Thursday, July 8, 2010
Pucker Up, and Kiss It!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Help! I've Chained Myself to Misery!
"This is what the Lord says: Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you ever build me a temple as good as that? Could you build a dwelling place for me? My hands have made both heaven and earth, and they are mine. I, the Lord, have spoken!"
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for death....
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
No mind can fathom the ways of God, but I'm looking for a meaning, can you help me?
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Rose DeLong - My Grandma
So today I am going to read from Proverbs 31.
10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar.
15 She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household,
16 She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle.
20 She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies sashes for the merchants.
25 Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “ Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.
I really feel that this passage was written by observations of my grandma At first glance you can see that it is an outdated passage and idea, that no one could ever meet every criteria listed, but I stand in testament that to a tee, my grandmother did, and she did it with great joy.
She was a virtuous woman, and more precious than I can even begin to describe the worth and value we all have in our heart today is extremely priceless. My grandma never boasted on how to do things right or how to be right, she instead made an example of how to be right by the way she lived her life.
Some examples I will never forget of my Grandma, are how she was
So strong, yet so caring and meek,
she was a fierce fighter, yet gentle beyond a doubt
she was frugal, yet SO SO SO giving.
She would give anything for those that she loved. There are too many memories to mention of our grandma, our gg, and mom. But there is one memory that I feel I must share.
My mother was diagnosed with cancer when I was close to eight years old, and I still remember the effect it had on all of my family, it was a very hard time. I was not used to seeing my mom scared, or to see my mom cry, it was very frightening to me along with all the thoughts and ideas that followed her diagnosis.
but When the time came for surgeries, or even a trip out of state for my mom to seek a naturalist’s opinion. I remember without hesitation my grandma was there to help with Everything! She was my own ray of hope in a very dark saddened time. She always made me feel that everything would be fine. She was Grandma.
She left such an impression that I remember once when my friends were trying to tease me of how strict and stearn my grandmother was, I was very surprised at my own reaction...I broke into tears. I told them that they wouldn’t be able to tease if they knew about my grandma’s great labor of love to my family, and what hope she had brought to me in a sad time. And with that they knew never to tease me about MY grandma again. What an impression at only eight years old.
But then as I got older, and I understood that my grandma was also fighting cancer through everything, that she was taking care of my grandpa who had Parkinson’s, and along with so many other tasks, errands and visits to grandchildren, I held an even higher regard for her. She was a fighter and survivor even to the end.
For me to witness my grandma putting to action every statute of the Bible, has been greater for me than any sermon I have ever heard and I am sure better than any sermon I will ever hear.
So in short what I wanted to share is, I know that my grandma will forever in my heart be THE virtuous woman I strive to be like. And my desire is to someday soon see her again.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Becoming a Man/Woman After God's Own Heart: Goliath Pt. 2
(The Verses Below are taken from 1st Samuel 17, the story of David and Goliath.)
VS. 28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was aroused against David, and he said, "Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle."
VS. 33 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you [are] a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."
Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same" That's a line from a song by the Fray, I thought I would add it because when we choose to stand for what is right, it is usually harder than going with the flow, isn't it? When David decided to stand up against the blaspheming Goliath you would think all would rally around him, and be so proud he made a brave choice, Instead he faces more "giants". So even when we are on the right track and making right choices conquering giants left and right, we face more "giants" in our own tents.
When Satan sees us moving for the glory of God, he does all he can to pull the rug out from under our feet. For me the greatest sucker punch comes from when he uses our closest of kin, maybe a brother or sister like David's oldest brother Eliab, or a highly respected peer like King Saul.
That hurts doesn't it? When even our family says "You can't", "You're wrong/ignorant", or even "You're too much of a Jesus freak". I know I have failed many battles because I couldn't/wouldn't even leave the camp. There is no easy way to get around this obstacle, this is the most defining moment as a Christian, can we show God's love to someone persecuting us, while still following God's will?
YES!!! But only if our every strength comes from God. We need to accept opinions or even criticism without lashing back in vengeance, but we need to still press on to what God is telling us to do. This is where I fail, I am not good at getting served up some good ol' criticism...I lash right back with self-righteousness, and "I'm more holy than you, nah nah nah!". It's hard, being a Christian isn't cookie cutter perfect, or easy, but showing love where it is not deserved is what defines a Christian from any other religion, that is what God did for us!
What we need to remember is that God's is the only opinion we need to worry about, and that our worth in God is just as great as we treat others. And when God stirs in us to do something, I think we all have learned, you had better do it! Jump the hurdle and continue running towards the goal God has given, don't let others around you steal your passion or your purpose.
It is healthy to get a God-fearing opinion from a spiritual leader, but be weary as our greatest spiritual leader should always, and will always be God Himself!
My Prayer: Jehovah-nissi, The Lord my Banner! God I pray we would only boast in You! That when we're in battle we would lift You high, and When we're in the camp, we would raise You up, so that others would know and see Your glory! God I pray we would always look to You, and not dwell on the harmful words of man, that we would see others as You see them, and show them compassion when needed. God I pray we would never turn to the right or to the left, but always march on to the purpose you have given us! Nothing is too big for You God! Whatever You call us to, You will see us through if we abide. God help us to stand firm in our calling! To love as You do! God we pray that in every day, in anything we do, that it would bring glory to Your name! That no matter what the circumstance might be, that You would receive praise from my response to that circumstance. God Our heart is toward the lost, who do not know Your love, help us to share it in the greatest way possible, by practicing it! You are soooooooooo patient with me Lord, and I thank You for helping pin point the areas where I have not given myself fully to You! Thank You for Your servant David and all that we are able to learn from him. You alone are God who sets up kings and nations and also who tears them down, who gives life and who takes it away, help us to follow Your command, we place our hearts in Your hands! It is only because of Jesus that I am able to make known my request to You and it is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen!