Another beautiful day for church! I woke up Sunday morning to the sound of rain hitting my window. I love rainy days. I love them even more when I can lay in bed under the blanket and cuddle with my sweet doggies (and kitty). But, never-the-less, It's Sunday. I will love this rainy day even more by sitting with my family and listening to another great message at church. My poor pups refused to go outside in the yard in the rain, so one by one, I put a leash on them, I stood on the front porch, and let them roam the front yard. They don't seem to mind getting wet if they are getting a treat. Being in the front yard is always a treat for them. Spoiled babies!!
This week's lesson was about growing in Christ with others. Humans are made to have relationships with other humans. We aren't supposed to be alone.
Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
Acts 2:46-47. "Everyday they continued to meet together... They broke bread in their homes and ate together..."
We must connect through RELATIONSHIPS. The life of faith is lived individually, but it is not lived out alone. You need people as you walk and grow in Christ. You need those that sharpen you and help you group. We are not called to grow in isolation. 1 out of 5 people who do not join a church group will leave the church within 5 years. Those are serious statistics, people! If you don't get involved, if you don't find friends that are like-minded and can hold you accountable, what is going to keep you coming back for more, week after week? If you don't build relationships with the very people you are worshiping with on Sunday, what is keeping you coming back every week? It makes it easier to slip and miss one week, then two, and before you know it, half a year has passed by without you stepping foot inside the church. No one from the church has called to check on you, because you chose not to get involved so no one knows your name.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. The Power of relationships.
We must connect through MINISTRY. Know -> Go -> Grow. There are many people in our lives in today's world (thanks to social media and the power of the internet in our hands), but we are having less contact with them. our quantity is greater than our quality. But it should be the other way around. It should be: Quality > Quantity. Change this!
2 Timothy 4:2-3 and Galations 5: 13-14
We must connect through TEACHING. Everyone is called to serve one another (server, waiter, roofer, etc). We need to work together in a ministry for God. Something great will happen when you come together and minister. Join a small group; you can get lost in a large group.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 1 Timothy 4:12-13. All Scripture is God-Breathed.
An example of working together is the Golden-Plover. This bird flies from Alaska to Hawaii every year in groups. There is no where to stop along the route, so when the leader gets tired and winded, they will fly to the back of the group and a new leader will take over. They are working together as a small group to get to their destination. Power of relationships. It can save your life.
This week's challenge: Allow yourself to connect and build strong, connected relationships in small groups. I WILL.
Lord,
Help me to become a part of a christian group to grow an learn in you. To develop relationships with like-minded Christians who all have one goal in mind- you. Give me the strength and courage to join. -Amen
Monday, September 28, 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Why don't you eat the crawfish?
My niece loves loves crawfish. The other night we were out eating at a Mexican restaurant on town and they were serving crawfish. I asked Austynn if she was getting any and she said no. I asked why and she said "because! They are Mexicans, and everyone knows Mexicans make all their food hot!"
No. We aren't racist. But I laughed and laughed. And agreed. Their hot sauce was too hot for me even, I can only imagine how hot the crawfish are (if I liked that sort of thing).
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
It’s a Tough Job But…
…someone has to do it.
This week’s lesson was about working.
It was directed to employees and employers alike.
Exodus 21 – you should be put to death if you own slaves.
Philemon 6
*Matthew 22:37
Colossians 3:22-25 “22 Slaves,
obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye
is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and
reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,
as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is
the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their
wrongs, and there is no favoritism.”
Follow Christ as your first priority in
life. Don’t make it A priority, but make
it the FIRST.
Matthew 22:37 “37 Jesus
replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Focus on eternity rather than the here
and now. Do not live by moments. Plan. Think ahead.
Colossians 3:1-2. Your wants are NOT your needs. Prepare yourself for the day you meet Jesus.
You know that you will receive an inheritance from the
Lord; but maybe not in the present. By
focusing on eternity and not just to live in the moment, You cannot focus on
today only or the reward of just today.
Remember: You aren’t home yet. Heaven is home. Focus on that.
Allow who you’re following and on what you’re focusing o
make you the best employee or employer on the job. In your job; do it full-heartedly. Give it your best, even if your employer does
not reward you what you think you deserve.
Be genuine in your service, work hard, giving your best effort. It is not about here and now, it is about the
future and eternity.
Earn our living.
Do not depend on others. Do not
take a short cut or find the easy way out.
EARN it. WORK for it. Work hard and give God praises for your hard
work.
How should you treat your employer/employee? Allow Jesus
to lead you.
2 Thessalonians 3:11-12
Colossians 3:17
Ephesians 6:9.
Bosses are equal to employees in God’s eye.
Lord God,
Help me to know you and to daily work to be more like
you. Guide me to work hard daily
regardless of my immediate reward at work; but to know I will be rewarded in
you in eternity. Give me the patience to
do 100% all the time in all I do and give you the glory. -Amen
And sweet Austynn drew/colored this for me while in church.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Last Breath
A post un-like many of my normal up-beat posts... For-warning.
I want to tell the story of family, love, life, and death.
Who we are. We are a family that loves and supports one another. We are there at our strongest and we are there at our weakest. Through everything, we come together for one another. We team up and battle life together. We hug and cry together. We laugh and play together. I love my family and our great support system we have for each other.
My grandpa has not been in very good condition for a couple of years; He lived with my mom for 2 years while she was his sole care-taker for one of those two years. She finally hired help to take care of him during the day while she could work. I lived with her for 3 months out of those 19 months Papaw lived with her. Daily while I was there, I helped change his diapers. Feed him. Clean his sheets. Get him to bed. He was unable to ANYthing himself, totally dependent on someone else to sustain life. On occasion, my mom would go out of town for a day or two and would ask me to come over and take care of him after I moved out. But for the most part, she handled everything for 19 months; I only had a few small glance into how difficult her life was with him being there. We are not educated in being a care-giver for someone who completely relies on someone else. It is definitely a struggle and takes an emotional toll on everyone involved. But also, that is when I really began to have an attachment toward my grandpa. Seeing him at his worst moments, taking care of him how a mother would take care of a newborn; keeping him warm, safe, fed, and clean. Giving him stimulation to keep the brain active. Encouraging him.
We knew he was declining rapidly over the summer. That is why we made the decision to have him somewhere else with professional around the clock care to suit his needs better. But you can still never be fully prepared for when God decides he wants someone back home with him, instead of on this earth.
One day, we got a phone call that said to come see him right away, he only has a few short days left, if at all, on Earth. We made arrangements to get up to see him the very next day. That next day was August 26, 2015. I remember everything. I think I was taking it slow and taking it all in.
He was completely unresponsive to us. He couldn't blink his eyes, move a finger, or anything. It was almost like he was in a coma with his eyes wide open. He wasn't. I believe he was alert inside and heard us, felt us.
We were with him for about 4 hours that afternoon and evening; visiting with each other, but loud enough that he would be able to hear us and know we were there beside him. Then I got this bad feeling and went to talk to him again. I put my hand on his and asked him if he could feel it. He can’t give any kind of movement or signal, but I still asked. I saw his right lip twitch upward a little bit for only a second. And I told him “ah! I see that big smile!!” Can you smile again like that? Let me know you can feel me and hear me papaw.” And he did it one more time. I know it was barely a movement at all, but it was a huge thing for me. I got really excited knowing he could feel and hear me. He was trying to communicate but his body was just frozen in place.
Shortly after that, his breathing slowed way down, almost non-existent. We got a nurse to check his heart rate and she barely heard a flutter. Then she moved to check his chest, and heard nothing. He had just taken his last breath while we were standing beside him. I was holding his hand, and talking to him. Telling him what the nurse was doing; asking him questions. And then he was no more.
A couple minutes later I realized what had really happened, and it’s amazing. It’s sad, but it’s amazing and powerful. To be present and watch someone take in a breath, and then just stop. Knowing that they were comforted with you holding their hand. Knowing that they were not alone. And looking back, I’m thinking that the smile I saw may have been when he was beginning to see the light, and may have seen my grandma standing there waiting for him to come back to her in Heaven. (or my other grandma. I used to joke about fixing him up with my mom’s mom for years, maybe she was there waiting for him too.) He was comforted with me touching him and talking to him, and it helped ease him into transition to another life.
Believe what you want, I will believe in God and Heaven and faith and strength and peace and kindness and the afterlife.
I want to tell the story of family, love, life, and death.
Who we are. We are a family that loves and supports one another. We are there at our strongest and we are there at our weakest. Through everything, we come together for one another. We team up and battle life together. We hug and cry together. We laugh and play together. I love my family and our great support system we have for each other.
My grandpa has not been in very good condition for a couple of years; He lived with my mom for 2 years while she was his sole care-taker for one of those two years. She finally hired help to take care of him during the day while she could work. I lived with her for 3 months out of those 19 months Papaw lived with her. Daily while I was there, I helped change his diapers. Feed him. Clean his sheets. Get him to bed. He was unable to ANYthing himself, totally dependent on someone else to sustain life. On occasion, my mom would go out of town for a day or two and would ask me to come over and take care of him after I moved out. But for the most part, she handled everything for 19 months; I only had a few small glance into how difficult her life was with him being there. We are not educated in being a care-giver for someone who completely relies on someone else. It is definitely a struggle and takes an emotional toll on everyone involved. But also, that is when I really began to have an attachment toward my grandpa. Seeing him at his worst moments, taking care of him how a mother would take care of a newborn; keeping him warm, safe, fed, and clean. Giving him stimulation to keep the brain active. Encouraging him.
We knew he was declining rapidly over the summer. That is why we made the decision to have him somewhere else with professional around the clock care to suit his needs better. But you can still never be fully prepared for when God decides he wants someone back home with him, instead of on this earth.
One day, we got a phone call that said to come see him right away, he only has a few short days left, if at all, on Earth. We made arrangements to get up to see him the very next day. That next day was August 26, 2015. I remember everything. I think I was taking it slow and taking it all in.
He was completely unresponsive to us. He couldn't blink his eyes, move a finger, or anything. It was almost like he was in a coma with his eyes wide open. He wasn't. I believe he was alert inside and heard us, felt us.
We were with him for about 4 hours that afternoon and evening; visiting with each other, but loud enough that he would be able to hear us and know we were there beside him. Then I got this bad feeling and went to talk to him again. I put my hand on his and asked him if he could feel it. He can’t give any kind of movement or signal, but I still asked. I saw his right lip twitch upward a little bit for only a second. And I told him “ah! I see that big smile!!” Can you smile again like that? Let me know you can feel me and hear me papaw.” And he did it one more time. I know it was barely a movement at all, but it was a huge thing for me. I got really excited knowing he could feel and hear me. He was trying to communicate but his body was just frozen in place.
Shortly after that, his breathing slowed way down, almost non-existent. We got a nurse to check his heart rate and she barely heard a flutter. Then she moved to check his chest, and heard nothing. He had just taken his last breath while we were standing beside him. I was holding his hand, and talking to him. Telling him what the nurse was doing; asking him questions. And then he was no more.
A couple minutes later I realized what had really happened, and it’s amazing. It’s sad, but it’s amazing and powerful. To be present and watch someone take in a breath, and then just stop. Knowing that they were comforted with you holding their hand. Knowing that they were not alone. And looking back, I’m thinking that the smile I saw may have been when he was beginning to see the light, and may have seen my grandma standing there waiting for him to come back to her in Heaven. (or my other grandma. I used to joke about fixing him up with my mom’s mom for years, maybe she was there waiting for him too.) He was comforted with me touching him and talking to him, and it helped ease him into transition to another life.
Believe what you want, I will believe in God and Heaven and faith and strength and peace and kindness and the afterlife.
 |
| Comforting him (and me) |
 |
| This was within his final moments |
Austynn for Halloween
The other day we had a girls shopping trip and ended up at Kay's Jewelry
trying on rings. The clerk was super friendly and carried on a
conversation with Austynn. And then this happened:
A: "Last year at Halloween I was a whore."
The lady looked shocked and then up at us. Our eyes got big. We asked again "what were you?"
A: "A whore" she said so matter-of-fact. Hmm. One more time we asked "what were you?"
A: In her frustrated voice "A whora". Oooh. Aurora. From Maleficent.
Well now that we got that figured out...
A: "Last year at Halloween I was a whore."
The lady looked shocked and then up at us. Our eyes got big. We asked again "what were you?"
A: "A whore" she said so matter-of-fact. Hmm. One more time we asked "what were you?"
A: In her frustrated voice "A whora". Oooh. Aurora. From Maleficent.
Well now that we got that figured out...
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Bluepint for Life
I didn't make it to church last week, and that was a bummer. But I did this week, and once again, I got something out of this wonderful message. I'm loving that each message is being spoken directly to ME. Not sure why everyone else comes, the Pastor obviously has ME on his mind when he comes up with a sermon. ;)
Matthew 7:24-27. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
The house that God is talking about is life. House = Life.
Every house faces storms. Everyone faces trials. God is challenging you on how and what you build your house on. Do you have solid foundation of Jesus Christ in your life, or are you lukewarm christian who only knows who God is, but doesn't show it or grow in him?
1 Peter 4:12 "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you."
you are not alone. you are not the only one who has storms in your life, and you are certainly not the only one with a specific storm. Know that God is there for you, as is other people. We are all facing battles, some are the same as others.
Houses built on the wrong foundation will not survive the storms. Concern yourself with what you are; not who you look like you are. If you want to gain life, you have to lose it to Jesus. Your life is a desperate life, you need Jesus ALL the time, not just when a storm blows through.
Christ is not a quick fix for a desperate moment. He is the only fix for a desperate life.
Houses built on Jesus survive and thrive through the storms.
Without a good foundation, you will begin to crumble.
1 Corinthians 3:11
Matthew 16:13-18
Matthew 7:24-27. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
The house that God is talking about is life. House = Life.
Every house faces storms. Everyone faces trials. God is challenging you on how and what you build your house on. Do you have solid foundation of Jesus Christ in your life, or are you lukewarm christian who only knows who God is, but doesn't show it or grow in him?
1 Peter 4:12 "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you."
you are not alone. you are not the only one who has storms in your life, and you are certainly not the only one with a specific storm. Know that God is there for you, as is other people. We are all facing battles, some are the same as others.
Houses built on the wrong foundation will not survive the storms. Concern yourself with what you are; not who you look like you are. If you want to gain life, you have to lose it to Jesus. Your life is a desperate life, you need Jesus ALL the time, not just when a storm blows through.
Christ is not a quick fix for a desperate moment. He is the only fix for a desperate life.
Houses built on Jesus survive and thrive through the storms.
Without a good foundation, you will begin to crumble.
1 Corinthians 3:11
Matthew 16:13-18
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