True Joy is Not Found in Self

selfish

self-centered

self-absorbed

self-esteem

self-indulgent

self-righteous

self-conscious

self-assured

All of these words point to one thing ~ SELF.  And when self takes center stage, God is not in His proper place in our lives.

Can you think of one sin that is not all about self?

When we sin, we're saying, "I want what I want when I want it, and I don't care what anyone else wants - including God."

Whether we're depending on self, worried about self or insisting on our own selfish way, when we take our eyes off God and focus on ourselves, sin is crouching at the door.

And if you think about it, no matter what the world tells you, when you are focused on yourself, you are NOT happy!  At least not for very long.

True happiness, true joy is only found in Jesus.  And as our perfect Example, Jesus put others first. He gave everything He had even to the point of death. 

He tells us that His joy is ours when we love others.  This is exactly the opposite of what the world tells us.  The world says we have to love ourselves before we can love others.  WRONG!  Everyone loves themselves.  As Reb Bradley puts it, "Even the person who hate themselves, can't get themselves off their mind."

So if you are miserable, depressed or unhappy, get your eyes off yourself and start loving and serving others...starting in your home.

Fear Factor

Several weekends ago I went to a seminar called Refuse to Be a Victim. The purpose of the seminar is to make people more aware of their surroundings in order to avoid becoming a victim of some kind of violence.

I consider myself pretty careful. I lock my doors as soon as I get in the car. I don't run errands by myself at night. Things like that. I think God gives us common sense and we need to use it. But as careful as I am, I don't consider myself fearful.

I trust God to take care of us. If I ever do have a twinge of fear, I immediately say a prayer and trust that God is going to control the situation.

Well after this little 4-hour seminar, I left fearful. And I didn't like it. I said to myself, "I need to go home and read my Bible." It's my security blanket.

And it was the one thing that was left out of the seminar. Expectedly so, since it is a program of the NRA. I don't have issue with that. But it was a fellow Christian teaching it. So while I appreciated the information, I can not get away from the fact that although I certainly think we should be careful and aware, etc., we should NOT live our lives in fear. As followers of Christ, we know Who is in control!

An opportunity arose last year for the men in our Sunday School class to take some men from the Coalition bowling. These were men going through one of their programs. Our guys were going to pick them up and return them at the end of the evening. One of the men was so worried about "something" happening. If people didn't serve because something might happen, we'd have no missionaries overseas or downtown!

Please hear me...I am not a careless person who will stop on the side of the road to help any and every stranger. I wouldn't go to the Coalition and pick up a homeless man by myself to bring him to church. I don't let my kids play outside unsupervised. We don't run with scissors or lollipops in our mouths!

But there has got to be a point when we, exercising appropriate caution and listening to the Holy Spirit, put our lives completely in God's hands and trust Him to take care of us in any circumstance.

I think my sister-in-law put it best when my brother was in Papua New Guinea last month. She said, "Being in the ministry is the safest place for us to be in."

Well said, Kara!

(My handsome brother with the natives. He bought the bow and arrows from that gentleman after it was used to kill dinner!)

Nursing Home Visit

I'm still catching up from December.  Here are the kids making cards to take to the nursing home where we caroled with the Fittros.

All eleven of 'em... 

Haiti

A 7.0 earthquake pummels Haiti with numerous aftershocks adding to the catastrophe.

All of this happens just 12 hours before Roddy and Emma (10) were supposed to be at the airport getting ready to fly to Haiti with a group from our church.  All flights were canceled last night and the trip obviously postponed.  They were to fly in today and come back Saturday.

Thanking God for His sovereignty and grace and mercy and timing. Praying for the people there and those from our church's Christian Academy that are there trying to get back.  None of them were injured but they are anxious to return home.

Haiti's main religion is witchcraft, voodoo.  I'm praying that they see that those who are first to respond to the crises they have encountered in recent years are Christians.  And that the love of Jesus through those first-responders will change that country.

How Freeing...

You've got to read this post by Breezy Tulip. 

To me, it is so freeing because it lines up my priorities so quickly.  I can make my decisions about what to add to my schedule or commitment list through the filter of have I done my first duty well?  And I don't mean "well" according to worldly, feminist standards.  I also don't mean you have to have a perfectly clean and decorated house, perfectly cooked meals, be perfectly fit, be perfectly selfless, etc.

I'm talking about God's standards.  Am I pleasing Him?  Or at least seeking to please Him in my home? in my marriage? in my children?  Am I seeking to grow in my walk with Him? Am I teachable and willing to change to be more like Him? And then how do I apply that change to my first duty?

The Body of Christ

Have you ever looked at your foot and criticized it for not being able to write?  Sound like a really stupid question?  It is. But go with me on this.

Have you ever looked at your hands and judged them for not helping you breathe?  Of course not!  It's obsurd.

God designed our members (body parts) for specific purposes to serve our bodies.  In the same way, He created each member of the body of Christ with his/her own purpose to serve that body.

So, just as it would make no sense to criticize an elbow for not serving our body as our eyes do, it would be ridiculous to criticize ourselves, our husbands, our children or our fellow Christians for not serving the body of Christ as someone else does or as we think they should.

We each have a function...

...some to minister through music.
...some to change diapers.
...some to encourage with notes in the mail.
...some to feed the homeless.
...some to live in foreign lands.
...some to homeschool.
...some to foster children.
...some to adopt special needs kids.
...some to organize large functions that bless many.
...some to minister one-on-one.
...some to take care of sick parents.
the list is practically endless.

This, of course, does not mean we are exclusive in our ministries.  I can pick up objects with my toes.  This is very helpful when I already have my hands full.  (I know you really wanted to know this about me!)  I have friends who minister through music and to the homeless.

And sometimes our functions change as the seasons in our lives change.  A little over ten years ago I had no children in my home. It was my husband and me. In 5 1/2 years God gave us 5 children who are now my primary ministry along with my husband.

My point is this...whatever situation you are in, be content, and be thankful.

Be thankful for the way God made you but also be thankful for His creativity and variety in the way he made others who are different from you.

How I function as a member of the body of Christ, how I minister with His love, how I walk out my faith will differ from others.  Not better. Not worse.  Just different.  And accepting the vast differences in the many members of the body of Christ is as sensible as accepting the differences in teeth and ears.

I'm thankful I've been reminded of this recently.  And I want to pray for eyes that see myself soberly.  For eyes that see the members of the body of Christ as individuals with gifts that differ according to the grace given to us. It's just makes sense.

God is Good...All the Time!

All the Time, God is Good!

I'm basking in the amazingness of my God!! The One True God!

You see, the devil showed up tonight!

In an attempt to ruin our evening of serving, he channeled himself through the food service manager at the WRCC. But God showed up and thankfully the Holy Spirit that lives is me was stronger than my flesh because I didn't fight back the way my flesh wanted to. All praise to Him.

Other than the rough start, the rest of the evening was awesome! I loved serving and spending time with the women and their kids. One of the moms said she was so thankful she could just sit and relax because normally they have to walk through the line themselves and get everything. Tonight they sat and we brought them whatever they needed.

We had about 20 adults and 30 kids volunteer so it was a little crazy and crowded but everyone was so great. They went with the flow and jumped in wherever they were needed - even the kids. They were such hard workers. I know several of the kids from different families were asking when they could come back and do it again!

The other highlight of the night was that we were able to give away some of Jackson's Bibles. We brought all of our Women's and Children's Bibles and ~drumroll, please~ 25 Women's Bibles and 16 Children's Bibles were taken...41 in all! Yea!!

One of the women told me that about 3 minutes before she walked into the dining room, she told her friend she needed a Bible!! She said, "I had no idea you would have them here." I said, "But God did!" This is the God we serve!! How personal and perfect is He?!

So the devil showed up, but God won!!

Prayers Much Appreciated

This Thursday night we have the privilege of preparing dinner for and serving 100 women and children at the WRCC (Women's Residential and Counseling Center). It is an extension of the Coalition focusing on women who are abused and have no other place to go with their children.

Thirteen families from our Sunday School class are working together on this. Roddy and I are heading it up and would love your prayers for a seamless, orderly evening. We are scheduled to do this every other month but this will be our first time. So we have no idea what to expect and what will be the best process. We're praying for wisdom. But mostly that we will all be a blessing to these women and their little ones and that Jesus' love will shine through to them.

Thank you for praying!

Valentine's to The Grammies and Grampies

Last Thursday Mom came over to help us make Valentine's and Tissue Paper Flowers to take to the nursing home that we visited in December.

We didn't get enough done that day so she came over again Monday to help us finish up.

We made about 50 of each.

Yesterday we got to deliver them.

While we were making the Valentine's, the kids started getting confused between the people at the nursing home and the homeless people.

So to clarify I started saying we were going to visit the Grammies and Grampies.

Best Christmas Ever!

What an awesome Christmas morning! Instead of the usual getting of gifts on Jesus' birthday, we loaded up at 7am to head down to the Coalition for the Homeless. The hygiene kits that so many of you helped put together had been put in backpacks to be handed out to the homeless men that sleep there. Doughnuts, coffee and specially packaged cookies were also given out.


What a sight. I couldn't have imagined the mass of so many without a warm, soft, clean bed to sleep in; without food for the rest of the day; without family to go to in their time of need. It put a lot of things into perspective for me.

While passing out the cookies, Sweet Pea noticed that one of the men was deaf. When she told me, I immediately sought him out. His name is Archie. He was very patient with me and my 2 years of sign language with no practical experience. At one point in the conversation, I asked him what he was going to do for the rest of the day. He said, "Be bored." I thought about him the rest of the day. Especially as I was preparing our Christmas dinner/feast. It was all I could do to keep from asking Hubby if we could go back down there and find him and bring him home.


As the men finished up their doughnuts and coffee and started heading out for the day, Archie starting working. I saw him cleaning up and moving boxes. I could tell he was a worker. There are homeless people who are bumbs - they're there because they choose to be; because they are lazy. Archie's not one of them. I think many of the men there want to work, want to get out of that place. It weighs on my heart.

I invited Archie and his friend (also deaf) to church Sunday. I want to introduce them to my first sign language teacher who is also deaf. They said they would be waiting for us Sunday morning. I'll let you know.