Life’s Regrets
Years ago I saw a preacher who was giving his testimony. His parents had died when he was little and a couple with not much means adopted him as their son. The preacher stated that his father was a big man, kind and gentle and never spanked him. But every night before bed the gentle father would take him in his arms and sit him in his lap and they would talk about the day. He would praise the boy where praise was due and then sum it up with the things the boy had messed up on that day and the father would tell him he was disappointed and for him to do better the next day. Just hearing the father say he was disappointed would break the boy's heart and he vowed to do better.
Some people say we should just live life to the fullest and throw out all regrets to the wind. Well unless I’m scheduled for a lobotomy that will not happen, I live with my regrets and some of the mistakes I’ve made cut to the core of my heart because regrets are painful. They teach us some of life’s greatest lessons. But I've learned from regrets is not to do that the next time. I don’t try to constantly dwell on them and I have had to ask God to soften painful memories which he has over time, but I do need Jesus to take me in his loving arms each day and show me how I made him proud and how I can do things that disapointed him better the next time. If we didn’t have regrets we wouldn’t need a savior to forgive us our sins because regrets are caused by sin. They are caused by wrong choices. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son Jesus, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.: John 3:16
The father God is a good God who wants us to have a joyful life, but I can’t do it without Him. He is good and always faithful. He loves you and me with an undying everlasting love and his lap is always available. Yes, we will always have regrets but the coming victories can far outweigh them if done in Jesus name.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Another “word” About the Word “Busy”
Another “word” About the Word “Busy”
If you’ll scroll down and read my Pet Peeves Blog it will catch you up to speed about my passion, or I should say, lack of passion in the usage of this word.
I have searched the Bible and just can’t find many references to this word. Maybe they are there but I'm not finding them. I think as baby boomers we have adapted this word “I am so busy” into our common language to describe so many things and, if I may say, excuses. And I believe this constant term has an overall effect that is going to turn around and bite us. Our children hear us say it therefore they are adapting it into their conversations and relationships. My husband said it’s kind of like the song “Cat's in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin, where the father never spent time with his son who wanted to be just like him, but the father was so busy with other things, then when his son grew older the father wanted to spend time with the son, but the son had too many hassles, the kids had the flu and life had gotten just too busy. The song ends that as he hung up the phone it occurred to the Dad that his son had grown up just like him. His boy was just like him.
Do we want to teach our children to be too busy for others by our example? To be too busy for us? There is absolutely nothing wrong with being occupied with a task or many tasks of course and many can be stressful. But the words “too busy”, “I’m soooooo busy,” I can’t because I’m busy now” are going to be removed from my vocabulary. Now of course, these words have to be replaced with something more positive. I was thinking about the power of this word and control it can have over us, i.e., say I’ve got a lot of laundry to do and I say to myself “Oh gosh” I’ve got so much to do, “I’m so busy!”, well, I have immediately made myself tired and I don’t want to, nor do I enjoy doing the task! Same with cooking, cleaning, running errands, working, writing a report, homework, packing to travel, spending times with friends and the list goes on. Have you noticed when people constantly say "I'm so busy," the stress and tiredness in their voice? the strained expression on their face? Are we making ourselves this way like a "self-fulling prophesy?" Will we get to the place where we can't even function?
So how do we approach this ominous phrase or word? Brainstorm here with me if you please. Instead of I can't talk right now, I’m just too busy" and leaving it at that, how about “I am doing such and such right now, let’s decide when to get together and spend time together. Because when you say you're too busy you usually don't follow through. Aren't people supposed to be more important than that? Instead of being defeated by tasks under sometimes the martyrdom of being so "busy" and overwhelmed follow the advice of the famous old NIKE commercial “Just Do It!” I’ve got to stop here but I’m really kind of in to this NIKE thing. JUST DO IT. Period.
Constantly saying we’re busy can be just an excuse. Here as we go into the holiday season, yes things will get busier (see, I do recognize it as a word!), but if we’re just so busy all the time and this powerful word is constantly bringing us down, how can we really stop and appreciate God in all His glory taking the time to send His son Jesus to be born in lowly manger to die for the sins of man? With all He's got going He wasn't too "busy" to do that! He has had one thing on His mind.....us.
So are we too busy for the gratitude and celebration of that? I sure don’t want to be. What a blessing to miss out on over just being “busy.”
Have a great day!
If you’ll scroll down and read my Pet Peeves Blog it will catch you up to speed about my passion, or I should say, lack of passion in the usage of this word.
I have searched the Bible and just can’t find many references to this word. Maybe they are there but I'm not finding them. I think as baby boomers we have adapted this word “I am so busy” into our common language to describe so many things and, if I may say, excuses. And I believe this constant term has an overall effect that is going to turn around and bite us. Our children hear us say it therefore they are adapting it into their conversations and relationships. My husband said it’s kind of like the song “Cat's in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin, where the father never spent time with his son who wanted to be just like him, but the father was so busy with other things, then when his son grew older the father wanted to spend time with the son, but the son had too many hassles, the kids had the flu and life had gotten just too busy. The song ends that as he hung up the phone it occurred to the Dad that his son had grown up just like him. His boy was just like him.
Do we want to teach our children to be too busy for others by our example? To be too busy for us? There is absolutely nothing wrong with being occupied with a task or many tasks of course and many can be stressful. But the words “too busy”, “I’m soooooo busy,” I can’t because I’m busy now” are going to be removed from my vocabulary. Now of course, these words have to be replaced with something more positive. I was thinking about the power of this word and control it can have over us, i.e., say I’ve got a lot of laundry to do and I say to myself “Oh gosh” I’ve got so much to do, “I’m so busy!”, well, I have immediately made myself tired and I don’t want to, nor do I enjoy doing the task! Same with cooking, cleaning, running errands, working, writing a report, homework, packing to travel, spending times with friends and the list goes on. Have you noticed when people constantly say "I'm so busy," the stress and tiredness in their voice? the strained expression on their face? Are we making ourselves this way like a "self-fulling prophesy?" Will we get to the place where we can't even function?
So how do we approach this ominous phrase or word? Brainstorm here with me if you please. Instead of I can't talk right now, I’m just too busy" and leaving it at that, how about “I am doing such and such right now, let’s decide when to get together and spend time together. Because when you say you're too busy you usually don't follow through. Aren't people supposed to be more important than that? Instead of being defeated by tasks under sometimes the martyrdom of being so "busy" and overwhelmed follow the advice of the famous old NIKE commercial “Just Do It!” I’ve got to stop here but I’m really kind of in to this NIKE thing. JUST DO IT. Period.
Constantly saying we’re busy can be just an excuse. Here as we go into the holiday season, yes things will get busier (see, I do recognize it as a word!), but if we’re just so busy all the time and this powerful word is constantly bringing us down, how can we really stop and appreciate God in all His glory taking the time to send His son Jesus to be born in lowly manger to die for the sins of man? With all He's got going He wasn't too "busy" to do that! He has had one thing on His mind.....us.
So are we too busy for the gratitude and celebration of that? I sure don’t want to be. What a blessing to miss out on over just being “busy.”
Have a great day!
It Took A Special Man
It Took A Special Man
Intro:
I have a friend that I have lost contact with over last 14 years. I believe she is back in the states and I am going to try to find her somehow. She wanted so much to be accepted into the Southern Baptist mission field years ago and was finally accepted and went to Africa. She would send me a newsletter of the awesome things God was doing in her life and those around her. When she first arrived in Africa she was met by many children who were to tend to her needs. She was a little on the heavy side with blonde hair and the children found this to be very interesting and assumed she was very rich and very well fed! But all of the children had smiles on their faces and they loved her right away and she loved them back as they were very poor and lacked many things but you would never have known! She could not get over how they were always happy and smiled all the time!!
This is the story as best I can remember of my friend that she shared one time in her newsletter. This is not a pretty story but the ending is beautiful.She had been in Africa for some time and while she was there they wanted her to have the most accommodating quarters which meant she would have a plumbing system as so many did not.One time her plumbing was no longer working properly so the African men quickly surmised that they would have to dig down to the sewage canal to figure out the problem.
Well she stood outside and watched everything that was going on and things quickly became a bustle of activity as they organized men to dig down to the canal. When they reached the canal they had to cut it in two to open up and discover the problem which confirmed that the sewage had backed up and was going to have to be unstopped to solve the problem to get her plumbing working again. The only setback was that the canal opening was small, only small enough for a child to fit in. As my friend continued to watch this fervor of activity and deliberation of what to do next they decided that it must be a person of small stature to go in and unclog the canal.
Eventually a young man, a special man, small in stature stepped forward and said he believed he could fit and he would do it.He could barely fit inside this small opening and with him he took a bucket and would fill it with sludge and waste and bring it back out. Time after time he went in filling the bucket and bringing it out then would go back in again. This went on for hours as she still continued to watch as they did this for her so that she would have clean plumbing. As she stood there watching this young man with the bucket going in the canal again and again bringing out the filth she suddenly realized the impact of what Jesus had done for her.
You see it had to be a special man, not just anybody, who would do this sacrificial job and go deep into her heart and remove this sludge and sin that was clogging it and had kept her from having a clean and joyful life before she became a Christian.Every day He is still going in and removing the old filth and sin that clogs and fills our hearts and has to be removed so that our hearts are pure inside and we can be clean and a witness and influence in the lives of others.That special man is Jesus Christ!“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.”John 3:16
It’s hard to believe anyone could reject such a beautiful Savior! He is Christ the Lord, Wonderful, Counselor, Prince of Peace, the Almighty God, the beginning and the end.He never gives up on us and is daily cleaning our lives. Thank you Jesus for what you did for me and your daily renewal in my life. Open my eyes to see and watch what you are doing for me every day and forgive me for the many times I've failed you. You truly are awesome.
Intro:
I have a friend that I have lost contact with over last 14 years. I believe she is back in the states and I am going to try to find her somehow. She wanted so much to be accepted into the Southern Baptist mission field years ago and was finally accepted and went to Africa. She would send me a newsletter of the awesome things God was doing in her life and those around her. When she first arrived in Africa she was met by many children who were to tend to her needs. She was a little on the heavy side with blonde hair and the children found this to be very interesting and assumed she was very rich and very well fed! But all of the children had smiles on their faces and they loved her right away and she loved them back as they were very poor and lacked many things but you would never have known! She could not get over how they were always happy and smiled all the time!!
This is the story as best I can remember of my friend that she shared one time in her newsletter. This is not a pretty story but the ending is beautiful.She had been in Africa for some time and while she was there they wanted her to have the most accommodating quarters which meant she would have a plumbing system as so many did not.One time her plumbing was no longer working properly so the African men quickly surmised that they would have to dig down to the sewage canal to figure out the problem.
Well she stood outside and watched everything that was going on and things quickly became a bustle of activity as they organized men to dig down to the canal. When they reached the canal they had to cut it in two to open up and discover the problem which confirmed that the sewage had backed up and was going to have to be unstopped to solve the problem to get her plumbing working again. The only setback was that the canal opening was small, only small enough for a child to fit in. As my friend continued to watch this fervor of activity and deliberation of what to do next they decided that it must be a person of small stature to go in and unclog the canal.
Eventually a young man, a special man, small in stature stepped forward and said he believed he could fit and he would do it.He could barely fit inside this small opening and with him he took a bucket and would fill it with sludge and waste and bring it back out. Time after time he went in filling the bucket and bringing it out then would go back in again. This went on for hours as she still continued to watch as they did this for her so that she would have clean plumbing. As she stood there watching this young man with the bucket going in the canal again and again bringing out the filth she suddenly realized the impact of what Jesus had done for her.
You see it had to be a special man, not just anybody, who would do this sacrificial job and go deep into her heart and remove this sludge and sin that was clogging it and had kept her from having a clean and joyful life before she became a Christian.Every day He is still going in and removing the old filth and sin that clogs and fills our hearts and has to be removed so that our hearts are pure inside and we can be clean and a witness and influence in the lives of others.That special man is Jesus Christ!“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.”John 3:16
It’s hard to believe anyone could reject such a beautiful Savior! He is Christ the Lord, Wonderful, Counselor, Prince of Peace, the Almighty God, the beginning and the end.He never gives up on us and is daily cleaning our lives. Thank you Jesus for what you did for me and your daily renewal in my life. Open my eyes to see and watch what you are doing for me every day and forgive me for the many times I've failed you. You truly are awesome.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
CAN WE REALLY FIGURE PEOPLE OUT??
CAN WE REALLY FIGURE PEOPLE OUT??
Made in the Image of God.
It was said to me by a dear friend who we had been having some difficulty in our relationship that “There are things that you do that I don't agree with, but I try not to judge you because I don't fully understand you…… I don't have time to figure you out.”
Well, I thought about this deeply and wondered can we really figure “anyone” out? On this earth do we know our spouses, our children, our parents, our friends? We do know them from life’s experiences, yes, but have we actually got them figured out.
Only God, and God alone has each of us figured out and knows us completely whether we believe in Him or not.
It says in Genesis when God created the world that in Genesis 1:27 “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
So if God created us in his own image how could anyone fully know us? Who can know the full mind of God? Who can know the full mysteries of the world like God does #1 being human beings? Being created by God in his own image makes us complex because yes, we are sinners also, but we also have the ability to converse with an eternal God. But can anyone on earth really know a person or figure them out fully?...no, I don’t think so. It says in the Bible that when we see Him (Jesus) we will be like him because we will see him as he is. Then we will know fully.
Since we have never seen the Creator we do not know exactly what his image is other than what is described in the Bible. That’s how we experience the image of God, and through prayer and through praise and thanksgiving and following the instructions of God’s Word.
So rather than try to figure out a person made in God’s image since we have not yet seen God in His total fullness, I want to choose to know God with the information I have at hand……which includes my heart.
My friend does not need to figure me out, nor I her or anyone else. Jeez, I can’t even figure myself out!
I need to understand what God wants MY image to be. And it’s hard….because I admit, I am lazy and don’t choose to read my Bible so many times or spend time in prayer, thanksgiving, praise and asking forgiveness. And when I don’t do these things my life and those around me suffer. So being made in the image of God has its accountability to seek God and what he wants us truly to be and what he wants us to do.
In His own image.
Made in the Image of God.
It was said to me by a dear friend who we had been having some difficulty in our relationship that “There are things that you do that I don't agree with, but I try not to judge you because I don't fully understand you…… I don't have time to figure you out.”
Well, I thought about this deeply and wondered can we really figure “anyone” out? On this earth do we know our spouses, our children, our parents, our friends? We do know them from life’s experiences, yes, but have we actually got them figured out.
Only God, and God alone has each of us figured out and knows us completely whether we believe in Him or not.
It says in Genesis when God created the world that in Genesis 1:27 “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
So if God created us in his own image how could anyone fully know us? Who can know the full mind of God? Who can know the full mysteries of the world like God does #1 being human beings? Being created by God in his own image makes us complex because yes, we are sinners also, but we also have the ability to converse with an eternal God. But can anyone on earth really know a person or figure them out fully?...no, I don’t think so. It says in the Bible that when we see Him (Jesus) we will be like him because we will see him as he is. Then we will know fully.
Since we have never seen the Creator we do not know exactly what his image is other than what is described in the Bible. That’s how we experience the image of God, and through prayer and through praise and thanksgiving and following the instructions of God’s Word.
So rather than try to figure out a person made in God’s image since we have not yet seen God in His total fullness, I want to choose to know God with the information I have at hand……which includes my heart.
My friend does not need to figure me out, nor I her or anyone else. Jeez, I can’t even figure myself out!
I need to understand what God wants MY image to be. And it’s hard….because I admit, I am lazy and don’t choose to read my Bible so many times or spend time in prayer, thanksgiving, praise and asking forgiveness. And when I don’t do these things my life and those around me suffer. So being made in the image of God has its accountability to seek God and what he wants us truly to be and what he wants us to do.
In His own image.
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