Fifty Shades of Red

I just haven't been able to put this book down.
And, no, I'm not talking about the latest craze, Fifty Shades of Grey. (Sorry to burst your bubble.)
I'm talking about God's Living Word. 
Some of you will probably stop reading this blog post now and keep checking your Facebook News Feed.  That's ok.  Go ahead.  But for those who dare to keep reading....

Did you know there's a pledge to the Bible?  I grew up reciting it every morning during Vacation Bible School....summer after summer. 
"I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God's holy word.  I will make it a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and hide its words in my heart, that I may not sin against God."
Funny how that pledge just came back to me after all these years.  Isn't it amazing how our brains work?  We can recall poems and songs- word for word- if we've heard them enough times.  Same thing is true about scripture.  To "hide something in your heart" means you love something so much that you (consciously or subconsciously) memorize it.  You know it inside and out.  You can pull movie quotes and song lyrics out of nowhere because they're your absolute favorites, right?

So I've been reading my Bible (along with reading and listening to Christian commentary) and I just can't get enough.  And my perspective about our generation and American culture is changing - it's being re-programmed by God as I study and hear His word.  I see more and more sin all around me, and it truly breaks my heart.  We are letting Satan get a tighter grip on us.  Just turn on the TV and you'll see it.  Everywhere. 

Fifty Shades of Red.  A spin-off of the popular new book...that I refuse to read. 
RED.  A symbol of the blood that was spilled by Jesus Christ for you and me.  To cover our sins.  To wash them away and cleanse us.  To make us new.  To forgive us, before we even asked for it, and although we don't deserve it.  To show his love for us.  To give us hope.  Because THIS is not our home. 

From Bo Chancey's message on Romans 5:
So many times we focus on what we don't have....but what about what we do have?
Through Christ, you have Peace, Hope, Joy, Love and Salvation.
What the world needs now is LOVE....it's the only thing that there's just too little of.... (recognize the song?)
When we have received the love of God, He gives us that same love for others so that we can help to share His love.
Do you have salvation?  If you do, have you shared it with someone recently?

You can click here to listen to Bo Chancey's message.
(It's the black tab for Romans 5:1-10)

My 1st prayer is that you've found and accepted this free gift of salvation.  My 2nd prayer is that the Bible will become more popular among our generation.  There are so many Apps out there that make it too easy to download and find a reading plan with commentary connected.  Try www.youversion.com if you don't know where else to begin.

It's called the Living Word for a reason.  If you truly hide its words in your heart (even if you don't understand them at first!) I promise that you will start to feel God's presence like never before.  It takes time, sacrifice, and a little bit of frustration at times.  But it's so much better than Fifty Shades of Grey (and anything else on the market!)

Rejected!

"Rejected!"  A typical word used during a basketball game, or among friends who are just having harmless fun, or maybe that word is stamped on someone's hurting heart.

Have you ever been rejected by someone you love?  How did it make you feel?
Unworthy.  Betrayed.  Exposed.  Wounded.  Broken.

If you have risked loving, then you have probably experienced rejection.  The deeper we love, the deeper we can be hurt.  Opening our heart also exposes it and allows for harmful substances to enter, like rejection.  So how do we defend it?  Should we keep it closed up to avoid pain like this in the future? 

My heart has been trampled before, and it's so easy to play the pity party game, put the blame on them, or even seek revenge.  There are plenty of songs out there that were written during times of heartache and touch on all three of those emotions.  But what good does that really do? 

Have you ever tried looking up?  Have you thought about the pain and suffering that Jesus Christ endured on the cross as He was rejected by men?  What was His response?  He turned the other cheek, He took it like a man, and He rose again!  Not to get revenge - but to prove that He IS LOVE.  Jesus knew that ultimate rejection was coming, but He didn't preach messages that would be popular or win people's favor.  He spoke the TRUTH.....knowing that it might turn some people away.

One of the strongest desires we have, as humans, is to be loved, accepted, and feel like we belong.  I encourage you to relax in God's love.  He loved us first so that we can love Him and love others - He doesn't expect us to give something away that He hasn't already given us.

In the words of Joyce Meyer, "Let love in and let it out.  You are destined to be a channel for God to flow through, and not a reservoir that merely sits and collects things.  You are special and God has a special plan for you." 

Proverbs 4:23 says "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."  Notice that it doesn't say to close or harden your heart - it says GUARD it - because it is a precious channel that can bring LIFE to the fullest!

And think of that rejection as a blockade that leads you to fully understand and appreciate the value of unconditional, unfailing love. 

 

New Mom, Crazy Mom?

This picture was taken almost one year ago!  So I've been a mom for almost a year now, and it's still so "new" to me.  Every phase they go through brings something new with it.  I love that about being a mother- watching my son experience LIFE for the first time.  There is such a newness about everything; it almost feels like I've been reborn.  One of my very favorite things is cuddling with my son.  I'd like to caption this photo as "The First Cuddle."  In reality, it was probably the 37th cuddle or something, but for all intents and purposes this snapshot will forever remind me of the very first one.

Well, the last thing I want is for this blog to be all about me.  Boring!  So let's play a game:
I want you to stop and picture the most precious person in your life.  This will be someone different for each of you- maybe your son or daughter, husband or wife, mom or dad, grandparent, niece or nephew, etc.  I know it may be difficult to just pick ONE, but that's how the game works today.  Now think of a time that you held each other in your arms.  It could've been in a moment of joy or sorrow, rain or shine, at a special occasion or on a very normal day.  Are you in that moment?  Where were you?  What sights, smells, and sounds surrounded your embrace?  Could you feel the love?

Ok- stop the daydream.  Now let your mind go somewhere completely different- hang in there- I promise there's a prize at the end of this game.  Think of a time when that very same person let you down.  Do they ever frustrate you?  Do they know how to push your buttons?  Come on, be honest.  They're not perfect, right?  Even my 11-month old knows how to be stubborn and get his way.  Most of the time it makes me laugh, but I know there will come a day when he will do something that makes me sad.  It's inevitable.  We're human.

At this point, you might be thinking I'm crazy.  Sometimes I think I'm going crazy- like when I can't sleep at night when my baby is finally sleeping peacefully....or when I get a blog going in my head and can't type it out fast enough....or when I have nothing to show for myself at the end of the day because all I wanted to do was eat, play, and sleep (alongside my son!) while I let my house (and all its chores) get more and more out of control.  Believe me, I've thought about all the reasons I could be perceived as crazy.  But here's my conclusion:

The only "crazy" in my nature is this:
I'm crazy about my son!  Crazy in love.  So crazy that nothing he could ever do would make me stop loving him.  Is this how you feel about your precious someone?  Maybe they've hurt you in the past, but you forgave them because love overcomes all?

I want to take you just one more place.  Please do me this favor. 
Picture Jesus, with nail scarred hands, holding out his arms to you.  He wants to hold you, comfort you, love you.  Maybe you've done some things that you think are unforgiveable.  Maybe you think that the God of this universe could never love someone like you.  You are wrong.  He made you!  He sent His son to die for your sins so that you can be free from this guilt!  If you don't believe me, open your Bible (or Google) Psalm 139.  You were made "wonderfully complex" and for a purpose.

That crazy-love-feeling that you get for your special someone- that's the same feeling the Father has for you. 
That "newness of life" feeling I have now that I'm a mother watching her son- that's the feeling you get when you give your life over to Christ.

And the reason I choose to share this with you?  2 Corinthians 5:11-21 
Allow me to paraphrase it for you:

It is my fearful responsibility to the Lord, to work hard to persuade others of His love.  God knows I am sincere, and I hope you know this too.  If it seems I am crazy, it is only to bring glory to God.  And if I'm in my right mind, it is for your benefit.  Either way, Christ's love controls me.  Since I believe that Christ died for ALL, then I also believe that we have all died to our old life.  He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves.  Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.  Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is gone; a new life has begun!  And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.  And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.  So I am one of Christs's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us.  I speak for Christ when I plead, "Come back to God!" 


For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.