The Cost of Liberty

There are so many things that are on my mind this Independence Day, but this isnt the time or place for a novel :) So I will try to share the most important thoughts as briefly as possible. The main thing I want to share today is this: liberty always comes at a cost. The freedom we have in our country today came at the cost of the blood, sweat and tears of our forefathers. I think todays generation (myself included) has forgotten that price that was payed. We have become accustomed to everything we have and just take it for granted. We arent appreciative of it like we should be. As someone who has worked with  young people, I can personally attest that it is getting worse and worse in the generation coming up. We must do something about it or we will lose this country that our forefathers toiled to build. We must get back to the character, integrity, fortitude and hard work that it took to found America. In closing, I also want to point out that the ultimate freedom was payed for by the blood of Christ. All the freedom that we can enjoy in this life does no good if we dont accept the freedom from sin that Christ offers us.
 John 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. 

Where Ive been

Wow, I knew I had been on kind of a hiatus but I didnt realize it had been quite this long! Sorry to leave you haning (those of you that were hanging that is). Where have I been? Well, I have been dealing with a lot. On February 22, my father called me after having only ever seen him once that I was old enough to remember (and I barely remember that). Just a few short weeks later, toward the end of March, he came to visit.  There has not only been that to process, but I have had a lot of other things on my mind as well. Its strange that my husband and I have had such an open and honest relationship and I could tell him most anything, but for the first time, Im feeling things that I dont even know how to adequately express. I guess some times God just works in our heart so deeply that words just arent enough to express it. Im reminded of Romans 8:26, wich says,  "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." Sometimes, even in prayer we cant even express to God what we are feeling, let a lone make another human understand. I will try to see in the coming days if I can form some thoughts out of it all. Until then, good night and God bless.

Charity: A GIving Love

Today is Valentine's Day. Everyone's thoughts are turned to love and their hearts are all mushy-gushy. So lets take a few moments to look at what love is. Many people would probably say that it is just a warm fuzzy feeling you get when you are around someone. Scripture has a lot to say about love so lets look at it. First of all, lets look at the greatest demonstration of love. John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life." Lets also look at Ephesians 5:25, which says "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it" When we put these two verses together, we get the idea that ture love is a giving love. God's love is pure love, and He demonstrated it by giving His all for us. Next, lets examine I Corinthians 13. It has been referred to as "the love chapter."

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Charity here is often translated "love". While that is what it means, it goes deeper than that. It is a giving love. We aare shown here what true charity, or love is. It is patient, kind, and humble. So much of what is called love today is merely infatuation. As soon as the warm fuzzy feeling wears off, the relationship is discarded like yesterday's garbage. Scripture says that charity "beareth all things" and "endureth all things". This means that it puts up with the bad and stays through the hard times. As our precher preached on this subject yesterday, I know I was certainly challenged that my love for others is not anywhere near God's standard of true charity. How about you?

Dear Diary

Today's entry will sort of be a diary entry, written to just sort of let some things out, and you will get to look on.


     Since I started on my journey with Christ  nearly 14 years ago, God has done much work in my heart and life, but none has been as intense as the last couple years. Its kind of like an onion. God has been slowly peeling back the outer layers. Now He is getting down close to the very core. This process over the last couple of years has been very emotional. I have not only been dealing with various spiritual issues and questions, but also with the grief of infertility. I feel like I have changed. I was once called "happy-go-lucky".  This is not the case anymore. I have become very emotional, melancholy, and introspective. I have withdrawn from people that I used to need very much. But, I have to have faith that (even though at times it may be difficult and painful) if I continue to walk with God and allow Him to work in my life, I will emerge from this "cacoon" a beautiful butterfly that will glorify God in an amazing way. Lord, I may not always understand, or even like this process of growth and change, but I entrust my fragile heart to you.

Where are the Mr. Smiths?

Last night we watched the movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington".  This movie is from the late 30s but it was truly amazing how timely it is for today. I will summarize the movie quickly for those who have not seen it. Mr. Smith (Jimmy Stewart) is a young man thrust into politics when he is chosen by the governor to replace a senator that died. The reason he is chosen is that the "politcal machine" made up of the governor, the senior senator from the state, and a lobbiest. The lobbiest is really the force behind the machine, who is controlling things for his benefit, and he owns much of the business in the state. Mr. Smith goes to Washington and is filled with the awe and wonder of an innocent child. He is soon given a rude awakening to reality when he disovers that the senior senator is involved in dirty dealings. They make up lies about him and try to get him kicked out of the senate. Mr. Smith takes on the "machine" and spends 24 hrs on the senate floor speaking non-stop to maintain a filibuster.  My first thought watching the movie was Chicago, which has long been known for corrupt politics. I know that there are probably some of the same things going on throughout the senate. I do believe there are some good ones in there too.  The point that I want to make here is that we need some Mr.Smiths who will boldly and fearlessly take on the corrupt political machine of today.

Gadgets controlling your life?

Well, it was pretty obvious what God's message was for today. I had something on my mind already and then I was listening to a program on the radio on the same topic I was thinking about. The topic of the day is what gadgets are controlling your life. Technology is a wonderful thing, with many wonderful uses. We can keep in touch with people that are across the country, and even the world, at the click of a mouse. Any information that we could possibly need is right at our fingertips. If we break down on the side of the road, we can just pick up our cell phone and have someone right there. But, technology can also control our lives. How much time do we spend in front of the computer? How much of it is wasted time? How many quality  moments do we miss out on with the ones that we love because we have our nose in the tv or computer screen? I will admit that I spend way too much time playing meaningless games on Facebook, when the purpose of being on it in the first place is to connect with people. So what gadgets might be controlling your life? Lets all make a commitment this year to spend less time with our faces burried in a screen and more time face to face with the ones we love.

Positive Memories

This wont be very long today, but I hope it will be meaningful. I was listening to a radio program the other day and I wanted to share the general idea of what it was about. They were talking about the power of positive memories. The point is that you can choose to dwell on positive memories or  negative ones. In the Bible, God has a lot to say about remembering. The word "remember" is found 148 times and "remembrance" is found 53. We should take time to dwell most especially the things that God has done in our lives and how He has been faithful to us. Even if you arent Christian, dwelling on positive memories is much better than negative ones. So what are you dwelling on today? As we begin this new year, lets all take time to think about some positive memories.