Those People

Yes, you read that correctly.  I said "Those People".  A friend of ours has a shirt that says "We are those people".   This phrase originated with a special church and ministry that was beginning in a town near us.  The church had acquired the property, and the men had put in hours of time and work refurbishing the building and making it habitable.  It is a ministry for recovering addicts; those recently released from jail, those who are homeless, anyone who is down and ready to turn their life over to Christ.  The time there begins with intense Bible study and joining together to do work blessings for others, teaching the men to build a life around Christ and how to be good workers, stewards and managers.  The program is open to women too, but we don't have a women's facility here at this time.  

The community where they had originally begun the project initially supported the idea, but then mutters and rumblings began to appear.  A group finally rose up and said that they thought it was a great thing being done, that it was a great ministry, and they definitely thought it should happen, but they didn't want it there.  They weren't comfortable with "those people" in their community.  I'm sure you can imagine the anger, the outrage, and the upset feelings.  But instead of forcing their way in, the church family went back to their knees, praying about the situation, and God delivered the absolute perfect facility in an area of town where they were not only welcomed, but they were greatly needed. 

Our friend had the shirts made as a reminder to love others.  To show God's love to everyone, and to treat them with respect and dignity.  I know I still sometimes look at people and think that I am better, or they are better, or they think they are better.  Yep, I'm definitely not perfect.  And I know that they look at me the same way.  We are all "those people" to someone else!  But it is God's will for us to love everyone equally.  He sat at the table with the tax collector, with thieves, with those who the elders of the church deemed unworthy, or unclean.  He spoke with the woman the well, the one all the others shunned.  And we should too.

Share God's love with others today!

Mark 2:17

¹⁷ When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

"Here We Stand"

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
Mignon McLaughlin


One of my friends posted this on her facebook wall the other day, and I absolutely agree.  Everyday I find different things or traits that make me love my husband even more.  

Does that mean marriage is always easy?  No.  It definitely does not.  I'm sure that all of you wonderful ladies (and gentlemen) have your own stories to tell about arguments, forgotten anniversaries or birthdays, disagreements about where to spend or how to celebrate the holidays, and probably plenty of other things, but learning how to understand each other and love each other anyway is part of marriage. And after all the arguing is over and the storm is passed, you can sit down together and realize you've successfully navigated another obstacle in your path, and the glue that cements you together is stronger than ever.

I think my favorite pictorial analogy used in weddings is the three stranded cord, and the bond that it stands for.  You see, a two stranded cord is too easily broken, but when you add that third strand, God, and you depend on Him to bind it all together (Ecclesiastes 4:12)?  Well, that's a bond that's not easily broken and will make the relationship stronger than the world around it. 

^{Ecclesiastes 4:12} And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Each day, my husband and I have our own independent quiet times, but we also pray together.  We pray for our family, and for our marriage.  We pray for each other, our church family, our friends, and any decisions or challenges that we may be facing.  We pray that our children will grow in their relationships with God and with others.  We even pray that they will each find God fearing, loving spouses that the Lord has chosen for them.

I want to leave you with a beautiful, powerful song that says so much to me about marriage and how it all fits together.  It was written by the very talented Tony Carter, who has graciously allowed me to share it with you in this entry.  

Here We Stand by Tony Carter

TCarter Music Facebook Page

http://www.tcartermusic.com/

Father Daughter Song

Mother Son Song

Wedding Music

Wedding Song

Why do we share Jesus?

Why do we share Jesus?  Well, because He told us to?...but if you need another reason, Romans 10:17 mentions a pretty good one.  "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."


How can we expect the world to come to know Jesus if we aren't out there sharing Him?  Sharing His love, sharing His word, sharing the fact that Christ died for our sins...


We have been given the ultimate gift of forgiveness and eternal life.  If we choose to accept it, we belong to Christ, no matter what.  "No power of hell, no scheme of man, could ever pluck me from His hand."  "Though Satan should buffet though trials should come, let this blest assurance control. That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate and has shed His own blood for my soul."


How could we keep such an amazing and wonderful gift to ourselves?  Don't you want to tell everyone?  "I'll shout it from the mountaintop.  I want my world to know.  The Lord of Love has come to me. I want to Pass it On."  That's always been one of my favorite songs.  Some Sunday nights at my childhood church  we sang requests instead of having a set song service, and everyone knew I'd be requesting "Pass It On", and "The Star Spangled Banner".  


Sometimes it's hard to stand up for what is right, what is good, what is honorable.  Sometimes it's hard to accept that we are different and stand up in the middle of "everyone else".  But how selfish is it to keep the Love of God and His message of salvation to ourselves?  Go! Share! Love!  Are you sharing Jesus today in your life and in your words?


Isaiah 49:16 ¹⁶ Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.


"No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand"
                  -  Stuart Townend and Keith Getty, In Christ Alone




"Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul."

                        -  It Is Well with My Soul | Horatio G. Spafford

"I'll shout it from the mountain top 
I want the world to know
The Lord of love has come to me
I want to pass it on."

                 - Kurt Kaiser, Pass it On

Eklektos

Eklektos (ek-lek-tos' ) is a Greek word, meaning chosen (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance). This was the theme at the Children's Camp where I recently served as a sponsor, and I just wanted to go through some of the great things that jumped out at me from the messages and the Bible study throughout the week.  I do have to say that many of the illustrations and explanations come directly from my notes on sermons by our Camp Pastor, Quin Williams, or from the Bible study, which did not have an author listed.  

 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;  

                                                                    1 Peter 2:9

When that verse says "Ye are a chosen generation", who is ye?  That's right!  We are!  You, me, us.  But who chose us?  Were we picked first on the team for dodge ball?  Or chosen to take out the trash? In this case, we’re talking about being chosen by God.  It's an amazing thing, and it's important to know who is choosing you.

You, individually, are chosen by God Himself.  He specifically chooses each of us.  He says - "This is what I want you to do, this is who I want you to be."  We have been chosen by the God of the Universe, the Creator of everything.  That says that we are special, unique, cared for and loved in ways that we cannot even understand!  

So what has He chosen us for?

"A royal priesthood".  A priest is someone who has been chosen by God to be able to come directly into His presence.  In the Old Testament, the people needed priests to be their contact with God.  The priest offered sacrifices, and cleansed himself thoroughly before coming into God's presence in the temple.  When Jesus rose from the dead, all that was changed.  The veil or curtain that separated the "Holy of Holies" from the rest of the people was torn, signifying that there was no longer a separation, but that we could come directly into His presence.

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

                                                                             Hebrews 3:1

“An holy nation” means that we are to be different, separated, unlike everyone else.  Zebras are striped because it is part of their protection.  How many of us like to be like our friends?  How many of us wear the stripes to blend in with the herd because we don't want to stand out?

God says that He doesn't want us to be like everyone else.  He wants us to be different.  Being different takes guts.  You have to be tough to walk with Jesus.  It takes courage, it takes strength, and it takes maturity. Men and women who make a difference, who will change their world, are different than the world around them.  

That is what God has chosen for us, and what He has chosen us for.  Remember this as you go about your walk today.  
It's okay to be different!

http://freshwateracademy.blogspot.com/

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"Hey God, I Got This"

What?  NO!  How many times have you thought or said that or something similar?  Have you ever thought that you could do it on your own?  And how much did it hurt when you figured out that you were wrong?  


A friend of ours gave his testimony the other day, and one of the things he mentioned was making the mistake of saying "Hey God, I got this."  And then he shared the pain, the heartache, the struggles that followed trying to do things on his own, rather than following the will of God.


I don't know about you, but I have never been known for my patience.  All through my life I have tried to rush things.  Assignments, friendships, trips, relationships, jobs, life changes...one thing I have learned through time and hurt, is that you cannot rush God's plan.  He has set things in motion, and they will happen, but on His timeline, not ours.

Isaiah 40:31

³¹ But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Are you waiting on the Lord today?  Do you trust Him?  

^{Jeremiah 29:11-13}
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
¹² Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
¹³ And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

God has a plan for us.  He has a purpose for us.  And here's my favorite part of that series of verses.  I know that when I seek Him I will find Him, if I search for Him with ALLLLLLLLLLL of my heart.  

Are you searching for God's will with all of your heart today?  

They that wait upon the Lord

Shall renew their strength

They shall mount up with wings as eagles

They shall run and not be weary

They shall walk and not faint

Teach me Lord, Teach me Lord to wait

We Live by Faith and Not by Sight

For we walk by faith, not by sight

2 Corinthians 5:7

Yes.  That song immediately came to my lips as well.  With my recently found information about sharing photos and videos, I am not going to post the video to the song, but I will tell you that it's called "One Way" and I believe it was written by Hillsong United.  I will post a link to their homepage, so you can find further information about the band and their music on your own if you are interested.  

http://hillsongunited.com/welcome

One Way by Hillsong United

I lay my life down at Your feet

You're the only one I need

I turn to You and You are always there

In troubled times it's You I seek

I Put You first that's all I need

I humble all I am, all to You

CHORUS 

One way, Jesus

You're the only one that I could live for

One way, Jesus

You're the only one that I could live for

VERSE 2

You are always, always there

Every how and every where

Your grace abounds so deeply within me

You will never ever change

Yesterday today the same

Forever 'till forever meets no end

CHORUS(2x)

One way, Jesus

You're the only one that I could live for

One way, Jesus

You're the only one that I could live for

BRIDGE(4x)

You are the Way, the Truth and the Life

We live by faith and not by sight for You, 

We're living all for You

CHORUS(2x)

One way, Jesus

You're the only one that I could live for 

One way, Jesus

You're the only one that I could live for

I pray that I live this song each day.  As I walk through the world, as I teach my children, as we shepherd our family and interact with our community, I hope that people see that I live only for Jesus.  And by that, I don't mean that I am some glorious, amazing person, but that I hope my life shows He is the only one that I could live for, and that there is absolutely only ONE WAY!  

How are you living your life today?  When people look at you do they see that you've given your life to Christ?  

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth,

 and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 14:6

Be Steadfast, Unmoveable

I'm moping.  I'll admit it. And yes, I know I need to quit.  Get up, get over it, and figure out a new way.  That blog link I shared yesterday hit me pretty hard. 


(Here's a link to catch you up if you didn't catch yesterday's blog and have no idea what I'm talking about:  http://www.roniloren.com/blog/2012/7/20/bloggers-beware-you-can-get-sued-for-using-pics-on-your-blog.html#disqus_thread ).


It makes absolute sense that sharing copyrighted photos or work is wrong.  It is stealing, and I can't believe that I never even thought about it.  I actually don't post photos I found somewhere else on my blog, as far as I know I've only ever posted my own photos, but I use YouTube extensively, in fact, it's rather become my trademark.  Most of the channels I subscribe to are artists who post their work to share.  Things like New Song Cafe are "shows" that offer them the opportunity to explain the meaning behind the song, and give a tutorial on how to play and sing the song at their own worship services or at home.  But, as one of my friends pointed out, there is no way of knowing for sure.  So at this point, I'm in a quandry.  Part of me still wants to try to look for videos that are okay to share, and/or just post links to the original instead of posting it on my own blog, but at this point, knowing that I might be in the wrong, knowing that it would not be a good witness, I am going to look for another way, and most of all, I am going to pray about it.  


I know, recording my own YouTube videos for every song I want to use is an option...I think.  But then are you "stealing" the song?  Just because it's out there all over the place doesn't make it right.  So I only post videos of songs that I wrote...which is possible, but we don't have a huge collection right now.  I don't know.  Lots of questions, few answers, lots of information to be sifted through and dissected.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:57-58