been happening for a long time but it has progressively gotten worse. The notion that sex sells needs to be changed. The only way to change it is to let our voices be heard. Hardees and Carl Jr. asked the public for video submissions of Hot Chick's eating Burgers. They got them, A girl riding an electric bull while eating a Burger. When these companies were contacted they replied by saying that their ads are "….. intended to communicate the core message of our premium quality food to our target audience of young hungry guys. We do not aim to exclude or offend any other group." I want to know what kind of ad will they do for young hungry girls, we eat to. I can guarantee it won't be any guy in a sexual manner. Now don't get me wrong, I really would not want that either.

We need to look at the way we view woman. We are not sex objects. The way woman are depicted in the media does have a direct influence on young girls. If young girls see's guys falling all over someone dressed in a skin tight mini skirt and halter top then that is more likely what they will want to wear, this even applies to if they see their favorite celebrity wearing something like that. I have heard people say "well that is just how kids are these days", that doesn't make it right. Our standards need to get back to where they belong. We need to refocus our thoughts onto God. Listen to him, pray and he will guide you to what you need to do. I do plan on writing sometime in the near future about modest dress, and what the Lord is leading me to do now in my life.

Desire to Be a Godly Woman

 

I have sometimes wondered if I was born in the wrong decade. I know it sounds funny but I wish I could live the life of a woman in the mid to late 19^th century. I know life would have been hard, but from what I have studied it seems that it would have been very rewarding. I don't mean rewarding as in being a CEO of a major corporation today, or even being nominated for the Noble Peace Prize. See I am not like many women in today's society. I don't long to have a master's degree, or out in the workforce. My desire is at home. Now there are some that would say that is because I am lazy. I am not lazy in the least. I have had lazy days, more lately than I should, but I am defiantly not lazy. My desire is to be a Godly wife and mother. I want to be a woman that not only my husband would be proud of but more importantly a woman that God would be proud of.

Some say that a woman should be able to do whatever a man does. If a woman wants to go to war she should do it, if a woman wants to ride a bull she should do it, if a woman wants to be president she should do it, and if a woman wants to be a pastor of a church she should do it. I believe a woman should marry, have children and guide their home. In 1 Timothy 5:14 it even says this: "I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully." Now I know that a woman just can't go out and get married. It's not like there is a store or place to just go to and get a husband. The man must show an interest in the woman and he should be the one to ask to marry. I also know that even if a woman does get married she may or may not be able to produce children. However they can always adopt. The point here is that if you are a married woman you should be the keeper of the home. That does not mean that you rule over your husbands. You are simply to see to the needs of the home, making sure it is well kept, food is in the home and if children are present they are to be trained in the way of the Lord. I am very happy staying home cooking and cleaning. Homeschooling my daughter and teaching her how to be a Godly woman that I hope she will become. That will be my reward, know that my daughter is living a life acceptable to God.

Now, I am not saying that if you work outside the home, your house is cluttered, and you send your children off for someone else to care for you are bad. I know and fully understand that in today's society sometimes it is necessary to work outside the home. However I do feel that sometimes we make it necessary to do these things. By that I mean sometimes we cannot tell the difference between a Want and a Need. The only things that are needed to survive are food, clothing and shelter. You don't need the latest fashions either. We don't need to have cable with all the bells and whistles, in fact you don't need cable at all. Get a basic service, or even better read a book. Cell phones are the same way. You don't need to have everything added just in case you do one day use it. A simple plan with an xxx amount of minutes is all you need. Too many times it comes down to I want instead of I need. And no you don't need the extra money so you can pay for the Digital Cable with HD, especially when you only watch maybe 10 of those channels on a regular basis. Wouldn't it be nice if cable companies let us choose what stations we want and don't want to watch then set our bill biased on that only?

God's command to women is simple. Ephesians 5:22 says "Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord." We are to be under the authority of our husbands. Our husbands are under the authority of Christ. Maybe if we as woman, did not try to dominate our husbands the divorce rate would not be as high as it is. This is God's plan for us. We were created to be our husbands "Help Meet".

Other Important people that have passed Recently

Many celebrities and important historical people have passed away in the last few months. Some are better known than others, but that doesn’t make the others any less significant. Most have heard that Ed McMahon, David Carradine, Farah Fawcett, and of Course everyone know about Michael Jackson. Other celeberties that have passed away that you may not recognize are Karl Malden, Harve Presnell, Fred Travalene, and Gail Storm just to name a few. However not one of them got the media play that Michael Jackson did. Why?, because someone deemed Michael the “King of Pop”. Now I don’t mean any disrespect of Michael Jackson or his family. My condolences go out to his family and friends. However, I don’t think he warranted all the pomp and circumstance he was given.

I had a friend on my facebook post something that made me think about what our society views important. I said earlier that some important historical people had passed away in the last few months (the last two to be exact). My friend posted the following people that have passed away in June and July, do you recognize any of them? Did you even hear about their deaths? I did not hear of any of them passing away. Here they are and what they are noted for:

*Alec Gallup-Chairman of the Gallup Poll; *Roger Terry - member of the Tuskegee Airman; *Huey Long - singer with The Ink Spots; *Tomoji Tnanabe - Japanese centenarian-world's oldest living man; *Jerri Nielsen-physician -treated herself for breast cancer, Antarctica 1999; *E.J. Josey - civil right activist & 1st black librarian member of GA Library Assoc.

In this list I see at least one (although all deserved this) man that should have gotten more media coverage. Roger E.J Josey. E.J Josey in the early 1960s, participated in the Civil Rights struggle in Savannah (see The Black Librarian in America, pp. 308-11). He served on the Executive Board of the Savannah Branch of the NAACP as well as the Executive Board of the Albany, NY Branch of the NAACP.

In 1964 he carried the Civil Rights struggle into the American Library Association. In spite of the 1954 United States Supreme Court decision, which encouraged desegregation of libraries and ALA chapters, the ALA was slow in implementing integration of all of its southern chapters until Josey offered his resolution at the 1964 Conference which prevented ALA officers and staff members from attending segregated state chapter meetings. The four remaining segregated chapters that denied membership to African American librarians at that time were Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi; and they integrated immediately. He is well known for his uncompromising opposition to any form of discrimination whether it is racial, gender, age or sexual orientation. In my opinion if it was not for men like Mr. Josey Michael Jackson would not have been afforded the opportunities that he did have.

Again I don’t want this to sound like I am bashing Michael Jackson. I don’t mean to in anyway. There are just something’s that have bothered me about him. I know the courts have declared him not guilty of any of the charges that were brought up against him. Ok, I still don’t think he is totally innocent of those charges. This strictly comes from working with abused kids and having talking with them. I am not nor have I judge him on this. That is for God to do alone. I have huge issue with how he seemed to always “show” what good things he was doing. I am just the type of person who thinks that if you are going to give money or time to a Charity it should not be made public, as to say, “Hey look at what I am doing. I’m a good person.” We don’t get to Heaven through our works here on Earth. Christ even said to the disciples in John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. The way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ, not our works here on earth.

I can only hope that Michael Jackson really did know the Lord. We need to rethink what is really important in life. We need to think and realize who really deserves full media coverage and who doesn't.