Choices 28 April 2008
Posted by spamynetwork in Christian Life.1 comment so far
Galatians 6:7b-9 “A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Choices. We all make them every day. When it comes to the big decisions in life like changing careers, selling a house, or stepping into a new ministry, we usually go to great lengths to make sure we are in the center of God’s will. After all there is much at stake, right?
But it’s a bit different with the ’little’ everyday choices, isn’t it? Maybe I’m the only one, but at the end of the day, I often look back on the events that transpired and realize that I didn’t make the best choices. Now, before I go any further, I am not saying that any of us should be or ever will be perfect. Jesus is the only perfect person that has ever walked and will ever walk this planet. However, we should do our best to make the right choices. Galatians 6:7b-8 tells us that we will reap what we sow. It also tells us that there are only two possibilities in sowing: we either sow in the Spirit, or we sow in the sinful nature.
But sometimes when we sow in the Spirit, the harvest we reap isn’t always what we expected or perhaps it doesn’t come when we expect it. This is where Galatians 6:9 comes into play. It tells us that we will reap a harvest at the proper time if we do not give up.
So my encouragement to myself as well as to you is that no matter how small the choice may seem, no matter how menial the task may be, choose carefully to sow in the Spirit. Do this and you will reap eternal life.
Checkin’ in 24 April 2008
Posted by spamynetwork in School.add a comment
Sorry it’s been a few days, but I’m working on a literary analysis paper for this ridiculous - I mean pleasant; no, enjoyable; no, informative - English class I’m taking. It’s on the poem “The Road Not Taken.” Yes, I said a poem. So, if you feel like throwing up some extra prayers for me (along the lines of wisdom and clear thinking), please freely do so.
I choked on a stake 21 April 2008
Posted by spamynetwork in Uncategorized.6 comments
***WARNING: If you have a squeamish stomach, you should NOT read this post.***
Saturday afternoon, I was doing some much needed work in my backyard. I was cleaning up a flower bed and planting a tree. The last thing I had to do was put a stake in the ground next to the tree to help hold it up as it grew. I grabbed a garden stake (a 3ft long metal rod covered in green plastic), a ball of twine, and scissors. Knowing my past clumsy experiences with sharp objects, I decided I shouldn’t try to cut the twine while hold the garden stake in my hand. I placed one end of it between my teeth - yes it was clean - to free up my hands to cut a strip of twine. I successfully cut the twine and managed to get the scissors back on the counter without cutting a finger off - a monumental task I must admit. Then it happened. I dropped the ball of twine on the floor. Instinct kicked in and I quickly bent down to grab the ball of twine before it unwound across my dining room and living room floor. Unfortunately, I failed to remember that I still had the garden stake between my teeth. You can imagine what happened next. The opposite end of the garden stake hit the floor, which caused the other end to jam up into the roof of my mouth. My first reaction was to cover my mouth. I’ve had enough crazy experiences like this to automatically try to prevent blood from going everywhere. I soon made my way to my bathroom where I removed my hand from my mouth and was relieved to find no blood. I had high hopes that I would be extremely lucky and not have any injury - that hope didn’t remain for long. Then I opened my mouth and boy was there blood. As I peered into the mirror I was able to determine that I had not punctured the palate of my mouth nor had I created a hole in the back of my throat, both of which I consider to be nothing short of a miracle. The palate of my mouth is scraped and swollen, to say the least, and my uvula (the punching bag at the back of the throat) is nicked on one side. Seeing as eating is not the least bit comfortable, I will be consuming my fair share of milkshakes and jello for the next few days.
Here’s the ironic thing…Yesterday in Kids Pointe we were learning about the different ways God provides warnings for us. Becky so kindly encouraged me to share this story with the children. I was told growing up to not run with a sucker (or anything else) in my mouth. I took it a step further yesterday and gave all the children this warning: “If you can’t eat it or drink it, then it doesn’t belong in your mouth.” If God thought for one second that you would need more than two hands, He would have certainly given you a third hand.
Who’d a thunk? 15 April 2008
Posted by spamynetwork in School.4 comments
(To those who know me, prepare yourselves for what may be a shocking read.)
I’m currently taking English 102: Composition and Literature (aka NIGHTMARE for my little black and white brain). The first half of this course has been on short stories, and the critical analysis paper on two of them was painful. Thankfully, we have moved on from short stories; unfortunately it was poetry we moved on to. It’s not exaggeration when I say I almost dropped the course after reviewing the assignments for this poetry segment of class. However, I thought better of it and decided to give it a whirl. And low and behold, I like poetry! Now, now, before you get too carried away, notice I said I like poetry. There is still no love for it because quite frankly some of it makes less since than a toddler trying to talk with peanut butter stuck to the roof of his mouth. Anyway, below is a poem that is an exception to the ‘no-love’ rule; I love this poem! I love the choice of words throughout the poem. What do you think?
“Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God” by John Donne
Batter my heart, three-personed God; for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurped town, to another due,
Labor to admit you, but O, to no end;
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
but is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betrothed unto your enemy.
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again;
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor even chaste, except you ravish me.
Remove that Splinter 14 April 2008
Posted by spamynetwork in Christian Life.1 comment so far
I was doing a little bit of work in my yard on Saturday. I just couldn’t let one more beautiful day pass without getting out in it. Anyway, I planted a couple of trees and bushes and started cleaningup my flowerbed in the backyard. Somehow I managed to get two splinters in my finger. These splinters were far beyond the tweezers stage; they were in there deep. So I grabbed a straight pin and began the process of digging them out. A quickly realized this was not going to be an easy process. So I crawled up on my bathroom counter; somehow I thought being 1ft closer to the lights would help. With adament determination I continued to dig and dig. By this time, it felt like I was scraping the bone. Finally, success! With the end of my finger now throbbing, I was able to remove the last of the splinters!
About midway through this procedure, Matthew 7 came to mind where Jesus talks about our concern over a splinter (actually a speck of sawdust) in our brother’s eye when we have a plank in our own. In this passage, Jesus is teaching us against judging others, but this time, He shed new light on this scripture with the question “what if you were this determined to remove sin from your life?” You see, once I noticed the splinters in my finger nothing else mattered. Through the throbbing and in spite of the pain, I relentlessly persisted in removing them. Just as we can’t leave a splinter in our physical bodies, we cannot ignore the sin in our life. Sin is not something to hide or try to cover up. If we do, the sin will fester and spread infection throughout our spiritual beings, just like a splinter will if left in our physical bodies.
So, do you have sin you’ve ignored for too long and now your whole being is infected by it? If so, it is NEVER too late to take it to God. He stands ready, willing, and more than able to cleanse you in the blood of Christ. Don’t wait another moment. Run to Him and let Him clean you.
Matthew 7:3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? “
