Friday, April 29, 2011
Do You Need A New Latitude…Or A New Attitude?
Definition of attitude: a manner of acting, feeling or thinking that show one’s disposition or opinion, i.e.; a friendly attitude, a bad attitude, an arrogant attitude (www.dictionary.com)
1. On an average daily basis, is your glass half empty or half full?
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2. Most days do you think your attitude reflects the attitude of Christ?
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3. On a scale of 1 thru 10, how do you think others would rate your attitude?
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4. When faced with a difficult task, whether in your career or your personal life, is your first response that of a “can do” attitude or “I can’t” attitude?
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5. Is there an attitude about something or someone that is stopping you from conducting yourself in a Christ-like manner?
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6. When a more spiritually mature woman is mentoring you, do you have an attitude of gratitude or do you perceive it as someone criticizing you and bossing you?
7. When you are in public, your attitude toward a sales clerk, a waitress, other drivers or maybe the cop giving you a ticket reflects who Christ is in you. How do you think you measure up?
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8. If a problem arises in your life, do you see it as an opportunity or as a stumbling block?
9. How does it make you feel to be around someone who always has a negative attitude about everything?
10. How does it make you feel when you are around someone that always has a positive attitude about everything?
11. When you do your daily prayer, do you start off by asking God to take care of more things in your life or do you start by praising Him for all the wonderful things He has already done for you?
12. Do you have an attitude of humility?
A. Are you humble about your material possessions?
B. Are you humble about your relationship with God?
C. Are you humble about the Gifts God has given you?
13. Is there someone in your life that you admire for their attitude?
14. Is there someone, other than yourself, that you feel you need to pray for because of their attitude?
15. Do you recognize days you have a negative attitude? If so, do you stop to ask for God’s help in reversing it?
16. Do you believe that your attitude can be the encouragement and motivation someone else needs to see?
17. What are some ways you can improve your attitude so He can better use you?
18. Do you believe that God can use you and your attitude to be an example to others? (When it is positive or negative?)
19. Close your eyes and picture yourself and how you look to others when you have a negative attitude. When you have a positive attitude.
20. How does your attitude (good or bad) effect your whole day and those around you?
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The Lord's Prayer
The kids at the coffeehouse used to make fun of me for never using recipes when I cooked. I’m not crazy about reading directions and recipes are directions. I don’t like using a pattern when I sew either. It takes too much time to cut it out and read it. And then there’s the measuring……oy!
It has taken me a long time to realize that God has a pattern for my life. He already decided who I am and who I will be as I grow older. I really want to be on that same page of the pattern that He is, but I can’t be if I don’t read the directions and pray. He has an entire book to help us lead our lives and become the people He has designed us to be.
Every day part of my daily prayer is that God will reveal more to me about becoming the woman He designed me to be. Some days I am so busy being the woman I think I should be, or my sinful nature takes over and I am who the World wants me to be that I don’t hear Him. Also, I should stop telling Him how to do his job while I am praying. He does a pretty good job at His job without my help.
Sometimes it is hard to know how to pray to Him effectively so I’m not just rambling about what I want and how I want it. Last week, Pastor Holle told us that the best prayer to pray is the Lord’s Prayer. It gets to the point and helps us make a connection with Him. I decided to really put the emphasis on Him when I pray it, like this:
OUR Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be THY name.
THY Kingdom come,
THY will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us THIS day our daily bread.
And forgive us OUR trespasses,
as we forgive THOSE who trespass against us.
And lead us NOT into temptation,
but DELIVER us from evil.
For THINE is the kingdom,
The POWER
And the GLORY.
Forever and ever.
Amen!
It has taken me a long time to realize that God has a pattern for my life. He already decided who I am and who I will be as I grow older. I really want to be on that same page of the pattern that He is, but I can’t be if I don’t read the directions and pray. He has an entire book to help us lead our lives and become the people He has designed us to be.
Every day part of my daily prayer is that God will reveal more to me about becoming the woman He designed me to be. Some days I am so busy being the woman I think I should be, or my sinful nature takes over and I am who the World wants me to be that I don’t hear Him. Also, I should stop telling Him how to do his job while I am praying. He does a pretty good job at His job without my help.
Sometimes it is hard to know how to pray to Him effectively so I’m not just rambling about what I want and how I want it. Last week, Pastor Holle told us that the best prayer to pray is the Lord’s Prayer. It gets to the point and helps us make a connection with Him. I decided to really put the emphasis on Him when I pray it, like this:
OUR Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be THY name.
THY Kingdom come,
THY will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us THIS day our daily bread.
And forgive us OUR trespasses,
as we forgive THOSE who trespass against us.
And lead us NOT into temptation,
but DELIVER us from evil.
For THINE is the kingdom,
The POWER
And the GLORY.
Forever and ever.
Amen!
U-Turns Allowed
Not long after we moved to this area, I joined our church softball team. They played in a league in the next town over. The first few weeks were challenging for me to figure out the best way to get there. I have always had a tendency to just keep driving thinking I will accidentally come upon the road I need to be on. Amazingly enough, that does happen a lot. The only time it becomes an issue is when I have a specific time I have to be somewhere, like a softball game.
On my way to the first game, I was on the highway for awhile when I realized I should have been going west, but I was going east. I needed to turn around. It seemed as though I had driven for miles without seeing an exit. I then saw a turn-around on the highway with a sign that said, “Authorized Personnel Only.” It looked like my only chance for miles to turn around, so I made a u-turn.
I had my two girls in the car with me. They were 4 and 7 at the time. My seven year old could read the sign. She asked me if I was “authorized.” What was I going to say? So, of course, I lied. I told her that all moms are “authorized personnel.” Well, she decided to call me on it. She said that she believed that only policemen were considered “authorized.”
My four year old had just learned in pre-school about confessing your sins and that you need to do that not only to God, but to someone who has authority over you like your parents, or…a policeman.
She started yelling at me and telling me that I was not authorized and I broke the law and she needed to tell someone for me. It was her duty for my sake. I thought for sure that if we didn’t discuss it any longer she would forget about it and maybe we could discuss it later.
Many of the women on the softball team had kids. All the older kids would watch the younger ones and they had a blast hanging out with each other while their moms played softball. Just as I was up to bat, I looked over to see where the girls were and my four year old was talking to the security guard. I took my turn batting and popped out to centerfield.
As I was walking off of the field, the security guard called my name and motioned for me to come over to him. He explained to me that my daughter told him about my indiscretion and he scolded me for setting a bad example for my children. I promised him, and my daughters, that I would never make an illegal u-turn again.
Fortunately, God encourages u-turns. I need that opportunity, sometimes daily, to turn back to Him when I am being willfully disobedient. Most of the time it is my attitude that causes me to act more like me and less like Him. God tells us in Isaiah 45:22, “Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God and there is no other.”
Sometimes it is really difficult to know when you have taken a u-turn in the wrong direction. God will put people in our lives that can help us get back on the right path. Sometimes it is our job to gently let our friends and loved ones know they have strayed from the path. James encourages us in James 5:19-20, “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.”
It’s okay to make u-turns in life, as long as the arrow points back to God!
On my way to the first game, I was on the highway for awhile when I realized I should have been going west, but I was going east. I needed to turn around. It seemed as though I had driven for miles without seeing an exit. I then saw a turn-around on the highway with a sign that said, “Authorized Personnel Only.” It looked like my only chance for miles to turn around, so I made a u-turn.
I had my two girls in the car with me. They were 4 and 7 at the time. My seven year old could read the sign. She asked me if I was “authorized.” What was I going to say? So, of course, I lied. I told her that all moms are “authorized personnel.” Well, she decided to call me on it. She said that she believed that only policemen were considered “authorized.”
My four year old had just learned in pre-school about confessing your sins and that you need to do that not only to God, but to someone who has authority over you like your parents, or…a policeman.
She started yelling at me and telling me that I was not authorized and I broke the law and she needed to tell someone for me. It was her duty for my sake. I thought for sure that if we didn’t discuss it any longer she would forget about it and maybe we could discuss it later.
Many of the women on the softball team had kids. All the older kids would watch the younger ones and they had a blast hanging out with each other while their moms played softball. Just as I was up to bat, I looked over to see where the girls were and my four year old was talking to the security guard. I took my turn batting and popped out to centerfield.
As I was walking off of the field, the security guard called my name and motioned for me to come over to him. He explained to me that my daughter told him about my indiscretion and he scolded me for setting a bad example for my children. I promised him, and my daughters, that I would never make an illegal u-turn again.
Fortunately, God encourages u-turns. I need that opportunity, sometimes daily, to turn back to Him when I am being willfully disobedient. Most of the time it is my attitude that causes me to act more like me and less like Him. God tells us in Isaiah 45:22, “Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God and there is no other.”
Sometimes it is really difficult to know when you have taken a u-turn in the wrong direction. God will put people in our lives that can help us get back on the right path. Sometimes it is our job to gently let our friends and loved ones know they have strayed from the path. James encourages us in James 5:19-20, “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.”
It’s okay to make u-turns in life, as long as the arrow points back to God!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Are You Under the Influence?
When my oldest daughter was a baby we lived in Evansville, IN where my husband was transferred for his job. He worked all day and took classes three nights a week to finish his degree. I had about thirty minutes on those nights to give my husband dinner and have an adult conversation.
My daughter was never much of a fan of naps so I had to be pretty creative in entertaining her all day. She also was not much of a fan of the grocery store so I usually went late at night when my husband got home from class between 10:00 and 10:30 p.m.
One late night I had to go to the grocery store, I grabbed a Diet Pepsi to give me a little energy. I had one of those plastic cup holders people used to hang from the window in their cars and I dropped the Diet Pepsi in it. After I was about a mile from home I popped the top on the soda and it blew up all over me and my car.
Shortly after that, I heard sirens and saw flashing red lights behind me. I was wondering who the officer was after and then I realized it was me! I pulled my car over and started to get out. Apparently, that was not a good idea. The officer told me to stay in my car for now and wanted my license and registration. I asked him why he pulled me over. After he checked to see if I had any outstanding warrants, he told me to get out of the car and he asked me if I was “under the influence.” I asked him WHAT influence that might be. Then I realized I was swerving trying to wipe ice cold soda off of me and he thought I was drunk!
In one long breath, I tried to explain to him that my husband worked all day, had classes at night and we had a baby and I could only go to the grocery store late at night and I was tired so I got a Diet Pepsi and it blew up in my face and I was trying to wipe it off and I may have swerved and that was why he thought I might be drunk.
The officer decided that no one could make that stuff up and he let me go with a warning, “Don’t drink and drive!”
There are many influences in our lives that can affect the way we think and our actions. Sometimes it is difficult to weed out the worldly influences and listen only to God’s influence. God promises us in Ephesians 6:11, “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the devil.”
Scripture is the best weapon to use against any negative influence. It is easier to succumb to the negative influences, because the World offers so many, than it is to embrace the positive influences given to us from God.
We are told in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.”
That’s an influence I can be proud of!
When my oldest daughter was a baby we lived in Evansville, IN where my husband was transferred for his job. He worked all day and took classes three nights a week to finish his degree. I had about thirty minutes on those nights to give my husband dinner and have an adult conversation.
My daughter was never much of a fan of naps so I had to be pretty creative in entertaining her all day. She also was not much of a fan of the grocery store so I usually went late at night when my husband got home from class between 10:00 and 10:30 p.m.
One late night I had to go to the grocery store, I grabbed a Diet Pepsi to give me a little energy. I had one of those plastic cup holders people used to hang from the window in their cars and I dropped the Diet Pepsi in it. After I was about a mile from home I popped the top on the soda and it blew up all over me and my car.
Shortly after that, I heard sirens and saw flashing red lights behind me. I was wondering who the officer was after and then I realized it was me! I pulled my car over and started to get out. Apparently, that was not a good idea. The officer told me to stay in my car for now and wanted my license and registration. I asked him why he pulled me over. After he checked to see if I had any outstanding warrants, he told me to get out of the car and he asked me if I was “under the influence.” I asked him WHAT influence that might be. Then I realized I was swerving trying to wipe ice cold soda off of me and he thought I was drunk!
In one long breath, I tried to explain to him that my husband worked all day, had classes at night and we had a baby and I could only go to the grocery store late at night and I was tired so I got a Diet Pepsi and it blew up in my face and I was trying to wipe it off and I may have swerved and that was why he thought I might be drunk.
The officer decided that no one could make that stuff up and he let me go with a warning, “Don’t drink and drive!”
There are many influences in our lives that can affect the way we think and our actions. Sometimes it is difficult to weed out the worldly influences and listen only to God’s influence. God promises us in Ephesians 6:11, “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the devil.”
Scripture is the best weapon to use against any negative influence. It is easier to succumb to the negative influences, because the World offers so many, than it is to embrace the positive influences given to us from God.
We are told in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.”
That’s an influence I can be proud of!
It is amazing how well baked-goods would go at the coffeehouse after people would ask, “Is that made from scratch?” and the answer was “yes.” Most of my recipes came from my mother-in-law, her sister-in-law and my Granny.
When I was in kindergarten through second grade, I lived with my Granny and she made my clothes “from scratch.” Unfortunately, she would use whatever material she had laying around the house and sometimes my underwear was made out of flour sacks. I’m not sure if you have ever felt the fabric of flour sacks, but it is very scratchy.
I had to take a school bus to school each day and there were two little boys that were cousins on the bus. Each day they would try to pull the curl out of those banana curls. They would make fun of me mercilessly until I socked one of them in the nose one day. They stopped making fun of me.
First grade came along and we had school all day. That was hard because I liked hanging out with my Granny in the afternoons. She always let me help her roll out the dough for the pies she made daily from scratch and pick the stems off of the green beans she grew in the backyard. But, first grade was interesting.
About a month after school started, a new girl came into our class. By then, everyone had established friendships and had their cliques started. I never was a fan of cliques, even back then. This little girl always wore a headband with a big flower on it and ruffled dresses. I always had dresses on, but sometimes they had a picture of a flower on them advertising baking flour.
I already had quite a few friends in class because of kindergarten and riding the bus with the same kids for the second year. The new girl didn’t ride the bus, her mother dropped her off each day.
I introduced myself to the new girl and showed her where to put her lunch box and coat. I made a point to have her sit with me and my friends at lunch time so she did not have to eat alone. The other girls made fun of her huge headband and ruffled dress. That really made me mad because I remembered what it was like to be made fun of so I let my old friends know that this was my new friend and it was not very nice to make fun of people.
This went along for several weeks until the other girls accepted the new girl and invited her to join them at lunch and at recess. Before I knew it, the new girl was quite popular and started making fun of my “made from scratch” dresses.
I told my Granny about the situation and what had been going on and she told me that my dresses were made from scratch with her two very own hands and with much love. The new girl didn’t even know who made her dresses. Somehow, that made me feel better.
Granny also reminded me that I was “made from scratch” with God’s two very own hands.
David fully understood this concept when he wrote, “You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.” Psalm 139:13-16
How special is it to know that you were made very uniquely? Don’t be afraid to stand out from the crowds because you have the same beliefs as David. I’m proud to be “made from scratch!”
When I was in kindergarten through second grade, I lived with my Granny and she made my clothes “from scratch.” Unfortunately, she would use whatever material she had laying around the house and sometimes my underwear was made out of flour sacks. I’m not sure if you have ever felt the fabric of flour sacks, but it is very scratchy.
I had to take a school bus to school each day and there were two little boys that were cousins on the bus. Each day they would try to pull the curl out of those banana curls. They would make fun of me mercilessly until I socked one of them in the nose one day. They stopped making fun of me.
First grade came along and we had school all day. That was hard because I liked hanging out with my Granny in the afternoons. She always let me help her roll out the dough for the pies she made daily from scratch and pick the stems off of the green beans she grew in the backyard. But, first grade was interesting.
About a month after school started, a new girl came into our class. By then, everyone had established friendships and had their cliques started. I never was a fan of cliques, even back then. This little girl always wore a headband with a big flower on it and ruffled dresses. I always had dresses on, but sometimes they had a picture of a flower on them advertising baking flour.
I already had quite a few friends in class because of kindergarten and riding the bus with the same kids for the second year. The new girl didn’t ride the bus, her mother dropped her off each day.
I introduced myself to the new girl and showed her where to put her lunch box and coat. I made a point to have her sit with me and my friends at lunch time so she did not have to eat alone. The other girls made fun of her huge headband and ruffled dress. That really made me mad because I remembered what it was like to be made fun of so I let my old friends know that this was my new friend and it was not very nice to make fun of people.
This went along for several weeks until the other girls accepted the new girl and invited her to join them at lunch and at recess. Before I knew it, the new girl was quite popular and started making fun of my “made from scratch” dresses.
I told my Granny about the situation and what had been going on and she told me that my dresses were made from scratch with her two very own hands and with much love. The new girl didn’t even know who made her dresses. Somehow, that made me feel better.
Granny also reminded me that I was “made from scratch” with God’s two very own hands.
David fully understood this concept when he wrote, “You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.” Psalm 139:13-16
How special is it to know that you were made very uniquely? Don’t be afraid to stand out from the crowds because you have the same beliefs as David. I’m proud to be “made from scratch!”
Stuff!
George Carlin did one of his stand-up comedy skits on “stuff.” It was hilarious!
He talks about how everyone has their own “little pile of stuff” and how people always have to have it safe. So, “when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn’t want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff, ‘cause they always take the good stuff! They don’t bother with that crap you’re saving. Ain’t nobody interested in your fourth-grade arithmetic papers, National Geographics, commemorative plates, your prize collection of Navajo underwear; they’re not interested. They just want the good stuff; the shiny stuff; the electronic stuff. So when you get right down to it, your house is nothing more than a place to keep your stuff…while you go out and get…more stuff.”
I remember when we moved from Troy to St. Jacob. We were moving from a house that had 3500 square feet to a house that had 1125 square feet. The barn is 1175 square feet. We had to sell a bunch of our “stuff” before we could move into the new house because there was no way it would fit.
When we lived in the old house, I bought a huge oak dining room set from my sister in law when she got divorced because she wanted to see it stay in the family. She vowed to buy it back whenever and if she ever got remarried. She got remarried and bought herself a brand new cherry dining room set. The oak dining room set was “old stuff.” Our new house had no dining room so we had to sell it, but it went to a young couple just weeks away from getting married. So I was happy that some of my “stuff” was going to a good home.
It’s amazing how men and women look at their stuff quite differently. I left a kitchen that was huge and had a big island all the teenagers hung out at to move to a home that the kitchen was the size of a pantry. In fact, it is now a pantry. I had to get rid of a lot of kitchen stuff to fit into the new place. My husband got a barn and a garage for his stuff. The day we moved in, he kept telling those that helped us move where to put HIS stuff then would turn to me and ask where I wanted my JUNK to go. His stuff was stuff … my stuff was junk! Interesting!
Some of my stuff got put into the rafters of the barn and I haven’t seen it in 8 years. It was really important stuff, too! But, for the life of me, I can’t tell you what the stuff is.
One year for Easter, when all the grandkids were young, I set up an art area in my kitchen for all the kids to sponge paint tee shirts. My sister-in-laws were appalled! They couldn’t believe I would let these kids use paint in my house. The kitchen floor was linoleum and the paints were water based paints so it really wasn’t a big deal. It’s just “stuff.” Stuff that can be cleaned or replaced. The kids had such a great time and I still have several of those tee shirts with their names and the date on them. I have always wanted people to feel comfortable in and around my stuff.
I have heard people wonder out loud what stuff they would grab on their way out of a burning house. Of course there are things that can not be replaced easily like family photos or the family Bible, but it all is just stuff in God’s eyes.
Jesus puts it very simply, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasure upon earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where you treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:19-21.
Now that’s GOOD STUFF!
He talks about how everyone has their own “little pile of stuff” and how people always have to have it safe. So, “when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn’t want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff, ‘cause they always take the good stuff! They don’t bother with that crap you’re saving. Ain’t nobody interested in your fourth-grade arithmetic papers, National Geographics, commemorative plates, your prize collection of Navajo underwear; they’re not interested. They just want the good stuff; the shiny stuff; the electronic stuff. So when you get right down to it, your house is nothing more than a place to keep your stuff…while you go out and get…more stuff.”
I remember when we moved from Troy to St. Jacob. We were moving from a house that had 3500 square feet to a house that had 1125 square feet. The barn is 1175 square feet. We had to sell a bunch of our “stuff” before we could move into the new house because there was no way it would fit.
When we lived in the old house, I bought a huge oak dining room set from my sister in law when she got divorced because she wanted to see it stay in the family. She vowed to buy it back whenever and if she ever got remarried. She got remarried and bought herself a brand new cherry dining room set. The oak dining room set was “old stuff.” Our new house had no dining room so we had to sell it, but it went to a young couple just weeks away from getting married. So I was happy that some of my “stuff” was going to a good home.
It’s amazing how men and women look at their stuff quite differently. I left a kitchen that was huge and had a big island all the teenagers hung out at to move to a home that the kitchen was the size of a pantry. In fact, it is now a pantry. I had to get rid of a lot of kitchen stuff to fit into the new place. My husband got a barn and a garage for his stuff. The day we moved in, he kept telling those that helped us move where to put HIS stuff then would turn to me and ask where I wanted my JUNK to go. His stuff was stuff … my stuff was junk! Interesting!
Some of my stuff got put into the rafters of the barn and I haven’t seen it in 8 years. It was really important stuff, too! But, for the life of me, I can’t tell you what the stuff is.
One year for Easter, when all the grandkids were young, I set up an art area in my kitchen for all the kids to sponge paint tee shirts. My sister-in-laws were appalled! They couldn’t believe I would let these kids use paint in my house. The kitchen floor was linoleum and the paints were water based paints so it really wasn’t a big deal. It’s just “stuff.” Stuff that can be cleaned or replaced. The kids had such a great time and I still have several of those tee shirts with their names and the date on them. I have always wanted people to feel comfortable in and around my stuff.
I have heard people wonder out loud what stuff they would grab on their way out of a burning house. Of course there are things that can not be replaced easily like family photos or the family Bible, but it all is just stuff in God’s eyes.
Jesus puts it very simply, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasure upon earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where you treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:19-21.
Now that’s GOOD STUFF!
Weeds!
When our girls were younger, we took “driving” vacations across the country. For about 5 years we packed for every weather condition, got to the end of our street, opened up an atlas and we took turns each year throwing something at the atlas and that was where we went for vacation. One year we went to Canada because our youngest daughter threw her chewed gum at the atlas and that’s where it landed.
I finally got tired of driving around until two in the morning looking for a hotel room and started planning our vacations and making reservations-like normal people.
We had one of those big, gas-guzzling vans that had a sofa that made into a bed, a VCR so we could watch movies and a built-in cooler for water and juice. Because my husband drove a lot for his job, I usually did the majority of the driving. The television, unfortunately, was right behind the driver’s head. That really stunk because Jerry and the girls watched every Three Stooges ever filmed, National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation” and “Animal House.” Can you tell who chose the movies?
The girls especially loved the Three Stooges. They knew all the dialog to each and every one of the tapes we had. I wasn’t a fan of their violent behavior, but they were pretty funny.
There was one skit that the girls and my husband especially liked and still performs. Moe, Curly and Larry are in the kitchen wrestling with an artichoke without much success. Curly is ready to give up on the whole idea when Moe asks him what he ate as a child and Curly said, “Weeds!” For some reason, this skit would make our girls crack up laughing every time.
I was thinking about that skit as I was cutting our grass last week. We are surrounded by farmland and all the farmers are preparing the land for crops. The farmer to the south of us has the most beautiful crop of purple flowers you would ever want to see. I thought he planted these flowers on purpose. Then I found out that these beautiful purple flowers are weeds and the farmers fight quite hard to eliminate them.
Wikipedia.com says that “A weed, in a general sense, is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-made settings such as gardens, lawns or agricultural areas. Generally, a weed is a plant in an undesired place.”
I have about two hours on the mower so I have a lot of time to think. Some would say, maybe too much! As I looked at those beautiful plants that the farmers were working so hard to get rid of, it occurred to me that those weeds were a lot like sin. Sin is definitely “unwanted” and ends up in “an undesired place”-our lives.
It reminds me that sin is sometimes disguised as something that is pretty and good for us. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between a weed and a good plant. Take for example, Dandelions. They are classified as a weed and yet people make wine out of them and children make wishes on their seeds blowing in the wind. Who would think that is bad? How often do you think sin is disguised as something perfectly acceptable and harmless?
There are a lot of buzz words out there these days such as “tolerance” and “choice.” I suppose it depends on what you are “choosing” to be “tolerant” of. Scripture makes it pretty clear what God will and will not choose to tolerate. He does not try to “pretty it up” and disguise it as something it is not.
Once a sin becomes an acceptable behavior, it spreads like a weed. It begins to blur the line. If everyone else thinks it’s okay, it must be okay.
The best place to look and see if something is okay or not, is the Bible. Paul tells us in Romans 14:23, “…whatever is not from faith is sin.”
I suppose you could look at the Bible as a great WEEDeater!
I finally got tired of driving around until two in the morning looking for a hotel room and started planning our vacations and making reservations-like normal people.
We had one of those big, gas-guzzling vans that had a sofa that made into a bed, a VCR so we could watch movies and a built-in cooler for water and juice. Because my husband drove a lot for his job, I usually did the majority of the driving. The television, unfortunately, was right behind the driver’s head. That really stunk because Jerry and the girls watched every Three Stooges ever filmed, National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation” and “Animal House.” Can you tell who chose the movies?
The girls especially loved the Three Stooges. They knew all the dialog to each and every one of the tapes we had. I wasn’t a fan of their violent behavior, but they were pretty funny.
There was one skit that the girls and my husband especially liked and still performs. Moe, Curly and Larry are in the kitchen wrestling with an artichoke without much success. Curly is ready to give up on the whole idea when Moe asks him what he ate as a child and Curly said, “Weeds!” For some reason, this skit would make our girls crack up laughing every time.
I was thinking about that skit as I was cutting our grass last week. We are surrounded by farmland and all the farmers are preparing the land for crops. The farmer to the south of us has the most beautiful crop of purple flowers you would ever want to see. I thought he planted these flowers on purpose. Then I found out that these beautiful purple flowers are weeds and the farmers fight quite hard to eliminate them.
Wikipedia.com says that “A weed, in a general sense, is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-made settings such as gardens, lawns or agricultural areas. Generally, a weed is a plant in an undesired place.”
I have about two hours on the mower so I have a lot of time to think. Some would say, maybe too much! As I looked at those beautiful plants that the farmers were working so hard to get rid of, it occurred to me that those weeds were a lot like sin. Sin is definitely “unwanted” and ends up in “an undesired place”-our lives.
It reminds me that sin is sometimes disguised as something that is pretty and good for us. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between a weed and a good plant. Take for example, Dandelions. They are classified as a weed and yet people make wine out of them and children make wishes on their seeds blowing in the wind. Who would think that is bad? How often do you think sin is disguised as something perfectly acceptable and harmless?
There are a lot of buzz words out there these days such as “tolerance” and “choice.” I suppose it depends on what you are “choosing” to be “tolerant” of. Scripture makes it pretty clear what God will and will not choose to tolerate. He does not try to “pretty it up” and disguise it as something it is not.
Once a sin becomes an acceptable behavior, it spreads like a weed. It begins to blur the line. If everyone else thinks it’s okay, it must be okay.
The best place to look and see if something is okay or not, is the Bible. Paul tells us in Romans 14:23, “…whatever is not from faith is sin.”
I suppose you could look at the Bible as a great WEEDeater!
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