Cherries. The perfect snack on a warm summer morning. I plunged my hand into the bag to pull out a handful...
Squish.
While the rest of my hand gripped the smooth, deep red fruit, my ring finger felt something wet and mushy. A moldy cherry. After taking out the rotten fruit, I inspected that corner of the bag. Quickly, I found 3 more fuzzy cherries.
Moldy fruit always likes to hang out together, right?
We all know that the bag probably contained just one bad cherry to begin with, but that bad cherry affected the fruit immediately surrounding it. So it is with our friends. "Bad company ruins good morals" (1 Corinthians 15:33b).
On the flip side, there are people and examples that help us grow. The Apostle Paul boldly stated, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1).
I've noticed in myself a propensity to follow others. I want follow and imitate those I admire.
Take a minute to consider who you are following. Would you be fulfilling God's plan for your life if you became just like your church leaders, celebrity icon, and closest friends?
In all of the "following" I do as a Christian wife and mom, it is easy for me to desire many good things. I'd love to dress like her, decorate like her, and have hair like her. I want to look as young as her, have kids like hers, and cook like her. Do things like this ever consume your mind? They probably consume the minds and lives of those around you, too.
Most of these things seem harmless, but my bag of cherries helped me to see that I will be influenced by whatever is around me. I will adopt the values, thoughts, and behaviors of others.
I began to evaluate the things I have been thinking about - how many of those "harmless" things fit into the category of "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" from 1 John 2:16?
I want to surround myself with women who love God's Word, study it, and obey it. I want to keep close company with women that pray powerfully, respect their husbands, and raise children with wisdom and virtue. I want to spend my days with women that think little of themselves and seek to show the grace and beauty of God. Humble, loving women are the women I want to imitate because they are imitating Christ.
This may cause a shift in position. I may need to move to another section of the cherry bag to keep from becoming what I ought not to become. You may need to move, too. May Jesus be honored as we seek to imitate Him.
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Thursday, May 18, 2017
When Friends Fail
My tears and turbulent thoughts were stilled by a simple phrase.
"A friend loves at all times..." (Proverbs 17:17a)
Even now?
Friendships experience ebbs and flows. They reach new heights as two people share common experiences, time, laughter, and conversation. They can endure as circumstances create distance. They can deepen through hardship, honesty, and tears. They can be broken by unkindness, gossip, or betrayal.
Where are your friendships today?
Whether you find that your friendships are deep & enduring or weak & broken, know that friendship takes two parties. You cannot create a good friend, but you can be a good friend. What kind of a friend are you?
Will you choose to be a friend that loves at all times?
1 Corinthians 13 is a well-worn passage in my Bible. I use it to consider my actions in any relationship. Today, it is especially poignant when considering friendships.
"...Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things..."
Ouch. There's always a word (or two or ten) that exposes a lack of love in my heart. I pray that God makes me a friend that loves others at all times.
"A friend loves at all times..." (Proverbs 17:17a)
Even now?
Friendships experience ebbs and flows. They reach new heights as two people share common experiences, time, laughter, and conversation. They can endure as circumstances create distance. They can deepen through hardship, honesty, and tears. They can be broken by unkindness, gossip, or betrayal.
Where are your friendships today?
Whether you find that your friendships are deep & enduring or weak & broken, know that friendship takes two parties. You cannot create a good friend, but you can be a good friend. What kind of a friend are you?
Will you choose to be a friend that loves at all times?
1 Corinthians 13 is a well-worn passage in my Bible. I use it to consider my actions in any relationship. Today, it is especially poignant when considering friendships.
"...Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things..."
Ouch. There's always a word (or two or ten) that exposes a lack of love in my heart. I pray that God makes me a friend that loves others at all times.
Friday, May 12, 2017
Parenting a 3-year-old
Whoever coined the phrase "terrible twos," must have been talking about their firstborn. They hadn't gotten to age three yet. In our house, age 2 was a breeze compared to age 3. Age 2 is sweet, cute, and fairly compliant. Age 3 is full of tantrums, whining, strong opinions, and outright defiance.
I've struggled with this.
My natural self wants to swell up with anger and just force obedience out of my 3-year-old. Some days, I want to forget about smiling and laughing and just let the day be miserable for both of us. The whiny, defiant child deserves that, right?
Wrong.
Before going to bed last night, I was confessing to the Lord all the ways I had fallen short that day. It didn't take long for me to see that my own actions before God had mirrored my 3-year-old. As the shame of that settled in, I wondered, "How do I expect God to respond?"
Forgiveness. I expect Him to give me His Spirit to teach me how to walk in victory over my sin. I expect a fresh start and new mercies. I expect Him to give me the armor of God and to show me how to use it.
Doesn't my 3-year-old need the same from me? Forgiveness. Giving. Teaching. Victory. Fresh start. New mercies. Showing him.
Yes.
This morning, 1 Samuel 12:23 was the confirming word. It says, "Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that should sin again the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way."
I whispered these words as my 3-year-old played in front of me, encouraged in the parenting ahead of me today.
I've struggled with this.
My natural self wants to swell up with anger and just force obedience out of my 3-year-old. Some days, I want to forget about smiling and laughing and just let the day be miserable for both of us. The whiny, defiant child deserves that, right?
Wrong.
Before going to bed last night, I was confessing to the Lord all the ways I had fallen short that day. It didn't take long for me to see that my own actions before God had mirrored my 3-year-old. As the shame of that settled in, I wondered, "How do I expect God to respond?"
Forgiveness. I expect Him to give me His Spirit to teach me how to walk in victory over my sin. I expect a fresh start and new mercies. I expect Him to give me the armor of God and to show me how to use it.
Doesn't my 3-year-old need the same from me? Forgiveness. Giving. Teaching. Victory. Fresh start. New mercies. Showing him.
Yes.
This morning, 1 Samuel 12:23 was the confirming word. It says, "Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that should sin again the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way."
I whispered these words as my 3-year-old played in front of me, encouraged in the parenting ahead of me today.
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Thoughtful Christian
I recently re-read The Autobiography of George Muller, published by Whitaker House in 1985.
Words from the introduction have stuck with me, so I thought I'd share them here:
"The thoughtful Christian who reads any of the wonderful promises in Scripture often pauses to ask himself, 'What can these words mean? Can it be that God has made these promises to me? Do I really have permission to commit all my little concerns to a God of infinite wisdom, believing that He will take charge of them and direct them according to His boundless transcendent power which accomplishes what no other power can, overruling all other agencies and rendering them subservient to its own wonderful effectiveness? If this is true, then why shouldn't I always draw near to God in full confidence that He will do as He has said?'"
Words from the introduction have stuck with me, so I thought I'd share them here:
"The thoughtful Christian who reads any of the wonderful promises in Scripture often pauses to ask himself, 'What can these words mean? Can it be that God has made these promises to me? Do I really have permission to commit all my little concerns to a God of infinite wisdom, believing that He will take charge of them and direct them according to His boundless transcendent power which accomplishes what no other power can, overruling all other agencies and rendering them subservient to its own wonderful effectiveness? If this is true, then why shouldn't I always draw near to God in full confidence that He will do as He has said?'"
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