The Girl's Still Got It by Liz Curtis Higgs

I recently finished reading The Girl's Still Got It! by Liz Curtis Higgs. Let me tell you…if you are looking for a new perspective on the book of Ruth then you HAVE TO read this book! So many of the things that I have read about Ruth have been from a man's point of view that it is really refreshing to hear things from the viewpoint of a woman and not just any woman but a woman that knows how to tell a great story! I also recommend this book to those who have always wanted to take a deeper Biblical look into Ruth but can't stomach, understand or stay awake long enough to read a Bible commentary. Higgs brings Ruth to life in the way that only a storyteller can truly do while weaving in all the hours she has done so you end up with a deep and meaty study and hardly even recognize it!

Liz Curtis Higgs takes us down the road from Moab to Bethlehem and beyond one verse (and sometimes one phrase) at a time. Along the way she explains the Hebrew words used to tell the story. She also does her best to clue us into the cultural and political climate. Then at the end of each chapter she adds a "real life Ruth" story. These are short snippets of today's women who are living out their own Ruth stories.

I have to say that I really loved and enjoyed this book! That's saying something because I often struggle to get through non-fiction literature, but I WANTED to read more and more of this book. I initially picked up this book because I have read many of Higgs works of fiction, and I particularly love her two books that are based loosely around the stories of Ruth and Naomi (Here Burns My Candle and Mine is the Night). If you are a fan of her fiction then I highly recommend you read The Girl's Still Got It!

However, there was one major thing that I DIDN'T like about this book…the intro! In fact, I almost wrote the whole book off while I was reading the introduction chapter. It just came off as over the top, ridiculously airheaded giggling high school cheerleader. I know she's excited and she is trying to get her readers excited but it just didn't work for me. It didn't excite me to read the rest of the book and if I wasn't reviewing it I probably would have closed it and never picked it up again. SO definitely read the book but skip the introduction or at least keep in mind that the rest of the book is much better if you insist on reading the silly introduction.

Anyway, I will say it again, this book was an eye-opening read! Very insightful and jam packed full of facts. It will make you think and you might even see Ruth in a way that you never have before!

I received this book at no cost from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing for review purposes.

A Biblical Love Story

A few days ago, I posted a review of Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs. If you don't know about this book or haven't read it then you really should check it out! It is amazing! Also, if you want to take a few seconds to rate my review (don't forget to verify your email), I would greatly appreciate it. Anyway, back to the point. As great as Mine is the Night is, it's nothing compared to the Biblical story that the book is based on.

The story I am referring to is the story of Ruth. Ruth is a Moabitess (which means she is from the country of Moab). Back in the day, when the Israelites come out of Egypt and were conquering the Promised Land, they were supposed to totally wipe out all the people who lived there. This included the Moabites. But the Israelites had some problems following all of God's directions (that's a whole other story) so there were still remnants of these people groups living in the Promised Land and the surrounding areas who were worshiping other gods. When Israel comes on hard times it's to these people and their country that Naomi and her husband and two sons flee, and eventually Ruth marries one of Naomi's sons (which is a pretty big no, no).

However, Naomi's husbands and her sons die. As a widow in this society, Naomi is totally dependent on her friends but more specifically on her male family member--only she doesn't have any. So she decides to head back home to Israel. This is when we really see the work that God has done in Ruth's live. Ruth could have stayed in her homeland with her people and her gods and found a new husband and been happy, but she chose to leave everything behind. She leaves her family and turns her back on her gods so that she can take care of Naomi and worship the One True God. So together they head back.

The long and short of this story is that because of Ruth's love for her mother-in-law and because of her obedience to God and her reputation, Ruth catches the eye of the most eligible bachelor around. But this guy isn't just anyone. Boaz is a close relative which means that he actually has the right and responsibility to marry Ruth and to provide for Naomi (although when he first starts falling for Ruth he doesn't know that). God worked it out perfectly so that through the obedience of Ruth she would find love, provision, and protection even though she was an outsider -- someone that an Israelite should never have married in the first place! God blessed her.

In the end, Boaz and Ruth are married and they have a son. His name was Obed. If you don't know, this little guy was very special. Obed was the father of Jesse who was the father of King David. And because of her obedience to God and her willingness to leave everything else behind to follow Him, Ruth is one of only four women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1). I would say that's a pretty special love story.

A Word from "She Seeks"

Today I wanted to share with you an article which really spoke to me. I am a regular reader of the "She Seeks" blog which is a compilation of many different female writers who take turns writing and vlogging (video blogging) about the things God is teaching them in their lives. The article really struck a chord with me today and I would like to share with you what Ali has to say.

Lonely but Not Alone

a real, raw, and honest inspirational entry

I was at Starbucks the other day, minding my own business, when I was suddenly surrounded by what I could only describe as a big flock of lovebirds. In every direction couples were walking hand in hand, strolling the mall, laughing, smooching, and just… being together. I felt like pulling out a giant megaphone, standing on the table and making a special announcement: “ATTENTION ALL LOVERS: please withhold any physical display of affection or else leave the premises. Thank you.”

I pretended to be disgusted, but the feeling registering deep inside was that of loneliness. I wondered if that would ever be me — with someone else. I have been waiting ever so patiently on God’s timing, and most of the time I honestly feel fine. I am enjoying the special blessings that come along with the ‘season of singleness.’ But then there are those moments when it feels like things are moving along at a snail’s pace. You know, those times when you just want to march straight up to heaven and shout at the top of your lungs, “Hurry up already!”

So what are we supposed to do when our desires – and emotions that come with them – bubble up to the surface of our souls like the foam of a root beer float? Pretend like they are not there? Shove them under the rug and ignore them? Put on a smile and feign happiness?

Then as in now, I am reminded of Jesus, and how he dealt with periods of waiting. His journey on earth wasn’t a bed of roses, but of reality – living in a fallen world ridden with pain and darkness. Rather than having an artificial response to these earthly experiences, Jesus was real, raw and utterly honest about the deep well of emotion He felt. He wept. He cried. He expressed anguish and anger.

If Jesus, the Son of God, experienced such valleys of intense emotion while He waited for God’s purposes to unfold in their proper time, how much more us? Through His example, it is clear, not only that we will face moments of “long-suffering,” but also that God does not expect us to suppress our emotions. He wants us to express them-to Him.

I love the words from the Psalmist who wrote, “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge” (Psalm 62:8). Part of showing our trust in God is pouring out our hearts to Him. This is something very practical we can put into practice each day. All it requires is that we be real with God, approaching Him with a raw honesty like Jesus did. Feeling down in the dumps? Tell Him why. Is your heart troubled? Share it with Him. Tired, weary, lost or alone? Invite Him into those deep crevices of your soul and allow Him be your strength, comforter, healer and friend. He is just waiting to put His arm around us in those tougher moments and say, “My child, I am here with you. It’s going to be alright.” He desires nothing more than to be a part of our world – but it’s up to us to let Him in.

I left Starbucks that day with a feeling other than loneliness in my heart. No matter how low or lonely I felt, I could rest in the fact that I was never truly alone. And dear sister, so can you.


Resources…
The Bible
“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” (Hebrews 5:7)

“…but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

“The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it.” — Henri J.M Nouwen

Ready for Review

This week I have been working extra hard to get my graphic design portfolio ready for review. Why am I doing this? It’s simple. I have to have two portfolio reviews done in order to qualify to participate in portfolio day and I have to participate in portfolio review.

Right now I am in the process of finding every piece of artwork I have done and every single photograph that I have taken and compiling them into a massive collection of works. Then I will go through and cut all the items that are absolutely atrocious and the ones that I would rather die than show to the professors conducted my review interviews. The rest will all go for evaluation. Then I will get the plain truth. Am I good enough?

I think this is the same question we ask God. We stock pile all the good things that we do for God and we present them to Him and say, “Look what I’ve done!” and we wait for a cosmic pat on the back and a stamp of approval. Am I good enough, God? Will you sign off on me?
That’s not how God works. He doesn’t evaluate us based on performance or merit or talent or lack of talent. He evaluates on one basis. Do we meet His one requirement? I don’t know. Have you asked Jesus to come and forgive your sins and be an active part of your life? Yes, that’s awesome! You pass! Anything else you do is just a compliment to the fact that you have Christ in your life. No, then you better re-evaluate your spiritual portfolio. Without that key piece you will never get a seal of approval and you will never exhibit in heaven. If you want in then you have to meet the requirements. God is standing there waiting to accept you, but first you must accept His Son.

CLICK HERE to Learn How to Become a Christian.

Take Heart

Lately it’s been day after day of stress, pain, and heartache. Things are out of control and seem utterly hopeless. Over time I have become heartsick. Have you ever had days where you just can’t seem to see the end of your problems? That’s where I am right now.


So what do you do when you are heartsick?

I think there are only two options: give up or fight.

Giving up is easy. You just shut down mentally, physically, and/or emotionally. You don’t care anymore. You simply give up. Now it’s someone else’s problem so who cares what the outcome is going to be.

Fighting is the hardest thing to do. You have to make a constant choice to keep up the good fight. What do you do when you don’t think that you can stand it even one more second? Paul gives us the answer in Ephesians 613-14a “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm…” As Christians we are called to trust and obey. We all know the song…Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. It’s true. We must trust that God will bring us through and we have to obey Him by daily putting on the armor of God and standing firm against the enemy.

So what’s the problem?

The problem is that we are weak and we are human. Too often we trust in ourselves rather than trusting in God. We obey our desires rather than seeking the heart of God. We give up instead of standing and fighting until we can’t fight anymore and then keep going. Just because you have given up or failed in the past doesn’t mean that you have to keep doing that. Break the pattern. Trust God. Be more than a conqueror. Take heart.

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:29

God won’t leave you to fight on your own. He will give you strength. Yes, it is difficult. Yes, you are walking a fine line between giving up and finding the determination to continue. Yes, sometimes we all fall. Yes, God will pick you back up!

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm…” Ephesians 6:13-14a

Daughters of the King Pt 4: Application

Hello, Ladies! This is the final installment of the Daughter of the Kings Bible studies. I hope that you have enjoyed our time studying what it means being a daughter of the King. So let’s just jump right in!

Daughters of the King Pt. 4: Application

I believe that every good lesson should have application. I know that not all parts of this lesson have had application sections, and now you know the reason. Today I want to take a look at one final section of scripture and bring everything we have talked about thus far together in one conclusion.

Read Psalm 45

For space I won’t include all of Psalm 45, but I will include the verses we are going to highlight. However, I greatly encourage you to read the entire chapter. There are so many good and encouraging things in this chapter.

Focusing In:
Psalm 45:9 “Daughters of kings are among your honored women; at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.”
Remember that according to 1 John 3:1 (How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.) we, as Christians, are all Daughters of the King! This simply goes to prove that these verses are talking about us. They are relevant to us. We should pay attention to what they are saying about us and to us.

Psalm 45:11 “The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your lord.”
The King is enthralled by your beauty! Imagine it! God is enthralled by your beauty. Enthralled means captivated or charmed and is synonymous with Enchanted. God is captivated by your beauty. God is charmed by your beauty. God is enchanted by YOUR beauty! How amazing is that! God sees you as perfect and beautiful just the way you are. If God is enchanted and captivated by the women He has created us to be then why do we spend so much time focusing on the negative things we see in ourselves?
Psalm 45:13 “All glorious is the princess within her chamber ; her gown is interwoven with gold.”
I want to take a moment to focus on one word—glorious. Glorious means delightful; wonderful; completely enjoyable. God completely enjoys us and the way He created us. He didn’t make a mistake. He made us delightful. He made us wonderful. He made us completely enjoyable!

Princess Lessons:


Take a moment to think about the movie Princess Diaries. If you haven’t seen it then I hope you take the time to watch it. Anyway, before Mia found out she was the Princess of Genovia, she was clumsy and didn’t see many good things in her life. Even after Mia started having princess lessons with her grandmother she still broke glasses, wreaked havoc on meals with dignitaries, and had many other embarrassing disasters. Her life didn’t really change overnight.

What really caused Mia’s transformation?
I believe her transformation started when she truly accepted that she was indeed the Princess of Genovia. This is when she started accepting her responsibilities and who she was born to be. She also began to have confidence in her heritage. She believed in the woman that her father saw in her as a young child.

Was Mia perfect from this point on?
No way! Mia still had incidents when she performed less than perfectly. If you don’t believe me all you have to do is watch the second movie. Mia also continued to have moments of self-doubt. None of us have perfect records when it comes to believing in ourselves. We all have days when our jeans don’t fit or our faces are broken out with tremendous amounts of acne and we wonder why anyone would ever believe in us. It’s what you do when you have the moments of doubt that truly counts. I love the quote from Mia’s letter from her father. In this letter he writes, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” If you can’t find the courage to rise above your fear that you aren’t good enough then you will never truly recognize your heritage as a Daughter of the King.

My Princess Lessons:

Lesson #1: Have the courage to believe God and accept that I am a true Daughter of the King.

Lesson #2: Start believing that God created me to be beautiful and that He sees me that way at this very moment.
God has never lied to you before. Why would He start lying to you now? Think about it. The Bible is 100% truth and it says you are beautiful. To say you are not beautiful is to call the Bible a lie!

Lesson #3: Train my mind, my heart, and my body to believe I am God’s Princess and to behave like I am God’s Princess.
Memorize scriptures that will remind you how God sees you. Do things, such as exercising and eating right that will help reinforce a positive self-image and help you to feel good about yourself. These things can’t be your self-worth but they are very helpful tools in enhancing a positive self-image. I know I feel better about myself when I have taken time to eat right and exercising. Maybe you will too!

Lesson #4: Make a conscious effort to STOP saying negative things about myself.
This is possibly the hardest of all the application lessons. Your negative thoughts about who you are are the biggest obstacles standing between how you see yourself and how God sees you. If you consciously make an effort to stop being negative about yourself you make room for you to see the positive things in yourself that God sees in you all the time. If you are constantly telling yourself you are fat, ugly, or stupid then it’s no wonder you think you are fat, ugly, and stupid!

Lesson #5: START recognizing the positive areas in my life!
Are you a talented artist or musician, tell yourself about it. Share your talents with others. Are you an avid reader, keep track of all the books you have read and tell yourself you have done a great job in pushing your mind to read all of them.

Lesson #6: Work on the things that need improvement instead of using them to beat myself down all the time.
I hate it when people sit around and complain about their problems but never do anything to fix them. Yet, when it comes to my problems of self-image I often do the exact same thing. Instead of whining and complaining about being overweight and then telling myself how stupid I am for being overweight, I should use half that energy to go for a walk! I would have walked a lot by now in my life!

Daughters of the King Pt 3: Identification

Sorry that it took so long to get this one out to you wonderful ladies. I have had a lot going on this week. I have also been having some issues with my back that have only made things more complicated.

So why wait any longer? Let’s get down to business! But first a quick review. In part one, we learned that in general most women are critical and negative about themselves. In part two, we learned that we are willing to accept princesses for who they should be and are not critical about them—generally speaking. Next we are going to look at who God is and who we are in relation to Him.

Daughters of the King Pt 3: Identification

Who is God?

When I say, “Who is God?” I am not asking the obvious—god is God. In this situation, I am specifically asking for some of the names of God. I want to know His identity based on the names He is given in scripture.

Names of God:
First of all, there are many, many names of God. I want to take the time to focus on just a few of these names. If you would like a more complete list of the names of God, please feel free to visit the following websites:

http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestudyresources/qt/namesofgodjesus.htm

http://www.blueletterbible.org/study/misc/name_god.cfm

http://bible.org/article/names-god

• Almighty - Revelation 1:8
• Everlasting Father - Isaiah 9:6
• God - John 1:1
• Glory of God - Isaiah 60:1
• Jehovah - Psalm 83:18
• King of Israel - Matthew 27:42
• King of Kings - 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 19:16
• Lord of Lords - 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 19:16
• Master - Matthew 23:8
• Messiah - John 1:41
• Prince of Peace - Isaiah 9:6
• Savior - 2 Samuel 22:47; Luke 1:47
• Word – John 1:1

Let’s boil it down. According to scripture God is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, Master, and Savior. God is the original version of royalty. Not only that--He is the perfect royalty! All the good things we talked about last time that apply to Princesses could be applied to God. He is beautiful. He is good. He is kind. He is just. I think you get the picture. Next I want to look at who we are in relation to God.

Who am I?
I don’t know how many times I have heard myself ask the question, “Who am I?” I wear so many different hats and have so many different responsibilities that I find it easy to lose myself. I want you to realize that I am still learning that I am who God has made me to be. God is still working on me and perfecting me to be the perfect version of me, but I am already His. He created me. That means only He really truly knows who I am. So I guess I should be asking, “Who does God say I am?” Let’s check it out.

Who Does God Say I Am:

I am a child of God.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” 1 John 3:1

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” John 1:12

“because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."” Romans 8:14-15

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,” Galatians 3:26

I am bought with a price/sought after.
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

I am chosen.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” Ephesians 1:3-8

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” John 15:16

If you would like to find out more about who you are in Christ check out this link: http://encouragingbiblequotes.com/verses2a.html

In Summary

I believe these scriptures make it very clear that we are God’s children. We are children of the King! That makes us true royalty. We are Princesses! I love the stories of Gigi by Sheila Walsh. If you have never read them you should!

Gigi is a tenacious little girl, around eight years old. She knows she is a princess and she lives like it—even to the point of treating her best friend as a commoner. However, Gigi doesn’t quite understand why she is a princess. In her first book, “Gigi, God’s Princess” Sheila Walsh shows how Gigi first comes to understand that she is a Princess because she is a daughter of God who is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Join Gigi as she learns what it really means to be God’s Princess.

For more information or to purchase “Gigi, God’s Princess” click here.

Tune in next time to learn more about your true identity as a Daughter of the King!

Daughters of the King Pt 2: Comparison

Let’s take a minute and review what we talked about last time. The first thing we did was to evaluate how we view ourselves. In general, the majority of females see themselves as more negative than positive. Now let’s look at the next part of our Daughters of the King lesson.

Daughters of the King Pt 2: Comparison

How do you view princesses?

Remember, each of the girls was given a sticky note pad with markers. Again they were asked to write one word or phrase, describing what they thought about when thinking about princesses, per sticky note. Since our world isn’t overly full of real royalty, I encouraged the girls to include their ideas of literary princesses and Disney/movie princesses. When everyone was finished the sticky notes were collected and sorted.

So what did I find…

Positive.

Considering that most young women dream about growing up to be princesses I assumed there would be many positive attributes listed. My assumption proved to be correct.

Friendly                            Beautiful
Pretty Singers                   Pursued
Pure                                 Regal
Sought After                     Fought for
Kind                                Happy
Gentle                              Elegant
Thin                                 Perfect
Looked up to                   Adored
Fair                                  Loyal

Many of the girls had the same or similar to the things listed above so I have simplified.

Negative.
I wasn’t sure what kinds of things were going to be listed here. I was sure that there would be far less than there were in the positive column.

Spoiled                            Demanding
Stubborn                         Selfish
Ditsy                               Doesn’t Listen
Self-centered                   Proud

In truth, I think these girls thought about more negatives than I would have been able to think of on my own.

In Summary
It seems that most of us still want to live the charmed lives of princesses. We see in them all the things that we lack in ourselves. We also see greater amounts of positives than negatives. Let’s compare this to what we learned last time about how we see ourselves.

Time to Compare
As women, most of us see more negatives in ourselves than we do positives. However, we see more positives in princesses than we do negatives. We so desperately want to see ourselves as princesses. After all princesses have no problems and are seemingly perfect in every way! Why wouldn’t we want to be princesses? Here’s the surprise….we are princesses!

Tune in next time to learn more about your true identity as a Daughter of the King!

Vacation Bible School

Vacation Bible School (VBS)…so much fun and yet oh so tiring! Let me tell you I am totally exhausted and I still have two nights left! The best part about VBS is getting to meet a bunch of different kids that you didn’t know before. This week, we have met seven new kids so far and I am sure there will be more tonight. Jimmy and I are teaching the 5th & 6th grade class with the help of Dustin, Kevin, & Shelby. The whole point of the way we structure this class is to help get these kids ready to be a part of the youth group. We want them to know what to expect now that they are old enough to be a part of the “big kids.”

Every year, we take one specific night where someone shares the plan of salvation with the kids. Then the teachers answer any questions the children have and if they want we can pray with them and help them to ask Christ to become a part of their lives. Well last night was that night. Pastor John shared the salvation message and offered the children a chance to pray to receive Christ and then told them to talk to their teachers about it if they “prayed the prayer.” Two of girls approached me and for some reason I got really nervous. It happens to me every year. I don’t know why I get nervous when I counsel youth and children about the gospel…I just do. Give me an adult any day and I am great. Give me a kid and my heart starts racing and I have to work twice as hard. I guess I worry that they won’t understand.

I guess I just have to realize that ultimately it’s not about whether I can make them understand. God uses the Holy Spirit to speak to their hearts and He will help them to understand. I simply need to be there to be a tool He uses to teach those children about His love. Yes, some kids pray a prayer that they don’t fully understand, but there are other kids who have really felt the movement of God’s Spirit in their hearts and lives. I am not worthy of being the judge of which kids are which. Thankfully, it is God’s job—not mine! I just need to let go and let God.

Let go today and let God use you to speak His truth.

Teachable Moments

Life has been hectic in the Mustion house lately. We are go, Go, GO! Our routine is out of whack between Strawberry Festival and Vacation Bible School. Since I had to work all day on Saturday at the Strawberry Festival, I wasn’t able to do my grocery shopping when I normally do – on Saturday. So while my friend Sondra and her oldest daughter, Shaina, worked on snacks for Vacation Bible School, Jadie (Sondra’s youngest) and I went grocery shopping. It made for a busy Sunday afternoon, especially since I had a meeting at church that night, but we had fun.
While Jadie and I were shopping we started talking about the wind and the sunshine. Jadie didn’t understand why we have wind. Of course, I could have bored her with all the scientific reasons for wind and rain and sunshine, but instead I chose to use this opportunity to have a “teachable moment.” Now you may ask, “What is a teachable moment?”
A teachable moment is an opportunity to share about God/Christ that arises from your day to day activities.

Jadie wanted to know why we had wind. I had two choices: tell her the science or tell her about God creating the wind. So many times I am ashamed to say that I choose the easy way out and just talk about the “facts”. I am happy to say that on Sunday God helped me to seize this teachable moment and I told her the Creation story instead.
That night Sondra and I were talking about my outing with Jadie and how she behaved and all those good details parents love to know and Sondra shared with me the questions that Jadie has been having about Jesus. I thank God for giving me those words to say in that teachable moment. I pray they will be a few of the seeds that will help Jadie find all her answers about Jesus and to come to know Him as her personal Lord and Savior.
I urge you to seize those teachable moments in your own life. They don’t have to be children. Maybe it’s your neighbor or co-worker. Whoever it is, you will not be sorry that you told them about the love of God!

Strawberry Festival

This week at the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home (where I work) things are very hectic. We are in the midst of preparing for one of our three festival fundraisers. Strawberry Festival is on Saturday, June 5th, this year and it is always an all day affair. We have craft venders, a quilt auction, craft auction, food, and campus tours. It is fun but completely and utterly exhausting!
Strawberry Festival is the oldest of the three festivals MBCH holds each year. When it first started 120 years ago, it was the main source of income for the Baptist Orphans Home (now MBCH). It all started when the orphans grew, harvested, and sold their own strawberries in order to keep the home open. Over the years it has changed and evolved. However, in the last 25 years the festival has changed very little. It has stopped adapting to current trends and is stuck in the rut of tradition. As a result, the festivals have become less and less effective in their post of providing major funding for the operation of MBCH. In fact, there were no major changes allowed until last year. I just wonder if it’s too little to late.
Sadly, many of us have a “festival” mentality. As baby Christians we established a pattern of provision for our walk with Christ. We knew what we needed to reach our spiritual goals and we worked hard to meet those goals. As we continued to grow, we would change and adapt our strategy to keep things current and effective. However, just like the festival, many of us get comfortable and stop keeping tabs on the things we are doing and their effectiveness and we get ourselves into a spiritual rut. While we are in this rut, we do the minimum to keep our Christian walk afloat but we never really are as good as we could be. Eventually we will tank if we don’t get out of this rut. Will we learn to grow and change again or will it be to little to late? I guess we will just have to wait and see.
Get out of your rut and start reaching your potential!

Too Much Emotion

I admit it. I’m Emo sometimes. I like things to go my way and if they don’t I get pouty and annoying. I mope around and sigh and generally make everyone else miserable in the process. Sadly, this behavior isn’t only directed toward other people. I also find myself treating God this way.
How many times have I cried, “Not fair!” Then I proceeded to pout and complain about how God doesn’t love me and I can never catch a break. Isn’t that the same selfish behavior I am ashamed to see myself use on other people, and now I am using it on God. Not that it will get me very far.
God is just, loving, and unchanging. He doesn’t respond to pouting and foot stomping. He doesn’t fall for reverse psychology. However, He does listen to what I have to say—no matter what attitude I say it in. He does keep His promises. He does fulfill His will in my life. He even uses my mistakes and bad choices and bad attitudes to shape the person I am going to become. See He’s got it all together even if I don’t!
“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” Numbers 23:19
STOP your pouting!
START trusting God.
LIVE a full life based on God’s promises.

Fulfilling Your Destiny

Over the next couple of months our youth group will be preparing for their third mission trip together. This year we are going into inner city Memphis, Tennessee. We will be ministering to children, youth, and adults who are in a much worse place than many of our students have ever seen. We are going to strive not only to meet these individuals’ physical needs, but their spiritual ones as well. With each sack lunch we hand out we want to tell someone about Jesus. With each hug, we want to show someone His love. With each service project we do we want to let people know that Jesus can meet their daily needs. In order to prepare for this emotionally and physically tasking environment, we require our youth and adults to participate in mission trip training sessions. Our first mission training session was yesterday.

During this time, we talked briefly about fulfilling the purpose for which God created us – our destiny. Did you know that man was created to glorify God? Well he was. This is our ultimate purpose and destiny. We are to bring glory to God. One way we do this is by telling other people about God and the greatness of God. It is not without reason that the Bible says, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” (Isa. 52:7). When we fulfill our destiny by bringing people the Good News we are beautiful! We bring joy and fulfillment and blessing. Not only do we bring these things to others but we receive these things as well!

Telling people about Christ isn’t easy. Sometimes it’s downright scary. Did God set us up to fail? No way! Thankfully, where God guides He also provides. Jeremiah, the youngest prophet in the Old Testament, felt this fear and uncertainty when God called him to go and tell the people of Israel what His will for them was. Jeremiah didn’t know what to do and he felt afraid that when he got there he would freeze and not know what to say. In Jeremiah 1:6 he says, “‘Ah, Sovereign LORD,’ I said, ‘I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.’” What I want to focus on is God’s response to Jeremiah. Listen and take this to heart because it is as true for us today as the day He spoke these words to Jeremiah.

“But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the LORD. Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, ‘Now, I have put my words in your mouth.’” Jeremiah 1:7-9

God promised Jeremiah that He would be with him every step of the way and He gave Jeremiah the words to speak. So if you want to fulfill your destiny, all you have to do is take a step of faith and go tell someone about Jesus trusting that God will keep His promise to be with you and that He will give you the words to speak.

Go fulfill your destiny!

A to B not A to Z

Last night I was thinking about Abraham. I don’t know if I should consider him lucky or feel sorry for him. Okay, let me explain. Very seldom does God tell you what the end result is going to be. God told Abraham from the beginning He would make a great nation from him and that his descendants would be as numerous as the sands on the sea shore (Gen. 12:2). Therefore I consider Abraham very lucky. However, God left him hanging on the details. He didn’t tell Abraham how this was going to happen or when it was going to happen. It wasn’t until much later and after a few wrong turns that God finally tells him that it is Isaac He would use to fulfill His promises (Gen. 21:12). It is the feeling of the unknown, “limbo” if you will, which makes me feel sorry for Abraham.

I have seen these very same patterns repeated in my life. When I encounter these issues, I find myself fortunate to have received God’s promises, but then I become impatient with the unknown and begin to feel sorry for myself.

There has only been one instance in my life where I feel I was completely able to trust God through all the steps without complaining, whining, or being impatient. Of course this was partly because things progressed very quickly. It’s now that I have to stop and remember that God never promised to give me all the details A to Z. He did however promise to walk me through from A to B then B to C then C to D, etc.

“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8 (also vs. 6)


“No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Joshua 1:5


“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5

Isn’t it amazing that God’s our every insecurity! I truly feel that although these verses were explicitly meant for the people God gave them to He also meant them for me. He knows just how nervous I get when I don’t have everything figured out. He knows the stress that I feel when things are out of my control. He also knows that I need to let go. He is there walking with me each and every day. He is waiting for me to trust Him in the day to day A to B activities so He can fully blow my mind with the A to Z. If I cannot appreciate where I am today and learn the daily lesson God has for me, how can I expect to grasp the big picture?
Pray for me to let go and trust God. I will pray the same for you. It’s so simple and yet so incredibly hard! Yet the reward is more than worth it!

Grace and Peace,

Christiana

Staying Connected

If you're like me, then you are super busy and you find it really hard to budget all of your time wisely. You might also find that since you are constantly busy and you work very hard that you are also very lazy when you do have down time. When I don't have things planned I tend to veg. Sadly, my busy schedule and veg-itude have horrible side effects. The major side effect is that my relationships tend to fall through the cracks.

From a very early age, I neglected relationships in favor or having more time to do what I wanted or just out of pure laziness or because I didn't think that I was good enough or cool enough to hang out with anyone. I never learned how to maintain a lasting, viable friendship. I don't know how to really stay connected with people. I am on facebook so that I can "keep up" with my friends but I don't make an effort to check their status updates as often as I could. I have a phone so that people can get ahold of me at any time but I rarely pick it up and call people. How can I truly be connected?

Problems in maintaining my earthly relationships have also bled over into my relationship with God. Sadly, I have passed over God for a chance to play more Xbox 360. I have neglected to talk to God because I have too many things that I want to do. I don't take time to find out what God has to say. How can I truly be connected?

Let me just tell you that typing this all out has really put a few things into perspective. It has also helped me think through some of the issues here. I think that the solution is the same for the spiritual as it is for the physical.

#1 STOP being Selfish!
My laziness is selfish. Point blank. Boom! There I said it. I am also selfish in my relationships because I try for a little while and then quit when I feel like the other person isn't returning the friendship or giving me enough attention. Me. Me. ME! Selfish. Stop it!

#2 START listening.
Being involved with God and being involved with your friends and really taking time to stop and listen is the key to great two-way conversation. This is a skill that I need to practice more. I need to learn to listen wholeheartedly. When they are talking I shouldn't be thinking about what I am going to say next or my come back for the argument. I need to pay attention to what is being said. I need to start listening.

#3 COMMIT to being active.
Once I have listened, I need to be active in sharing. Sharing can be scary, especially if you have trust issues like I do. But without a response the conversation is one sided and nothing gets done. That doesn't mean I need to have the last word, but it does mean that I need to be open to letting someone else know me as I really am--flaws and all.

Take time today to STOP being selfish, START listening, and COMMIT to be active in the relationship. See if things don't start to improve. I'm going to try it and I hope you will too.

Who Am I?

In the hectic moments of life when you have run from one activity to another and from one responsibility to the next, do you ever find yourself asking “Who am I?” It is easy to confuse our role with who we really are. Am I a mom? A youth minister? A wife? A coach? A teacher? Not only do we get confused about who we are, we also get confused in our purpose and self-worth.

I was recently talking to my aunt about a project we are working on together. She is writing a children’s book and I am supposed to be illustrating it. I have been having trouble getting the illustrations right because of some self-doubt issues that I deal with on a daily basis. When I expressed these feelings to her, this is what she wrote back to me:

“My precious favorite second niece,

I am not sure why you are not confident, but let me reassure you of things you may have forgotten.  Within you, there is a magnificent ability!!  Not only are you artistic, extremely intelligent, and hard working, but you are a beautiful daughter of the King.  Do not doubt for a minute that He is beside you, holding you close to him and will give you insight and wisdom beyond measure if you ask him.  The beauty that you carry is far above rubies, do not dismiss what I am saying. Sometimes we look at ourselves and for some reason, we beat ourselves up for not being a size 2 or not being perfect in some respect.  You count all of the qualities that you possess!!!  You are loving, compassionate, encouraging, supportive, and I think right now you are also overwhelmed with the everyday stressors of life.  You are carrying a great deal of responsibility for your job and your home life.  Look to our God and ask for peace during this time.  Remember the Holy Spirit is the comforter.  Also remember that those of us who love you are here for you.  The phone is by my bed, please call anytime----If you need to talk, I am here for you always.

Don't forget who loves you.”

With that encouragement under my belt, I was able to stop and ask myself “Who does God say I am?” If you stop about think about it, God pictures us all the same. One of us is not better than the other. He created us just the way He wanted us to be. Do we mess up? Yes. Do we go outside of God’s will? Yes. Does God’s perspective or opinion of us ever change? NO! Absolutely NOT!

Who Does God Say I Am?
I AM…
His Cherished One
Created with a Purpose
His Beloved
Not Forgotten!
Precious to Him (Isaiah 43:4)
Bought with a Price (1 Corinthians 6:20)
The Bride of Christ
Redeemed (Exodus 15:13)
Worthy (2 Thessalonians 1:5)
Beautiful (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

I could go on and on. Spend time today seeking out who God says you are. You can do it! It’s amazing what you’ll find! Also, I didn't have time to find the references for the other characteristics, but if you know what they are--feel free to post them in the comments section! Thanks so much!

Life Under the Microscope

Being in ministry is like living under a microscope. Everyone is constantly looking at you to see what you are doing, when you are doing it, and how you are doing it. I think it actually makes some people feel better about themselves if they can catch a minister doing something wrong. They want to be able to say "At least I didn't do what pastor so and so did the other night." It's kinda sick really.

However sick and twisted this is, I have also found it to be true. As minister's and minister's wives we are called to have a higher standard and to be set apart because of God's calling (1 Thess. 4:7). I simply find it frustrating that the willingness of others to tear each other down to make themselves look better adds so much stress to a life that is hard enough already.

Don't people know that it is hard enough to live a life worthy of the calling we have received (Eph. 4:1)! In order to glorify God and minimize stress, we should follow this scriptural advice: "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing." Philippians 2:14-16.

This doesn't mean that we should let everyone walk all over us and push us around and treat us like garbage. BUT what it does mean is that we should do everything in our life to please Christ. If we aren't doing anything that Christ would disapprove of then we should be living a life worthy of being under the microscope. If people look at us and scrutinize us they should see Christ first and foremost. Then the imperfections don't seem so bad.

Why It's Hard to be Popular in Ministry

One of the struggles that is faced by many husbands and wives in ministry is the question, “Do people like me?” or it might be “Are people going to hate me if I tell them the truth?”. Why is it that it’s so hard to be popular when you are in ministry. It’s not that I miss being popular because I was never one of the popular crowd, but I don’t want to feel like people are constantly mad. I want to at least feel like people like me most of the time.


It’s hard to keep your hopes in this arena when it’s your job and your ministry to tell people what the Bible says about how we should live, the lifestyle and friendship choices we should be making, and how we should be looking to God’s will for our lives before all else. People just don’t want to hear it. They come to church to get their ears tickled and to come away from the experience with a warm fuzzy feeling about God. What were you thinking that you would actually tell them something that steps on their toes!


Jimmy and I specialize in students. So some of the areas that we often find we are not too popular in are…

Modesty:

“Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.” 1 Timothy 2:9-10

Friendship:

“The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” Proverbs 12:26

Entertainment:

“I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me.” Psalm 101:3

Relationships:

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV

“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’” 1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV

Just like adults, teenagers don’t like to be told that they might have been wrong or made a bad decision. Instead of stopping for a minute to listen and see what God has to say about the matter (I don’t expect them to just take my word for it!) they just get angry and decide that they don’t want to talk to you, spend time with you, or listen to you anymore. That’s why I find it exceedingly hard to be popular in ministry.

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13 & 14

God Doesn't Give Up

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." Psalm 18:32

I hope I am not alone in saying that each and every day can be a struggle. As a Christian, I struggle to live a life worthy of the calling I have received (Eph. 4:1), I strive to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:16), and to let no unwholesome talk come from my mouth (Eph. 4:29). Let's just say that there are days, like yesterday, where I fail miserably.

When I have days like that I just want to give up. I find myself asking, "Wouldn't it just be easier if I weren't a Christian and didn't believe in God? Then I could live however I want!" Yet when I think about all the times that God has proven over and over and over again that He is there for me when no one else has been, I know that I could never have made it without Him. Quite frankly, if I was not a Christian I probably would have committed suicide a long time ago! This life just isn't worth it without God.

BUT today I want to take a moment to stand on the promises. In Psalm 18:32, God promises to arm us with the strength that we need to make it through this moment, this day, this week, this month...I hope you get the picture...and HE is the one who will make our ways perfect. Why do we fail so often? Why do we get so frustrated? It's because we are trying to do it all in OUR strength instead of relying on the strength that God will arm us with if we ask Him and let Him.

Let go and let God!

Standing on the Promises

Words & Music: R. Kel­so Car­ter, in Prom­is­es of Per­fect Love, by John Swe­ney and Kel­so Car­ter (Phil­a­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia: John J. Hood, 1886)

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain

It was Good

Today I finished a class project that I have been working on for approximately 12 hours. I purposely picked a hard object to re-create because I loved the challenge of it but as a result I probably spent three times as much time on this project than anyone else in my class. It was fun to watch the object take shape on the computer screen as I tweaked and re-tweaked and polished each effect. I meticulously worked over the finer points to make it as true to the original as possible. Finally, today I was finished. No. It wasn't perfect and it wasn't the same down to every detail, but it was Good. I was proud of my creation, and for once I understood something...

This is how God felt when He created ME!

He looked at me and said "She is good!" In Genesis 1, God says the words "it was good" SIX times. When He created humans He said we were VERY good. We aren't copies. We are His original creation and He is proud of us!

When God looks at us, He doesn't see the flaws or imperfections. He doesn't see the extra 20 or 30 pounds. He doesn't see that we don't keep our houses clean or our nail perfectly manicured. He sees his perfect creation and He still says that we are VERY good!

What will it take for you to see yourself the way that God sees you?

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them...God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day." Genesis 1:26, 27, & 31

 This is my project. I was to copy a manufactured object as closely to the original as possible.




This is the original image of the Shelby GT500 "Elanor" from Gone in 60 Seconds.