"Some people wait their whole lives to meet their hero, mine raised me."
"We stand for the flag, kneel for the fallen."
"Stand for the flag, kneel for the cross."
These are just a few of the t-shirts you might see floating around the internet this Memorial Day but what do they all mean? It's simple really. Memorial Day is a day to remember those who fought and paid the ultimate sacrifice so we can be free.
Yes it's a day that the kids are out of school, people don't have to work and the stores have sales because it's a holiday; arguably it's one of the most important holidays that our country celebrates each year.
The men and women who laid down their lives in war deserve our thanks, our remembrance and our undying gratitude. If you know someone who lost a loved one in service to our country, thank them this Memorial Day because without them, we would not be free.
Have a safe and happy Memorial Day everyone, and remember the fallen. Never forget. Freedom isn't free.
Monday, May 29, 2017
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Who Do You Talk To?
Since I said that I would post about many hands making light work I want to remind you that God made us as a people of community and the church is made up of people who cannot survive on their own. We have been given each other to help each other, encourage each other, pray for each other and lift each other up. I hope this post will help you find ways to do that and to understand why it's important.
"Don't air your dirty laundry in public."
"Private matters should stay private."
"Pull yourself up by your bootstraps."
"Do it yourself."
None of these are bad pieces of advice. You shouldn't talk about your private matters to anyone and everyone who comes along. You should work hard and do things the right way, often that means walking a lonely road but do you have to do it yourself all the time?
No!
Fellowship, encouragement, bearing each other burdens, these are biblical concepts.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 is a great example of how the New Testament church is told to walk and work with each other.
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
In Deuteronomy 1:38, 3:28 God instructs Moses to encourage Joshua because of the position this younger man will take up.
Psalm 10:17 it says that God encourages the afflicted.
Acts 11:23 "... he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts."
Acts 15:32 "Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers."
Acts 16:40, 20:2, 27:36 are all verses about encouraging other believers.
Some of my favorite examples are the letters of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus that Paul wrote to young men he had mentored and then sent out into ministry.
So what's my point? We don't have to walk alone? Yes. We should fellowship with other believers? Yes. God encourages us? Yes. And...
When life gets tough you need to be able to talk to someone. Often, if you're married, that can be your spouse. But what happens when you need to talk to someone about your spouse?
Before you immediately throw this suggestion out the window let me tell you about a piece of advice I heard from Dr. John Piper.
He said that you should pick one or two people that each individual in the couple can talk to. Get permission from your spouse to confide in this person. Pick someone who's trustworthy and isn't going to go blabbing your private business anywhere. Let me give you an example.
Mrs. Smith says to her husband, "I need someone I can talk to about what's going on in our marriage. Someone who can encourage me, pray with me and give me a fresh perspective, even correct me when I'm wrong."
"Okay, who were you thinking?"
"Becky and Jill."
"I'm fine with you talking to Jill but not Becky."
"Okay. And I want you to have someone to talk to also. Who will you talk to?"
"Rob and Jack."
"Okay. I'll talk to Jill and make sure she's okay with that and you can talk to Rob and Jack."
Now there's a few important things in here I want you to notice. One, the reasons why this kind of relationship is important. Encouragement, prayer, fresh perspective and correction. If you're a believer please pick a person who is also a believer to confide in. You need someone who will rely on prayer and Scripture when they encourage and correct you.
Second- Ask permission of your spouse. This way no one feels like you went behind their back.
Third- Ask permission of the confidant. If they can't handle listening to your problems for whatever reason then they need to feel like they have the right to say no and you need to let them and then find someone else.
Fourth- And this is important, I would not recommend a woman meeting with a male friend to talk about her husband or a man meeting with a female friend to talk about his wife. The issues you'll discuss are intensely personal and you want to keep that in mind when you choose a confidant.
So what's the point of all this? Well news flash- you're not perfect! And another news flash- neither is your spouse! So when you put two imperfect people in a relationship problems are going to come up and although some of the time you can fix those problems just between the two of you sometimes you need someone else to help. Maybe it's a counselor or friends who offer to sit down with the two of you together and that's great and helpful, but you still need this one-on-one time to say things you may not be comfortable sharing in front of anyone other than a very close friend.
All right single people- how does this apply to you? You're not perfect either! So whether it's because your family makes you want to slam your head into a brick wall or your boss in driving you crazy or your church is going through changes that you're not sure you agree with find someone to confide in. It's so important to help bear each other's burdens.
If your problems are with your family you may want to find someone outside the family so you're not putting them in a weird situation.
I do want to remind you that none of this should ever hinder your conversation with the Lord. He should always, always, always, be the first one you talk to about anything and everything.
Find someone to talk to, a friend, a family member, a respected member of your church, someone. It helps. I know it has me.
One more verse to leave you with just to remind you why we all need someone to talk to.
"As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend." Proverbs 27:17
"Don't air your dirty laundry in public."
"Private matters should stay private."
"Pull yourself up by your bootstraps."
"Do it yourself."
None of these are bad pieces of advice. You shouldn't talk about your private matters to anyone and everyone who comes along. You should work hard and do things the right way, often that means walking a lonely road but do you have to do it yourself all the time?
No!
Fellowship, encouragement, bearing each other burdens, these are biblical concepts.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 is a great example of how the New Testament church is told to walk and work with each other.
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
In Deuteronomy 1:38, 3:28 God instructs Moses to encourage Joshua because of the position this younger man will take up.
Psalm 10:17 it says that God encourages the afflicted.
Acts 11:23 "... he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts."
Acts 15:32 "Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers."
Acts 16:40, 20:2, 27:36 are all verses about encouraging other believers.
Some of my favorite examples are the letters of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus that Paul wrote to young men he had mentored and then sent out into ministry.
So what's my point? We don't have to walk alone? Yes. We should fellowship with other believers? Yes. God encourages us? Yes. And...
When life gets tough you need to be able to talk to someone. Often, if you're married, that can be your spouse. But what happens when you need to talk to someone about your spouse?
Before you immediately throw this suggestion out the window let me tell you about a piece of advice I heard from Dr. John Piper.
He said that you should pick one or two people that each individual in the couple can talk to. Get permission from your spouse to confide in this person. Pick someone who's trustworthy and isn't going to go blabbing your private business anywhere. Let me give you an example.
Mrs. Smith says to her husband, "I need someone I can talk to about what's going on in our marriage. Someone who can encourage me, pray with me and give me a fresh perspective, even correct me when I'm wrong."
"Okay, who were you thinking?"
"Becky and Jill."
"I'm fine with you talking to Jill but not Becky."
"Okay. And I want you to have someone to talk to also. Who will you talk to?"
"Rob and Jack."
"Okay. I'll talk to Jill and make sure she's okay with that and you can talk to Rob and Jack."
Now there's a few important things in here I want you to notice. One, the reasons why this kind of relationship is important. Encouragement, prayer, fresh perspective and correction. If you're a believer please pick a person who is also a believer to confide in. You need someone who will rely on prayer and Scripture when they encourage and correct you.
Second- Ask permission of your spouse. This way no one feels like you went behind their back.
Third- Ask permission of the confidant. If they can't handle listening to your problems for whatever reason then they need to feel like they have the right to say no and you need to let them and then find someone else.
Fourth- And this is important, I would not recommend a woman meeting with a male friend to talk about her husband or a man meeting with a female friend to talk about his wife. The issues you'll discuss are intensely personal and you want to keep that in mind when you choose a confidant.
So what's the point of all this? Well news flash- you're not perfect! And another news flash- neither is your spouse! So when you put two imperfect people in a relationship problems are going to come up and although some of the time you can fix those problems just between the two of you sometimes you need someone else to help. Maybe it's a counselor or friends who offer to sit down with the two of you together and that's great and helpful, but you still need this one-on-one time to say things you may not be comfortable sharing in front of anyone other than a very close friend.
All right single people- how does this apply to you? You're not perfect either! So whether it's because your family makes you want to slam your head into a brick wall or your boss in driving you crazy or your church is going through changes that you're not sure you agree with find someone to confide in. It's so important to help bear each other's burdens.
If your problems are with your family you may want to find someone outside the family so you're not putting them in a weird situation.
I do want to remind you that none of this should ever hinder your conversation with the Lord. He should always, always, always, be the first one you talk to about anything and everything.
Find someone to talk to, a friend, a family member, a respected member of your church, someone. It helps. I know it has me.
One more verse to leave you with just to remind you why we all need someone to talk to.
"As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend." Proverbs 27:17
Monday, May 22, 2017
Crazy Weekend
So as you all know (if you've been following this blog for very long) I always post on Saturdays. But not this week, sorry about that friends, I went radical and went off the grid! Well, not really but close enough since I was out of cell service and had no internet.
See my Grandpa has a cabin that he uses for ministry, giving pastors and missionaries somewhere to go with their families to take a break.
Well there's always lots of work to be done there so this weekend some of our family went up and did a bunch of the upkeep; mowed the lawn, cleaned the gutters, washed the walls and cupboards, power washed the railing on the porch and so on and so forth.
Even though there were only a dozen of us we were able to get a ton of stuff done which is what I want to talk about today.
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
We're told to cast our anxiety on the Lord. We can't do it on our own. He's waiting to hear from us but He's also created us for community and that's why He's given us each other. Remember, many hands make light work.
There was a lot of work to be done this weekend but with so many hands we were able to get it all done in just a short amount of time.
Well friends, this is short tonight but I'll post more on this on Saturday. Talk to you then!
See my Grandpa has a cabin that he uses for ministry, giving pastors and missionaries somewhere to go with their families to take a break.
Well there's always lots of work to be done there so this weekend some of our family went up and did a bunch of the upkeep; mowed the lawn, cleaned the gutters, washed the walls and cupboards, power washed the railing on the porch and so on and so forth.
Even though there were only a dozen of us we were able to get a ton of stuff done which is what I want to talk about today.
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
We're told to cast our anxiety on the Lord. We can't do it on our own. He's waiting to hear from us but He's also created us for community and that's why He's given us each other. Remember, many hands make light work.
There was a lot of work to be done this weekend but with so many hands we were able to get it all done in just a short amount of time.
Well friends, this is short tonight but I'll post more on this on Saturday. Talk to you then!
Saturday, May 13, 2017
Thank You to Moms
Well friends tomorrow is Mother's Day and in honor of all the amazing moms (especially mine!) I want to tell you this.
Dear Mom,
Thank you. I know we don't say it often enough and we should. Thank you for giving birth to me (or adopting me if that's more applicable for your situation), thank you for choosing to love me. Thank you for the nights you didn't sleep, for those countless hours walking floors and wondering if you were going to make it through this stage. Thank you for the times you were worried because I ran a fever. Thank you for the tons of diapers you changed, laundry you washed, dishes you did and all the well-meaning parenting advice you had to listen to just because you added a new little person into your life. Thank you.
Thank you for not killing me when I colored in books, or on the wall, or pulled everything off a shelf or when I dumped all my toys on the floor for you to trip over and almost break your neck. Thank you for letting me cry so I would learn not to be a spoiled brat (most of the time). Thank you for those days that you spent all your time and energy chasing me as I was learning to walk and getting into everything. Thank you.
Thank you for those tough times as I started school. Thank you for encouraging me to be independent and make friends. Thank you for putting up with my friends coming over to eat your food, mess up your house and ask you a million questions. Thank you for helping with my homework, meeting with my teachers, (or being my teacher if you were homeschooled) thank you for being involved at my school and driving me to T-Ball practice. Thank you for teaching me how to deal with problems that arose at school and for making sure I always had enough to eat, before, during and after school. Thank you.
Thank you for those times as I got older and you taught me to do chores so I would someday become a responsible adult. Thank for those days that you listened to me complain about how tough life was. Thank you for disciplining me and teaching me that actions have consequences. Thank you for settling fights between my friends and I, thank you for giving me advice about what to do when things got tough. Thank for teaching me about dating and showing me how to do my makeup so that I could enhance my natural beauty without covering it up or trying to turn myself into someone I wasn't. Thank you for taking me shopping and helping me pick out clothes. Thank you for pushing me to pursue my interests. Thank you for taking me to church and throughout my whole life pointing me towards the Lord. Thank you.
Thank you for being at my graduation. Thank you for driving me to college. Thank you for giving me quarters for laundry and coffee. Thank you for being there not just for me but for my friends. Thank you for letting me come back home. Thank you for teaching me to work. Thank you for letting me leave to pursue my dreams. Thank you for being my safety net in case life went wrong or I needed a listening ear, some advice or a shoulder to cry on. Thank you.
Thank you for being my friend, for realizing that I'm an adult and treating me like one. Thank you for the millions of prayers you've said on my behalf. Thank you for the countless hugs you've given me. Thank you for the hours you've spent talking to me, worrying about me and even yelling at me when it was needed. Thank you for encouraging me. Thank you for always being there for me. Thank you.
Thank you for being blessed. "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more then rubies. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her;" Proverbs 31:10 Thank you.
Thank you because without you I wouldn't be the person I am today. Thank you.
Thank you Mom, just for being you.
Love,
Your Daughter
If you're a mom and you're reading this, thank you. If you're not and you have a mom who's amazing then thank her and wish her a happy Mother's Day. If your mom is no longer with you then I'm asking God to comfort you today. And if you're a mom who's child is no longer with you then I'm asking God to wrap His arms around you today and bless you because He knows the pain of your heart even though I can't understand it but I want you to know not being able to hold your baby doesn't mean you're not a mother. I pray that God will give you extra blessings and comfort today and catch every tear that you might shed.
Happy Mother's Day to Moms everywhere and most of all to my own incredible mom, I love you.
Dear Mom,
Thank you. I know we don't say it often enough and we should. Thank you for giving birth to me (or adopting me if that's more applicable for your situation), thank you for choosing to love me. Thank you for the nights you didn't sleep, for those countless hours walking floors and wondering if you were going to make it through this stage. Thank you for the times you were worried because I ran a fever. Thank you for the tons of diapers you changed, laundry you washed, dishes you did and all the well-meaning parenting advice you had to listen to just because you added a new little person into your life. Thank you.
Thank you for not killing me when I colored in books, or on the wall, or pulled everything off a shelf or when I dumped all my toys on the floor for you to trip over and almost break your neck. Thank you for letting me cry so I would learn not to be a spoiled brat (most of the time). Thank you for those days that you spent all your time and energy chasing me as I was learning to walk and getting into everything. Thank you.
Thank you for those tough times as I started school. Thank you for encouraging me to be independent and make friends. Thank you for putting up with my friends coming over to eat your food, mess up your house and ask you a million questions. Thank you for helping with my homework, meeting with my teachers, (or being my teacher if you were homeschooled) thank you for being involved at my school and driving me to T-Ball practice. Thank you for teaching me how to deal with problems that arose at school and for making sure I always had enough to eat, before, during and after school. Thank you.
Thank you for those times as I got older and you taught me to do chores so I would someday become a responsible adult. Thank for those days that you listened to me complain about how tough life was. Thank you for disciplining me and teaching me that actions have consequences. Thank you for settling fights between my friends and I, thank you for giving me advice about what to do when things got tough. Thank for teaching me about dating and showing me how to do my makeup so that I could enhance my natural beauty without covering it up or trying to turn myself into someone I wasn't. Thank you for taking me shopping and helping me pick out clothes. Thank you for pushing me to pursue my interests. Thank you for taking me to church and throughout my whole life pointing me towards the Lord. Thank you.
Thank you for being at my graduation. Thank you for driving me to college. Thank you for giving me quarters for laundry and coffee. Thank you for being there not just for me but for my friends. Thank you for letting me come back home. Thank you for teaching me to work. Thank you for letting me leave to pursue my dreams. Thank you for being my safety net in case life went wrong or I needed a listening ear, some advice or a shoulder to cry on. Thank you.
Thank you for being my friend, for realizing that I'm an adult and treating me like one. Thank you for the millions of prayers you've said on my behalf. Thank you for the countless hugs you've given me. Thank you for the hours you've spent talking to me, worrying about me and even yelling at me when it was needed. Thank you for encouraging me. Thank you for always being there for me. Thank you.
Thank you for being blessed. "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more then rubies. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her;" Proverbs 31:10 Thank you.
Thank you because without you I wouldn't be the person I am today. Thank you.
Thank you Mom, just for being you.
Love,
Your Daughter
If you're a mom and you're reading this, thank you. If you're not and you have a mom who's amazing then thank her and wish her a happy Mother's Day. If your mom is no longer with you then I'm asking God to comfort you today. And if you're a mom who's child is no longer with you then I'm asking God to wrap His arms around you today and bless you because He knows the pain of your heart even though I can't understand it but I want you to know not being able to hold your baby doesn't mean you're not a mother. I pray that God will give you extra blessings and comfort today and catch every tear that you might shed.
Happy Mother's Day to Moms everywhere and most of all to my own incredible mom, I love you.
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Running on Rollerblades
Just for the record you shouldn't try to run on rollerblades but the title caught your attention didn't it?☺Anyways I have run on rollerblades, normally when I skate off the trail onto gravel and I have to run to try to keep from stumbling my way into a face full of dirt. God is gracious though and even when I stumble- in life and on rollerblades- He's always there to pick me up. And He's always waiting to pick you up to. If you don't believe me or you want to talk more about this send me a note or leave a comment and I'll get back to you.
Now on to what I was planning to write about. This post should've been titled "Running and Rollerblades" but I couldn't resist gong the other direction with it.
So what's it mean?
Years ago well I was still in junior high (and no dinosaurs did not roam the Earth, I'm not that old!) I was sitting in a Sunday School class listening to the youth leader teach. He was a runner and he talked about when he ran he would keep his gaze fixed on his goal. For instance if he ran down the beach towards a certain big rock he would stay focused on that rock for the whole run. He noticed that if he looked down in front of him he never knew how far he'd gone and he would get discouraged, staying focused on his goal kept him motivated.
He likened that to our walk with Christ. If we focus on ourselves and our problems we'll quickly be overwhelmed, discouraged and we'll just want to quit but if our gaze stays focused on Christ we'll keep running towards him. There's a verse that correlates to this and talks about keeping your gaze fixed on Christ but I don't remember the reference.
There's another strategy though and that's where the rollerblades come in. Across the street from my house there's a great paved bike trail and during the spring and summer when the weather's nice I love to take my rollerblades out there for a skate. The other day as I was skating I was thinking how if I looked up and kept my gaze focused on my end goal I would fall.
See where I skate there's a lot of debris on the trail. Branches, rocks, leaves, moss, bumps in the pavement and so on. If I'm not paying attention to where I'm going I can't focus on avoiding and navigating those obstacles. It's a balancing act, (literally as well as figuratively since you're balancing your whole body on ten wheels) I have to be focused on what's in front of me but far enough out that I see the obstacle before I get to it so I know how to react.
This is another correlation with our walk to Christ, one I've written about before. Sometimes we can't see through the mess our lives are in. So what do we do? We keep skating. We keep dealing with each obstacle or problem as it arises, glancing up to remind ourselves that we're skating towards the Savior but staying focused on just taking things one day, one hour, one minute at a time.
Both of these approaches are perfectly legitimate ways to go. At different times in your life you'll probably use both of these strategies as well as others. But use in them balance of each other and whatever strategy you're using remember to 1) stay focused on the Savior and 2) keep moving forward.
Now on to what I was planning to write about. This post should've been titled "Running and Rollerblades" but I couldn't resist gong the other direction with it.
So what's it mean?
Years ago well I was still in junior high (and no dinosaurs did not roam the Earth, I'm not that old!) I was sitting in a Sunday School class listening to the youth leader teach. He was a runner and he talked about when he ran he would keep his gaze fixed on his goal. For instance if he ran down the beach towards a certain big rock he would stay focused on that rock for the whole run. He noticed that if he looked down in front of him he never knew how far he'd gone and he would get discouraged, staying focused on his goal kept him motivated.
He likened that to our walk with Christ. If we focus on ourselves and our problems we'll quickly be overwhelmed, discouraged and we'll just want to quit but if our gaze stays focused on Christ we'll keep running towards him. There's a verse that correlates to this and talks about keeping your gaze fixed on Christ but I don't remember the reference.
There's another strategy though and that's where the rollerblades come in. Across the street from my house there's a great paved bike trail and during the spring and summer when the weather's nice I love to take my rollerblades out there for a skate. The other day as I was skating I was thinking how if I looked up and kept my gaze focused on my end goal I would fall.
See where I skate there's a lot of debris on the trail. Branches, rocks, leaves, moss, bumps in the pavement and so on. If I'm not paying attention to where I'm going I can't focus on avoiding and navigating those obstacles. It's a balancing act, (literally as well as figuratively since you're balancing your whole body on ten wheels) I have to be focused on what's in front of me but far enough out that I see the obstacle before I get to it so I know how to react.
This is another correlation with our walk to Christ, one I've written about before. Sometimes we can't see through the mess our lives are in. So what do we do? We keep skating. We keep dealing with each obstacle or problem as it arises, glancing up to remind ourselves that we're skating towards the Savior but staying focused on just taking things one day, one hour, one minute at a time.
Both of these approaches are perfectly legitimate ways to go. At different times in your life you'll probably use both of these strategies as well as others. But use in them balance of each other and whatever strategy you're using remember to 1) stay focused on the Savior and 2) keep moving forward.
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