First Sermon!!

I am so excited I cannot stand it!!

I will be preaching for the first time very soon!

I have spent the past week trying to kick butt on my sermon, and it was hard, lol.

 

     I realized at first that I was trying to hard. Then, I had a friend tell me about a separate issue that I need to accept everything about myself. (Mostly, we were talking about how I'm "gemini" and therefore "dual-natured.") I got to thinking though, he was very right. I was trying to work on a sermon that was going to speak to the congregation... that is so not who I am, lol. I am a lot of things, but people pleaser is not one of them anymore. The reason I feel a call to preach is because I am different, and the sermons I have been working on are not based on what people are used to.
     I got to shock a fellow employee at work last Friday when he asked what I was doing. "Working on my sermon," I said. He did a "double-take." Then I finished with, "on Star Wars." Jaw drop!
I loved it! That is why I want to preach! (Not necessarily for the jaw drops.) It's the rebel aspect, lol. Christ himself was a rebel of love, and that is what I want to bring back!

Compared

Comparing yourself is one of the hundred shapes the devil takes.

God made us each individually! He made us exactly as we are meant to be! Subjecting yourself to comparisons is basically telling God that he made you wrong. How can that be? By comparing yourself to others you are telling your own self that you are not worthy. You must always remember that you were made perfectly. We all have faults, they were built in (it's called humanity). The things that we as humans compare to one another are irrelevant though. What does it matter how big of a house we live in?? Or what job position we have??

"Jesus said to him, If I want him to stay until I come,

what is that to you? You follow Me!"

(John 21:22)

"We are not called to compare, only to comply." -Joyce Meyers

Inspirational for Moms Everywhere!

     A friend of mine shared this last night on Facebook and it was so needed!! This post is truly a blessing to moms everywhere. I cried a lot, I won't lie, lol. In my opinion stay-at-home moms are just as hard working as the 9-5 working moms. I was raised believing I would be a stay-at-home mom (it's what my grandmother was, and it was what my own mother was). So it incredibly hurt and was hard to come to terms with when I had to go back to work after having my son, but in today's world my husband and I just could not afford the luxury of me being home. (Sad that it has become looked at as a luxury to stay home and raise your children.)
     Anyway, please read the following post and go check out her blog- it is AMAZING! ***


What I Think God has to Say to Working Moms

Of course I don't pretend to know what God thinks, but I do know what His Word says about His love for us and I feel compelled to share what I have felt Him saying to me...you see- God has been wooing me this year, in a way like never before- loving on me and speaking to me and encouraging me and He wants to do the same for you.

I hope you will hear His heart for you as you read this:

My daughter,

I see you...

I see you at 5:30am when you are struggling to get out of bed and get your family ready for the day.
I see you packing lunches and prepping breakfast and dinner and thinking about your sweet children upstairs still asleep, hoping that you are doing the right thing by working.

I see you and the care you take packing backpacks and leaving notes in lunches because you are hoping that note will feel like a gigantic hug from a Mama who misses her kiddos during the day.

I see you at work, looking at pictures on your desk, on your phone and laughing to yourself at the latest antics of your little boy.

I see you picking up your kids, that first hour being tense- you wishing everything could just go perfectly, and them transitioning and feeling out of sorts and you wanting to get homework done, dinner made and when you snap at the boys, I see you feeling like a failure.

I see you stopping and hugging them, putting down the burnt dinner and pulling out the cereal and playing Leggo's in your work clothes and I want to say- "Atta girl! You know what's most important!"

I see you staring at them while they sleep, loving them so fiercely and deeply.

I see you at church on Sunday, staring at the bulletin and seeing that you can't make the Mama bible studies because they are during the day and how you don't want to go to an evening study anyways because every night belongs to those babies.

I see you staring at piles of laundry and wanting to cry.

I see you feeling alone a lot and wanting more connections.

I see you wanting to enjoy each moment with your kids but also needing friends and some time for yourself.

I see your sacrifice.

I see you and I want you to know that I am proud of you.

As proud of you as you are when your 6 year old hits a home run, or when your 3 year old starts to dress himself.

I am proud of your hard work, the details you put into your homemaking, and the ways in which you try to live for me in the workplace.

I am proud of you for watching your finances and budgeting and looking for ways to save money so that one day you can reduce your hours.

I am proud of you for working late some nights so that you can attend a field trip or earn extra money for school shopping.

I am proud of you not for what you DO though, but for YOUR HEART behind your actions.

I want you to know, to REALLY KNOW, that I have created these children with YOU in mind. YOU are EXACTLY what they need!

Never put yourself down for what you can/cannot do for these babies, but remember that I will fill in the gaps with my Holy Spirit and I will find people to help you when you cannot be there.

Your job is to HELP THEM SEE THE RELATIONSHIP THAT YOU AND I HAVE AS BEING MOST IMPORTANT.

Your job is to let them WATCH YOU depend on me, so that they can see that:

THEIR MAMA LOVES JESUS

THEIR MAMA NEEDS JESUS and that-

JESUS IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL TO THEIR MAMA.
And when they look back, they will remember how much  YOU LOVED ME and LOVED THEM in every crazy, quiet, frustrating, and joyful moment.

They will remember the prayers before leaving the house, the bible stories in the car, the lessons on forgiveness after a frustrating conversation, the Jesus Love Me's being sung over their sleepy bodies as they drift off at night...

They will see these things and they will want to know me more and that is all that matters dear Working Mama-Daughter of the King-Precious Child of Mine.

(side-note: God's love letter to Stay at Home Moms is much the same as above and remember- ALL MOMS ARE WORKING MOMS- this blog is for ALL MOMS, but it does specifically speak to the Christian Mom who works outside the home and is maybe struggling with this identity...) ***

 

 

***All copyright of this belongs to Elizabeth Jones!

I, in no way claim her work. I simply believe this needs shared to every woman out there!

Please check out her amazing blog: http://christianworkingmama.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

My Grandparents



My Amazing Grandparents!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This past Saturday they celebrated their 50th anniversary with a vow renewal ceremony!

In a world such as it is I was so happy that they could do this!

I pray everyday that they will be around a long time. I want my son to know and love them as I do.

I love my Dad. He is my #1, and we have the best relationship. In my mind though, my parents are my dad and grandmother. She raised me. We (my dad, mom, sister, and I) lived with my grandparents from the time I was 4 for about 18yrs.

 

Anyway, Saturday was just amazing!

These two people mean the world to me and I just had to share it.

They gifted me the true meaning of marriage, and I pray that I will always honor that to my son.

The things they share and teach me as an adult/woman/wife/mom will never be overlooked.

I wish everyone could meet them, and get a glimpse of their love for God and each other.

 

*She even made her own dress, lol!

 

 

 

What is in a name?

"As Baptists clarify the distinctiveness of our identity it can become merely a principle of exclusion rather than invitation. Which is why the Baptists are the most diverse group of Christians. Today it is impossible to speak of "the Baptist tradition" as there isn't much past baptism by immersion. Therefore, it is a mistake to focus too much on denominational distinctives."  -The Baptist Manual

 

     Hi, I am Connor's-Mom. Hello, I am Randy's-Daughter. Hey, I am Sarah's-Sister.

These are titles we're given in life, but what title do you claim? I don't "claim" I'm a Baptist. (I don't imply that in a negative way.) I claim that I am a Christian! Isn't that what it is really about? Being Christ-like, not Baptist-like or any of the other denominations out there. Like this author noted, we are trying to "clarify our distinctiveness." How inappropriate is that?! There is a time and place for our abilities as individuals that is why we are called to God. We all have a special purpose, but the point of serving God is not to exploit how special and singular we are. It is to be humble and bring it all back to God. By defining ourselves by the method of how we believe in God is divisive. That is not what Jesus asked of us, and that is not how we should be honoring/representing Him.

     It got me thinking... The early churches- do you think they were named? What would they have called themselves? If the names of what they specifically believed were so important wouldn't they have been mentioned in the Bible? Think about it, what was the church in Corinth called? Would they have been Baptist? Or Anglican? Or Friends? Does it really matter?!

     I have a lot of titles: mom, wife, daughter, friend, secretary, assistant clerk, student, employee, etc. The list can go on, but one title I wear with pride is Christian; not necessarily Baptist (again, not in a bad way). My goal in life is not to follow "the Baptists," but to follow Christ. What would happen to the physical churches if we removed humanity's need to "feel special?" We would have three churches in my hometown that should be consolidated into one honoring God. Celebrating how we individually worship- but not making the church about them! Just like with kids, everybody learns differently. Should we have classes segregated into how each child learns or do we just create a curriculum that benefits all children? That is why we have different forms of worship so that we have something for everyone.

     I remember being in High School and filling out college applications. Several applications I filled out listed on a page (full 8"x11" page) the different religions/churches for me to mark to help get a nitch into that college. I went up to my teacher and asked her what I should mark. She asked if I went to a specific church listed, and I said no. She asked what I believe, and I said that I believe in Jesus, God, and that they love and sacrificed for me (this was 11yrs ago). She said that it was best that I not mark anything because until I understood how I felt about little things like baptism vs. sprinkling, salvation, Old vs. New Testament, position of women, and communion it is not safe to say I am any of these things without claiming I something I am not. I asked her then, "Is there not just a church that believes in God and following the Bible?" She said that everyone has an opinion on God, and not every opinion I should agree with. That made me sad. I really wanted to say that I was a Christian, but in our world today (and 11yrs ago) that has turned into such a segregated classification.

     21 times Jesus said, "Follow me."

 

 

Work for the Lord

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters," 
-Colossians 3:23

     I was on my way home one night and I was exhausted. We have all been there- I was on my last nerve with a tired and hungry toddler, wore out from a disastrous day at work, and knowing that once I got home I still had things to do. My only thought was "make it stop." Then it hit me- God gifted me with my family, and a job so I could take care of my family. Here I am, sitting in the car wishing it away...to what end? God has given me everything and he knows that I am able to take care of it, but do I? It says in Colossians, in black and white, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord..."

     I realized, it doesn't mean just my job. I have to be the best mom I can for my son, because he is my gift from God. I need to the best wife for my husband in honor of God. I do the best at work as if I was literally God's secretary. This gives me a sense of completion to my day, I don't feel like I dropped the ball when I close my eyes at night. I start to look at every aspect of my day as a personal act for God, and I feel prouder of myself and my actions; as a wife, mother, individual, and a Christian.

Egg Hunt or God Hunt???

What would happen if you gave a child an empty Easter egg?

There would be no hiding from that child, that is for sure.

You find Easter eggs for the prize inside, right?

Is that the most I have to teach my son about Easter? It's about getting candy out of an egg?

 

That morning when they went to Christ's tomb and found it empty- that was our prize!

Granted, it is hard for me to get my four year old to realize that an empty egg is a good thing.
How can we teach them?! Is it by making the hype all about the eggs and candy?
Integration, lol. Things were originally created as ways to share God. Now what have they become? Ways to spend money and neglect God. We have to get back to integrating God into our lives. Isn't that what Sunday is about? An empty tomb that showed us God has not neglected us. An empty tomb that promises he will always be integrated in our lives.

Are we hunting eggs or God?

 

 

A Dark Day

 

     A couple of years ago I attended my first Good Friday service. Almost sounds bad to say, but I enjoyed it. It was very moving and emotional for me. Unfortunately it was the last one our town had, and I have not gotten the guts to go somewhere else for another one. If you have never been to a Good Friday service I strongly suggest you go to one. I was asked to participate by reading some scripture during the service. I was so excited!

 

     In typical noob-Christian fashion I "knew" Christ died on the cross for my sins. It wasn't until I was asked to stand in front of a bunch and people and read Mark 15:17-20 that I truly realized that He died because of me. Not just for me, but because of me. Now listen- we are not meant to live our lives with this guilt! Christ never intended our lives to be lived in indebtedness, but I do believe that it is important that as we grow in our relationship that we realize the importance of this.

"They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him."    -Mark 15:17-20

     It's not just that he was put to death by unimaginable pain, but he was mocked and made fun of. I could not stop myself from crying while trying to read this in front of everyone. It hurt. It still hurts. I look at others who don't realize the importance of this and I get upset. His death was not simple or quick.  To look up in the faces of those I assumed to be "mature" Christians and see that they never realized what He endured for us... all because of me... and because of you. How does that not make you want to change? Maybe I'm crazy, but it makes me want to prove that He didn't do it in vain.



Questionable Sanity

We all know that the most attended church day of the year is Easter Sunday...
     Does every Easter Sunday sermon have to be the same?

     I know- I know! The whole point of this Sunday is to celebrate Our Risen Savior. I am not putting that down. I am just questioning the fact that every church does roughly the same sermon on this day all over the world. This is the day that our church will be packed to standing room only, and we are repeating the same sermon that they have already heard every year.
     Like I said, I probably have very questionable sanity for bringing this up. Am I only one who has thought of this though? This is like the pivotal chance when the spotlight is on this moment and what we preach is what will hook these one-day-a-year'ers into coming next Sunday, and the Sunday after that. They come, some, mostly out of habit hoping that this year they will hear or experience something that will change them. I know the power of Christ changes people, and I am not neglecting that. Isn't there a way that we can present this in a "new" way, though. A way that is so "out of the box" that people are stunned into coming again? They go home questioning what they heard so they have to come back next Sunday to see if it was right. This coming Sunday is the day the whole church should be ready to "shock" the masses. That's what Jesus did after all. I want an Easter service that shocks me. Something that I "haven't heard before".
     Please direct all comments to my questionable sanity as a Christian below please.

*No, this was not a April Fool's, lol. I do think like this from time to time.