Real Living

I grew up in the church, but I never saw Jesus.  I attended Sunday School ever since I could remember, but I didn't see the reality of the lessons lived out in those who taught me.  I listened to multiple sermons, but never once heard the gospel of grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness. I often times hungered to know what the verse meant, but felt empty when I left church each week.

One day, in the fall of my sophomore year of high school, a crusade came to our town.  The nights I attended, I heard that Jesus died on the cross for my sins.  The last night of the crusade, something new rang in my heart and I understood for the first time that the offer to receive the free gift of salvation and a hope beyond what this life had to offer was for me.  A little apprehensively, I approached the altar and asked the Lord to forgive my sins and give me a reason to live. He did.

I instantly found myself surrounded by all these people who actually took living for Jesus seriously.  They had committed their entire lives to living for Him.  I feasted on what they taught me, because for the first time in my life I witnessed Jesus in skin in the new church I began to attend. These wonderful folks nurtured me in my new faith.

I needed that early upbringing in my faith to endure the difficult challenges the Lord would bring into my life when my husband entered full-time ministry.  My life is blessed with those who continue to faithfully show me Jesus in skin in the good, bad, and ugly of life.

This picture I found on the internet says it all!

Projected Thoughts and Feelings

I made a comment in passing.  There were no deep thoughts or accusations in my mind regarding the character of the person when I said it.  I meant no harm in what I said.  I certainly had not intended to hurt the receiver or to even say anything mean about them.  Yet, it did hurt them.  My comment instantly said more to them than what originally was intended by my words.

The interesting thing about this incident is that the recipient of my comment actually projected into my words all kinds of feelings and meanings that the words never meant to me.  The person took my words and accused me of not thinking the best of them.  They placed on me the very judgment they believed I placed on them.

Suddenly, what they thought I said in my comment now began to fill my mind.  My mind now raced with all kinds of thoughts about them.  Suddenly what they believed I meant by my comment took on a life of its own within my thoughts.

This suddenly got me thinking.  How often do we project our own feelings into something said to us? Sure, there are indeed times when people deliberately set out to say things to hurt us.  However, don't we often jump to wrong conclusions based on our interpretations of the words said to us? How often do we actually hear what might never have been said or intended to be heard?  I believe more often than we care to admit.

I've now lived long enough to say, that this is precisely why many relationships have been fractured and many times destroyed.  We hear something and instantly project our feelings into what we believed they meant by what they said to us.

Now, of course, if we feel good about what was said, all is well.  However, if what we believe we heard causes us to question ourselves, then we instantly believe the person intended on hurting us. I put out the challenge that maybe it isn't what they intended at all.

We need to seek the Lord to do a work in us.  We can avoid a lot of self-induced pain if we just stop jumping to conclusions and letting our imaginations runaway.  We want others to believe the best about us, so let's begin by thinking the best about them.

The Artist of the Sky

I'm sure a talented artist could paint this sunrise on a canvas, catching the colors and puffs of the clouds in their drawing.  I'm sure it might even look as good as this did in real life.  However, no one but our Heavenly Father can actually paint the depth and richness of these colors into our sky, but the Creator of it.

This sunrise lasted all of about 10 minutes this morning, and then it disappeared forever.  Capturing even a portion in this picture of its beauty, got me thinking about how awesome of an Artist we love and serve.  

I'm not sure the reason He painted this scene in the sky this morning, but for me personally it reminded me of how He can do great and powerful things way beyond what we can ever imagine.  I drank in the beauty of this sky and instantly thought of His omnipotence of all creation.

What do you think about when you catch a glimpse of something breathtaking?

Enjoy or Move on

Word to the wise~~When misunderstanding happens, and inevitably they do come, the survival of the relationship will depend on how well each person willingly gives the benefit of the doubt to the other person. We can choose to believe the best instead of the worst about one another.

Rest assured that if a minor misunderstanding ends the relationship, it was on its way out way before the misunderstanding.  It just means one or both parties were just waiting for the right opportunity to walk away to present itself.

Accept the fact that when someone is unwilling to work out their differences and come to a true place of understanding, it's time to let them go and move on.  Life is too short to spend with people who don't want to be with us.  We need to embrace every moment we have with those who want to journey through life with us.~~C.H.A.R.

Extinguish the Fire

The words hurt deeply, but at some point in time, we decided to not allow it to show.  We spatted off the childhood saying we learned to cover our pain, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me."  Yet, we all know it did.  

James 3 talks about the iniquity of the tongue.  With it we praise and curse others.  It only takes a spark to cause an enormous fire to burn down buildings and forests.  Once the fire gets out of control, there is no care to what it destroys in its path.

May we ponder this....if some words can injure a person, then some words can heal a person too.  May we not only strive not to harm with our words, but also to use our words as a balm over the words spoken to harm others.

Christmas Gifts

When the Grinch realized the true meaning of Christmas He said it didn't come in ribbons, packages, and bows but that it meant so much more.  When we look beyond what Dr. Seuss pointed out we discover even more.

Christmas comes wrapped in love, with sacrifice surrounding the package of forgiveness.  Jesus came forth as a man to die on a cross in order for each one of us to know the forgiveness of our sins.  May we remember this all year around.

Ask, Don't Assume

1 Samuel 1:13-17Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I poured out my soul before Jehovah. Count not thy handmaid for a wicked woman; for out of the abundance of my complaint and my provocation have I spoken hitherto.  Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace; and the God of Israel grant thy petition that thou hast asked of him. Eli watched Hannah in the temple and without truly understanding Hannah, jumped to wrong conclusions about her. Was drunkenness a common sight in the temple?  How come he didn't recognize the Spirit working in the life of this hurting woman in front of him?  In what ways do we do the same? Thankfully, Eli took the time to speak to Hannah and discover the truth.  When he sent her on her way, he spoke words of life instead of condemnation over her.  May we do the same today.