The Ultimate Peer Pressure

Kids hear about peer pressure all the time, drugs, alcohol, dating, skipping class, lying to their parents, smoking... you get the idea. When I was a kid one of the most frequently heard comments when talking about peer pressure was usually something like "Well just because everyone else does something doesn't mean you should, if all your friends drove off a bridge would you?" And they're right, just because everyone else does something doesn't mean you should. But have you ever thought about where all this started?

I mean think about peer pressure isn't a new thing. If you're a teenager you've been dealing with it for sometime now. Chances are your parents did too (even if they won't admit it) and your grandparents and your great-grandparents and so on. It's been around for pretty much forever.

What was the first sin in the garden? Satan, through the serpent pressured Eve to eat of the fruit from the tree that she was forbidden to eat from. Granted the pressure didn't exactly come from Eve's peers but considering there were only two humans in existence at that point it's kind of easy to understand why. (And besides the next sin was when Eve gave the fruit to Adam and he ate it too, that's peer pressure.)

But I think there's an example in the Bible of what I like to call the "Ultimate Peer Pressure" and it all starts with the Israelites in 1 Samuel chapter 8. The prophet Samuel, God's prophet, had been leading the nation of Israel but the Bible says that when he got old he appointed his sons to lead the nation however his sons didn't follow in his ways and they were dishonest so the people had an idea.

The elders of Israel came to Samuel and demanded that he give them a king. Now keep in mind that God was the king of Israel, this is His chosen nation and He had been the one to rule over them. He appointed prophets and rulers but God was the one in charge.

Samuel was upset and understandably so at the people of Israel's demands so he prayed about it and God said to listen to the people and give them what they demanded. God knew their hearts were unfaithful to Him but he told Samuel to warn the people what a king would do. Still they persisted.

1 Samuel 8: 19-20 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

Talk about peer pressure! The people of Israel had God as their king! God Himself was ruling them but instead they demand a human king! A flawed, broken individual who was full of sin and would most assuredly fail them. But even with a warning they persisted and Saul was appointed as their king. And if you read on in the Bible, or even look at the Israleites today you will see that they are still paying the consequences for that action. But even through all that God is still with them.

Gift or Giver?

I have a wonderful devotional book that a friend gave me for my birthday called "Grace For The Moment" by Max Lucado. One day when I opened it up to read my devotional for the morning it talked about how we often focus on the gifts instead of the giver. As I went throughout the day I started to think about Mr. Lucado's words and some of my own thoughts began to form.

Often when my life is difficult or frustrating I think about what heaven will be like, streets of gold, the crystal sea and so on. I get so excited about what a wonderful place it is and how excited I am to go there someday that I forget the most important thing about heaven. I'm going to be there with God!

I can walk beside Jesus, talk to my Heavenly Father, learn about the Holy Spirit's role in my life. As a human I was created to worship God, to be in communion with Him but while I'm on earth I will always fall short in that relationship. When I get to heaven sin will no longer damage that relationship. For all of eternity I will dwell in the house of the Lord, with the Lord FOREVER!

Can you imagine how amazing that will be? I can't but I know that I want to take Mr. Lucado's advice and focus on the one who gives the gifts instead of the gifts themselves.

This is kind of a confusing subject I admit so let me put in another way. Every year when I'm buying Christmas gifts I look for the perfect gift for each person. I want to find exactly the right gift for each person. It's not so much about the gift but about what it represents, that perfect gift represents that I have a relationship with them, that I know them well enough to buy them that perfect gift. I want them to be excited about the gift but I would be hurt if they focused so much on the gift that they didn't even bother to say thanks.

Grandma's Wisdom

Update: I am back from my road trip, safe and sound and after a good night's sleep in my own bed I'm feeling refreshed and ready to get back to real life!

During my road trip this last week one of the stops I made was to spend some time with my extended family. At one point I was sitting in a chair next to my Grandma as she was reading her Bible. Suddenly looking up from her Bible she smiled and told me that she been reading in Mark 5 when Jesus restores a demon-possessed man.
If you'll remember Jesus addresses the demon and says (And I'm paraphrasing a little here) "What is your name?"
The demon replies "My name is Legion, for we are many."
Then the demon asks Jesus to send them into a herd of pigs nearby and Jesus gave them permission then the pigs run down into the lake and drowned.

Grandma told me that for years she's been confused by this passage because those pigs had to have belonged to someone. And to be honest this has bothered me also. But as Grandma was reading this passage again something occurred to her they were in Israel, the people who owned the pigs were Jews and the Jews were forbidden from having pigs because they were unclean animals according to the Old Testament law! The Jews who owned the pigs were breaking the law that God had given them.

This piece of wisdom from Grandma reminds me that there are consequences to every decision we make. I would be wise to keep that in mind throughout my days. And maybe someday I'll be able to pass on my own tidbits of wisdom as I read my Bible and my granddaughter sits near.

Road Trips

Road trips, what do they mean? When I was a kid they meant lots of blankets so we could build forts in the back of the van. They meant stress and you tried to decide what to back, anticipation as you got ready for your trip and excitement as you finally arrive and head out for your new adventures.

As an adult they mean something different. It's means finding the right music station or bringing C.D.'s along, making sure you have a map so you don't get lost, checking the oil and water in your car to ensure you don't break down on the side of the road. There's still all the stress of packing, the anticipation of getting ready and the excitement of new adventures but as an adult there's so much more then that.

On the road trip I'm on it includes all sorts of adventures like suddenly being asked to babysit so a parent can be taken to the Emergency Room, a screaming ten month old because we took her to see Mommy at work and then she could see Mommy but couldn't go to her, swimming in an icy cold lake and hiking with all sorts of different family members.

This road trip is a little different though because I decided to do something fun, hide my dragons and my old friend Tiger at my various stops then let people try to find them. Just as an example I posted some down below that I sent to some friends so they could do a "search and find". Hint: There is one blue and purple dragon, one green and orange one and Tiger is a gray calico cat.

But whatever the road trip holds one thing remains the same, I pray for safe travels, for a good time and most importantly that I would be a light wherever I go, with whoever I'm with and whatever I'm doing. Sometimes it's hard and I know I've failed more then once on this road trip but that's when I'm so grateful to remember that no matter what God is always there waiting with open arms to forgive me of my shortcomings. Praise the Lord!

And now friends I'm off again to have  a few more adventures on this crazy trip before it's back home to reality and I find some new adventures to write to you about!

Brother's Birthday

Saturday was my brother's 30th birthday and being the loving sister I am I decided to make it unforgettable. So I put together a little package for him. Now just for the record I don't really think that 30 is that old but... I still had to do something to make him feel special. So I sent him a package...

Inside was a card that said something along the lines of "There's one thing that separate the men from the boys" and you open it up and it says "Age" hahaha!

Then I wrote down twelve items and reasons for each one of them. I can't remember all of them but here's a few.

1. A planner so he doesn't forget his schedule in his old age.
2. Post-it notes so he can leave himself notes.
3. Sticky letters so he won't forget the alphabet.
4. A flashlight for frequent trips to the restroom.
5. Noisemakers for an "at home hearing test".
6. Batteries for his hearing aids.

And the list continues!

All the fun things that a loving sister would send to her brother to make sure that he has an unforgettable 30th birthday party!