It's amazing how something that you do in your day works into upcoming scripture. Jason and I worked in our flowerbeds, weeding out the unwanted and adding mulch. (Needless to say...I got a little burnt doing it) I began to read our Sunday School scripture for tomorrow to prepare for our class and to get a little inspiration for my next blog. Here is what God calls us to do with...

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthening in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Colossians 2:6-7

We as Christians need to let our roots grown deep in the love of God. We need to be like the great oak trees in the south....ready to withstand the storms of life and the temptations of Satan. There are days when the clouds never seem to part and there is little light at the end of the tunnel. But God has given us the tools to conquer the storms that await us.

The more time and energy we invest in our relationship with our Heavenly Father, the deeper the roots penetrate the earth. This is one thing that I continue to learn as I grow older. It is important to build our relationship with God on a daily basis so that we acquire more tools to faithfully serve him.

God is faithful and just...we have to show Him our dedication. With our dedication our roots learn to grow. I pray that we all continue to learn and grow in God. I pray that we seek out His will in our lives that we can be faithful servants who have roots that can withstand anything.

Eating Humble Pie

This morning in Sunday School our Sunday School teacher taught from Ephesians 4:1-5 & 15-16. During the first couple of verses I realized that God was truly speaking to me. With recent events, as recent as Saturday, some drama continues to unfold. I have prayed to our Sovereign God about guidance and peace. I have asked many prayer warriors to send up prayers for struggles I have been facing. But this morning, God served me a BIG portion of HUMBLE PIE.

The title of the scripture is "Unity in the Body of Christ". To uncap or recall the events during Sunday School, I opened my Bible to the verses and began to read them to myself quietly. I began to realize that this was going to be an eye opener event. (A side note....I watched Soul Surfer and in one scene, a Youth Minister talked about getting a different perspective on life. This to me was God setting the stage and preparing the ingredients for my Humble Pie.)

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (vs 2-3) Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (vs 15-16)"

Without going in to much detail, there has been some family drama for a while. I have unfortunately been caught in the middle of it for some reason or another. I have tried to take different perspectives, bite my tongue, and let God's will unfold. However, as the verses tell us, I have not been humble, gentle, or patient. I wrote a simple note to my husband during Sunday School and said, "God is speaking to me through this lesson." My husband, knowing everything that has been going on, shook his head as if to tell me, God has been listening.

Our God is AMAZING and gracious to serve his children their own dose of Humble Pie. This weekend, I realize, I have not been patient, humble, or bearing with one another in love. I have been thinking primarily of myself. I have been complaining of the pain that has been pressed upon me, I have wept at times because the pain has become unbearable. I have attempted to "die to self" and let God's will preside over mine.

Humble Pie leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, a taste that will linger and often present itself once again when situations arise that led to the Humble Pie. I have thought that this lesson had come a little to late for me, and probably should have been spoken to me earlier. But God in His awesome timing, will prove to me that I heard the message just at the right moment. The anger and bitterness that is stored up in me with slowly disappear. The time will present itself when I have the opportunity to once again live by God's word. In those moments, I will remember the taste of this Humble Pie and remember Ephesians 4:2-3.

There are times when I feel that God is not listening or I am not receiving the message I want to hear. Today, that was not the case. God has been listening to my prayers and clearly outlined my next approach to situations through Ephesians. All though He does not tell us we should not address specific individuals about hardships or what have you, He does give us guidelines. God wants us to be patient with those indiviudals, be gentle with them when they are not gentle to you, humble yourself before them as Christ humbled himself on the cross. and speak the truth in love.

Go...take this message and gain something from it. We all deserve Humble Pie at times...today was my portion. May God bless you!!

7 X 70

"Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sings against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'" Matthew 18:21 & 22

Chris August sings a song called "7 X 70" that relates to the verses in Matthew. Chris talks about writing his song and how it was a very personal song. You can go on to youtube and find Chris talking about his song and the story behind it. To simply put it, Chris grew up in a broken home. And I think that when children are subdued to broken homes that they have to learn many life lessons early. I can testify to this.

Growing up for me was not life behind a white picket fence. My parents tried to give my sister and I the best childhood that we could ask for, but that was not easy. I can honestly remember for the longest time being the only child who had divorced parents. I can remember thinking, why do I have to be shuttled back and forth to my parents house. Then came denial for me. I had convinced myself that for about the first 6 months after my parents divorced that they would get back together. I quickly realized that this would not happen. I give credit to both of my parents.

Being from a blended family, I had to learn to forgive at a young age. I was honestly hurt by my parents when they got a divorce. (Hindsight...it was for the best then!!) But before I had to learn to forgive and even what the concept meant, Jesus Christ had long paid for my sins.

Throughout the Bible we learn about forgiveness and what it means. We learn that we must forgive those who hurt us so that we can be forgive. As a child, this was not an easy concept. Even as an adult, the task of forgiving someone does not come easy. I believe a lot of times we are either blind to our faults or we let pride get in the way.

77 times we are to forgive our brothers of their sins. WOW!!! Can you think of all the little sins that we have probably committed against our siblings. Each time we are suppose to forgive them as they have forgiven us. We as Christians should be showing the most grace and forgiveness. I know, we are human, how are we suppose to do this? My question then, how do come we continue to sin? Each time we sin, do we not ask God to forgive us? Each time we ask for forgiveness, does He not show us mercy?

I know I have mentioned a long time ago about the illustration of being in Heaven and at the dinner table. The person sitting to our left is the person that has forgiven us the most. The person to our right, well they are the person we have had to forgive the most. Sometimes they are the same person. Who do you need to show grace and mercy to today? Who do you need to go to and say, I'm sorry for the hard times I have caused and I want to say thank you for showing mercy and grace upon me.

"Who is God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy." Micah 7:18