Author: Chrisy

Believe the Lies? Or Know the Truth?

As I was doing my devotions last night I was struck by one of the readings (found in A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God). Here it is:

During one of the unfortunate wars between India and Pakistan, an Indian army officer was captured and kept incommunicado in Karachi till the end of the war, when he was set free, came back to India and told his experience. During his captivity, he said, he was allowed to read newspapers and listen to the radio, but, of course, only Pakistani newspapers and radio stations. Accordingly he heard and read day by day news of  the war which said repeatedly that India was losing on all fronts, and was about to be defeated. That was all the information he had. And yet, as he himself told when he was free in India recollecting his past captivity, he refused to believe even then that his country was losing, and was sure in his heart, in spite of all the constant propaganda to the contrary, that India was winning the war all along. And that was the fact. India was winning, and in a few days obtained the final victory that forced the peace. The experience of the gallant officer, when I read it in the press, gave me an example of how faith works in us…if only we too are proud of our heavenly citizenship, and gallant patriots of the Kingdom. All the information we receive is adverse and contrary to our beliefs. The Enemy is winning. Honesty does not pay, to tell the truth only creates problems, violence always gets the upper hand, and goodness has no place left in this troubled world. Those are the news we read and hear day by day and hour by hour. The Kingdom is being defeated, and there is no hope of victory. And yet, in our heart of hearts, we know that that is not true. In spite of all the enemy propaganda we know deep down in our conscience that the Kingdom is winning, that truth prevails, that honesty pays, and Jesus is King. This is heavenly patriotism, which is divine faith. Let us wait in joyful patience for the final news, and when victory comes we will tell our experience.
–From Faith for Justice by Carlos G. Valles

I was blown away by this for many reasons. How often do we believe the lies of society about ourselves–we aren’t good enough, we aren’t pretty enough, we don’t have it all together like that person–instead of the truth of who we are in Christ–we are more than conquerors, we are His beloved, His strength is made perfect in our weakness? The same can be said for what is reported to us regularly that Christianity is on the decline in the United States. When we hear this and believe it, do we tend to then say it doesn’t matter whether we share our faith or not because of the decline, instead of believing that God’s plan is for ALL to accept Him so that He can redeem them and that our God is victorious?

As you think about this idea, are there lies that you are believing instead of having faith in the Truth of God’s Words? I encourage you to ask for God’s discernment in those areas so that you can see the truth of who God is and who you are in Him.

Journey to the Center

Sometimes as Christians, we get caught up in the idea that we made a decision to follow Christ at a specific point in our lives and now we are just waiting for Heaven. We forget that all of our time here on earth is a journey towards Christ. Before we consciously decided to give our lives to Jesus, He was working to bring us closer to Him and we were on a journey towards Him. After our moment of conversion, we began the next leg of our journey, learning what it means to follow Christ and following Him with all of our heart.

This week, I read this description of walking with Christ: “Our journey toward abundant living is like walking a spiritual labyrinth repeatedly, from an ever deepening inner space. We walk toward the center to be transformed by God’s love; then we walk outward to transform our small space in the world by reflecting God’s love. There is no intention to trick us or get us lost along the journey. But there is mystery. Always mystery. And awe. And amazing grace.”

When something is converted, it is changed from one thing to another. The definition of convert is 1. To change (something) into another form, substance, state, or product; transform: convert water into ice.

2. To change (something) from one use, function, or purpose to another; adapt to a new or different purpose: convert a forest into farmland. In both of these examples, this one-time conversion won’t stay converted without some kind of action. If you freeze water and it turns to ice, the moment it isn’t in the freezer it will turn back to water. If you chop down trees on land, but don’t do anything with it, eventually new trees will grow up there.

In other words, when we make a decision to follow Christ, something happens. And that is a big thing. We are converted. We are changed from one thing to another. From sinners to saints. From selfish to selfless. The Bible tells us that our sins are washed away, that we are transformed. But, it doesn’t stop there. We have to continue to live with Christ at our center. We have to, as it says in Philippians 2, work out our salvation. We don’t just continue to live as we always lived. If we did, no conversion actually happened. We have to allow God’s grace and mercy, through Christ, to act on us to continue to bring change into our lives. What often happens though is we allow ourselves to continue to be influenced by the world, more than by Christ. That is what makes our conversion, our transformation, more of a journey than a moment. That means our work is not done, but more importantly that God’s not done working on us. He is always looking to do something new in us and we must be looking for where He is at work and partner with Him on the journey.

This is not something we can do on our own. We can’t just decide to be better, to live better, to follow a prescribed way of life that will make us holier. We need power that is not our own to live the way we were meant to live. We need God’s Spirit at work within us in all areas of our life.

Take a look at this scripture from Ephesians 2:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

First I want to note what happens at that initial moment of conversion. I love the words in there that say “but God.” No matter what has happened before, God has now stepped in and it doesn’t matter anymore. “But God” comes and brings salvation, life, wholeness, grace, mercy and all righteousness. No Christian should ever see themselves as better than any other person because we have had a past that has been forgiven because of the “but God” moment in our lives as does every other Christian, and everyone who has yet to believe has that gift readily available to them as well. They can have their “but God” moment, too.

But it doesn’t stop there. Notice the last scripture—we are God’s workmanship—he is working on us, but not just for our good—for  the work that he has prepared for us. We weren’t saved just so we could say we are saved. We weren’t saved just so we can get to Heaven. We were saved to do the work of God.

And that is why conversion may begin at a specific moment, but is really a continual journey in our lives. Conversion is something that is always taking place. We are being transformed into the people of Christ. We are clay on the potter’s wheel, in the process of being shaped into something unique and one-of-a-kind. Something that has a specific purpose in the Kingdom of God.

This is why we cannot stop moving at the moment of decision to follow Christ. We have to continue to move. We have to learn what it means to follow Christ. We have to learn how to hear God’s voice instead of our own or the voice of our culture. We have to learn what His word has to say to us about who we are in Christ. We have to learn that we no longer are our own, but we were bought with a price. We have to learn that our conversion, while good for us, is not just for us. It is something to be shared. It is something that has far-reaching importance. As we move along the journey, we are to bring others along as well. Jesus tells us at the end of Matthew that we are to go and make disciples. As we become disciples of Christ and follow, it is our work to bring others along to become disciples of Christ as well.

Amazing Grace

As I hiked with my sister yesterday morning and we came across a waterfall we weren’t sure we’d see or not based on the lack of rain in the area, I was once again amazed by the grace of God and that amazing gift of His grace that he gives to us daily. Then as I was listening to some music this morning, I heard this song and thought I would share. Enjoy!

Tending Your Garden

I have been reading Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst over the last couple of weeks. It is a great book and I am really enjoying it. Early on, I was particularly impacted by this chapter (see pictures below) as it talks about the necessity of tending a garden if you want to have a beautiful one. I thought I would share Lysa’s thoughts with you today. Whether it is gardening, parenting, weight loss, exercise, relationships or something else, they all require work. They all require tending. They all require something of us if we are to be successful. Choose to be successful. Choose to tend your garden, whatever that may be for you.

 

There’s No Going Back

Life has been absolutely crazy lately. At least school-year busyness is part of a routine. Summer busyness has no routine. It is akin to flat-out chaos. Family Camp one week. Ty at Trailblazer Camp the next week. Ty at Panther Basketball Academy and Anne at Young Teen Camp this week. Me helping with Panther Academy. Mike working. Me working. Ty playing baseball two and three nights a week. Me trying to figure out how and when to exercise, clean house, cook, and do laundry. Don’t get me wrong, it is fun. But it is tiring to be out of the routine that is the other nine months of the year.

With both the kids at camp this week, I have had a couple of people comment on the fact that I am “kidless” for the week, and what was I going to do with my time. And while alone time is nice occasionally, I miss them something terrible when they are gone. I was almost in tears of joy just to have Ty sleeping on the floor of my office this afternoon, knowing he was with me and not somewhere else under the care of someone else. And then that made me miss Anne. And she won’t be home for a couple of more days.

There was a time before kids. There was a time when I had a life outside of my kids. There was a time when I enjoyed that independence and ability to do whatever, whenever.

But there’s no going back to that time. And I wouldn’t want to. I love my kids. I love being with them. I love having fun with them. I love teaching them. I even love the hard moments with them, because that means there is growth happening (probably on my part as much as theirs).

So, I am now going to finish this post so I can go snuggle up with my boy. 🙂

Don’t forget to take time to enjoy your kids TODAY!!!

Monday Music 4

Last night my family and I went to see the Springfield Muni production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat. I saw this show with my husband (who doesn’t do musicals – but loved this one) about 10 years ago and have loved it ever since. So when we found out not only that it was in Springfield, but that a couple of our friends were in it, one of them playing Joseph, we had to go. We got rained out on Saturday, so we had to go back on Sunday, but it was well worth two trips to Springfield.

One of my favorite songs from the show is “Close Every Door,” and as I listened again last night, I was reminded why. It is a great reminder that life isn’t about us when we live for Christ. It isn’t about our happiness or our life. It isn’t about what our circumstances look like. It is about the fact that we have been promised more than this life can offer. And our God is faithful to fulfill His promises.

I thought I would share the song with you today. It’s not Owen singing it, but I guess Donny Osmond will do. 🙂

Close Every Door

Close every door to me, hide all the world from me
Bar all the windows and shut out the light
Do what you want with me, hate me and laugh at me
Darken my daytime and torture my night

If my life were important I
Would ask will I live or die
But I know the answers lie far from this world

Close every door to me, keep those I love from me
Children of Israel are never alone
For I know I shall find my own peace of mind
For I have been promised a land of my own.

CHILDREN:

Close every door to me, hide all the world from me
Bar all the windows and shut out the light

La la la la la la (REPEAT)

JOSEPH
Just give me a number instead of my name
Forget all about me and let me decay
I do not matter
I’m only one person
Destroy me completely then throw me away

If my life were important I
Would ask will I live or die
But I know the answers lie far from this world

Close every door to me keep those I love from me
Children of Israel are never alone
For we know we shall find our own peace of mind
For we have been promised a land of our own

Battling the Blahs

If I am perfectly honest, today I don’t have much. I have been kind of blah for the last few days. Maybe it is coming home from camp. Maybe it is that my parents just left for Alabama for another couple of months. Maybe it is that life has been too busy. Or maybe it is a combination of all of that and more, or something else altogether.

But I was reminded this week of a way to beat those blahs by a friend of mine who called and left a message on my voice mail at work. He said that every morning he tries to start the day off by thanking the Lord for His presence. He then asks the Lord to help him remember people who have been a special encouragement or blessing to him. That particular day he remembered something specific that I had done for him that helped him when he was feeling pretty blah himself, so he called to tell me thank you for that action and those words that I had shared with him. Needless to say, I was blessed and I saved that message to listen to occasionally.

So that is my challenge for me and for you today. Thank the Lord for His presence. Then ask Him to help you remember someone who has been a special encouragement or blessing to you. It could be something that happened yesterday, last week, or last year. But don’t stop there. Call that person. Send them an e-mail. Write them a note of thanks. Do something to acknowledge the fact that they are a special gift from God to you.

I bet when you do that, the blahs will disappear.

Survived or Thrived?

So, last week the kids and I (with an occasional visit from Mike) spent the week at Durley Family Camp. (Yes, I had planned to re-post a couple of my favorite blog posts, but my phone, which was my only access to my blog, wouldn’t let me post things that had already been posted. Sorry!)

On Saturday evening we moved into our cabin and stayed there until the following Saturday morning. We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner provided for us, as well as activities and amazing times of worship. And other than my phone, which I used sparingly, there were NO ELECTRONICS. And we survived. I would even say we thrived without them. The kids played outside most of every day. And even when they were inside they were playing air hockey, carpet ball, and pool. We had actual conversations with our friends – face to face. There was no whining because I said no to DS games, Wii games, television, iPad, etc. No one responded to me with a “just a minute, I need to finish this level” when I asked them to do something. It was amazing. And I loved it.

And within an hour of moving back home they were both asking to watch TV, play on my iPad and play the DS. And then whined when I said no and told them to go play outside.

What is it about these devices that draws us in the minute we know they are available to us? How is it we can survive (and even thrive) for an entire week without them, but when we are back in our “normal” routine, we immediately want them again?

We have a rule in our house that the kids cannot play DS or Wii during the week (even in summer). Friday night through Sunday evenings are the only allowable times, and even then it isn’t allowable for the whole time – just portions of it and they have to ask before doing it. I would like to make the same rule with TV, but since that is Mike’s electronic of choice, that is an uphill battle for me.

But I am as guilty as the rest when it comes to my phone and iPad.

So, what is a mother and fellow electronic junkie to do?

I guess it starts with me. I guess I need to limit myself more. I guess I need to make better choices with my time so my kids see me as an example. That means when I am tired and feel like doing nothing but playing solitaire on my iPad, I should choose to play a card game with the kids instead.

(This is not where I saw this blog post going. Why does it always come back to me and my choices?)

How is it in your family? Could you survive a week without electronics?

Summer Nights

I love summer. I love it for all the normal reasons – warm (hot!) weather, pools, sun, extra daylight hours, etc.

But this week I am loving it because instead of putting my kids in bed and then putting myself in bed, my kids have been snuggling up with me in bed for a while before they move on to their own beds. They don’t have to get up early, so they don’t have to go to bed early. It is so nice to have them right beside me reading, watching a movie, brushing my hair, or just sitting there. And I love falling asleep with them there. They are old enough now to move to their beds after I fall asleep to make room for Daddy.

What a wonderful gift! And starting Saturday night, the three of us get to move into our cabin at Family Camp for a week of sleepovers! (Daddy has to work  and we’ll miss him, but we’ll muddle through.) It is one of our favorite weeks of the year. Meals with friends. Morning and evening worship. Waterfront fun. Late evening activities – games for kids, party tent and cards for the adults. We get to enjoy more summer nights together.

What are some of the ways that you enjoy your family during the summer that you can’t get away with during the school year?

(P.S. Since I am out at camp next week, I will not be posting any new material and will instead re-post a couple of my favorite posts. Enjoy!)