May 2nd

I was nervous yesterday....flying into DC the day after it was announced that Osama had been killed and everyone talking about heightened security in fear of retaliation. I got to see this security first hand in the airports and on the streets here in DC. It sure didnt help that I was walking into a less than ideal situation with less than 3 hours sleep and was prepared for the worst.
I say all this to testify to how great our God is. He showed up for me in big ways yesterday.
 I was rushing to the airport and had to stop at Kinkos on the way. The clerk processed my job in less than 5 minutes. (that never happens). This was great because when I got to the airport the security line wrapped around two trams! I got though to board in plenty of time :). The flight was quick and uneventful and we even arrived 20 minutes early!
My car was waiting (thanks Sandra). I got through DC with little traffic and arrived at my destination more than an hour early. No traffic in DC is unheard of! I had plenty of time to accomplish what I needed to get done and training went well which again was a blessing because it could have gone so badly.
After my workday I  headed to my hotel. My client booked me in what they thought was the Hilton Homewood suites...it actually turned out to be a Homestead Suites on the same road. When I got there they didnt have the room I requested so i called hotels.com and I received a full refund (this was against their policy but they granted it because the hotel called them to say if they didnt charge me they wouldnt charge them.) This was great because I could not have stayed there...it was NASTY.
This left me with no hotel room. I stayed on the phone with a wonderful man named Carlos from Hotels.com while he searched for a room. All the hotels he checked were either way to pricey or were booked solid. After about an hour my phone was dying so i said goodbye and thank you to Carlos as he wished me luck.
With no access to a phone or Internet, I decided to drive around from hotel to hotel. Unfortunately I didnt have any luck there either.
I had almost resigned myself to sleeping in the car and started praying. Just then I happened upon a Panera that was boasting free Internet. I went in and each booth had its own outlet, so I plugged in my laptop. Within moments I found a hotel..a nice one and in the right price range. When I arrived I found it was only 4 miles from where I am working! I got a good nights sleep and the day ended very well. God is so very very good to me!!

Outside-in

From the outside,

I can see clearly

I can judge the situation

I can tell right and wrong…

Just let me show you.

On the inside,

My view is obscured,

My judgment is cloudy

I can no longer see right and wrong…

Just let me hold you.

My Thoughts on a Godly Marriage

 Recently in conversation the topic of a women’s role and man’s role in a Christian household has come up several times.  Men and women understandably have very different views on this topic. After years of media and society undermining mans role, Christian men are taking a stance.  While I whole-heartedly support my Christian Brethren I have witnessed in some cases it is being taken to the opposite extreme instead of seeking balance causing feelings of oppression and rebellion.

   I recognize my husband as my covering and absolutely love this.  I love when he steps up to make godly decisions for our family. The struggle comes when women begin feeling oppressed by this assertion and begin to become resentful of their husbands authority and in some cases rebel against it.   Oppression almost always breeds rebellion. Wives must recognize that feeling of oppression and guard themselves against it.  Now as I mentioned above, I am not saying that some of these feelings are not entirely unwarranted.   Just as women should to recognize that their husband is their spiritual covering, men should recognize that this authority comes with great responsibility.  Men need to recognize that their wife needs to feel secure under their covering.  Their covering over us is only as good as their willingness to follow Christ.  For example….if you are holding an umbrella for your wife, but you have holes in your umbrella (caused by allowing corrosive materials under that covering) ….you BOTH are going to get wet.

“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11)

   As we strive to mature spiritually we as women can sometimes feel oppressed when we rightly or wrongly view our husbands as not striving on the same level or succumbing to sin. Scripture states that we are to win our husbands over with our submission.  Their conviction comes in your submission.  Our job as their “ezer kenegdo*” is to continue to bless them and pray for them and to work alongside of them.  We should NOT challenge them and their role in our lives.

 “In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands, so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of the wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior” (1 Peter 3:1-2).

   

     We are equal partners in this struggle with equally important roles.  My prayer is that we learn to accept what each of us brings to the table and that we allow the beauty of God’s plan for marriage to emanate from our lives.  Through our willingness to submit to God and one another, we show the world God’s true glory!

[Instructions for Christian Households] “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21)

  

* “It is not good for the man to be alone, I shall make him [an ezer kenegdo]” (Gen. 2:18 Alter). 

The Hebrew word ezer meaning "to rescue, to save," "to be strong.".  The Hebrew word kenegdo meaning “corresponding to”, “counterpart to”, “equal to”, “matching”.

Family

Friday night I was watching a move that made me ponder what is commonly considered true family.  We have the family of course that we were born into, we have the family that we marry into and we also have the family that we choose and that chooses us.

Legally, our family is considered blood relatives, legal adoptions and those we marry, however, in the bible the body of believers is often referred to as the “family” of believers.   We are referred to as God’s children, and the brothers and sisters of Jesus.

Hebrews 2:11 (NIV) “Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family, so Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.”

Are these family ties any less than the families we are born into?  I started to wonder if that if I truly believe that “blood is thicker than water” and treat my spiritual family without the same regard as my physical family am I missing out on my inheritance?

In Genesis God tells Abram to leave his mother and father to follow Him.  He tells Abram that all the people of the world will be blessed through him.

Genesis 12:1- 3 (NIV) “The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

From this promise, the Hebrews consider themselves children (the physical descendants) of Abraham; The chosen people of God.

Through Jesus we have been adopted into the family.

Ephesians 1:3-6 (The Message) How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

It was by His design that by faith in Christ Jesus we became His children….

Romans 9:6-8 (NIV) “It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.”

Galatians 3:7-9 (NIV) “Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. “

Now in our blood families, we have those that we get along with, and those that we don’t, but because of blood ties we forgive each other.  We feel the need to forgive them…..We feel the need to love them unconditionally.  Why then do we not feel this with our chosen family?

I am not saying that we condone each others bad behavior,  but we try to remain understanding and love them regardless.  When our children make poor choices, we are disappointed, but do we stop loving them? By no means!  Why then is our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ so conditional, so legalistic?  Why do we not show the same measure of forgiveness?

God holds no greater respect for one person over another in His family.  He loves us all and gives us all the same opportunity and grace.

Romans 3:22 - 24 (NIV) “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

During the holiday seasons we all endure family get-together’s with that one gossipy aunt or one uncle who drinks a little too much and gets a little too flirty, but we enjoy ourselves and have a good time with those we love. (Thank you Jamie for this insight)

During this holiday season I challenge those who have strayed away from their brothers and sisters in Christ to show the same acceptance as you would a blood relation.  Come and have fellowship with those you love.  Accept one another “warts and all”.  Understand that we all have our hang-ups and we work through them the best we can.  It is only when we stand together and with God that we can truly overcome.

Revelation 21:7 (NIV) “Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.”

I love my Physical, Adopted, and Chosen family……All the same! <3

The Majestic Courtroom

   I enter the courtroom, before me stands a judge. Not just any judge, the perfect judge. He loves truth and righteousness and despises deceit.
    I realize at once that I know him, and that he knows me….intimately, my innermost thoughts, the darkest depths of my soul. A pitch black cloud of guilt, shame, and fear envelops me. In my fear I think, “Surely he can’t see me in this darkness.  He can’t see the truth. I can hide my guilt from him. I will not confess my guilt.”
    My counselor, whom the court has appointed for me, advises me that the judge already knows the truth, and that the evidence the court has against me is enough to condemn me to death.  The evidence of my life speaks so much louder than my words.
    There is no purpose in this cloud, yet it remains and turns to despair.  My heart breaks.  My soul sinks deep down within me.  Realizing that even in the darkest places I am fully exposed before this judge, my heart cries out “Guilty”.  My soul grieves for the loss of righteousness and I am truly repentant.
     The couselor steaks a claim in my repentance by standing with me and assuring me that he will continue to be with me to counsel me. He reminds me of the innocent man that came before me. This man has already served sentence for my actions. The court has been satisfied. The debt for my actions  has been paid.

   The counselor disperses the pitch black cloud bringing me fully into the light, He asks me to put on the clothes of the man who sacrificed for me and he presents my brokenness before the most honorable judge with a cry for mercy.  The judge replies “Granted” and picks up the pieces of my broken heart and restores it.  He lifts up my downcast spirit and sets me on a path to righteousness.

Something Positive

I was thinking the other day about the chains that go around Facebook. Most are sweet, some can be silly, and some serve a purpose such as breast cancer awareness. I thought it would be nice to start a chain that honored and built up marriages and families. So, here's one I thought up. List 10 things you really love about your husband/wife. Don't just list the superficial things but get deep...really honor them. Pass this along to your friends and see their answers! Here's my list....

1.) I love how everyone thinks by looking at him that he is intimidating but he is really a big teddy bear.
2.) I love that he never speaks a bad word about me to anyone.
3.) I love that he still wants to hold my hand when we walk after 22 years of marriage.
4.) I love that he thinks I'm sexy :)
5.) I love that he is my best friend and I am his. We talk to each other about everything.
6.) I love how he loves his children.
7.) I love that he goes to work every day and always provides for us.
8.) I love that he loves God and speaks truth to me even when I don't want to hear it :).
9.) I love that he challenges me to know why I believe what I believe in.
10.)I love that I never have to worry about infidelity, He is so totally loyal to me.

Phillipians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Now copy and re-post this with your answers...dont forget to tag me! I would love to see your answers <3

♥ Jim ♥

Friendship

I have a few friends who have been dealing with betrayal lately. Everyone always answers, " a good friend would not have done that" or "they must not have been your friend anyway." This is simply not true. Good friends will let you down. Good friends will hurt your feelings. Only a good friend could. Think about it. If they did not matter to you, how could they betray you?....you don't normally hold expectations of those you do not consider friends, other than common decency.
Jesus modeled for us the perfect life, in all aspects, including friendship. If we look at His model, He had a few close friends that He did daily life with, and that He entrusted with certain aspects of His life. This did not stop Him from reaching out to others who were hurting or in need. He ate with them and spent time with them, but He looked only to our Father for His comfort and strength. He knew men would betray Him, especially those he held closest to him. Judas led the temple guards to capture Jesus whichin turn led to His torture and crucifixion. Jesus called Peter His Rock, and Peter denied knowing Jesus 3 times because he was afraid to share in Jesus suffering.
We hold high expectations of our friends. We entrust them with much and hope that they won't hurt us. When we are hurt, we hold on to it for such a long time, and vow not to trust so much the next time. We harden out hearts just a little.
We need to guard our hearts from the beginning....not harden, just entrust them to God and even hide them in Him. If we entrust our hearts to Him, He will keep them safe. He will soften the blows when they come. He gives us the power to forgive. We should cherish the close friends we have and be quick to forgive. If we expect that they will hurt us at some point, and try to find compassion for the reason behind the perceived betrayal, we can forgive, completely.
There have been times that I felt betrayed. In particular there was one time I felt rocked on my heels by betrayal. I was hurt and angry; it was the worst kind of betrayal. I trusted someone with something very personal and it was displayed out through gossip and came back to me in a very hurtful way. I prayed that God would show me some redeeming value in this person so that I could forgive. He has always been faithful for that. He showed me the things He loves about that person. Although I do not know that I would ever trust this person in the same capacity, I have forgiven, completely forgiven them. I actually blame myself for putting such faith in a person to begin with. That faith belongs to God alone.
God has shown me that sometimes its not right that we put such expectations on others. We hold out our broken hearts and expect them to heal us, and when they dont have the power to make us feel better or sometimes even worse, they scoff at our pain, we feel betrayed....but are we really? Is it their place to fix our brokenness? If they do not respond the way we feel they should, is it their response or our expectations that betray us? Jesus foretold Peter's betrayal. He expected it, and forgave Peter and through Jesus forgiveness, Peter was restored.
Be encouraged. Hide your heart in God. Allow Him to be your comfort and strength. He will not betray you. He loves you like no person can. He forgives and has boundless compassion for you. He understands your innermost thoughts, even how those thoughts were formed. He knows the hurts in our lives that have shaped us, and uses them to heal us through helping others. He makes them purposeful!
Give your Heart to God...Find good friends to spend time with.....Be a good friend to others!