Morning Glories: Rich

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”
Isaiah 61:10

Have you ever thought about how rich we are? When you’re not blinded by worldly things that so easily and frequently get in the way, you can see just how rich we are in Christ. We are clothed with the garments of salvation that have been bought at the greatest price. All the riches in the world could not come close to being sufficient to the price that was paid on the cross for our salvation. We have been covered with the robe of righteousness, and all we had to do was become obedient to God’s will.

We are so very, very rich, aren’t we? I don’t know how much more I could say about this verse without being repetitive. I hope you all feel rich today as you remember what our Lord has clothed us with.

Morning Glories: The Winning Team

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Matthew 16:33

Life is difficult sometimes. It is heartbreaking to see the state that the world is in, with the perversions that exist. Sometimes it is overwhelming because we Christians have been commissioned to fight that. We’re to go out and spread the good news in a world of bad news and sometimes it is just so overwhelming, especially when the good news is not the popular thing to be spreading in this day and age.

But Christ has given us this gem of hope. “I have overcome the world.” Because of this, we can be of good cheer and we can have peace. Christ has already won the victory, that much is certain. He has vanquished the final enemy: death.

Christ has already told us that He is always with us (Matthew 28:20). God is on our side!

“What shall we then say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us?”
Romans 8:31

We can fight! God is with us, Christ is with us, and we know then that we are on the winning team. We have hope, while the enemy has none. We can have peace, while the enemy can have none. Be of good cheer.

I hope you all have a beautiful day and think of ways to be courageous! Remember that God is with you!

Morning Glories: Make Joyful Your Default

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:
but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
Proverbs 17:22

My bones were so dry yesterday. I did not have a very good day due to a lot of factors piling up on each other. I tried to be as joyful as I could but I just couldn’t seem to make myself have a good day. I had forgotten, it seems, that it is my choice to make the best of any situation. If only I had seen this verse yesterday!

It is so easy to let yourself have a bad day, isn’t it? I am sure we all have those “off” days when things just don’t go our way and we just feel down in the dumps. It happens, I know, for everyone. But it is easy to let these moods be our default, too. And when we do, we are just drying up our bones!

The medicine is a joyful heart! Here are a few other verses to go along with this and maybe we can see how it is that we can make joyful our default!

“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance:
but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.”
Proverbs 15:13

{remember our post about blessed meaning ‘O, how happy’?}

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
Psalm 32:1

“O taste and see that the LORD is good:
blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
Psalm 34:8

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
Psalm 1:1-2

“And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation.”
Psalm 35:9

I know that there are many other verses in the Bible that show me how I can be joyful. I need to meditate on God’s word and that will help me make joyful my default. I always look up to those people who always seem to be in joyful, thanksgiving, content mode.

So today and the days following, that is what I am going to try to do. Make joyful my default mode and be better able to deal with the “off” days. I hope you all have a beautiful Monday!

Morning Glories: New Every Morning

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end:
They are new every morning!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul;
Therefore I will hope in Him!”
Lamentations 3:22-24

Good morning! I know that it has been a while since I have posted a Morning Glories post, but I figured today would be a good day to start off the day with a  little bit of glory for God.

This verse is another one that I can’t really read without singing the song. I really like this one! And it is so good to read on a Monday morning. I know it is so easy to dread Monday mornings because you’re coming off of the weekend and getting down to business once more, but instead of dreading it, we can look at this verse and be thankful that God is faithful, that His steadfast love never ceases, and that each morning brings new mercies, new blessings, and new opportunities to serve Him.

When you look at it that way, Monday morning doesn’t seem so daunting, right? 

I hope you all embrace this new Morning and continue hoping in God and living for Him! Have a beautiful Monday!

Morning Glories: Be Still

“Be still, and know that I am God:”
Psalm 43:10a

There are some times in our life when we can easily lose our heads and our minds in situations. There are times when you feel lost and alone and feel as if you are in the depths of despair. These words from our Heavenly Father should be words that we use to comfort ourselves. “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Find comfort and calm in knowing that God is always in control. Sometimes things happen in our life that we can’t understand and we can’t control and we can’t keep from happening because that’s just how things are sometimes. But know that God is still God, He is still in control, and we can still lean on Him and draw comfort from Him.

Pass it on! If you know someone who is hurting, in any way, pass the words along to them. I hope you will all have a blessed day!

Morning Glories: Seek to be Restored

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”
Psalm 51:10-12

I can’t read these verses without singing the song in my head. Do you know which song I’m talking about? It’s one of my favorites. I love it. I love these verses because the psalmist perfectly portrays our complete reliance on God, especially in our darker times.

Nobody is perfect. Christ Jesus is the only One who lived on this earth and lived it perfectly. He was in always tempted as we are, yet without sin! {Hebrews 4:15}

We do fall, we all do. {Romans 3:23} And when we do, where do we go? We go to God {at least, we should}. Isn’t it comforting to know that even when we mess up {and we will}, we can always go to God for restoration and renewal.

These verses also really shows us that there is joy in salvation, and that means when we are separated from God, there is no joy. At least no true joy, spiritual joy. It is so nice to have that joy in Christ, such a comfort and a blessing to know that when we are within the flock, we can rest assured that we are protected, cleaned, and can live joyfully and contentedly.

May we always seek to be restored if the situation arises that we need to be! I hope your day is beautiful, and if you encounter storms, I hope that you are safe and protected, and your loved ones as well!

Morning Glories: Outstanding and Everlasting

"...and, lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world."
Matthew 28:20

Aren’t the words of our Savior so comforting? It makes everything seem so bearable here on earth, or at least more so than if we thought we were all alone. I find so much comfort in the fact that I am never alone in my trials and problems. There is a hymn that I love to sing that really shows the feeling in our need for Christ:

Precious lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I'm tired, I'm weak, I'm lone
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home

When my way grows drear precious lord linger near
When my light is almost gone
Hear my cry, hear my call
Hold my hand lest I fall
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home

When the darkness appears and the night draws near
And the day is past and gone
At the river I stand
Guide my feet, hold my hand
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home

Precious lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I'm tired, I'm weak, I'm lone
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious lord, lead me home.

And Jesus has said that He is with us always. How amazing is that?

Comforting. Amazing. Christ's words, His teachings, His love. Outstanding and Everlasting. Christ is with me, and my soul is at peace.

I hope you all have a blessed day and find your soul at peace as Christ is with you!

Rest Assured: You Can!

There are some people who are turned off of Christianity because all they hear about are things that they can’t do. A lot of the time, Christians mostly focus on the things that you shouldn’t do – and I am guilty of this as well. A lot of the time I may see something that someone has written, an article or blog post, and repost it because I believe it is something that needs to be read by many people. Ignorance is never an excuse and I never want to be held accountable for something because I didn’t pass the word along to someone when I knew that I could have.

However, I want to take the time right now not to focus on things that you can’t do in your Christian life, but things that you can do.

Maybe you never realized this but Christianity is more about what you can do over what you can’t do, although the two go hand in hand most of the time. The blood of Christ frees us from the bondage of sin and gives us freedom under the law of Christ! Christianity is not supposed to be a burden on us and the law of Christ is not supposed to be grievous {Matthew 11:30; 1 John 5:3}. It’s not so much about what you can’t or shouldn’t do, but what you can and should do.

So what can you do?

Well, for starters, you can cast all your cares upon Christ. As Christians, you have the privilege to carry all of your burdens to Christ and letting Him take care of it for you. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you.” The way I read that doesn’t just mean that Christ cares about you, but that when you cast your care upon Him, He takes care of it for you. He cares for you so that you don’t have to do it.

By doing so, you can have peace of mind! Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Be careful for nothing could be translated as, “Don’t worry!” – achieved by casting all our cares upon Christ! And then? We can have peace! The peace of God, which surpasses all that we can ever understand will keep our minds and hearts! We can be at peace with whatever we are going through because God grants us this peace when we hand things over to Him. Sometimes it feels like everyone around us has too many worries to count, and wouldn’t it just be nice to be able to not worry? To have a peace of mind for once? Well in Christ, you can!

Also, you can have hope in eternity! Isn’t that what drives us, as Christians? Knowing that in the end, when this life is over and we have won the victory, we still have hope in heaven and in heaven we will be with Christ Jesus our Lord! Those who do not obey God and who do not know His love do not have this hope {Ephesians 2:12}, but as Christians, you do have this hope and it makes all the difference in this life. What makes our trials and temptations bearable? Knowing that “this world is not my home”. We are sojourners in this life, merely here on earth for a time and later we will go home to be with God the Father in eternity, in heaven where Christ is preparing a place for us! “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” {John 14:2-3}

{How can you? I was in the midst of writing this when Amanda posted this wonderful blog post that fits right in with this point. Take the time and go over to her blog to check out what she has to say on the matter!}

What you can do as a Christian is much more important that what you can’t do, though it does not negate the need to obey God’s commandments concerning all things. You can’t do any of the above if you don’t obey, but when you do obey, you can rest assured that you can be blessed.

Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship, and when you are in the right relationship with God and with Christ, then you can enjoy the bountiful blessings that can only be found within Christ Jesus our Lord {Ephesians 1:3}.

Morning Glories: Glorifying God

“Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:16

One of my daily goals should always be to glorify God. I will be the first to admit to you that I am not perfect and that I do not always have my head in the right place. I need verses like this one to remind me that my purpose should be to glorify God in my daily life, and how exactly to do it.

Let your light so shine. We know that Christians are often described as being lights in a dark world. Am I living up to this? I like to think that I am living up to this description with my daily life. The way I dress, the way I talk, the way I handle certain situations. There have been times in my life even recently where I knew that I was struggling to shine my light for others to see and in those situations what do you do? For me, I had to eliminate those situations from my life.

Prioritizing can be so hard sometimes because we are all the time finding new things to do or new places to be. Our schedules are filled to the brim and it’s hard to ‘make time’ for the things that really matter: Bible study, prayer, teaching others, doing good deeds for others.

It is said that it takes 32 days to develop a good habit. Maybe if we do our best to prioritize better for 32 days it will just come naturally for us!

This is just a little reminder to me, and to you, what the goal of a Christian should be. Glorifying the Father with our good works by letting our light shine in this dark world. You can’t be seen if you hide out in your house or if you do everything in secrecy. Let your light shine today and every day and make it your mission to glorify God in everything you do!

I hope your day is filled with blessings! If you have tips or ideas on how to prioritize and keep on track, please do share in the comments!

Morning Glories : The Greatest of These

“And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13

This is a well-known verse, I’m sure we all know it. In fact 1 Corinthians 13 is famous itself. I love how the Bible stresses our love for one another, for our neighbors and even enemies, and most importantly God. Love is important. It’s vital. Without love, what are we doing here, as Christians?

There is an exercise that I am sure many people know of, that we picked up while Carl was at preaching school. Take 1 Corinthians 13 verses 4-7, and where it says “charity” or “love”, plug your name in there and see how it reads.

Kristen is longsuffering, and is kind; Kristen envieth not; Kristen vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave herself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Does it fit? sometimes my name doesn’t fit in there right but I sure do try to make sure it does.

Today as you go on your way, try to make your name fit in that verse as well as you can.

Have a beautiful day!

Morning Glories : Renew Your Strength!

“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.”
Isaiah 40:31

I have always thought this passage to be such an empowering passage. Don’t you think so? It’s a comforting passage in times of trial because we know that no matter what, when we are waiting upon the Lord, we are going to be renewed and strengthened! When we wait upon the Lord, we can soar to greater heights!

And sometimes this renewing doesn’t happen physically. But we can know that spiritually we can be nourished and enriched and strengthened when we do go to God and lean on Him, and give Him our cares! I have had times in my life where I have felt as though I were in the “depths of despair” (to quote Anne of Green Gables), and I admit that sometimes I would let myself get so far gone before remembering that God is always there for me. Sometimes it is hard to remember this when you’re going through so much! It really hasn’t been long since I have learned this lesson – honestly not even a year ago, when I felt like my world was crashing down all around us and there was nobody for us to turn to.

Until I realized that there was! God is always right where He’s always been, and it is up to us to seek Him!

And when we do seek Him… burdens are lifted; our spirits soar! What a blessing! God is so good to us!

I hope your day is beautiful and blessed! Don’t forget to pray! {I  need to practice this! Pray that I will make the time to meet my Father in prayer, please!}

Morning Glories : Children of God

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:”
1 John 3:1a

Besides my God and my husband, the next person who holds the most affection and adoration in my heart is my child. I am sure everyone who knows me knows this. Benjamin is very precious to me and I do what I can to ensure his safety and health, physically but most importantly spiritually. I rejoice when he rejoices and I feel my heart break when he is torn apart for whatever reason. I hate to discipline him although I know it’s necessary. I do it all because I love him dearly.

Think about all of this in light of the fact that the Father has called us His children. Don’t you think that all that applies for how God cares for us? He takes care of us physically and most importantly spiritually, feeding us by way of His word. Don’t you think He feels our joy and our sorrow? And His discipline, isn’t it difficult for Him, but necessary and out of love?

When you go about your day, do you think about how blessed you are to have a Father who bestows such love upon us and calls us His children? Doesn’t it make our life more meaningful?

It is my prayer that we all will go about our day, remembering that God is our Father and we are His children, and act accordingly. I know that as a kid I wouldn’t do certain things not only because I was taught a certain way by my wonderful parents, but because I didn’t want to bring shame to their name. I didn’t want to behave in a manner that would reflect badly upon them. That is how I believe I should act in light of the Heavenly Father claiming me as His child. I need to act in a manner that reflects positively on the claim that He has laid on my life from the moment I obeyed Him in baptism, rising anew a child of God.

I hope you all have a blessed day and don’t forget to pray! :}

Morning Glories : Meditate!

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2

Yesterday’s verse had to do with ‘oh how happy’ is the man, and so does today’s! I had a different verse picked out, one that was stuck in my head all day yesterday, but then I got to thinking about these two verses, mainly because of what verse two says about meditating on the law of the Lord. The reason this really stuck out to me was because yesterday I had a different Psalm stuck in my head and I found myself thinking about it all day and I did find that I was pretty much happy all day long.

These two verses say that the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly, who doesn’t stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful is a happy man – because his delight is in the law of the Lord and he meditates on it day and night. I found this to be true with me yesterday! As long as I had my thoughts on scripture, on godly thoughts, on things that really uplifted me… I was happy!

So I will share with you the verse that was ‘stuck’ in my head all day long, which I thought about as I went about my way:

“This is the day that the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

Keep that in your heart today and think about it every chance you get and see if you don’t feel happy. Doesn’t that verse, just reading it, bring a smile to your face? Each and every day that we wake up to is a blessing from God and we should rejoice and be glad in it! We may be dealing with many trials all at once, we may be sick or have sick loved ones, or maybe we just don’t feel like we got enough sleep… maybe we are dealing with money issues or find ourselves without a job, but just think… God has blessed you with another day on this earth. Why not make the best of it while you can? Rejoice. Be glad in it. You are able to choose the mood that you are in, why not choose to be thankful to God? See if you don’t feel blessed if you do.

I hope you all face the new day with a mind to meditate on God’s word! Have a blessed day and don’t forget to pray!

Morning Glories–Be Blessed!

Brand new to Bringing Up Benjamin!! I am going to start trying to do a short little devo in the morning here on my blog, just to start out my day with something uplifting. I’m calling it “Morning Glories” and I hope that you will enjoy these as much as I anticipate myself enjoying them! Feel free to snag the idea yourself.

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” Jeremiah 17:7

 

I always enjoy the passages that open up with “Blessed is the man…” because it always brings a smile to my face. I know that whatever is going to follow that phrase is going to be something good. I love that the word “blessed” is literally translated as “oh how happy!”. “Oh how happy is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” How can you read that passage and others like it and not feel happy?

Trusting in God is something that I have had to learn to do ‘the hard way’. I never really knew what it meant to trust in God until I had no other option than to do just that. But as soon as I did, things just … fell into place and I did become happy because I knew that God was taking care of me – I did have hope!

Our God is an awesome God! He cares for me, and He cares for YOU! I pray that today whatever might be weighing our minds down, we might give it up to God and let Him take the burden off of us. Trust in God! Find your hope in Him and let yourself be blessed!

I hope you all have a beautiful day! Don’t forget to pray!

 

Pressing On …

There have been times, even recently, where people have thanked me for my example of a Christian woman, wife, and mother. I am humbled by such a statement and truly do not find myself worthy of that sort of gratitude. I do strive to live my life in front of others to be an example of purity. I suppose I know my faults and my flaws better than anyone else, and this is why I have such a hard time thinking myself a good example. To those who have said such to me recently, I want you to know that you have touched my heart. I am far from perfect in my actions and words and thoughts, but I am striving. I discussed this with my husband not too long ago and he told me that I’m not perfect, but I am faithful, and that’s what matters. It’s hard dealing with imperfections. But I am ever so thankful for Christ’s blood which covers  me and continuously cleanses me. Each and every day I am more and more thankful for my decision on September 15, 2003 to become baptized into Christ, to wash my sins away and free me from the bondage of sin.

After spending nearly a week at the Memphis School of Preaching lectureship, learning about the Behavior of Faith, I have been really looking inward. I have been reflecting on myself and I see what I need to change – not a want, a need – and I am learning how. I never knew that this life would be such a journey, filled with the twists and turns and bumps and dips. I try to think  back and see how I got to where I am now, who it was that helped me along the way so much… I can name a few people, and I just attempted to but deleted because I did not want to leave anyone out and feel bad for it later.

I owe it most of all to God, because HE is the One who has blessed me with all the other people who have helped me along the way. God is so good. It saddens me to know that there are people out there who live without Him in their lives and are perfectly fine with it. I feel so sorry for those who will never know the blessings found only in Christ Jesus.

A sincere thank you to all my friends who have helped me along the way, even in the smallest ways. I hope that you will continue to help me. I’ve decided that now is the time to transform my life, renew my spirit and zeal and love for Christ. I’m going to blog about it when I get the chance. I hope you don’t mind. :)

I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining every day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith, on Heaven’s tableland,
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where those abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

I want to live above the world,
Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.

I want to scale the utmost height
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Conditions on Love

Something  has been on my mind lately and I hope you don’t mind my fleshing it out here. Stick around if you’d like and if not, no worries. It’s been on my mind since it was mentioned in passing at a Ladies’ Breakfast we had here and it has just been on my mind and I can’t get it off. It’s the subject of love, which personally I think we need more of. More love. Stronger love. Love that brings about obedience and love that causes you to want to bring others to Christ and make sure that they are right with God in all areas of their life. We need more love.

But sometimes we tend to put conditions on our love. How come we do this? We are only willing to love someone if they happen  to fulfill some of your needs, or perhaps if they make you feel good, or they like the same things as you do, or they hold the same opinions. In marriages, we love our spouse as long as they take the trash out when we ask them to or keep the house clean or make the dinner or fill other needs. We place conditions on ourselves and on others concerning their appearance or how they react to the way we function.

We are told many times in the Bible that the greatest commandment is love: loving the Lord our God, loving our neighbors as ourselves {and that means that we need to love ourselves in the first place too}, and we’re to love our enemies. Love is stressed so many times in the Bible and yet we find so many reasons why we shouldn’t love.

Does God place conditions on His love? Some might think that unless you’re a Christian, God doesn’t truly love you. This isn’t true. God doesn’t put conditions on His love. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8; God showed us how He loved us while we were yet sinners! Humanity had rebelled against God, disobeying His commandments and turning against Him in every which way. And yet while man did this, God still loved us all enough to send His Son to die for us on the cross to shed His blood – the blood that washes away our sins when we come to Him in obedience {Romans 10:17; Matthew 16:16; Acts 17:30,31; Romans 10:8-10; Acts 2:38}! There are no conditions to God’s love – He loves us regardless of what we have done! {That isn’t to say that there is no condition to salvation – that is proved within the verses listed above.}

So if God, who gave His Son to die for those who rebelled against Him and continue to rebel against Him can show us unconditional love and desire the best for us {that is, to be saved – 1 Timothy 2:4}, how come we can’t show the same unconditional love toward each other. Instead of holding grudges against each other for the smallest slights, or being way to sensitive so that every little thing sets us against each other… why can’t we just say, “We are all human, we all make mistakes, but that doesn’t change the fact that we are to love one another.”

I just don’t understand why we always insist on placing conditions on our love. And that isn’t to say that I don’t do this. I certainly do. And it is something I certainly need to work on. Let’s all love each other.

A few words for 2011

I’d make a New Years Resolution if I thought I would remember throughout the year and keep it. But I know myself better than that. So I’m going to set myself up with a couple of guidelines for the year and if I can stick with those, I know I will be all right. I’m going to share with y’all in case you need to see them too for inspiration for your New Year!

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” – Matthew 6:33

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice!” – Philippians 4:4

“Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” – Romans 12:9

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1-2

“Pray without ceasing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:17

“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” – Galatians 6:10

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” – Ecclesiastes 12:13

May your New Year be blessed and may we all strive to serve God to the best of our abilities in 2011!!

 

And a prayer request:

Please pray for my family this coming week. My Great-Granddaddy died yesterday (he was 95 years old) and we will be traveling down to South Georgia for the funeral early this coming week. Also, we’re going to be moving in exactly one week. So please remember us in prayer! Thanks!

Matthew 6:33

Do you ever feel like you're falling behind? I don't just mean with the blogosphere because I don't usually feel obligated to post daily {by the way - I am so sorry for not having a Far Above Rubies post for today - I will explain further, later on}. I mean, with life. Do you ever feel like everything around you is moving so fast that you are falling behind? I feel like that right now. I feel like it's very hard to catch up because my mind is in so many different places right now. I know that there are certain hot spots in my house that need special attention right now, but I can't seem to drum up the attention to devote to them. I know it's bad of me, and I am sure some people are thinking "well, imagine that, Kristen has a messy house..." - I know there are those out there who don't think I put much effort into it, but they are wrong.

{enjoy random pictures as I continue to pour my heart out}


I wish I could let you all in on what is going on in our life that has thrown such a wrench into things, but I can't. While I am a strong advocate of Real Blogging, I am also an advocate of Censorship, because there are some things that just should not be talked about on the internet, especially if it can hurt other people. What I will say, though, is that things have been hard on us for the past week {and there have even been more things leading up to this that have been going on for a while - sort of snowballing}.





I'd like to ask you all to keep our family in your prayers as we are going through hardships. While I haven't felt as stressed as I am sure I could feel, it doesn't hurt to have extra support. I have continually told myself that God is in control - I know He is! Matthew 6:33 has been running through my mind a lot lately and I have been in prayer more and more each day.



God is good - always. But that does not mean that it will always be easy. We are trying to keep our chins up, our heads above water, our eyes on the goal {Heaven}.

"Vent"age. Sorta.

Venting feels good.

I had a rough night with Benjamin in Bible Class and during the Invitation tonight. Even after that, something someone said to me made my night even worse. I felt horrible on the way home, and upset. I vented to Hubby because he was right there with everything, and because he is my best friend and is so good about listening to me and offering advice. My mom called and as she is my second best friend, I vented to her as well. She also listened to me and offered advice. I felt better, but not happy like I wanted to be.

I wanted to vent some more. On my blog. I just wanted to get it all out of my system and move on.

Well my night turned for the better with a compliment on one of my embroidery pieces from Jenny Hart, the author of the Sublime Stitching embroidery book that I own. It made my night! It's funny how a simple, meaningful comment can just turn your night around. I don't feel like venting anymore. I don't feel like I have anything to get off my chest.

I like that. I like when I don't have to sit and pour everything out on my blog, because while I do like to be real and I certainly don't want to pretend like my life is all roses, I don't want to sit down and say something that I'm going to regret later, especially if it is about someone in particular. I can be as vague as I want to be, but whatever I say, I know who I'm talking about and more than that - God knows.

What do you think about being real when you blog? Do you think you should always blog the good, the bad, and the ugly? Do you think you should never put a filter on what you say, no matter who might be reading?

It's important for me to watch what I say on my blog for a few reasons. For one reason, I am "the preacher's wife". Things aren't always wonderful as the preacher's wife. In fact, I could probably go on any sort of rant about the ugly parts of being a preaching family that I have already encountered.

However, I need to be careful about what I say because of my influence as the preacher's wife, and because of the fact that anyone can read my blog. I love where we are and who we are with. I would never want to hurt anyone with any words I put out on my blog in a moment of upset and intimacy with my audience. Our words affect those around us, whether we realize it or not. Even if the person doesn't personally know us, we could set out a bad face for our congregation and the Lord's church as a whole. I have learned a lot about controlling my tongue {or fingertips in blogging!} since I have been a preacher's wife. I like to tell people how it is! It has been a big learning experience for me and oh I am so thankful for God's long-suffering toward me, a flawed human being!

Another reason I do not blog every single ugly thing that happens to me is because I am not a "Debbie Downer". I don't like making people sad or upset. I don't like riling angry mobs and I don't like attending pity parties and certainly don't enjoy being the guest of honor. I don't personally enjoy reading blogs that are merely used as a means to blow off steam. I'm not an angry person by nature, and I would never want to come off as being angry and hateful or ungrateful for all the good things God has given me and blessed us with.

The main reason I do not always blog the ugly parts of life is because I want to put off the impression that I am a Christian. I believe that the way we choose to handle our trials and tribulations plays a great deal into the way we understand our duties and expectations as children of God. While Christians do fall into troubling times from time to time, and while it is good to always be real and honest, I feel that handling it through my blog is not the way to go about it. I cannot spew hatred and anger and venomous words all over my blog and feel like I have acted in a Christian manner, or that my actions have at all been pleasing to God. How can I glorify God by laying down the ugly in all it's ugliness?

"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s." 1 Corinthians 5:13

HOWEVER --- I do not believe that it is wrong to vent on your blog. I don't believe that there is absolutely no way that you can vent without doing so in a Christian manner. It is totally possible. I am just saying that me coming on here in the midst of my anger would have most likely ended really ugly. I sometimes have a way with letting my words run wild more so when I type than when I talk.

I have a blog mantra I guess you might say - something I always like to remind myself when I sit down to write a blog. Sometimes I feel like putting it to the side and letting myself run wild, but it is very important to me that I remind myself of what Philippians 4:8 says:

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

I don't want you to feel like I am hiding my life from you, or that I'm just trying to live in some fantasy life where my husband and I get along perfectly 100% of the time, or where I never make parenting mistakes, or where my house is always {chuckle, snort} clean, or where I have no worries or concerns whatsoever, or where nobody in the world annoys me or infuriates me or crushes my spirits. I just don't want to give room for the Devil to take over my thoughts.

"Neither give place to the devil." Ephesians 4:27

We all know he is just looking for the right opportunity to jump in and corrupt everything good.

I appreciate each and every single comment that you all left on my blog post about having a crummy day a few weeks back. I cherish all the friendships I have made through blogging and every one of you that keep coming back and encouraging me, I am so thankful for you. You all are so wonderful.

I'm a big-time sap so excuse me while I pull you all in for a group hug! Ahh! That's good.

Well, I feel so much better about my day.

Oh, and we got our new car back today. I also got Fathers' Day shopping done!

I'm going to go ahead and call this a successful day. I'll be going to bed with a smile on my face and thankfulness in my heart. God is so good! I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday! I am excited to see family and visit Lane's!!

I'm Flawed.

It's true. I'm flawed. I don't like admitting my flaws or admitting that I really need to work on something, but it's true. I would much rather say that I am perfect in every which way, but that's just not true. I'm flawed, and I need daily to work on my flaws.

I have a problem with holding my tongue. I don't mean that I can't control my tongue so that profanity rolls off of it. But I do have a problem holding my tongue on the road. There are so many people out there who I feel shouldn't be out there driving, and when I see someone doing something stupid out there, I ... well, for lack of better term, I explode. You can ask my husband.

The good news is, I'm improving. Today when our light turned green, I was very thankful that Carl didn't immediately move because about 5-10 seconds after the light turned, here came this speeding SUV on through her red light. I looked, and she was talking on her cell phone {of course}. If my husband had gone ahead right when the light turned green, and if he hadn't put on the brakes when he realized she was barreling through, we would have been creamed. And that makes me mad.

The bad news is that I still yelled when the woman barreled through. I still fumed about it for a while afterward. While it was definitely not okay for her to zoom through that redlight and put others' lives at risk, it was not okay for me to rant and rave about what she did, either. Especially not with Benjamin in the car! What kind of example am I setting for my son when I'm up here hollering about how "stupid" the woman was?

"Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." Colossians 4:6

And what about the people in other cars who can see me getting upset in my car? Do you think that those people would think I was a Christian from what they saw? I doubt it.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

Holding my tongue and keeping my temper at bay is something I am constantly working on. I'm flawed. The woman made a mistake and so did I. And maybe she will pay more attention to her driving after this, and maybe she'll put down her phone when she's driving. And next time I'll put more effort into making sure I'm setting the right example for my child, and keeping a Christ-like attitude about the things and people around me.

Pray for me as I try to improve. We're all a work in progress, aren't we?