Tag: relationships

One Perfect Truth

Who can we trust? Certainly not the news. They don’t report the facts anymore. There may be some facts sprinkled in, but it’s slanted depending on what channel you are on. We are hearing the opinion of the network and only the information that they want us to hear. Fear is the job of most of the news networks and they do a fine job at that. Most of the stories floating around on-line end up being false and you have to fact check everything that you read. Even then, unless you are hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth, could there possibly be another side to the story?

We live in a world that seems to be falling down around us and not to add to the doom and gloom, it feels like that on most days. The nuclear family is under attack, our children are being targeted and the church is slowly deteriorating. We have just been told that UFOs are real and aliens have indeed landed here and we have been studying them for some years now. SAY WHAT!! You can pick your own gender at will and boys/men are playing on girls/women’s sports teams. Right is wrong and wrong is right. In fact it’s all subjective. Everyone has their own truth and is encouraged to speak it and stand on it. We are ridiculed for speaking or standing on THE truth. We are ridiculed for speaking and standing up for facts. No one wants to hear THE truth. Everyone wants to feel warm and fuzzy and live their best life. Well, I’m sorry. No one promised you that you could always be warm and fuzzy and live your best life.

The fact of the matter is sometimes the truth is painful. Sometimes truth makes us uncomfortable. Sometimes I don’t want to hear the truth, but I don’t want to have people around me that just make me feel good and watch me spin out into chaos as I wreck my life. If I didn’t have people in my life that would speak the truth, I would be a drug addict and an alcoholic, probably divorced and estranged from my child and the rest of my family. If you don’t have anyone in your life brave enough to speak the truth, then you need a new set of friends and maybe even family.

There is one perfect truth, and that is the truth of the Gospel. As I look around I am burdened for the world as I see it falling down, but I know thankfully how it ends. I know I am going to heaven and I hope that anyone who reads this will meet me there. If you know Jesus, then you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t, then let me tell you. God, because of his mercy and great love for us, did not leave us in our brokenness. He sent his son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for our sin. He lived a perfect, sin-free life. He willingly, chose to die in our place to pay the penalty for our sin. He then defeated death and rose to life. He did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. Merely knowing this won’t suffice. You have to act on this. You must confess your sins, seek forgiveness from God, and follow him as your Lord and savior. It’s as simple as that.

So even as the doom and gloom news and everything else is chaotic in this world, you and I can have hope and know that we will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter how bad things get. God is always in control. He wrote this story from beginning to end. Those that do not accept him will be separated from him for eternity. My prayer is that whoever you are, may you not be separated from God. Now, it’s your job to spread this far and wide.

Worshipping The Joneses

Unless you have been under a rock lately, then you have seen or heard the praise or the disdain for the performances and videos coming from the music industry. Whether you were in the praise column or the disdain column, our music has become a worship of everything in excess. We celebrate living a life of sexual immorality, accumulating as much wealth as possible, and having the biggest and best of everything. There is a desire to keep up with the Joneses! Our Joneses seem to be celebrities. We all strive to look as good as our favorite singer, influencer or actor. I’ll take JLo’s butt, Kim Kardashian’s waist, and Charlize Theron’s Legs…. I do it too so I’m not pointing fingers. By the time I’m done, I will have created a new person. Who am I worshipping?

CBS was ready to worship Sam Smith as they tweeted “We are ready to worship” in response to Sam Smith’s sneak peek at his Grammy rehearsal. Smith’s provocative dance included a top hat adorned with devil horns and Petra, looking like she was enjoying her place in hell. When they received a massive blow back, they quickly did an about face and removed it. They rewarded the performance with thunderous applause and a standing ovation. These are the people we idolize and look up to.

Rihanna’s Superbowl performance was celebrated everywhere and was said by fans to have made a “powerful statement” for women all over the world. Really? What kind of statement does it make to grab your crotch and then smell your hand? She must have grabbed herself at least ten more times during the rest of her performance. When we talk about a woman making a “powerful statement” I think of women like Corrie Ten Boom or Miriam Makeba. I am not trying to shred Rihanna’s halftime performance. You either liked it or you didn’t. I am sure Rihanna has done several things to be recognized for as she is such a successful businesswoman. My point is maybe we need to re-think who we and especially our young women are looking up to.

There is power in music. I need to listen to what is coming out of my radio. I need to think about who I look up to. Who am I idolizing? What am I worshipping? There are a lot of celebrities that thank God for their many blessings. Don’t get fooled. There are all kinds of gods, that’s gods with a little g. People can talk about and worship any of those little gods. There is only one God, that’s God with a big G. Entertainment is good and fun until it’s not. Oh, be careful little ears what you hear! Oh, be careful little eyes what you see! Remember that song from Sunday school? We should guard our ears and eyes as we guard our hearts. Ultimately, God is in control and we must rely on him to help us navigate through all this chaos. – For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100:5 And those are my thoughts!

Being A Lori

Sticking to a schedule can be hard to do.   Especially when you feel like you just can’t get ahead.  As hard as you try you are moving in slow motion.  That’s what I’m struggling with.  I feel like I am the proverbial chicken with it’s head cut off.  I have been trying to clean my house for over a week.  Each night I sit down with my planner and schedule for the next day and have everything all set as to what I’m going to get done tomorrow and here lately it’s just not happening.  It seems there is always something that is coming up that is more important than mopping my kitchen floor and cleaning the hardwoods on the first floor.

I am starting this week out again with a purpose and schedule as to when I am fitting in cleaning my bathroom and my kitchen and everything else around here.  I think my cats are brushing themselves and just throwing up the cat hair  in the living room to see how long it will take to cover the couch.  Cat couch motif the newest rage.

There’s one thing that came to my mind this morning.  My Aunt Lori.  She passed away and battled cancer for I think as long as I’ve known her.  She’s seen the inside of more hospitals than even seems humanly possible.  One thing she said to me while she was here.  She said “God didn’t put me here to clean.”  I always thought no he didn’t but keeping everything tidy and clean is just something you need to make sure that gets done.  I didn’t understand what she was saying until here recently when my Dad got sick.  God didn’t put her here to clean.  She was in and out of so many hospitals that when she was home and feeling good that woman was on the go.  She was selling things at festivals, she was cooking for other people, she was always helping at church.  She was just always doing when she could be doing.  She loved to fish and I think she was the first person who took JT fishing.  She lived across the field from me( we live in the middle of a farm) and when JT was maybe in kindergarten he got mad packed a suitcase and ran away from home.  To her house.  He came back after dinner.  When he got older and needed to talk to someone that wasn’t me he would go over and talk her ear off.   She would do anything for you.  I can’t tell you how many times I called her at 7am and told her I couldn’t drive because I had a migraine.  Would she please take JT to school for me.  She never once made me feel like it was an imposition or I was a bother or for Lord’s sakes it’s 7am can’t you find someone else.  She would simply say I got it.  What time do I need to be there.  She was always helping anytime she could.  She would also tell you just what she thought and how things ought to be done.  She didn’t have time to mince words.  I think she was so outspoken because she never knew when she was going to be sick again and wanted everyone to be clear on who she was, what she said and how she felt.    If she had an opinion you were going to know it.  Whether you liked it or not.   That is why she was so loved.  That is why I miss her so much.

So I’m thinking she heard it directly from God.  He didn’t put her here to clean.  He put her here to serve.  What do you want people to think about when you come to mind? Oh, she has an immaculate house.  Her yard is to die for.  Yes, all those things are great and I’m not saying you should live in squaller.  What I am saying is who cares if my kitchen floor needs to be mopped.  My bathroom needs a good wipe down.  I haven’t been deadheading my Petunias and they are looking pretty rough on the front porch.  I would rather be a Lori than making sure my house was sparkling when people came in the front door.  Those things aren’t going to matter in the end.  Your relationships will matter.

My family, my whole family, is coming in town this weekend and a good majority of them are staying at my house.  I hope I get to clean before they come but if I don’t get things looking great and have meals for them this weekend everyone is just going to have to understand.  My sister is getting married this weekend.  That’s what’s important.  Spending time celebrating her marriage.  Getting my Dad to his appointments this week.  That’s what’s important.  JT is having his tonsils removed on Thursday.  I’m going to need to take care of him and make sure he is comfortable and healing.

So as I look at my planner this week I have everything scheduled out.  I got on the treadmill this morning and spent time with God.  Taking care of myself and spending time with God are a must.  I can’t help anyone else if I’m not taking care of myself physically and spiritually.  I wrote down clean the bathroom then I have to take a shower and get out of here on time to get to my Dad’s for his first Dr. appt. today.  So if the only thing that doesn’t get done is I have to put off cleaning the bathroom till tomorrow it will be a succesful day.   I don’t think God put me here to clean either.  He put me here to serve.  I pray he gives me a serving heart like Lori.