Sometimes We Just Have to Give Up...

 

    I hate to have to give up. I don't want to give up, I want to win. I don't like to give things up. I like things. I like having things. Things are fun. I don't like giving up time. Time is precious. I have stuff to do. I don't like to give up calories. Calories are yummy. Calories are always hanging out in the food I love most. I don't like to give me up. I like me. I'm awesome.

     But...I have learned some things since I've been alive; We Can't Always Have What We Want!  My first lesson in this that I can remember was when I was like 2 and my sister was like 24 and I very cutely asked her play tug of war with my rubber bunny. I said in my cute little 2 year old voice "Here DB, (Debbie is her name) pull on dis and say mine"..and her being the awesome and naive big sister.. she did as I asked, she grabs a hold of it and says," Hey you give me that it's mine!" At that moment I did what any brilliant 2 year old would do..I ran into the kitchen crying to my concerned mother and said "Mommy, DB tookted my toy!" My mom came in and of course scolded my much older sister for tormenting me. My sister of course couldn't defend herself, I mean, what was she gonna do, point at the 2 year old and say "But SHE started it"? No, my brilliant plan had worked, nothing could stop me so what did I do? I did what any kid genius who just got away with the crime of the century would do..I looked at my sister, held out the bunny and said "Here DB, do it again, pull on dis an say mine". Of course I didn't realize that my mother had heard my little remark and peeked back around the corner at my sister and shook her head yes. So you can imagine what happened... I got a spankin' but much more than that I received a lesson: Things do not always go my way...no matter how cute I am. .)
     Let's fast forward a few years (because that's really the only naughty thing I did in my toddler years...haha ok ok whatever) I went to a little country school. I loved school. School was fun. I was a nice kid, most kids liked me (we all have those few people that don't..that's another life lesson right?) anyway, everything was going great in my little 3rd grade world until this little girl came to school with head lice. Yep head lice..oh what a PLAGUE that was back then. And the other kids all treated her that way. It wasn't just a one time occurrence either. I would watch this little girl be by herself at recess, I'd hear what the kids would whisper in her direction and my little girl heart would hurt for her. I knew Jesus and I would talk to Him all the time. I remember knowing what God wanted me to do...I was suppose to be her friend. So I was. For a while I was her only friend, and yes my friends started staying away from me too, but I didn't care because I knew I was doing what was right and I felt GOOD. Did I get head lice?...YOU BET! And you know what? I knew I would the minute I wrapped my arms around that little girl and told her I was her friend. And bless my mom and sister who took the HOURS to comb out every strand of long thick hair on my head. And how blessed I was to have a mom that didn't get angry because I could have avoided it but encouraged me to be kind and loving no matter what because she believed in the little girl that I was. In this I received a lesson: Sometimes we will lose friends when we choose to do what's right and ONE simple act of kindness can impact someone's life for Jesus. 
     Moving on up to High School: I went to Christian School for several years through 9th grade and I absolutely LOVED it. It was such a blessing and helped me build a firm foundation of faith and understanding. I went to a public high school in a small town and.. oh the testing of my faith began. I loved God with all my heart and needless to say...I did not "fit in". I was okay with that. To me, I had developed a love for God so strong that NOTHING was worth messing that up. I pressed on through ..to be frank, a lot of JUNK.  I loved learning, I was an A student until I attended a class where the TEACHER would tell me to cheat off someones paper if I didn't know how to do the problem. Regardless, I refused and that was the end of that. I was okay with that. My integrity was worth more.
      One class in particular, I LOVED the class itself because it was right up my ally, but the things that would go on in the classroom were not.  But the moment that God did something in my life that changed my level of boldness for the rest of my life was this:  One day I had really just had enough of all the garbage. I had been praying and praying because I was slowly losing my love for school, I felt like I wasn't making a difference because I wasn't willing to jump in and "Be" like everyone else. I was discouraged. On this day, we all had to give a presentation in class, it was a big deal. I was listening to one of the guys practicing his presentation and there it was...completely inappropriate and vulgar full of picture illustrations and I was done! I left, refused to go to class and sit through it, knowing that it wouldn't get stopped because that stuff happened all the time in class. I knew that day would be no different. Needless to say the school called and my mother told them why I was not there. I always had great support from my parents. The school apologized and apparently the teacher got in trouble. I can't remember the details but I remember the snide remarks from the older students that I got when I came back. Obviously I hit a nerve. Strangely enough, I didn't care (not in a rude way but in an incredible peace that flooded my soul).  But it was at the moment when this teacher asked to speak with me in the other room...started out with an apology which I appreciated, but then turned into a what was wrong with me kind of monologue...and then when she was finished...I opened my mouth, and what started coming out was some of the most powerful statements I had ever heard. The Holy Spirit was taking control and guiding my mouth. It was respectful yet boldly full of truth. I believe truth beyond my years, and as I was talking I watched this teacher slowly start sinking in her chair right in front of me silenced and possibly in shock and unable to prove me wrong. The Pivotal Lesson that I learned: Sometimes we will have to give up traveling buddies and walk this road alone. Sometimes we have to give up the notion that people may call themselves Christians but saying it and meaning it are two different things. Be Bold in the TRUTH. Stand FIRM. God is my DEFENDER. HE will NEVER Leave me or Forsake me.

    I could go on with this blog with lots more life lessons, but this blog would start going into next week and I doubt anyone has that much time to read my ramblings. So I'll cut it short. Put it in a yummy nutshell...

    Life is about giving up: Giving up pride, giving up anger, giving up selfishness, giving up jealousy, giving up fear, giving up regret, giving up friends, giving up habits, giving up lies, giving up failure...We HAVE to give it up. The road is long, the road is hard and we often walk it with a backpack full of burdens. God loves us. He loves us and He promises if we hold his hand on our journey and we step where He wants us to step that we will NEVER be alone.  I love a lot of things, but I am striving in my relationship with God to not love ANY of those things (emotional, physical, spiritual) more than I love Him. I've had to give up a lot...still am, but as I look back at everything that I have had to give up...I have GAINED SO MUCH in it's place. God rewards those who seek Him. He sees the sacrifice. He said we all have to "take up our cross".. cross not a pillow, big difference...and follow Him. There is NOTHING that we have to go through that He doesn't fully understand, and there is NOTHING that we have to go through that compares to Him dying on the cross.
      Don't be afraid to GIVE UP in this life. I think there are things DAILY that I have the opportunity to give up for a better relationship and life with God. I hope you're with me, I think this is a great journey to be on! :)
      

Monster Slippers

So, I'm in my 30's and....well I'll admit, I still have some...well I like to call them my "fun things"...and my husband usually just calls them.."weird"...things in my life. But I enjoy them, they make me feel awesome, and hey...I gotta be me...right?
      It amazes me when I look around at the absolute creativity that is represented in every single individual in this world...how awesome is that? Isn't it kind of mind blowing to realize that that much creativity exists? And NO ONE is absolutely the same in their creativity....we all are unique. And the most amazing thing about this is...it all came from the same CREATOR. So how much more awesome is HE?  
    I will spend a LIFETIME getting to know the creativity and personality of my God. And I am SO looking forward to it. Every time I spend time with Jesus, I learn so much more about who He is. The more I study His Word, the more I understand His heart. And it is beautiful.
    I love the fact that God made me. Just the simple fact that He "knit me together in my mother's womb"....the fact that before I was born, He had a plan for my life. He's not "winging it" with me....He knows what He created me to do and to be. It's my job to never let go of His hand and walk with Him down the path that He has laid out before me. And with all of this absolutely amazing mind blowing creativity that He has....why would I ever want to go off on my own? How boring would that be?
    I also love the fact that even though God poured out His creativity in all of us and made us all very unique individuals, He still has standards and guidelines as to what He expects out of His children. He still has a mold for each one of us to fit into and it is the mold that He created us for. It's Perfect, it's beautiful, and it's ours.  
    I hear all the time how "there are no cookie cutter Christians", and "no one can judge anyone else because we're all different", and "I just have to be free to be me"...but I'm thinking...aren't we kinda missing the point? I think we get so caught up in making sure we're not being judged (which honestly I think only the people who are feeling guilty over something are usually the ones screaming this the loudest, people who are confident in their relationship with Christ really aren't worried..) Or caught up in not being able to do the things we want to do because we have talent or desire...but the TRUTH is...it's really not about us. It's about God and His plan for us. 
     If we would just stop trying to have control over everything and ask Him to mold us and make us into what He created us to be, and then be willing to be the clay in His hands, knowing that whatever this Amazing God has in store for us is far better than anything I could dream up, then wouldn't life just be that much more amazing and fulfilling? 
    God has a plan. For you. For me. A much BETTER plan than you or me. I think real freedom to "just be me"...actually comes when I completely surrender all my creativity...to my Creator and allow Him to use me as He chooses. That's when I am at my best in my talents because I am using those talents and creativity to honor Him. It's not about me...It's about Him. And I am far more awesome in my creativity when He's the one directing it. There is FREEDOM in walking in your potential and purpose. Because by allowing God to show you who you really are, you never have to second guess what you're doing...because you know. You are more confident in yourself because you know that you are doing exactly what God has called you to do and you don't need the approval of anyone else but Him. Everyone else's approval is just icing on the cake but it's not a necessity for you to be happy with who you are. 

   It means that I can love myself because I know that God loves me and is leading me and guiding me to reach my purpose. And all the other "fun things" in my life...are wonderful expressions of the creative unique loved person that I am...I am a confident, intelligent, strong woman of God....walking around in my pink monster slippers. :)

I am NOT a MESS!

   

I am amazed at the "spiritual" concepts that we come up with sometimes. I don't know how many times I have heard people say including from our pulpits..."God loves your mess" or "If you're not a mess, then God can't be glorified"....says who? That's not in the Bible...in fact, it's the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what God says. God loves us no matter what..YES. But He does not love our "mess". 
   When we mention that we are a "mess" we aren't talking about our personalities, or a funny quirk we may have...we are talking about the things in our lives that aren't what they should be...we are talking about the "sin" no matter how mild we want to make it. Anything less than pleasing to God needs to go. 
   God desires for us to be holy. To be spotless and blameless. Without sin. Are we human? Yes. Are any of us perfect? No. But that's where God's grace comes in...grace(the transformational power of God given to the BELIEVER to overcome sin and become more like Christ). God is not okay with our "MESS". He HATES sin. We've really fluffed up some concepts in our Christianity to make us all feel "comfortable in our sin." God does not want us to stumble and fall... He wants us to "aim for perfection" to "be holy as I am holy". 
   God's love for us is most definitely unconditional...but His acceptance of us is not. He clearly defines what is acceptable to Him. Jesus did not suffer a brutal death on a cross so that you and I are free to do whatever we want. He suffered and died so that we could be free. But the free He is talking about is found as we draw closer to Him, only then are those freedoms revealed to us. We like to think that God just wants us to be happy. God's goal in our lives isn't really about our happiness, it's about holiness.
    We like to take it that we are free from the consequences of our actions because He died on the cross for us, and whenever we do sin He just looks at us with a smile and says, oh well, they're just a work in progress....God IS LOVE...But GOD is also HOLY.   What we experience when we as Christians sin...is His MERCY. His mercy for not striking us dead on the spot...His mercy for allowing us more time to repent and ask His forgiveness before we stand before Him in judgement.  "Saved by Grace" yes...that's what will save us, because God's grace is what will transform us into righteousness and holiness. spotless and blameless. That is what is acceptable before a holy God. God is really not glorified in our mess, sure when we repent out of that mess and transform He is glorified. BUT God is much more glorified with righteous living than with our "messes". 
    God wants our obedience. God wants us to be serious about Him. He was pretty serious about us when He went to the cross. Not so that we can be so flippant in our walk with Him, but so that we can live how He created us to live. Our SOLE purpose, no matter what we do, is to completely worship Him.  This style of living is not easy. That's why Jesus says only a few will make it to Heaven.  But it does get easier as Jesus becomes the most important thing in your life. 
     There is AMAZING freedom in Christ. It's indescribable until you've experienced it for yourself. I encourage anyone who reads this to really stop and think about these things, dig into scripture and pull these things out. There are a TON of scriptures to back what I'm saying up...I'm not giving them to you because if you are capable of reading this blog, then you are more than capable of picking up your Bible. They're in there. Pretty much the entire New Testament will back this theory up, but if you want to start with just a few books read: 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, James, and 1 and 2 Peter. Ask God for wisdom and understanding as you search these things out...and He will give them to you if you are earnestly seeking Him.  I am by no means perfect...but I can honestly say with a sincere smile that...I am NOT a mess! :) So you and me...let's aim high shall we? :)

I am a Product of Grace

                                    God's grace. I asked Jesus into my heart at the very early age of 3 years old. I remember it like it was yesterday. I KNEW that He loved me, I understood He died for me, and I completely got it that He created me for a purpose. I have grown closer to Him ever since. Sure I've had ups and downs and times when I may have wandered a bit but I have always kept Him close. 
      I love Him...with all of my heart. He is my center. And I am continuing to learn what it is that pleases Him. My biggest fear in life....is not reaching my full potential of who God created me to be. I am a woman who is learning that in order to become what God is calling me to be...It's only by His grace. 
     Now I believe that grace has been so often confused with mercy..His mercy is what went to the cross, His mercy is what gives us a chance to ask for forgiveness if we sin, His grace is what He gives us when we accept Him into our lives to equip us to become more like Him. It's what He gives us to empower us to resist sin and become holy, spotless, and blameless before Him.
     I have realized how casually we have thrown that term of "God's grace" out there to basically make ourselves feel better about not being perfect, but the funny thing is...that's all us. God tells us to aim for perfection(2 Cor.13:11). To be spotless and blameless.(2 Peter 3:14) That IF we should sin (not WHEN)....He desires us to be holy as He is holy. He created us for so much more than what we choose to "settle" for.      I have decided that I am "all in". That isn't a light statement, it will take major sacrifice especially in this world. But I'm willing to take the plunge...and I invite you to take it with me. This blog will be some of the things that God grows me in and reveals to me that I want to share with all of you in hopes that it will encourage you to press on in your faith and to dig deeper in your relationship with God. He loves us so much. I want to live my life to please Him.        


** There are several more verses for each of those points (you should never base a belief only on one scripture...it's easy to twist one but nearly impossible to twist several) but I encourage you...dig in the Word and pull all those scriptures out. There's plenty of them. :)