I must be on a roll when it comes to cliche’s lol. Here is my third installment of cliche’s. This is one that I have been guilty of too and it actually drives me crazy. It is the cliche or phrase “everything will be OK!” What if it won’t be OK? And according to who is it going to be OK with? This is one of those phrases I have a difficult time with because of my own situation.

First, I want to start with a positive message on this saying. Everything’s Gonna Be All Right! It may look bad at this very moment or at the end of the day, but in the end, things are going to work out just like God has planned! And, you may ask, what has God planned?

He has planned nothing but the best for His children, Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor,4:17; Jer. 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

I’m guessing that almost everyone has heard or have said this phrase at some point in their life. I had to look up this cliche to understand it more and found it interesting when it says that it is what is called a reassuring cliche. They are often given out automatically and a sort of a pattern response. A couple of other cliches that are similar to this one is “keep your head up” and “chin up.”

Now I know that everything will be OK for the most part. I do trust that God will take care of me and that things work out in the end. But, I have to say that I’m not always OK with the way things work out. It may be for the greater good, but good for who? I would say that there are times when it is OK, to not be OK.

I can get to be a bit sarcastic on this topic because I have no patience for waiting for things to work out and to be OK. And there are days that I have no intention of “keeping my head up.” That just aggravates me to no end when that isn’t something I am prepared to do.

My parents and siblings have had a very difficult time. Over the past year or so things with my parents have gotten really rough. They don’t have a personal relationship with God and as far as I know, they have never accepted Christ. My parents are in their 70’s and they have my brother who is almost 50 that is living with them (that’s a whole other topic or book) . As a Christian I know without any reservations that unless they know Christ, it will not work out. Growing up there has always been anger, fighting and wondering if we would be hurt or killed during some of these battles. It is like living at the OK Corral and having nightly shoot outs.  After I get off the phone with them I can’t help but wonder if it will be OK for them. So I pray and pray some more. That is all that I know that I can do.

One of the things that is awesome though about this cliche or phrase is that it is true. Since I have an abundant amount of faith in God, I know that everything will be fine and that things work out. When I am going through something or watch others struggle, I have to remind myself and open myself up to prayer and Gods Word. Because I can guarantee ya that if I was left to my own accord, things would NOT be

OK! They would be a disaster in the making. When I look around at the vast amount of troubles and worries that people go through I can’t help but wonder why. This is one of those cliches/phrases that kinda pushes me to to the point of wondering why and when did I become like Job. In my logical part of my brain and heart I realize that there is going to be times when our troubles hit us like a ton of bricks, knocking us down and causing us injury. But God can bring us to a place where we are stronger in our lives through these burdens and trials. As I said, this is my logical way of thinking. Depending on my day is how I see things. My human thoughts and emotions can easily get clouded if I don’t stay grounded in the Word of God.

One of many things I struggle with is knowing what to say when a parent looses a child or they lost everything they have. I know for myself if someone told me that “everything will be OK” I would go ballistic. My next blog cliche post is on how “time heals all things”. I don’t know about that. One of my dear friends lost their lovely daughter on her 30th birthday. Clair Rose was murdered by a hit and run driver. She still struggles and is trying to ease that pain. How do you tell a grieving parent or someone who doesn’t know God that “everything will be OK?” How do you tell a family that their 3 yr old child is going to be dying of cancer and to make the most of the little time they have?  For them, everything isn’t OK. Yes! Life does go on, but depending on where a persons faith is, is dependent on how you can console them. Everything may not be OK for them.

One of the biggest worries that fills our minds is about the future. We spend much of our time worrying about the here and now and forget about trusting in God’s promises. I have been guilty of this on more than one occasion. I do find it interesting on the things I worry about. I don’t worry about my health because I have no fear of death. But I do worry about those who don’t know God. I worry about the things that I can’t control, but I try to. Believe me, it doesn’t work and it doesn’t change anything. When someone tells me that “everything is going to be OK, I want to dummy slap them. Of course I wouldn’t literally, but I have that desire.  This is something I have to work on and pray about constantly. Only because of God will things work out for the future!

“There will be good times and there will be bad times in the future, but through them all, remember that we serve a God Who is already in the future and He has promised to go with us there to lead us safely through those highs and lows. This is one of those promises that I hold near and dear to me. In my own life I have witnessed this over and over again. Maybe this is why I have a love/hate relationship with the book of Job.

Job was a man after God’s own heart and he was allowed to tested by Satan. God allowed Satan to destroy Job’s life. Job teaches us that there is a great deal more going on than just what we can see in our lives, and that God does oversee it all for His own glory. During his trials Job was feeling weak. Both his body and his spirit were weak.

Job felt as if he could not even control his own words. After all the testing was done and he remained faithful to God. Things worked out and he was blessed even more than he was before he was allowed to be tested. Everything was going to be more than OK for Job as it will be for us if we trust in Christ alone.

As I close this topic, I just want to say that no matter what the future holds, God has promised us that He will go with us and will lead us safely through it.

Hebrews 13:5 – Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

 

 

Yesterday I did my blog on “you’re in my thoughts and prayers” cliché. Today I am going to write on how the term ‘I love You” has become a cliché.

The word “Love” is used in many different ways. The word is defined as an extreme affection towards someone or something; however this is not the case in which it is used by most. The phrase “I love you” doesn’t seem to have any special meaning anymore. Seems like everyone loves songs, food, trees, yellow roses, Facebook and just about anything else under the sun.

I am guilty of this myself. I use the word love randomly without a lot of emotion connected to it. I started noticing this when I am on the phone with someone. As I get ready to hang up, I will say, “talk to you later, love ya.” I have even used the term “I love the Phoenix Suns”. Now in actuality it isn’t that I love them, but I enjoy watching them and they are my favorite basketball team.

Love isn’t an overnight thing. Love is developed over a period of time. I guess for me, when I think of the worldly view of love it means that I would do anything for that person. If a train was coming at them, I would throw them out of the way and be smooshed like a bug.
Thankfully we have no train tracks here in St. George. I would give my life for those I love without hesitation. Love is also where you think about the other person and can’t possibly see them not being in your life. Love can never be duplicated and love above all things is the greatest of all.

Now, I want to cover Agape Love. This is the most important kind of love. This is the kind of love we only can get from God.

John 14:21 – Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.

Definition: Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible.

This Greek word and variations of it are found throughout the New Testament. Agape perfectly describes the kind of love Jesus Christ has for his Father and for his followers:

As a Christian, Agape means the unearned love God had for people – a love so great that God was willing to send his only begotten son to suffer and die on our behalf.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Many people can quote 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. It is the most used Bible Verse when it comes to marriages. I just want to close this post with this verse.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, “Love is patient; love is kind and envies no one. Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude; never selfish, not quick to take offense. Love keeps no score of wrongs; does not gloat over another’s sins, but delights in the truth. There is nothing love cannot face; there is not limit to its faith, its hope, and its endurance. In a word, there are three things that last forever: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of them all is love.”

“You are in our prayers has become a cliché, just a nice thing to say when we see someone struggling. But do we really understand the power of prayer.”~Myles Munroe.

I started to notice this on Facebook and when commenting to people that are in need of prayers. It is as if the phrase” you’re in my thoughts and prayers” have become a cliché. I’m not sure why I’m just now noticing it, but I have been over time. When we repeat the same words or phrases are repeated often enough, they begin to sound like clichés.

While reading some of the posts and comments I began to realize that the phrase “thoughts and prayers” has become such a condolence cliché that it is now just words for many. I’m guilty of this myself. When I don’t know what to say, I will use the phrase, “you’re in my thoughts and prayers”. I think I need to actually post a prayer for them whoever needs one instead of saying, “thoughts and prayers”.

Prayer is not only a vital in every believer’s life; it is also a privilege that some believers choose not to use. Believers and nonbelievers use it freely saying, “I’ll keep you in my prayers,” only to forget or never pray at all. Prayer should literally be the lifeline of the Christian.

There are many verses in the bible that talks about the importance of prayer, that is because prayer is an important part of our everyday lives. When we pray we are communicating with God.

• Thessalonians 5:16-18: Rejoice always, PRAY WITHOUT CEASING, in EVERYTHING give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
• James 5:13-18 : Pray for one another that you may be healed.

When I was working at Lins Marketplace, I had the “sappy line” as some would say. Many knew that I was a Christian and they would come through my line since they knew I would be more than happy to pray for them. As I was ringing up their groceries, people would hand me papers with their prayer requests. I couldn’t pray for them at that very moment, but as the day went on and I was walking about, I would try to make sure to pray for them.

I would come home with many little scrapes of papers with prayer requests written on them. There were many times I forgot what the prayer was for and I would pray for them and ask that God is there with them during their time of need.

On September 11 when thousands of lives were lost when the World Trade Center was destroyed because of terrorism, prayers was said around the world. I remember a week or so later when watching the funerals and those from around the world come together in unison and prayer, thinking about how long this will last. How long will it be before everyone goes on with their lives and prayers cease. Many times when people pray, it is because of a tragedy or need. Unfortunately the prayers stop and lives goes on. Which is a tragedy in itself.

Here in the United States we are pretty blessed to be able to do something that all Americans can do for the most part. And that is that we can pray any place, any time, in bad times AND good times. Not just when something horrible happens or tragedy strikes.

When someone is in need of prayers it shouldn’t just be a ‘’thoughts and prayers’’ kind of moment. We should be praying every day for the leaders of our country, persecuted Christians and anyone else. At our church we make sure to pray for our country, the persecuted Christians, missionaries and anyone else that may be in need of prayers. Tragedies remind us that we aren’t the ones in control, only God is.

Prayer connects us to heaven like a phone call home. If you disconnect your communication with God you disconnect mainly everything you have with God, this is because “everything we have is because of God”.

I have no doubt in my mind that prayer works. God always answers our prayers. He may not give us the answer we are looking for, but He does. There has been a prayer I have been praying for a long time since I have been going to my church. Not all would think my prayer is a worthy one, but God must have known it was a good one.

My husband and I moved to St. George in July of 96 I think it was. We have been going to the same church since then. In our church was this organ. I know many love the organ, but my head and ears was not seeing it the same way, lol. I wanted that organ to go out to someone else’s pasture. Every Sunday I would have to take Tylenol for a headache.

We recently got a new pastor and in a short time that organ was gone. I prayed without ceasing for a very long time and I endured to the end. When I heard the news that it was sold, you can even imagine how happy I was.  After the sale our church bought a baptismal which is much better. The pastor sold the organ to a church in Texas and they have been searching for a new one and they love that organ. And all I can say is that God answered with a one two punch. Wonderful things can happen when we pray without ceasing.

Lately the Ebola virus has been in the news a lot. They are bringing two United States patients to Emery Hospital in Atlanta GA. I’m not sure how I feel on this though. Some of the information for this blog was obtained through Samaritans Purses website and Yahoo.

The two cases underscore the seriousness of the horrific outbreak that is spreading throughout Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea and infecting hundreds of people at an unprecedented rate. The deadly disease, which causes massive internal bleeding and has a mortality rate of 60 to 90 percent in most situations, has claimed more than 725 lives.

The hospital and CDC didn’t specifically say who the patients are, but I am guessing it is Dr. Kent Brantly from Samaritans Purse and nurse Nancy Writebol. They went to Monrovia, Liberia to help treat those in need. Dr Kent Brantly is married father of two young children. Dr Kent Brantly has prepared himself to be a lifetime medical missionary.

Nancy Writebol has been a lifelong missionary from Charlotte, N.C., had been working as a hygienist who decontaminated patients entering and leaving the Ebola isolation ward of the local hospital.

An experimental serum arrived in Monrovia, Liberia, but there was only enough of this serum for one patient. Dr Brantly instructed his medical team and those treating him to give it to Nancy Writebol. From what Dr. Billy Graham said ““Their heroic and sacrificial service — along with the entire team there — is a shining example of Christ’s love in this crisis situation,” Graham said.”

On Samaritans Purses website, their stands ready to respond at a moment’s notice whenever and wherever disaster strikes. We specialize in meeting critical needs for victims of conflict, disaster, famine, and epidemics throughout the world, often working through ministry partners on the ground. We provide food, water, shelter, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ. If you want to learn more about Samaritans Purse, click here.

On my heart also are some missionaries that our church has been supporting and praying for. I don’t know if Craig and Allison Fowler are directly affected by this in their area. They are missionaries in a small village outside of  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They have a medical clinic where they treat the Gumuz people physically and also share the Word of God with them. They have a wonderful mission field going on.

As I said at the beginning of this post I’m not sure how I feel on bringing them back to the US because they are both obviously very much infected with Ebola. The deadly disease, which causes massive internal bleeding has claimed more than 725 lives so far this year. The CDC has said that it is taking every precaution and making sure that they are quarantined and not in direct contact with anyone. I don’t doubt they are being cautious.

I also feel that God will provide the protection that is needed. These workers went out to help others in the name of Christ and now they are in need of help. Many for good reasons are worried about it coming to the United States. I would guess that if any country is able to help find a cure it would be the United States.

Besides Dr Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol may be able to help them find a way to treat this and find a serum that can be used. With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta directly working with the patients, they can see first hand and do testing that they couldn’t do there. God has a way of turning the horrible things into something good.

Honestly, I know and have faith that God will take care of them and heal them. Maybe not physically and here on earth, but they will be cured. Where my faith isn’t too strong when it comes to this is man. Man is very fail able. If I was living in Georgia, I would be stressed. Even though they are taking every precaution, there is always human ere.

These Dr’s and nurses that put themselves as risk to help others in need are in desperate need of prayers. I know without a doubt that miracles happen and that even when Dr’s give up and throw in the towel, You never do.

I would like to leave a short prayer for Dr. Brantly, nurse Nancy and all of the others that are trying to treat those who are battling Ebola.

Lord, our heavenly father, we humbly ask for your mercy and grace on this Dr, who served the poor and sick. Your healing Hands are mighty and gentle. These healthcare workers are willing to give their lives to help others selflessly. Please touch Dr.Brantly and give him Your complete and timely healing for Your glory, so that he can continue working for Your Kingdom. I pray that this disease will not continue to take the lives of people.  Please send a miracle, You have all Power and that You are our deliverer!! Touch and heal their bodies, and send your Holy Spirit to bring him strength, courage, and comfort. Give his family peace.

May Your Name be glorified amidst this horrible epidemic. I pray for those who are going to be treating them and the Dr’s that will be treating them in Atlanta. You are the great Physician, and nothing is impossible. Guide and direct those Dr’s and hospital staff here in the states. Only through You can they find a cure. I pray that there is no others affected by this and that there is understanding from those around Emery Hospital. I pray these things in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ… Amen and amen

Life can change in a blink of an eye. Lately that has been on my mind and I have been having dreams of this recently.

We think we have life planned out, but plans change. And for the most part those changes our out of hands.

In the past couple of weeks there has been a number of accidents happening around here. One of the teachers from Dixie Middle School was jogging and was hit by a vehicle. In less that a few hours her life was taken and her families lives have been changed forever. The driver of the vehicle that hit her will also have a different life.

Everything we do can have a cause and effect outcome. And many times it isn’t because of what we have chosen, but the choices others make. This teacher had to have been getting ready for her new students and looking forward to plans she has made. My prayers go out to her families and all families that loose a loved one.

My daughter Jessica was heading back home from the school she will be teaching at and they passed a motorcyclist that was in an accident. The emergency crew was there and the driver died. The rider wasn’t thinking that this would be his last day on earth. But it turned out that way. There are no guarantees in life. 

It’s easy to say drivers should be more cautious. But, I am sure we all have done something stupid while driving. Unplanned changes is something that will happen to every single person.

I think about how the airplane in Florida crashed landed on the beach killing a young girl and her father. None of those involved planned to be killed and crash land. But this unfortunate event changed the lives of many people and a future of what could have been.

As I was thinking of these things and praying for these people that I only read about, I got to thinking about me and my own life. I was thinking about the lives of my families and friends. We are here today and gone tomorrow. And in some cases gone in minutes, seconds and hours.

I have been told by a number of Dr’s that I should not be here right now. My diagnosis and prognosis is grim to say the least. My cardiologist, primary and home health nurses don’t understand why I am still here considering all. For some reason God must have better plans than my Dr’s do.

As I was thinking about my prognosis and how things change in a blink of an eye. My mind got to thinking about what it is that I would like others to know about me and what message I would leave for others if I wasn’t here. I have no fear of death per say. I know that there is much more in store when I am no longer on planet earth. The only thing about death that I don’t like is the unknown. Not in the way of knowing where I will be. But the process of dying and I think everyone would be thinking of that.

I would hope that whoever does the service would do more of a message about Christ and how important it is to have a personal relationship with Him. I would hope that the passage that will be used is this one. 

1 Corinthians 15:51-54 

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

I would hope that the things that people would remember about me is;

• I am a woman of faith.
• I love my family and they are a blessing
• The only way to get to heaven is through Christ alone.
• I am a imperfect person with a temper when it comes to certain things. But God has forgiven me for my sins and He will forgive you for your sins.
• I very much believe that we should treat each other as we would want to be treated.

I have been to a lot of memorial services and I have to say that they both me in some ways. In my thinking death isn’t the end, it is the beginning of something wonderful. We should be celebrating that we can live forever because of the greatest gift ever we can be with Christ. That is something we should be elated over and celebrated.

I want to have cake and ice cream at my memorial service. Party hats and horn blowers would be awesome too…

 

James 2:14 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?

Tonight at my house we were having a discussion about the different between grace and good deeds. Many have this notion that if you are good enough you will live forever in eternity because they are good. Well! That is very far from the truth. Nobody is good enough to go to heaven and there is no way we can get there on our own merit.

While I was talking to my sister, one of the things we brought up was doing Gods Will. As a Christian, my desire is to do God’s Will, but I fall short all the time. Everyday I am sure I sin somehow and I need to pray about my short comings and areas in my life where I struggle. Many times people are fast to point out the sins of others such as drinking, smoking, cussing, homosexuality or any other kind of sin instead of worrying about the sins they are committing themselves. Churches are full of sinners. Churches would be empty if sinners were sent away or excommunicated. And thankfully God loves me even when I fail. Because of God’s Grace and promises, I know where I will spend eternity.

In John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus didn’t say that being good will get you into Heaven.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but going to church isn’t going to get you there either. Being a member and church leader isn’t going to get you to Heaven either. There is no man made church that is going to save a person. It isn’t going to happen.

I love it when people tell me that they are going to go to Heaven because they go to the right church and is good enough for them. Actually I think we have a lot of pew sitters in our society and all churches. I can’t help but wonder how many rely on their church, or their own actions to save them. When only Christ can save.

It is good to do good things and God is pleased by things like helping others, singing with the worship team, preaching, tithing, bringing food to the homeless and all kinds of wonderful kind hearted things that we as Christians should be doing. None of these things are going to earn you brownie points when it comes to getting into Heaven.

I do want to say though that we should be doing good because as Christians we desire to be more Christlike. My desire is to allow myself to be an instrument, for Jesus’ love to shine. Christians should be willing to show their fruits that they earnestly seek to follow Christ with all our heart and strength.

Good deeds should be done in love, loving others in the same way you would want to be loved. When we do good deeds, we demonstrate what kind of fruit we are producing. Are we producing good or evil fruit?

Now you should be able to tell a Christian by their fruit i.e. works. Our works are the product of our faith. But no amount of good works is going to do anything for you since in the end you are still a wretched sinner in need of Grace. For every good work you could do a number of “bad” works. This is when Faith comes in.

• Ephesians 2:8 (NIV) 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
•  “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” – Matthew 6:3-4

I started earlier talking about the misconception of church saving a person, so I will resume this thought.

I love it when people tell me that they are going to go to Heaven because they go to the right church and is good enough for them. Actually I think we have a lot of pew sitters in our society and all churches. I can’t help but wonder how many rely on their church, or their own actions to save them. When only Christ can save.

Most importantly you have to put your trust in Jesus. God sent His Son, Jesus to pay the price for our sins so that we will all can have the hope to live forever. In Romans 5:8 it says that “God demonstrated His own love for us, in that, while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” There are countless people who believe that being good alone will be good enough to get them to Heaven. And that is so far from the truth.

One of my favorite verses that talks about grace is in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

God gave us freewill, we can choose to believe in Jesus Christ and repent or we can turn away (reject) Him. It is in our ballpark and it is our choice. God doesn’t want His children to go to hell. It is your own rejection of Jesus Christ, for your sins that sends you there. Never forget that God gave us freewill, we can choose to repent and turn to Jesus or you can choose not to and spend eternity in hell. Repent simply means to turn or change.

I just want to leave you all with this one last thought. Everyone is a sinner:
“there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiastes 7:20).

With God no one sin is greater than any other. They all have the same consequence.

• Romans 6:23 (NIV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness’s are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
  (Isaiah 64:6 KJV)

If we could “work” our way to heaven, then we wouldn’t need a Savior. Jesus would not have had to die in our place. But we do need a Savior because all our good works still fall short of the Glory of God.

We are saved by Grace. Grace is a gift that can not be earned by good deeds.

My daughter Beckiah and her family has moved just two blocks from my house which is awesome. It will be nice having them live so close. While it is awesome that they live that close it is even more awesomer that my grandsons and only grand-daughter is just two blocks too.

Where they lived before it was a bit of a drive for me. Not like it is a long ways, but far enough at the same time. I look forward to them being just down the street. I have felt bad for a long time that I don’t get a chance to see my grandsons Tyson, Jace and Ashton as much as I do JJ. The boys and I am sure Beckiah feels that I love JJ more then them. Which is far from the truth.

My grand-sons get home-schooled and I am going to get to help with that. It will give me something to do and it will allow me the time to get to know them better. So for three days a week, I will be helping them. Even though I’m not the brightest lightbulb in the box, I will try my best. I sure could use some prayers that my efforts will benefit them and that this will give me the chance to do something positive with them. Acutally I am pretty excited over it. Thankfully I have helpers with this project.I hope we can do a weekly library time for them.

Math is my huge downfall. I did ask a lady from church that is a retired math teacher if she can help me with this. And she is going to see what she can do. She has a hard time seeing. But she would be such a wonderful helper. Thankfully my daughter Jessica is a 4th grade teacher and she said she will help out as she can too.

When my daughter Beckiah lived across town, it made it hard to schedule things like this and to make sure they are doing what they need to do. I have been praying about them for sometime and I know that only because of God can this happen. I love the idea of the boys coming over so I can help them. I think it will give me something positive to do and make a difference. It may help me just as much as them.

I do think I will need to find someone that is decent at science though to help once a week. I flunked that class big time when I was in school and lets say that has been over 30 yrs (yikes)…

It is going to be really awesome to have them close to me. I have been missing my Beckiah times and I feel so much better now because I will be able to really get to know the boys better and my grand daughter Kora. So, keep me in your prayers on this and pray that I am able to help them learn. God is going to put the right people in place and I am glad that Beckiah and Jason is going to let me help the boys and do this.

I think I am going to need to get some school supplies for them though so then they can do their homework and have things here. I have to have things organized and scheduled or it will drive me nuts. I may have to raid my daughter Jessica’s school things such as tablets, paper, pencils, crayons, glue, erasers, pencil boxes and so on. When she reads this, I am sure she will know that I plan on doing that.

Jessica did point me to some pretty cool sites for resources that will make it fun for the boys.

My sister Joyce and I were outside talking tonight about forgiveness. The reason we were talking about this is because of things that she has done in her past and she feels she needs to face those demons and wrong doings and ask for forgiveness. She knows that for her to move forward in her walk with Christ that she needs to do this.

When she lived here in St. George a number of years back she left in the middle of the night and never told anyone. There were a lot of hurt feelings over it. My daughters love her and my grand-kids loved her too. I don’t know why she left like she did, but it was painful for my family because of our love for her. Thinking back to each of the times she disappeared into the night, I think she was really running for the hurts of her past. She gets close to people and she is afraid she is going to get close to them and they will abandon her. So she abandons first.

Joyce is at a place in her life right now where she needs to be stable and stop running. Asking for forgiveness is difficult for her, but she feels she has to ask. Even if the other party doesn’t accept her plea for forgiveness, she needs to do that.

I have forgiven her a long time ago. She came to me and I know that I have no choice but to forgive and love her. God has forgiven me so many times and if I expect to be forgiven of my sins, I know I must forgive others. No matter what happened, it is necessary.

The Bible is very clear on the subject of forgiveness. We are all sinners and God promises forgiveness if we honestly ask and repent.

• Luke 23:43 “…Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” (Jesus speaking to the thief on the cross)
• Ephesians 4:31-32 – Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
• Luke 6:36-37 – Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is also merciful. Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Set free, and you will be set free.

The reason I bring up the verses I did is that we are commanded to forgive. If we don’t forgive, we are told we won’t be forgiven. It can be incredibly difficult to acknowledge you have done wrong and to face those things. I have to give her credit for wanting to ask each person that she has wronged for forgiveness.

It does bother me when those who profess to be a Christian can’t or won’t forgive. I am SOOOOOOOO thankful that I have received forgiveness for the things I have done. I’m pretty sure the list is very long and some things I may not even remember. I do pray that some will open their hearts and willing to forgive the past.

My sister is trying to make a new start and do what is right. If she isn’t given a chance to do that and things are held against her, how is she suppose to move forward?

For those unwilling to forgive, I would just like to leave you with this last Bible verse; Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do. Col 3:12-13.

I understand how hard it can be to unconditionally forgive someone. Friends have done things that hurt and so has family. For my own personal growth and understanding the importance of forgiveness I knew I needed to forgive them too.

Joyce has done a lot of things and yes, things have came back to bite me in the hinney. But no matter what she does, I know in my heart that she didn’t make the choices she made to hurt others. She was hurting herself. Joyce has had a very hard life full of mostly downs and people using her. She never fully understood that it was OK to let people into her life and that she is worth loving. She didn’t really know that God loves her so much that He sent His Son to die for her. Since she didn’t love herself, why would anyone else. Which is far far from the truth. Joyce will always make bad choices in her life. But, we all will do the same. Not one of us is perfect and without sin.

If you read this post, just know that I love you and I forgive you for the things that you have done. I love you unconditionally. God loves you more than anyone ever could and it is OK to be who you are and let your guard down or should I say wall. If people don’t want to forgive, that is their choice and they are loosing out on having you in their lives.

I was just reading a blog post by Candace Cameron Bure. If you don’t know her, she played DJ on Full House. Her blog was about modesty and what we wear to church. Here is the link to her blog. .. She was sharing about how judgmental and harsh people at church can be to others. Candace talked about how a brand new Christian walked into the church she was visiting and people were whispering and talking about how short her skirt was and that she had cleavage showing.

Meaning of Modest Dress Attire for Women- Women: Dresses should be modest. No tank tops (or dresses with only straps at the shoulders), no short skirts (mini-skirts), and no skin-tight dresses. Dresses should have backs and should not be low-cut in the front. If women wear pants to the services, they should be dress pants (not jeans or leggings). Shorts of any type are inappropriate.

Thinking back to when I was younger, there were a few times that some people at church thought I should have worn a longer dress or something more appropriate. I even had the pastors wife talk to me one time about that. And others told me that I need to change my clothes or not come back since we are in the Lords house. I believe I was around 12 or 13 at the time. Back in the 70’s dresses were pretty short and modesty wasn’t high on the list of things to do. At least it wasn’t for me.

To this day there are times I remember that conversation. Candace’s blog kicked that memory back in front of my brain. Now had those who I went to church with understood how difficult it was for me to go to church and that the dress I had on was the one and only dress I had, they may have understood more. But that wasn’t the case. They seen a young girl in a dress that barely covered my butt and wanting attention. With shoes in my hand as I run out the door to await my ride to church. After church that day, I talked to her about what she said. She was never at my home, so she didn’t understand. But that comment to a vulnerable young girl could have been devastating. And I still remember this moment and it is as if it happened yesterday.To this day I never wear dresses and I think it is because of how I was judged and looked down on because I wore the only dress I had and it wasn’t good enough.

We weren’t raised where it was OK to go to church. God was never mentioned in our house unless a swear word was coming out after His name. There was a handful of people that knew that, but not everyone. And I pretty much kept it that way till I was older.They didn’t realize that I had to get up way early to get the chores done so I could go to church. They didn’t realize that I had to hide those shoes out because I needed them for church. So many times I ended up having to run to Mattie Bennett car. She waited with me in the car before we went into church and helped me at least look presentable. To this day I still think of Mattie Bennett (pictured) as my friend and like a grandma.  It’s because of Mattie that I write. They didn’t know the violence in our home and how much God wasn’t a part of my families lives. They didn’t know that I would get yelled at and hit (depending on moods) if I didn’t get home in time to have lunch. Lunch was at 11:00 am, and church didn’t get out till noon. Every Sunday I was late from church and I never knew what I was going to walk into and what punishment I was in store for. They would never ask how church was, I just got the look, hit or grounded.

Our cloths growing up was always hand me downs. My parents didn’t have money. Thankfully God provided for our needs by putting it on the hearts of friends, neighbors and schools to help us kids look decent. I am to this day blessed that someone had to the heart to look at me, not what I was wearing. People can be pretty harsh and mean when they see someone that doesn’t have all the nice things. Growing up we also got cloths from the Salvation Army and special angels that I didn’t know. Because of how I was raised, I can understand and relate to those who have nothing and was abused.

I don’t say these things to make anyone feel bad because of how hard I had it. The reason I say this things is that there were people who looked down on our family and how we looked and didn’t really care what was really going on. Now, there are some exceptions and they were awesome. I get upset when I hear of others bagging on those who come to church and they don’t look all clean and polished. I can understand the hurt that this type of judging can have on a person. When I think of God’s people, I think of love. That isn’t always the case.

What I think about now is those women or men who don’t fit the mold of a perfectly dressed Christian women or man. Not everyone has a closet filled with top notched labels and fancy shoes. For some people, what they have on is the best they can do. Should we shun them or talk about them behind their backs? I would hope not!!! We don’t know their stories or what they have gone through.

I would say that if someone desires to dress up nicely for church and it is your desire to please God in that way, that is awesome. But we need to be careful not to pass judgement on the women across or in front of us who wears jeans, tattooed and wearing a torn/tattered t-shirt. We should be spending more time preparing our heart for the message we are about to hear, instead of worrying about what others are wearing or not wearing. I would think that above all other things that we need to bring a pure heart, ready to worship in God’s house. We should be welcoming all in, regardless of what they are wearing or how they smell.

In my family, showers were hard to come by. My parents who fly off the handle if we showered at night and they could hear water running through the pipes. I would have to make sure to shower or clean off before my dad was in for the night. So this pretty much put taking a shower before church to a halt. But I desperately needed to go to church. In my eyes, church was the only place where I knew that people and most of all God loved me. We didn’t grow up knowing the word “love”. My parents never said that to us. I do know without a shadow of a doubt that God loved me so much that He sent His Son to die for me. Without that knowledge and the people God put in my life, I don’t know where I would be or where my path would end.

Now days, I basically wear jeans, shirt, flip flops and put my hair back in a pony tail. Thankfully I wear deteriorate and a bra to church. But I don’t always wear a bra because of my IV port. The straps hurt the area, but for modesty sake and such I will deal with that while at church. If I had some of the heartless comments that Candace Cameron Bure had on her Facebook, I wonder how my walk with Christ would be now. When I hear of the phrase “come as you are”. I take that to heart. God wants us to love Him and be with others that Love Him and want to worship Him. So I say that if you don’t have nice cloths or even a bra on, that is OK. Because clothing isn’t going to save you. God is going to save you.

What would those ladies and gentlemen think of a person walking in without a bra wearing a halter top, shorts, shoes, ratty hair, broken teeth and smelling bad? I would hope that everyone would be happy to see the person in church, not focus on what someone else wears. But logically many would think the woman was a prostitute, bug infested, drug addict or alcoholic,  and for sure not someone they would want to sit with.  While I know it isn’t proper to go bra-less to church or to wear cloths that are inappropriate. I also know that there is always a reason why they can’t get dressed up and wear their Sunday best. Maybe that is all they have.

How in the world I got onto the whole modesty and bra thing is beyond me, lol. But I guess it is what it is. I happen to know a number of wonderful Christian ladies who can’t wear one because of the pain they endure each time they wear one. One lady had surgery and she is in tears when she has to wear certain articles of clothing. Would God want us to judge these people? The answer for me is NO… Lastly I realize that not everyone has nice things and looks beautiful. If all they have to wear to church is raggedy cloths and no shoes, bra or anything else then so be it.

In closing I just want to say that yes my childhood sucked big time. But also it was a time where I had to really rely on God and those who was put in my life. I am thankful that I survived that time and came back with some lessons. I realized that I would never want my kids to know that I didn’t love them. I realize that God is always with me, even when I don’t see Him or I go through my dark days. I call them my days of Job. I learned that in order for my life to be better I have to not blame my parents and use those experiences to help others who may be going through the same thing. When raising my daughters I used my pastor and his family as my role model. I refuse to raise my kids the way I was.

Going to church is something that I like to do for many reasons. I don’t go to church for any other reason but to get closer to God and to help me with my walk with the Lord.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is from Ecclesiastes 3:1-15. These verses talks about the shortness of seasons in our natural and spiritual life. Just as spring leads to summer and summer into fall and winter, so are the seasons of life. Some changes come over a long period of time and others seem to change by the minute. Nothing remains the same forever, except God. So, make up your mind now, change is inevitable.

Everything changes and churches do too. Changes can be a positive or a negative experience. I find it interesting when I hear people grumble about petty things at church. I am no exception to the grumbling. I have more than done my share of it. But during one of Pastor Deans sermons, I got to thinking about how blessed I am to be at our church where we can worship God freely. I don’t doubt for a second that every church has made changes when pastors, parishioners and so on have had to make changes. Our church is no exception.

We are surrounded by ever increasing changes in technology, music and education. For some reason in our Christian life, and in the church, we fight change. We want things our way and the control freak seems to come out in people. God’s plan not only includes change, it is change.

But we all, with open face looking as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18).

When I talk about change in the church I get the idea that many believe it is for everyone else. There is this mindset that we must put on this show that is like going to a concert each week. We gripe and moan when the praise and worship team introduces a new song, or we find someone sitting in our seat when we arrive for church. But, one of the greatest challenges seems to be  changes of church leadership and decisions to take down ugly fake flowers cluttering the front of the sanctuary.

Change for the small church is often difficult, feared and resisted because it involves breaking habits and routines from the past and the uncertainty of the future.

People resist change for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons are valid, some are ridiculous, some are reasonable, some are irrational, some are significant, some are trivial.

Just as a small portion of the people will be open to change for any reason, there will be some who resist change regardless of the reason. Some can be extremely vocal and against any change. A couple of phrases they use is, “It will never work or we never did it this way before.” Some will find reasons why it will not continue to work. I understand that every church will likely have these types of people. Thankfully Pastor Ray and Kathi are loving, caring and kind. I would bring a hammer with me to knock sense into people and they use the hammer of truth and love. Good thing I’m not the pastor, lol.

I have loved all of the pastors that we have had at our church for the 19 yrs since we have moved here. Well, except the crazy one. Each and everyone of them has made changes. I may not have understood them, but they have. For those people who think things have to stay the same I would say they are stuck in the mud and need a wake up call.

What kind of an attitude should we take when it comes to changes? I honestly don’t think it is healthy physically or spiritually to always grumble and clinch our teeth. Change is a time that we should be enjoying and looking forward to. If we look at change in a positive way, there is nothing better.

In general there have been a number of changes in the past year. Some are small while others are much bigger. The old timers and those who have been at our church for some time are not always impressed with changes and kids. They want things they way they were when they started to go and that is NOT going to happen. Life is all about changes and so is church.

Over the past year we have gotten a new pastor, sold a organ, redoing our downstairs prepping for youth ministries, getting a baptismal, decorations and tossing out the clutter. I love the fact that we have a wooden cross for the sanctuary. These are just a few of the changes. Our church has had VBS for the first time since I have been there, prayer stations put in place to reach out to college students and so much more.

For some they can’t get over the fact that the curtains were taken down that cover the beautiful stain glass windows we have in the sanctuary. The banners that were on the wall in the sanctuary are now down. While I love the banners, I do have to say that since they came down, many look forward and listen to the sermon more. If people are worried about curtains, banners and other things, they are going for the wrong reason.

I often think of our pastor and his wife Kathi. I can’t imagine what it must be like for them to come to a new state and church. They left behind their friends and congregation. They took a leap of faith by coming to St. George, Utah. And we have been blessed to have them.

I get upset at people when they forget that pastors do have wives and that we need to take them into consideration. I know it had to be hard for them to start over and leave behind those they loved and a denomination they have been with for 20 some odd years. For some reason people like to put the pastor and his wife on a pedestal and expect them to be displayed in a way that is unrealistic.

I can’t help but get frustrated when I hear this comment, “We always did it this way, why change?” Well!!!! When I think of how change can be positive I think about how we are to rejoice in the Lord. We are to praise God each and every day. When we praise, we are erasing doubt and fear. As Christians I think we should be looking ahead at what God is and can do in our lives. I don’t want to focus on the past and not move forward.

For myself, there has been a great deal of bad things in the past. I do take those lessons I have learned from the past with me to the future. But I don’t let them dictate and control my future. And, in the church as a whole, we can look back, but we don’t let our past control what we do in the future. If those who are more worried about curtains, hangings and the notion that we never do that here, then they are going for the wrong reason.

Many times the changes that come into our lives happen for a reason. Changes undo what has been done and for some it may be hard to swallow or accept. Changes has a way of taking us to a new level. Church is like the limbs on a tree. They need to be cut back and pruned in order for them to produce healthier fruit. We shouldn’t live today like we did in the past. Today is a new day and season. With changes there is a renewed strength and growth within us and the church.