family time

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Why Nag God?


Repeating prayers is for us, not for God. He’s not forgetful, He’s not old. He does not have dementia. He cannot be confused. He can remember even if we just pray it one time; repeating them is for us it helps us but, just because we have only prayed it once does not mean it will not be answered.

Luke 18:1-8 NASB

18 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not become discouraged,
2 saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect any person.
3 Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my opponent.’
4 For a while he was unwilling; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect any person,
5 yet because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice; otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’”
6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge said;
7 now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night, and will He delay long for them?
8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

Jesus was saying to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5.) Always live with open communication, your line always open. Walk and talk with God so that any given moment you can listen to His guidance through the Holy Spirit speaking directly to your heart. We can utter a thanks for the beauty of His creation we see or hear. We can utter a request, an urgent plea. We do not have to wait to dial up and be connected. There is no buffering or slow internet speed. Your line is always up and running.

God hears our prayers. It does not matter if they are spoken aloud or in our heart. He answers immediately. God has no time. It is answered. We wait in our time for the answer. The answer shows up in time, on time, according to His plan. Many times the answer is to wait upon Him and His plan to unfold. Many times we do not like the answer and refuse to see it. we keep praying for the answer we want, not His will.

14 This is the confidence which we have [a]before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

1 John 5:14-15 NASB

In His will, not ours. To simply end with, “The will be done” will not help. We have to really have our heart open for God’s will and pray according to His will.

Are you willing for His will to be done?

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You ‘m-bare-us-in me!


Funny_EmbarrassmentA two-year old fell on the floor in the grocery store kicking and screaming when her mom told her, "no, you cannot have that candy".  Much to the surprise of the two-year old, the cashier and other shoppers, the mom* promptly fell to the floor kicking and screaming.  The two-year old jumped up and stomped her foot, "stop, you 'm-bare-us-in me!"  That two-year old never threw another tantrum in public.

Where did the child get such an idea?  She had seen it at a day care she went to only two days a week.  And an adult had given in to a child’s tantrum. The adult wanted it to stop and took the easy way out.

Two teens bickering in the amusement park are stunned by their mom* stopping and disco dancing right in the fairway.  "STOP MOM, that is so embarrassing".  Mom: "YOU TWO are embarrassing me, turn about is fair play!"

Oh, that is so embarrassing. Are your kids embarrassing you? Are you ashamed of them? They know better, you taught them better, right from wrong. Do they not realize they are a reflection on the family.  Do you take the easy way out?  Boys will be boys?  You know girls these days?  Or, do you stop them?  Where do they get these ideas? Everywhere.  You are on 24/7 watch and correct.

Sometimes you want to just deny they are yours.  Maybe they are trying to be disassociated from the family, they do not want to 'belong'.  It is not right, they do not know what they are disclaiming.  Hopefully, one day they look back and realize how good their family was and is, and they start to reflect good on the family and not be an embarrassment. Every parent wants to point to their child with pride.  you cannot give up.  You keep pointing them in the right direction.  Ask God to help you choose the right words.

Matthew 26:34 HCSB “I assure you,” Jesus said to him, “tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times!””

Peter was afraid if they knew he was with Jesus, they would take him too.  Jesus knew Peter would deny Him.  It took Peter those three crows to figure out what he was doing. There was a price to being in the family with Jesus.  He had to wake up to that and decide if he was going to pay the price.  Jesus chose the right words, “three crows, three denials”.  Look at your child’s path, tell them where they are headed.  Make sure your path is straight as well.  Maybe you are giving them the ideas.

Sometimes, we too need “three crows” to realize and wake up to the fact we are denying Christ everyday, in little ways.   Jesus is pointing them out.  Are you listening for the crows?

There is a price for belonging to the family, His family.  We have to walk, talk and ‘look’ like Him.  People have to see Christ in us.  Sometimes, we are the only Christ a person will see.  What are you doing today that will reflect on Him?

Will you be willing to pay the price, or will you be an embarrassment to God?

*Yes, you got me.  I was that mom (and grandmom if needed).

 

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How did we get there from here?


Webster’s Definition of TOLERANCE

1: capacity to endure pain or hardship :endurance, fortitude, stamina
2a: sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own b: the act of allowing something :toleration
3: the allowable deviation from a standard; especially: the range of variation permitted in maintaining a specified dimension in machining a piece
4a (1): the capacity of the body to endure or become less responsive to a substance (as a drug) or a physiological insult especially with repeated use or exposure
As parents, grandparents; neighbors, employees; voters, bystanders … we have taken tolerance as an excuse to become apathetic.   We are tired, we do not want conflict, we just want to live and let live.  We do not want to be bothered.  We all have a reason for allowing things to just be.  With each year we just throw up our hands, turn away, give up and sit.  Hoping it all will go away, or “IT” will get better on it’s own.  “IT” can be many things in our lives.  People, situations, habits = “IT”.  Our attitude towards “IT” did not happen over night.  With each generation of neglect, apathy, or however you want to label the response to “IT”, we strengthen “IT” until it is insurmountable to overcome and take back control.  We do not like labels, society does not tolerate labels.  So we do not call “IT” by what it is.  The truth is, “IT” was, and always will be SIN.  When we first tolerate SIN and turn away, we strengthen SIN and begin to be tolerant.  Slowly we quit naming it SIN and create “IT”.  Unnamed and harmless.
I hope my ramblings are not confusing.  To best sum up my thoughts I offer this quote:

“One of the penalties of sin is our acceptance of it. It is not only God who punishes for sin, but sin establishes itself in the sinner and takes its toll. No struggling or praying will enable you to stop doing certain things, and the penalty of sin is that you gradually get used to it, until you finally come to the place where you no longer even realize that it is sin. No power, except the power that comes from being filled with the Holy Spirit, can change or prevent the inherent consequences of sin. ‘If we walk in the light as He is in the light. . .’ (1 John 1:7). For many of us, walking in the light means walking according to the standard we have set up for another person.” ~ Oswald Chambers

I think Chambers sums it all up nicely.  So what do we do?  We acknowledge we turned away.  We stop denying and return to the truth.  As Chambers says, only the Holy Spirit can do this work in our lives.  Yes, we pray but we pray specifically for the Holy Spirit to renew us, to open our hearts to the Word we read each day.  We ask for discernment and we ask:

Psalm 51:10 (ESV) “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

Philippians 4:8 (NASB)  “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

At the risk of repeating myself, JUST DO IT (previous blog).  Stop and call “IT” by the right name, SIN.  Tolerance by Bible standards = love thy neighbor as they self.  You can love someone and not love what they do.  We should not let anything that the Bible calls SIN become “IT” simply because we have become desensitized by the world and we do not want to deal with “IT”.

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“A Baby Changes Everything”


A Baby Changes EVERYTHING

WOW.  Where did the year go?  Things are pretty hectic here with work and all the family heading into town.  I have so many notes of things I would like to write and I promise this will be the last ‘repost’.  (I hope) This one is from December 2010 and I have updated it for the repost.  Enjoy.

Faith Hill sings the song “A Baby Changes Everything*”, the story of Jesus’ who came to Earth and changed the world.   If you have not seen the video or heard the song, click on the title above.

A year ago I had just returned from Montana.  God had perfect timing in our lives.  I am in retail and could only get away for a few days.  My youngest daughter was due to give birth Christmas Eve.  However, as I landed on the 10th she was already in the hospital in labor.  I was able to be there for the birth of her first child and our first grandson.  I was able to be there for my oldest at the birth of her oldest daughter, our first grandchild.  God knew my grandmother’s heart and has allowed me to be at the hospital for my daughters.

I often say that God provides minuscule pictures on earth of the ‘big picture’.  Both of my daughters lives have been changed forever by the birth of their children, as mine was with each of their births.  Nothing is the same, everything is different.  Circumstances, challenges, life … day by day a mother handles what is handed her.  What a difference a child makes.

As we come together to celebrate Christmas, let us not forget that a Baby changed everything.  Circumstances, challenges, life … day by day each of us handle what is handed to us … either WITH or withOUT the difference the CHILD of God made when He came to earth as a new-born child, to a mother who had no mother to be there for her.  What a sacrifice He made in leaving Heaven to come to a stable.  What a difference He made.

We often get frazzled by the season’s hustle and bustle, plans, and traveling.  Let us not forget that Jesus is the Reason for the Season and YOU may be the only witness that person sees that “A Baby Changes Everything”.

Will He make a difference in your CHRISTmas celebrations this year?

Have a BLESSED CHRISTMAS! ~ Renee’

*A Baby Changes Everything Warner-tamerlane Publishing Corp

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It’s All About The Fishin’


I love a sunrise or sunset walk along the beach; sun creeping up over the horizon or setting in the west.  The lap of the waves, the call of birds, the peace and beauty of God’s creation is all there at the beach.  I stroll, pickin’ up little treasures along the way; thinking, praying, singing.  At the beach my world is peaceful.  People smile and greet me, sometimes wanting to know what I have found.

A fisherman greets me with, “Find anything good?”  I smile, “not yet … just started … and you?  Catch anything yet?”   He smiles, “No, but it’s not about the catchin’, it’s about the fishin’.”   I continue to walk and think.  Raising kids, working, day-to-day living … it’s about the fishin’ not the catchin’.   God places each of us here for His purpose … the fishin’.  Sometimes we cast nets to get bait.  Other times we  re-bait a simple hook.  Fishin’ takes patience and time.  Sometimes you catch nothin’, sometimes you catch a lot.   Some days are beautiful and others stormy.   Life is a lot like fishin’ and we need to remember it is not about the catchin’.

Some days it seems you are always fishin’ and never catchin’.  Sometimes it seems like stormy days will never end.   Days turn into weeks, weeks to months and months to years.  It is so hard to focus on the fishin’ at these times.  It does not matter if it is struggles with raising kids, working at a job you dread, struggling in a marriage or whatever other difficulty you may be facing.  You have to face the day and focus on the fishin’.

When my husband takes our grandchildren fishing, he knows there will be little catching.  Mainly it will be re-hooking and untangling.  He has to focus on the time he has with them and not the results of the catch.  It’s about the fishin’ … being with them.                                                                                        

In our day-to-day life with others we need to focus on the time we are spending with others.  It may be our children, our spouse or other family members.  The phrase ‘quality time’ is over used, however, it is the best way to describe what God sent Jesus to do. He spent 33 short years on this earth, yet the quality of His time with those He came in contact with, and the effect on their lives, resulted in touching all mankind for all eternity.

Today, you are fishin’.  As a parent, spouse, employee, etc., your daily fishing touches others.  Make sure you spend time in the Word and in prayer (proper preparation for fishin’).  My husband takes our grandchildren through the steps of preparing to fish knowing it may be a long while before they are able to fish on their own, and even longer before they may catch anything.  We also must show others around us by the way we “fish” how to prepare for life.  Maintain your fishin’ equipment so that you are ever ready for the day-to-day fishin’ at home, work, school, the mall…everywhere.  Having dull hooks, broken lines, and a messy tackle box will keep you from being ready to fish.

Jesus never said you were to go out and catch.  Leave the catching to Him.  He simply says to prepare yourself.

Matthew 4:19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

Renee’ Green Copyright 2011

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