A Grand Purpose...

There are some days when I feel like my life is one of details and duty.  Oftentimes those duties can become overwhelming because quite frankly I have more of them to do in one day than is humanly possible.  When I feel overwhelmed, exhaustion sets in and at times it is depressing.

Sometimes when trials or storms come our way I don't understand the purpose.  It's so easy to ask the God that I know is perfect and has a plan, why?

My cousin and her husband are mourning the loss of their unborn child.  I don't know why the Lord allows for things like this to happen, but Romans 8:28 tells us that "All things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose".  I've never lost a child, and I can't imagine their pain, but sometimes you just want to ask why.

That very same cousin of mine who is experiencing loss, posted this on her blog about a week ago; how appropriate of a reminder it is in times of difficulty.

The Next Time You Feel Like God Did Not Make You For A Grand Purpose, Remember:

Noah got drunk, Genesis 9:20-22.

Abraham was too old, Genesis 17.

Jacob was a liar, Genesis 27:19.

Leah was considered ugly, Genesis 29:17

Joseph was abused, Genesis 37:24-36.

Moses stuttered, Exodus 4:10.

Gideon was afraid, Judges 6:21-23.

Samson had long hair and was a womanizer,

Judges 14.

Rahab was a prostitute, Joshua 2:1.

Jeremiah and Timothy were too young,

Jere.1:6-7 and 2Timothy 1:2.

David had an affair and was a murderer,

2Samuel 11:3-27.

Elijah was suicidal, 1King 19.

Isaiah preached naked, Isaiah 20:2-4.

Jonah ran from God, The book of Jonah

Naomi was a widow, Ruth 1:3.

Job went bankrupt, The Book of Job.

Peter denied Christ, Matt.26:69-70.

The Disciples fell asleep while praying, Matthew 26:40.

Martha worried about everything, Luke 10:40.

Mary Magdalene was cleansed of seven demons,

Mark 16:9.

The Samaritan woman at the well had five husbands, John 4:18.

Zaccheus was too small, Luke 19:3.

Paul was too religious, Acts 8:1. (note: I left this in, but am dubious about “too religious”…)

Timothy had an ulcer, 1Timothy 5:23.

Lazarus was dead! John 11.

God desires for you to reach your full potential.

Are you available?

You are not the message. You are the messenger!

The Truth (part two)

You can read the first part of this story here.

  So after a laparoscopy, I began to feel like a human being again.  The doctor did find some scar tissue and some endometriosis, and he removed it all.  After a few days, I began to feel alive again.  I began to feel like I could be a mom and play with my son without being in pain.  I felt like a participant in my marriage and like I could live and not just get through the day.
  I didn't tell Austin's birth story to the whole world so that I could garner support.  But the truth is that just because I call Jesus my Lord does not mean that life comes without trials.  I wanted nothing more than to have a few kids and be a mom.  But my body isn't so fond of the whole giving birth thing.  Does it mean that I'm not a good enough Christian or that I'm not thankful enough to the Lord.  I heard several comments from other Christians when I was enduring my difficult pregnancy "Oh, I loved being pregnant, I was so thankful to the Lord for my baby that all those little symptoms didn't bother me."  Okay, honestly folks... who in the world would want to revel in the fact that puking was a regular part of your day?  Really, do you think that I wanted to be that miserable?  Well, no, I didn't.  It was no fun.  I still have heartburn issues due to my little fella.  But you know what?  I am thankful that God allowed me to have my son.  I can't imagine my life without him.  What I went through was terrible, but I love my son and I am thankful for him.  No level of thankfulness to the Lord will help you avoid trials and tribulations.  God has a plan in it all, even if it's bad.
    Call it Christianese.  My husband and I often refer to them as Used Car Salesmen.  You can call it whatever you want.  But there are some REALLY fake people that grace the doors of churches every Sunday.  Why these folks never have any problems.  Why?  Well that's because they call the good Lord just that, Lord.  Why since they were saved they've never had problems.  The bills have always been paid with ease, nothing in the house has broken when they don't have the funds to fix it, everyone is healthy, and their job is sunshine and roses.  At least that's what they want you to think.
  But the truth?  Life is ugly.  People sin.  They act in ways they don't want to and they make stupid mistakes.  People are judgmental and rude.  Things don't work out the way we want them to.  You can make the grandest of plans, but God has another plan and it just might not fit in your little box.
  I recently read Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope by Mary Beth Chapman, and it is an amazing book.  This book goes into detail about Mary Beth's own journey through life's struggles.  She talks about how those smaller struggles led up to the biggest struggle of her life; the death of her five year old daughter.  She is very clear in the book that God has a plan in the mess.  It might be a huge mess, but God has a plan in that huge mess.
   I think it's high time that Christians start being real.  Real about the truth of life. God sent His Son Jesus to die for us.  Because of that, we can have everlasting life when we accept Him as our Savior.  And God has a plan for each of us and orders our step according to His purpose.  But the truth?  Those steps aren't always wonderful, they aren't always rainbows and sunshine.  However, there are times that you see God's purpose in a trial and you come through a situation where you can see where God had you headed.  Bottom line, in the end God's plan is perfect, even if the details are messy and terrible.  And that's the truth.

The Truth (part one)

     This post isn't for the weak at heart or for those who only want to read about wonderful things.  This won't be about butterflies and rainbows, in fact it will be about the void of such things.
      My husband and I recently had a conversation about the difficulties of life.  I'm not going to divulge everything in our personal lives out in the open for all of the internet to see, but suffice it to say that in the ten and a half years we've been married, life hasn't always been full of happiness and it hasn't always been easy.  We've certainly made wrong choices or bad decisions.  But there have been times when we've been faced with choices that aren't pleasant or comfortable.  There have been difficult times in our marriage as well as good ones.  Isn't not all sunshine, rainbows and butterflies over here.
      When we found out we were expecting our son, it was against a doctor's predicted odds.  Just a few weeks prior to my getting a positive pregnancy test, my doctor told me it may be impossible for me to have a baby on my own.  I was so thankful that I was given this gift of my own child.  A few weeks later, the sickness hit and it didn't stop until delivery.  In fact, I was sick so often that there were several instances that my doctor talked about putting me in the hospital on IVs.  My back hurt so bad while I was pregnant (which could have been fixed, more on that later) that I was miserable and often in a lot of pain.  My blood pressure was high. I retained so much water that none of my shoes fit and I couldn't wear my wedding rings or my watch.  I couldn't stand the sight or smell of any chicken.  I couldn't take out the trash or I'd puke.  I went into labor and over 24 hours later after an epidural and pitocin, I pushed for over 2 hours.  Austin was so big that he just wouldn't come down.  He still has a slight scar between his eyes from my bone during delivery.  After a grueling labor and attempt at delivery, I ended up having a c-section.  If you saw a picture of me after delivery, you wouldn't believe it was me.  After they took me to my room, my blood pressure began to skyrocket.  I was so thirsty and felt horrible.  They wouldn't even let me have ice chips and I was so exhausted.  A doctor may tell you I'm wrong, but I really think that if they would have let me have something to drink and had left me alone to rest I would have been okay.  But they came in and turned me on my left side.  I was no longer numb from the epidural and I had a fresh incision.  When they began turning me I begged them not to.  It hurt so bad.  As they turned me they told me that they had to so they could get my blood pressure to drop.  I began SCREAMING.  I didn't scream like that when my epidural wore off during delivery.  I was worn out, but I can tell you that I remember thinking that my incision was going to bust open right there in that room.  My husband held a box of kleenex while I balled my eyes out in pain.  They finally came in with some morphine and put it in my IV.  I guess they gave me enough to knock me out because I remember falling asleep.  I guess you can't have a woman screaming in the recovery section of labor and delivery.  The turning did it's job.  To this day I remember it as one of the most traumatic events of my life.  I wouldn't wish that pain on the worst of criminals.  They put those pressure cuffs on my legs all night that night and I remember calling the nurse over and over again and begging for something to drink.  I just wanted something to drink.  They wouldn't even let me wash my mouth out.  I was dirty and covered in sweat and it was miserable.  They did let Austin stay in our room that night and I remember that between begging for something to drink, I was trying to nurse him.  The next morning they tried to get me out of the bed.  I hadn't drank anything for going on 72 hours now so I was limp like a rag.  The angel, also known as the Nurses Aide, that was trying to help me kindly asked me if I had eaten or drank anything.  When I explained that even though I had begged, I had in fact had nothing to eat or drink, she came to my aide.  I will never forget the four 8 ounce portions of grape juice I drank in about 2 minutes.  It was fabulous and felt so good.  She let me rest a bit so I wouldn't be lightheaded anymore and then she came back and helped me up.  God bless those women.  They helped me go to the restroom, they bathed me in the shower.  They washed my hair and helped me get dressed into fresh clothes.  It couldn't have been pleasant for them, but they were a Godsend.  I can still remember what they looked like. They helped me throughout the rest of my stay and I am forever grateful.
   After I took Austin home, recovery was difficult.  It was painful and I never really got over that pinching feeling from the incision.  My back still hurt and I just wasn't myself.  I struggled with depression and even ended up on anti-depressants when he was about 15 months old.  I had doctors blow me off about my pain and tell me that there wasn't anything wrong with me.  Finally, I had a doctor declare that I must have scar tissue.  She admitted it couldn't be seen on any kind of scan.  I started Therapy for women with my kind of issues.  That woman helped me fix my back and tailbone pain and told me that I could have seen her during my pregnancy to help with that pain.  My skin from my abdomen was so full of adhesions, that it felt like you were ripping it apart when you pulled it.  Finally, I decided I couldn't take it anymore.  My son was nearing his second birthday and I felt like I just got out of labor and delivery.  I told my husband I no longer wanted to feel like I had just had a baby and I couldn't deal with it anymore.  I made another appointment and went in and scheduled a laparoscopy.

To be continued.... 

Drawing the Line

I never really expected to write a blog post about this kind of thing. But I guess this issue is getting to my core lately.

I won't hide the fact that I am a Christian. Jesus Christ is my personal Savior. He died on the cross to save all of us from our sin. He is my everything, and without doubt guides my steps. I am so far from perfect, there aren't words. I have so much to learn, and so much work to do. However, because of my Savior, I know He forgives, and allows me to learn and grow through my mistakes. I have made plenty of mistakes, and Jesus is there to pick me up after I've fallen. And He's allowed me to get back on track time after time. God is good, that's for sure.

Now I have a five year old son. My husband and I are often talking about making good choices for him. Knowing where to draw the line for him when we allow him to watch or do things. Yes, he's only 5... but we know that if we set boundaries for him now that later on it will help him make good choices. I can't stifle him... I can't restrict him from everything, but I sure can filter our television and other things. Recently, my husband and I thought it might be a good idea to take Austin to see the movie Marma.duke. My husband did a little search on the Focus on the Family website and found out that the movie depicts the dogs drinking ditchwater and makes it out that they are drinking beer. There are a few other things that are negative in that movie. They show behavior we don't want our son to have. If you want to read the review, you can click here. Can I filter everything from him? No, but I can make the best choices I can.

I could list a lot of verses from the Bible that explain that Christians are to be set apart. When this issue really began to burn me up last night, I posted Romans 12:1-2 on my status update on facebook. It states "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." (NIV)

In light of this verse, I've seen several things recently that make me wonder why if one proclaims to be a Christian that you would openly participate in things that make that proclamation questionable. Now, you can't look at me and tell that I am saved by the grace of Jesus. So you could use the excuse that no one knows I'm a Christian when I'm out in public, so I can get away with some things. Okay, well... then, the next time I go to the grocery store and they question my use of a coupon I think I'll just curse at the cashier. No one knows I'm a Christian, right... so that makes it okay, right? Absolutely NOT. The Lord still knows what I've done. And even if no one else heard me, the Lord did. Let's take it a little further. Let's say I chose to go out to the beach one day. And with me, I take a cooler full of beer. I set up my lawn chair on the beach and while Austin digs in the sand, I booze it up... become slap out drunk. Now we can talk about child endangerment here, but that's not my point. The Bible says not to become drunken. Does anyone on the beach know that I am a Christian? No, but the Lord does. And I can tell you that living 1 mile from the school I teach at and about 5 miles from the closest beach, I am going to most likely run into one of my former students on the beach. Do you think that's a good testimony to them if they see their teacher boozing it up on the beach? I don't preach the gospel in my classroom, but my students know that I attend church and if they ask I do tell them I'm a Christian.

Recently, I have witnessed fellow believers posting pictures of themselves on facebook. These pictures show them consuming alcohol in various places. On the beach and even in bars. I won't name any names, because it's not appropriate here. But this gets under my skin. I suppose there really isn't anything wrong if you want to consume alcohol in your own home and not become drunk. But when you go out and flat out get drunk in public, what does that show with your testimony? What really set me off was an acquaintance I saw on Television. I won't get into specifics, but he was on a reality show and he stripped down to very tiny underpants. I don't want to put the name of the show or his name. I don't think it's appropriate. My point is that this disgusting act not only grossed me out, but made me wonder why someone who professes to be a Christian would do something like that. You can be funny without stripping down. Really, you can.

I went to a Chonda Pierce concert recently. She talked about some experiences she's had in the secular realm of entertainment. How no one could understand that you can do a comedy routine without cursing and being crass. However, she does it. She talked about lifestyle evangelism, and how people keep wondering how she can be so kind and loving to others, and how she can be in her line of work and not be crass and rude. Because of this, people are starting to ask her questions about her faith and why she's the way she is. She has been able to start witnessing to people just because of the example she sets.

So I'm calling on Christians to draw the line. We live in an evil world, full of behavior that constantly dances on that line. When we start to lower our guard, our standards decrease and we don't even realize it.

I might be called out on facebook because of this post, and you might be reading this and completely disagree with me. But these recent events have caused me to really examine myself and think about where my own boundaries are. Whether you disagree with me about the things that got me fired up or not, please know that my point is that you can't act like the world and then claim not to be of it. No double standards allowed.

Thankful...

This is the time of year that everyone is posting on Facebook and talking in general about what they are thankful for. As our pastor said yesterday, while sitting around the table on Thursday some may mention they are thankful for the turkey sitting in front of them... while others are thankful for deeper things. Without a doubt, there are lots of things we can all be thankful for... from something as simple as a Turkey to put on the table to something deeper.

I can list a lot of things I am thankful for. But rather than provide a bulleted list, I have something deeper I want to write about this evening.

You see, I sat in my first grade classroom and listened to my teacher talk about accepting Christ as my Savior. How important it was for us to confess that we knew we were sinners and that we believed that Jesus paid the price for those sins on the cross. It was that moment that my heart became convicted and that evening, I accepted Christ along with my mom by my side. I am thankful that my parents sacrificed to send me to a Christian school where my teacher, Ms. Beck, delivered a powerful devotion that morning.

If it weren't for the presence of Christ in my life, I wouldn't be sitting on my sofa in this house right now. I can tell you that I would be far worse. It is because of Christ that I sought out Christian friends while I was a teenager. It is because of Christ that I sought to marry a Christian man. Did I make all the right choices every time as a teenager? Absolutely not? But because of Christ, He led me to the wonderful man he had for me. Because of Christ, I married Paul.

Paul and I were very young when we got married. 21 and 23. We had a lot to learn. And we learned all of those lessons and made all of those mistakes together. God brought many things into our lives that brought us closer together and made our marriage better for it. It's pretty amazing to see how God orchestrates events to fulfill His purposes. When we were married almost 4 years, I sat in a doctors office to listen to her tell me it was all together possible I may never be able to conceive a child. Refusing to believe her, I got the list of tests I would need to have run to prove her wrong. Only I didn't need to do anything... God already had. You see as that doctor sat there and told me that horrible news, God had already started the miracle of Austin... it was just too early to detect. You see, because of Christ, I am the mother of a wonderful, energetic, sweet, and caring four year old boy.

After owning a house that ended up falling apart after we bought it, Paul and I were determined that one day we would become homeowners again. (only this time with a lot more wisdom to boot) We seriously considered buying several different homes while we still lived in Jacksonville. None of them felt like the right move. Paul had an awesome job at a property insurance company, but we never felt like we should stay in Jacksonville. Life went on... Then Paul applied for a promotion in Tampa. His company doesn't exactly move fast on anything... so several months went by and we had no idea he was even being considered at all. Well, he got the position... and it was 2 weeks before school was to start. Moving meant that we not only had to find a place to live in Tampa, but I had to find a job. God orchestrated everything and the move worked without a snag. Because of Christ, we now live in Tampa.

We've been in Tampa for 15 months now. We've grown closer as a family and work together better as a team in everything we do. There's some funky thing with mortgages that you can't just move somewhere and buy a house, regardless of your job being a transfer, new job, relocation, whatever you call it... you have to get 2 months of paystubs under your belt in your new city before you can close on a house in said city. So that's the reason we rented when we moved here. Praise be to God, HE orchestrated events so that we ended up closing on the beautiful home that we now live in on November 10, 2009. Our house is gorgeous. It's big enough for what our family needs. I have dreamed for years of a flat top stove and I now have it. Our kitchen, foyer and bathrooms have 18 inch ceramic tile. I have a side by side fridge. I finally have a washer and dryer that work properly. When I wake up in the mornings and look at my huge kitchen I just thank the Lord. When I get to let our son go out and play in the back yard, I thank the Lord. When I pull my car into the dry and safe garage every evening, I thank the Lord. When I get clothes out of "my" closet and use "my" sink to get ready in the mornings, I thank the Lord. I still feel a sense of disbelief when I look around and think that this home is actually ours.

God has truly blessed me. The road has had it's rough patches, but God put each and every "rough patch" there to refine me to better fulfill His purposes for me. I haven't yet seen the whole big picture that God is showing me and I certainly haven't been fully refined by him. But God is good to me, He always has been and always will be. And I can't be more thankful for the journey He has allowed me to have in this life.

How He Loves Us

I am proud to serve an AMAZING God. Very recently, our family has been praying about a certain personal issue. We remained faithful that God would provide an answer to the situation according to His will. Today we received that answer and when we did, I cried. Not because I was worried that God wouldn't answer. But because I am ultimately humbled. I am humbled that I, who am so unworthy of the goodness of God and His love received provision and an answer from the Lord just when we needed it. We might think that something as simple as our need for a new pair of shoes or some new towels doesn't matter to our Lord. But it does. He knows EACH and every one of our needs. Just think of the most minuscule simple thing you might need. God knows it. Trust Him and Him alone and He will provide. God may not answer the way we wanted or when we wanted, but He will because He knows best for His children. In thanking my Lord for always showing me that He loves me and I matter to Him, I thought of this song. It has recently become one of my favorites. I have the lyrics below and you can google it if you'd like to hear it.

How He Loves Us

David Crowder Band

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

Feed the Bay 2009 Results!

I posted the experience our family had with Feed The Bay 2009. I was completely and utterly humbled by the results. The goal was to collect 300,000 pounds of food. Well, the goal was reached and then some! The results were:

306,951 Pounds of Food

$9,500 in Gift Cards

PRAISE THE LORD!!!

What amazes me even more is that God knows where every can, box, jar and package of food needs to go. He has a plan to fulfill the needs of thousands of people with every item. How amazing to think that the exact amount of food and gift cards was collected that the Lord intended. Our God is truly amazing!

I think it is just awesome to see the body of Christ, regardless of denomination, come together to SHOW the love of Christ. What an amazing thing to think about. Isn't that what heaven will be like anyway? God won't put the Baptists on one side with the Methodists on the other... no, God will see us all as His Children, just as he does now.

Learn more about Feed the Bay, here.

Feed the Bay 2009

This past Sunday, our church participated in Feed The Bay 2009. We let the date sneak up on us and had forgotten about it. However, in the middle of praise and worship, Paul and I decided to go to the store afterwards anyway and participate.

The goal was for the congregations of the 20 something participating churches in the area to all grocery shop after church and donate everything to the local food banks. They wanted to be able to stock the pantries of 13 local food banks to help feed the hungry. Our Pastor gave the statistic that 40,000 people are hungry in the area. That's unbelievable. To think that someone can't feed their child. I can't imagine the personal pain I would experience knowing I couldn't get resources together and my child was hungry.

Austin didn't quite understand why in the world we'd give away food. When we finally got him to understand that there are children who are very hungry and don't have macaroni and cheese and spaghettios to eat whenever they want like he does, he got the idea. So we told him we are buying food for the hungry people. He got into it and picked out a few things, like canned veggies and of course macaroni and cheese and spaghettios. After we got everything paid for, the kind people at Publix boxed it up for us. We then took it to the semi trailer waiting outside the store. That's right, there were about 20 participating grocery stores and empty semi trailers waiting to be filled right outside them. It really felt good to hand that food over and know someone, somewhere will have a full belly for at least a little while from the food that we purchased.

Some people don't want to contribute food or any other aid to the needy. Often those who are needy are categorized as "lazy", "good for nothing", or "unwilling to work". However, I have found in the past few months that this is largely untrue for the needy people today. Are there people who refuse to work and expect hand outs? Of course there are. But for the most part people are hungry due to circumstances beyond their control. Lost jobs, lost homes, lost cars, all victims of the economy. Furthermore, who am I to judge? Who am I to judge someone else? Don't I have enough to look at myself for?

There's another reason we gave on Sunday. It's because the Bible teaches us to be kind and loving to one another. It also teaches us to show our faith. What good is my faith in God if I keep it all packed into a little box and only pull it out on Sunday mornings at church? It's not. Often Christians are seen as prude, closed off people. That's not what our Lord did. After all, when there were 5,000 hungry people our Lord provided for them on the side of a mountain. He took 2 loaves of bread and 5 fish and made it enough for 5,000 people and then the disciples collected 12 baskets full of leftovers. You can read it straight from the Bible right here. What if the Lord wanted me to use my resources to bless someone else? Who am I to question where those items were going? We bought those items in the name of Jesus and I have absolute faith they will end up in the hands of the right person or family. We explained to Austin that we did that because we love others and that Jesus teaches us to help those in need. What a great experience for our family and an awesome teachable moment for our son.

When you click on my blog now, you can see that there are ads on my blog. I decided to do this after our experience this Sunday. 100% of the money that comes to me from these ads will go to benefit our local crisis pregnancy center. Since having Austin I have had a heart for women who find themselves alone, scared, broke, unsure, or in any kind of crisis while being pregnant. The women served there range from teenagers who made a mistake to married women who feel they can't afford another mouth to feed. If I ever get check from Google for the ads, I will post the amount I donated on my blog. Please feel free to ask me about it at anytime.

Turn It Around!!

I have had the priviledge of attending the Beth Moore Bible Study, Esther this summer. I was able to go on Tuesday mornings. Oh I how enjoyed sipping on coffee and listening to Beth share with us while Austin had a blast participating in the childrens' activities. We really looked forward to Tuesdays. I look forward to whatever study our church has for women next year. This has been a great time to be able to spiritually prepare myself for the new school year.

I'm just like everyone else. I have bad days. There are days at work that are so tough I want to throw in the towel. My child has fits in the store just like everyone elses, and sometimes they are so bad that I leave feeling like the worst mother on the planet. I argue with my husband just like everyone else. I fall behind on the laundry, forget things we need at the store, and sometimes order a pizza rather than cooking dinner. But you know what? I know that no matter what, my Lord is there for me. He's there for everyone who believes in Him. Because remember, I'm not anyone special. I'm just a sinner saved by grace. I happen to be able to hold it together enough to maintain a job, keep a house that won't wind up on TV for being the messiest in America, work daily on my marriage and always strive to be a better Mom. But I couldn't even hold it together with the few stitches that I do without my Lord.

Sometimes though, the Lord needs to grab me by the collar of my shirt and give me a good shakin'. You see I become too confident in myself. Then I tend to not reflect that He is Lord of my life when I'm faced with adversity. I find it quite easy to fly off the handle and say terrible things when people are mean to me and attack me personally. It just feeds my sin nature to tell someone off. So, ever so gently, the Lord took me by the collar this Tuesday, and threw this excerpt in my face:

It is from The Queen and I by Ray Stedman

"When, because of your faith, your life becomes perceptibly different; when your reactions are quite opposite to what the situation seems to call for and your activities can no longer be explained in terms of your personality; that is when your neighborhood will sit up and take notice. In the eyes of the world, it is not our relationship with Jesus Christ that counts; it is our resemblance to Him."

How powerful is that? Well, I've got a lot of work to do to resemble Jesus in my every day actions. Thankfully, Beth gave us a list of verses to help. It's called Turn It Around Scenarios. She made the scenarios applicable to women, starting each one with "It's Tough Being A Woman", but regardless of the start of the sentence, these situations apply to everyone. So here are the turn it around verses. As Beth suggested, I have the scenarios on one side of an index card with the corresponding verses on the other. I plan to keep them in my Bible as a reminder. Perhaps I will even print them out and post them where I can reference them easily at work. All of these verses are from the NIV version of the Bible.

It's Tough Being a Woman....

1. In Another Woman's Shadow

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty" Ps 91:1

2. In a World Where Beauty is a Treatment

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; Yet they cannot fathom what God has doen from beginning to end." Ecclesiasties 3:11

3. In a Mean World

"I give you these instructions in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding onto faith and good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith" 1 Timothy 1:18-19

4, Thrown a Giant Sized Weight

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" 1 Peter 5:7

"However the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse to a blessing for your, because the Lord your God loves you." Deuteronomy 23:5

5. In the Tight Fist of Fear

"...who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places" Deuternonomy 33:29

"Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives and your homes" Nehemiah 4:14

"See I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." Isaiah 49:16

6. Who can balance passion with patience

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you, He rises to who you compassion. Fo rthe Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him." Isaiah 30:18

7. Who feels responsible for the how...

"if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgement, while continuing their punishment." 2 Peter 2:9

"for He knows how we are formed, he remembers we are dust." Psalm 103:14

How powerful God's word is, and what a reminder of how much I have to learn!