Friday, November 19, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
John 13:34
"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other." ~John 13:34 NLT
God COMMANDS us to love each other. And He doesn't stop there! He wants us to love each other the way that HE loves us! Wow! Think about how awesome and unconditionally He loves you?!
He doesn't say 'love the people who are nice to you'. (Probably because that is already an easy task.) He wants us to love EVERYONE. Just as He loves everyone. Sheeeeeeeeeesh! This is hard. Think of someone who has been really mean to you or mean to someone you love or (GASP!) someone who has been mean to your kid. Now LOVE them. My first reaction to this is so opposite of what God commands us to do. He wants us to LOVE THEM. I want to destroy them. Of course I do - that is what Satan wants from me. He wants me to fail. He wants to trip me up. In the end, it will all come down to "Who do I want to obey?"
How often do I decide not to leave my comfort zone and befriend someone strictly based on their view of the world (politics, religious belief, social standing, personality, etc...)?? Far too often, I'm afraid to admit. I think people tend to flock to the people who are pretty much carbon copies of themselves vs. tackling someone with differences. Back in Jesus's day think of all the people He reached out to. People with VAST different values than He had. Imagine how much love Jesus shared - We should be more like that. "I" should be more like that!
Does God want us to love so we can plant the seed of Christ? That is what I am interpretting. We are supposed to be living, walking examples of Christ here on earth. Christ turned the other cheek when He was struck. Could I do that today? I'm working on it. It's hard. Especially for someone who is so quick to step up to the plate and battle. My mouth is a weapon I'm learning. It can hurt more than any stone thrown. It trips me up every single day. But, all I can do is pray and trust that God will start to use it for good.. In the meantime I'm still trying to filter!
Now that I am professing my LOVE for Christ; the eyes of the world are on me even more. Every word I say, every action I take will be scrutinized. I would like to think that in time I will lean more on Christ and have less of the old me for the world to see. I need to be aware of my daily 'walk' as a 'servant of Christ'. What example of Christ am I leaving behind? Am I trying to show Christ's love to the world? I guess I just need to figure this out: Do people feel love from me or do they need a spiritual band-aid after I've come through?
God loves you (and so do I)!
Remember to pray! God misses and loves you!
xoxo
God COMMANDS us to love each other. And He doesn't stop there! He wants us to love each other the way that HE loves us! Wow! Think about how awesome and unconditionally He loves you?!
He doesn't say 'love the people who are nice to you'. (Probably because that is already an easy task.) He wants us to love EVERYONE. Just as He loves everyone. Sheeeeeeeeeesh! This is hard. Think of someone who has been really mean to you or mean to someone you love or (GASP!) someone who has been mean to your kid. Now LOVE them. My first reaction to this is so opposite of what God commands us to do. He wants us to LOVE THEM. I want to destroy them. Of course I do - that is what Satan wants from me. He wants me to fail. He wants to trip me up. In the end, it will all come down to "Who do I want to obey?"
How often do I decide not to leave my comfort zone and befriend someone strictly based on their view of the world (politics, religious belief, social standing, personality, etc...)?? Far too often, I'm afraid to admit. I think people tend to flock to the people who are pretty much carbon copies of themselves vs. tackling someone with differences. Back in Jesus's day think of all the people He reached out to. People with VAST different values than He had. Imagine how much love Jesus shared - We should be more like that. "I" should be more like that!
Does God want us to love so we can plant the seed of Christ? That is what I am interpretting. We are supposed to be living, walking examples of Christ here on earth. Christ turned the other cheek when He was struck. Could I do that today? I'm working on it. It's hard. Especially for someone who is so quick to step up to the plate and battle. My mouth is a weapon I'm learning. It can hurt more than any stone thrown. It trips me up every single day. But, all I can do is pray and trust that God will start to use it for good.. In the meantime I'm still trying to filter!
Now that I am professing my LOVE for Christ; the eyes of the world are on me even more. Every word I say, every action I take will be scrutinized. I would like to think that in time I will lean more on Christ and have less of the old me for the world to see. I need to be aware of my daily 'walk' as a 'servant of Christ'. What example of Christ am I leaving behind? Am I trying to show Christ's love to the world? I guess I just need to figure this out: Do people feel love from me or do they need a spiritual band-aid after I've come through?
God loves you (and so do I)!
Remember to pray! God misses and loves you!
xoxo
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Walls
"Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good." ~Romans 12:9 NLT
This is one of the areas I'm working very hard on right now. I pray that I will surround myself with family and friends that feel the same way. Then we can each trust in one anothers intentions: that our friendships/love are sincere, genuine & pure. It's hard to let down that wall as you get older and have more battle wounds and scars. But, I think the reward in the end is so worth it.
I'm tearing down one of my walls today. How about you?
Don't forget to pray! God loves and misses you!
xoxo
This is one of the areas I'm working very hard on right now. I pray that I will surround myself with family and friends that feel the same way. Then we can each trust in one anothers intentions: that our friendships/love are sincere, genuine & pure. It's hard to let down that wall as you get older and have more battle wounds and scars. But, I think the reward in the end is so worth it.
I'm tearing down one of my walls today. How about you?
Don't forget to pray! God loves and misses you!
xoxo
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Why does WalMart drive me nuts?
I think it starts before I am even in the building. People in the parking lot driving - not allowing pedestrians to cross. Pedestrians who walk down the middle of the road - not allowing vehicles to go around. The WalMart greeter?! I am yet to grasp this job. I can count maybe 3 times I've actually been greeted. And of those 3 times maybe one time I was warmly greeted. If you actually need help finding something - Good Luck! Most of the time the staff are MIA and when you do see one they don't know where the Velvetta is either and won't bother to find out for you. (On a side note - why isn't Velvetta kept near the other cheeses?)
Have you ever noticed that employees rarely give you the right of way? They are on a mission to get where they are - regardless of who they cut-off. Ever get a cashier who looked you in the eye? Ever have one that actually had a personality? Ever have one actually THANK YOU for spending a couple of hundred of your hard earned dollars? Ever notice how many items ring up for the wrong price there also? It's insane!
Why do we put up with this? I don't know why I return there. Everytime I leave I swear I'm never going back.
I've been working on being a better Christian/mom/person. So when I get cut off in the parking lot - I try to stop for a second and think - "If only that person was a Christian - would they have given me the right of way?" Would "I" have given that person the right of way? I try to make sure and look the greeter in the eye and say "Hi" with a big ol' smile on my face. I try to put my cart in the cart return area instead of leaving it next to the car. When I see an employee rushing by I try to stop and let them pass - since they are in a hurry and working a crummy-paying job and I really can take as long as I want to shop. I guess my point is this - I need to change me first. I can choose to be an example of Christ and love everyone more than I love myself and possibly plant a seed for Christ in doing so - but boy is it hard at WalMart! lol
Remember to pray today! God misses & loves you!
I think it starts before I am even in the building. People in the parking lot driving - not allowing pedestrians to cross. Pedestrians who walk down the middle of the road - not allowing vehicles to go around. The WalMart greeter?! I am yet to grasp this job. I can count maybe 3 times I've actually been greeted. And of those 3 times maybe one time I was warmly greeted. If you actually need help finding something - Good Luck! Most of the time the staff are MIA and when you do see one they don't know where the Velvetta is either and won't bother to find out for you. (On a side note - why isn't Velvetta kept near the other cheeses?)
Have you ever noticed that employees rarely give you the right of way? They are on a mission to get where they are - regardless of who they cut-off. Ever get a cashier who looked you in the eye? Ever have one that actually had a personality? Ever have one actually THANK YOU for spending a couple of hundred of your hard earned dollars? Ever notice how many items ring up for the wrong price there also? It's insane!
Why do we put up with this? I don't know why I return there. Everytime I leave I swear I'm never going back.
I've been working on being a better Christian/mom/person. So when I get cut off in the parking lot - I try to stop for a second and think - "If only that person was a Christian - would they have given me the right of way?" Would "I" have given that person the right of way? I try to make sure and look the greeter in the eye and say "Hi" with a big ol' smile on my face. I try to put my cart in the cart return area instead of leaving it next to the car. When I see an employee rushing by I try to stop and let them pass - since they are in a hurry and working a crummy-paying job and I really can take as long as I want to shop. I guess my point is this - I need to change me first. I can choose to be an example of Christ and love everyone more than I love myself and possibly plant a seed for Christ in doing so - but boy is it hard at WalMart! lol
Remember to pray today! God misses & loves you!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Just hanging out
(Daddy & ToJo watching a movie - although Daddy is asleep!)
Lazy day today.
We woke up late.
Everyone took several naps.
We were all in PJ's for most of the day.
It was the kind of day where all you wanted to do was sleep, snuggle and catch up on your Tivo'ed shows. So we did.
I don't feel guilty about not cleaning, not cooking, etc...
It was a good day to just be a family who hung out together.
Life is good.
God is Great!
Have a SUPER DAY and remember to just HANG OUT with your family.
Time flies when you are having fun!
xoxo
(Remember to pray today! God misses you!)
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
ToJo, Toy Story & Toys R Us
Yesterday ToJo's bff - Gabe 2.5yrs - kept calling the movie 'Tori's Story' - instead of 'Toy Story'. At first ToJo protested proclaiming the movie was TOY story - then you could almost SEE the lightbulb moment and then she moved on to appreciate the switcheroo. lol We have since watched 'Tori's Story' 3 more times. (Yes, I'm 5 for 5 at crying at this movie!)
I love that Tori is 3. She is so much fun to be around. Today I loved watching her face light up when we went to Toys R Us. Mostly we played with things while we were there. It gave me a good opportunity to see which items she really enjoys. We actually purchased quite a few Christmas items...with her obliviously playing with her presents in the cart. Gotta love this age. We bought her a lot of Play Doh stuff...including the ice cream maker. It'll be a good reminder to let things go and to let God.