Sunday Reflections: Pain in the Night

Psalm 30:5  For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. 

The song, Your Love Never Fails by Jesus Culture says "pain" instead of weeping (though almost every translation I've seen says weeping). I think the general gist of the verse is that there is pain, sorrow, trials, trouble, etc. in this short life, but we will begin a new day with God in Heaven where there will be unending joy.

As some of you know, I have been suffering with a joint pain and tiredness for about a year. It seems to be Rheumatoid Arthritis, but I don't have a definitive diagnosis yet. This past week has been especially tough--lots of pain, and my blood work came back "normal," so I'm at the "now what?" stage.

My youngest son said to me the other day, "Mommy, maybe God wants you to be in pain." Wow. I responded that God never wants us to feel pain, but that he was right, sometimes God wants to teach us something, or there is some good that will come out of the pain--like the metaphor of refining gold by fire. And sometimes we go through pain because we live in a fallen world that's no longer perfect like Eden was.

It got me thinking--is God trying to speak to me through this pain and I'm not listening? I've been praying harder since that conversation and trying to figure out where I need to go from here. I have been feeling for a while that my nutrition has something to do with how I'm feeling--I haven't been eating as well as I used to. For a while, I wasn't vegetarian (I believe God gives us everything--plants and animals--to eat, in moderation), but I ate a LOT more vegetables (like 10+ servings a day). I drank a lot more water and didn't drink as much tea or soda.

So, I'm praying more, listening for God more, and trying to get back to eating healthy to see if it helps my physical pain. I'll let you know how it's going. I would appreciate all prayers to help me see what God wants of me and for me to be obedient in this situation.

Sunday Reflections: Look Back

On my day of rest and worship, I really need rest. I've been running myself ragged. Right now, I'm trying to decide what focus I want with FCFW and how to balance my Christian life, life as a mom and wife, life as a teacher, and my blogging. In the meantime, I will be moving the blog to WordPress this week, I'm going to the Rheumatologist on Tuesday, and I have another event occurring on Sunday. Long story short: I'm busier than I probably should be while sick. I really need a day off.

I hope you will enjoy looking through my old Sunday Reflection posts today, and, if you're looking for deals, check out the Albertson's matchup for this week and the Sale Sweep-ups for Walmart and Target, CVS, and Walgreen's.

Don't forget to enter my current giveaways while you're here:

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Social Media Boost Giveaway -- iPad2 or $500 (10/3 to 10/24)

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1 Quart Jar of Coconut Oil 10/31

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Sunday Reflections: My Testimony

Note: Sunday is my day of rest and worship of my God. I haven't been good about reserving this time lately, but I am rededicating that to the Lord. Therefore, on Sundays, I will only post my Sunday Reflections. Check out my Sale Sweep Up for the week, or my Albertson's Matchups if you're looking for deals.

My Testimony

I grew up as a Christian, with most of my family and extended family also Christian. I came to know Jesus at an early age, but did not give my life to Jesus until I was sixteen. After a meandering path, I ended up in Texas with my husband and two sons. We had bought our first home and I was teaching only a mile away. Life seemed great, but we had a shallow faith. 

 

In June 2007, I was teaching summer school. I woke that Monday morning to my oldest son telling me the backyard was full of water. Before we knew it, the house was filled with water. We were able to get out safely, but our house was totaled and we lost one of our pets, a sweet kitty named Steel Magnolia, or Maggie for short. This is when we found out how much God loved us. 

Photo Credit: bigfoto.com

I called my mom to have her come watch the kids while we started to work on cleaning out the house. She called my aunt, and from there it spread throughout our church. Over a dozen brothers and sisters showed up and cleaned out our house. We were the only ones on the block to end that day cleaned out. On top of that great blessing, we received so many offers of clothing, food, and furniture that we were able to share with others in our neighborhood. It was amazing how this tragedy became a way for us to bring the neighborhood together and share Jesus' love.

As a result of this experience, we are forever changed. We have a deeper relationship with Jesus, and a greater appreciation for the blessings we have. We were also able to affect people in Jesus' name when there was no opportunity there before.

Do you know Jesus? We are all striving to find something to fill our lives and we all sense that there's something missing. What's missing is the close relationship we were designed to have with our Creator. We can't have that relationship as we are. We're messy and fallen and God can only be around perfection. The good news is that He made a plan for us to get cleaned up so we could be with Him forever. Jesus, who is perfect, gave his life and took our sin (messiness of our lives) and put it on himself, took our punishment for us. All we have to do to make ourselves clean again is to accept what Jesus has done for us and declare Him Lord of our lives.

If you would like to learn more about my faith, please email me. I would be happy to talk with you. I don't know everything and I'm far from perfect, but I can share with you what I know and help you find out what I don't!

Sunday Reflections: That Sneaky Devil

I was talking to a friend yesterday who has two little ones, a toddler and a baby. She was telling me about how difficult it is to get out of the house on Sunday morning and get to church. Wednesdays were also difficult for her. Her theory is that the devil doesn't want us to go to church and be built up, so those days are particularly difficult. 

I've experienced the same sort of thing. As some of you may know, if you know me personally, or have been reading my blog, I have some joint issues. It always seems like my "flare ups" happen Saturday night or Sunday morning and I have been missing church more often than I'd like. Usually, the rest of my week is just as terrible, and it's hard to break out of the rut.

Of course, the times I HAVE powered through and gone to church anyway, I always leave feeling edified and renewed. The rest of my week is usually much more positive when I attend church with other believers. It's not just showing up in a building that does it, either. It's worshipping God, connecting with other believers, and going deeper into my relationship with Jesus. As my pastor says, the church is not the building, the church is the people who fill it.

So what can we do about this situation and the attacks the devil (and yes, I do believe there is an actual being called Satan, Lucifer, the Prince of Light, etc.)?

I'm no expert myself, but I found some great sites to help:

How to Overcome Satan, the Enemy of Prayer

How You Can Win Against Satan

Have you discovered a scripture, or a way to conquer Satan? Please share it in the comments below.

Sunday Reflections: 9/11 -- It's All About Honor

What kind of courage does it take to forget yourself and run into a burning building? What kind of person can set themselves aside, possibly recognizing their ultimate fate, and seek the good of others? The men and women who were first responders on 9/11, whether in New York, Pennsylvania, or Washington D.C., and the men and women who, later, spent countless hours searching, cleaning, restoring, and memorializing the lost.

I still think back on that day, and the unreality of it all. I was in Massachusetts then, about 3 hours north of NYC, and we felt "close" to it all, even though we weren't. I still can't imagine what it must have been like, arriving at that smoking building, knowing there was multitude of people trapped inside. What courage it must have taken to cross the threshold into a nightmare we can't imagine. And, yet, this situation was not completely new to the first responders, and they probably entered without a thought, just doing their job.

It makes me think of honor. It's a word we throw around lightly in our society, like "love." "I love that hat," "I love cheeseburgers." These words seem to be meaningless awash in the constant chatter of our digital world. But they are not lost, and they are not meaningless.

The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be. -- Socrates

The men and women who were first responders, the victims who left messages for their loved ones, those who courageously fought back against their captors, the men and women who painstakingly searched and rebuilt...these people are the definition of honor.

When you return to work or school tomorrow, after our unrecognized federal holiday, I challenge you to live your lives with honor--be who you pretend to be. In doing so, you will honor the memories of those that died on this day, and those that lived.

Sunday Reflections #4: Temptation

Courtesy of Kim Daniels

We're starting a new series at my church, Sherman Bible, called "Even Me," which looks like it's going to be awesome. We just came off of a tough, challenging, but great series that asked us if we are fans of Jesus, or followers. Now we're going to be looking at how the gospel is for everyone, even me and disciple making is for everyone, even me. I love that our church openly welcomes people in all states, but challenges them not to stay where they are.

Today we looked at Jesus' temptation prior to the start of His ministry. We looked at the three temptations and learned how they really do connect to us (like Jeff, I often thought, "well, I don't have the power to turn stones into bread, so how does this connect to me and my temptations?"). Here are the three temptations (from our perspective) from Luke 4:1-4 and what we discussed about them:

1. Consumption -- would you rather be fed or fathered? In the story of the Israelites wandering the desert after being released from captivity, sometimes God provided manna and sometimes He didn't, but He loved and cared for them. We go through times of plenty and times of want to shape us into what He wants us to be, most of all dependent upon Him for our every need.
2. Status -- would you rather be magnified or crucified? We want so much to be seen as famous, whatever the scope (from the world, to only in our own minds) that we think more of ourselves and less of Jesus. If we're not focused on Jesus, we're focused on ourselves and our own glory.
3. Security -- would you rather be right or rescued? Jesus knew if he jumped off the height that God would save Him. He also knew it would vindication for Him--see? I was right, I am the Son of God! But His work would have been incomplete and the fear for Him wasn't really the height--it was knowing what lay ahead. Sometimes we're so wrapped up in wanting to be right and do things our way that we lose sight of the fact that we need Jesus, daily, as our very breath.

I'm looking forward to and, if I'm brutally honest, scared to see what God has in store for me and SBC. As He deepens our relationship and opens these doors, it means He is calling us to more and greater responsibility--awesome and somewhat terrifying when you consider it.

So what is God doing in your life right now? Share it in a comment below. Or share a prayer request. You can either post it, or, if you prefer, email it to me in private--fullcartfullwallet (at) gmail.com

Sunday Reflection #3 -- Wrestling with God

If you think about it, most of our lives are about control--who has it, who's using it, how you can get more. Even the basis for sin is control--I want what I want when I want it and I don't care if it's bad for me. We spend much of our lives wrestling with God, much like Jacob. Even those of us who love God struggle against Him and our sinful desires. 

It's a difficult thing to come to the recognition that your own self is at war with your desire to follow Jesus. A common theme in the New Testament is that we must give up this life of living for ourselves, give up our earthly desires, and put on a new self devoted to God. Some passages that touch on this:

Gal 5:24 You cannot belong to Christ Jesus unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires.

Gal 5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature, with all its passions and desires.

1 Pet 2:24a And he personally bore our sins in his own body on the cross, so that we might be dead to sin and be alive to all that is good.

To be in Jesus, we must be dead to our old, sinful self. We must forever relinquish control. Come to Jesus with an open palm of submission, not a closed fist, tightly holding onto what we hold most dear.

In 1 Cor. 15:31, Paul says, "I die daily." This is the key. Each day, our sinful desires wake up with us. Each day, we must choose to live for Jesus and put aside those desires. 

Over time, our sinful desires may get quiet, but they will never be gone until we leave this earth. Therefore, you have to start each day with the determination to live for Jesus. 

We are all "works in progress," and "under construction" on our journey toward Christ.

Sunday Reflections #2 The Harvest

With our youth, we've been preparing them for the upcoming school year and influencing their friends for Christ. Our series has been called "The Harvest," talking about Jesus' parable of the sower in Luke 8:4-8.

Two weeks ago, we talked about plowing. Plowing is preparing the soil for the seed in farmer's terms. In spiritual terms, it means praying continually over those we want to influence. God is actually the one who softens the unbeliever's heart, but it's through our prayer that we also prepare ourselves for the next step.

After we plow, we scatter the seed. In today's day and age, we're generally more careful about where we place the seed, sometimes even poking holes in the ground and putting the seeds in the holes. We are more discerning (thinking we know best) about what soil is best for the seed, more choosy about where to plant. The sower in the parable, however, is scattering seed everywhere, willy-nilly. He is trusting in God that the seed will fall where it needs to, and he doesn't judge which soil is best for growing. We should be the same in sharing our faith. We might think that some of our friends would never come to know Jesus, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't share anyway. As our leader pointed out, three of the soils looked OK when the sower scattered the seed (the good soil, the rocky soil, and the thorny soil). It wasn't until after the seed was sown that the problems in the rocky and thorny soils were revealed.

This week, we focused on what a farmer does after he plants. He, of course, does not walk away from his crop and expect it to grow on its own. Nor does he expect instant growth. Instead, he provides sunlight, water, and nurture. In the spiritual realm, this means continuing to pray over our friends, showing God's love to them, and continuing to ask spiritual questions and probing them about what they believe about Jesus. This part was really scary to the girls in my small group. They think it's scary enough sharing their faith, but to risk rejection again, after there was not an immediate response the first time, is tough. We might be embarrassed, seen as weird, made fun of. But Paul says, "we are fools for Christ." (1 Cor. 4:10) It's scary to be thought of as foolish, but better to be foolish and working to save the lost, than watching our friends walk on paths to hell.

My girls also think that you have to be a wise and eloquent speaker, and know everything about the Bible before you share with others. We've been working on that for several months, but I think Paul (who I always think of as the Rockstar of the Christian world) says it best in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5:

1 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God. 2 For I decided to be concerned about nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and with much trembling. 4 My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on the power of God.

So, what are you doing to reap the harvest that is plentiful? Share below how you have influenced others for Jesus.

Sunday Reflections

Visual Forces Christian Photography

 Sunday is typically my day of rest. Since it's also the beginning of the sale week for CVS and Walgreen's, I do occasionally shop, and I of course buy newspapers. Lately, my HBA stockpile has been full and the deals at CVS and Walgreen's not fabulous enough for me to rush out before church in the morning. It's been nice to wake up, eat breakfast with my kids, and head out to church.

Our pastor is currently talking about how we must be followers of Jesus, dedicated to Him, not just "fans" on Sundays. Along those lines, I've been deepening my relationship with Jesus, seeking after Him more actively. To reflect that in my blog, on Sundays, I will take a break from posting deals and post some reflections on my faith.

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Today, we sung one of my favorite songs by Casting Crowns, Glorious Day. It makes me want to see Jesus coming down out of the sky right now :) Here are the lyrics that really touched me today:

Living He loved me, dying He saved me     

And buried He carried my sins far away   

Rising He justified freely forever    

One day He's coming, oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day 

Jesus is my all, through His life and death he demonstrated His love and devotion to me. I firmly believe that one day He will return to collect His people. He demonstrates His love and devotion to me on a daily basis, carrying me through many trials. I am proud to say He is my Lord.