Confessions of a Pastor's Wife

Sabbatical Pictures

2012-02-11T12:15:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow, February 12, 2012 will mark 20 years that my husband preached his first sermon at Perry Baptist Church. We were blessed with the approval of the Elder board here to take a month sabbatical in January.

At first we wondered, "what are we going to do for a month"? But that thought disappeared quickly once we arrived at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. We have been vacationing at Kiawah since 1995 and when we think of relaxation, we think Kiawah. It was sublime from the first day to the last. Not one day was wasted, we awoke each morning to coffee, devos, and anticipation over what the rest of the day held.

We especially looked forward to our daily bike trip. These trips ranged from 8 miles to 20 miles a day. After 28 days we had logged 300 miles on the bikes. Exploring the beauty of kiawah was in itself a worshipful experience. Amidst the wildlife, ocean, marshes, lagoons, rivers, and vegetation was the fingerprint of God. How can we not see that there is a creator whose name is Jehovah.

Personally, I needed this time away as I had reached what I believed to be a transition moment in my ministry at Perry Baptist. I believe the hardest part of ministry is knowing what God has called us to do. I believe the reason why this is difficult is that it takes a type of dessert time with God so that our ears are tuned to hear him speak. I can easily come up with lots of good ideas of ways I can be involved in the body, and convince myself they are from God.

But this is not life in the spirit. I need to know that whatever endeavor I take on is one that God has called me to. Moses told God, "how can I go unless you go with me". That is the desperation all believers must feel. Apart from God's leading and enabling any effort will be fruitless. This sabbatical was exactly perfect in its timing. I had been filled with an uncomfortable angst over the previous 6 months or so and I realized God was moving me on in some aspects of ministry. I don't like the uncomfortable feeling of these transition times, but how else does God move us when he chooses?

I have returned to Perry with a renewed spirit and certain of God's leading. I look forward to jumping back into kingdom work and storing up treasures in heaven!

Here are a few pics to share with you from our time in Kiawah. Enjoy!

Our trip began in Chalfont, PA with my husband Dave's family. We lost his Mom December 3rd so it was especially nice to be with the family over Christmas.

We then traveled to my brother's house on Lake Gaston in Macon, NC. The weather was unseasonably warm and we took advantage of that special gift of the season.

We went for a ride on the boat! It was a bright sun shinny day and we were dressed for the wind in our face. Good times with my brother Steve and his wife, Kim in the background.


My Mother, also Phyllis. We lost my Dad a year ago, December. I'm leaving for Virginia on Thursday, February 16th to move her, Lord willing, into a smaller 2 bedroom apartment. Her home is more than she can handle.

Kiawah was our next destination and I had hoped to add some pics, but forgot that my husband uploaded them to his imac rather than his mac book pro. So, I will have to add those pics in my next post.

Teaching Series by R.C. Sproul

2012-02-04T10:28:00.000-05:00

After 5+ weeks away, it's good to be home!

Pics to share, stories to tell, but until I settle in I wanted to pass along a great resource.

Ligonier gave me a heads up about a teaching series in my email and I was so impressed I wanted to share. Take a moment and go to Ligonier.org and check this out. I know there is something there for you!

R.C. Sproul is a gifted teacher and communicates effectively to those of us who need it said in plain english, if you know what I mean.......

Enjoy!!

Teaching Series by R.C. Sproul | Watch and Listen to Reformed Theology Teaching Series at Ligonier.org

P.S. Blogger is being difficult and insists on only showing one post at a time on my main page. Trying to work out the kink, but alas, not yet. Under each post you will find a link entitled, "Older Posts". To view past posts simply select this link and it will take you there.

Beauty, God and Your Daughter

2012-01-26T12:14:00.001-05:00

We all want to be beautiful. To quote Lady GaGa, we are, "born this way." Be careful to remember, we are all born in bondage to sin. So our natural inclinations are sinful inclinations.

An example of this is when my daughter was 5 years old. We were riding in the car on a beautiful summer day and I said, "Rachel, isn't the sky absolutely beautiful?" She responded, "Am I beautiful Mom"? I said, "Yes, but it's more important to be beautiful on the inside than the outside." She thought a moment and replied, "I'd rather be beautiful on the outside." I rest my case.

I will be responding to this post, Beauty, God, and Your Daughter written on January 24th. If you haven't done so, please read the article in the post entitled, "What Are You Really Teaching Your Daughter About Beauty?"

The writer is absolutely right about the struggle for mothers today to shape their daughters' thinking regarding beauty. I'm afraid that her solution was to reference a couple of verses to indicate that God sees us as beautiful. The first one being the very familiar Psalm 139:13-14,

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

This is a beautiful truth indeed, and unfortunately the writer has missed just how beautiful by making this about us rather than the beauty of God. The verse says, "I praise you" (God), "your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

It seems the writer is trying to fix a vision problem by replacing it with an equally damaged lens. Our hunger to be seen or thought of as beautiful IS the problem. So it will not satisfy to find verses in the Bible to support that hunger. In time we will still wonder, why the unceasing struggle with insecurity? It is a broken cistern that can hold no water and yet we keep trying to drink from it and all we get is dry dust, a thirst that is never quenched (Jer. 2:13).

The second verse that the writer ends with is;

“The king is enthralled by your beauty. Honor him for he is the Lord” (Psalm 45:11)

This is a hymn celebrating a royal wedding. It is not known which king in David's line, but the message is the focus in this love song. What is seen in this love song is the beauty of God working through the Davidic line, blessing his people, and carrying out his mission. To put the above verse in proper perspective you must read the preceding verse,

"Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father's house." (Psalm 45:10)

Do you see the call in verse ten? This love song is about the love that God showers on his people who turn to him, honoring him above family, and I'm quite sure above the desire to be beautiful. This is not a verse to support our craving for someone to find us beautiful. To love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is to find a satisfaction that could not compare to being the most beautiful woman alive. All earthly beauties pale in the light of God's superior and unapproachable light (1 Tim 6:16).

Do you see how easy it is to remain in bondage to our sin? We will agree that the world does not hold the answers. But in our desperation to hold onto sinful desires, we pick verses out of the Bible that in the context do not carry the meaning we impose upon them.

In the end, we are still in bondage. And we wonder, "why am I still so empty and miserable?" Look away to the beauty of Christ and you will not feel the inadequacy that screams out for attention. You will have all that you need in Christ's enfolding arms.

M.I.A.

2012-01-24T11:56:00.000-05:00

This is a simple newsflash to let you know I've been having technical difficulty with Google blogger. It seems to only want to show one post on a page rather than the number I tell it to show. I don't know why some posts seem to give me problems, I haven't found the reason.

So, if you've read a certain post and then see it disappear, you are not going crazy, that's the good news. The not so good news is that I revert certain ones to draft that misbehave by isolating the previous posts. Okay, so I hope that was somewhat understandable. Going forward I hope to figure out how to correct this. Otherwise, if you see a post missing that you want to view or share, let me know. I'll be happy to forward it to you via email.

Beauty, God, and Your Daughter

2012-01-24T11:46:00.004-05:00

If we want to apply truth to all spheres of our life. We must tackle beauty. It is a multi-billion dollar industry where the Christian woman can lose her way if she is not wise.

First of all, I'd like for you to read this article and ponder in your mind how you have communicated to yourself and possibly to your daughter(s) your definition of beauty.

What Are You Really Teaching Your Daughter About Beauty?

My next post will be a response to this article and your thoughts, I encourage you to share!

The Advantages of Pleasing God Rather Than Men

2012-01-13T10:32:00.000-05:00

Pleasing men, oh how hard it is to fight this temptation! We want so desperately for others to approve. After all, aren't they right? Isn't their disagreement proof that I'm wrong and need to change?

But, what if I'm right? To insist upon this could mean certain death to a friendship. Do I want to risk this? Oh God, help! I know, I'll run this by my other friends to determine who is right.

How many times has this conversation played over in your mind? We live in a world where our views are shaped by many influences. As believers, are our views governed by the Word of God? What lens are we looking through? What lens does our heart want to look through?

Proverbs 4:23, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."

The eyes of the heart. The heart seeks what it desires. What does your heart desire? That, it will seek. God has commanded us to love him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. All of us. We're back to the servant/slave/warrior mindset. A call to action. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Two marks of evidence in the believer; 1. They believe God is, and 2. He rewards those who diligently seek him.

The Advantages of Pleasing God Rather Than Men

1. If you seek to please God, you have but one to please instead of multitudes.
2. He puts nothing upon you that is unreasonable.
3. He is wise and good, not liable to misunderstand your case and actions.
4. He is holy, not pleased with sin or dishonesty.
5. He is impartial and just, not respecter of persons.
6. He is a competent judge, with ultimate authority, and is acquainted with your heart, and every circumstance and reason of your actions.
7. He perfectly agrees with himself, and does not put you in contradictions or impossibilities.
8. He is constant and unchangeable; and is not please with one thing today, and another tomorrow; nor with one person today and another tomorrow.
9. He is merciful and does not require that you hurt yourself to please him. He is pleased with nothing of yours, but that which leads to your happiness in him.
10. He is gentle, though just in his censure; judging true, not with unjust rigor and making your actions worse than they are.
11. He is not subject to the passions of men, which blinds their minds and carry them to injustice.
12. He will not be moved by tale-bearers, whisperers, or false accusers, nor can he be perverted by any misinformation.

Guard your heart, pray that God inclines it to seek him. In my next post we will discuss the benefits of seeking to please God. Until then, pray over these attributes of God, thank him that he is a perfect, holy, righteous, and most of all, merciful God!

Thought Provoking......

2012-01-13T09:48:00.001-05:00

Faith At Work

2012-01-10T11:03:00.001-05:00

A story of a husband and wife who lost their baby girl. No pity, no sympathy was sought, only the hand of God to carry them through. "Jesus is the same", the Mother says to the Doctor. Before and after such tragedies, Jesus is the same.

The warning in my heart here is for those suffering as she has suffered. We can find comfort in those who understand what we've endured. We cannot find lasting comfort in anyone but Christ. "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name".

Look to Jesus. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Faith That Works

2012-01-10T00:47:00.004-05:00

If you didn't read my post, True Confessions of a Pastor's Wife please do so now to better understand this post.

First of all let me begin by way of reminder that the Christian life is one of warfare. Our position in Christ is one of servitude, soldier, slave. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood! We are in a spiritual warfare. Christ is our life and through faith in him is how God is pleased with us.

As a Pastor's wife, I am qualified to speak to the stress of ministry and the many manifestations that come as a result. The call to ministry is not an easy call and if any woman marries a man who has been called and believes his calling will not impact her life is in for a shock.

If I could speak to a room full of single men who feel the call of God on their life, my first word of advise would be; Marry a woman whose heart for God and ministry is the same as yours. It matters. I have seen the effects of what divided hearts in marriages produce and it ain't pretty. The kingdom of God is impacted and oh the grace that is forfeited for worthless idols.

God is not to be trifled with and from the very beginning we must get this straight in our understanding. The call to salvation is a serious call, the call to be a Minister of the Word an even more serious call.

So, how does one address the difficulties you read in True Confessions of a Pastor's Wife? Where to begin? Well, as my husband always says, "Always, always, always, what does the Bible say"?

1. Salvation is a call to servitude. All believers are servants of Jesus Christ. This is foundational to the believer, but especially to those who are called to ministry.

Galatians 1:10 "For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

This is THE most important truth that God opened my eyes to when we came to Perry. So many voices coming at me, who do I listen to? If I listen to parishioners I could win friends. If I listened to God, I could make a great deal of enemies. Living in a land of pragmatism called the United States, most any advice would be to do what works. What works? What does that mean? Well, usually it means, you do whatever you must to create the greatest support or following. But is that what we're called to? I wrestled a long time to discover what the biblical call on my life looked like and God showed me this verse to be crucial in understanding that if I got this wrong, I would live with all sorts of chaos.

This is foundational!

What about you? Can you look at your life and determine whether you are a true servant of God by this truth? Do you seek the approval of those around you? Or, do you look to please God? In the following posts we will discuss more of what it looks like to seek man's approval rather than God's, you may be surprised!

For now, read this reflection by Thomas A Kempis and let the Holy Spirit speak to you;

That Our Peace Is Not to Be Placed in Men

My Son, if you rest your peace on any person because of the opinion which you have of him, or on account of your intimate acquaintance with him, you shall forever be in an insecure and an entangled condition.

But if you have recourse unto the ever-living and abiding Truth, the departure of the death of a friend will not grieve thee.

The regard of a friend ought to be grounded in me; and for me is he to be beloved, whoever he is who you think well of, and who is very dear to you in this life.

Without me no friendship can endure, or will continue; neither is that love true and pure, which is not bound together by me.

You ought to be so dead to such affections of beloved friends, that, as much as concerns you, you should wish to be without all company of men.

Man approaches so much the nearer unto God, the further off he departs from all earthly consolation.

In proportion, too, as he descends lower into himself, and is meaner in his own estimation, so much the higher he ascends unto God.

But he that attributes any good unto himself, hinders the coming of God's grace into him; for the grace of the Holy Spirit, ever seeks a humble heart.

If you know perfectly how to annihilate oneself, and empty oneself of all created love, then should I flow into you with great abundance of grace.

When you look to the creatures, the sight of the Creator is withdrawn from you.
Learn in all things to overcome oneself, for the love of your Creator, and then you shall be able to attain to divine knowledge.

How small anything may be, if it is inordinately loved and regarded, it keeps one back from the chief good, and injures your soul.

Thought for the day......

2012-01-07T16:31:00.001-05:00

"Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:7-11

I find it interesting how Jesus told this parable, "when he noticed how they chose the places of honor". Why would Jesus notice such a thing? Why would this be important? What causes us to seek the best situation or the highest honor in the first place? I can only attribute such desires to our sinful nature.

It is interesting though how much you can tell about a person or couple by making these kinds of observations. Do you notice the individual who always seeks out the best seat, place in line, easiest schedule at work, etc.? Do you notice whether they ever defer to others, insisting that they take the least giving others the best? I do pay attention to these things, especially observing those in the body of Christ.

Now, if you attend Perry Baptist Church this may make you feel a bit uncomfortable and that's not such a bad thing. Let me be quick to add that I observe my own behavior in this regard more than I do others. But just as Jesus made this observation in order to exhort us to live humble lives, I do observe others in order to understand where they are in their walk with Christ. It's amazing how our behavior speaks far more of our Christian maturity than our words.

It is not uncommon for the younger generation to be more self centered and rude than the older. I find the older generation more gracious and more quick to defer to others. If we mature in our Christian walk as we age, this observation makes sense. Though it's awfully refreshing to see young people or couples show an unusual maturity that comes with a diligent pursuit of Godliness.

How about you? Do you put others before yourself? Do you humble or exalt yourself? If it is true that those who exalt themselves will be humbled, I really don't like that scenario. I think I'll work on ways I can better humble myself. I am most certain that God's exaltation of me is far more rewarding than my own.

True Confessions of a Pastor’s Wife

2012-01-07T10:40:00.000-05:00

Faith is the directive we are called to in this life. Self is a great hindrance to faith.

Read the article "True Confessions of a Pastor's Wife" which you can link to from title of this post. And don't forget to read the comments, they are especially revealing.

Where do you see the conflict of faith and self in play as you read this story?

Think about the verses from the last two posts. In light of truth, how would you "fix" the problem? Do you believe the woman came to the right conclusion?

I know most of you are not Pastor's wives, but we all find ourselves feeling alienated or misunderstood.

This is a good case study to begin working truth into as it deals with the everyday matters of life. We must not be satisfied with therapeutic deism, where God becomes a salve to make us feel better. We must become slaves, servants, and soldiers in this life of spiritual warfare. We are in a battle here, we do not exist to accommodate the flesh.

Let's sharpen one another!

Self - The Greatest Hindrance to Faith?

2012-01-06T22:55:00.002-05:00

I posed the title as a question because it could be argued that unbelief is the greatest hindrance to faith. But I left self as the number one on the believing side of faith.

We just looked at Faith and growing in it as being the prime directive in the believers life. We read in Hebrews how, without it, we cannot please God.

Well, what keeps us from this directive? The greatest enemy to faith is, self. Is it any wonder we find these verses throughout the Word giving us a clear command and/or warning regarding self:

"but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury". Romans 2:8

"We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin" Romans 6:6

"to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires"
Ephesians 4:22

"but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives" I Timothy 5:6

"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live"
John 11:25

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple".
Luke 14:26

"Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple" Luke 14:27

"So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple"
Luke 14:33

It's good, isn't it, to be reminded of the severity of our call? Our calling is grand and yet our flesh sucks us into a life that is mundane.

Thomas A Kempis knew this very well. In his book The Imitation of Christ he wrote:

That It Is Self-Love Which Most Hinders From the Chiefest Good

his prayer:

O Lord, grant me heavenly wisdom, that I may learn above all things to seek and to find thee, above all things to relish and to love thee, and to understand all other things as they are, according to the order of thy wisdom.
Grant that I may prudently avoid him that flatters me, suffer patiently him that contradicts me.
For it is a great part of wisdom not to be moved with every blast of words, nor to give ear to an ill, nattering siren, for then we shall go on securely in the way we have begun.

Do you see how wise A Kempis was in his understanding that if he never considered himself, he would not be puffed up with conceit nor torn down by criticism, because it's never about himself. Oh that we would learn to make Christ our life. Just as Christ made his Father in heaven his life. "I am here to do the will of the Father who sent me", this was Christ's directive. Ours is to have a faith that grows in the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.

"This is eternal life, that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent". John 17:3

Is this your daily directive?

Live By Faith

2012-01-05T12:24:00.001-05:00

“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”
Hebrews 10:37-38

Hebrews gives us a clear understanding of what drives the believer. Faith. The above verses makes clear the condition for God's pleasure in us. Faith.

Hebrews goes on to say,

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Hebrews 11:1-3

We then read the list of those in The Hall of Faith. How faith was manifested in their behavior. "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God" Hebrews 11:5. There it is again, Enoch pleased God. How? By faith.

Just in case you didn't catch how it is we please God, Hebrews goes on to say,

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:6

Pleasing God, there it is again. Do you want to draw near to God? Do you believe that he is and that he rewards those who seek him? No faith, no pleasing God.

Do we have it settled in our mind that faith determines whether we stand or fall in all areas of life? The beauty and grace of God is that he doesn't stop at establishing that his pleasure is only found in faith, but goes on to encourage us to stay the course as Hebrews says,

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2

What race? The race of faith. God is the treasure, faith proves we believe it. Jesus, the greatest in the Hall of Faith, perfects our faith through his own life of faith. We can with certainty run this race and endure. And now comes the pep talk. We need one, after all, this race is not an easy race due to the flesh that seeks to trip us up. So take heed,

    “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
        nor be weary     Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?when reproved by him.
    For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
        and chastises every son whom he receives.”
Hebrews 12:3-6

I tend to pity parties, though they come less often than they use to. I think of the verse above, "you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood" and it quickly sets me straight. So, how did we go from faith to discipline? Well, it appears that discipline is the vehicle that exercises faith. Just as exercise is the vehicle to tone our bodies, discipline is necessary to build faith, so don't be weary when you are being reproved by God.

To be a believer is to be in training,

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:7-11

Concluding exhortation,

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
Hebrews 12:12-17

The scariest words, "he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears." Do we want the benefits of God but not if it means we must repent and become a slave? Did Esau refuse to have God rule over him?

This life of faith is part of a bigger picture. We are living lives of faith in the realm of a heavenly kingdom, unlike those under the old covenant since Christ had not yet come. Their faith was in the promised Kingdom.

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”
Hebrews 12:18-21 ESV

Instead you are part of heavenly Kingdom that Christ established,

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
(Hebrews 12:22-24 ESV)

Final warning,

See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 12:25-29

In light of this clear directive to the believer. Is this the life we seek. Do we resolve to grow in faith by the hand of God's discipline in our life. Or do we ignore the promptings of God to believe him to be stronger than the trials that we face. Do we treasure him above all things. Our family, children, money, self, etc. This is the life of Christianity. This is the mission.

In light of this directive, we will begin looking at how the Christian life responds to the trials that come our way. Our response will be in direct proportion to our faith. How does our faith need to grow? We will work through this together.

A New Year

2012-01-04T12:31:00.002-05:00

I hate new year resolutions......because they typically fail. But there is something about hope that we're irresistibly drawn to. So, here's hoping that this year will be a more productive year in posting!

We will see. I have decided to to open the scope of my posts, which I believe will help. Until now I have posted matter pertaining to "spiritual matters", which is my main intent. We are all in the fight of faith that I want to encourage you to continue fighting. However, all of life is sacred and so I want to strive to reflect how Christ touches every aspect of life, as an outpouring of Christ within us.

How is Christ reflected in:

1. Our body - exercise, food, modesty, etc.
2. Our homes - the exterior of our lives is a reflection of the interior.
3. Our loves - outdoor activities, interior design (my love), etc.
4. Everything else

We tend to compartmentalize our lives. God on Sunday and in devotions and then the rest of our time belongs to us. How do we train our minds to acknowledge Christ in all our ways, as Proverbs 3:5,6 commands us?

I'm hoping this blog can begin investigating the many ways we reflect Christ, thereby glorifying him in all we do.

I have transferred past posts to draft to clean up my blog, but will re-post articles that seem relevant at the time.

Happy New Year!