Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19
The change I got to see in people in three days was amazing. They came in scared and a little unsure if this was even the place they needed to be. By the end of the three days they each realized that this was indeed where they needed to be.
It was the same way for me thirteen years ago when I took my Walk to Emmaus. I was unsure of why I needed to be there, I agreed to go because of what the Lord had already done in my life. He had saved our home. He had forgiven me.
My walk was a heavenly experience and has helped me to be a better servant for Him. I learned so much and changed my way of thinking.
This past week something struck me as I read in the Bible-the way of the unfaithful is hard. If it's so hard to live without faith, then why do so many people do it? I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for my faith. God is real! He proves it to me over and over again.
A commercial recently has caught my attention. The Catholic church is advertising Reconciliation Day and if you've been away from the Catholic church this is the day to return. This actually bothers me. The Catholic church or any church for that matter aren't the ones who bring reconciliation-it's GOD.
We are reconciled because of the blood of Christ. Even better news is there isn't a certain day that you can be reconciled it can happen any day-24 hours a day, 7 days a week. God is ready whenever you're ready. You don't need a priest, all you need is faith.
Enough faith to know that Jesus Christ did die for you. He conquered death. He is alive. Then pray and ask God to forgive you for what you've done, tell Him you believe, and desire to have Him in your life.
That's all it takes! Live a life of faith and reconciliation! Become a new creation! I promise your life will never be the same and you'll never regret it.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
A Change in Light Bulbs
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:3-5 NIV
I noticed the light was out the day before, but failed to do something about it. Yesterday though it needed replaced, so I changed it. The shock of the new light though confused me.
The light appeared to be brighter than the others. I let it go for a few minutes, but it bothered me. I checked the light bulb package, the new one was actually 25 watts less than what was in there.
"Strange," I thought. The next step was to replace the other two lights in the chandelier, I thought this would balance the light out. It made it worse, the light now hurt my eyes.
I turned on more lights hoping for some relief. The other lights helped, but I really don't want to have more lights on to use the one chandelier. The plan was to buy new light bulbs the next time I went shopping.
My hope was that in the morning the lights would be alright, maybe it was just changing them half way through the day that made my eyes go wacky. It didn't work, the lights still hurt my eyes. It also bothered my husband's eyes, "what's with the light?" he asked.
The change needed to happen today. I woke my son up hoping he would go to the store, which he did. Wisdom hit me after I checked the kind of light he needed to buy, "Why not change the two back and leave the one place empty?" So the deed was done, the light grew calmer and more soft.
Triumphantly my son arrived back and our light situation is peaceful once again.
God is our light, He restores peace. The light doesn't have to hurt, He's there to help us through the pain, the loss, the suffering. Don't let the light scare you, come out of the darkness and be restored, God is love and that's all one needs to understand.
I noticed the light was out the day before, but failed to do something about it. Yesterday though it needed replaced, so I changed it. The shock of the new light though confused me.
The light appeared to be brighter than the others. I let it go for a few minutes, but it bothered me. I checked the light bulb package, the new one was actually 25 watts less than what was in there.
"Strange," I thought. The next step was to replace the other two lights in the chandelier, I thought this would balance the light out. It made it worse, the light now hurt my eyes.
I turned on more lights hoping for some relief. The other lights helped, but I really don't want to have more lights on to use the one chandelier. The plan was to buy new light bulbs the next time I went shopping.
My hope was that in the morning the lights would be alright, maybe it was just changing them half way through the day that made my eyes go wacky. It didn't work, the lights still hurt my eyes. It also bothered my husband's eyes, "what's with the light?" he asked.
The change needed to happen today. I woke my son up hoping he would go to the store, which he did. Wisdom hit me after I checked the kind of light he needed to buy, "Why not change the two back and leave the one place empty?" So the deed was done, the light grew calmer and more soft.
Triumphantly my son arrived back and our light situation is peaceful once again.
God is our light, He restores peace. The light doesn't have to hurt, He's there to help us through the pain, the loss, the suffering. Don't let the light scare you, come out of the darkness and be restored, God is love and that's all one needs to understand.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
But I Drove 40 Minutes to get Here
God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Romans 11:40 NIV
A typical Monday without school-eat breakfast, pack a lunch, and head to our field trip destination. A pleasant drive brought us to Sun & Fun, an airplane museum.
We entered prepared to pay and enjoy our morning. Just when the volunteer behind the desk figures out how much we owed, a manager approached.
"I can't let you in today."
"What?"
"I'll give you free passes if you come back another day."
It took me a minute to figure out what he meant. My first thought was, "What are we going to do instead? I have to keep them occupied until 12 at least."
I ended up taking him up on the deal. Then my brilliant daughter came up with a plan, "how about we go pick the strawberries today."So that's exactly what we did.
Today we made the long drive back to go to the museum. It turned out to be a very nice trip especially with our free tickets.
At one point we had part of it to ourselves, along with all the volunteers. They ended up taking my crew in airplanes by letting them sit in a couple. My crew also learned about engines and how the propeller moves. All we wouldn't have learned if we had continued our stay the day before.
Sometimes we have a plan all set in our head. We have walked through each step and know exactly how it'll end. Then God throws in a speed hump, and our best laid plans are in ruins. Still God knows what He's doing, in fact He knows the better way. Trust in Him for His plans are perfect.
A typical Monday without school-eat breakfast, pack a lunch, and head to our field trip destination. A pleasant drive brought us to Sun & Fun, an airplane museum.
We entered prepared to pay and enjoy our morning. Just when the volunteer behind the desk figures out how much we owed, a manager approached.
"I can't let you in today."
"What?"
"I'll give you free passes if you come back another day."
It took me a minute to figure out what he meant. My first thought was, "What are we going to do instead? I have to keep them occupied until 12 at least."
I ended up taking him up on the deal. Then my brilliant daughter came up with a plan, "how about we go pick the strawberries today."So that's exactly what we did.
Today we made the long drive back to go to the museum. It turned out to be a very nice trip especially with our free tickets.
At one point we had part of it to ourselves, along with all the volunteers. They ended up taking my crew in airplanes by letting them sit in a couple. My crew also learned about engines and how the propeller moves. All we wouldn't have learned if we had continued our stay the day before.
Sometimes we have a plan all set in our head. We have walked through each step and know exactly how it'll end. Then God throws in a speed hump, and our best laid plans are in ruins. Still God knows what He's doing, in fact He knows the better way. Trust in Him for His plans are perfect.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
God is Holding You
When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Psalm 73:21-24 NIV
Just being there was amazing, the Hawks girls basketball team had come together winning the second round by 3. Now they were in the finals against a team they had lost to twice before, but not by a lot. Which made this game a possibility.
The other team seemed a bit to confident. Apparently, they were undefeated. Still we had hopes.
The game began and within thirty seconds the other team had scored and may have scored again. The tension was high and the fans went crazy shouting for the team they hoped would win. Soon the score was even and continued to go back and forth.
The girls played hard-defending, stealing the ball, scoring. By the third period our girls had done it. They had stopped them from scoring and were leading the ball game.
The coach of the other team stomped his feet, threw down his towel, and yelled at the girls on his team. Our coach stood there calmly watching, encouraging and helping our girls see what they needed to do.
Right at the end of the third period the other team scored to take the lead once again. the fourth period was intense. In fact, I had trouble breathing. The crowd continued to yell and cheer their team on to victory.
We trailed the other team by one basket. Our girls had the ball and try as they might it just wouldn't go in the basket. Thirty seconds left the other team scored a three and we still had a chance. Quickly, the time ran down and we knew. We knew they had won.
Our girls played hard. They never gave up. They're all winners in my book.
My hope is as we go through life we can play with the determination to see it through to the end. Adversity will come. The other team may be winning, but losing is not an option.
God is on our side. He will hold us by our right hand, in fact He may even have to carry us for awhile. In the end, He will take us to glory and we will be with Him forever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8VoUYtx0kw
Just being there was amazing, the Hawks girls basketball team had come together winning the second round by 3. Now they were in the finals against a team they had lost to twice before, but not by a lot. Which made this game a possibility.
The other team seemed a bit to confident. Apparently, they were undefeated. Still we had hopes.
The game began and within thirty seconds the other team had scored and may have scored again. The tension was high and the fans went crazy shouting for the team they hoped would win. Soon the score was even and continued to go back and forth.
The girls played hard-defending, stealing the ball, scoring. By the third period our girls had done it. They had stopped them from scoring and were leading the ball game.
The coach of the other team stomped his feet, threw down his towel, and yelled at the girls on his team. Our coach stood there calmly watching, encouraging and helping our girls see what they needed to do.
Right at the end of the third period the other team scored to take the lead once again. the fourth period was intense. In fact, I had trouble breathing. The crowd continued to yell and cheer their team on to victory.
We trailed the other team by one basket. Our girls had the ball and try as they might it just wouldn't go in the basket. Thirty seconds left the other team scored a three and we still had a chance. Quickly, the time ran down and we knew. We knew they had won.
Our girls played hard. They never gave up. They're all winners in my book.
My hope is as we go through life we can play with the determination to see it through to the end. Adversity will come. The other team may be winning, but losing is not an option.
God is on our side. He will hold us by our right hand, in fact He may even have to carry us for awhile. In the end, He will take us to glory and we will be with Him forever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8VoUYtx0kw
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