Settling on Jesus

I am learning more and more that God speaks through the silly everyday situations...I just have to look for Him and pay attention.

Recently, some friends of ours have gotten us very interested in the game called Settlers of Catan. Highly addictive, I might add. It is a game where you settle in areas to gain resources so that you gain points. The first to 10 points wins.

Lately, it has been more of a spiritual lesson than anything. One particular game, the four of us were playing as usual...I must add that a previous game proceeded by me taking a place where my husband wanted to settle, however we were both headed in to the same place. Whoever got there first and had the resources, settled there. I got there first. Needless to say, it wasn't good. He was quite angry.

In a more recent game, the tables were turned. Everyone placed their pieces. I chose to settle near 2 sheep colonies which would only require 2 roads to get to a sheep port. (A port allows you to trade resources for others). Having the sheep port would allow me a leg up and create endless possibilities for me since I would have tons of sheep. In the start of the game everyone gets to place two settlements anywhere so one of mine was the sheep area near the sheep port. My husband's turn came and where does he choose to settle? Yep, right ON the sheep port so I couldn't get it now. I was livid! We chose our other settlements and the game began. My attitude was already stinky.

I began plan "B" with my other settlement which was on the other side of the board. I began to make my way toward my 1st settlement building my roads to connect with the intention of getting a better resource on the road I was headed. My husband was traveling parallel to me. As his turn came, he turned to me and said, "I love you!" It took me a second to realize the sudden need to proclaim his love for me. I said, "If you cut me off, I'm going to be furious! You've already stolen my sheep port. You REALLY don't want to do that!" Sure enough, he turned in his resources for 2 roads and cut right in front of me. "Are you serious!" I screamed. "That was just wrong!" I have to admit that I held on to bitterness toward him for a while...the whole game to be exact. Later, he attempted to be nice and give me resources I needed but I intentionally refused from him and got them from someone else.

It was very comical to everyone else at first but then it changed the mood of the game and made it not fun...it was only after crushing me did he feel remorse (about 3 min later). I do have to add that I won the game anyway.

How often to we proclaim that very thing to God? "I love you God but I'd rather hang on to this sin instead of serve you." "I'd rather be doing my own thing that on the path you want me on." "I'd rather be comfortable in my bubble rather than obey you."

Our Christian walk must be an intentional one. We have to be intentional about giving grace...intentional about forgiveness...intentional about showing love and kindness...intentional about removing pride...intentional about not being critical toward everything...even in a silly game. It's in the silly everyday stuff that we gain experience for when we have to use it in the BIG things.

Although we proclaim with our mouths our goals ("I love you!") we then do the opposite (cut me off).
That is a great example of the walk of many Christians. We proclaim with our mouths that God is Lord of everything and we follow Him but truthfully money, power, success, work, and busyness are our Lord. Rick Burgess said it best, "We don't always live what we profess but we will undeniably live what we believe." Whoa! Taking a look at my life, what do I believe? What does my everyday life say I believe? What does my game of Settlers say I believe? SMACK!!!

God quickly taught me about forgiveness, grace, and pride. Turn the other cheek has a new meaning (Matthew 5:39) or at least a new application for me. He also taught us that "cutting off" others and trying to get ahead by any means necessary instead of following God's way of doing things will never allow you to win. Everyone who tries to step on others loses....in Settlers and in life.


We haven't stopped playing Settlers of Catan. We now play the "biblical" version where we give resources freely to those who need them and don't intentionally steal areas where others are going. Being a Christian is a 24/7 thing and must be lived out in everything we do. EVERYTHING!

Just when I thought...

...all was right with the world, BOOM something happens.

As I sat in my women's discipleship group last night, I pondered the problems of the world and discussed with my accountability partner the sin in our lives that keeps us from really knowing God and glorifying Him. We talked on and on yet our conversation always came back to the one thing: Our purpose in living is to glorify God. When I left her, I felt a sense of accomplishment and growth however in the big scheme of things was I really DIGGING as deeply as I could have been? That question hit me square in the face this morning.

I awoke this morning to tragic news and in trying to process it all I did not ask God "Why?" or try to reason the purpose behind such a loss. My reaction was, "Okay God, I hear you!" I fully believe that God speaks through every situation and in the end, everything that happens is to give Him glory. But as I sat there this morning pondering the meaning of it all, I thought, "What if that had been me?" I truly believe God gives us divine perspective to be able to analyze situations and allows them so that we change something about ourselves to reflect Him more.

The past two years of my life have been growing years (spiritually...not that it is separate at all). They have been glorious years of intentionally seeking God's face and what He wants for my life. In that seeking, I have learned that nothing I do should be about me and that in knowing that, my life should reflect it. I should not be stuck on those two years of seeking and then stop. I should move forward and continue after Him.

We walk out the door each day feeling assured that all is right with the world and we continue on this comfortable track of selfishness. In reality, we have no control over any of it. God controls it all and it can be taken away in an instant.

I questioned myself this morning. It is the same question that Francis Chan posed to our Sunday School class this past week. "What difference does your presence make?" Just as important, what difference would your absence make? I pondered those questions this morning as I learned of the loss of someone precious. Through my tears, I cry out to God asking for comfort for family and friends but also pleading for Him to give me wisdom and an intense, continuous longing for Him. My salvation should not be the end of my relationship with God...it is the beginning. We certainly should not strive for just "good enough" or just to check a box and say "Salvation, check. I've got that done now I have insurance." Being a Christian is a LIFE not a compartment of your life. God should bleed over into everything that is about you and me and there should be no question of who we belong to.

My challenge to you today and to do a gut check. If something were to happen to you today, would the pearly gates open wide and you do cartwheels on the way in because you have lived a life pleasing to God and not pleasing to self or would He stand at the gate and say, "I knew you not" because you have no relationship with Him and are ashamed to even speak about Him in certain circles? There is nothing more important than seeking Him and spending precious time reflecting Him than seeking anything else. What would your life look like if you sought after Him as much or more than you seek after worldly things? Are you ready? Would there be a huge hole in people's lives if something happened to you because you live a life full and only for Him?

If you claim to be saved and to know God, the question to ask is: Does He know you? Is He what you worship most?
Matthew 7:21-27
Matthew 3:7-10

Don't You Know That I'm A Christian!?!

I think a more appropriate question is: How do you know that I'm a Christian? OR What is it that is in my life that shows that I follow Christ? The answers to THESE questions can be pretty tough to swallow, especially for those who view themselves in a different light than the way others see them.

I have learned in recent years to examine myself by looking at the areas where I need God to help me grow instead of the areas at which I have already grown rapidly. Sometimes we tend to look at the "good" things about ourselves and forget about the "bad." I think that is understandable of anyone, even non-Christians...it is human nature, sin nature. However, if we are truly honest with ourselves and really want to follow Christ, we would do the hard thing and strive to remove those "bad" things daily (die to self: Luke 9:23). We really shouldn't have to convince people that we are Christians....our lives should prove that. Why else are we here except to glorify God with our lives?

God is doing amazing things in my life and the life of our family. I absolutely cannot wait to see what He will teach me next. I challenge you to ask Him to help you remove the wood, hay, and stubble from your life so that His light can be reflected through you. It may be a struggle and you may have to be "refined by fire" in order to get you there, but continue to look to Him and He will bring you through more faithful, with more wisdom, and a better reflection of Him and who He wants you to be. (1 Cor 3:12-13)

So, answer this: What is something in your life that is causing someone else to think that you aren't a Christian?

Who Are You?

Being that I am about 27 weeks pregnant now, I've been thinking a lot about how I want to raise my baby girl. It is a much different scenario trying to live your own life and work out the kinks of your Christianity but add someone else for whom you are responsible for pointing in the right direction and you have a challenge.

Lately, I've been trying to answer the question: Do I live as if God exists? That question got me thinking about how I am perceived and what my "model" looks like. You know the question that people sometimes ask: If you died this week, what would people say at your funeral? Those are the type of thoughts that have run through my head lately. I mainly think these things because I want my daily life to reflect the things that I learn in church and the things God is teaching me. However, the person I perceive myself to be on the inside isn't necessarily the person others perceive me to be outwardly. The "outward" part is where our faith is proven and where people believe what we believe.

So, in thinking about raising a little one in such a corrupt world I thought about what I want her to see in me: I (and her daddy) want my baby girl to see me as a spiritual leader; someone who points her to Christ daily and who lives out the commandments of God. I want to be the person for whom she knows is surrendered to Christ and the one whom she sees Jesus reflection. Most especially I want to be the one from whom she learns about Jesus (not the church's responsibility).

So, my challenge to you today is to answer the question: Who do I want my children to say I am? Once you've figured out the answer to that question, then live it out. Be THAT person!

I want to be WEIRD!!!

You certainly don't hear people say that they want to be weird these days. Most just want to fit in, not get noticed as different, or move through life without being pointed out as strange or weird.

My husband and I have made it our goal recently to be try to be weird. Now I'm not talking about the weird that you initially would think. From our perspective, normal doesn't seem to be cutting it. If you look around at people, many are just trying to get through life without getting hurt or scarred or even noticed. As a Christian, I think we should be trying to go through life not doing what everybody else is doing. We SHOULD be different; we SHOULD stand out.

Recently, we have been doing a study in Sunday School on the Holy Spirit. Francis Chan said, "[The Holy Spirit] has not really made much of a difference in our lives, to the degree that if we woke up tomorrow and discovered that it is not true the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, most likely our lives wouldn't look much different." I am tired of living in a way that looks exactly like people who don't have the Holy Spirit of God living in them.

When people outside the church see no difference in our lives, they begin to question our integrity, our sanity, or even worse, our God. Can you blame them at all?

George, a man we know, is a professing Christian and has been after his son, Junior, about going to church. Every chance George gets to punch in a word or two about Junior visiting church with him, Junior turns him down. I've witnessed this on several occasions.

Junior is a hardworking young man who strives daily to do his best but he does what the usual non-believer does: curses, tells dirty jokes, talks about people. He believes that because he is a good person and works hard, he will go to Heaven. George is a fairly new Christian but has never been discipled on what it means to live a life as a Christian. George also curses, tells dirty jokes, and talks about people. So, when George asks Junior to go to church with him, Junior always makes up an excuse but in reality all he thinks is, "Why should I go to church with you. You look just like me? All that church has done for you is give you rules and not changed your life in any way. All Christianity has done for you is made you go to church."

Many non-believers don't care to have anything to do with Christianity because of hypocrites who claim to be Christians yet live the same way everyone else does.

So, my challenge is to be geniune and the life God has called me to live in Christ. Be different....INTENTIONALLY DIFFERENT! Be weird because in the end, I don't want God to say, "Way to go! You made it through life looking like everyone else when I called you to look like Me."

Misplaced Passions

So, I've been learning a lot lately about time and using it wisely. The question to myself is: AM I using it wisely? And am I serving God more than serving myself?

I've heard many people say, "I just don't have time to do everything that I need to get done in a day." So, if you had just one more hour everyday, would you then do what NEEDED to be done or would you really just continue on the path you are on and fill that hour with one more fleeting thing. I often feel as if I am filling my day with mundane activities that, in the big scheme of things, don't really matter anyway. I am so focused on going here and doing this until at the end of the day it has been filled full of this and that and none of it furthered the kingdom of God.

It is amazing the things that we MAKE time for! We get up at 6:30 a.m. in the morning EVERYDAY to get ready and be at work by 8:00a.m. yet we can't get to Sunday School at all. Some will even wake up to be at the gym by 5:30a.m. three days a week but we can't get motivated enough to attend church by 10:30 or 11:00a.m one day a week. We fill our days with ample T.V. watching and computer playing yet we don't pick up our Bible to read the HOLY WORD OF GOD for more than 15 minutes or at all!!! (As if a mindless few hours of entertainment can compare!)

The issue that lies here is not with unbelievers either. I am referring to believers who have misplaced passions. We are passionate about football in the fall, about a particular movie coming out in the summer, or about getting fit and healthy but when do we get passionate about serving, worshiping, or learning about God? When do we stop making lame excuses for our actions and realize that we are making a huge choice? What we are basically choosing to say is that our time is too important to spend doing something for God's kingdom but instead it is better spent by furthering our own kingdom. OUCH! Reality bites!

What do you choose? Do you choose to continue doing what you've always done because that seems to be working out great so far (sense the sarcasm?) Or do you ask God to give you a passion for Him, a desire to read His Word and give more time to Him daily? Those who seek Him with all their hearts will surely find Him. It doesn't seem like a hard decision to make yet it is a hard one to commit to....if you are for real! God never said that when you became a Christian you would be able to do what you wanted...He said to glorify Him and die to yourself daily. I'm pretty sure living for myself isn't included in that!

So I challenge you to give up something that doesn't mean anything and replace it with something that glorifies God. It won't be easy but it will be well worth the sacrifice.

You can't be a blurry reflection

It is interesting to me that my last post was about "the world." I say it is interesting because our Youth summer camp this week has been about imitating God and defining "the world." As I studied to try to instill biblical principles into the hearts of middle school girls, I reflected on what it really means to imitate.

Imitate: to follow as an example; to model. It is sad really how we flipantly go about our Christian walk. We try our best to not stand out or to fit in as to not bring attention to ourselves. We learn early in life that it is a goal to look like everyone else, to act like everyone else, and to follow everyone else. Now that isn't exactly completely true. Parents teach their children to be their own person and make sound decisions but what do our lives really model? We don't see much of what we believe in our daily walk.

 We talk a lot about how we should act and that we shouldn't conform to the world but many don't really even know what the world looks like because we haven't taken the time to analyze it. For instance, we have become so desensitized to "the world" that we no longer cringe when it is around. If we are constantly around someone who has a foul mouth, we may not ever say those words ourselves but eventually we become numb to them and don't mind hearing them.

I wanted to watch a movie today at home while I was resting so I picked one out of the many in our collection. My choice was not made because I really wanted to watch it but it was made because it was one I had not seen in a while. I wanted a chick flick of course since I was viewing it alone so I picked up "Love Happens" with Jennifer Aniston. It is rated PG13 for some language and off color humor. I am never one to remember certain "bad" things about a movie so I started watching it. It didn't take five minutes into the movie before the Lord's name was taken in vain. At that point, the rubber met the road. Do I ignore it, desensitize myself, and continue watching proclaiming that I am not affected by it because it wasn't influencing me? OR Do I glorify God by turning it off and watching something else? Making that decision today didn't affect anyone else around me. It didn't affect my husband who was not here. It didn't affect my friends or other family members because they would never even be able to tell that I watched such a movie. So what did it matter? These are the very words that "the world" says to us...that Satan says to us.

It DOES matter and if I have to justify why it is "okay" then it obviously isn't glorifying God. We as Christians must always be on guard for ways that Satan will attack. How is me watching a movie that takes the Lord's name in vain any different from actually doing it myself? Neither glorify His name so what is the point? The point of being created was for His glory...that should be our goal in everything we do.

The world says that popularity is what we should strive for because it is there where we are accepted. Jesus never said He wanted us to be accepted by the world. God says to not conform to the patterns of this world but be transformed. How are you at transforming?

So, my goal is to not be desensitized to the world but recognize how it is affecting my life in my music (are the lyrics glorifying?), movies (are there things I shouldn't be seeing/hearing), and in the websites I visit (are the friends that I keep up with on Facebook pointing me to Christ?). I have to remember that I am a model and a reflection of Almighty God. If I proclaim to be a Christian then I should reflect Christ not something else. How am I any different if I am blending in with the world?

In case you were wondering, I shut the movie off immediately and removed it from our collection. It will not only NOT be viewed by us again but it will no longer be in our house. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. ~Joshua 24:15